Heaven Official's Blessing
Among all the gods and buddhas of heaven, there was one famous laughingstock of the three
realms.
Legends have it that, eight hundred years ago, there was an ancient kingdom in the Midlands
called the Kingdom of Xianle.
The Kingdom of Xianle was vast in land and bountiful in resources. There were four treasures
within the kingdom: cloud-like beauties, vibrant music and marvelous literature, gold and gems,
and their one infamous crown prince.
What would be the best way to describe this crown prince? Well, he was a unique man.
He was beloved by the king and the queen, extremely doted upon. They would often say: “My
son will become a great ruler in the future, his renown will echo through history.”
However, the crown prince wasn’t interested in imperial power or wealth in the common world in
the least.
What he was interested in, in his own words, was——
“I will save the common people!”
-
When he was young, the crown prince focused only on his cultivation, and there were two little
stories that were widespread of his path of cultivation.
The first story happened when he was seventeen years old.
That year, a grand Shangyuan1 Heavenly Ceremonial Procession took place in the Kingdom of
Xianle.
Although the custom of conducting these divine ceremonies has since fallen out of fashion for
centuries, it is still possible to deduce what a grand occasion of jubilation it must have been from
remnants of ancient books and oral tradition.
The wondrous Shangyuan Festival, upon the Great Martial Avenue.
1 Shangyuan Festival is also known as the Lantern Festival, marking the 15th and last day of the Lunar
New Year. It’s a day for worshipping and celebrating the celestial heavens.
Seas of people gathered on either side of the grand street, there were royals and nobles talking
and laughing in merriment atop the high platforms. The glorious royal warriors donned in armour
opened the paths while the maidens danced elegantly, their fair hands scattering flowers; who
was to say whether the flowers or the maidens were the more beautiful. From within the golden
carriage came melodious music that drifted in the air across the entire imperial city, and coming
last of the procession was a grand stage pulled by sixteen white horses in golden bridles.
And upon this towering grand stage was the God-Pleasing Warrior, on whom all focused their
attention.
At the Heavenly Ceremonial Procession, the God-Pleasing Warrior wore a golden mask.
Donning glamorous attire and with a sacred sword in hand, he played the role of the number
one martial god of a thousand years who subdued evil: The Heavenly Martial Emperor, Jun Wu.
It was the greatest of honours to be chosen to play the God-Pleasing Warrior; thus, the
selection criteria were exceedingly strict. The one chosen this year was that crown prince.
Everyone from all over the kingdom believed that he would bring about the most thrilling
performance of the God-Pleasing Warrior.
However, an accident happened that day.
During the third tour of the procession, it passed by a city wall that was dozens of meters tall. At
the time, the martial god upon the grand stage was just about to slay the demon with a strike. It
was the climax scene of the performance, both sides of the street were at the height of
excitement. The top of the city wall was also swarming with people fighting to watch the show,
pushing and shoving each other.
Right then, a small child fell from the edge of the wall.
Screams reached the heavens. Just when everyone thought this small child would stain the
Great Martial Avenue with blood, the crown prince looked up, leapt into flight, and caught the
boy.
The people only caught a glimpse of a white silhouette that flew like a soaring bird before the
crown prince already landed with that small child in his arms. The golden mask fell and revealed
that young and handsome face behind the mask.
In the next second, cheers erupted.
The people were thrilled and joyous, but the Guoshi2 of the royal cultivation hall were troubled.
2 "Guoshi" can be translated as "Imperial/State Preceptor". It is a high-ranking government position that
also has significant religious responsibilities. Guoshi serve as the religious heads of state under the
Emperor, and are the tutors, chaplains, and confidants of the Emperor and his direct heirs. Read more
here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial\_Preceptor
They had never imagined such a huge problem would occur. This was ominous luck! The
gravest of misfortunes!
The guoshi were so distraught, they were losing hair as fast as the rain fell. After much
contemplation, they called over the crown prince.
They very courteously requested him thus: “Your Highness, might you be willing to face the wall
in reflection for a month? It doesn’t really need to be a month, as long as the intention’s there.”
The crown prince smiled, and replied as such: “No.”
This was how he said it: “Saving people is not anything bad. Why would the heavens condemn
me for something I’ve done right?”
Uh…but what if the heavens do condemn you?
“Then, it’s the heavens who are wrong. Why would I apologize to those who are wrong?”
The guoshi could not argue.
This crown prince was thus such a person.
He had never run into anything he couldn’t do, nor had he ever met anyone who didn’t love him.
He was the justice of the mortal realm, he was the centre of the world.
So, even though the guoshi were frustrated—“What the hell do you know?!”—it wasn’t their
place to say much, and they didn’t dare say too much regardless. His Highness wouldn’t listen
either way.
-
The second story also happened in the year the crown prince was seventeen.
Legends have it that in the south of the Yellow River, there was a bridge called Yinian3
. Upon
this bridge, there was a ghost that had been lingering for years.
This ghost was exceedingly fearsome: it was donned in broken armour, the flames of karma
burned beneath its feet, and its body was covered in blood and pierced by all manner of sharp
weapons. Every step it took, it would leave behind a footprint of blood and fire. Every few years,
3 [一念] means “One Thought” or “Fleeting Thought”. This is also the first half of the idiom, “Wrong
decision made in a moment of weakness.”
it would suddenly appear at night and wander back and forth at the head of the bridge, blocking
travelers to ask them three questions:
“What is this place?”
“Who am I?”
“What is to be done?”
The ghost would then devour whoever answered incorrectly. However, no one knew what the
correct answers were. As the years went by, this ghost devoured countless travelers.
During his errant wandering, the crown prince caught word of this. So, he went and found Yinian
Bridge, guarding it night after night, until finally, one night, he met the haunting ghost.
When that ghost appeared, it was indeed as horrifying as the legends said. It asked the crown
prince the first question, and the crown prince answered with a smile.
“This place is the human world.”
However, that ghost replied, “This place is the abyss.”
An auspicious start. The first answer was already incorrect.
“Well, all three answers are going to be wrong anyway,” the crown prince thought. “So why
should I wait ‘til you’re done?”
And so he pulled out his weapon and lunged.
This fight was complete chaos. The crown prince was skilled in martial arts, but that ghost was
terrifying and dauntless. The one man and the one ghost fought so hard the sun and the moon
were toppling. In the end, the ghost was finally defeated.
After the ghost vanished, the crown prince planted a flowering tree at the head of the bridge.
Just then, a cultivator passed by and happened to see him sprinkle a handful of dirt to send the
ghost off.
He asked, “What are you doing?”
And thus, the crown prince said the famous words: “Body in abyss, heart in paradise.”
To Be Continued...
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Comments
Lappy
boy I miss them
2024-10-06
0
MasterDevil
3rd time reading this novel 💖💖
2024-03-25
3
Choco_lover
These lines❤️
2024-01-03
5