Chapter 233 Desire
"Desire?"
"The three-headed divine dragon swallowed the dragon pearl because it was overcome by desire."
...
At this moment, Yao Ji, the goddess who governs the Desire Realm, is dressed in a plain white fairy robe and holds a white jade fairy sword. Like a white light piercing the sky, she chases the three-headed dragon down to the mortal world.
Her movements were lithe and graceful, like a white phantom. Strands of white silk ribbons flew out from her sleeves, swirling and dancing in the air like a nimble white snake.
The ribbons weaved through the light, skillfully dodging the attacks and tightly binding the demonic dragon.
"Princess, now that we are in the mortal realm, why do you still press me so hard?"
Yao Ji's voice carried an undeniable authority: "Because you were overcome by lust and stole the Dragon Pearl!"
"My desires were stirred back in Heaven! They've been stirring for tens of thousands of years, I can't care about that now!"
"You are a god, so you must restrain your desires!" Yao Ji's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, her voice firm and powerful. "When your desires grow to the point of being uncontrollable, and you resort to any means to satisfy them, you will become a demon!"
"Even if I have to become a demon, I still want to satisfy my desires!"
Having said that, the three-headed dragon activated the power of the dragon pearl within its body, broke free from its restraints, and began fighting Yao Ji again.
After a fierce battle, the three-headed dragon was ultimately no match for Yao Ji and feigned surrender after his defeat. While Yao Ji was retrieving the dragon pearl, the dragon seized the opportunity to launch a sneak attack, destroying Yao Ji's spirit.
The three-headed dragon successfully escaped, while Yao Ji, who had lost her heart, lay unconscious in a tree.
At this moment, Yang Tianyou, a scholar leading a donkey, passed by under the tree and was attracted by the falling pendant, discovering Yao Ji in the tree.
Yang Tianyou managed to rescue the unconscious Yao Ji and took her to a dilapidated temple to take shelter from the rain, where they happened to encounter a demon dragon healing its wounds.
The three-headed dragon wanted to harm Yao Ji, but it lacked the strength and collapsed halfway there.
Yang Tianyou, who had just settled the donkey, was shocked to find that he had saved another life while saving one person.
She quickly stepped forward to take his pulse: "His pulse is very erratic, caused by anger. I was just taking shelter from the rain here, did you have to get so angry?"
Yang Tianyou was speechless, but he still kept an eye on him. When he saw that Yang Tianyou had woken up, he asked warmly, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"
The three-headed dragon looked at him with surprise, then smiled sinisterly at his innocent appearance: "You'll help me? Sure, then help me see if there are any candles in this temple."
Arrange the lit candles into a Bagua formation, and the three-headed dragon sits inside the candle circle to heal its wounds.
When Yang Tianyou asked if he could help save the girl after his injuries were healed, the Three-Headed Flood Dragon coldly smiled and said, "Of course."
As night deepened, the three-headed dragon, having recovered, tricked Yang Tianyou into placing Yao Ji in the circle of candles opposite him.
"Yang Tianyou, you've been tricked."
Yao Ji's soul left her body and explained the situation to Yang Tianyou. Fearing he wouldn't believe her, she instructed him to use the pendant he had seen—actually a magical artifact called "Heavenly Eye"—to examine the three-headed dragon.
Yang Tianyou was skeptical, but when he picked up the "Heavenly Eye," a ferocious dragon head appeared on the face of the three-headed dragon, which made him scream in fright.
When he tried to help Yao Ji extinguish the candle of the three-headed dragon, the three-headed dragon, which had regained half of its magic power, used its magic to protect the candle, and Yang Tianyou, being a mortal, was blocked from entering.
Seeing this, Yao Ji quickly advised Yang Tianyou to leave.
"Then what will you do?" Yang Tianyou asked, though he was terrified, he couldn't help but worry.
"Don't worry about it, you can't save me."
Yang Tianyou pinned his hopes on the Bagua Formation, but Yao Ji shook her head: "The Bagua Formation can only help me force out my soul, but it can't save my life."
"Why?"
"Because my heart is broken."
Yang Tianyou was taken aback, and then said somewhat awkwardly, "Anyway, you're a god, so don't worry about it too much."
"My heart has been shattered by this three-headed dragon."
Upon hearing this, Yang Tianyou turned around and looked at the three-headed dragon, speechless with embarrassment.
Yao Ji remained gentle: "Hurry up and leave, or it will be too late."
Yang Tianyou nodded. He was, after all, just a mortal. The battles between gods were not something he could participate in. He turned and rushed out of the dilapidated temple, but he ran back halfway.
"Why are you back again?"
"I...I want to save my donkey..."
Faced with such a reply, Yao Ji was not angry: "Then hurry up."
But Yang Tianyou seemed rooted to the spot, unable to move forward. After a moment of silence, he said with a do-or-die attitude, "I've made up my mind. I can't even easily give up the life of a donkey. Let alone a human life, no, a divine life."
Meeting Yao Ji's slightly moved gaze, Yang Tianyou glanced at the three-headed dragon and continued, "Even if you are a weak woman, I cannot stand by and watch you die. If word gets out, I, Yang Tianyou, will be unable to face anyone."
Yao Ji said with a mixture of surprise and confusion, "You might lose your life."
"Yang Tianyou can lose his life, but he cannot lose his reputation."
After Yang Tianyou finished speaking, he took out a dagger from his pocket. Yao Ji asked nervously, "What are you going to do?"
"You are a deity. If I give you my heart, you will surely be able to save your life. You won't mind, will you?"
Why would you do this?
Yang Tianyou was remarkably nonchalant: "The death of one Yang Tianyou can save a god, which is a very worthwhile deal."
After saying that, Yang Tianyou raised the dagger and was about to stab it into his chest when Yao Ji quickly stopped him: "Wait! Are you really willing to give me your heart? I can use your heart, and you won't have to die."
"Oh, you should have said so earlier."
Yang Tianyou put down the dagger and breathed a sigh of relief. Although he was willing to die for the greater good, it was better to stay alive if possible.
"We can share one heart..."
...
After sharing a heart, Yao Ji and Yang Tianyou became connected and sensed the emotion of "longing," which made Yao Ji very flustered.
"Could it be that I have been tempted? I am the goddess who rules the realm of desire, how could I be tempted?"
When Yao Ji found Yang Tianyou again, she questioned him: "Your heart is impure. Do you dare let me use my Heavenly Eye to see your heart? To see how heavy your desires are?"
"Okay, you can see for yourself."
Yang Tianyou closed his eyes in dejection. Yao Ji opened her Heavenly Eye, but only saw half of Yang Tianyou's heart, which was clean, clear and devoid of desire.
After Yang Tianyou left in disappointment, Yao Ji wiped away the tears that had fallen from her eyes, her emotions a jumble of feelings.
"These are his tears. He gave me his heart. How can I say that his heart is not pure?"
Feeling guilty, Yao Ji quickly called out to him, "Yang Tianyou!"
The two gazed at each other, a moment that felt like an eternity. But mindful of Yao Ji's status, they ultimately said nothing and walked away facing each other.
But longing ferments slowly with time, and the bond cannot be severed by the difference between gods and mortals. Sharing the same heart, their thoughts and souls gradually resonate and merge.
They reunite in the dilapidated temple where they first met, and embrace with smiles. Yao Ji has changed from her attire as a goddess of the Desire Realm to ordinary mortal clothing.
"Love is giving, desire is taking. Yang Tianyou, from now on, we will be together forever."
We became husband and wife, and our love for each other is unwavering.
Ten years passed in the blink of an eye, and Yang Tianyou and Yao Ji had three children: Yang Jiao, Yang Jian, and Yang Chan.
"Big brother, come quick!"
"Big brother, come quick—"
"They're here."
...
[I wanted to write something different in this piece. I've seen many people criticize current fantasy dramas for using the Queen Mother's line, "When immortals fall in love, the Three Realms are in turmoil." But after rewatching the prequel, my initial objection was actually to the "desire" aspect. But is love and desire not desire?
In addition, there's the Investiture of the Gods, though I haven't seen the movie version. But in the previous TV series, the reason for the downfall of the Shang Dynasty was that King Zhou had ugly desires for Nuwa and offended her statue.
Ultimately, it all seems to boil down to the word "desire." Therefore, this prequel to the Investiture of the Gods will attempt to explore this aspect. Desire has no inherent hierarchy, no inherent value, and isn't simply black and white. Thus, the stances and opinions expressed here are not absolute.
I'm still a bit confused and haven't completely figured things out yet, so please don't have too high expectations ( ′` )】
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
