Paradise

When Bai Shuixian heard Zhu Jin's question, she paused for a bit. How was she to explain it when she knew nothing about it? She did not even know how her family declined.

Though she knew bits and pieces, she could not connect them. No matter how smart she was, she really could not make up a story off of tiny information she was unsure of. Even when Su Guang asked her about the situation, who knows how many days ago, she had only spoken gibberish to assure her that everything was fine.

"I can't say this is the truth, but I believe it's because my grandfather always wanted a boy," Bai Shuixian stated.

"Are you from a noble family?" Zhu Jin asked.

"Yes," Bai Shuixian answered while tilting her head in confusion. "How did you know that?"

"If you were from a normal commoner family, you wouldn't be forced to dress as a boy. Only people from high-class families would do something as stupid as that," Zhu Jin said.

"Hm… Zhu Jin, didn't you say that the human language was stupid?" Bai Shuixian questioned. "Do you hate humans?"

Zhu Jin did not think that Bai Shuixian would hold that comment in her head. He stopped walking for a moment to organize his thoughts on how to answer the question. When he accidentally smacked into a tree, that was when he knew what to say.

"It is not that I hate humans in general, but the arrogance they have," Zhu Jin replied.

Hugging him on the neck, Bai Shuixian agreed, "Me too. Humans are very arrogant."

"But say…" Zhu Jin started. "How did you dodge my attacks?"

Bai Shuixian tightened her hold on him before answering, "I don't know. At that moment, I felt like I wasn't in control of my body anymore. It was like someone else had possessed me and all I could do was stare at the sight in front of me."

"I see," Zhu Jin said as he started to sprint again. "Then… How did you get into the forest?"

Stuffing her face in his soft fur to protect herself from the cold wind slapping her face, she replied, "I also don't know. I can't remember how I came here. I only know that when I woke up, it was dark and I was very tired, but there was food and a fire in front of me already."

"Hm… Little girl, do you have amnesia?" Zhu Jin speculated.

"Huh? I don't think so. Well… Maybe?" Bai Shuixian stumbled out. "I really don't know. I feel that I haven't forgotten anything. But maybe I did?"

"Didn't you forget how you came into this forest?" Zhu Jin asked in a reminding tone.

"No, no. That's different. How do I explain it?" Bai Shuixian thought. "Um… Let's see… It's more like I'm unconscious but conscious at the same time. Like, I can see what's happening, but it's blurry. I can hear what's going on, but it's also blurry. But I can't control my body."

"You truly have a strange body," Zhu Jin remarked.

Bai Shuixian smiled wryly, "Really��� You don't need to tell me… I-I know quite well…"

"Don't worry about it," Zhu Jin assured her. "If you're lucky enough to meet the priest, you might be able to figure out what's wrong."

Feeling the cold hit her more than before, she hugged Zhu Jin for warmth before asking, "Zhu Jin, is the priest a powerful person?"

"Hm… I don't know how strong he is, but I do know that he's been here for a long time," Zhu Jin said.

"How long?" Bai Shuixian inquired.

"He's been here for almost a century," Zhu Jin answered.

"If he's that old, then he must be dead already," Bai Shuixian stated.

Zhu Jin laughed, "Little girl, that's where you're wrong. That priest…"

"That priest?" Bai Shuixian repeated.

"Mm… That priest is probably the first immortal of this world?" Zhu Jin finished his sentence.

"Really?" Bai Shuixian asked. "Then, is he young looking? Like those handsome men you see in the books?"

"Little girl, the priest is not that easy to see," Zhu Jin stated.

Hearing that, Bai Shuixian interpreted it as Zhu Jin had forgotten what he looked like since he had not met the priest for a long time. Still, she was interested in the priest just as much as she was for the inner layer for the forest. She must say, she had not expected all these events to happen.

When she first awoken in the forest, she thought she would commit suicide again just like the past life. She almost cursed the heavens, but thankfully she managed to calm her angering heart. She wondered if the heavens would throw her back into the same situation as the past for cursing them to go live with King Yama.

As they passed more birch trees and scary parasitic bushes, Bai Shuixian finally saw the orange glow of the sun setting. Now that she thought about it, she never seemed to have time in the past to have a good view of the beautiful sun. In the morning, she did not look at the sun rise, and in the afternoon, she did not look at the sun set.

According to the myths, if she looked up, she would be able to see the stars that represented the twelve zodiac animals. She hoped that the trees would not block her way and let her see the stars. For once, she wanted to see the beautiful stars that people compared goddesses with.

Feeling Bai Shuixian staring up, Zhu Jin asked, "Are you looking at the sunset?"

Shaken out of her awe, Bai Shuixian answered, "Yes. In the past, I never got to look at the sun."

"I haven't seen many sunsets in my life either, but I can say that the most beautiful set I have seen is in the inner layer," Zhu Jin told her.

"Zhu Jin, how much longer until we get there?" Bai Shuixian quietly asked.

"We're here," Zhu Jin stated. "Don't you think it's pretty?"

The very moment that Zhu Jin said that, Bai Shuixian looked in front of her. At the footsteps were the fresh green grass that she had not seen in hours and at the horizon, there were many species of animals going about their daily lives. It was colorful compared to the other layers she had been in and those multiple colors seemed to reflect off of the waterfall that was next to them.

The rainbows that emitted from the waterfall increased the beauty of the lotuses in the pond and Bai Shuixian felt as though she could not get out of her revelry for the place. For an unknown amount of days, she had been in the cold and dark that she was unable to appreciate nature anymore, but now that she saw the brightness of nature, she felt as though its beauty could not be expressed. It was only now that she could understand why humans compared themselves to the creations of mother nature.

How jealous would someone be if they were compared to the rainbow created by the sun and water? How jealous would someone be if they were compared to the blooming plum blossoms on the trees? How jealous would someone be if they were compared to the bright pink peonies that were being supplied with nutrition from the pond?

"Zhu Jin, your words are an understatement," Bai Shuixian answered in wonderment. "This place is… is not only beautiful. It's a paradise!"