Chapter 20: Stories
"His fate can no longer be described as strange; it is as if he is no longer within the flow of fate at all. This should be impossible, unless he has used some method to shroud the heavenly secrets. I wanted to investigate further, but the closer my Astral Power got to him, the more it was suppressed." Yu Xuanji was deeply perplexed, not realizing that Xu Xian hadn't shrouded the heavenly secrets—he simply didn't exist within them.
"He doesn't seem to possess a deep guile like Pan Yu. When he arrives tomorrow, I’ll question him thoroughly; that should yield some results."
"What if he really is Master's fellow disciple?" Sun'er asked curiously.
"Then I must lead him back to the righteous path. He cannot be allowed to sink into this mundane world and waste his life in vain." As Yu Xuanji finished, her face was full of determination. She seemed to be speaking to Sun'er, yet also reaffirming her own resolve.
Sun'er looked at her master cautiously. Her master’s gaze reminded her of their first meeting. It had been deep in the mountains, amidst an endless sea of bamboo. A Taoist had approached her just as she had gained a glimmer of sentience, tapped on her trunk, and said with a satisfied smile, "I shall teach you how to cultivate!"
Back then, she hadn't understood what cultivation was. She had simply been terrified by the Taoist’s gaze, her body trembling involuntarily. Then, the Taoist revealed a breathtaking smile and said, "Since you've agreed, come with me." With that, she produced a prepared spade and dug her out of the bamboo forest where she had lived for centuries.
"Even though you're a very large and old bamboo, you're just a little sprout who has just poked its head out on the path of cultivation! From now on, your name will be Sun'er!" The Taoist had taken it upon herself to name the then-mute girl and planted her in her own small courtyard. Sun'er had been terrified back then, but fortunately, her master was actually very gentle—aside from forcing her to do homework and eat medicinal pills.
Aside from her master’s "seduce and abandon" behavior—forbidding Sun'er from calling her "Master"—she was truly quite good. (Sun'er had only recently learned the term "seduce and abandon" and didn't hesitate to use it on her master now.) No, wait—the look in her eyes when she took her from the bamboo forest was still terrifying to think about even now!
Sun'er thought with schadenfreude that her supposed "Martial Uncle" was likely in for a rough time. Master would probably force him to do homework, eat foul-tasting pills, and drink bitter decoctions. Thinking of Xu Xian frowning as he choked down those pills—and getting his bottom smacked if he refused—while she stood by with a bamboo switch to supervise, Sun'er broke into a delighted grin.
Yu Xuanji didn't notice the petty thoughts of the small figure beside her. She was fretting: would Xu Xian really come tomorrow? For the first time since her mastery of the Xuanji divination arts, something was completely beyond her control.
Back at the academy, Pan Yu handed a letter to Li Siming.
Li Siming opened the envelope and read the contents: "The end of next month, at the third quarter of the Wei hour, the snow will be two inches and three lines deep." He looked up and laughed. "Good. Announce this date and have everyone prepare. Pan Yu, especially you—don't go running off these days. Stay in the academy and study diligently!"
Pan Yu smiled and agreed. Li Siming then turned to Xu Xian. "Since the date is set, the invitations must be sent. Xu Xian, you take a trip for me!"
Xu Xian grumbled, "The difference in treatment is just too big!" However, he had been wanting to go out for a while, so this task suited him perfectly. He asked bluntly, "Where to?"
"Jinhua City. You'll go with Ning Caichen. You depart the day after tomorrow."
Xu Xian’s face went pale with shock. "Who? Ning... Ning Caichen?"
Pan Yu asked strangely, "What’s wrong? Ning Caichen is our classmate, and his home is in Jinhua. Is there something incorrect?" Pan Yu immediately recounted everything she knew about Ning Caichen. Xu Xian hadn't paid any attention to such things since arriving at Jintian Academy, though he vaguely remembered seeing the name during the entrance exam.
Xu Xian gave a dry laugh. "Nothing, nothing. The name just sounds familiar." He thought to himself: It has to be a coincidence. Yes, a coincidence.
There’s no reason for this to be "A Chinese Ghost Story." I should be in "The Legend of the White Snake." Is this what they mean when they say Hong Kong and Taiwanese cinema are one big family? Or did the director grab the wrong script?
Xu Xian was lost in thought, barely paying attention to the conversation between Li Siming and Pan Yu, only offering a few distracted responses when they addressed him. Pan Yu and the other man assumed Xu Xian was just nervous about his first long trip, never imagining he was actually pondering serious questions about his life as a transmigrator.
As the sky darkened to a deep ink-blue, a chilly autumn wind brushed against the window lattices.
Pan Yu performed a simple wash-up and prepared for bed. Her dark hair hung loose over her white inner robes. With robes as white as snow and hair as black as ink, she possessed a beauty that was almost ethereal. She drifted into the room, only to find Xu Xian lying stiffly on the bed, staring at the ceiling in a daze. Pan Yu mentally teased him for being a "blockhead" but said aloud, "Hanwen, don't worry. It's just a bit of travel fatigue; the journey itself will be quite interesting."
Xu Xian snapped out of it and glanced at Pan Yu. Though he saw her every day, he was still moved by her appearance. He couldn't help but think: If only this were "The Butterfly Lovers." But there doesn't seem to be anyone named Ma Wencai here. Forget it, I'll take it one step at a time. Maybe it's just a common name.
"Yes, I was overthinking it."
Pan Yu sat at the desk, holding a bronze mirror to tidy her hair. "Didn't you say you were going to tell a story? Let's hear it."
Xu Xian replied, "Right, good idea. Why are you looking in a mirror in the middle of the night anyway? Listening to my story is much more important."
The candle was extinguished, plunging the room into darkness. Pan Yu lay in bed and pulled up her covers, feeling much more comfortable. She still wasn't used to sharing a room with someone, but the darkness seemed to provide a sense of warmth.
She remembered the past; whenever she felt too exhausted to go on, she would find a sealed, pitch-black room. She would lie in the center of the room without food or drink, staring into the endless void. When she emerged, she would once again be the ever-smiling "Gentleman like jade." Ignoring her mother's worries to lock herself away was perhaps her only act of willful selfishness since she had come of age—a necessary selfishness.
"A long, long time ago, there was a man named Liang Shanbo..." In the darkness, Xu Xian began his tale. There were many versions of "The Butterfly Lovers," but the one most vivid in his memory was the animated version. He followed the original plot, telling it in a lighthearted tone.
In the dark, Pan Yu curled her slender body into a ball under the quilt, listening to that familiar voice tell a familiar story. When she heard about the girl dressing as a man, her heart skipped a beat. For a moment, she wondered if he was making it up based on her! But she quickly realized that Zhu Yingtai was completely different from her; she was just a spoiled, naive, and willful daughter of a wealthy family. Pan Yu, however, could not be willful, could not act spoiled, could not seek death, and could not fall in love with any man in the world. That was her fate.
"In the end, the two of them turned into butterflies." Xu Xian let out a long sigh, feeling moved himself. In truth, he had cried the first time he saw that movie, though he had been mocked mercilessly by his classmates because of his age.
"Is it over?" Pan Yu's voice drifted over, sounding notably colder than during the day.
"It's over."
"Oh. Then go to sleep."
Xu Xian’s heart wept. "Can you give me some kind of reaction? I talked until my throat was dry! Don't you have any thoughts at all?"
"I do. Liang Shanbo was far too stupid for not discovering Zhu Yingtai’s identity for so long; it's quite illogical. And Zhu Yingtai only cared about her own feelings; she was too selfish. So, this is a story that is stupid, selfish, and illogical." Pan Yu wasn't without feelings of touched longing, but when the words reached her lips, they turned into a total denial. She had to deny it.
A loud thud echoed in the room.
"What happened?" Pan Yu asked, startled.
"Don't talk to me. Just let me bash my head against the wall and die." Xu Xian’s voice was filled with the weight of failure. For some reason, it made Pan Yu want to laugh. And she did laugh, saying softly, "Even though the story is stupid and selfish, and I could guess the ending from the beginning, it was still quite interesting. You can tell more in the future." This novel kind of storytelling was indeed to her taste.
Is that supposed to be an apology? Ninety-nine percent denial plus one percent affirmation, followed by a totally insincere request for more? Xu Xian grumbled, "I thank you for your grace. I'll be sure to tell more in the future." An ember of defiance sparked in his heart. I, a dignified transmigrator, can't even handle one ancient person? If "The Butterfly Lovers" doesn't work, I'll try "Romeo and Juliet." If that fails, I still have the ultimate weapon, "Titanic." I'll make you weep if it's the last thing I do.
But in this endeavor, Xu Xian was destined for a lifetime of crushing defeat. Pan Yu’s critiques were like heartless judgments.
"That 'Ro-mule-o and Pig-liet' couple have no principles at all. To think they died because of such a coincidence... as expected, another stupid and selfish story."
Xu Xian coughed up blood.
"The name 'Jack' is hideous, and what kind of woman is named 'Rose'? Her family must have been very poor when she was a child." (In Chinese, 'Rose' sounds like shredded meat.)
Xu Xian coughed up more blood. "Let's focus on the point! The names are a minor detail."
"A great man's life is worth a thousand pieces of gold. How could he throw his life away for a woman? Especially a fickle, loose woman like her. Though, that Jack was just a low-class rogue and a gambler to begin with, hardly a great man, so the story is actually quite plausible."
Xu Xian felt like he was being struck by lightning. He didn't even want to know how "Titanic" had turned into a story about a rogue and a loose woman in her eyes. He finally discovered the only imperfection in the "perfect" Pan Yu: she was extremely chauvinistic. In her view, that "Rose" should have jumped into the water herself so Jack could live. If she didn't, it proved she wasn't a good woman, and Jack should have pushed her in himself. Her exact words were: "What a waste it would be to not kill such a harlot."
Xu Xian, feeling scorched inside and out by her logic, secretly swore never to tell another romance story again.
"Tonight's stories were quite interesting. Tell some every night from now on!"
"Sure..." Xu Xian replied weakly.