Qinglian’S Heart Is Covered, Fate Meets Chapter 5
byChapter 5
The Lotus Falls to the Mortal World, Love Spans Eternity
The rain in Jiangnan had lingered for several days and nights. The bluestone paths were slick and shining, and water streamed continuously from the eaves of the small teahouse deep within the rainy alley, wetting the cluster of purple lotuses that had just begun to sprout on the steps. The damp wind carried the scent of wet earth, sweeping through the empty lane, leaving only the suppressed sobs of Qinglian and the monotonous sound of rain hitting the banana leaves.
Qinglian knelt on the cold bluestone, her fingers tightly clutching Gu Baifei’s sleeve. His body had long since lost its warmth; the eyes that usually held a smile were now tightly shut, never again to curve in response to her gaze. Just one stick of incense ago, a sudden, explosive pain in her heart had shattered her mortal memories. The misty waters of the Jade Pond, the ancient maxims of Venerable Nüwa’s divine palace, and the golden decree from the Hall of Divine Mists—all struck her chaotic mind like thunder. She was not the lonely girl guarding a small teahouse in a Jiangnan rainy alley, but Lianhua, the Purple Lotus Immortal who had cultivated for ten thousand years in the Jade Pond. She had descended to the mortal world to undergo tribulation, intending to sever her mortal ties, return to her divine position, and govern the ten thousand lotuses of the Jade Pond.
Her Immortal Essence frantically unlocked within her body. A pale purple immortal light radiated from her, forcing the surrounding raindrops back three feet. Even the parasol trees at the alley entrance shook, shedding leaves under the force of this immense divine power. Yet, this moment of divine power restoration, envied by all immortals in the Three Realms, only made her feel a bone-deep cold. She lowered her head, pressing her forehead against Gu Baifei’s cheek. That familiar, gentle warmth was completely gone, replaced by a deadly chill. She recalled the details of this mortal life: their first meeting in the rainy alley when he held a paper umbrella to shield her, the water dripping from the edge of the umbrella onto his hair, yet he smiled and asked, “Miss, do you need a place to stay?” In the teahouse, he stayed up late to warm lotus seed porridge for her, the firelight illuminating his eyes as he said, “From now on, I will protect you.” On cold nights, he breathed warmth onto her frozen hands, whispering the promise, “We will stay together until our hair turns white, bound in life and death.”
Once the floodgates of memory opened, they could not be closed. Those moments of companionship, spanning eternal ages and covering the entire cosmos, now transformed into heart-gouging blades, slicing at her divine soul repeatedly. She remembered the carefree days when they were Great Powers, creating a small world together. She would lean on the jade desk, writing a script for a dessert shop, and he would wrap his arms around her from behind, secretly adding an Easter egg: a path leading to a Beijing courtyard on the night of the full moon. She recalled the ease of watching the rise and fall of civilizations side-by-side from a high-dimensional viewing platform, where she would chew on lotus-flavored pastries and cheer for the lovers in her script, and he would gently wipe the crumbs from the corner of her mouth. She remembered the royal palace of ancient Persia, where he was the King of Kings who shook the four directions, yet in private, he would wash his hands and cook soup for her. She remembered the palace of Byzantium, where he was the majestic Eastern Roman Emperor, yet he spent half a month negotiating with silk merchants just to find a bolt of purple silk for her. Those tender, vibrant, and intimate fragments now became the sharpest shackles, firmly binding her divine soul to this Jiangnan rainy alley, bound beside Gu Baifei’s cold corpse.
“Lianhua, your mortal tribulation is complete. Return quickly to the Immortal Realm, be conferred the title of Lotus Consort, and govern the ten thousand lotuses of the Jade Pond!” From above the sky, the voice of a Great Power, carrying supreme immortal might, pierced the rain curtain, shaking the parasol leaves in the alley and causing the wooden windows of the teahouse to rattle. The voice was authoritative and brooked no argument—a summons dreamed of by all immortals and gods in the Three Realms. But to Qinglian’s ears, it was more grating than the summons of the Underworld.
Qinglian slowly raised her head, rain mixed with tears rolling down her face. She looked up at the lead-gray sky, her eyes filled with world-shattering sorrow. Her Immortal Essence continued to surge, the purple-gold divine light nearly piercing the heavens, but her gaze was fixed on Gu Baifei. Her voice was hoarse, like a broken gong: “What good is governing the ten thousand lotuses of the Jade Pond? What good is being conferred the title of Lotus Consort? Without him, the Immortal Realm is nothing more than a cold prison to me.”
She recalled that before descending to the mortal world, the Great Power in the Hall of Divine Mists had asked her if she could sever her mortal ties and wholeheartedly return to her position. At that time, she believed the path of immortality was paramount and nodded in agreement. But only now did she understand that compared to the supreme divine position, what she truly desired was that bowl of hot porridge in the rainy alley, that embrace on a cold night, and the promise Gu Baifei had made to stay together until their hair turned white.
“Lianhua, do not be so deluded! Gu Baifei was merely a wisp of obsession in your mortal tribulation. Now that the tribulation is complete, he should naturally dissipate and return to the cosmos!” The Great Power’s voice came again, tinged with disappointment and anger. “You are the Purple Lotus of the Jade Pond, bearing the responsibility of protecting the ten thousand lotuses. How can you destroy ten thousand years of cultivation for the sake of a mere mortal!”
“Obsession?” Qinglian laughed softly, the sound filled with sorrow and self-mockery. Tears mixed with rain flowed into her mouth, salty and bitter. “He is my eternal destiny. From the high-dimensional viewing platform to the star-field tavern, from interstellar exploration to being martial arts companions—we have been together for tens of thousands of years. How could he be an obsession? It is you, it is these cold immortal rules, that seek to tear us apart!”
The moment the words fell, Qinglian raised her hand and fiercely scattered the purple-gold aura surrounding her. The excruciating pain of self-destructing her Immortal Essence instantly swept through her body. Her meridians snapped inch by inch, and her divine power dissipated like a tide. Blood spilled from her lips, staining her plain dress, yet a look of relief bloomed on her face. She did not care about the divine position in the Hall of Divine Mists, the lotus registry of the Jade Pond, or the regretful sighs of the Great Powers. She only remembered the paper umbrella in the Jiangnan rainy alley, and his gentle eyes beneath it; she remembered the faint aroma of tea in the teahouse, and his tenderness when serving her porridge; she remembered the promise, yet to be fulfilled, “Holding your hand, growing old with you.”
“Gu Baifei, wait for me…” Using her last ounce of strength, she brushed her fingertips across his closed eyes, her voice as light as smoke. “In this life, you broke your promise first. In the next life, I will find you. We will still be an ordinary couple in the Jiangnan rainy alley, guarding our small teahouse, living out our lives…”
In the heavens and earth, a massive purple lotus phantom flashed and vanished in the rain curtain, then shattered into countless specks of light, merging into the Jiangnan rain. These specks of light stubbornly lingered around Gu Baifei’s corpse, as if determined to bind her divine soul completely to him. In the Hall of Divine Mists, several Great Powers looked toward the mortal world, sighing in unison with regret, yet none could reverse the outcome of self-destruction of Immortal Essence and the forgetting of the immortal registry.
The rain continued to fall, soaking the teahouse window frames, the parasol trees at the alley entrance, and the body on the ground that was gradually losing its warmth. The purple lotuses under the teahouse eaves quietly bloomed under the rain, the water droplets on their petals looking exactly like unshed tears. It was as if this corner of Jiangnan was softly singing a silent elegy for this destiny that spanned the immortal and mortal realms, crossing eternal ages. Yet, the dissipated soul of the Purple Lotus was not truly annihilated. A wisp of extremely faint obsession, following the raindrops, drilled into Gu Baifei’s brow, waiting only for their reunion in the next life to continue their unfinished promise of growing old together.