Cui Xun was surprised that he knew, but nodded and said, “Yes.”
“She has gone back.”
“Back where?”
“Thirty years ago.”
Cui Xun was shocked. He studied the ferryman, then stepped forward and made a respectful bow: “May I ask, ferryman, when you say thirty years ago, do you mean…?”
The ferryman nodded: “Exactly what you’re thinking.” He said, “She has returned to the sixth day of the tenth month in the twentieth year of Taichang, and on that day, she killed herself.”
Cui Xun was stunned. Mingyue Pearl had killed herself? Was this the truth about her death?
He instinctively asked, “But how could her soul return to thirty years ago?”
“Why not?” the ferryman said. “Everyone has a cycle of rebirth—from life to death, after death, reincarnation, then life again, then death again. But Mingyue Pearl’s cycle is not into the next life, but a continuous cycle within her lifetime.”
Cui Xun thought carefully and understood. Just as in this world, there are so-called “living immortals” and fortune-tellers who can make accurate predictions, even knowing events that will happen decades later—the most famous being Yuan Tiangong and Li Chunfeng.
And perhaps some of these living immortals were like Li Ying, souls from decades later returning to the past, occupying their bodies. This way, they would naturally know what would happen afterward.
For example, people often speak of “opening the celestial eye,” saying that a fortune-teller at a certain moment—perhaps while drinking or playing—suddenly collapses, and after waking, possesses the ability to foretell the future. But perhaps they haven’t opened any celestial eye; rather, the person in that body is no longer their current self, but their self from decades later.
Cui Xun asked, “So the Li Ying on the sixth day of the tenth month was no longer Li Ying?”
The ferryman nodded: “She returned from the present to the past.”
The Li Ying on the sixth day of the tenth month was, in a sense, like those fortune-tellers—at a certain moment, she gained the ability to foretell the future.
Cui Xun also finally understood why the Empress Dowager had repeatedly tried to kill him, but always said she had promised someone and therefore would not kill him. This someone must have been her beloved daughter Li Ying.
From the very beginning, it was Li Ying who had saved him.
Cui Xun had been wondering where Li Ying’s soul from thirty years later had come from, but then he realized that the soul from thirty years later came from Li Ying of thirty years ago.
In the previous dynasty, the Wendi Emperor’s Empress once woke from a dream in panic and told the Emperor, “Don’t go to the western suburbs; there will be a great disaster.”
The Wendi Emperor, who was quarreling with the Empress at the time, changed his hunting plans from the eastern suburbs to the western suburbs precisely because of the Empress’s words. As a result, he was startled by a black bear, fell from his horse, and died from severe injuries. The Wendi Emperor’s Empress was then forced to commit suicide by the Empress Dowager.
Perhaps the Wendi Emperor’s Empress was like Li Ying, reborn back to the past. She wanted to save the Wendi Emperor, but never imagined that the Emperor would die because of her words, and she couldn’t escape being forced to commit suicide.
This was probably the cause and effect—the effect was the cause, and the cause was the effect.
Cui Xun was silent for a moment. The ferryman asked, “Will you still wait for her?”
Perhaps she would be trapped in her cycle forever, and he would never see her again.
Cui Xun nodded: “Yes.”
“Even though she chose death herself? Even though she was the instigator of the Taichang Blood Incident? Is she still the Mingyue Pearl with a heart of crystal in your eyes?”
“Yes,” Cui Xun looked steadily at the ferryman with his bamboo hat. The conditions thirty years ago can be seen in the history books. The noble families were powerful, with the Five Surnames and Seven Clans even ranking before the imperial Li clan in the ‘Clan Records.’ The new policies harmed the interests of the noble families and could not be implemented. The Turks were strong, and their Khan ambitious. If things had continued that way, within fifty years, the Turkish iron hooves would have crossed the borders just as in the previous dynasty. The Great Zhou would only be able to cede territory to make peace. How many common people would have become slaves to the barbarians? It was precisely for this reason that the late Emperor reluctantly agreed to kill his daughter.”
He continued, “Killing one to save many, though creating sin, also has merit. When Mingyue Pearl returned to the past, she could certainly choose to live, and she could use everything she knew to change her fate and even the fates of others. But one action affects everything. She could not bear the unknown possibilities this change might bring. What if that possibility meant the failure of the new policies, the Turks marching south, and a repeat of the tragedy of the Five Barbarians’ disorder? She would die of guilt. So she preferred to choose the known outcome, even if this choice would cause her immense pain and trap her in an endless cycle. Still, she would make this choice. Why is such a person not worthy of being described as having a heart of crystal?”
The ferryman seemed moved and nodded slightly. He pointed behind him and said, “Mingyue Pearl is coming.”
Cui Xun was startled. He turned around and indeed saw Li Ying.
Li Ying only remembered falling into the Lotus Pond, but didn’t know why she appeared in the netherworld, with Cui Xun standing before her. She stood there in a daze until Cui Xun came to his senses, quickly walked over, and embraced her. Only then did she react, murmuring, “What is happening?”
Wasn’t she supposed to be trapped in an endless cycle? Why was she here?
She tremblingly extended her arms to embrace Cui Xun, hardly believing: “Am I… dreaming?”
“No, you’re not dreaming.” Cui Xun held her like a treasured possession lost and found again, his eyes reddening. He held Li Ying tightly, unwilling to let go. After a while, he suddenly seemed to remember something and released Li Ying. Li Ying still felt as if she were in a dream. She said, “Didn’t you make a vow before the Buddha’s crown relic? Why…?”
“It’s a long story,” Cui Xun said. “Mingyue Pearl, come and meet your father first.”
Li Ying was stunned: “Father?”
The ferryman slowly removed his bamboo hat, revealing a face extremely familiar to Li Ying.
Li Ying exclaimed in surprise: “Father?”
The Taichang Emperor’s eyes glistened with tears. This was the first time Li Ying had seen him cry. His expression seemed full of remorse, and he didn’t dare step forward to embrace Li Ying. Li Ying pressed her lips together, then quickly stepped forward and threw herself into his arms: “Father.”
The Taichang Emperor’s fingertips trembled slightly, and finally, just as when Li Ying was a child, he stroked her hair and held her in his arms.
He murmured, “Mingyue Pearl, forgive your father.”
Li Ying’s eyes were blurred with tears. She looked up and said, “Father, I forgave you long ago.”
Hearing this, the Taichang Emperor was overwhelmed with emotion and choked up.
Li Ying asked, “Father, why are you here?”
Cui Xun, standing to the side, said, “Mingyue Pearl, your father is here because of you.”
The Taichang Emperor nodded slightly. In his narration, Li Ying learned that after the Taichang Emperor died and came to the netherworld, the Ten Kings of Hell told him that during his reign, he had worked diligently to govern well and had done great deeds for the people. He should have ascended to the heavenly court as an immortal, but because he had instigated the Taichang Blood Incident with too much killing, he could only be a minor immortal in the netherworld. But the Taichang Emperor had already learned the cause of Li Ying’s death from Ji Qingyang. He first asked the Ten Kings of Hell where his daughter was. When he learned that Li Ying was trapped in an endless cycle, the Taichang Emperor preferred not to be an immortal but instead became a ferryman on the Nai River, transporting departed souls across the river to accumulate merit, to eliminate Li Ying’s sins, and help her escape the cycle earlier.
And now, the Taichang Emperor, once a ruler of a country, had been a ferryman for exactly twenty years, transporting no fewer than a million departed souls. He had accumulated merit for Li Ying for twenty years. Today was the day when Li Ying’s merits and sins balanced out, which was why she could escape the cycle and come to the netherworld.
Li Ying was crying uncontrollably: “Father…”
The Taichang Emperor shook his head: “Mingyue Pearl, don’t be sad for your father. This is what your father should do.”
He looked at Cui Xun: “Cui Xun.”