The fleeting moments of worldly life and a heartbeat
Xie Jinhui blinked his eyes, which were filled with confusion and apology, and raised his hand in surprise.
"Yuan'e, everyone has to go to the bathroom sometimes, may I?"
Right! No wonder I felt a little scared when I jumped up just now, like I might not be able to cover my tracks.
Great minds think alike; on this matter, we were completely in agreement.
I gave him a high five.
"Xie Jinhui, lend me some of your immortal power."
He was still confused and, bending over, asked me what I was doing.
Foolish God, why are you asking me this?
If we hadn't mentioned the need to use the restroom, it would have been fine, but the moment we did, we both stamped our feet on the spot, and I said it anxiously and impatiently.
"What can it be used for? To take off your skirt, of course."
Xie Jinhui suddenly realized what was happening, patted me on the shoulder, and transferred his immortal power to me.
We darted like rabbits towards our respective chosen patches of grass.
Then I heard him shout with relief.
"Yuan'e, you're clever."
The rustling of the grass blades seemed to applaud me.
We chose a rock under the shade of a tree and sat on it.
As I watched him insist on using the celestial wine from the gourd to cleanse my hands, my heart ached with a chilling pain.
That's water.
But Xie Jinhui said that if I don't wash my hands and eat directly, I'm afraid I'll get a stomachache.
With one hand I kneaded the frail, hungry stomach of an ordinary man, and with the other I reached for the biscuits he had hidden in his bundle.
As a result, he grabbed all my hands, and the water from the gourd gushed out and burned my fingers.
Well, aside from the water in Xie Jinhui's basin, all the water is spilled and can't be recovered; I can't bear to feel bad about it.
Xie Jinhui actually praised me just now.
Because he heard me say I was hungry, he decided to find the best restaurant in the world in the Butterfly Dream Bell and take me out for a big meal.
But I only felt an irresistible craving for the vegetarian cakes that the auntie had given me that morning.
After washing my hands, Xie Jinhui gave me the pancake and said with a smile.
"They're so easy to raise."
I took a bite, and was about to marvel at it when I suddenly remembered that Xie Jinhui was also a human being and would get hungry, so I had to give him a bite to eat.
So, I chewed on the cake, presented a burnt, yellow, crescent moon, and asked it to be my celestial dog, sharing the moon with me.
He didn't stand on ceremony and opened his mouth to spill a piece of water.
I pouted and squeezed out words through my teeth.
"This goddess is not easy to feed. If the food doesn't have this flavor, I won't touch it at all."
What's in this pancake?
Batter, water, salt, spices, chopped cabbage, and chunks of glutinous potato starch.
What else?
Xie Jinhui chewed for a while, nodded and said, "I've remembered it. It contains simplicity, sincerity, peace, kindness, and... reverence."
I kept nodding at him, "Yes, that's right, that's it."
Crunch, crunch, the cabbage bursts with juice.
As I ate, a feeling of complete satisfaction burst forth from my stomach.
No wonder people always say that food is the most important thing for people, and having enough to eat is the most important thing.
Sure enough, filling it up and making it satisfying will make you clear-headed and refreshed, and make your mouth water.
But then I wondered, why would such a precious belly cause the baby to fall out if it bounces around, cause pain if I don't wash my hands, and not be able to store the food I eat indefinitely...
This is something I, the goddess, truly cannot understand. So, I pointed to the water hyacinth and asked Xie Jinhui.
"Can ordinary people become immune to all poisons and never have stomach aches again simply by washing their hands frequently?"
Xie Jinhui shook his head, as if he only had a vague understanding of the specific situation.
However, his gaze fell on my stomach, and he pondered for a while.
"It is said that women are more prone to stomach aches than men because they have a few particularly troublesome days each month when they are more likely to experience pain."
I tilted my head and asked him, "Every month? What's bothering you?"
Xie Jinhui wanted to talk to me, but he didn't seem to dare, and instead mocked me with a hint of sarcasm.
“Yuan’e, I thought that if your grasshopper shell could become perfect, any other body could become perfect, but your understanding of the human body is far too crude.”
Your body is probably that of a…
What's wrong? What's wrong? I turned into a grasshopper to avoid you. How can I not study hard?
You changed people on a whim, didn't you? You didn't give me any time.
I retorted defiantly, "I don't have that kind of postpartum worry, do I? You've become better, so what have you done?"
"Little Confinement?" Xie Jinhui awkwardly stuck his teeth in the biscuit for a moment, making a strange sound like a teething mouse.
"I didn't have a postpartum period, but I did have a regular life."
As he spoke, he put down the pancake, took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands, looked up, and rubbed his chin.
“Yuan’e, look.”
I leaned closer and looked up at his chin, searching for his pubic hair. After a long look, all I could see was a dense, dark mustache under his skin.
"That's it? A beard that died before it was even fully grown?"
Wait a minute, Xie Jinhui usually looks much fairer than this.
Xie Jinhui's voice bounced onto my forehead and fell into my nose, smelling like cabbage.
"A mortal's beard grows a new tuft every day, and it keeps growing. If one has to groom oneself every day, life would be miserable."
"It's really not easy being an ordinary person," I said, lowering my chin and nodding in agreement.
Snap!
My forehead bumped into his lips.
Thump...
Bang bang bang bang.
I was taken aback for a moment.
"Is it true that a mortal's heart, if it bumps its head, will be injured, and will beat faster and faster, to the point that the more it wants to run away, the less it can move?"
My gaze was fixed on Xie Jinhui's mortal chest. Was he injured too?
His heart was separated by lean flesh and thin clothing.
Thump thump thump, thump thump thump, thump thump thump...
It leaped and thrashed violently toward me, as if it wanted to take revenge.
Xie Jinhui, that giant bellows, seemed to have stopped breathing for quite a while.
But I instinctively sensed that he was now like a hunter, holding his breath and waiting for the little insect that had fallen into his cage to completely lower its guard.
He will open...
Yes, behind me, two vines are slowly drawing closer.
No, it's dangerous. I, the goddess, will not let you catch me.
I acted first, grabbing the arm that was about to wrap around him and quickly moving to sit beside him, saying in a panic.
"Xie Jinhui, I'm not a pancake, don't bite me."
I admit, you've become better than me. You, you've become perfect in every way.
Xie Jinhui's other arm froze in mid-air, his voice hoarse and almost mournful.
"Yes, Yuanhe, I'm all the same now."
To endure this with this body is truly...
It's really too difficult.
"Yes, Xie Jinhui, I've heard that mortals are always greedy when they're full, so why am I..."
At that moment, Xie Jinhui gasped.
I shook his shoulder, wanting to look into his eyes, but my eyelids suddenly started to droop.
"I'm so sleepy!"
Awoo, ahhh.
"Xie Jinhui, I want to sleep."
Xie Jinhui kept a straight face, expressionless like the Holy Emperor, and patted the shoulder on my side with a cold and decisive gesture.
"Lean your head over here and sleep."
I happily lay down on his pillow, holding his arm tightly with one hand, when suddenly I felt uneasy.
"Xie Jinhui, I promised to pretend to be your husband for a day. What if I sleep until dark and don't see anything?"
Xie Jinhui's frozen hand thawed, and he raised it to shield his eyes from the few rays of afternoon sunlight streaming down from the tree canopy.
He whispered, "I'm here, you won't miss anything. Go to sleep."
The blinding light stopped dancing on my eyelids, and I immediately calmed down.
A gentle breeze dispels drowsiness, and the aroma of cabbage wafts before my dreams.
In a hazy state, I felt as if I had slipped into his arms, and a gentle wave of water touched my forehead.
Oh, dream.
Will they come?
...
It's such a pity that the goddess spent a day as a mortal, but forgot to dream a dream to make her life complete.
However, in my half-asleep state, I think I dreamt about...
night?
I suddenly opened my eyes, and the world seemed a little dizzying. Why was the tall tower tip pointing at the corner of my eye instead of standing upright in front of me?
Is this the key point?
Absolutely not!
In the far reaches of this world, people throng, the streets are filled with the fragrance of incense, the thoroughfares are bustling, and the lights cast multiple shadows.
The most terrifying thing is that the stars are already twinkling in the sky, in the streets and alleys, and even on the winding river where arched bridges stand.
I exclaimed in alarm—night after night…
He sprang up from Xie Jinhui's legs.
Suddenly, everything looked much better.
But I...
I pointed at Xie Jinhui, feeling a pang of heartache, and hurriedly stood up, only to find a crisp cracking sound under my feet.
Before he could even tilt, he was pulled back.
I took the opportunity to scan the area haphazardly.
Where did he/she bring me?
How could it be that in the deep mountains and forests, in the twilight, on the eaves of the highest floor of a temple pagoda...
Wow, you won't miss the promise of daylight?
"You, you, you, you're so unreliable! It's so dark, did you sleep with me?!"
Under the moonlight, Xie Jinhui's sinister lips twitched.
“Yuan’e, I am calm now.”
Calm down! You've stolen my daytime! What kind of calm are you?
Bullshit? Am I just swearing? Oh haha.
Xie Jinhui saw that I was so scared that I was grabbing him tightly, laughing foolishly while glaring at him. I was obviously very nervous and felt like I was sitting on pins and needles.
Indeed, deep down I wanted to pierce him onto the top of the tower and then draw a bolt of lightning.
He sent me into the night, and I gave him back the crackling, dazzling, trembling light.
He must have heard what I was thinking; the dark and white clouds in the sky hurriedly scattered and dispersed.
Xie Jinhui also returned to his true peaceful state, as if the clouds had parted and the fog had cleared.
“Yuan’e, we still have a lot of time left in this world.”
I'm just showing you tonight in advance.
This place is quiet and cool, perfect for sleeping.
A few moments later, fireworks will be set off at the bustling lantern market.
If I can't wake you up, the noise of the fireworks will surely wake you.
hehe! "
Haha, you're just as kind-hearted as I am.
I looked at him with a mixture of disbelief and skepticism, while inwardly I was screaming.
Is Moxu Chenyuan the birthplace of some high-ranking deity? I've studied the magic of using the Butterfly Dream Bell to freely enter the world and time, and it took me five thousand years to even scratch the surface.
Did Xie Jinhui learn it all on his own?
My master told me that the Butterfly Dream Bell can not only enter different locations in the same world.
You can also extract any segment of time and rearrange their chronological order.
For example, I arrive in the human world at night, wander around at dawn and dusk, and leave at noon.
Of course, such a trip has a fixed time limit, and there is no opportunity to linger.
I really don't know if Xie Jinhui's understanding of the Butterfly Dream Bell has surpassed mine, or if he has even come up with some new tricks.
As I was pondering this, I suddenly saw a cluster of fire shoot up from the ground and soar into the dark blue sky.
In the blink of an eye, it was the same height as me; looking up again, it stood proudly aloof from the heavens.
I couldn't help but exclaim!
It truly resembles the brilliance and decisiveness of a star lord returning to the endless star field.
However, it stagnated at a predetermined peak, and after a period of near-extinction and dimness, a glacier bloomed, its branches gleaming like silver trees...
Rumble, crash, crash.
Then, they dispersed.
I was suddenly moved and grabbed Xie Jinhui's hand.
"Thank you, Jinhui, lend me some of your immortal power!"
He grasped my hand in return, and a cool, ethereal power emanated from him without reservation.
Uh, I'm so full of magical power.
But before I could think of anything else, I grabbed him tightly and activated the Butterfly Dream Bell.
"Come on, Xie Jinhui, I'll show you how to play."
The various colors of light were dazzling yet gentle, and all fifty-five back doors inside the Butterfly Dream Bell were open at the same time.
I led Xie Jinhui through them one by one.
Here is a stone bridge in the human world, and there, in the eyes of passersby, is the wing of a soaring swallow.
The prow of a fishing boat, the tip of a weeping willow leaf, the roof of a vermilion building, the edge of a watchtower, under the high-flying stars...
In an instant, Xie Jinhui and I saw every angle from which we could watch the firework.
Then, we returned to the top of the tower where we started.
In the human world, this flower is just fading.
In an instant, thousands of flowers burst into bloom, and the vast fields were as bright as day.
Xie Jinhui looked up, his eyes reflecting the dazzling fireworks. He turned his head and saw me watching him, and smiled faintly.
"Goddess Yuan'e, you opened so many back doors for Die Mengling, making her stand in different positions, just to watch the whole fireworks display?"
I continued to watch the fireworks through his eyes, nodding thoughtfully.
"Hmm, do you think that even if a mortal lives a whole life, can he see every single moment of his life?"
Xie Jinhui shook his head. The moonlight above his head gently leaned down, level with my eyes.
"Yuanhe, do you also want to see the whole me?"
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