Volume 4: Immeasurable
The Morning’s Wait.
If people who love to eat melons1 travel with those who don’t, they’ll naturally find that they can’t even get to the gossip while it’s still fresh.
Tonight’s midnight snack2 was grilled fish. Grilled fish wasn’t like other foods; you couldn’t just swallow it whole like a date3, or you’d never know how you ended up pricked to death by a bone.
Chao Yun had finally woken up. Everyone had rushed over one after another, leaving only You Yan, who was still unhurriedly using her chopsticks to meticulously pick the fish bones from the plate for Yi Qiu.
Yi Qiu was no longer the helpless Little Alpaca who found it inconvenient to eat anything. On any other day, she would have insisted on picking out the bones herself, but today she was too anxious and didn’t put up any resistance.
Once her snack was finished, she scurried eagerly toward Chao Yun’s bedroom. When she entered, she found the room was already full of people.
Chao Yun sat quietly on the bed, her lips deathly pale. A blanket was draped lightly over the lower half of her body, and she looked completely drained of spirit.
At that moment, the atmosphere in the room was incredibly stiff. Everyone was silent.
Jiang Yuyao had clearly been pressing her for some time, but she still hadn’t said a word.
Because of this, the instant Yi Qiu walked in, everyone’s gaze shifted to her.
The way all eyes turned to her in unison made Yi Qiu feel a little uncomfortable. She waved her hands awkwardly and pressed her back against the wall, shuffling to the side.
“You all go on with your chat, I’m just here to see…” As she spoke, she raised a hand in a “please, continue” gesture and gave a dry laugh4. “Why are you looking at me? I’m not that interesting to look at.”
Just as she finished speaking, You Yan followed her in from outside. Her gaze swept coolly over Yi Qiu, a hint of a smile playing on her lips.
Everyone’s attention instantly shifted to You Yan.
Yi Qiu couldn’t help but pout5. She took a few quick steps to an empty seat at the table, sat down, and hunched her shoulders, trying her best to fade into the background.
She had grown up with no sense of presence6 and wasn’t used to being stared at by so many pairs of eyes. You Yan, on the other hand, was completely unbothered. After closing the door behind her, she walked toward Chao Yun under the varied gazes of the others.
“Still unwilling to talk?” You Yan asked faintly.
“…”
“Many things can’t be hidden. Your friend has likely guessed the gist of it already. She just wants to hear it from your own mouth.”
After a long silence, Chao Yun lowered her gaze and gave a bitter smile. “What am I supposed to say? This all started because of me. I will be the one to end it and give everyone an explanation…”
“What kind of explanation?” You Yan asked.
“…”
“After all this, you still want to save her?” You Yan pressed.
Chao Yun closed her eyes and thought for a long time before finally speaking softly. “It’s my fault. All of it… it’s all my fault.”
“I don’t see where you are at fault. After how she treated you, why are you still protecting her?” Jiang Yuyao asked, her brow furrowed as she bit back her anger. “Chao Yun, she fell to this state because of her own one-sided obsession. That’s called reaping what you sow7. She loves you, yes, but what does that have to do with you? Why are you taking all of this upon yourself? Is it because of that fake memory?”
“…” Chao Yun fell silent once again.
She said nothing more, only shaking her head gently.
You Yan considered this for a moment. “You don’t know how to begin. Are you willing to let us see for ourselves?”
Chao Yun couldn’t help but frown.
Her expression was unreadable. After a long while, she seemed to relax slightly. She lowered her eyes and replied softly, “How do you intend to see?”
You Yan said coolly, “For that, we will have to trouble Shang Shen8 Xun Chi.”
Xun Chi, who was sitting at the table, froze for half a second before rising to his feet under everyone’s gaze. He said hesitantly, “If the Wood God trusts me, perhaps she can entrust the relevant memories to me. I have a way to let everyone see them.”
Hearing this, Chao Yun pondered for a long time before finally nodding.
Some words, when hidden in the heart for too long, become difficult to start telling. Yet, they couldn’t be concealed forever. Perhaps letting everyone see for themselves was the best choice now.
East of the East Sea9 lay the Jade Sea, vast and boundless, its waters the color of jade.
Within the sea was a lone island where the Fusang10 tree grew. Its two main branches supported each other, reaching so high they could touch the heavens.
A small, injured bird rested on a branch. Its back feathers were red, and its body was a mix of five colors. With its wings folded, its demonic form was only the size of a fist.
The leaves of the Fusang tree brushed gently against its feathers with the wind. Despite the soft touch, the bird only stood up and shook its tiny body.
Suddenly, in the distance, a Black Dragon11 stirred the ocean waves, startling the little bird from its perch.
“Goumang12 has returned.”
A voice drifted leisurely to its ear.
It stomped its tiny feet, then hurriedly flapped its wings, dragging its five-colored tail feathers as it flew toward the rising wind and waves to greet her.
The scene shifted. Above the Jade Sea, the Wood God arrived, riding a dragon.
She was dressed in light, grass-colored robes, her hair styled in a cloud-like hair bun13. The moment she reached the shore, she saw the injured little bird flying to welcome her from afar, like an oriole, singing melodiously14 as it circled her.
“You haven’t even healed. Why did you come out to greet me?” The Wood God spoke, then opened her palm, gently catching the injured bird.
The little bird just flapped its wings and stomped its two tiny feet, spinning around twice under the Wood God’s gentle gaze, as if to show that its injuries were no longer serious.
“The Heavenly Fire15 burned your Heart Meridians16. It’s best you get more rest.” A soft Spiritual Light17 glowed in the Wood God’s palm, gently enveloping the little bird.
When the Spiritual Light faded, the little bird flapped its wings and flew away.
The Wood God sighed and shook her head, but before she could react, she saw the bird fly back.
With its tiny, sharp beak, it brought her a sprig of spring, something that could be found everywhere in this Jade Sea.
In her life, she had given the world so much greenery, but she had never seen anyone fly back to give her even a fraction of it in return. Then again, she was the Wood God—and the Spring God18. All the plants and trees in the world were born because of her. Who would gift her something that was so insignificant to her?
In that moment, she was slightly stunned. By the time she came back to her senses, the little bird had already been gone for a long time.
From that day on, regardless of the season, as long as the Wood God was in the Jade Sea, the little bird would unfailingly bring something in the morning.
Sometimes it was a tree branch, sometimes a mountain flower. Sometimes it was a shell or a conch washed ashore by the sea, and sometimes it was even one of its own colorful feathers that had fallen out.
As time went on, the Wood God began to look forward to every morning, to the moment the bird flew toward her from the distance.
The little bird always brought the Wood God some trivial little thing, and the Wood God always had a small box ready to collect them all. Even when they withered or broke, she never threw a single one away. When an old box was full, she would seal it with magic, bury it under the Fusang tree, and get a new one.
And so it went, day after day, year after year. Those tiny objects filled one box after another.
And on every full moon, the Wood God would also find the little bird and use her spiritual power to soothe the unbearable, sharp pain in its body.
The stars were dim and the moon was bright. The sea breeze rustled the hem of the god’s light robes on the treetop, revealing the half-untransformed bird-beast body beneath her skirt.
In one hand, she held an exquisite wooden box; in the other, she twirled an ear of rice19, her eyes filled with an unconcealable smile.
Suddenly, another gentle breeze blew past her. Where it passed, it swept up leaf after leaf from the Fusang tree. They were enveloped by a soft Spiritual Light, layer by layer, until they slowly gathered beside the Wood God.
The Wood God looked up. When the Spiritual Light dissipated, the leaves vanished, leaving only a woman in white.
“Your human form is getting better and better,” the Wood God said softly.
“A pity I can’t stray too far from my main body,” Fusang said, then looked with a curved brow at the object between the Wood God’s fingers. “Is that an ear of grain from the Mortal Realm20?”
“Mm, she found it in the Mortal Realm,” the Wood God smiled.
Fusang reached out to touch it, but the Wood God protectively pulled it back a few inches.
Fusang was surprised. After a moment, she smiled teasingly. “You certainly treasure the things that little bird gives you.”
The Wood God: “Do I?”
Fusang: “You do!”
The Wood God: “Then I suppose I do.”
Fusang: “It’s not like they’re rare treasures.”
The Wood God: “You’re right, they’re all things that can be found anywhere. But besides her, no one else gives them to me.”
Hearing this, Fusang thought for a moment, then looked up and said, “If you like them, I can give you some from now on, too.”
But the Wood God only shook her head and chuckled. “You should save your gifts for the Golden Crow21.”
“Why would I give him these things? He’s the son of the Heavenly Emperor22. What treasures hasn’t he seen? How could he be as easy to please as you?”
“I’m not easy to please,” the Wood God said, her eyelashes lowered.
“Then what’s that in your hand? An ear of grain, a willow branch, a seashell, and some little wildflower picked from who knows where… and you say you’re not easy to please?”
“…I can’t win an argument with you.”
Although she couldn’t win the argument, she knew in her heart that while the little bird’s gifts were light—so light that anyone could give them—not just anyone could persist for thousands of days and nights.
The scene gradually faded. The Dipper turns and the stars move23, and the world before them had changed to a new color.
Time passed as quickly as a white colt flashes past a crack24.
The little Yi Bird had finally cultivated a… not-so-complete human form before the god.
“Do you have a name?”
Faced with the Wood God’s question, the woman, whose feathers had not yet fully receded, shook her head.
She looked down at her still-claw-like “hands,” pursed her lips, and hid them behind her back, leaving only her two clawed feet to stand on the rain-dampened soil.
Decades ago, a Heavenly Fire had burned Snake Mountain to the ground. Before she even had a chance to get her own name, she had already lost everything.
Now, she was just a newly formed demon25. Most of the Demon Clan were born of nature and raised by nature. Unless one was born with a noble status, those who had not yet taken human form would not have a name.
She remembered the demon elders in the mountains once saying that a demon’s name was usually bestowed by the person closest and most trusted to them.
After a brief silence, she suddenly grew bold and raised a pair of beautiful eyes.
She looked at the Wood God before her and said earnestly, “Lord Wood God, you gave me my life. Whatever you say my name is, that’s what it will be.”
After a moment of thought, the Wood God gazed into the distance and said softly, “Then let’s call you Yusu26.”
Yusu, Yusu…
Some birds are born to belong to a place that is lush and green27, where mountains and water depend on each other28.
Unfortunately, that place had been incinerated by Heavenly Fire, and now only desolation remained.
“Do you miss your home?” the Wood God asked softly.
Yusu was silent for a long time before lowering her gaze. “I… I don’t have a home anymore.”
After a short silence, the Wood God gently took her “hands,” which still lacked five fingers. A soft, gentle Spiritual Light brushed over the back of those “hands,” and in an instant, transformed them into fair, slender human fingers.
The Wood God said gently, “If you want one, then you will have one.”
A bright light flashed in Yusu’s eyes. She stared blankly at the Wood God for a long time before nodding uncontrollably.
That was the first promise Goumang, the Wood God, made to the Yi Bird after saving her.
The Yi Bird had given her decades of waiting every morning. She wanted to give the Yi Bird a home in return—a Snake Mountain that had not been destroyed by Heavenly Fire.
“But a Snake Mountain like that wouldn’t have the Wood God, would it?” Yi Qiu sighed lightly as she watched the gradually blurring scene.
“How would gods and immortals of the Heavenly Realm29 understand what a home is?” You Yan said in a low voice. “It was nothing more than a one-sided attempt to repay a debt.”
The author has something to say:
Don’t wait up for the third update, it’ll be a little late, just read it when you wake up. You must, must, must show some love for my Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)30.
There’s a Sea God playing with bird (x) Wood God and Yi Bird picture31 on Weibo32, you can check it out if you’re interested.
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