Into The Sea

Moonday
Weather: Clear
Mood:

I woke up early to practice my sword, slashing at a piece of Cangxuan stone eight hundred times. Maybe the noise was too loud, as it attracted Yu Shanye.

She asked me why I was hacking at the stone. I sneered, pointed to the two words “Lan Wu” carved on top of the stone, and walked away without another word.

Soon, she caught up with me again, asking where I was going.

Where else could I go? I told her I was going to the South Sea.

She paused, and her expression turned into that hesitant, worried, and sad look again.

She said, “You’ve been there so many times, and each time you come back with nothing. The South Sea is huge… where exactly do you plan to find her?”

I don’t know.

But if I stopped searching and if I don’t hold onto this last bit hope, I think I’d lose my mind.

Before leaving, I took Danbai to the Jianzhi Courtyard and asked her to take care of Danqing for a while. Although Danbai couldn’t transform yet, she could now speak.

After I refused her request to come with me, so she reluctantly stayed behind.

She grumbled, “Why does Master care so much about this little bird? She’s Lan Wu’s spirit beast. Even Lan Wu doesn’t care about her anymore, so why should you?”

“Exactly because Lan Wu no longer cares about her,” I said, “I must.”

“We were both abandoned.”

Fireday
Weather: Clear
Mood:

Today, I saw someone on the street whose back looked just like Lan Wu’s. I chased after her, but it turned out to be just an ordinary mortal. I apologized, but she suddenly grabbed my arm and said if I really wanted to make it up to her, I should treat her to a meal.

I’ve lived over thirty years. I’m no longer that naive teenager. I could see the interest in her eyes and understood that asking me to treat her was just an excuse to spend time with me.

Lan Wu was right back then. After my body was cleansed and refined, this face really does seem… well liked.

But what about her face?

It’s been almost twenty years. Lan Wu must have met more people or demons who like her, right?

Has she already forgotten me?

Why else hasn’t she come back for me?

In a daze, I agreed to her request and went with her to the most famous restaurant in town. After achieving Grain Avoidance, I no longer needed to eat. Only when Lan Wu brought back too many sweet cakes would I help her finish them at her pleading.

Those things were too sweet; I never really liked them. After she left, at least I no longer had to waste time eating those pointless grains anymore.

But when I saw the familiar pastries on the table, I still picked one up and took a bite.

The person across from me asked, “Do you like these?”

I shook my head. “No.”

Indeed, it’s still too sweet.

Waterday
Weather: Clear
Mood:

Today, I continued my journey. That person somehow found the inn where I was staying and, seeing that I was leaving, tried to persuade me to stay. Helpless, I told her that I was a cultivator, that I wouldn’t stay in one place for long, and that I couldn’t form a bond with a mortal whose lifespan was merely a hundred years.

It was cruel, maybe. She fell silent and didn’t try to stop me from leaving.

I continued on, alone. But the more I walked, the more dazed I felt.

I said I couldn’t be with a mortal who lived only a century…

But back then, before the truth came out, when I thought Lan Wu was just a normal girl with a damaged core, I had prayed countless times for a miracle, hoping to find the right medicine to heal her.

I had even thought that even if I couldn’t find the Sea Pearl, even if Lan Wu could only live for a hundred years, I would stay by her side.

But in the end, maybe it was all just my wishful thinking.

What was Lan Wu thinking back then? When she saw me exhausting myself to find medicine for her, did she find me ridiculous?

These questions swirl in my mind day and night. The more I think about them, the more it hurts, and the more it hurts, the more I can’t stop myself from remembering…

Now, I can’t even tell whether I want to find her because I love her, or because I hate her.

Woodday
Weather: Clear
Mood:

In a village near the South Sea, I caught a snake demon who had been stealing chickens. She was pitch black and injured. Just as I was about to teach her a lesson, a girl suddenly appeared breathless.

She said her name was Lin Jingzhe, from Yaoxian Valley, and that the snake had been hiding in the village for over a month. Apart from stealing chickens, she hadn’t hurt anyone, so she begged me to let her go.

I couldn’t help but frown. “Do you think I’m going to kill her?”

Lin Jingzhe looked me over and murmured, “I know you. You’re Senior Sister Ji from Haochen Mountain. Everyone says that you… that you hate demons and kill them on sight.”

Where did this rumor come from? Although I had killed a lot of demons, they were all evil demons. When had I ever killed a good demon?

…Forget it. Let them think what they want.

After handing the snake over to Lin Jingzhe, I continued on my way. Before long, I reached the seaside.

A family of fishermen here had been rescued by me at sea, and since then, they had regarded me as their family’s great benefactor. Over the years, I had watched their family grow from children to teenagers, and from teenagers to young adults. Like other ordinary mortals, they married and had children, and their family became more and more prosperous.

When they saw me, their family was extremely happy. They made food to welcome me and even helped me prepare the boat.

“Immortal Master, how long will you be out at sea this time?”

“I don’t know,” I sighed and asked, “Any news in the past year?”

“No, demons occasionally appear, but no one has ever seen the mermaid that you mentioned.”

I nodded and said goodbye to them before setting sail alone.

The world is vast. I sat quietly on a small boat, drifting with the sun, moon, and stars on this boundless sea.

What am I doing?

I had no idea where the merfolks were hiding. Doing all this was just like chasing shadows.

But aside from relying on this faint hope, I have nothing else.

Metalday
Weather: Rainy
Mood:

Rain, rain, it would be best if it could flood the place where the merfolks live.

Oh, wait, merfolks live in the water. They can’t be flooded.

Stoneday
Weather: Rainy
Mood:

If I really do find Lan Wu, I’ll give her a good beating first, and then, and then…

But if I hit her, will she run away again?

Break her legs? No… wait, she doesn’t have legs.

What would it take… to make sure she never leaves again?

Lightday
Weather: Clear
Mood:

Moonday
Weather: Rainy
Mood:

Fireday
Weather: Clear
Mood:

Waterday
Weather: Clear
Mood:

***

Moonday
Weather: Heavy Snow
Mood:

I have thought of a way.