Lost, as if hearing that familiar call again.
"Muye."
In a daze, I returned to the past, to the first encounter with that tanuki.
"Who are you?"
In my dream, I heard the tanuki's question again.
"Me? My name is Liu Muye."
"You don't look like someone from the Four Cities. Could you be the great demon of legend?"
"How could that be? I'm just an ordinary person."
"A person? Are you human?"
"Indeed."
In my daze, I began to understand. This was just a dream.
I asked him cautiously,
"Are you Ali, or Liu Xiang?"
The little tanuki looked puzzled, hopped onto a rock, and asked me, not understanding,
"Who is Liu Xiang?"
Hearing this, I remembered his heartless farewell.
Everything, it was all a deception.
Tears streamed down my face, and I cried out loud.
In my daze, I heard a gentle call.
"Muye, Muye."
I woke up groggily. The sky was already bright, and the scorching sun cast its rays into this cherry blossom valley.
Turning my head, I saw Sakura standing beside me, looking at me with a puzzled expression.
I slowly got up and found that a large patch of tears had fallen on my face.
The hair at my temples was also wet.
She asked curiously,
"Muye, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"
I wiped my tears, concealing the sorrow in my heart.
"Perhaps the wind was strong last night and got into my eyes."
She propped her chin on her hand, looking at me with innocent eyes.
"I've seen you like this before. People in the village sometimes cry like this."
I chuckled and told her,
"My tears are different from theirs."
"Different?"
She didn't seem to understand.
I sighed, it was fine if she didn't understand.
I rolled off the ground and looked towards the horizon.
In the depths of my heart, I felt that I didn't belong here.
Liu Xiang had made a promise with me, and the day we met again would be the day that promise was fulfilled.
My death wouldn't matter, but Sakura was pure-hearted and sincere, and I feared she would be harmed.
Thinking of this, I resolved to leave.
I rubbed my face with my hands, turned around, forced a smile, and said to her,
"Sakura, thank you for these past few days. I need to go somewhere else."
She looked surprised and asked me, confused,
"Why are you leaving?"
I smiled foolishly and said,
"I want to see the beauty of the outside world."
"Oh, but do you have to go?"
Her hopeful eyes revealed her reluctance.
I said,
"Yes, I have to go."
"Will you come back?"
She opened her big eyes, full of anticipation.
I didn't know if I could return, perhaps I could, perhaps not.
But how could I tell her?
Let's just say I would, to give each other hope.
"Yes, when I have time, I'll come back to see you."
"Are you leaving now?"
I thought for a moment and replied,
"Yes, it's better to go sooner."
She looked at me with great disappointment, lowered her head, and said softly,
"Ah? That's so soon."
Although I had only known her for two days,
It felt as if we had been friends for a long time.
I couldn't help but reach out and pat her head, just like before.
Ali had comforted me, and I comforted her,
"Don't worry, we'll meet again.
In the future, you'll meet many people better than me.
You'll make many, many good friends, and even without me, you'll be very happy."
She slightly raised her eyes, full of reluctance.
These words, though meant to comfort her, felt like I was speaking them to myself.
She suddenly took my hand and said softly,
"Since you're leaving, I have some things to give you."
I was full of curiosity, unable to guess what it might be.
She led me to a cherry blossom tree and waved her hand.
A hole opened in the tree, and in her left hand, a cloth bag appeared.
She reached into the tree hole with one hand, pulled out a bunch of bananas and a few apples.
It turned out these were her stored provisions.
I quickly stopped her, saying,
"You've saved these for a long time, haven't you? I don't want them, you keep them yourself."
She turned around, her bright eyes full of confusion, and asked,
"Why don't you want them?"
I said,
"Because you've saved these for a long time. I don't want them, you keep them to eat yourself."
She scratched her head, not quite understanding, and reached into the tree to pull out more things.
Finally, after taking out most of them, she handed me the full bag and said,
"Muye, take these to eat on your journey."
"But, what will you eat?"
She chuckled and said,
"I can go to the village, and they'll give me things too."
Hearing her say that, I felt much relieved and said gratefully,
"Thank you, Sakura. I will always remember you."
She nodded and said,
"Yes, I will always remember you too."
Then, I took the things she gave me, picked out quite a few, and returned them to her.
I took only a little and set off on horseback.
Sakura saw me out of the valley. Before we parted, she waved and shouted,
"Remember to come back and see me!"
Riding on horseback, I replied,
"Okay, I will remember to come back."
Then, I urged my horse on and left the cherry blossom valley.
Traveling east, I finally arrived at the mother river of the West Purple Kingdom, by the Purple Mother River.
It was already dusk. Tired and thirsty, I dismounted.
I decided to rest by the river for the night.
As I casually reached for the fruit Sakura had given me, I suddenly remembered.
When Liu Xiang was still Ali, he had prepared a packet of beef jerky for me.
I took it out from the bag on the side of my horse and looked at it for a long time.
Raising it high above my head, I intended to throw it into the river.
However, my rumbling stomach cried out in hunger.
So, I had to lower my hand and sit by the river, eating it in silence.
Only then did I realize that this was beef jerky from the human world.
At that moment, a wave of sorrow washed over me, and I silently wiped away my rolling tears.
The horse, seeing my lonely figure, couldn't help but whinny, as if to comfort me.
I turned my head and, regardless of whether he could understand, asked him,
"Am I really that bad? Why does he hate me so much?"
There was no response, only a long sigh.
I turned back dejectedly, grabbed the beef jerky in my arms, and ate it silently.
Suddenly, a strange yet gentle voice rang out.
"It's not your fault."
I was startled and looked around, but saw no one. I wondered if it was a ghost.
The voice spoke again.
"It's me, Little Ma."
I turned my head curiously and looked at the horse behind me, full of confusion.
Although a little scared, I bravely asked,
"You... you can talk?"
He burst into laughter and said,
"I could always talk."
Thinking about how I had been riding him around for the past few days,
I felt a pang of guilt and stood up, saying,
"It must be hard being a horse. I'll let you go."
The horse shook its head and relieved me of my worry, saying,
"I think you have nowhere else to go.
Actually, the Heavenly Master has told me about your situation.
I think you should go to Wangyang Sea.
When you reach Nanhai City, go south, and you'll reach Wangyang Sea.
That's the territory of the merfolk and ancient dragon tribes.
No one dares to disturb them, so go there."
I stroked his head and offered him some beef jerky, saying,
"Thank you. You eat some of this too."
He turned his head away and refused,
"I'm a vegetarian, I don't eat meat. You should sleep soon, and I'll take you there early tomorrow."
"Okay, thank you."
Since I had a good destination, I no longer worried.
I suddenly remembered that when I was at Qianji Hall, I had heard Liu Shinian and the others say that
the horse was originally a person, but he was sentenced and transformed into a horse to be driven by others as atonement.
Thinking of this, it wasn't strange that he could talk.
With this thought, I followed his advice and lay down slowly.
Leaning against the horse's back, I slowly fell asleep.
In my daze, I suddenly saw a strong wind blowing all around.
Sand and dust filled the air, stinging my eyes.
I squinted and realized it was daytime.
Shielding my eyes, I waited for the wind to pass.
Suddenly, I saw a figure in red appear in the swirling wind.
I looked around and saw that the surroundings were desolate, like the northwest desert I had seen before.
When the wind subsided, a person stood on the overgrown grass.
The person was dressed in blood-red clothing, holding a white bone fan.
Their face was cold, like an unscalable thousand-year-old ice mountain.
"Liu Xiang?"
I inexplicably uttered the name.
He looked up and saw me, then turned to leave. I quickly called out,
"Wait!"
He turned back, looking somewhat confused, yet perhaps not so cold.
I walked up to him and suddenly hugged him, saying sadly,
"Don't go, don't go."
He smiled slightly, pushed me away, and turned to leave. I quickly asked,
"Can I ask you, do I really annoy you that much? Am I that shameless?"
He turned back and finally spoke.
"I don't dislike you, it's just... don't you remember our promise?"
"But, that was just a joke."
"Are you scared?"
He suddenly asked sharply.
I lowered my head, unsure how to answer.
Recalling the day we made our vow, I suddenly remembered.
He had casually asked me another question then.
"If I were to become king and emperor, would you be willing to do it?"
At that time, I found it inexplicable and jokingly replied,
"I don't like people bleeding."
He smiled slightly and didn't say much more.
Returning to the present, I looked at the person before me.
That lonely thousand-year-old ice mountain actually showed a hint of a warm smile.
This made me even more bewildered, unable to guess what he was thinking.
I could only smile bitterly and say,
"It's truly strange, but I might actually defeat you.
But before that, at least let me hug you, to strengthen my resolve to fulfill this promise."
This time, he didn't resist. Instead, he smiled and embraced me.
He whispered in my ear,
"I'll wait for the day you fulfill your promise."
Then he turned into a gentle breeze and left.
Suddenly, my body went limp, and I sat on the sand.
Then, I laughed foolishly and lay on the sand without any restraint.
Finally, I decided, since it was like this, then so be it.
Suddenly, a pebble flew from a distance and hit my head.
"Ouch!"
I cried out in pain and woke up.
Opening my eyes, I realized it was already the next morning.
The horse neighed loudly, signaling me to get on, it was time to depart.
I mounted the horse and rode towards Nanhai City.
As I rode onto the official road, a group of people suddenly galloped from behind.
They were all dressed in black, with swords at their waists.
Seeing them rushing, I reined in my horse and moved aside.
As the group approached me, they suddenly stopped, and the entire group surrounded me.
I frowned slightly, thinking they were not good people.
The man in the lead suddenly asked me,
"Why are you traveling alone, young lady?"
I replied,
"I'm out for a stroll and am on my way to meet a friend."
"Oh? Have you heard of our name?"
"I haven't."
"We are the Mountain Master of Dazhi Mountain, and I am his Left Protector."
"Oh, and what does that have to do with me?"
They clearly weren't good people, leering, like robbers.
A subordinate beside him suddenly laughed and teased,
"Brother, she hasn't even heard of our Dazhi Mountain.
It seems she's a pure little beauty who knows nothing of the world.
I think she's quite nice. Why don't we snatch her back to the mountain stronghold and make her a bed warmer?"
A bed warmer? How could you think of that? Ever since I entered this world, I've always been a bandit queen.
I wanted to retort, but seeing their numbers and my lack of power, I knew I couldn't defeat them.
So, I had to find an excuse to get away.
"Since you gentlemen fancy me, it is my fortune.
You don't need to use force, I'll go with you."
The leader was delighted to hear this and looked at me with great interest, saying,
"Good. I like beauties who know their place. Alright, then you come with us.
When we get back to the stronghold, brother will take good care of you."
Saying this, they rode ahead, and I was placed in the middle.
It seemed I had to find an opportunity to escape on horseback.
After riding for an unknown amount of time, I suddenly saw a village ahead.
At this moment, a woman returning home passed by them.
A subordinate suddenly said to his leader,
"Brother, didn't we come out? I think that young lady is quite nice.
If I snatch her, I can take her back as a bed warmer too."
He was about to make a move when his leader stopped him.
"Stop. That's a girl from a poor family. If you snatch her, how will her parents live?"
The subordinate said with a belly full of grievances,
"Then why are you snatching this girl, brother?"
"She's different. Look at her, her clothes are luxurious, and her complexion is rosy.
She's clearly a girl from a wealthy family.
The Mountain Master often teaches us to rob the rich to help the poor, so we must keep this in mind."
What twisted logic! Robbing the rich to help the poor justifies kidnapping people?
However, they did have some principles.
As he spoke, he reached into his怀 and took out a letter, handing it to the subordinate, saying,
"This is the last letter. The person is in this village. Go and deliver the letter to that person."
The subordinate took the letter and responded,
"Okay."
And rode towards the village.
Not long after, the subordinate returned on horseback.
"Did you deliver it to the person?"
"Yes, I did."
"Good, let's go."
I didn't know what they were passing letters for. Was it just to catch up?
Before sunset, we arrived at the foot of a mountain.
The foothills were covered in dense forest, so we rested by the main road.
I watched the relaxed crowd and slowly got up, looking for a chance to escape.
As I turned, I bumped into the leader.
He had a wicked smile on his face, as if plotting something mischievous.