Chapter 81: You Dare Think That Too
Meng Xueli had already entered a subtle, indescribable state.
It was as if he had split into two selves. Inwardly, he sat in meditation, observing himself. He could feel the abundant spiritual energy coursing through his meridians, swiftly condensing into true essence, the meridians widening once more. At the same time, his divine sense was being tempered, becoming even stronger — as though it floated high above the secret realm. Outwardly, he could sense the drifting of winds and clouds within it, the faintest stirrings of grass and trees. With his eyes closed, he did not see with his vision, but perceived everything wholly.
Yet Meng Xueli knew this was not enough. According to the Daoist classics such as Introduction to the Dao, “breaking the barrier” meant piercing through the veil of delusion. He still had a pass to cross.
Meng Xueli drew his divine sense inward, sinking deeper into his sea of consciousness. For the moment, he forgot where he was. Scenes of the past flickered before him like lantern slides, one after another.
He became once again a spirit ferret, and saw the Sacred Snow Mountain of the demon realm. The mountain was vast and silent, towering into the clouds. Apart from the sound of wind and snow, there was no other sound at all.
The little spirit ferret had been born of the world’s spiritual energy, ignorant of worldly affairs. It dined on wind and drank the dew, frolicked in the snow, ran across every glacier, and soaked in every natural hot spring. Unknowingly, hundreds of years slipped by, and the little ferret grew into a great one.
It descended the snowy mountain, learning to hunt like other beasts. Its demon form was as large as a hill, its white fur thick and soft, streaming in the wind. Great strength surged within its body — with a single claw strike and a fierce roar, it could crack the ice and bring down an avalanche.
One day, the spirit ferret lay on the ice gazing at the stars. The sky stretched endlessly, cloudless, with a myriad of twinkling stars. The snow mountain was veiled in silver light. Starlight fell upon its body, carrying a cool touch — this was the most comfortable and beautiful moment of its day.
The starry sky above gradually changed, glowing with green, pale red, and violet-blue hues, forming a curtain of starlight spanning hundreds of miles, crossing several snowy peaks, and draping across the heavens. The luminous veil slowly shifted, its radiance reflected by the smooth ice, so that the surface beneath its paws became like another starry sky.
The ferret rose to its feet. That night, it sensed the breath of heaven and earth, and without a teacher, it comprehended the art of transformation. The ice reflected the variegated starlight — and a youthful figure appeared, silver hair flowing long, soft ferret ears perched atop his head, lithe and spirited.
The spirit ferret left the mountain, roaming through the demon realm. On the road, it befriended a peacock and a great mottled serpent.
The serpent styled himself the “Spirit Mountain King,” claiming descent from the ancient flying serpents. The peacock scoffed: “Tch. By that logic, I could claim descent from the Peacock King!”
The three mighty demons traveled together through the three realms, fearless of heaven or earth. With their wildness and playfulness combined, they dared to charge even into dragon’s pools and tiger’s dens.
Que Xianming, the peacock, excelled at concealment and transformation, able to masquerade as demonfolk or disguise himself as human. The spirit ferret would coil around his neck, pretending to be a fur collar, while the serpent wrapped around his wrist, posing as a bracelet.
They wandered through the three realms, beholding every strange spectacle, meeting renowned figures or notorious demons. The spirit ferret could not help but sigh: “The evolution of heaven and earth granted different gifts to the three races. In terms of physical strength and harmony with nature, humans are the weakest. In terms of reproduction and raising offspring, demons are the weakest. So why is it that our demon race, scattered and divided, has become the weakest of the three? Humans don’t eat humans, devils don’t eat devils, yet demons eat each other…”
The great serpent said, “Demons devouring demons — that’s our nature.”
When Ji Xiao found Meng Xueli in the “land outside the realms,” he had asked him: “Do you recognize me?”
Meng Xueli had replied, “I recognize your sword intent — you must be Ji Xiao.” But in truth, he had lied.
He had once seen Ji Xiao from afar.
That was before the war between the human and demon realms erupted. Ji Xiao had not yet become a Saint, but he was already considered “invincible in the world.” The spirit ferret wanted to see what the legendary Sword Sovereign looked like, but the peacock and the great serpent were unwilling.
The peacock said, “We could wait until Ji Xiao isn’t around, then slip into Hanmen City or Han Shan Sword Sect for a bit of fun—that’s easy enough! But you want to see Ji Xiao with your own eyes? Isn’t that the same as plucking a tiger’s whiskers?”
The great serpent added, “I suggest you buy a portrait of Ji Xiao, or maybe some of the Sword Sovereign’s calligraphy.”
The spirit ferret was displeased, his curiosity only growing. The peacock had no choice but to teach him ways to conceal his aura and disguise himself as human. But he did not learn well, and in the end, came up with a clumsy solution.
The ferret disguised himself as an old boatman, ferrying passengers beneath the stone bridge of Hanmen City. For three whole months he saw people, ferried people, listened to their conversations about Ji Xiao, and merged his own aura into the city’s breath.
He ferried thousands of travelers, all for the sake of seeing Ji Xiao walk across that bridge just once, to catch a single glimpse from afar.
He thought Ji Xiao had not noticed, but in truth Ji Xiao knew perfectly well. He pitied the difficulty of a demon spirit’s cultivation. This one was ferrying people and accumulating good deeds. If one day he chose to commit evil, then a single strand of sword qi would be enough to kill him.
The ferret saw Ji Xiao, then cheerfully bragged about it to his companions.
The peacock scoffed, “No attendants? No carriage? That’s less impressive than the Demon Sovereigns of our realm—he’s no different from an ordinary mortal!”
The ferret laughed and said, “There’s a difference. He’s really beautiful.”
The very first words the ferret used to describe Ji Xiao were not, ‘his sword is strong’ or ‘he is powerful,’ but rather, ‘he’s really beautiful.’
When the three demons returned to the demon realm, the land was in turmoil. Great demons carved up territory, proclaimed themselves kings, while lesser demons suffered disaster after disaster. Near the snowy mountains, many little demons, knowing that the ferret disliked consuming demon cores, sought him out for shelter in hopes of survival.
More and more demons flocked to him. The ferret protected his domain, declaring himself the “Snow Mountain King.” He laid down rules: the demons under his banner could eat wild beasts, but they were forbidden from hunting intelligent demons without cause. Once a beast gained intelligence and achieved cultivation, it was kin. Yet many demons disdained cultivating through absorbing the qi of heaven and earth. They preferred devouring the cores of others, for that was the fastest way to increase power. Thus, this rule was the most widely resented.
But the Spirit Mountain King’s demon power was profound. In the demon realm, the strong were king. No lesser demon dared oppose him to his face.
The peacock did not care, as it did not cultivate through devouring cores. The great serpent asked what the ferret intended. The Spirit Mountain King declared, “I want to unify the demon realm, to become the supreme Demon King, and make the demon realm the strongest of the three realms!”
The Spirit Mountain King waged war north and south, his reputation spread far and wide, demons trembled at the mere sound of his name. With a single call, multitudes responded. That was the most spirited, glorious time of his life.
Good times were always short. Meng Xueli’s consciousness sank deeper into the sea of memory. The scenes before his eyes flashed rapidly, finally halting at the moment of betrayal and pursuit.
“Spirit Mountain King, this time even if you had wings, you wouldn’t escape! Today is your death day!”
“He’s too heavily wounded. Even if he runs to the Xukong, he won’t survive!”
The ferret fled beyond the three realms, collapsing into the snow. Blood poured from his wounds, and he could no longer feel pain or cold. At life’s end, he saw a figure walking out of the blizzard, a black cloak swirling like storm clouds.
Through the swirling snow, he wanted to call Ji Xiao’s name, but his throat made no sound. He could only watch helplessly as Ji Xiao walked farther and farther away.
Meng Xueli’s consciousness floated above, watching it all. He said coldly, “Fake.”
Suddenly, someone grabbed the ferret by the scruff of the neck. A detached voice asked, “The Spirit Mountain King?”
Meng Xueli’s body relaxed entirely. He leaned toward Ji Xiao’s neck and gently licked his jaw.
Afterwards, he was reincarnated as a human and spent his second season of happiness on Changchun Peak.
Until Ji Xiao emerged from seclusion, preparing to head for the outer realm to seal away the reincarnated Heavenly Demon. On the night before his departure, he found him by the pond. “I have something to give you. Wait until I return.”
Meng Xueli seized his sleeve. “Don’t go!”
Ji Xiao did not leave. Overjoyed, Meng Xueli could not contain himself, showing the mannerisms of his ferret form, rubbing against Ji Xiao’s neck and licking his jaw.
On the warm, springlike Changchun Peak, they lived in affection day and night. Peach blossoms bloomed and fell, drifting clouds gathered and dispersed.
Meng Xueli’s consciousness watched coldly. “It’s all fake. Wake up.”
This time, the illusion did not break. Even his consciousness grew muddled. In his daze, it truly felt as though he was Ji Xiao’s Dao companion, living in mutual devotion.
Meng Xueli had two heart-barriers to overcome. He could endure betrayal. But Ji Xiao’s death—that was too hard to face. He would rather believe Ji Xiao still lived, and so he refused to wake.
He saw Ji Xiao sitting before a desk, holding him in his arms. The cold Sword Sovereign guided his hand, teaching him to write and paint.
The spring wind carried warmth, blowing a few peach petals through the window. They fell upon the xuan paper, mirroring the painted blossoms in ink. He felt Ji Xiao’s warmth, and nearly sank into the dream entirely.
Suddenly, a bright sword-light slashed through the air, overturning the desk, piercing straight into Meng Xueli’s chest.
Meng Xueli gripped Hundred Generations of Time, and with one stroke, slew himself.
Lowering his gaze to the sword, he let out a cold, mocking laugh.
“Such a good thing—how dare you even imagine it?”
The illusion shattered. Meng Xueli broke through his heart barrier.
Author’s Note:
New Year’s Interview Small Theater
Interviewer: Little ferret, this chapter told your past. Now let’s look toward the future. Do you have a New Year’s wish for 2019?
Ferret: I want to return to the snowy mountains with my Dao companion, soak in a hot spring while watching the stars and the aurora.
Interviewer: Wow! Then you really are… dreaming big. (expressionless face)
Ji Xiao (suddenly appearing): Possible or not?
Interviewer: Yes yes yes! Put away the sword already!
Huge shoutout to @_nyanmaru_ on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
