180 Resolution (2/2)
I raised my swollen eyes and looked at him and asked, ”Really?”
”Truly, when have I ever lied to you?” Xiang Qing smiled very gently at me, looking at his smile eased my heart and my sadness and so, I believed what he said and went to relay Lou Sha's message to Bull devil, after hearing it, he was surprised and asked, ”Lou Sha...she really doesn't blame me? Is she really going to wait for me?”
”Truly.” I earnestly nodded.
So, in his eyes that seemed to be dead, there was finally a renewed light of hope, it felt like it has been a long time since I have seen any joy on his face. He now has the confidence and hope onto to endure through however many years of suffering and wait until he can leave.
Until the day of their reunion arrives.
After waiting for my mood to calm down, Xiang Qing and I continued to walk our thousand-mile traveling journey at a relaxed pace, we went to all kinds of wonderful foreign countries overseas following Xiao Cha's suggestion and so, we did not return to our homeland for many years.
As we went further and further, we went to a place called Egypt following Xiao Cha's proposal. There were a lot of beautiful palaces and buildings that did not lose to those in the Central Plains. The River Nile was also full of large lotus flowers. In this mysterious country, I argued with Xiang Qing for the first time. Because it is a place where they revere cats, the handsome cat loving Egyptian Pharoah took a liking to my beauty and would always especially look for me to play. Furthermore, people were also presenting me with many gifts, saying that I am a cat god and coming to worship me every day. All these made me very proud of myself and also caused Xiang Qing to be very dissatisfied. I didn't expect that at this moment the Egyptian princess also took a liking to Xiang Qing and would use every possible means to look for him to find the chance to **. Therefore, the seeds of jealousy were sowed and growing in each other and we were both mutually annoyed with each other and so went off with them to amuse ourselves. Yin Zi and Xiao Cha also tried to advise us but we did not listen.
After two days, I was regretting it and covertly wanted to find a way to make up with him, but found him holding a lot of lotus flowers standing in front of my door and bashfully said, ”Miao Miao, I was wrong.”
I quickly shook my head, ”It is me who was wrong.”
The two of us awkwardly looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh and quickly left this beautiful country to gradually head to the next fun country on our travel schedule.
Yin Zi said that I am becoming more and more like a human being, and gradually shedding my cat nature, but from beginning to end, I am still not like a human being.
We spent a full 50 years on this journey, before we finally began to miss our homeland. At this time, Xiang Qing was already 70 years old, and his forehead had wrinkles. However, my appearance has not changed.
Strangers at first used to call me Xiang Qing's beautiful wife, and then it changed to Xiang Qing's beautiful daughter and now it is Xiang Qing's granddaughter...
Xiao Cha returned to Heaven at the age of forty and regained her immortal fairy body, but Xiang Qing's youth would never return. I was afraid he would be sad and tried to comfort Xiang Qing, but he just held me and said that few old men can marry a young wife and that it is his own good fortune.
I often gently stroke his forehead wrinkles and tell him with a smile, ”They are very beautiful and make you look more handsome.”
Xiang Qing would also heartily laugh and say, ”Naturally.” Then would bury my head in his chest and greedily hug me and refuse to let go, I did not mind and was happy to amuse him.
Yin Zi said that when people get old. Instead of becoming wiser, they become more and more like children and have more shortcomings.
I looked at Yin Zi with contempt, my family's Xiang Qing is not old, he is always handsome and charming.
After we returned to back to the hometown, my mother-in-law, brother-in-law and sister-in-law were no longer around. Their children could not recognize us and only asked where we visitors came from?
Xiang Qing just laughed for a long time and then did not explain and pulled me away and we went to the mountains, where there was a valley of hundred flowers and built our own house. Since then, we settled in the forest and rarely interacted with the world.
Time is like running water and never stops. When Xiang Qing was a hundred years old, his hair had turned completely white. His body was no longer as sturdy, and his memory was also a bit bad, some words need to be repeated several times for him to remember.
Xiao Cha was very sad about this and asked, ”Since ancient times, it seems the beautiful endings of romantic novels are not true, is this how all love stories in the mortal world end?”
Yin Zi told her with certainty, ”Yes.”
I said, ”It's not. After all, the two people growing old together slowly is also good.”
No matter what we say, the days continued to move on like this. Yin Zi and Xiao Cha are becoming more and more like an old couple, they don't bicker as much. They often spend their time in the Hua manor, polishing the gems and from time to time go wandering around. Although my days are dull, I am perfectly happy.
When Xiang Qing was at the age of 110 years old, his memory was completely gone. He had forgotten all about Xiao Mao and even forgot some general knowledge on how to live. Only he would frequently remember me being in trouble and would immediately shout my name and then pull my hand and hold on tightly, refusing to go for a few hours.
On a sunny beautiful morning, Xiang Qing was lying in bed with his eyes slightly opened. He seemed to be his complete self today and remembered a lot. he remembered Xiao Mao and a lot about the past. He also talked to me about many things. Finally, he closed his eyes and said, ”Miao Miao, can you help me open the window. I want to watch the sunset.”
I hurriedly stood up and went to open the window, but his hand fell when the rays of the setting sun shone into the room. He was no longer raising the corners of lips, but his lips were still slightly raised and he looked as if he fell into a contented sleep, an eternal sleep.
I looked back at the red sunset and quietly sat next to Xiang Qing for a long time. I knew that he would not wake up again, but I didn't cry or show any trace of sadness.
Xiao Mao's has great ambition and studies hard in Heaven, Yin Zi and Xiao Cha rest and fly together, Wawa married Xiao Tian, Xiaolin still continued his work quietly and refused to leave Xuanqing Palace. Jin Wen and Molin gave birth to a third child, Jian Nan and LoLo are also very happy. Ao Yun hasn't come to see me for a long time, nevertheless, he is still loitering around the East Sea. Lou Sha confined herself in her manor and does not go out and concentrates on waiting for Bull devil to return home.
***(idiom: ”rest and fly together” means they are inseparable, LOL this must be the origin of ride or die, I guess)***
It seems that all these matters have nothing to do with me. After thinking for a long time, I still did not know what to do next, what should I do in the future?
Thousands of years of energy seems to have been exhausted, this cat's soul seems to have been drained from living like a human these few decades. After my only point of support has disappeared, I suddenly feel very very tired.
Xiang Qing said he had nothing more he could wish for in this life, but I still have a wish that cannot be realized.
In the end, I stood up at dawn and brought out the three-colored flames I had obtained from Heaven and burned everything.
The house, the furniture, the yard, Xiang Qing's body, and my body were all consumed by the raging inferno. This is all for my greedy desire for my last wish:
”I hope to live at the same time and grow old together .”
As the sun set again and the clouds were tinged with sunset hues, my soul gradually floated to Heaven and entered the wheel of reincarnation to follow the person of my dream's disappearing figure.
As my last string of consciousness disappeared, I heard an incomparably sorrowful cry of a dragon sound through the Heavens.
***THE END***
MiraiSaesang's notes: Well, this chapter was long and had me flipping through a whole range of emotions...I was sad, happy and then dragged down a path of slow depression that culminated in death...I was not expecting it to go this way and up until the end of their journey I still held out hope that somehow he would be able to regain his immortal self...and that even if that failed, I still held out hope that Miao Miao could find him again and in that life, he would regain his immortal self (actually this was far off in the recesses of my mind, a last card if you will)...
...but I did not expect her to follow him in death, ending her immortal life...I can understand her though, waiting is hard, especially when the sliver of hope is so hard to hold on to...she doesn't even know when or where he will be reborn and would have to endlessly keep waiting and searching and now that she has seen how vast the world is, the task probably feels a lot more daunting...it is definitely different from Lou Sha's, who at least knows he is alive and can hold onto that...
...Speaking of Lou Sha, I applaud her handling Jiao Jiao's funeral and her conviction to wait, it is definitely not an easy choice, especially considering he has not been so good to her either, given the concubine issue and all...but losing a husband and son, waiting for their return and now confining herself to virtually suffer their punishments along with them is a hard choice to make...
...Xiao Mao will be heartbroken...I wonder if that dragon cry at the end was his (maybe making some breakthrough on power level) or Bi Qing Shen Jun's soul crying out...although some may question her choice because of Xiao Mao, but remember at heart she is not human, she is a cat and animals, at least most of them, do not have the same attachments and definitely not the same sense of responsibility humans feel for their children...
...This completely blindsided me, and this is the first time I can remember this happening to me in a story...I thought to put a disclaimer at the top, but then I thought it best to take you all down this emotional rollercoaster of a chapter with me...as you can probably tell from my rant, I am in shock ????????...
....*Sigh* There is still hope for the future, I was KIDDING...THIS IS NOT THE END, it is the end of Book 2 though, there are still about 30 CHAPTERS LEFT in Book 3...so there will be a future for them?...We are heading back to the modern world starting the next chapter, I guess it all comes full circle...Also, we will get to see grown up Xiao Mao too, living a modern life the future...