Chapter 1 The Beginning

In the blink of an eye, the first trial had already begun.

Even the dignified woman's eyelids twitched when she saw the words on the scroll, and the expression on her face was not very pleasant. What is the most difficult? Just the painful experiences between each other? Like Liang Zhu turning into butterflies, like Weisheng embracing a pillar?

Not so.

In the eyes of the gods, even such a fate is the highest level.

Especially when this is just a dreamlike affinity.

When they wake up, and one day their memories return, then this will be an excellent fate.

The real difficulty is that in this assessment, there is no memory, not even any affinity, and even mutually hostile positions. Even more, their natures will be directly reversed, making the gentle become fierce, and the steady become frivolous, each transforming into the opposite of what they were since childhood.

Almost like starting a new life.

In such a situation, they still have to pass an extremely difficult assessment.

Looking at the severed connection between the two.

The dignified woman's eyelids twitched again.

She silently closed the scroll, wondering how to explain things if the main body returned one day.

In the end, she gave up thinking.

"They can only pray for their own good fortune."

She sighed helplessly.

But she didn't know who this good fortune was referring to.

In the illusion, time flowed, and in the blink of an eye, more than ten years had passed.

……………………

"Southeast is a land of scenic beauty; Hangzhou is a bustling metropolis from ancient times."

"Painted bridges amidst mist-shrouded willows, jade curtains amidst gentle breezes; a hundred thousand homes stand in staggered array."

These are the words of the contemporary lyricist, Great Master Liu.

They described all of Hangzhou's romance and all of its splendid prosperity.

A young man was sitting cross-legged on the top of a Buddhist pagoda, gazing at the surrounding scenery from afar. However, this was not Hangzhou. He wore a blue robe, but did not wear it properly, and had a wine gourd at his waist. He smiled as he looked into the distance.

"Why has Benefactor come to this poor monk's place again?"

A tall monk stood behind him, one hand raised in salutation, helplessly looking at the wine-soaked youth in front of him. The latter burped from the alcohol and answered helplessly, "Hey, don't mention it. Bao Zheng was appointed Surveillance Censor, to inspect hundreds of officials and tour the prefectures and counties, and I reckon he's coming here now."

"I fought Zhan Zhao under Bao Heitan, but didn't win, and got beaten up. There's nothing I can do. In today's martial arts world, the Southern Hero Zhan Zhao is the most respected in the Jianghu, and General Di Qing of the Mian Nie is the strongest in the military."

"Ahem, I'm avoiding the limelight."

The monk looked at him and said with a faint smile, "Perhaps this poor monk should capture you and exchange you for some incense money."

The youth was forthright and unrestrained, and just laughed.

"If you can catch me, feel free to try."

"In Jiangnan Dao, no one is faster than me."

"By the way, where did your alms bowl go, monk?"

"This poor monk gave it to someone else."

"Oh? Who…"

"A benefactor surnamed Xu."

"Tsk, amazing, you bald head actually gives things to others."

The man leaning against the highest point of the Buddhist pagoda swayed and sat firmly, and said jokingly, "Why?"

The tall monk replied, "That young benefactor's newly married wife is a demon."

"A demon?"

"Yes… she is a white snake spirit who attained enlightenment in the Tang Dynasty. I don't know why, but she actually transformed into a human and mixed into Lin'an Prefecture. A thousand-year-old snake demon. Once she goes berserk, at least half of the people in Lin'an Prefecture will probably fall into her belly. Although this poor monk is a member of the clergy, I cannot risk such danger."

The youth was fond of arguing and asked with a smile, "But what if that snake demon is not evil?"

"Well, there are many stories of fox demons and scholars in ancient temples in Tang legends. Why can't this be another one?"

The monk said calmly, "This poor monk cannot gamble."

"That's a demon, a thousand-year-old demon."

"Compared to her, mortals are like insects living beside a fierce beast. Even if the beast has no intention of harming people, its actions can collapse the insects' nests, and its angry breath can kill the insects. Although this poor monk is an outsider, I absolutely cannot place the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Lin'an Prefecture on a demon's single good thought."

"Human nature is changeable, let alone demons."

"Tsk, you're really narrow-minded."

The monk said plainly, "If I had to be magnanimous at the expense of the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, this poor monk would rather be a narrow-minded and calculating person. Moreover, I can be even more calculating than Benefactor thinks."

"However, if she is willing to stay away from the city, then this poor monk will naturally not do anything to her."

"What big words." The youth laughed loudly, "Monk Fahai, your cultivation is so high?"

"Let me ask you, what is Buddhism!"

The tall and sturdy monk said calmly, "Buddhism is in the movement of a thought."

The youth was dumbfounded, "What arrogance!"

He didn't know why, but he felt that he had seen this monk somewhere before, and he also felt that this monk's personality shouldn't be like this, that he should be more honest, but after a moment of恍惚, he forgot the confusion just now, and fell drunk on the Buddhist pagoda, with one hand holding a wine bowl, just swaying on the top of the tower.

"Master Fahai, who does not move a single thought of Buddhism, it seems that it is not difficult to achieve great success in Buddhism."

"However, you will actually take action."

"I am in the mortal world, and the monk is in the mortal world. If the mortal world is in trouble, why shouldn't I take action?"

The monk retorted, then was silent for a while, and sighed:

"Actually, this poor monk doesn't want to see the tragedy of the two of them either."

"Oh? Tragedy? That young man from the Xu family has a beautiful wife, and that white snake spirit has a lover. Why is that a tragedy?"

"Lifespan, human nature."

Fahai chuckled and said, "If Benefactor Yuan is interested, this poor monk has a story."

………………

During the Western Zhou Dynasty, King Mu of Zhou had a carriage driven by the ancestor of the Qin state.

This carriage could travel 30,000 miles a day.

This still had to take into account King Mu of Zhou's daily life and conform to the etiquette of the Zhou king.

One day, he suddenly had an idea and ordered the carriage to run towards the west at the fastest speed. The six celestial horses galloped at full speed, faster and faster, as if they could travel through time. The ancestor of the Qin state was shocked, because he had never encountered such a thing before.

He used all his strength to control the carriage.

This process was extremely difficult.

When the carriage finally stopped, it had actually arrived at the legendary West Kunlun.

They were invited up the mountain by the Kunlun gods and met the Queen Mother of the West.

However, this Queen Mother of the West did not seem to be the dignified goddess of mythology, but was more lively, like a young girl. King Mu of Zhou hoped that the Queen Mother of the West would grant him immortality, but the Queen Mother of the West regarded longevity as suffering and was unwilling to grant it. However, King Mu of Zhou saw the hope of immortality and thought hard for several days and nights, and finally came up with a method.

He wanted to marry the Queen Mother of the West.

At that time, he was in high spirits, the co-lord of the world, and a proud king. He believed that even the gods would fall in love with him. And indeed, the 'Queen Mother of the West', who was the Kunlun Lord in the human world at that time, had never seen such a man and was moved by mortal feelings.

King Mu of Zhou did not believe that the Queen Mother of the West would let her beloved die.

And indeed, Mu Wang's little thought was ultimately successful. The Queen Mother of the West gave him the power of immortality. One side was eventually 'kidnapped' by the other. However, King Mu of Zhou did not think of another point. Although he had gained immortality, he was still a mortal and would gradually age.

Day after day, he sang and danced, and the beauty of West Kunlun made him linger.

Gradually, he found wrinkles appearing on his face, and his hair turning gray. He was no longer as strong and heroic as he was when he was young. His spirit gradually aged, becoming calm, restrained, and even dull. He was no longer as courageous as when he was young.

This was the punishment that time imposed on all living beings.

But the Queen Mother of the West was different. She was immortal and always maintained her youthful appearance.

Whether it was her spirit or her body.

What she was obsessed with was the powerful, heroic, and vigorous king, not a decaying old man. Eventually, her love slowly disappeared, and her attention gradually shifted away from this person and began to miss the former, radiant monarch.

And placed more attention on their children.

Looking at the lonely Kunlun, King Mu of Zhou finally realized that humans and gods were different. Those who lived forever could never truly empathize with creatures with short lifespans. In the end, he stepped out of the divine palace and returned to the human world before he died.

He took his children, laughed loudly, held the reins with his old hands, drove the warhorses that could travel long distances, and sent his children to the human world.

"At this time, King Mu of Zhou woke up, and everything before was just a dream."

"He was still young and strong, still radiant, and the 'Queen Mother of the West' in front of him was still young and affectionate. However, Mu Wang was completely awake. He politely declined the 'Queen Mother of the West's' kindness, and then smiled and left Kunlun, keeping his and the Queen Mother of the West's relationship at the very beginning."

"The Queen Mother of the West said, if you remember me, you must come again in the future."

"And King Mu of Zhou said, I will never forget you, but I will never come back."

"Returning to the human world, he formulated the criminal law 'Lü Xing', with three thousand detailed rules, to inform the four directions and correct the world. He lived to be a hundred years old and died as the King of Men. He unified the four barbarians and formulated laws and regulations. He was known as Mu Tianzi in later generations and was a rare monarch in the eight hundred years of the Zhou Dynasty."

Fahai's story was over. The drunken thief next to him frowned and thought. The monk looked into the distance and said calmly, "People covet love, but people's hearts are changeable. Decades are just a blink of an eye for those with long lifespans. A summer insect cannot be told of ice; people think summer insects are foolish."

"But it is not a good thing to bring summer insects into the cold winter."

"The gods view humans as humans view insects."

The thief named Yuan felt thoughtful, but he didn't know why, he couldn't think deeply.

He staggered to his feet.

The monk said, "What are you going to do?"

The thief smiled and said, "Today is the day when Bao Zheng will come here for inspection. I will naturally go and issue a challenge. Monk, your story is good, but it lacks human touch. I don't like it." He laughed and flew away. The bells rang, bringing up flying flowers and fallen leaves. The monk's eyes were peaceful, and his ears were filled with the sound of chanting, the sound of the wind, and the sound of reading.

Jiangnan Dao has繁花, talented scholars, and beautiful women.

There are Buddhist bells, and there are清风杨柳.

There is also the most romantic and arrogant thief in the world.

This is the Great Song Dynasty.

………………

The thief was indeed extremely arrogant. He seemed to know nothing about fear.

When the Inspector Bao Zheng arrived in Lin'an Prefecture, he carried fine wine and leaned on a high place. When the procession reached Middle Street, he suddenly scattered fireworks and firecrackers. These things were naturally stolen from wealthy households, alarming the horses and carriages, and causing the youths and vagrants of the city to cheer.

Zhan Zhao protected the horses and carriages, and the remaining people flew out to capture the arrogant thief.

Among them was a girl, wearing black clothes, with a red waistband hanging down, a golden ring standing up high ponytail, sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, using a long sword. The thief suddenly froze.

He could chase the first wisp of breeze on the grass on the vast grassland, play with large groups of wild wolves on the snowy plains of the north, use a beauty's hairpin to deflect flying arrows, and hold back the fierce horses of the Khitan barbarians with his arms.

But this time he was stunned.

He didn't react until the sword was about to land between his eyebrows.

He flipped backward in the air, his toes lightly landing on the blade of the sword, looking at the girl's stern yet heroic appearance, the thief felt even more drunk. He held the wine gourd in his right hand, his hands in his sleeves, his sleeves filled with the wind and snow of Jiangnan.

"Have we met before?"

He asked with a smile.

The sound of air being torn apart came.

Zhan Zhao threw a gold dart from the other side, which the thief caught with a wave of his hand.

"Junior Sister Jue, step back."

"Thief Yuan, what exactly are you trying to do?!"

The thief pondered, tossed the gold dart in his hand, and scattered it on the ground, letting some children pick it up to exchange for candied haws, then put his hands in his sleeves and said lazily a sentence that broke the hearts of the游侠儿and泼皮in Lin'an Prefecture of the Great Song Dynasty:

"Imperial Cat, didn't you say you wanted to recruit me?"

"I agreed."

"But there are conditions."

Then, the Jiangnan thief, whose personality had been reversed and had lost his memory, pointed at the girl constable in front of him and said decisively.

"Marry her to me!"

ps: Today's first update………

It won't be very long, but I feel it's still very interesting.