Chapter 128: Snowfall on Kunlun (The Grand Finale)

"Ah!" Bai Ru shrieked at the sight of Yun Xiao and me locked in a passionate embrace.

"I am Lu Xue! Han Qing! I am not Bai Ru! The one in that broken mirror is a fake!" Bai Ru screamed hysterically.

"Bai Ru, Bai Ze has already explained everything to me. Before he died, he entrusted this to me. Listen for yourself!" Yun Xiao drew a tuft of Bai Ze fur from his robes and waved his hand. The fur emitted Bai Ze’s voice: "Little sister! I have failed you. The greatest mistake of my life was swapping your spirit to become someone else. It has harmed others and ourselves. Bai Ru, be yourself again. To love someone, you must use your heart. In my next life, I, Bai Ze, will be your brother again to repay you!"

"No! He was just a servant! He was a servant to Han Qing and me! I am not Bai Ru! I am Xue’er! Han Qing, do you not recognize me?" Relying on her borrowed memories, Bai Ru felt truly aggrieved, yet the habits she displayed after gaining Xue’er’s appearance and memories were entirely mismatched with Xue’er’s true heart. Her union with Tian De fulfilled the prophecy from my divination: "Virtue and status are misaligned."

"Record this," the Twelfth Senior Brother declared. "Bai Ru conspired to usurp the position of the High God’s fiancée, stole the appearance and memories of the Star of Rebirth, and altered the message from the Star of Rebirth’s reincarnation, God Yu Fei, causing Yu Fei to perish at the Chasing Immortal Cliff. She sowed discord, engaged in slander, and colluded with the criminal Tian De to manipulate High God Yun Xiao and seize military power in the Celestial Realm."

"For her crimes, Bai Ru shall be stripped of her immortal status, her borrowed appearance and memories returned to Lu Xue, and she shall be cast into the mortal realm," the Twelfth Senior Brother continued.

I held Yun Xiao’s hand and whispered, "I don't want to swap spirits again. Having Fei’er’s memories is enough..."

Yun Xiao smiled. "Very well. Then we shall reclaim them and seal them away."

"You won't think I'm not pretty enough, will you?" I asked.

"I’ve long grown used to it," he answered casually.

"Huh?"

"Yun Xiao! You fell for that slut, and because you think she’s not as pretty as Xue’er, you’ve come to take Xue’er away! You betrayed Xue’er! You betrayed her!" Bai Ru raved like a madwoman, her beautiful face twisting into a hideous grimace.

High God Wuxiang closed her bamboo fan and said solemnly, "Bai Ru, you forced a spirit swap, and your virtue does not match your station. For forty thousand years, Lu Xue’s appearance and memories have been consuming your heart from within. If this continues, your face will inevitably rot and deform, and your memories will shatter. Stop harming yourself and others. Let me take them back now while there is still time."

"No! Don't you dare take them to give to her! I would rather die than give them to her!" Bai Ru pulled a horn-shaped vessel from her robes, opened the lid, and splashed the liquid inside onto her face. With a heart-rending scream, Bai Ru’s features dissolved into primordial spirit, leaving behind a blank, featureless face... She had used refined Heavenly River water to dissolve Lu Xue’s appearance!

"My... my appearance from my past life... what a pity..." I said softly, feeling crestfallen.

"Fei’er is beautiful regardless," Yun Xiao said, looking at me with a smile.

Bai Ru covered her faceless head and cursed, "Lu Xue! You bitch! Even if I die, I will ruin your looks! Let’s see how you can take my Brother Han Qing away from me now!"

She then switched to Tian De’s voice: "Nonsense! Yun Xiao and Chang Yang are the ones truly in love! They are both fox spirits! They are the Two-Life Mirror!"

Then, she switched to Bai Ze’s tone: "Insolent! The God Sovereign loves Fei’er the most. He has been protecting her in silence all this time!"

Then, sounding like the Eleventh Senior Brother, she whispered mysteriously: "You’re all wrong! Yun Xiao and Wuxiang are the real couple! Do you know who High God Wuxiang is? Behind that mask, she’s a woman! She is Chaos herself! Nothing escapes her gaze! She is the Sovereign who refined heaven and earth! She is the greatest matchmaker in the world!"

High God Wuxiang was so angry that she stabbed her Soul-Binding Banner into the floor tiles of the hall. "You are beyond saving! I’m done helping you! You’ve even started spreading rumors about me!"

Chun Feng clutched his stomach and patted Wuxiang’s shoulder, laughing, "Wuxiang! You’re usually so calm and mysterious, who knew you could get this worked up? The great matchmaker!"

"Don't gloat! Your own tribulation has only just begun! Hmph!" High God Wuxiang swatted Chun Feng’s hand away with her fan.

"I’ve been driven mad by these two and their dramatics, and you say the tribulation has only just begun? Don't try to scare me with your alarmist talk..."

"What’s the matter, afraid? I could defeat you in a fight without even lifting a finger; one word from me and you’d be terrified!" High God Wuxiang teased.

"Afraid of nothing! If you’ve got the guts, fight me!" Chun Feng jumped about, provoking her.

"Heh, no thanks, I can’t beat you," High God Wuxiang said, shaking her banner.

Yun Xiao sighed. "Cast her into the mortal realm."

"What will she become if she is cast into the mortal realm?" I asked.

"Whatever is shameless, she will become! Whatever lacks self-awareness, she will be born as! How dare she slander me—a man of such integrity and stature—by calling me a matchmaker! The face reflects the heart! When the heart is rotten, the face is a lie!" High God Wuxiang adjusted her mask.

I wanted to laugh but dared not; coming from him, it sounded so ironic.

The chaotic scene was restored to order. Under the proposal of High God Wuxiang and the presiding of High God Kaiyuan, the wedding proceeded. The only difference was that the bride and groom were now Yun Xiao and Yu Fei, rather than the Han Qing and Lu Xue of the previous life. With so much left to attend to, the two simply donned wedding robes and, with lightning speed, bowed to heaven and earth to become husband and wife—a hasty conclusion to what was, after ghost marriages and political alliances, the "grandest" wedding in the Celestial Realm.

Tian Sheng saved the Heavenly Emperor from the belly of a giant mudfish and escorted him back to the Celestial Palace to recover. The heap of filth that was Tian De and the giant maggot that was Lei Ci were tossed by a disgusted Chun Feng into the filthiest pits and ditches of the mortal realm to serve as fertilizer. Yun Xiao and I found Ke Ke’s remains in the Sea Eye’s cold abyss and buried her and Dongfang Mo together with the rites of a husband and wife of the Jade Pure Realm. We would continue to search the three realms for their reincarnations. Bi You’s wish was fulfilled, and I used the Tears of Rebirth to help her break free from the shackles of the Sea Bow and be reincarnated. She bade a tearful farewell to the Holy Mother Danxia and thanked Yun Xiao and me. Little Bai Yi clung to her hand, reluctant to let go. "Mother said she would give me the Sea Bow when I grow up. But you are the Sea Bow right now, so you must remember to come and find me."

"I will. You can also bring the Sea Bow to find me," Bi You smiled.

"Pinky swear!" Little Bai Yi and Bi You linked fingers in a promise.

"Little Bai Yi seems to have a crush," I said to Yun Xiao.

Yun Xiao smiled. "Bi You’s judgment was correct this time."

Watching Bi You depart for reincarnation, Little Bai Yi tugged on Yun Xiao’s sleeve. "Father God, can I live with Father and Dad in turns? Dad will go crazy if no one keeps him company."

"You may. Even if you don't go, your dad will come over to freeload on meals anyway," Yun Xiao laughed.

"Really? That’s great!" Little Bai Yi cheered.

Chun Feng returned to Hundred Flower Island. Having lost his "wife," his child, and the chatterbox Ke Ke, and with the once-boisterous Shan He now reduced to a sleeping beauty who only burped, ground his teeth, drooled, and passed gas, he wailed about becoming a "lonely old man." It was indeed the beginning of his "tribulation"! He vowed to freeload at the Jade Pure Realm until the end of time.

Once the aftermath was settled, the disciples of the Jade Pure Realm finally gathered again, sharing stories of their parting and reunion before beginning their teasing.

"So, Master and Little Junior Sister are officially married?" the Twelfth Senior Brother still hadn't processed it.

"Of course. They’ve held three weddings—living ones, dead ones, red ones, white ones, in heaven and on earth. They even have a child, Little Bai Yi. Who doesn't know they are a couple?" the Eleventh Senior Brother said.

I laughed. "Except none of them were done properly."

The Thirteenth Senior Brother said, "Let Master hold a proper one for you! This time, I’ll help you arrange it properly."

I waved my hands in alarm. "No! Each one is more earth-shattering than the last; I’m terrified. I suspect Master is even more terrified."

"So, should we call you Master’s Wife or Little Junior Sister from now on?" Senior Brother Shi Jun asked.

"Little Junior Brother suddenly became Little Junior Sister, and then Little Junior Sister suddenly became Master’s Wife—and Lu Xue’s wife at that. I can’t bring myself to say it," the Eleventh Senior Brother pouted.

"Either is fine. How about we call you Little Junior Sister on regular days and Master’s Wife on the first and fifteenth of the month?" I suggested a terrible idea.

"When your cenotaph was still there, we used to burn incense and kowtow to you on the first and fifteenth. We even burned so many strength-boosting pills for you! If we had known, we would have saved them for Master. What a pity!" the Eleventh Senior Brother lamented.

"Haha, so the Eleventh Senior Brother started sucking up to Little Junior Sister back then!" the Sixteenth Senior Brother laughed.

The Eighteenth Senior Brother asked excitedly, "Does this mean Master can take female disciples now?"

The Fifteenth Senior Brother glanced at me and whispered behind his hand to the Eighteenth, "I suspect that’s even less likely..."

"Little Junior Sister! You and Master have pined for each other for tens of thousands of years; why are you living apart now that you’re together?" the Eleventh Senior Brother asked.

My face flushed. "We’re busy..."

"The bridal chamber is important work, too! You have to be busy with that!" the Eleventh Senior Brother shouted.

Yun Xiao spent three days busy with official duties. For three days, I returned to the "woodshed" where I had lived for two thousand years after lulling Little Bai Yi to sleep, reminiscing about the beautiful times. On the fourth day, before I could go to Little Bai Yi’s quarters, he came to me excitedly with a large roll of bedding, saying Father God had arranged for him to experience life in the room I once occupied, to study as hard as I once did. And so, I was "kicked out" by Little Bai Yi...

Sitting in his quarters, my heart was pounding. In the entire Jade Pure Realm, besides the bath and the latrine, this was the most unfamiliar place... When we were two hearts, we could speak freely without any tension, but now that we were separated by physical bodies, I felt uneasy. As I sat there, I felt increasingly parched...

He poured a cup of pear juice and handed it to me; I grabbed it and drank it in one gulp.

"Would you like more?" he asked gently.

"No more..." I murmured.

He sat beside me in silence.

"Master... um... Husband... have you finished all the official documents?"

"There are no documents today."

"I... I’ll go add some lamp oil..."

"I already did."

"Oh, I’ll go check on Little Bai Yi..."

"Little Bai Yi is asleep."

"Husband, would you like a midnight snack? I’ll go make something..."

"I never eat midnight snacks."

"I feel like going to Memory Immortal Valley to eat pears."

"It’s late. We’ll eat them tomorrow."

"Oh..."

A chorus of cat and dog sounds drifted in from outside the hall.

"I... I’ll go outside and see what little animals have gotten loose..."

"The Jade Pure Realm only keeps divine beasts; there are no cats or dogs. It’s Eleventh and the others causing trouble..."

"Oh..." I stared at my sleeves, desperately searching for any excuse to avoid the "important business" that made me blush...

"Wife..." he called softly.

"Yes?" I looked up at him.

"I have waited for you in these quarters for forty thousand years... and slept alone on that cold couch in the Underworld for five hundred years... my heart breaking every night. Now, will you leave me to sleep alone again?" His expression was filled with disappointment.

"I..." Even when my spirit wandered the heavens, it was only for a moment before I was urgently called back; there was still so much I wanted to tell him... but at this moment, my heart was too flustered to speak. I looked down and whispered, "How could I not feel the same..."

He took my hand. "You have suffered, my wife."

"I haven't..." I lied.

He remained silent. Knowing I couldn't fool him, I stammered, "Well, perhaps a little."

"I should have recognized you sooner," he said, sounding guilty.

"They say one can reflect on oneself, yet at Chasing Immortal Cliff, you never turned around to look at me. Faking your death was one thing, but then you had to become Ming Zhong to torment me," I scolded.

He pulled me into his arms, just as he had in the Underworld.

"I offer my apologies to my wife." He looked at me with such affection... it made me feel at a loss, my heart growing even more nervous...

"Husband..." I called to him.

"Yes," he answered softly.

"Do you know the Soul-Bewitching Technique?" I asked.

"Why do you ask?" he replied.

"Do you know it or not?" I pressed.

"I do," he answered.

I steeled my resolve. "Then... why don't you cast the Soul-Bewitching Technique on me!"

He chuckled. "My wife is bold."

Remembering that night when I was under the spell and he had said the same thing, I turned beet red and quickly looked away.

He waved his hand, extinguishing the candles in the room. Bathed in the light of the star outside the window, the gauze curtains in the room drifted down layer by layer... turning into falling snow... It was cool and clear, drifting and shimmering... as if we were back on the Chasing Immortal Cliff amidst the swirling snow...

"Is this better?"

"Yes... but..."

"As long as my wife likes it..."

"I like it..."

"Wife, I love you!"

"Husband, I love you too!"

In the vast, swirling snow, the world spun, much like the feeling of my spirit wandering the heavens... Two hearts melted into one...

The next morning, he stood outside the quarters holding Little Bai Yi and pulling me along, staring at the gate of the great hall in silence, his expression solemn and grave. Little Bai Yi looked from him to me, also feeling quite tense.

The Eleventh Senior Brother had just poked his head out from the corridor when he was caught. "Ding Mao, call your brothers; come to the quarters immediately!"

Not knowing what had happened, the Eleventh Senior Brother hurriedly gathered the others to wait in front of the quarters.

"Master!" the Eleventh Senior Brother requested orders.

He set Little Bai Yi down. Standing tall, his serious expression made it seem as if he were about to face a great battle...

"Clean the quarters with me!" he ordered.

"Huh?" The Eleventh Senior Brother couldn't believe his ears.

"Quickly!"

"Yes!"

The disciples cast spells to summon rags, feather dusters, and basins... The Eleventh Senior Brother summoned a broom, laughing inwardly, "Master’s quarters... all of us cleaning it together... did the bed collapse last night... or were the tables and chairs sacrificed..."

"Master! Where should we start cleaning?" the Eleventh Senior Brother asked.

"From the front door!" He summoned his Longyuan Sword, which transformed into a shovel.

As soon as he spoke, a loud "crack" echoed as the front door of the quarters collapsed inward. The disciples jumped back in fright.

I sighed softly, thinking, "I knew that door wouldn't survive."

Inside the quarters, a massive mound of snow poured out. The entire vast room, from the rafters to the floor, was packed solid with snow, save for a winding little path...

A fragrant breeze passed. "Yun Xiao! Little Crow! I can’t take it anymore! Shan He’s snoring is louder than her talking! Wake her up immediately... I’m going out of my mind..." Chun Feng arrived from Hundred Flower Island early in the morning with dark circles under his eyes. Seeing everyone gathered at the door, he joined them and was struck speechless by the sight.

Little Bai Yi was overjoyed. He rushed over, grabbed Chun Feng, and charged into the room. "Dad! Father God! Mother! Let’s build a snowman! Let’s have a snowball fight!"

The disciples looked at their cleaning tools, dismissed them, and summoned their own magical artifacts. The Eleventh Senior Brother stared at the room, his jaw dropping as his broom fell to the ground...

Chun Feng dragged the excited Little Bai Yi and shouted, "What on earth did you two do last night!"

He took my hand and we shared a smile, our eyes filled with happiness: "Kunlun Snow!"