Chapter 27: A Thousand Years of Love

  Zi Lei listened to Yang Hao's question and a faint sorrow rose from the depths of her heart. Her eyes became distant for a moment before she slowly began to speak about the origins of the two people.

  Once upon a time, the Jade Emperor sensed a fox demon's prayer and offering. He dispatched Dì Fēng to investigate in the mortal realm, to see which fox demon it was. If it had a sincere heart and wished to become an immortal, he would lend it a helping hand.

  Dì Fēng received the order and arrived in the human world. Before long, he spotted the little fox kneeling on the ground, its entire body crimson red without a single strand of miscellaneous fur. It was imitating humans, with its hind legs bent in a kneeling position and its front paws clasped together in prayer to the heavens.

  Dì Fēng thought this little fox had great spiritual potential, so he revealed himself and spoke to it: "..." As time passed, the little fox's cultivation grew higher and higher. Gradually, it was able to transform into a human form. Dì Fēng was also delighted that in just a few hundred years, it had achieved such accomplishments.

  Thus, without holding back, he imparted his magical techniques to the fox. The two of them spent their days happily and leisurely on their long journey of cultivation.

  From then on, the cultivation of the two also changed in flavor and became an excuse for a romantic date. However, that memory left to both was beautiful and joyful. But paper can't wrap fire, this matter eventually got known by Jade Emperor, so he forbade Difei from descending to the mortal world again and wanted to heavily punish Huoyao. Difei, in order not to let Zilei suffer, begged Jade Emperor and took all the blame on himself. Like that, Difei was suppressed by Jade Emperor for a thousand years before being sent down to the underworld, becoming a Yangchai.

  But Zi Lei didn't know that Ji Feng had gone to suffer for her sake, she thought Ji Feng was a heartless person, after being hastily called away by the Heavenly Official that one time, he completely lost contact... This little fox every day still waited foolishly in the place they had agreed on, waiting for the person she loved, but what she got instead was the torment of longing as if she were in a raging fire at all times.

  Ten years, a hundred years, several hundred years have passed, but the longing has not been erased, on the contrary, it has become more and more intense, this deadly emotion has tormented her to death. So, one day, she turned from love to hate, as strong as her love was, so deep was her hatred. She wanted revenge, revenge against these heartless and ruthless men. Therefore, in succession, she appeared in China's Shang Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, Japan's Bakufu, and suffered the scorn of people for thousands of years. In fact, she was originally a kind and naive little fox spirit, but a momentary mistake made her a legendary fox demon.

  "Why didn't he come to see me... why did he heartlessly abandon me, maybe he never had me in his heart..." Zi Lei's emotions gradually subsided, slowly saying the words that had been stuck in her heart for a thousand years.

  "You're wrong, how do you think he's been all these years?? If it wasn't for him taking the blame for you back then, you would have been destroyed by the Heavenly Realm long ago and wouldn't be alive today?? The loneliness and suffering of these thousand years, he didn't experience any less than you, and yet he was also stripped of his wings and banished to the mortal realm. Do you know all this? Why do you still want revenge against him?? Isn't it enough that you've already wronged him??? You say he doesn't love you, but he could give you his heart without hesitation.. Do you still have a conscience??"

  Zi Lei listened stupidly to Hu Tou's words, and for the first time, she truly regretted. Her spirit was on the verge of collapse. A thousand-year misunderstanding had killed the person she loved the most.

  Zi Lei gazed at her lifeless lover before her, reminiscing about the happy times they shared in the past. They had strolled through mountains and waters together, frolicked and played pranks on each other, studied immortal magic together, and faced the rising and setting suns side by side. Every day was filled with joy, as if troubles and worries were nonexistent for the two of them. They even abandoned their aspirations to become immortals, seeking only to be together until the end of their days.

  At this moment, the words of the dying wind floated up, and Zi Lian's thoughts immediately jumped into the longing of thousands of years. Every day, she anxiously waited, making her feel like she was sitting on pins and needles. She stood still, like a fossil, guarding the appointed place... However, love was too deep, and it was inevitable that changes would occur. Just like a fairy in heaven who suddenly fell into the 18th level of hell's furnace. Love was slowly eroded until it completely turned into hatred and resentment. The accumulated resentment and anger of thousands of years finally reached its peak and erupted. She first went to Shang Tang, killed Su Huai's daughter Su Daji, transformed into a human, infiltrated the palace, and confused King Zhou. This caused the king to neglect his duties, indulging in women and harming loyal officials. Later, Jiang Ziya led an army to defeat King Zhou. She was severely injured and had no choice but to escape and hide.

  However, such a result cannot dispel her resentment. 800 years ago, Zǐ Lèi escaped to Japan and transformed into a woman named "Tamamo-no-Mae". After entering the palace, she continued to bewitch the ruler of Japan at that time, Emperor Toba, with her unparalleled beauty, just like Emperor Zhou of Shang was infatuated. The emperor became obsessed with women and neglected state affairs. However, ancient Japan was deeply influenced by Chinese culture, so there were also wise men emerging. A Yin-Yang master named Abe no Seimei discovered Zǐ Lèi's true identity in an ordinary setting and suddenly broke through her disguise using his magical powers. Emperor Toba was furious and ordered Abe to seal her away. Thus, Zǐ Lèi suffered another blow while filled with resentment. Until recently, she was released by a Japanese oni and reached an agreement to kill all men in China, causing the country's yin-yang to lose balance and become invincible.

  "Doctor, please... is there still a way to save him?"

  "Impossible, unless he himself has a strong will to live. And even then, only before his heart stops beating."

  "Give my heart to him..."

  "It's useless, the cyclone is not a human thing, how can the heart of the mortal world save him????"

  Zi Lian's tears had dried up at this point, and she stared blankly with deep affection at the face of Duan Shang, which was as pale as dead ashes. Her heart ached so much that she didn't even dare to breathe. A lover who had accompanied her for thousands of years, a man who would rather bear the burden of guilt and come to the mortal world to suffer for her, had paid the price with all this, but in the end, he was forced by her to dig out his heart, which had also been pained for thousands of years, and died miserably in front of her.

  "Why didn't you tell me? Why did you keep the truth from me until your dying breath?" Zi Lei hugged the blood-stained Ji Feng, murmuring in despair and sorrow.

  "Let's go, let her calm down by herself." Uncle Yang stood up and patted Yang Hao and Hu Tou.

  "Wait... this is the antidote... just let them smell some and they'll be fine." Yang Hao took over the antidote from Zi Lei, ran to Yu Deng Yu Zhuo's face, opened the bottle cap, and let them smell some. Not long after, the two people woke up.

  "Zi Lei, thank you....."

  "It should be me thanking you... If it weren't for you, I don't know how much longer I would have hated him"

  "What are you going to do next?"

  "I'm going to take Feng's body and retreat into the mountains, from now on I won't ask about worldly affairs..." Zi Lei said, shouldering Feng's corpse and walking step by step towards the door. Just as she reached the doorway, Zi Lei turned her head and said one more sentence.

  "Be careful everyone, all of this is a conspiracy planned by a Japanese man named Tōjō Hideki, in short, be extremely careful..." After leaving these words behind, Zǐ Lèi didn't stay any longer, carrying the corpse of Dicí Fēng, and disappeared outside the gate.

  "It's good that she has a bit of conscience after all. It seems that whether it's a demon or an immortal, they can't escape emotions." Yang Hao muttered to himself before turning around and following his master towards another door.

  In a certain building, a person wearing a white robe...

  "Even the nine-tailed demon fox failed?? Haha...this is interesting, too interesting. Pass down the order, treat this group of Chinese people well." The small followers beside him heard the command and ran off with a respectful face. What was the origin of this white-robed man? What kind of danger would Yang Hao and his master encounter next???