Chapter 32. He is you, and you are him

The boundless mirror surface under their feet was stretching as far as an eye could see.

It looked like a mirror surface, but was just water in fact.

Somehow, people could step on it, and each step caused ripples to appear; as if some kind of force was pushing them out, their shoes didn’t get wet.

It was a bit similar to the lake under the Rainbow Bridge, but not quite.

Because the surface of the Mirror Lake never reflected reality.

And here—

Changming lowered his head, and saw his own face.

Mist and clouds were curling up the water surface, intertwining with faint and slightly swaying rays of light, as if tempting people to come closer.

“What is this light?” Changming asked.

Yun Hai didn’t answer. He simply took a step, and carried Changming up to the air to observe the vast boundless voidness of this realm.

The glowing objects under their feet started to move slowly, scattering like stars in the sky. Looking at this gentle and warm pale-yellow light from above was like looking at the Milky Way from the other side in a dream.

Changming wasn’t the first person to come there.

Many cultivators had been to this place, and all were ineffably surprised and immersed into this scene.

But there, time was the most useless thing, and the most tricky at that.

If their consciousness was lost there, they might never manage to regain it.

Changming was only absent-minded for a moment, but quickly found the clue.

“These lights are a formation arranged according to the motions of stars in the sky?”

“As expected for a person who used to be the strongest master in the world.”

Yun Hai ridiculed, “I thought you were still scared stiff by the vultures.”

Changming coughed a few times. He had just fought with Xu Fenglin and was wounded, but hadn’t noticed it at first. But, when he got out of the reach of danger, the wounds all over his body started to hurt. If Yun Hai wasn’t holding him by his waist, Changming wouldn’t have been able to stay, let alone float in the air.

Constellation maps arose in his mind, and the composition of stars under his feet became even more distinct.

There was the Big Dipper, and the Ghost Mansion, the Extended Net Mansion, and the Willow Mansion of the South…

Ghost Mansion: eu. ~Cancer.

Extended Net Mansion: eu. ~Hydra.

Willow Mansion: eu. ~Hydra.

“Did Yun Weisi arrange all of these?”

“When a person cultivates the Heartless Dao, they put aside their feelings and forget their lives. Every light source is one of his memories that he willingly decided to abandon. Some of those who have come here touched these lights, and saw their own past; some of them entangled in them with no way out and no will to leave this place. Do you see those blue starlights lingering around some light constellations? These are the souls of people who refused to come to their senses. Their remnants have long since disappeared, but their souls and spirits still remain, bearing resentments and unwilling to leave everything behind. While only several decades have passed outside, it equals hundreds of thousands of years in this place.”

Changming: “Then what did you see?”

Yun Hai: “I am a person with no memories, there is nothing to watch.”

He stretched his arm to catch the closest glowing lump.

As soon as he touched it, the lump dispersed, like fireflies scattering to all directions and dancing in the air. Shortly, they gathered back to the way they used to be.

“Shouldn’t you have guessed it a long time ago?”

This place was chaotic. Present and future were mingled, losing their original meanings; long days of the past, as well as life and death were also meaningless now, and memories were confused, while souls and spirits separated from consciousness.

It was hard for Yun Weisi to escape the same fate.

Yun Weisi of daytime had given up on his seven emotions and six sensory pleasures.

Seven emotions: happiness, anger, sorrow, fright, love, hate, desire.

Six sensory pleasures: one for each of the six senses.

And he, Yun Hai, only existed at night, appeared out of nowhere for no reason, and had neither past nor future.

Every moment was fleeting for him, like a briefly blooming epiphyllum.

Epiphyllum: aka ‘princess of the night cactus’, a kind of flower that only blooms at night.

“He is you, and you are him.”

“We are not the same.”

Changming didn’t try to persuade him again.

Rather, he was admiring the picturesque scenery of the Milky Way under his feet with an amazed expression.

Yun Hai couldn’t even imagine where all this peace and joy came from—

Obviously, he fell in a trap, was incapable of resistance, lost his cultivation, and it was even unknown whether he would be able to ever leave this place.

Those who managed to reach this place were all phoenixes and dragons among men; however, among them, some came to find spiritual tools, some came to forge their minds and advance in cultivation, and some wanted to discard their past and start anew in this place.

Phoenixes and dragons among men: outstanding people.

But in the end, all these people not only didn’t manage to obtain what they wanted, but even their remnants were not left, their souls and spirits wandered around with no determination to disperse, turning into mere sparks decorating the sea of stars.

“I’ve just remembered one episode from my past.”

“Hm?”

“It concerns the Nine Layers of the Abyss. That year, I caught a succubus on the Sacred Mountain Wan. She said that someone summoned them to make a blood contract. Even if I killed her, that would have been useless since she was neither the first one nor the last.”

“Everyone says that it was you who colluded with demons and betrayed those who were trying to protect the barrier.”

“The dead are silent, they would never purge themselves of a charge. I’m just lucky to have survived so far.”

“Then, after all, who summoned the demons?”

“That year, I noticed the seal of the Situ Family on that succubus’s hand.”

“A person surnamed Situ has entered the Void Shore once. He said that his name was Situ Yuan.”

Yun Hai stretched his hand, pointing towards a place not far away.

“His souls and spirit should be there.”

Changming: “I remember Situ Yuan. He was Situ Wanhuo’s nephew. After I saw this seal, I went to the Situ Family and found their head, Situ Wanhuo.”

Yun Hai: “Is Situ Wanhuo famous?”

Changming: “There were ten grandmasters in the world back then, and Situ Wanhuo was among them. He had been cultivating in seclusion for many years without a breakthrough, and his temper was irascible and obstinate; he didn’t follow Buddhism, Daoism or Confucianism, but prefered other schools. But when I got to the Situ Family, Situ Wanhuo had already died. Others said that the night before that he was possessed by his inner demons, his body broke and he perished. The sky was abnormal at that moment, and people from many lis around their residence saw it.”

Yun Hai: “He could be faking his death.”

Changming: “I also thought so. But I saw Situ Wanhuo’s corpse with my own eyes, it was definitely not a sham. The Situ Family lost a prominent master, which sapped its vitality, and it collapsed, never to be restored again.”

Yun Hai: “When you said this, I recalled one thing. That Situ Yuan who came here said that he was trying to eradicate his inner demons and advance in cultivation in order to restore his family.”

Changming: “This shows that Situ Wanhuo is indeed dead, otherwise he wouldn’t sit back and watch the decline of the Situ Family. At that time, there were more and more demonic rifts appearing on the Sacred Mountain Wan; many demons were rampaging in the Human World, and demonic qi swallowed the spiritual power of many blessed spots. Ordinary people were unable to bear it. Wherever the demons went, they slaughtered cities and villages; later, they became better at hiding and disguising themselves as human beings. Many people were looking for a way to eradicate them. Ren Haishan, the master of Kunlun Jian Clan, proposed to set up a Liuhe Zhutian Formation on the Sacred Mountain Wan to seal the demonic rifts. He found me, hoping that I would also help.”

Yun Hai: “You agreed.”

Changming: “I agreed. I was investigating the same problem that year, but found no traces. I thought that the one who controlled the demons behind the scenes wouldn’t be able to watch from the sidelines the formation that would seal all those rifts.”

Yun Hai: “But something unexpected happened while you were setting the formation?”

Changming: “Correct. I was responsible for the Kan position, I was only supposed to assure that the light there doesn’t go out. But, all of a sudden, everybody had some mishaps one after another. One log cannot prop up a tottering building, and in the end I failed through lack of a final effort. My spirit and soul was wounded, and I had to wander through the Yellow Springs until I finally managed to get back here.”

Yun Hai: “Who was the first to have an accident?”

Changming concentrated his attention and thought for a bit, but then shook his head.

“I don’t remember. At that time, everything was a mess, and my memories about that day are still incomplete. I can’t recall it.”

Changming stretched his arm to the closest light ball.

But the moment he was about to touch it, Yun Hai grabbed his wrist tightly.

Changming looked at him.

His arm seemed to be moving by itself, just as if—

Yun Hai gripped his arm, and brushed past that lump of light.

Fires burst in front of their eyes, and in the vast expanse of whiteness, snowflakes whirled in the sky like feathers, covering heaven and earth.

Everything in this world repeats in circles, finally returning to its origins.

Yun Hai had met many people there.

He saw how they entered this place and went through the same life and death experience; he saw how they felt pleasure, anger, sorrow and joy, shedding bitter tears when it was too late for regrets.

Yun Hai wasn’t moved at the slightest, and even considered them ludicrous.

But now, he wanted to see Changming’s past.

These lumps of light were not simply showing stories of the past.

Even if these matters had already taken place in the past, it didn’t mean that they couldn’t be changed.

If Changming knew, what would he do?

He was actually moved by this person, feeling an avid curiosity that he shouldn’t have felt.

…

Yun Hai opened his eyes.

The sky was dark.

He was standing on the edge of a forest.

There was a dense forest on his left, and a mountain stream on his right.

Coughing sounded from the forest direction, and a horse carriage’s wheels were rumbling not far away.

Darkness surrounded him.

Yun Hai opened his palm, intending to summon some light, but nothing appeared.

He froze for a moment.

“Sword, come.”

His hand was still empty.

Just like in Heavenly City, his spiritual powers were gone completely.

The carriage wheels finally slowed down.

It stopped at the side of the road.

The curtains were opened, and a young lady popped out her head to glance right and left.

“Young lady, we can’t move forward, it’s too dangerous!”

The girl pointed her finger at Changming who was sitting on the side of the road and coughing.

“Aren’t there people here? He is just fine!”

The cart driver hummed in dissatisfaction, and continued to persuade her patiently: “There is a boundary stone ahead of us. If we go further, we might stumble upon Tangut people who haunt these lands to plunder common folk, we shouldn’t go there!”

Tangut people: ancient tribal union that existed roughly from the 7 century AD to the 16 century AD. The novel setting seems to be based on the Han dynasty (3 century AD) though, but it’s just my guess.

The girl: “But I’ve heard that as the Qianlin Assembly will be held in the Dune Sea of the Western Regions this year, many immortal masters will gather there. If I want to have an immortal as my master, this is my one and only chance.”

Dune Sea: presumably refers to the Taklamakan Desert etc.

The cart driver: “Those immortals fly around in circles, who of them will lower their heads to look at mortals on the ground? Young lady, you spend too much of your time reading tales, you are too naive!”

The girl grinned and jumped off the horse carriage: “Uncle, relax, I’m not afraid of them. Just go back first, I will manage myself.”

She came closer to Changming.

“Does the gentleman also intend to go to the Dune Sea of the Western Regions?”

Changming raised his head.

The girl was a little surprised.

“Gentleman, you are really handsome! Are you married?”

Yun Hai came out from the forest just at the right time to hear her asking about Changming’s marriage.

Without beating around the bush, she just opened the door to see the mountain, feeling no shame whatsoever.

Open the door to see the mountain: to get straight to the point.

Unexpectedly, Changming’s tolerance was excellent, and he still hadn’t answered.

The girl said: “Gentleman, how do I look?”

Yun Hai: …

“He is a cultivator, he can’t get married.”

Yun Hai answered her question in Changming’s stead.

The girl was unwilling to give up: “Don’t try to deceive me, I know that cultivators have daoist partners too!”

Changming said: “At your age, your roots and bones have already stopped growing, and your cultivation aptitude is not impressive. I’m afraid that not many sects will be willing to accept you.”

The girl bit her lips: “Then I will just watch the fun from the sidelines, and afterwards, drop this idea completely and return back.”

She looked like a pampered daughter from a wealthy and influential family, and knew nothing about how malicious the real world was. Even if she had some skills, they were just insignificant dust for others.

Changming looked at the bottom of her skirt.

The girl followed the line of his gaze and quickly took a step back, angry and ashamed.

“You are too rude!”

“You decided to go on a long journey, but your shoes are indoor footwear with soft soles—they will be worn out before you take a few dozen steps. That cart driver meant well, and I also recommend you to turn back. If you continue moving forward, not only will you meet bandits, but cultivators pull out swords at the slightest offence, bringing disasters to the innocent.”

Hearing his words, she sat still, hugging her knees, a bit discouraged.

“I have nowhere to go. If I return home now, they will certainly detain me, and I won’t be able to go anywhere. I only want to take a glance, see how immortals cultivate. Can you take me there?”

She raised her head to look at Changming, her face full of anticipation.

Changming: “Do I look like a good person?”

The girl: “Totally.”

Changming: “…What’s your name?”

The girl: “Cong Rong, I’m from the capital.”

Changming froze.

“Cong from ‘dense forest’, Rong from ‘features’?”

Dense forest: pinyin is ‘cónglín’, the same Cóng.

Features: as facial appearance, the pinyin is ‘róngyán’, the same Róng.

Cong Rong: “You know me?”

Changming: “I’ve heard a little.”

Cong Rong pouted: “Then don’t say anything, surely you’ve heard something bad!”

Changming smiled silently.

“Gentlemen, may I know your names?”

“My name is Changming, his name is Yun Hai.”

Cong Rong’s gaze wandered between the two of them.

“I think you look familiar, as if I’ve seen you somewhere.”

Changming: “Let’s go.”

Cong Rong: “Where?”

Changming: “To the Qianlin Assembly. We will take you with us.”

Cong Rong was glad. She seemed to have a natural trust in Changming and Yun Hai, or, perhaps, not a bit of wariness. She accepted the trip together with strangers without blinking, and even told her sincere and kind cart driver to return first. Changming told her that after they cross Yuru Peak ahead of them to get to Yuru Town, she will be able to buy more convenient clothes there.

But before she took a few steps, Cong Rong’s feet started hurting, and she began to trail far behind Changming and the other.

Yun Hai thought that she was burdensome from head to tail.

Moreover, he didn’t understand why Changming, who used to handle matters clear-headedly, agreed to take her with them on a single request.

“Are you two old acquaintances?” Yun Hai asked.

“We have never met personally.” Changming said.

“Don’t forget that we are in the past.” Yun Hai reminded him.

Changming: “If I remember correctly, an accident will happen in Yuru Town tomorrow night, astonishing the whole world. Many lives will be lost overnight, and then people will wake up from death to turn into jiangshis and start hurting others all around. This year, I came to Yuru Town the next day after the massacre took place, and two people arrived before me. They managed to save some people who hadn’t been poisoned by cadaveric toxins too deeply, and a girl named Cong Rong was among them. She witnessed the beginning of the massacre, and was the only one who had seen the culprit. But, although she was cured from the cadaveric toxins, she became blind for the rest of her life, and all the medicine and needles failed to cure her, being utterly powerless.”

Jiangshi: Chinese vampires/zombies/reanimated corpses.

Yun Hai understood what the other meant: “You want to go there yourself to find the murderer?”

Changming: “One of those two who had gotten there ahead of me was precisely Situ Wanhuo. And the other person, as a matter of fact, has a lot to do with your origins.”

Yun Hai raised his eyebrows: “I didn’t expect there to be a second person whom you would go so far as to say that they have to do a lot with my origins.”

Changming: “It’s your father, Yun Chang’an.”

Yun Hai: …

Changming: “What’s more, that girl who you dislike in every possible way, Cong Rong, is precisely your birth mother.”

Yun Hai: ???

He saw Changming’s teasing expression, and lost his tongue for a short time.

At first, Yun Hai thought that they went back to time after Yun Weisi had been accepted as Changming’s disciple; he would have never imagined that they would cross to such a distant past.

“The Cong Rong who is following us now still hasn’t gotten together with Yun Chang’an; she ran away from her home to avoid an arranged marriage. Although she went blind after this murder case in Yuru Town, she and Yun Chang’an cherished each other sincerely. Yun and Cong Families were originally well-matched in social status, but because of Cong Rong’s blindness, Yun Family objected to this marriage, and didn’t accept you after you were born. That’s how it was until the governmental style of the Hong Dynasty changed all of a sudden, and the two of them got implicated.”

Changming was talking unhurriedly.

“I would have never thought we would come back to this time. But, since we are already here, who knows, maybe we will find out the truth of the matter, and save your mother’s eyes in passing.”

“Wait for me, don’t walk so fast, I’m afraid of the darkness!”

Cong Rong’s sweet voice came from behind. She caught up to them quickly, gasping for breath.

“Gentleman Ming, since you don’t have a daoist partner yet, why don’t you consider me? I fell in love with you at first sight. We are brought up together by fate to become daoist partners, and we will definitely be united in our hearts and souls for our lifetimes!” She didn’t even cast a glance at Yun Hai, her eyes glued to Changming.

The corners of Yun Hai’s mouth twitched slightly, and he felt his hands itching.

The author has something to say:

A small theatre not related to the main text:

Yun Hai: (chuckles) She is Yun Weisi’s mother, not mine.

Changming: If Yun Weisi didn’t exist, would you have existed?

Yun Hai: … (starts pondering seriously over the feasibility of getting separated from Yun Weisi.)

Tn:

Look, this is our ‘Queen of the Night cactus’, epiphyllum, Yun Hai:

Also, about jiangshis: my favourite part is countermeasures against them, and my favourite countermeasure is this one: “Dropping a bag of coins can cause the jiangshi to count the coins. [wiki]”