Chapter 121 First Release “That was the first time I met Chen…
"My wife." A strange color appeared on Chen Mian's cheeks. "My wife is the best wife in the world..."
"The first time I saw her was in Houchun Mountain—"
The pitch-black night outside the skylight and the lush green mountains in his memory, the two intertwined, seemed to bring Chen Mian back to the time when he first met Zhibai...
The government office, the prefect's villa.
"Because of the temple of the God of Spring, Houchun Mountain is always shrouded in fairy mist and full of spiritual energy." Zhibai's voice was light and shallow, like a dragonfly skimming the water.
Wen Yu remained silent and listened to Zhibai's story. She didn't know why Zhibai suddenly brought up the matter of Hou Chunshan at this juncture.
That was... a long time ago, wasn't it?
Although Zhibai was talking to Wenyu, her eyes were not on her. She turned her head to the closed door, not knowing what she was looking at.
"The mountains are home to numerous wild animals and spirits, and there's also a constant stream of pilgrims visiting the Wutong Ancestral Temple every day."
"Every inch of land on the mountain, every flower and leaf, even the cicadas buried underground for seventeen years, are bustling with activity."
Wen Yu nodded. This was the truth. Hou Chunshan had always been like this.
Since she gained spiritual intelligence, although she could not move around freely, she could get a glimpse of the bustle of Houchun Mountain just by looking at the grand occasion of the Wutong Ancestral Temple.
But Zhibai didn't look at her. Wenyu nodded and then replied deliberately, "Yeah."
A faint smile appeared on Zhibai's cheeks, but the arc was very shallow and disappeared in an instant.
"But the excitement belongs to them." She had nothing.
She was a flower and tree elf, and her foundation in Taoism was not solid. Even her enlightenment was later than that of other beasts in the mountains.
"When I first gained spiritual wisdom, I was only conscious, but I couldn't speak, let alone move around freely."
When Zhibai thinks back to that time, he always feels a sense of inexplicable loneliness.
It was precisely because of this emotion that her expectations of transformation were diluted a lot.
From the very beginning, when all the monsters gathered together to watch something strange, she always stretched out her branches and leaves, and even the ends of her nerves were yearning for the world she had never seen.
Later on, when someone called her, she would just lazily shake the branches twice in response.
In the end, she refused to even lift her eyelids, and even if a passing animal stepped on her roots, she would not make a sound.
Anyway, her cultivation never improves. It will take thousands or even hundreds of years for her to transform.
"Gradually, I began to regret having spiritual wisdom." Zhibai seemed to be talking about something that had nothing to do with her. Her eyelashes were half-closed, and drops of crystal jade beads hung on her trembling crow feathers. "I would rather have low spiritual power, unable to speak or transform, and become the lowest plant spirit."
"It would be better if I were not called a living being, but a dead thing."
"How could that be?" Wen Yu was really confused this time.
Zhibai's cultivation is even higher than hers. When he was practicing, he must have had a very high level of comprehension. Why would he sigh like this now?
"Don't say that." Wen Yu reached out and grabbed Zhi Bai, holding her hand in hers. "If it weren't for living beings, you wouldn't be who you are today, and you wouldn't have such a lovely child."
"The reason why you are who you are today is because of the you in the past." Wen Yu remembered what her master had said before -
God has no form, I am myself.
At that time, she didn't understand and only had a partial understanding of her master's teachings. But now, after listening to Zhibai's words, she seemed to be able to comprehend a little bit.
"Now that you have achieved Taoist cultivation and have your own appearance, if you say anything you regret now, wouldn't that be bullying the gardenia that couldn't speak and had no spiritual power?" Wen Yu's voice was as clear as before, sounding like a silver bell in the ear, untainted by worldly things.
Zhibai was stunned, as if she was struck by Wen Yu's words. She turned her head blankly, her eyes carefully depicting Wen Yu's face, and kept recalling Wen Yu's words in her ears.
"Yes, that's right." Zhibai laughed.
This "aunt" is indeed worthy of being a thousand-year-old green phoenix tree born and raised by nature.
When she met Wen Yu in the Wutong Ancestral Temple before, she was only able to sense Wen Yu's existence, and also knew from the rumors in the mountains that she was enlightened by living beings and entered the Spring Temple.
But at the time, she had always believed that Wen Yu had been born into a fortunate family, having been raised within the Wutong Ancestral Temple of the Goddess of Spring. The Wutong Ancestral Temple was filled with incense and abundant blessings, so even a small demon could significantly improve their spiritual power by simply wandering outside the courtyard walls every day.
However, goblins and monsters never dare to get too close to the temples of immortals, for fear that one day they might accidentally offend some immortal and lose all their cultivation, let alone someone like her who has no legs.
Wen Yu is different. She was born in the temple, and was nourished by incense and blessed by divine power. Over the years, it was only a matter of time for her to gain spiritual wisdom. It would be impossible for her to become ignorant.
But Wen Yu's words woke her up. With such clear thinking and pure heart, it seems that her comprehension is not bad. She may have the protection of Wutong Ancestral Temple, but how could Wen Yu not have her own wisdom?
Zhibai looked at Wenyu steadily and nodded, "Yes, just as you said."
"Wise men praise, fools compare. Someone once told me the same thing: just be yourself."
Without much thought, Wen Yu felt the answer was right there between her lips and teeth. "It's Chen Mian."
Wen Yu recalled the look on Chen Mian's face when she saw him on the long street. At that time, he was already in a desperate situation, but he insisted on protecting her and A Yuan, fearing that they would be implicated in any way. He was even willing to submit to her so that the two of them could escape.
This seems like something he would say, considering his character.
"Yeah." Zhibai's words were concise, but full of meaning.
It was just one word, but Wen Yu could hear infinite tenderness and attachment.
"That was the first time I met Chen Mian, in Houchun Mountain."
…
Government office, dungeon.
"Meet?" Song Linsheng listened to Chen Mian recounting the story between him and Zhibai.
"It was our first formal meeting," Chen Mian added. "She was wearing a plain white dress, leaning against a cluster of gardenias."
The past was like a scroll hidden behind the mist. Chen Mian waved his hand, and the scroll slowly unfolded.
The green mountains, the face like snow, the blue and white interlaced, so dazzling that Chen Mian couldn't open his eyes. Even though Chen Mian was not a superficial person, his eyes were irresistibly attracted to the woman in front of him.
"What's your name?" The woman was not shy. It was clearly the first time they met, but she asked him the question in a very familiar manner.
"Chen, Chen Mian." Chen Mian didn't know how to answer the straightforwardness. After thinking about it, he could only honestly tell his family background.
She stood up and climbed down from the gardenia tree, not even having time to push the branches and leaves out of her hair, and trotted towards Chen Mian.
Her clothes fluttered like layers of white waves.
Chen Mian was startled and quickly looked away, but as she approached, a strong fragrance of gardenia hit him and went straight into his mouth and nose, making it difficult for him to ignore and avoid it.
"Chen Mian." The woman stopped in front of Chen Mian, looked sideways at the small backpack on his back, and laughed for no apparent reason, "I'm Zhibai."
The spring mountains were quiet, the woman's voice was clear, and the two words "Zhi Bai" echoed in the mountains for a long time, and stayed in Chen Mian's heart for many years.
…
Chen Mian collected his thoughts and could no longer hold back a sigh.
"So, this is how you met Lady Zhibai." Song Linsheng didn't know what to say.
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Chen Mian remained silent for a long time, and when he spoke again, he shook his head.
"No, it's not."
…
The government office, the prefect's villa.
"In late spring, the mountain is bustling with tourists, coming and going non-stop..." Wen Yu was a little puzzled. Why must it be Chen Mian?
"He's the only one who talks to me." Zhibai smiled, his eyes and eyebrows softening, as if he was immersed in an indescribable warmth. "The same gardenia."
The mountains are lonely. No matter whether it is animals or birds, stones, flowers or trees, as long as they have intelligence, they always like to gather together to join in the fun.
Whenever someone in Houchun Mountain attained enlightenment, ascended to heaven, lost his magical powers due to love, or was seriously injured and revealed his true form, all these trivial matters could be piled up and talked about for three days and three nights.
It is common for demons to communicate with each other, but it is rare for humans to talk to demons.
What's more, it's not her who has a beautiful appearance after transformation, nor is it her who is dazzling and glittering like a blooming flower, it's just her herself.
At that time, she was tired and lazy. She had practiced for a long time, but her skills and magic power had not improved much. She could not even do the most basic thing, breaking away from the cycle of the four seasons and controlling the blooming and falling of her flowers.
She gathered all her strength and held back for the entire spring day. At the beginning of the Spring Equinox and the end of the Summer Solstice, she barely managed to open the first bud, the kind that had just sprouted.
A little bit of rich white is dotted among the clusters of green branches and leaves, but it is inconspicuous at all. If you are far away, you may not be able to see it.
She hung her head, ready to spend this boring day as usual.
"There's a cluster of gardenias here!"
Zhibai was still in a daze and had no time to react. He saw the man in simple clothes sitting down with a backpack on his back.
It is exactly as tall as the white branches.
Are you talking about her?
Zhibai was a little bit unbelievable, this was the first time someone spoke to her. However, Zhibai shook her head and only a pointed bud appeared, then she looked at the green branches and leaves around her.
She couldn't be sure that she was the "cluster" of gardenias that this person was talking about, as she clearly only had one flower.
Zhibai remembered that time when Chen Mian took off his backpack, leaned upright on her branch, and let her fragrance stain his clothes. His unrestrained look showed another kind of free and unrestrained freedom.
Only then did she feel certain that the man was talking to her.
"And then? What happened later?" Wen Yu listened attentively, afraid of missing anything. When she heard Zhibai stop, she hurriedly asked, urging her to continue.
"Maybe he was just a tourist in the mountains. He was tired and wanted to take a rest by the roadside." Zhibai recalled.
"Of course I won't talk to him." If she spoke rashly, she might scare Chen Mian to death. However, being human has its own principles, and being a demon has its own rules. Elves like them cannot casually get involved with mortals. Moreover, she couldn't speak at that time, so even if she wanted to speak, she would be powerless.
"He had rested enough, so he naturally said goodbye to me and left."
This was the first time they met.
"At first, I was a little surprised, but didn't care." Zhibai suddenly laughed, as if he had thought of something funny. "But later, I found that every time he went up the mountain, he would always come and hang out with me."
At first it was once a month, then once every half a month, and then three to five times in ten days.
At that time, every time she saw Chen Mian, she was extremely anxious and regretted that she could not speak, otherwise she would definitely ask Chen Mian on the spot what he wanted to do?
He was wandering around with a small basket on his back, and Zhibai was afraid that he would suddenly take out a sickle and chop her up to make medicine.
Zhibai only regretted that she had not practiced diligently enough, otherwise she would have definitely used her two legs to run away quickly——
If this mountain doesn't want me, there will be other places that will want me.
"And then?"
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The author has something to say: Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2023-11-09 23:57:13 and 2023-11-13 19:52:58~
Thanks to the little angels who cast mines: Zhang Chaoyu 1;
Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
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