Proofread by Zhu Yuan

The sun was scorching overhead, and the weather was suffocatingly hot. Occasionally, a floating cloud drifted across the horizon and became the only embellishment in the silent world. The scenery in front of me was gradually blurred, leaving only the blazing red of the overwhelming fire. It was like the tongue of a serpent, planning to engulf everything.

I heard the voice of people roaring. I closed my eyes in despair and listened helplessly to the shouting of people outside the fire...

“The demon concubine brought disaster to our country, and she should be burnt to death...”

“Burn her to death! Burn her to death! She was a demon concubine!”

“Burn the demon concubine to death, and bring peace back to us!”

A demon concubine? Was I a demon concubine? Thinking of this, I couldn’t help but put on a bitter smile. If it were true, I would never be tied to the tower by you people. I was unable to do anything in front of the raging fire, because I couldn’t move at all.

The pain of being burned was beyond words. I guessed in my eyes there was only emptiness. What appeared in my mind again and again was still his emotionless face. I once pushed my way out of the crowd and fell down in front of him. I clenched his trousers with my trembling hands and kept defending myself, “I am not a demon, and you must believe me! Junhua, you must believe me! I am not a demon...”

However, his face was cold and ruthless. He kicked me away and ordered the guards to seize me. There was nothing else in his eyes but disgust and apathy.

How could this happen? How did the plague in the country become my fault? Just because I was the favorite concubine of Junhua? Because I had a beautiful face? Or something wrong with the inexplicable spell that I was born with?

I was a human being, a human being! But who believed me? Even Junhua, whom I trusted most, didn’t believe me and kept calling me the demon concubine...

Junhua, how could you distrust me? I was Ruoli! You swore to me that you would never betray me!

The fire spread all over my body. I watched my skin engulfed by the fire inch by inch, but inside my heart it was freezing cold, which helped me to forget the scorching pain outside.

My body was gradually burnt to ashes and my consciousness was pulled away. At the last moment when my soul dispersed, I seemed to see a figure in blue running towards the flame, panicking and shouting, “Ruoli! Ruoli!”

I felt that the shape of my body was uncertain. I didn’t totally wake up from the obscurity until I saw the otherworldly flowers (manjusaka) on the road to the netherworld. “The flowers and leaves cannot see each other, and the two are destined to be separated and miss each other forever.” Following the ox-headed and horse-faced demons from Hades, I walked through the Bridge of Helplessness on the River of Forgetfulness. The blazing red in front of me became the darkness of chaos.

The netherworld was just around the corner.

Halfway across the bridge, I met Judge Cui in the netherworld. He greeted me respectfully and said, “Fairy Peony, it is time to return to your place. Queen Mother has been waiting in the heaven for a long time. Please return to your place!”

My place? I suddenly smiled. Yes, I was originally a white peony in Queen Mother’s wonderland of Yaochi. After one thousand years of cultivation, I was favored by Queen Mother. I went to the Palace of Flowers as Fairy Peony and served Queen Mother.

However, after practicing with great concentration for thousands of years, all my efforts became in vain since I glanced at the indescribably handsome Emperor of Donghua at Peach Banquet and hopelessly fell in love with him. From then on, the only one that mattered to me in the world was the Emperor of Donghua. In the past 500 years, I chased him ceaselessly, but he had never looked at me respectfully, and his eyes were still clear, without any worldly desire. He was emotionless and heartless. Even Grand Supreme Lord reminded me more than once, “To win the love of Donghua is even harder than touching the sky!”

At that time, I was so naïve, and I believed that “touching the sky” was a piece of cake. I even didn't take this advice seriously. I didn’t know that Donghua, who was born in the ruins of wild spirits above the blue sea, ought to be heartless and emotionless. How could he be easily attracted by others?

So, 500 years later, when Donghua devoted himself to transmigration and went down to the mortal world to experience human sufferings, I also entered the transmigration without hesitation to pursue him. I only wished I could obtain his love and live together with him for decades in the mortal world.

However, it was ridiculous that either as a fairy or as a human, I couldn’t obtain the love of Donghua. The only thing that I could remember about that flashy world was his ruthless eyes and merciless words… I couldn’t help but burst into tears. I attained nothing but sadness in the mortal world. How could I restrain the deep despair and sadness?

So, what was the point of becoming a fairy or a human? It would be better to be a demon, far better!

I staggered across the Bridge of Helplessness and went through the River of Forgetfulness. The gray-haired Old Lady Meng leaned against the bridge alone. The five-flavored tea of forgetfulness in her hand was flowing with relaxing colors. After drinking her tea, all the love, hate, and sorrow in the previous life would be forgotten.

As I approached Old Lady Meng, I saw the blue Karma Stone standing behind her. The words carved on the stone were as red as blood. The top of the stone was engraved with the sentence, “Go to the other bank early.” I reached out my trembling hand and touched the countless names engraved on it, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find “Fairy Peony and the Emperor of Donghua”, or “Bai Ruoli and Mu Junhua”. I looked up and guffawed till tears fell on the blue stone and disappeared. It was proved that after all, I was doomed to be nobody for Donghua. Even on the Karma Stone I couldn’t find any hint of love between us.

Old Lady Meng smiled and handed the bowl to me. Her old voice was like a call from a distance. “My fairy, what is love? It is nothing but a bowl of tea. Are you still puzzled by it?”

When people knew about their previous life, they had left their surnames on the Karma Stone. If people didn’t want to know their previous life, they should drink Old Lady Meng’s tea.

I suddenly became aware that in the past one thousand years, I chased Donghua ceaselessly with great pleasure. I didn't realize that either in heaven or the mortal world, I couldn't win Donghua’s heart until I reached the entrance of the netherworld, looked at the otherworldly flowers, crossed the Bridge of Helplessness, and saw the Karma Stone.

I took the tea and walked along the River of Forgetfulness. Finally, I was faced with the six transmigration gateways: Devaloka (the road to become a fairy), Asura (the road to become an Asura), Manuṣya (the road to become a man), Tiryagyoni (the road to become an animal), Preta (the road to become a ghost) and Naraka (the road to become a demon). Then I stopped in front of Tiryagyoni, the road to become an animal, which gave off blue light.

What was the difference between being immortals or humans? Instead of suffering from the pain of love, it was better to become an animal or a demon. Longevity or beauty didn’t matter anymore, and one could be free and unfettered from love and worry in its life.

“My fairy, do not ...” Judge Cui suddenly shouted at me from behind, and his voice was full of panic and disbelief.

I turned around and smiled at him. After drinking the tea all at once, to his astonishment, I jumped into the gateway of Tiryagyoni. From then on, there would be no Fairy Peony in the world.

Farewell, Donghua… Maybe we wouldn’t meet again…