I’m standing before the well of reincarnation once again. But I’m not accustomed to the silence of this time. I turned back to look. The road to the netherworld is still the same. Nothing has changed. But I think that this time, the netherworld is colder than before.

　　The soul attached to the purple bead wandered out and went into the well of reincarnation to be reincarnated. Watching the soul disappear before me, I suddenly have some fear. I don’t know in which family Chu Kong will be reincarnated in the next lifetime. I don’t know when I’ll find him in such a big world. I also don’t know if when I see him again, how his appearance will be, but……

　　Since I can’t change reality, I can only put armor and face it. I keep the purple bead safely on me. Then I also jumped into the well of reincarnation.

　　Three years have passed on the human realm. Without Chu Kong by my side, this superficial lifetime is really splendid. Finally, I can enjoy it slowly. Without anyone to quarrel with, my life is surprisingly comfortable. Only until now, did I know how much trouble and unhappiness that arrogant Chu Kong brought.

　　However, every night, when I am quietly watching the stars, I’ll still think of Chu Kong. Such unbearable thing happening all the time will let me shamelessly miss him. Chu Kong was never perfect. He has a cheap mouth and a bad temper. He also didn’t do anything particular to make me happy. Even the fan, he has said himself that wanted to repay me, hasn’t been repaid. But he has knocked a hole through my cold and steely heart and blatantly walked in it and looked at me arrogantly: “Xiaoye came to live inside it, what can you do about it?”

　　I wished that I can crush him to death, but I couldn’t do anything. So I can only let him live inside it. He became a thorn, that’s unable to swallow and also unable to be spit out.

　　I don’t know if this kind of feeling is the so called “love between man and woman”. I only know that the moment I want to see him and see him, my sky will be cloudless.

　　So, to be able to see him at the moment I want to see him, these three years, I used all my effort to search for Chu Kong’s immortal soul and four mortal souls. There’s still one immortal soul and two mortal souls missing. I already did half of what the magistrate said will be done in a thousand years. Perhaps its destiny. Or perhaps Chu Kong’s souls are also searching for me.

　　It’s the end of March. Lovely flowers bloomed everywhere. I enjoyed the flowers all the way to Yan country’s capital. It is said that currently in Yan country’s palace are ghosts. Originally, it’s normal for the palace to have some rumors about ghost. But now I can’t afford to let go of even a little clue.

　　After entering the capital, I searched for an inn and registered in it. I paid for the room and immediately went to the palace’s wall. I made a stealthy decision and entered the palace. I thought that most time the haunted place will be at the cold palace. I searched for a while before I found some palace maids who are bringing food to the cold palace. I followed behind them to find out the direction to the cold palace. I wanted to come back at night to take a careful look. But suddenly the purple pearl that I’m wearing around my neck brightened. I stared at it blankly for a while.

　　The one immortal soul and four mortal souls that I found, I put them in this purple pearl. Between souls there is a connection. After I found one missing soul, every time I found another missing soul, this purple pearl will brighten. This is also one of the reasons why I can find one immortal soul and four mortal souls so fast. It seems that in this palace there’s really Chu Kong’s missing soul.

　　I was so deep in thought and entered the cold palace together with the palce maids. The purple pearl brightened at once. This hasn’t happened before. Can it be that here there’s many of Chu Kong’s souls hidden?

　　I looked up, puzzled. Under a dead tree in the cold palace, a meatball dressed in red is sitting on the ground. His pair if big eyes is peering at my…..purple pearl in front of my chest. I was also staring at him. This child facial features is seventy or eighty percent like Chu Kong or even the once Lu Hai Kong.

　　I can’t help but stare at him for a long time. But this child stared at me for a while and then turned and looked blankly at the sky. He looked a little stiff. This body which has one immortal soul and one mortal soul surely will be deformed.

　　The purple pearl floated up and seemed to be anxious to fuse together with the souls in the body. I looked at the room full of palace maids and quietly pressed the purple pearl down.

　　Fortunately, after the palace maids brought the food, they went away. Not long after, a thin woman walked out of the room. She sat at the table and called weakly: “Come eat.”

　　I could see that she was calling meatball Kong, but meatball Kong ignored her. He just sat there and stared at the sky blankly.

　　I didn’t know which nerve of the woman in the room has been poked. Suddenly she slammed on the table and swept half of the dishes on the ground. The voice of the broken plates tingled in my eardrum. Meatball Kong finally turned around and looked at the woman blankly: “Mother…..”

　　“Don’t call me!”

　　The woman grabbed her withered hair and screamed: “I’m not your mother! All is because of you! Because of you I’ve come to this state! I’m not your mother! I’m not!”

　　Her voice was shrill, but it only exchanged a word from meatball Kong: “Mother.”

　　Comments: 

　　魂魄 (húnpò): soul. 魂: immortal soul ; can be detached from the body. 魄: mortal soul; attached to the body. 

　　XXZ needs to search for two 魂 and six 魄 for Chu Kong to be a normal person.

　　CHapter 45 Part2

　　“I didn’t given birth to you! I didn’t given birth to you!”

　　Yan country’s officials are extremely believers. Yan country is known for the saying that a crazy child will bring misfortune. Presumably this concubine has been banished by the emperor to the cold palace after giving birth to silly Chu Kong. Her whole life can be regarded as ruined. No wonder she hates her own child so much. But it happens that her son is the only one she can rely on……

　　The woman suddenly stood up and came out. She slapped meatball Kong on his face, her sharp nails left three bloodstains on the child’s face. Although the child is somewhat stupid, he still knows pain. Big tears fell out of his eyes on his whole face: “Mother……”

　　“How good will it be if I didn’t give birth to you?!”

　　The woman began to beat him uncontrollably.

　　“How good will it be if you didn’t come to this world?! Go away! Go away……”

　　I let my body be visible. I stand before Chu Kong and grabbed the woman’s wrist. I glared at her: “Children aren’t here to let you vent your anger on.”

　　I continued: “I’m really sorry that he came out of your belly. Since you don’t care for him, I’ll care for him.”

　　I let go of her hand. The woman’s body went soft and slumped on the ground: “Ghost……ghost!”

　　“I’m not a ghost.”

　　Before I finished talking, that person breathed fast, her eyes turned white and fainted.

　　I didn’t care about her, squatted down and touched meatball Kong disrupted hair. His eyes rested on the purple pearl. I didn’t hesitate, took it down and put it on Chu Kong’s chest. The one immortal soul and four mortal souls floated out and entered meatball Kong’s body. I saw his dull eyes changed and showing a bit of smartness.

　　I wear the purple pearl once again. I took out a handkerchief to wipe his face full of blood and tears. I said: “From today on, you’re called Chu Kong and is someone cultivating to be an immortal. I’m called Xiao Xiang and am……your shifu.”

　　He didn’t say anything and I also don’t know what to say anymore. I put my hand out in front of him. He stared at it blankly for half an incense stick before he put his meaty hand in my palm. I gripped his hand, smiled and said: “Let’s see if you can escape my palm in this lifetime, hehehe he.”

　　Chu Kong isn’t fit to live in crowded places right now. Besides, he’s a prince. It won’t be sure that in the future the struggle of the court won’t harm him. I simply took him to the forest to live there safely.

　　On the foot of Lu Hua Mountain I built a house and live there with Chu Kong. With one more immortal soul and four mortal souls, Chu Kong is much smarter than before. I taught him how to read. I write down all the spells that Chu Kong taught me before for him to practice. But he still learns slowly. I can’t help but feel impatient. This lifetime he is just a human. What will I do if he hasn’t cultivated into an immortal, but has already died? After all, I’ll be alive, living forever. I still have to search. The longer I am together with Chu Kong, the more afraid I’m that he’ll be gone again.

　　Time passes quietly with me being a worried guardian. Chu Kong is already ten years old. There is still one mortal and one immortal soul left before Chu Kong’s soul will be complete.

　　But I don’t know why, Chu Kong has become increasingly against cultivation. He used all means to be lazy and played with all kinds of demons on the mountain. One time, a tree demon helped him write a talisman and he went to play with the tiger demon in town. He didn’t return for two days. I was worried searched for him for two whole days. On the third day I saw him hobbling back refreshed. Blood shot to my eyes. I looked at him with a pale face: “Where have you been?”

　　Chu Kong’s happy face stiffened. He looked at me afraid: “Xiao Xiang……”

　　I rustled my hand through my hair. I stood up, snapped a leg of a chair and hold it tightly in my hand. With a calm tone I said: “Come here, we’ll have some talk.”

　　Chu Kong took a step back, startled. I slowly walked to him and squatted down. I asked: “Say, with whom you went play? Where did you go play?”

　　He tweaked for a long time and finally, weakly admitted under my forced eyes: “The town below the mountain…….together with Da Hua.”

　　Da Hua is the tiger demon’s name.

　　“Who told you to go?”

　　“The, the demons in the mountain said that I shouldn’t always stay on the mountain. Should go out to see the world……”

　　I nodded in understanding. I took the leg of the chair and went out. I beat all the demons in the mountain. At the foot of the Lu Hua Mountain the demons are crying loudly. Finally, I bound the tiger demon Da Hua with a cable and brought him back. When Chu Kong saw Da Hua, he immediately rushed to him and asked: “Da Hua, did you suffer a beating? Does it hurt? I’m sorry……”

　　I sat on a chair, drink a mouthful of tea, calmed some of my emotions before I said: “What motive do you have to take Chu Kong down the mountain?”

　　Chu Kong’s age, his fine skin and soft meat and his body with a little immortal cultivation are the demons whom walked the evil ways favorite food. They coax him to go down the mountain really make me worried. Before I let Chu Kong be in touch with the demons on this mountain is because I know that the demons aren’t bad. And if they have a hidden agenda for Chu Kong……

　　Listening to my questioning, Da Hua was so scared that he immediately cried: “Have mercy, fairy. This little demon wouldn’t dare again. This little demon only felt that Chu Kong is on the mountain every day cultivating to be an immortal; his days are really monotonous. I kindly invited him down the mountain to for a tour. I don’t have any malicious intent! Wu wu, fairy, have mercy, wu wu.”

　　I put the teacup down and was about to speak when Chu Kong opened his arms and stood in front of Da Hua. He said: “Xiao Xiang, don’t hit Da Hua. It’s Chu Kong’s fault. Chu Kong shouldn’t have fun. I won’t do it again. Don’t hit her……”

　　He being like this made me thing of Lu Hai Kong. I don’t know in what year, he also stood in front of me protecting me from my prime minister father. And now he has totally forgotten it.

　　My soul returned to my body. I rubbed my forehead and said: “Chu Kong doesn’t need to go down to see the world. After he cultivated an immortal body, he’ll have a lot of time to play……”

　　My words hardly left when I heard Chu Kong said in a low voice with his head looking at the ground: “Why do I have to cultivate an immortal body?”

　　I was startled: “What did you say?”

　　Chu Kong gritted his teeth and said frankly: “Why does Chu Kong have to cultivate into an immortal? Why should I listen to Xiao Xiang’s?”

　　Because if you don’t cultivate into an immortal, how will you spend your life with me? If you don’t cultivate into an immortal, how will you become celestial Chu Kong again? If you didn’t cultivate into an immortal, how will you go back to heaven and marry me? And you still have so many promises that you didn’t realize, why shouldn’t you listen to me? Why not work hard to cultivate……

　　However, I was shocked for a moment and suddenly woken up. The Chu Kong standing in front of me isn’t the Chu Kong of the past anymore. To him the promises that celestial star Chu Kong made to me are like promises that someone he doesn’t know made to me. It has nothing to do with him. He doesn’t have the memories of the past. He is a new person.

　　What right do I have to put my own desires on him?

　　I froze for my own awareness. I just listen to Chu Kong who bowed his head. He said with a soft but firm voice: “I don’t want to cultivate. I want to be like Da Hua. Because of such a thing you bully them, Xiao Xiang is unreasonable.”

　　Faced with such accusations, I was speechless. I was silent for a while before I said: “Since you don’t want to cultivate, I am wrong.”

　　I retrieved the rope tying Da Hua and silently went into the house. Before closing the door, I said to them: “In the future if you don’t come back, remember to tell me. Don’t let me worry.”

　　Outside, two children’s clear voices passed into my ears: “Chu Kong, fairy seems really sad, ah. You should go apologize.”

　　Chu Kong sounded somewhat at loss: “How should I apologize?”

　　It should be me who should be apologizing to them. Suddenly the purple pearl in front of my chest brightened. This pearl dealt often with Chu Kong’s souls. It’ll react like it has some spiritual connection with them. Is Chu Kong’s soul near here? I put aside my complicated state of mind. I opened the window, jumped out and followed the direction of the purple pearl.