Chapter 122: First Release “Once fear arises, terror can arise…
"After a long delay, he finally told me seriously that he loved gardenias the most and wanted to ask me for half a branch so he could transplant it in his yard."
"Branches? How can I give them to you?" Wen Yu was shocked. At that time, Zhibai had already come to life. If she lost the branches, even if it didn't die due to lack of water, it would still have an impact on her cultivation, right?
Unexpectedly, Zhibai shook his head and denied Wenyu's guess.
"My regenerative abilities are incredibly strong. It's just a branch. Even if it breaks off, I can still grow it back. It won't be a problem for me."
This was a common occurrence. In the late spring, there were countless rare treasures in the mountains, and even more rare flowers and trees. The people of Jiangyang Prefecture went up the mountain to pick herbs, either for their own use or to exchange for money. She was no longer surprised by this.
"But he asked me specifically, you know? He was asking a gardenia that couldn't answer."
Most people in the world believe that they are the creator of this world, independent of the five elements and ruling over the six realms.
They invented arrows and traps, controlling the life and death of birds and beasts; they made fishing boats and fishing nets, plundering supplies from rivers, lakes and seas.
Even the tigers hiding in the deep mountains can be made into cushions for their warm beds, and the whales swimming in the deep sea cannot escape the fate of being served on the table.
What's more, she is just a small gardenia?
So, when Chen Mian asked this question, Zhibai was stunned for a long time.
This mortal carrying a backpack seemed different from the one she had in mind.
"Then did you agree? Give him half a branch?" Wen Yu tilted her head, and the little baby in the cradle had his eyes wide open, as if listening to the story attentively.
"It doesn't matter whether I agree or not. I'm a gardenia at that time. I won't grow legs and run away."
If Chen Mian really wanted to break off half of her flower branch, she would be helpless.
"But he said, forget it, all things have spirits, and all living things are easy to save. How can he break my hands and feet based on his own selfish desires?"
He was talking about hands and feet.
Misty eyes gradually rose in Zhibai's eyes, and among the swaying waves, it seemed that a small boat was about to float to the surface.
She didn't even shed tears due to the pain of childbirth, but Wen Yu felt sorry for her when she saw this. She seemed to know how much Zhibai cared about Chen Mian's breasts.
"He also said that he would come to the mountains to see me often."
People always want to own the things they like, and then keep them privately to admire them every day.
As for the others, I wish they wouldn’t be able to see even a little bit.
"But Chen Mian said let the flowers bloom, let the birds be free, let the mountains be mountains, let the water be water."
He would rather travel frequently between Jiangyang Prefecture and Houchun Mountain, not afraid of the hardship of climbing and the long journey, than break her branches.
"That was the first time I had the urge to practice diligently."
She no longer felt that the spring mountains were empty and desolate, nor did she find the sun boring. She didn't want to continue being a gardenia that was speechless, invisible and without shape.
——She wants to practice the Dharma and cultivate the Tao.
——To take human form.
——Walk in front of Chen Mian.
Wen Yu bit her lower lip, feeling that she should say something, but she was a little unsure.
"But, diligently practicing and ascending to heaven soon..." Wen Yu pondered, but couldn't figure it out. "Isn't that just common sense?"
When she was training with her master in the Spring Temple, she had heard Chi Huang say that all the demons and monsters in the world wanted to ascend to the immortal realm through the righteous path. Eternal life and bliss were minor pursuits; they sought to escape the cycle of reincarnation and avoid the suffering of the afterlife.
Ordinary little tree demons and flower demons like her and Zhibai, if they cannot achieve immortality and ascend to heaven, can only live for a few hundred years at most, and eventually die of old age.
Not to mention entering the cycle of reincarnation. If you are not careful, you may end up as an animal. You may die and be reborn a thousand times, but you will still have to suffer from ignorance and it will be very difficult to escape.
Zhi Bai... actually came up with the idea of practicing for a mortal, but knowing that emotional knots are easy to resolve but emotional tribulations are hard to get rid of, this path is probably further away from ascension.
Zhibai was not annoyed after hearing this. She raised her hand and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, staring at Wenyu very gently.
This pair of almond-shaped eyes is like a quiet lake, without a ripple or a sound of wind.
Wenyu is still young and hasn't been exposed to worldly things. She probably doesn't understand what he's thinking. Zhibai shook his head slightly and asked, "Then why does Wenyu want to practice Taoism?"
Wen Yu was stunned. She didn't expect Zhibai to ask this question.
"I……"
She received incense offerings and was enlightened by the God of Spring. After just a few days of watching the excitement at the Wutong Ancestral Temple, she, who had never practiced cultivation before, was able to speak with the help of her master and gained a beautiful appearance. She then followed her master into the Temple of the God of Spring...
Now that I think about it, why did she want to practice Taoism?
She just thought that practicing Buddhism was something she should do, but she had not thought carefully about why she was doing it.
At first, she wanted to be more beautiful than the Goddess of Spring, but now that she already has a good appearance, why does she continue to practice?
Wen Yu was speechless, but managed to argue, "Practicing Taoism is practicing Taoism. There's no reason for it. Ignoring the reason, the correct answer is to practice wholeheartedly."
Don’t be greedy for the mundane world and ruin your own spiritual heart.
Zhibai was neither anxious nor slow, and did not compete with Wenyu. "Everyone has his own destiny. As long as you practice hard and get what you want, it won't be in vain."
Those who want to ascend can do so. She just wants a look.
"What I want..." Wen Yu murmured.
"Well, myself." Zhibai remembered what Chen Mian once said, "Love yourself first, then love others."
"People love the purity of the lotus and the elegance of bamboo and cypress, but detest the strong fragrance of the gardenia, which is really vulgar."
She used to be bound by such shackles and never dared to bloom to her full potential, for fear that passers-by would sigh: Wow, what a suffocating fragrance!
It was Chen Mian who told her that most people only knew how to pretend to be cultured and follow the crowd. They always praise what is popular today and what is popular tomorrow, but they never take a close look at the true appearance of trees, flowers and plants, or their habits and hobbies.
Whether you are a person or a flower, you only need to remember one thing, that is - just be yourself.
A smile appeared on Zhibai's face. She no longer worried about other people's judgments. "But I won't do what they want. I want to bloom and live a passionate life."
Wen Yu chewed on the word "self" over and over again, and she seemed to understand it a little bit.
"This is all... all taught to you by Chen Mian?" Wen Yu asked.
"Yes, Mianlang really taught me a lot." Zhibai's expression softened, as if she only had such a look when she mentioned Chen Mian.
Wen Yu gradually began to understand what Chen Mian meant to Zhi Bai.
It was he who inspired Zhibai's determination to practice Taoism and taught her many principles, enabling her to stand in the world and learn how to be a good person.
She is no longer an ordinary little flower fairy.
Wen Yu recalled the first time she met Zhibai. Zhibai's temperament was reserved and gentle, unlike the ordinary little demons who always looked wild and unruly. She spoke and acted just like an ordinary person, so much so that Wen Yu couldn't even believe that Zhibai was a demon.
The baby's intermittent crying drifted into Wen Yu's ears, disturbing her thoughts.
Wen Yu raised her hand to pull the swaddling clothes closer. When she touched the baby's skin, something in her heart suddenly softened.
Since Zhibai is willing to have children with Chen Mian and stay together, what does it matter if he doesn't pursue enlightenment and ascension?
Just as Zhibai said, everyone has his own fate. Zhibai seeks love, so he practices diligently to transform into a human form, while she seeks the right path, so she naturally accumulates merits to ascend.
Wen Yu suddenly had this idea.
However, when it comes to the two of them staying together, Wen Yu can't help but have another worry.
"But the life of a mortal is like a mayfly, born in the morning and dying in the evening. It is so short." Wen Yu looked at the little child in her arms and felt infinite pity. "Perhaps, when this child's temples are gray, you will still have long black hair and the same beautiful face."
And how many people in this world can truly accept watching their loved ones pass away and their friends no longer around?
If the demon cannot enter the heavenly way, it will not be able to escape love, hate, anger, and ignorance, and it will not be able to escape separation from life and death.
Wen Yu sighed and became a little hesitant again.
"Yes, but that's for the future," Zhibai said with a firm look, "I only live in the present."
Wen Yu hesitated, rehearsing her words several times in her mind before speaking. "Now, now you and Chen Mian are still young, but in the future, Chen Mian will no longer be young, his skin will be wrinkled and his hair will be gray..."
"You...can you really love him as much as before?"
"In other words, if your beauty remains forever, will Chen Mian really not feel fear?"
It won't be noticed now, and they are naturally affectionate, but if one day Zhibai really encounters a situation where he loses his magical power, at best his illusion will no longer exist, and at worst he will be reduced to his original form.
If that happens, won’t Chen Mian really become frightened by the supernatural theories?
Once fear arises, terror will follow.
I'm afraid that no matter how much we swear, we can't save Zhibai's love...
"Wenyu, you forgot that I am a demon, so I can naturally change my appearance. As long as I grow old with Mianlang, there will be no flaws."
Wen Yu wanted to say something to remind Zhibai, but when she saw that Zhibai's mind and eyes were full of Chen Mian, she fell silent involuntarily.
Chen Mian is a very good person.
This is an irrefutable fact in Wen Yu's heart. She is just more worried about Zhi Bai, fearing that she will suffer from the torture of love in the future and be unable to extricate herself.
Zhibai paused, as if she had thought of something. She stood up, grabbed Wenyu's sleeve, and solemnly instructed, "However, Mianlang... he really doesn't know that I am the Gardenia Demon."
"Wenyu, please keep it a secret for me..."
Wen Yu lowered her eyes and her gaze fell on Zhibai's white and thin hands. The hands were pinching the corner of Wen Yu's clothes, but she could not feel any strength at all.
Wen Yu's heart moved——
Zhibai's spiritual power did not recover with childbirth.
Previously, she only knew that some monsters and elves would temporarily lose their magic power when they were pregnant, but they would recover 50% to 60% when the baby was born. Then, through slow cultivation and nurturing, it would not be a problem to recover 100%.
But Zhibai...
Wen Yu sighed inwardly and could only helplessly answer: "I..."
Government office, dungeon.
"I knew Zhibai was a demon..." Chen Mian lowered his eyes and concealed the expression in his eyes.
For a moment, everything in the dim dungeon was silent except for the flickering candlelight.
The light was silent, but Chen Mian's heart was beating like a drum.
I wonder if his rash words would shock Lord Song, and whether Lord Song would understand his thoughts?
He was gambling on Lord Song's kindness.
It's not that Chen Mian is arrogant, but since Lord Song has said that he must save him, then Lord Song will surely not stand idly by and watch his affairs.
He kept this secret deep in his heart for many years and never showed it to anyone in public.
Now that I say this, I really want to seek peace for my wife and children.
He knew his own body very well. If he could not always be by his wife's side in the future, it would be difficult for them and their son to survive in this world.
Thinking of this, Chen struggled to sit up and kept his eyes level with Lord Song.
He didn't know what Lord Song would think after hearing what he had just said, but he had to make his position clear -
"But Zhibai is a demon, and she is also my wife."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
