The gates of the Jade Void Palace were wide open. A petite, doll-like little girl toddled in on her short legs, her two perky pigtails bouncing with each step. Her chubby cheeks and hands were so plump they seemed to sink inward at the slightest poke.
Spotting two green monsters sprawled on recliners in the room, lifeless yet glaring at each other in mutual defiance, she asked in her childish voice, “Big Green Roots, what’s wrong with you?”
After some time playing the “real and fake Big Green Root” game, she had grown accustomed to addressing them collectively.
“It’s all because of him!” One of the green monsters suddenly sat up, its vines flailing wildly as it pointed accusingly at the other.
“Hmph, who spent more in the first place?” the other retorted. “Whose fault is it that we ended up like this?”
The two Big Green Roots bickered back and forth until, after a few breaths, they suddenly snapped out of it and turned to look at their little mistress. Her delicate face was full of innocent confusion, her right thumb in her mouth as she gnawed on it, completely oblivious to what was happening.
The original Big Green Root sucked in a sharp breath, fearing the little one might come up with another outrageous idea. Putting on a dramatic sigh, it said, “Young Mistress, you wouldn’t understand. Alas, as long as living beings harbor emotions, evil demons will never cease. No matter how the world is—fair or unfair, beautiful or not—jealousy, anger, pride, greed, despair, and desire will inevitably arise. And these things nourish evil demons and malevolent gods. Sigh… It was under the influence of the Demon Monarch and the Nine Chaos Heavenly Venerate that I lost control of my greed and squandered my life’s savings. Alas…”
While it lamented, the other Big Green Root’s eyes darted craftily, seizing the moment to say, “Young Mistress, the Demon Emperor’s Palace has sent many young demon creatures here for an exchange program, to showcase the Jade Void Palace’s impartiality.”
“Young demon creatures?” The little girl’s eyes sparkled.
“Yes! I heard there’s a bear-leopard from the Ice Profound Heaven, a talking exotic flower, and a strange cat obsessed with learning the Eight-Nine Arcane Art…” The original Big Green Root, relieved to divert her attention, embellished the details.
The little girl lowered her right hand and declared firmly, “Where are they?”
“They were taken to the Three Pure Ones Hall,” the two Big Green Roots chorused.
Her eyes gleaming, the little girl turned around and toddled off, swaying unsteadily as she passed through countless halls and pavilions before finally entering Meng Qi’s Three Pure Ones Hall. But the hall was empty and silent, devoid of the fantastical creatures she had imagined.
“Where did they go…?” Her lips quivered as she was about to tearfully summon her father.
Just then, a childlike, girlish voice came from the side: “Who are you? Who are you looking for?”
She turned to see a potted flower in the corner, its stem short but its blossoms vibrant, swaying as it addressed her.
“Are you the talking flower?” The little girl wobbled closer. “Where are the others? The cute little creatures like Little Phoenix and Little Vermilion?”
“They went to train with Uncle He and Aunt Jiu Li,” the flower replied, its voice echoing in the empty hall like wind chimes.
The little girl blinked her big, innocent eyes. “Why didn’t you go?”
“I’m lazy. I didn’t want to leave my bed…” The flower swayed, gesturing to the green jade pot beneath it.
“Then I’ll carry you!” The little girl volunteered, effortlessly lifting the pot with surprising strength. Her face lit up with joy at finding a new companion, chattering happily as she walked. “You’re so small, you must eat very little. I’ll take good care of you and help you grow tall. Hmm, you’re a plant, and Big Green Root is a plant too. It grew so strong because of Xiao Tian’s watering. I’ll have Xiao Tian water you too!”
From now on, Xiao Tian will pee at Big Green Root’s place and… do the other thing here for the flower. That’s decided!
Who’s Xiao Tian…? How does this watering work…? The flower was utterly baffled.
Carrying the pot, the little girl passed through the Three Pure Ones Hall and was about to head to the training grounds when her eyes brightened at the sight of her parents sitting in a waterside pavilion. One held a jade flute, the other plucked a zither—one in an ethereal white dress, serene yet radiant; the other in deep black robes, carefree and unrestrained.
“Mom! Mom!” She rushed over, nearly tripping, her porcelain-like face upturned. “You’re back! Ling’er was starting to miss you!”
Then, joyfully lifting the flower pot, she announced, “This is my new friend!”
“You’ll have many more new friends soon,” Meng Qi said with a smile, gesturing beside Gu Xiaosang.
The little girl followed his gaze and saw a black-furred, green-eyed kitten crouched beside her mother, its whiskers twitching as if smiling at her.
“Lots of new friends!” She patted the kitten’s head and looked at the flower in her arms, overjoyed. Suddenly, she frowned, her eyes wide as she looked at her parents. “But this isn’t good. Big Green Root said emotions attract evil demons. If I’m this happy, evil demons will come!”
Back in the gatehouse, the two Big Green Roots shuddered, exchanging glances before speaking in unison:
“Do you think the Young Mistress misunderstood what we said earlier?”
Meng Qi chuckled and patted the little girl’s head. “Don’t worry. I’ll have a word with the Demon Monarch and the Nine Chaos Heavenly Venerate. If they dare send evil demons after you, I’ll hang them outside the Jade Void Palace until the next epoch.”
“Yay! Daddy’s the best!” Instantly forgetting her worries, she clapped her hands in delight.
Gu Xiaosang stroked the calico cat’s back, casting a faintly amused glance toward the gatehouse.
“Big Green Root is getting too knowledgeable…”
“Yeah,” the little girl nodded solemnly.
Inside the gatehouse, the two Big Green Roots broke into a cold sweat, gripped by an inexplicable sense of impending doom.
Gu Xiaosang set down the white ragdoll cat and took the flower from the little girl’s arms, placing it aside before picking her up. She undid the pigtails and began combing her hair anew, murmuring with a mix of joy and nostalgia,
“You’ll have so many friends…”
Meng Qi looked at Gu Xiaosang, his gaze tender. “Remembering the past?”
She nodded slightly, her mind drifting to memories long gone:
Back then, she had been the same age as her daughter now, but the fractures in her self-awareness had already robbed her of innocence and naivety.
Back then, terrified of losing her very “existence,” she had desperately clung to anything to prove her uniqueness—befriending maids, keeping cats and fish, smiling warmly at every branch of the Yu family.
Yet all she received in return were cold words:
“Young Mistress, you are the Holy Maiden of the Luo Sect, the reincarnation of the Eternal Mother. How can you befriend lowly servants? They are blaspheming the divine and must pay with their lives!”
“Young Mistress, you are the Holy Maiden of the Luo Sect, the reincarnation of the Eternal Mother. Keeping pets is beneath your dignity. Let me dispose of them for you.”
“Young Mistress, you are the Holy Maiden of the Luo Sect, the reincarnation of the Eternal Mother. Every member of the Yu family, young or old, is your servant. Hold your head high and look down upon them!”
…
No, this was what the Luo Sect’s Holy Maiden should do—but I’m not her! I’m not Yu Longzi. I am the daughter of the Gu family!
One by one, friends and possessions were taken away, leaving her heart emptier and more closed off, until only her mother, Lady Gu, remained.
She was the last lifeline, the final proof of her “independent” self. The nickname “Xiaosang,” given by her mother, was the only name she truly accepted.
But in the end, she lost her too.
And in the end, even she was the Golden Emperor.
Thankfully, that darkness was now behind her…
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