Seven reincarnations
Ying Yuan stood beside her, silent. His brows were slightly furrowed, the bright light on his face gradually fading, replaced by an inexplicable melancholy. Yan Dan stood with her head down for a while, unable to bear the silent atmosphere any longer, and said briefly, "Your Majesty, I'll be leaving now." She turned to the side, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ying Yuan suddenly reach out his hand, as if to stop her. She involuntarily paused and turned to look at him.
Ying Yuan abruptly withdrew his hand and nodded slightly: "You may go."
Yan Dan turned around, raised her hand to touch her cheek, her hand wet with tears. She hadn't cried at all when she went to the Heavenly Execution Platform. She wiped her face haphazardly with her sleeve and hurried away. The Jade Pool Festival would last for three to five days; she couldn't stay any longer and had to come up with a decent reason to say goodbye to her master.
Yan Dan walked for a while before suddenly remembering that Ying Yuan had left Yaochi probably to find Zhi Xi. So where could Zhi Xi have gone? Unlike herself, she wouldn't sneak away just because the immortals inside were talking about Taoist and Zen principles that seemed too boring. As she was thinking about this, she suddenly felt someone gently tug at her sleeve from the side.
Yan Dan turned her head and saw a fairy standing in front of her who looked quite familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere before, but she couldn't quite place her name. The fairy looked around and said softly, "I've been waiting for a long time. There are some things I want to say to you in private."
Yan Dan suddenly recalled that this fairy must be the lantern-bearing fairy under Emperor Yingyuan. Although they had met a few times, they hadn't exchanged a single word, so there was no way they had any "private conversation" relationship. She sighed softly. This lantern-bearing fairy probably mistook her for Zhixi. How could she not tell them apart?
She wasn't in the mood to explain that she wasn't Zhixi, so she silently let the lantern fairy lead her away.
The fairy with the lantern, for reasons unknown, chose a secluded path that twisted and turned, finally stopping beside a pool shrouded in mist.
Yan Dan recognized the pool before her as the Seven Reincarnations Path. All immortals and fairies who violated the most severe heavenly rules were thrown into this pool and then suffered the torment of seven lifetimes of reincarnation in the mortal realm. Even standing beside the Path of Reincarnation, she could feel the extremely eerie and malevolent aura emanating from below.
The fairy holding the lantern looked at her for a while and then rebuked her without any politeness: "Zhixi, you have bewitched the emperor and attempted to form a private relationship with a mortal. This is against the laws of heaven."
Yan Dan remained unmoved, but a slight impatience lingered in her heart. Zhi Xi bewitched the Emperor? Even if she could, it would be futile. If the other party couldn't be bewitched, wouldn't it all be in vain? To claim that indulging in worldly emotions is against the will of Heaven is utter nonsense.
The fairy holding the lantern was speechless for a moment, not wanting her to act so passively.
Instead, Yan Dan was in a bad mood and spoke in a harsh tone: "You say that only because you also have your eyes on the throne, while the throne has never paid attention to you, that's all."
The fairy holding the lantern trembled with anger, her beautiful face dimmed, and she was speechless.
Yan Dan had been dawdling with her for a long time, but her patience wore thin. She turned to leave, but suddenly her wrist was gripped tightly. The Lantern Fairy dragged her back a few steps, stepping into the Path of Reincarnation. Yan Dan jolted, remembering what she had heard before about the seven reincarnations, and instinctively pulled her hand away forcefully.
The other person is tired of living and wants to jump in, but she won't complain about having too much time on her hands.
She pulled her hand back, leaving several faint red marks on her wrist from the other person's fingernails, while the Lantern Bearer calmly smiled at her. Yan Dan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly felt a gentle breeze beside her, and a figure swiftly leaped down the Path of Reincarnation, managing to catch the Lantern Bearer Fairy who had fallen.
Ying Yuan bent down, put down the lantern, and looked at her calmly: "What's going on?"
Yan Dan was clear-headed; she was destined to take the blame for forcing the fairy into the cycle of seven reincarnations. The scene just now, no matter how you looked at it, seemed as if she had deliberately pushed the lantern-bearer down. In the midst of the crisis, the lantern-bearer desperately grabbed her wrist to protect herself, and then, driven by malice, she forcefully pulled her hand back. Thank goodness Emperor Yingyuan happened to be passing by and pulled her back.
The fairy holding the lantern collapsed to the ground, trembling, and whispered, "Your Majesty, she didn't push me on purpose, it was all my own carelessness... She really didn't mean to..."
Yan Dan was in a terrible predicament. She couldn't find a reason to defend such a low-quality play. Ying Yuanjun didn't look at the lanterns; he just stared at her indifferently, his gaze revealing no emotion. Yan Dan was clear-headed and very calm. She had already cried; she would never shed another tear in her life, much less show weakness in front of him.
After a moment, Ying Yuan called out softly, "Yan Dan."
The fairy holding the lantern stared wide-eyed, as if in disbelief.
Yan Dan even thought to herself with a sense of boredom that it was no wonder she looked like this. The play had started with such a grand and exciting performance, but in the end, it turned out that the wrong person had been chosen. How surprising and regrettable that must be.
"Yan Dan, do you know... that pushing someone into the cycle of seven lifetimes is a violation of heavenly law?"
After a moment, Yan Dan looked up at him. His once clear and beautiful eyes were now blurred; they were no longer the eyes she remembered. "I didn't push her."
Ying Yuanjun looked at her calmly and indifferently: "Then tell me, how could anyone jump into the cycle of reincarnation on their own?"
Yan Dan opened her mouth, but still couldn't utter a single word.
She could endure the pain of having her heart split in two, she could remain silent on the execution platform, and she could even smile as she handed Zhixi over to him—all of which were wishful thinking on her part.
She just couldn't stand those words.
He had never understood what kind of person she was.
After a long silence, Yan Dan smiled slowly, her eyes brightening and her face clear: "I pushed her down, so what?" Most people are willing to go through fire and water for someone who doesn't care about them, yet they are indifferent to those who would go through fire and water for them. Now, she no longer wanted to care about him at all. Rather than hoping that a man who couldn't even see what kind of person she was would cherish her, she would rather sever all ties now.
Ying Yuan frowned slightly. No one in the Heavenly Court had ever spoken to him in such a mocking tone: "Those who push people off the path of seven lifetimes of reincarnation deserve to be put on the Heavenly Execution Platform."
Yan Dan slowly took two steps forward, turned her head to look at Ying Yuan, the person she cared about, yet he seemed so unfamiliar through the thin mist: "Then please lead the way, Your Majesty." It wasn't like she hadn't been to the Heavenly Execution Platform before. The first time she survived was by luck, but this second time, she wasn't sure she could survive.
Ying Yuan was silent for a moment, then slowly turned around, his voice low and deep: "Yan Dan, you don't need to be afraid, actually..."
Yan Dan turned her head and said softly, "Those kinds of places... once you've been there, you can't help but be afraid." She suddenly turned around, grabbed the Lantern Fairy, and dragged her into the Path of Reincarnation. The Lantern Fairy turned pale with fright and screamed, but Yan Dan found it amusing and couldn't help but chuckle, "You weren't this scared when you jumped down just now, so why are you so frightened now?"
The fierce winds of the Cycle of Reincarnation whipped at her body and face, instantly cutting several small gashes. She could even hear the shrill roars of the vengeful spirits below. The hairpin that held her hair back was severed in two by the wind, and strands of her hair were cut off as well. Yan Dan even smiled and thought, "So this is how the sword of wisdom severs the threads of affection."
Suddenly, her descent came to a halt. She looked up and saw Ying Yuan steadying himself in the fierce wind, holding onto the lantern's sash with one hand and reaching out to her with the other: "I'll pull you up. Give me your hand."
Yan Dan did not move.
His face was somber, as if a storm was brewing, and he slowly repeated, "Give me your hand."
Yan Dan smiled wryly, wondering if she should tell him about the half-heart before jumping. Would that be the greatest revenge? Even if she couldn't win his love, she would at least gain his pity, forever a thorn in his heart.
If her true form wasn't a four-leaf lotus, if she couldn't exchange half her heart for his eyes, she would stay by his side without complaint, facing this darkness; she would be his eyes. If one day she became wretched, she would rather sink into the chaos of heaven and earth, like the jagged rocks that were forever buried underground when Pangu created the world.
But if no one can understand these "ifs," they will forever remain just "ifs."
He didn't need her to be his eyes, nor did he need her company. She didn't become pathetic; she clung to her stubbornness, yet she was destined to become a strange rock buried deep underground. If this were a play, from beginning to end, she would have been reciting lines and dancing alone, and perhaps it was already time for it to come to an end.
She slowly shook her head: "If I go up to the Heavenly Execution Platform again, I'll die."
"Yan Dan, you're not allowed to jump, do you understand?" Ying Yuan's face turned pale. "I'll go to the Heavenly Punishment Platform in your place, you'll be fine. Quickly give me your hand..."
"I've let you go, so you should let go too." Yan Dan raised her head, revealing a faint, endearing smile. "I'm entrusting Zhixi to you. You must treat her well and not let anyone bully her." In that instant, she felt as if a helpless sadness was surging in Ying Yuan's eyes.
She was actually reluctant to let go, but now she had no choice but to.
The people she loved, the people she was closest to, that's good.
Yan Dan lowered her voice and whispered in the ear of the Lantern Fairy, "If you dare to frame my sister Zhixi again, I will make you wish you were dead, even in the netherworld." The Lantern Fairy's eyes were filled with fear, but she could not utter a word.
Yan Dan knew that her current appearance must resemble a vengeful ghost emerging from the flames of karma, which would surely frighten the other party. She reached out and pushed hard behind the lantern holder, then fell against the strong wind. She heard someone speaking behind her, but the sound was completely inaudible.
Facing the fierce wind, Yan Dan suddenly revealed a genuine smile. She knew that from now on, no one could occupy all her emotions, and no one could control her love and hate. For this moment, what did it matter if she had to give up everything? She was still herself.
She quickly recalled the events and resolutely recited, "I am willing to relinquish my celestial status and be free from the constraints of heavenly laws. I am willing to sacrifice my cultivation, abandon my immortal arts, and be free from the illusions of the seven lifetimes of reincarnation..." The seven lifetimes of reincarnation were set up by the celestial lords and fairies of the Heavenly Court in response to heavenly tribulations. Once she was no longer bound by her celestial status, she would not fall into the cycle of reincarnation.
Yan Dan felt the immortal power in her body gradually disappear, and unconsciously thought that none of this mattered anymore.
At least, she's still alive.
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