Volume 4: Immeasurable
Silly Look.
How does that old saying go again?
How bold the person is, is how much the land will produce.1
You Yan was just that kind of guts-so-big-they-wrap-around-the-sky2 person. Following right behind her, she ate when it was time to eat and slept when it was time to sleep, never suffering the slightest grievance even while in the “enemy’s” den.
The Yi Bird had specifically opened the Snake Mountain barrier for You Yan. With the barrier wide open, the spiritual power3 all around fluctuated so wildly that even a little demon with the most meager cultivation could see it crystal clear. The whole scene was basically the equivalent of plastering the words “Please Leave” across the sky, yet You Yan remained completely unmoved.
She insisted on staying. Every day, she would bring her little alpaca demon and wander the mountains in a leisurely and carefree manner—killing chickens, catching fish, hunting rabbits, and picking fruit all over the mountainside. Along the way, she even managed to familiarize herself with Snake Mountain’s various paths.
And every night, You Yan would take Yi Qiu to the summit to soak all night in the Spirit Pool, nursing the injuries that riddled her body.
In her entire life, Yi Qiu had never met anyone like You Yan. She was clearly a guest in someone else’s home, but she didn’t act like an outsider in the slightest.
If Yi Qiu hadn’t known You Yan’s home was in the Demon Realm, she might have mistaken her for the Goddess of Snake Mountain—a Qinyuan4 named You Yan, not an Yi Bird named Yu Su.
“Aren’t we being a little too arrogant?” Yi Qiu’s mental fortitude was no match for You Yan’s, and her guilty conscience made her feel like a thief with a weak heart5. “What if the Yi Bird comes over here one night…”
“We’ve been here for over ten days. Have you seen her come here at night?” You Yan countered unhurriedly.
That was true. They had been here for at least ten days, and the Snake Mountain barrier had already closed again. The Yi Bird probably thought You Yan had left long ago.
Over those ten days, You Yan came to the pool every night to heal. She’d occasionally spot the Yi Bird from a distance, but they never once came face-to-face.
It seemed that Yi Bird wouldn’t come here casually, except on the night of a full moon.
“Why doesn’t she come?” Yi Qiu was truly baffled.
“Who knows,” You Yan said nonchalantly. “Maybe she has somewhere fun to be at night.”
Yi Qiu seriously suspected You Yan was driving a car6, but she had no evidence.
In any case, You Yan was living quite comfortably, taking each day as it came. If anyone asked her what her plans were, her answer was always the same: “I’m an injured person. What other plans could I have besides healing?”
That bird woman truly wasn’t anxious at all.
And for many things, if You Yan wasn’t worried, it was useless for Yi Qiu to be worried either.
Sharpening the axe doesn’t delay the work of chopping firewood7, she thought. I really should wait for You Yan to recover more of her strength before thinking about anything else.
Speaking of which, the Spirit Pool was ice-cold. You Yan always worried that Yi Qiu would freeze while she was healing, so as soon as her body had recovered a little, she transferred8 some spiritual power to her. That way, even if Yi Qiu slept by the pool all night, she wouldn’t easily catch a cold.
Though it pained Yi Qiu’s heart, she was completely powerless to change You Yan’s mind.
Fortunately, this place was perfectly suited for You Yan’s recovery.
The worst injury You Yan had sustained after coming to the mortal realm was her encounter with the Huodou in Wuzhou, where she’d nearly lost her life.
Since then, every time she’d grown weak, it was only because she had overexerted her spiritual power before her old wounds had fully healed.
As for the injuries she received in the Floating Dream Pearl’s illusory realm, those were all wounds to her soul9—damage done internally, not externally.
The Snake Mountain Spirit Pool, combined with the Five-Colored Thousand-Petal Lotus, was the perfect remedy for all her ailments. Not only did it accelerate her healing and the recovery of her spiritual power, but it also suppressed and slowly cured the remnant poison of heavenly fire10 within her body.
Yi Qiu could feel You Yan getting better day by day. Healing here was countless times faster than it had been in the mortal realm.
The Yi Bird had remained injured for so long simply because the Huodou had damaged her heart-meridian11 back then, and she was utterly unwilling to consume the Five-Colored Thousand-Petal Lotus. In the end, she possessed this treasure-filled land. If her injuries had been a little lighter, or if she’d been willing to take the lotus, she would have been cured long ago.
Feelings really do mess things up.
Whether it was in the novel’s world-line12, which was full of slots for complaining13, or this current, greatly altered one, all these main characters, supporting characters, demon beasts, and fierce beasts were tightly bound by the single word “feeling.”
But there was one curious thing: these ridiculously powerful Immortals, Demons, Gods, and Devils didn’t seem very interested in the opposite sex.
Fuzhu and Huodou were both saved by Xun Chi, but instead of falling for the male High God right beside them, they insisted on loving each other to death, knowing full well that water and fire are incompatible.14
The Yi Bird had lived in the Jade Sea for several hundred years. Instead of falling for the Golden Crow from the original text who was supposed to make her love him to death, she fell for the captain of that “Birdie Rescue Team,” the Wood God.
This world really was blooming with lily flowers15 everywhere.
I wonder what that bird woman You Yan thinks about all this…
At that thought, Yi Qiu couldn’t help but glance at You Yan, who was resting in the pool with her eyes closed.
The next second, she shook her head forcefully, as if trying to fling all the messy thoughts from her mind.
You Yan, that bird woman, could also be bound by the word “feeling.”
On the surface, You Yan was cold and emotionless, but once you truly got to know her, you’d discover she was someone who valued feelings deeply; it was just that she had no one in her life to evoke such emotions.
During her five hundred years on Kunlun Mountain, she never forgot the Wood God’s kindness and couldn’t let go of her love for her father. Outside the dream, though she wouldn’t admit it, she’d still mouth-is-yes-heart-is-no16 help Jiang Yuyao and Luo Mingyuan. That should be friendship.
And then there was the fact that she would do so many things for her pet alpaca that she never would have done before. That should be… pet affection?
No, no, no, that should be friendship, too…
Yi Qiu once again found herself staring at You Yan’s back.
She remembered. You Yan had said in the dream that they were friends—very, very good friends. Their relationship wasn’t one of master and pet.
Even though You Yan proposed to me in the dream, that was probably just a joke made out of youthful ignorance, right?
Actually, being friends is good enough.
A cloud and mud—if they can touch, it must be a gift from the heavens.
Someone as powerful as You Yan deserves to be with the most outstanding person in the world… A little demon like me shouldn’t think about such unrealistic things.
There were many kinds of light in this world. Starlight was brilliant, moonlight was pure, sunlight was scorching, and lamplight was warm while neon was colorful.
If an alpaca really were a ray of light, it would probably be nothing more than a mountain firefly. Insignificant.
Ugh…
Yi Qiu suddenly raised her left hand and slapped her forehead a few times.
What am I thinking? What am I thinking? What on earth am I thinking!
Heavens, just how idle does an alpaca have to be to think about so much strange stuff? Why am I getting tangled up in questions about light and feelings? Don’t tell me I’m hoping You Yan will fall in love with me? What kind of international joke is that!
Yi Qiu, you need to sober up! Let’s not even mention that it’s impossible for the bird woman to have those kinds of thoughts about an alpaca like you. Even if she did, you, you… would you even say yes? You’re a girl, too! Yi Qiu silently spit in a slot17 in her heart.
But a thought couldn’t help but surface in her mind.
“What’s wrong with being a girl? If Fuzhu and Huodou can, why can’t You Yan and I?”
The thought startled her. She quickly lay down on the ground, shut her eyes, and started humming “Catching Loaches” to distract herself, forcing her body to get sleepy.
The listless tune drifted through the cold, eye-level mist to the ears of the person in the pool.
After two verses, the song changed to “counting sheep.” Her voice was soft and muffled, small and weak, as if muttering so quietly would keep anyone from hearing.
——Silly look.18
A small smile touched You Yan’s lips.
A gentle spiritual light followed the mist over the pool, quietly arriving beside the little girl who was having trouble sleeping.
Before long, Yi Qiu’s sheep-counting grew faint and indistinct. Soon, there was no sound at all, only the soft, even rhythm of her breathing.
As the days went by, You Yan’s injuries recovered more and more, and she and Yi Qiu began to expand their range of activity.
Funnily enough, during their days of “thieving” on Snake Mountain, Yi Qiu found herself thanking Little Bird Coo Coo Fly in her heart every day.
The Yi Bird was skilled at concealing her spiritual aura19, but not at sensing the auras of others—a character trait bestowed by Little Bird Coo Coo Fly.
If not for that detail, even You Yan would have had a hard time hiding here for so long.
But speaking of which, You Yan truly was both bold and meticulous. One afternoon, in her search for Chao Yun, she silently followed the Yi Bird for a long time, using the opportunity to find the bird’s true “nest.”
That day, Yi Qiu had been afraid she’d hold her back, so she didn’t go. Everything she knew was from what You Yan told her upon her return.
Whether they were gods or demons, as long as they took human form, they all seemed to enjoy building human-style architecture on their territory and then living out their days leisurely, just like humans.
Everyone enjoyed doing it, and the Yi Bird was no exception. There really was a courtyard residence on Snake Mountain.
“If that place is the Yi Bird’s ‘home’…” Yi Qiu bit her finger, thinking for a moment before pressing, “You Yan, did you see Chao Yun?”
“No.”
“Then did you sense her?”
“No,” You Yan said, explaining faintly, “Chao Yun is the Wood God of the Heavenly Realm. If the Yi Bird truly has her imprisoned, she would certainly conceal her spiritual aura.”
“Oh, I see…” Yi Qiu pouted, her fingers unconsciously splashing in the Spirit Pool.
“Don’t worry, I’ll go take another look tomorrow,” You Yan said, sitting down beside Yi Qiu.
Yi Qiu looked up and asked casually, “Won’t it be too dangerous?”
“It won’t be.”
“It won’t? Then can I go, too?” Yi Qiu asked, her eyes shining with anticipation.
You Yan couldn’t help but smile. “What? That’s the Yi Bird’s home. Aren’t you ‘a thief with a weak heart’?”
“Yes, my heart is weak…” Yi Qiu said, biting her lip. “But I realized something when I didn’t go with you today. When I’m alone, my heart is even weaker… So, so I think I should go with you and be a ‘thief’.”
“You really are…”
“Really what?”
You Yan fell silent for a moment before a laugh escaped her lips. “…You really can’t stand to be away from me, can you?”
The author has something to say:
The captain of the Birdie Rescue Team is awaiting rescue.
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