Volume 2: Fuzhu Huodou
Caring for someone is something you can’t control.
The memories of the Fuzhu were scattered and fragmented, like countless shards strewn across every corner of Ao’an Mountain.
No matter where one walked, regardless of spring, summer, autumn, or winter, they would appear before the “outsider.”
Though the year was unknown, every single year was nevertheless plain and warm.
It turned out that after the Fuzhu took on a human form, she came to possess a human name—Jian Li1.
It was a name given to her by Xun Chi.
The drizzling rain gradually becomes silent…
For the Fuzhu, who had been a fugitive for over ten thousand years, being able to stay here, so ordinary as to be silent and without a trace, was the most beautiful peace she had long craved in the depths of her heart.
She wanted to give this peace to the Huodou.
She believed that the Huodou would come to like this place, to like a plain and simple life.
But in those first few years, the little black dog tried to run away more than once. It was just that it had so little power left, it was caught red-handed every single time.
As a once incomparably majestic vicious beast, it naturally submitted to no one, cursing and grumbling at everyone it saw, barking its head off nonstop.
This not-so-large black dog could be described as both small and extremely destructive. Even if its remaining power was only enough for her to spit out some tiny flames, it could still use those little flames, which looked no stronger than a lighter’s, to set fires everywhere.
During that period, not only did the house that sheltered them from the wind and rain often catch fire, but the flowers, plants, and trees in the mountains also suffered considerably.
Xun Chi had a headache almost every day, and each time, amidst a burnt, stinking smell, he would pull out the human cookbook from his spirit pouch and read the methods for cooking dog meat over and over again.
This little dog was one Jian Li wanted to raise, so when fires broke out in the mountains, it was always Jian Li who rushed to extinguish them.
After this happened many times, even a deer with the best of tempers would get angry. So later on, that little black dog, which detested water, became a “frequent guest” in the Shenlu Pond. As long as it dared to set a fire, Jian Li would trap it inside to soak for two or three shichen2.
What was that saying again?
A bratty kid who doesn’t listen is probably just asking for a beating; a few spankings will sort them out.3
Sure enough, before long, the little fire dog started to behave. Not only did it no longer dare to breathe fire casually, but even its attitude toward Jian Li became much more timid.
“This little hot dog was an absolute terror. It had to be disciplined like this to be even a little bit obedient,” Yi Qiu couldn’t help but sigh. “Look how well-behaved I was when I was an alpaca. One look from you and I’d immediately behave.”
“You’re not so well-behaved now,” You Yan said, tilting her head back to look at the blue sky above.
Yi Qiu pouted and let out a low huff—she felt she had every right to scorn You Yan for being in the midst of blessings but not knowing her blessings.
Suddenly, the surrounding scenery blurred again. After the dipper turns and the stars shift4, everything before their eyes had changed into a new scene.
It was one winter. The little black dog was curled up in a corner of the bedroom, mustering all its strength to transform into a human form.
The little girl didn’t look old, perhaps fifteen or sixteen. Her small, round face was exceptionally rosy, and her long hair was styled into two flat buns5. She wore a winter outfit transformed from her own fur. Though it was a somber black, it was adorned everywhere with fluffy pompoms, looking very cute on the little girl.
The little black dog that had once awkwardly said, “I don’t like human skins,” had ultimately failed to escape the True Fragrance Law6 and had secretly cultivated a human face.
She hopped and skipped over to the bronze mirror used for grooming, gazing at her reflection with delight for a long while. Finally, she ran out the door, shouting loudly all the way.
“Jian Li! Jian Li! I’ve cultivated a human form!”
“Jian Li—Xun Chi—are you here—”
“Jian Li! Jian Li, where are you? I’ve cultivated a human form!”
Outside, white snow covered the mountains and plains. The little girl ran haphazardly through the deep snow, shouting loudly with puffs of hot breath. The snow on the nearby tree branches was shaken loose by her yelling.
Yi Qiu chased after her, sighing as she ran, “This little hot dog is pretty biased, huh? She called for Jian Li seven or eight times before begrudgingly letting High God Xun Chi play along once.”
You Yan, walking beside Yi Qiu, couldn’t help but chuckle. “She makes it sound like she’s calling the soul7, gives you a run for your money.”
“I do not!” Yi Qiu frowned.
“You don’t?” You Yan asked back.
“Of course not!” As Yi Qiu spoke, she saw Jian Li approaching the little girl from a distance.
The little girl’s eyes lit up. She dashed forward like she was flying, stood up straight in front of Jian Li, and looked up. “I’ve cultivated a human form!”
Jian Li looked at the little girl before her in surprise, the joy in her eyes growing stronger. She took the little girl’s rosy hands, her eyes and brows curving up as she exclaimed, “That’s wonderful! Have you told Xun Chi?”
The little girl pouted. “Who knows where that white-haired guy ran off to? I can’t find him, so I’m not looking anymore!”
Jian Li smiled and nodded. “Then let’s not look. We’ll go back and wait for him. He’ll definitely be very happy when he comes back and sees you’ve cultivated a human form.”
The little girl asked, “He doesn’t even like me, so why would he be happy?”
Jian Li reached out and gently scraped her little nose. “Nonsense, he does like you.”
Just as Jian Li had said, when Xun Chi returned, his gaze toward the little girl indeed revealed a hint of pleasant surprise.
That night was the first time the three companions on this immortal mountain sat at the same table for a meal—although Xun Chi had long practiced bigu8 for several thousand years, he still did not refuse to give Jian Li face9 that day.
During the meal, Jian Li asked the little girl if she had thought of a name for herself.
The little girl shook her head and said, “Everyone calls me Huodou, so I’ll just be Huodou. What other name do I need?”
“That won’t do.” Jian Li shook her head. “Whether you’re a demon or a beast, once you’ve cultivated a human form, you should have a more human-like name.”
The little girl thought for a moment, then pouted at Jian Li and said, “Then you pick one for me?”
“Me?” Jian Li pondered for a moment before casting a pleading look at Xun Chi, who was sitting beside them drinking wine by himself.
Xun Chi looked up at the bright moon outside the house, mused for a moment, and then smiled. “How about Yue Zhuo?”10
“Yue Zhuo?” The little girl looked doubtfully at the wine cup in Xun Chi’s hand. “The zhuó from pouring wine?”
Xun Chi shook his head.
He said, brilliant and blazing, radiant and scorching, that is fire. A bright fire, aside from harming people, can also drive away darkness; it is light.
Fire is light, and the moon is also light.
He hoped that the vicious beast Huodou could be like this moon, becoming the gentlest, most harmless light in the world.
“Yue Zhuo…” Jian Li repeated the name, then turned back to the little girl and asked with a smile, “What do you think?”
“Immortals sure talk a lot of nonsense…” the little girl muttered under her breath, her gaze unconsciously following Xun Chi’s toward the moon.
After a few seconds of silence, she retracted her gaze and said, “But, the name you white-haired guy came up with isn’t bad. I’ll take it for now.”
…
Everything before their eyes once again faded into nothingness.
Yi Qiu subconsciously raised her head as well, looking toward the gradually fading full moon in the sky.
“Xun Chi wanted to protect them. Both Jian Li and Yue Zhuo…” Yi Qiu sighed softly. “He hoped they could both live out their lives peacefully and simply, right here on Ao’an Mountain.”
“A pity they didn’t,” You Yan said, turning to walk elsewhere.
Yi Qiu hurried to catch up. “You Yan, tell me, what on earth happened later? Why was Huodou sealed in Wuzhou for over two thousand years? And why didn’t Xun Chi and Fuzhu go save her?”
You Yan thought for a moment, then replied, “I’m afraid the ones who sealed Huodou back then were the two of them.”
“Huh?” Yi Qiu frowned and shook her head. “I don’t think that’s right…”
You Yan just smiled noncommittally and said no more.
Yi Qiu moved forward and gently tugged on her sleeve, lowering her voice curiously. “Everyone’s name has a certain meaning, so You Yan… what about your name?”
You Yan was silent for a moment. It took a good while before she turned her gaze to Yi Qiu and asked faintly, “What about you?”
“Me?” Yi Qiu pouted. “Hah, it’s nothing special… I was born in autumn, so I was named ‘Qiu’.”
“And the ‘Yi’?”
“My mom’s surname,” Yi Qiu answered casually.
“You took your mother’s surname?” There seemed to be a hint of surprise in You Yan’s eyes.
“Yeah, it’s a bit uncommon, but that’s how it is in my family…”
You Yan let out a soft laugh. “You alpacas are certainly novel, able to have names even before gaining spiritual awareness.”
Yi Qiu’s steps froze. She knew she had been tricked into revealing information by You Yan again without realizing it.
She gritted her teeth and retorted stubbornly, “Is… is that not allowed?!”
“It is,” You Yan said, then added lightly, “Speaking of which, earlier when Xun Chi and I were talking, we only mentioned the Fuzhu, not what a Fuzhu was. How did you know she was a white deer?”
“Huh?” Yi Qiu was stunned. She opened her mouth, hesitating for a long while before playing dumb. “What… what are you talking about?”
“Perhaps I remembered incorrectly,” You Yan said, glancing around. She smiled faintly. “Quite a coincidence. We were just talking about autumn, and now it really is autumn.”
Yi Qiu frowned, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, biting her lip.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw fallen leaves fluttering all around, dancing lightly with the swirling autumn wind.
Yue Zhuo, who was chasing a wild rabbit in the mountains, suddenly let out a heavy sneeze.
It was hard to tell if it was an illusion, but the little girl’s complexion was much worse than before. She didn’t look very energetic at all.
“Is she sick?”
This question was soon answered.
As the years flowed by and time passed, Yue Zhuo’s health deteriorated day by day. During the winter, she would even become so weak that she couldn’t maintain her human form.
The joyous laughter brought to Ao’an Mountain by that little girl grew scarcer with each passing year.
Then one day, Jian Li knocked on Xun Chi’s door.
She said, “I’m going to harm her.”
…
Yi Qiu couldn’t help but furrow her brow.
“Water and fire are incompatible11. The closer they are to each other, the greater the harm they inflict on one another.”
“Why is Jian Li okay?” Yi Qiu’s eyes showed a trace of confusion.
Water can overcome fire, but fire can also boil water away…
“When their powers are imbalanced, the stronger one devours the weaker. When their powers are balanced, they harm each other,” You Yan said, letting out a sneer. “They should have been mortal enemies, yet they insisted on caring for each other, insisted on being together day and night. Tell me, isn’t that utterly ridiculous?”
“…”
Yi Qiu was silent for a moment, then suddenly couldn’t help but mutter, “It’s not ridiculous.”
You Yan couldn’t help but frown and glance at her.
She pressed her lips together and looked up. “I think it’s not ridiculous at all…”
“…”
“You Yan, caring for someone is something you can’t control…”
The author has something to say:
I just realized there are so many birds in this story, maybe I should rename it “Bird Bird Legend.” Also, you guys have been so quiet lately (°_°) The comments are getting fewer and fewer, I’m drained. Do you all only like the alpaca, and now that she’s human you can’t love her anymore?
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