To Isabella’s bewilderment, Zu An continued advancing as if he was unaware of his disappearing flesh. She shouted, “Big brother Zu! Big brother Zu!”
No matter how she shouted, Zu An didn’t respond. He had entered another space. He was no longer walking on the chain; instead, he was on the moon. The surroundings were frigid, and the space was barren except for a nearly withered osmanthus tree.
There was a palace in the distance, and he was excited to see it. It was the Frost Palace.
He had been wanting to meet Chang’e, also known as the ancient Mermaid Queen Gong Suyin, once more. He ran over, but to his astonishment, he couldn’t open the door no matter how he pushed.
“Suyin! Suyin!” He knocked on the door and shouted.
Moments later, a perplexed voice echoed, “Who are you?”
Zu An was excited to hear that familiar voice. “Suyin, I am Zu An!”
“Zu An?” The person inside murmured the name. Moments later, she replied, “I don’t know you.”
Zu An was taken aback, but he quickly realized what was going on. “I’m sorry, Suyin. I know you’re angry at me, but I have been looking for ways to return, albeit to no avail. It’s only now that I’m able to reach you.”
His heart was filled with guilt. It didn’t occur to him how he had gotten here in the first place.
The door finally opened, and a woman dressed traditionally walked out. She had well-sculpted eyebrows reminiscent of a painting, and her robes fluttered gracefully. She was ravishing.
The sight of her made Zu An gasp. He leaped forward to hug her.
But the other party dodged with a cold expression. “Please have some self-respect, sir!”
“Suyin, it’s me!” Zu An was appalled.
“Suyin... You kept calling me Suyin, but I’m afraid you've gotten the wrong person. I’m not Suyin. I am Chang’e,” the beautiful woman replied with a frown. “But Suyin sounds familiar. I appear to have heard the name somewhere.”
Zu An’s heart skipped a beat as he realized she wasn't putting on an act. “You are Chang’e, but you are also the ancient Mermaid Queen Gong Suyin...”
He told her about their transmigration into the past, how she had become the Chang clan’s saintess, and how she had been forced to consume the immortal medicine and ended up being trapped in the Frost Palace.
“It’s an interesting story...” The beautiful woman nodded.
Noticing her composure, Zu An’s heart sank. “It’s not a story. It’s what happened between us.”
The woman eyed him. “Your words spark some memories in me. I have been waiting for someone all these years. Are you that person?”
Zu An became excited once more. “That’s right! Have you remembered it?”
“I do remember it. I remember how grueling the first thousand years were. Every time I heard the wind blow and the grass rustle, I’d think you had returned. But each time I opened the door, there was no one there. It was an endless cycle of disappointment.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize. It’s all in the past.”
“...”
“The following ten thousand years weren’t easy either. By then, I had stopped rushing to the door whenever I heard any movements outside because I feared disappointment.”
“Another hundred thousand years passed afterward. I thus lost all expectations. I knew you would never come, but I still continued to wait out of habit. Even our image started to blur in my mind. I tried to draw you, but I could never get your face.
“In the next three hundred thousand years, I forgot about my wait and our past. I grew accustomed to my life in the Frost Palace.”
Her words plunged Zu An’s heart into ice.
“I’m sorry, Suyin. You waited in agony for so many years because I came too late.” Zu An looked distraught. That was three hundred thousand years! What a despair-inducingly long time that was!
The beautiful woman shook her head. “You don’t have to apologize to me. It has all come to pass. I have grown accustomed to all these things. Time can indeed heal all pain. I no longer feel pain or excitement when I recall the past; there is only serenity.”
Zu An wanted to say something, but the beautiful woman turned around and left. The door slowly closed. “You should leave. That was an immature relationship from three hundred thousand years ago. I have lived for far too long; the days I spent with you are insignificant in comparison. The current me harbors no feelings for you. Farewell.”
The moment the door closed, Zu An felt as if someone had plunged a blade into his heart.
He couldn’t criticize Gong Suyin. What promise could possibly withstand the trial of three hundred thousand years? He only had himself to blame for losing her and failing to find her for so many years.
The next second, the world warped. He found himself transported from the lifeless Frost Palace to a verdant mountain shrouded in clouds. The grass and trees here felt familiar. His heart skipped a beat. This is Wu Mountain.
He anxiously rushed to the mountain peak to look at the beautiful Goddess Peak.
“You’re finally here,” a gentle voice said with a sigh.
Goddess Peak turned around to look at him as if it had come to life.
Zu An asked with a quivering voice, “Is it you, Yaoji?”
“Have you forgotten me...” the voice sounded begrudging.
“No, I was afraid you would forget me.” Zu An recalled his earlier encounter at the Frost Palace, and that filled his heart with pain.
“How could I ever forget you? I have been waiting for you. But I am stuck in this ugly form now.” The Goddess Peak sounded downtrodden. Dark clouds appeared around the Wu Mountain and drizzled, as if the goddess herself was weeping.
“Are you unable to revert to your human form?” Zu An asked fearfully.
“Too much time has passed. Has it been three hundred thousand years? I envy Chang’e. She consumed the immortal medicine and haf an eternity to wait for you, but I was unable to live that long. I could only morph into the Goddess Peak and await your arrival.
“But still, it has been too long. My sentience is about to dissipate,” the Goddess Peak lamented.
“What?!” Zu An hadn’t expected such an outcome for their reunion. He cast his avatar to expand his body, so he could embrace the Goddess Peak as if it was the Goddess of Wu Mountain.
“Don’t weep. I am glad that I was able to meet you right before I dissipate.” Her voice was as gentle and ethereal as ever.