I still could not comprehend what had just happened; my wife, Eira, pulled me into the storage shed on the mountain. Then held me in her arms.
After she explained in detail, I hated immortal cultivators. Eira before was also a genius, but offended someone and was struck by Fire Poison, ruining her cultivation. Fallen to a mortal.
That night, the sky was bone-chillingly cold; she let me hold her to sleep together, warm, soft, ...
For some reason, the emotions of pain and loss suddenly vanished; the only thing left was warmth, utmost tenderness.
No longer afraid, in my mind at that moment, I was strangely calm.
A thought flashed, taking root, impossible to remove. All these things were just a dream. That thought grew strong quickly and then faded just as fast.
The days after that, our feelings grew stronger. I went to chop wood, gather herbs; she stayed home to raise livestock, process medicines, and we managed to have food and clothing.
Winter also arrived; the sky was stormy with wind and snow; inside the warm hut, what was to come finally came. She agreed to call me husband.
That night in the small wooden house, two young bodies entwined, warming each other. Lying, holding her small, warm-as-fire body. That feeling of utmost clarity came again, a feeling of some entanglement, a feeling of missing something, I was being suppressed by something before truly being satisfied.
I did not understand why it was so.
Took out the shiny scroll buried in the corner of the house. That scroll from the cave. Opened it, inside was still the same, shiny with my rosy, happy face and with the line of text "there is something that wants to harm you" in the small corner. I did not know what this was;Eira did not either.
At twenty-one years old, a year after the village was destroyed, the weather from then on had endless snow, covering everything.
I discovered the more I was intimate with Eira , the stronger my body became; Eira was the same, she became more refined, charming. But the feeling of discomfort, like being imprisoned, grew stronger each day.
Then one day, she told me a mantra about breathing and regulating breath and told me to follow it. And I followed, but nothing changed at all. At this moment, in her eyes appeared again the unwillingness, anger, sadness of before. I did not understand; what more did she hope for? She no longer was intimate with me.
She said her cultivation was gradually recovering. If she continued staying by my side, it would harm my health, even bring bad luck; that was the divide between immortal and mortal.
I tried to follow the mantra but could not cultivate... In the end, she left me. She went to the cliff opposite to cultivate. I knew she could not bear to part, but...
The desire to become an immortal cultivator in me boiled fiercely.
At twenty-four years old, three years unable to cultivate a single thread of spiritual energy, I gave up. I urged my wife to leave; our fate was over; she turned away in tears.
Yes, immortal and mortal are divided. Just like eight years before, immortal and mortal are divided...
Sitting in the snow-covered house, looking at the jade bracelet I gave her, Jade, lying on the table. The jade bracelet she gave me, she took with her. I knew our fate was over. I no longer knew what to do.
Opened the shiny scroll, inside was still the same, but this time it was my sad, exhausted face, like eight years before. Packed my belongings, went alone to the forest to find that cave; inside was still the same, that tree, that stream. This place had not been visited for a long time, covered in a layer of dust. Cleaned up, built a temporary hut.
In the blink of an eye, fifty years passed; inside the cave, it was strangely warm, all four seasons like spring. I lived daily with nature, a serene, simple life.
Time passed, quietly watching the space change, my body growing weaker.
Knowing I had little time left, I took out the scroll that had followed me my whole life.
Calm, silent, I opened the scroll again; inside was still the same, but the image inside was of an old man, serene, peaceful face. Looking at my own image. I only saw the image of time that had passed.
I smiled, feeling so serene; I no longer had any bindings. Years passed, eroding everything. I had reached the moment to let go of everything. Put down the scroll, looked at my reflection in the water. (Yes) time passed, I grew old, but you in this place are still the same. As if never changed.
Looking at the tree, its leaves still green in front of me.
Truly want to see you bloom and bear fruit again. The taste of that fruit was so wonderful. Truly want to see.
At this moment, the scroll glowed; a mysterious force surged, surrounding the only person in this place. The streams of force, as if controlled, flowed according to some rule, and the space slowly changed.
In my mind's eye, that tree sprouted, bloomed, bore fruit, ripe, fragrant aroma. I instinctively reached out, picked it, put it in my mouth; that sweet feeling, the memories of youth flooded back.
Looking around, the scene had changed; this place had pavilions, buildings everywhere. Suddenly, an angry voice sounded from behind.
"Who are you, how dare you come to our Spirit Sect to steal…"