Qinglian’S Heart Is Covered, Fate Meets Chapter 3
byChapter 3
Lianhua Falls to the Mortal World, Love Spans Eternity
The rain in Jiangnan had been lingering for several days and nights. The bluestone paths were slick and shining, and water droplets were falling in continuous lines 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 alley, 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 the corner of Gu Baifei’s clothes. His body had long since lost its warmth. The eyes that were usually smiling were now tightly closed, and they would never again curve in response to her gaze. Just one incense stick ago, the sudden, sharp pain that exploded in her heart tore apart her mortal memories. The misty water vapor of the Jade Pond, the ancient maxims of the Venerable Nüwa’s divine temple, and the golden imperial decree from the Hall of the High Heavens—all struck her chaotic mind like thunder. She was not the orphaned girl guarding a small teahouse in a Jiangnan alley; she was the Purple Lotus Immortal who had cultivated for ten thousand years in the Jade Pond, named Lianhua. She had entered the mortal world to undergo a trial, originally intended to sever mortal ties, ascend to godhood, and govern the ten thousand lotuses of the Jade Pond.
Her immortal essence was violently unsealing within her body. A pale purple immortal light spread out from around her, forcing the surrounding rain three feet away. Even the phoenix trees at the alley entrance shook, shedding leaves under the force of this immense divine power. Yet, this moment of divine power restoration, which would be envied by all immortals in the Three Realms, only made her feel a bone-deep chill. She lowered her head, pressing her forehead against Gu Baifei’s cheek. That familiar, gentle warmth had completely vanished, replaced by a deadly, icy stillness. She recalled the fragments of this mortal life: the first meeting in the rainy alley when he held a paper umbrella to shield her from the rain, 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 a cold night, he breathed on her frozen hands, promising her, “May we grow old together, inseparable in life and death.”
Once the floodgates of memory opened, they could never be closed again. Those moments of companionship, spanning eternal ages and covering the entire universe, now transformed into heart-gouging blades, slicing at her divine soul repeatedly. She remembered the carefree days when they were at the Great Power level, creating a small world together. She would lean over the jade desk, writing the 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 pleasure of standing side-by-side on the high-dimensional viewing platform, watching the rise and fall of civilizations. She would chew on lotus-flavored snacks and cheer for the lovers in her script, while he smiled and wiped the crumbs from the corner of her mouth. She remembered the palace of the ancient Persian kingdom, where he was the King of Kings who awed all four directions, yet he washed his hands and cooked for her in private. She remembered the palace of Byzantium, where he was the majestic Eastern Roman Emperor, yet he spent half a month negotiating with a silk merchant just to find a bolt of purple silk for her. These gentle, lively, and intimate moments now became the sharpest shackles, binding her divine soul tightly to this Jiangnan rainy alley, bound to the side of Gu Baifei’s cold corpse.
“Lianhua, the mortal trial is complete! Return quickly to the Immortal Realm, be conferred as Lotus Primordial Sovereign, and govern the ten thousand lotuses of the Jade Pond!” From the sky above, the voice of a Great Power, carrying supreme immortal might, pierced the rain curtain, shaking the phoenix leaves in the alley and making the teahouse’s wooden windows rattle. That voice was authoritative and brooked no argument—it was the summons that all immortals and gods of the Three Realms dreamed of—but to Qinglian’s ears, it was harsher than the Underworld’s soul-snatching decree.
Qinglian slowly raised her head, rain mixed with tears rolling down. She looked at the lead-gray sky, her eyes filled with world-shattering grief. Her immortal essence was still surging, the purple-gold divine light almost piercing the heavens, but her gaze was locked firmly on Gu Baifei. Her voice was hoarse, like a broken gong: “What use is governing the ten thousand lotuses of the Jade Pond? What use is being conferred as a Primordial Sovereign? Without him, the Immortal Realm is nothing more than a cold prison to me.”
She remembered that before entering the mortal world, the Great Power in the Hall of the High Heavens had asked her if she could sever her mortal ties and return wholeheartedly to her position. At that time, she believed the immortal path was paramount and nodded in agreement. But only now did she understand that, compared to the supreme divine position, what she truly wanted 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 old age.
“Lianhua, do not be so deluded! Gu Baifei was merely a wisp of obsession within the mortal trial. Now that the trial is complete, he should naturally dissipate and return to the cosmos!” The Great Power’s voice came again, carrying a hint of frustration at her failure to meet expectations. “You are the Purple Lotus of the Jade Pond, bearing the responsibility of protecting all lotuses. How can you destroy ten thousand years of cultivation for the sake of a mere mortal!”
“Obsession?” Qinglian laughed softly, her laughter 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 is he merely 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 one by one, 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 the High Heavens, 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 fragrance of tea in the teahouse, and his tenderness as he served her porridge; she remembered the promise, yet to be fulfilled, of “holding your hand and growing old together.”
“Gu Baifei, wait for me…” She used her last shred of strength, her fingertips brushing over his tightly closed eyes. Her voice was as light as smoke. “In this life, you broke the promise first. In the next life, I will be the one to find you. We will still be an ordinary couple in the Jiangnan rainy alley, guarding our small teahouse, living out our lives…”
In the space between heaven and earth, a massive purple lotus phantom flashed and vanished in the rain curtain, immediately shattering into countless specks of light that merged into the Jiangnan rain. Those 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 the High Heavens, several Great Powers looked toward the mortal world, sighing in unison with deep regret, yet no one could reverse the outcome of self-destruction and the erasure of her immortal registry.
The rain continued to fall softly, wetting the teahouse window frames, soaking the phoenix trees at the alley entrance, and drenching the body on the ground that was steadily losing temperature. The purple lotus beneath the teahouse eaves quietly bloomed under the rain’s nourishment. The water droplets on its petals looked exactly like unshed tears. It was as if this corner of the Jiangnan world was softly singing a silent elegy for this destiny that spanned the immortal and mortal realms, crossing eternal ages. And yet, the dissipated purple lotus soul had not truly perished. A wisp of extremely faint obsession, following the rain, drilled into Gu Baifei’s brow, waiting only for their reunion in the next life to continue the unfinished promise of growing old together.