General volador Fengcheng

Capítulo 9

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [29]: Visiting West Lake in Hangzhou in the summer is probably not a good idea. The willows on Su Causeway are scorched and dying, and the lake water is warm to the touch. Not to mention the witch, I was sweating profusely from the heat and missed the shade of that little flower shop. Mingran teased me, "You can't even stand the sun, you're like a vampire in the night." I glared at him, looked up at the scorching sun, and wondered if I should use witchcraft to make the world rain and save me from this fire and water.

I was secretly making a hand gesture, preparing to quietly carry out my plan while Mingran wasn't paying attention. Unexpectedly, a dark cloud obscured the sun before I could act, arriving so swiftly, as if it had appeared suddenly. Mingran became happy: "See, just as you wanted, it's going to rain."

What a coincidence! The witch sensed something was wrong, but someone beat her to it. Could someone really possess such magical power? I couldn't help but feel curious and wanted to find out who this master was.

After a short while, the rain poured down, causing a commotion among the tourists who scrambled for shelter like ants on a hot plate. On the Su Causeway, the crowd dispersed in a matter of moments. Mingran and I squeezed under one umbrella and hurried toward the shops, intending to wait out the rain for a while.

Just past Wangshan Bridge, a painted boat was moored on the embankment, with red lacquered railings and an antique feel. I pulled Mingran and gestured to him, "Come on, let's go on the boat to take shelter from the rain."

He hesitated for a moment: "Isn't that a bad idea? The staff aren't here, how can I just talk to myself?"

I didn't care about their rigid thinking and inflexibility; I boarded the ship and headed straight for the cabin. Mingran hesitated for a moment, then followed.

The cabin wasn't large. Inside, there was a red lacquered wooden table by the window, with a pot of tea and several cups on it. A woman in a white dress was already sitting in one of the chairs, leaning on her elbow and gazing at the scenery outside the window. The tea in front of her was still steaming faintly. It turned out that someone had gotten there before us.

The woman turned around, glanced at us, then turned back and casually said, "Looking for shelter from the rain? Have a seat."

Her face was exceptionally beautiful, yet her expression was aloof. Only her eyes seemed to possess the ability to see through everything, concealing wisdom and shrewdness. Just one glance was enough to astonish me; this woman was no ordinary person.

"Peach blossoms and willows vie for spring's glory, a touch of mist on the water reflects the beauty of the shore. Painted boats moor their oars to admire the emerald sleeves, horses rein in their horses on the long dike amidst the clear mist. I once inquired about the West Lake's waves on Flower Festival, and now I climb the Jinwu Peak again on Grain Rain. Gazing out from the towers, I see ten thousand mountains vying for attention before my wine cup." After reciting the poem, she sighed, "It's a pity that West Lake, once the epitome of beauty, is now old and faded, unable to withstand close scrutiny."

Mingran and I were sitting opposite her, listening to her mutter to herself. We couldn't help but exchange a glance and burst out laughing.

“Perhaps we’ve come at the wrong time. At dawn in spring, the willows around the Six Bridges are shrouded in mist, the lake is covered in a thin veil of fog, the peach blossoms and willows along the embankment are green, and birds are singing – the scenery is truly enchanting. It would be a completely different scene,” Mingran argued.

The woman continued to gaze at West Lake in the rain, and said calmly, "Can faded landscapes be considered treasures? Besides, those tourists are only looking at West Lake with the same mindset as watching monkeys in a zoo."

"So, you're going to let a rain shower scatter all those tourists?" I asked, watching her reaction with a smile.

The woman finally looked us over properly, scrutinizing me for a moment before a smile appeared on her lips: "So you're not an ordinary person after all. I was caught off guard by your insightful observation."

With her slender white hands, she picked up the teapot on the table, poured two cups of tea, and handed them to us.

Ignoring Mingran's surprised expression, I picked up the tea, smelled the fragrance of the tea leaves, and slowly sipped it. In that instant, a thought flashed through my mind.

"I'm He Xiaoluo. What's your name? Miss Bai or..." I asked tentatively.

The woman smiled gently: "You even know my background? It seems all these years of cultivation have been in vain. I've almost forgotten my own name. Just call me Susu."

Bai Suzhen, the woman in the folk tale who could summon wind and rain, cultivated for a thousand years, suffered injustice and persecution, and was even imprisoned under Leifeng Pagoda and pitied by the world, now sits quietly in a painted boat on West Lake, chatting with me about everyday life.

"Your story is widely circulated, whether in novels, movies, or operas, you are always portrayed as a pitiful victim. There is also your sister Xiaoqing, for whom someone has written a book."

Su Su couldn't help but laugh out loud; it was genuine joy, and she couldn't hide her smugness in her eyes and brows.

"Xiao Luo, do you know that it was just a game, for your own amusement and that of others?"

Mingran and I exchanged bewildered glances. We'd heard the story of the White Snake hundreds of times. To repay Xu Xian for saving her life, the White Snake transformed into a human and became his wife. But the monk Fahai couldn't stand it and insisted on interfering, forcibly separating the couple. Susu said it was just a game. What did she really mean?

Mingran asked curiously, "Could you explain it more clearly?"

Su Su asked me, "In your opinion, what kind of person is Xu Xian?"

I pondered for a moment and replied, "He is nothing more than a weak man who has no ambition, no ability, is indecisive, and cannot stand alone when things come to a head."

"You would fall in love with a man like this?"

I chuckled to myself: "How could that be? It's almost entirely useless."

“You’re right. I’ve cultivated for a thousand years, how could I not know? How could I let myself fall into this trap?” Su Su’s face showed a sly smile.

The chance encounter at West Lake, the sudden rain, the borrowing and returning of umbrellas—everything was arranged by Su Su's ingenious hand. I had always been skeptical when I first heard the story: how could such a clever and beautiful woman fall in love with Xu Xian? It turns out my suspicions were correct; there are other twists and turns in the story.

Su Su reached out the window and collected some rainwater, sighing, "Xu Xian once saved me, so I must repay his kindness. It's Heaven's arrangement, and I can't go against it. But life in the human world is not easy, and it's very different from what I initially imagined. My life with Xu Xian is not pleasant. He's just as you said, utterly useless. After the pharmacy opened, I was busy treating patients every day, so tired that I didn't even have time to drink water or rest, while he idled away his time. How can I endure living with such a person for decades? Over time, I gradually began to want to quit."

"Xu Xian is like a leech, constantly attaching himself to me and sucking everything he needs. He gradually stopped loving me, but he was afraid that losing me would be like losing his bread and butter, so he clung to me tightly. As for the arrangement of Heaven, I cannot openly defy it, otherwise my fate will be dire. I must find someone to help me and borrow his strength to help me get out of my current predicament."

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [30]: She winked at me playfully: "You can probably guess who that person is."

Mingran and I both paled and exclaimed at the same time, "It's Fahai!"

Fahai, who is always portrayed as a villain in the story, a bad guy who ruins a good marriage, turns out to be nothing more than a pawn in Su Su's scheme.

“Fahai of Jinshan Temple was the best choice. How could he have happened to meet Xu Xian? It was all pre-arranged. I had someone else tip him off and ask him to come down and exorcise the demon. I didn’t have to drink the realgar wine on the Dragon Boat Festival, but I did it on purpose, hoping Xu Xian would see my true face and abandon me. But Xu Xian was too timid and couldn’t take the fright, so he died. With a death, I was afraid of divine retribution, so I still went to steal the immortal herb. Xu Xian has dragged me down too much.” Su Su frowned and sighed.

Mingran was dumbfounded and could hardly speak. Everyone underestimated Bai Suzhen, thinking that she was humiliated and powerless to resist the arrangement of fate. Who would have thought that this woman was unwilling to accept it and had secretly arranged everything for herself.

"Was being imprisoned in Leifeng Pagoda also just an act?"

Su Su smiled at me: "What do you think?" In the past, the magical battle at Jinshan Temple was so fierce it almost darkened the sky. In the story, the White Snake was finally defeated and imprisoned under Leifeng Pagoda, forcing Xu Xian to become a monk. But all of this was beyond Bai Suzhen's calculations; her ultimate goal was simply to get rid of Xu Xian. In the end, she achieved her goal, becoming a victim pitied by everyone, successfully escaping Xu Xian and able to continue her cultivation. Even Heaven was deceived by her, and she arranged for Xu Shilin to eventually rescue her from Leifeng Pagoda.

What a perfect plan! I couldn't help but admire it: "What about Xiaoqing? What role does she play in this game?"

"She is my alter ego, used to test Xu Xian's loyalty to me. Xiaoqing and Bai Suzhen were originally one. It's just that people embellished the story and treated Xiaoqing as part of the narrative," Su Su explained to me calmly.

The West Lake outside the window is shrouded in misty rain. The truth of that beautiful legend, revealed by her, is surprisingly unexpected, leaving one in awe.

"In all these years, no one has seen through it?" Su Su was both proud and regretful. This perfect plan had no one to appreciate it, like wearing fine clothes in the dark.

Mingran suddenly said, "Because people prefer beauty, they would rather believe the legend is true than uncover the truth, even if that beauty is so fragile that it cannot withstand scrutiny, even if the story itself is not true. Life already has enough setbacks and sorrows, it is not easy to leave a pure land for the spirit to yearn for beauty."

“So let the legend remain a legend, and what I just said is nothing more than a passing breeze,” Su Su immediately understood and replied.

The drizzle gradually subsided, leaving ripples on the lake. We heard voices outside the pleasure boat. Mingran and I turned around and saw a staff member enter the cabin, saying with displeasure, "What's going on? What are you two doing in there?"

Two? I quickly looked at Susu, only to find that her seat was empty, the teacup on the table was still warm, but Susu had disappeared.

When he stepped out of the cabin, the rain had stopped. The rain came on strangely and stopped quickly. Mingran looked bewildered and muttered to himself, "It feels like a dream. Bai Suzhen was just having tea with me?"

The air after the rain was fresh, and a gentle breeze was blowing, which was very pleasant. Suddenly, Mingran tugged at my sleeve and asked, "Tell me, was what happened just now real or fake?"

"What's the difference between true and false? I believe what you want to believe."

“Then I’d rather believe the legend, since no one would believe it anyway.” Mingran finally smiled frankly.

The West Lake after the rain is fresh and beautiful. The water sparkles brightly in the sunshine, and the mountains are shrouded in mist, making the rain even more enchanting. Perhaps only in a place like West Lake could such a beautiful legend exist. If that's the case, why bother to destroy it? The witch thought silently to herself.

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [31]: I followed the crowd in a daze, walked along the long, gloomy road, and came to a stone bridge. On the bridge was an old woman with a wrinkled face and a wooden bucket beside her. With her right hand, she deftly scooped a ladle of water from the bucket and poured it into a blue and white porcelain bowl in her left hand, one bowl for each person.

"Next." The old woman handed me the bowl, looking somewhat tired. I looked down; in the blue-and-white porcelain bowl, the water was clear and rippling, reflecting my face.

In that instant, she suddenly thought of Mingran, of his familiar smiling face, and her heart ached. Her hand instinctively pushed him away. "No, I won't drink."

Some water spilled from the bowl onto the ground. The old woman's expression flashed with surprise, and she squinted at me with her old eyes. I could clearly see the sternness and suspicion in her eyes.

"Not drinking? You have no choice." The old woman gestured with her chin, indicating to the ghost guards behind me. Two ghost guards came over and grabbed my arms. I struggled desperately, kicking my legs wildly. The old woman, holding the porcelain bowl, smiled coldly and approached me. I was terrified, tears streaming down my face, but I couldn't break free from the ghost guards' grasp.

"No!" I cried out, waking from the nightmare to find myself drenched in a cold sweat, the blankets kicked to the floor. This was my third nightmare this week. Ever since I decided to use witchcraft to restore myself to normal, I've been having these recurring nightmares. Sometimes I dream of being trapped in a small, claustrophobic box, unable to move; other times I dream of hideous ghosts leading me into endless darkness...

I struggle between eternal life and reincarnation. I used to think that immortality was like bland, tasteless water, but when I was really asked to give it up, facing old age and death, I still hesitated. I was afraid of dying, afraid of forgetting everything in this life in the next life, and afraid of not having the chance to meet Mingran again.

Mingran never mentioned to me that I should give up eternal life, but he insisted on his opinion and wouldn't discuss the issue of immortality with me. He said that life is just like that, a cycle that repeats itself again and again, and experiencing life is also a kind of happiness.

I couldn't sleep anymore, so I got up and went to the flower shop in the outer room. In the darkness, I sat alone among the flowers, lost in thought. The sweet fragrance of roses and the delicate scent of lilies blended together, filling the room with their aroma, but it couldn't dispel the troubles in my heart.

"Who's there?" I keenly sensed the shadows among the rose bushes and got up to turn on the light.

The flower shop suddenly lit up, and a man with a somewhat embarrassed expression stood up. He was wearing a white shirt and black pants, was very tall, and looked to be in his thirties.

I looked him up and down and asked, "Why are you sneaking around in my flower shop?"

The man walked apologetically into the light: "I'm sorry, someone was trying to arrest me. I had no choice but to hide here in a panic. Please forgive me."

There was no shadow behind him under the light. I sighed inwardly, recalling the car accident that happened not far from the flower shop that afternoon. I only heard the screech of brakes and the sound of heavy objects hitting each other, and the crowd of onlookers saying that someone had been killed. The witch was indifferent; such things happened every day in this city, and it was commonplace.

"So you were the victim of the car accident this afternoon." I suddenly realized.

To everyone's surprise, the man became agitated: "Die? I still have so many things to do, how can I die so easily?"

It's rare to see a dead person so agitated. I became curious: "What else haven't you done?"

"I haven't paid off the mortgage yet. I promised to take my wife on a trip to Tibet, but it's been four years. My daughter wants to go to the aquarium to see sharks and has been talking about it to me for months. I haven't taken my father to the hospital yet. I promised to go home to see my mother this week..." He went on and on about his unfulfilled wishes.

"But why didn't you do it before?"

He paused for a moment, then said, "I... I have to work. For a man, isn't his career the most important thing?"

"No, no, you thought you had plenty of time, that you'd always have time to accomplish those things, but who knew that an unexpected car accident would leave you with absolutely no chance to make it up to your family?" The words hit the nail on the head, leaving him speechless.

We usually plan our lives and strive towards our goals. At 30, I'll achieve this; at 40, I'll achieve that... But life is full of surprises; no one knows what will happen next. We tell ourselves that these things can be ignored for now, those things can be put aside, because life is long, and there will always be opportunities to make up for them. But sometimes, fate doesn't give you that chance; not everyone can die smiling in their twilight years.

The man's expression was somewhat sorrowful, yet also showed a hint of sudden realization: "Yes, you're right, it's all too late, isn't it? I never imagined I would leave so quickly."

"If everyone could anticipate their own death, then there would be no regrets in the world." As a woman's voice rang out, a woman in a white dress appeared in the flower shop. She had long hair, a beautiful face, and a mocking smile on her lips.

The man, pale with fear, backed away from me, saying, "No, I won't go with you."

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [32]: "You have no choice. That is everyone's inevitable final destination. Since you are dead, you can only come with me. You can never escape the arrangement of fate." The woman looked at him with a smile.

"I'm willing to pay any price just to live."

A thin silver chain flew in like lightning, encircling the man's body. With a gentle tug of her wrist, the woman pulled the man away.

She curled her lip, her eyes full of smugness: "Trying to bargain? There's no soul that Bai Wuchang can't control."

White Impermanence? This delicate woman is the legendary, awe-inspiring White Impermanence? I could hardly believe my eyes and ears. In the hundreds of years of the witch's life, because she had abandoned death, she had never had any dealings with White Impermanence.

Just as I was surprised, a black cloak flashed, and Lanxi's figure appeared. His long scythe gleamed coldly under the light, and my little flower shop suddenly became lively. In just a moment, Bai Wuchang and the Grim Reaper appeared in my little shop at the same time. I was dumbfounded and almost stunned.