That night, I was at the roof and the starlight was exceptionally beautiful. Those scattered starlight was like b.u.t.terflies and flowers falling slowly onto my shoulders. I looked at the bluish-black sky, chanting Shi’s name softly and I seemed to see his face in the sky above, so high, so shallow and transparent, so faraway, so untouchable.
Then I saw Xing Jiu standing high up at the city walls; the wind was blowing his robe like a torn flag, as if there was a gust of wind rising from his feet, making his hair fly. I saw his lips moving constantly, and I knew he was chanting a spell. I still vaguely remembered seeing granny using such magic, it seemed to be used by the astrologers for communication purpose. But I saw Xing Jiu’s expression, so sad so depressing, I’ve never seen Xing Jiu like this. The Xing Jiu in my memory was cold and solemn just like the st.u.r.dy Millenium Ice. But the next morning when I asked Xing Jiu where was he last night, he told me, “My king, I was at my palace reading the stars, hoping to know more about the secret of Huan Xue Mountain.”
I could see his fingers curling up because of anxiety and so I didn’t question any further. I just couldn’t understand why did he have to lie to me. I stubbornly wanted Xing Jiu to stay, and I stubbornly wanted to go to Huan Xue Mountain. The time when I told Xing Jiu this, he didn’t speak for a long time. Then he laughed, this was my first time seeing him laugh. It’s like the ice has started to melt, his smile was like water spreading across his face slowly. His mouth formed a gentle arc and the smile was beautiful. He said, “My king, you are just like a little kid.” Then I saw his tears streaming down. He knelt before me and said to me. “My king, in the name of the next king of the Star Tribe, I hope you can come to Huan Xing Palace.” It was my first time to visit Huan Xing Palace. Arriving at the finest imperial palace of the Snow Empire, the palace was like a while eagle ready to take off and I saw the hexagram pattern on the floor in front of the hall. Xing Jiu’s parents and everyone of the palace were waiting for me at the door. Their hair were all pure silvery white, flying along with the wind. Although I had heard about the strong spiritual power of the Star Tribe, I had never expected their hair colour to be so pure. For one moment I thought of Li Luo, if not for her hair bluish white hair, she would have become my princess and I would have gotten my happiness and Shi wouldn’t have died. I looked up at the pale blue sky, staring at the ever-moving clouds, and I saw the souls singing on the clouds. I saw the emptiness within my heart.
Xing Jiu walked out from the door; he was holding a girl in his embrace. Her hair was long till the floor and shiny silvery white. Xing Jiu made used of his illusion skill and created a protection barrier with wind and snow to protect the person in his arms. Xing Jiu’s looked exceptionally gentle when he was looking at the person in his arms, his eyes were fixated on that person and spoke to me without lifting his head. “My king, this is my sister, Xing Gui.” I’ve finally realized that Xing Jiu has a younger sister, but this sister was wound of the heart of the Star Tribe, just like the holy war many years ago, too reluctant to talk about, too reluctant to touch it. “When Xing Gui was born, she had already possessed a thousand years of spiritual power. Her long hair was wrapped around her and the entire Star Family was extremely proud. My parents were so happy till they cried because Xing Gui has become the greatest astrologer in the family. Not just that, she even becomes the greatest astrologer of Huan Xue City as well. However when my father held the first star reading session for Xing Gui, the entire family sunk into depression. It’s because her star sign had been disrupted, and her life span is only 250 years. Moreover, she doesn’t have any resistance against the outer world. Even a small danger can also const.i.tute a threat to her.”
“Right after her birth, Xing Gui has been staying at the bottom of Huan Xing Palace for the sake of the Star Tribe. The time when I was helping your brother, Ying Kong Shi, to read his star, it was also Xing Gui that asked me to check on the bodies of the dead astrologers and beware of Ying Kong Shi. But the entire family remains tight-lipped over the existence of my sister, because if the king were to know about my sister, he would want my sister to become the imperial astrologer. There is no one to protect her in the palace and she would die any time, so the family has to keep it a secret. The spiritual power of my sister is higher than anybody and the time when I’ve gotten granny’s fallen star staff, I handed it to my sister and this was how I got to know about the biggest secret of Ren Xue City. In fact granny didn’t estimate my spiritual power wrongly, it’s just that she isn’t aware the fact that I have the best sister in the world. That night when I was at the city wall exchanging information with my father, I was asking whether he allows Xing Gui to join you in your journey to the mountain. In the end he asked me to make the decision. So I’ve decided to trust you, my king.” I saw Xing Jiu lowering his head, kissing Xing Gui’s pale face. She opened her eyes and looked at Xing Jiu smilingly, calling him softly. “Ge.” That moment I felt my whole world spinning, the several hundreds years of shared memories of Shi and I were gushing to me at the same time. Tiny bits of sorrows were cutting through my heart.
“My king, I shall hand Xing Gui to your good hands and I hope you will use all your strength to take care of her. She can give you the most accurate direction when you are in Huan Xue Mountain. I believe in my sister. But she is too weak and she cannot be subjected to any harm.” I carried Xing Gui over and her body couldn’t stop trembling. She’s such a pitiful child. All of a sudden I thought of the time in the mortal world when I was still carrying little Ying Kong Shi walking along the snow-filled street. The day, when I set off for Huan Xue Mountain, was the start of winter; the winter in the city would last for a decade. I stood before the city’s entrance and looked at grand city wall, not wanting to say a word. No one would believe that this great empire was only a toy palace.
The first time I met Yue Shen, the one that Xing Jiu kept mentioning to me, her face seemed to be carved out of ice, so cold and without any expression. Her left hand was glowing faintly, and I knew it was her weapon, moonlight. The kind of light would melt into a sharp blade under Yue Shen’s hand, even sharper than the sharpest ice blade. Her hair was long and it’s the same as Li Luo, they both have a tint of glowing blue hair and I suddenly felt so familiar. But Xing Jiu told me the hair colours of Li Luo and Yue Shen were two completely different cases. Li Luo was due to her blood impurity, but Yue Shen was because of magic imparity - she grew up learning dark magic a.s.sa.s.sination. She was wearing a pale blue long robe and when I saw her, she was leaning against the two towering cherry blossom trees. My father enchanted the two trees so that they could grow infinitely upwards, to be closer to the sky. Yue Shen looked up to the sky; skylight from the pale blue sky fell and dissolved into her crystal clear eyes. Liao Jian – in the past, I have seen him at the centennial city festival. At that time both of us were still a kid. My father invited Liao Jian to have an illusion test with me, because he was the son of the East Guardian, Liao Que. I could still remember the piercing look on his face; he was a kid with strong character. The moment when I defeated him, he continued to stare at me with gritted teeth, not willing to accept his defeat. My father then told Liao Que, “Your son will be an excellent East Guardian.” And now, a hundred years had pa.s.sed, the tough and stubborn kid was now standing before me with a straight and stiff expression, his eyes filled with fighting spirit and his hair were tied up with a black string, flying in the wind. “My king, I will protect you at all costs.” He said.
Huang Tuo was three hundred years my senior, his face has no longer had the unruliness and surliness of a teenager, but only with calmness and poise. He was wearing an all black robe and his silvery white hair looked so pure under the contrast of the black hair band. He bent down before me with both hands crossed in front of his chest, not saying a word. But his hands have created a transparent ball suspended in the air, and I knew it was a magical enchantment from the white magic. He knelt down and raised his left hand before me. “My king, as long as I am still alive, this enchantment will never be broken and no one will be able to harm you.” I looked at him; his eyes seemed to have endless cloud gathering and dispersing, ever-changing. His glimmering aura was totally incomparable. Pian Feng and Chao Ya were standing silently at a distance; the wind was blowing their robes. It was the most beautiful picture with their flying robes, involving the young Pian Feng and beautiful Chao Ya. A smile spread across their faces like falling flowers from the sky. Chao Ya flung her long sleeve down, causing the petals of the cherry blossoms to fly off the ground. As for Pian Feng, she was moving her index and ring fingers, creating a sudden gust of wind making those petals swirled up right before me and scattered them around my feet. And I knew, they are the strongest candidates in the city. I told them everything about Huan Xue Mountain, I didn’t want to hide anything from them and the moment I finished the last word, and all of them knelt down before me. “My king, our lives are together with you.” Xing Gui was lying in Lian Jian’s arms, I saw her smiling at me and from her eyes, I could see what she wanted to tell me. “My king, don’t be afraid.” Then I turned to Xing Jiu who had come to send us off. “Xing Jiu, is there any other thing that you want to tell me?”
“My king, Huan Xue Mountain is a cruel world, please don’t believe any one inside, and those extremely powerful magic can only be inherited instead of imparting.”
“Cannot be imparted? What does it mean?”
“It means that if your mother wanted to teach you, she would no longer be able to use it. My king, actually you should be very familiar with it, have you forgotten about Shi’s powers that are within you? The long hair of Shi is another way of inheritance.”
“Can you tell me about Yuan Ji?”
“No, my king and my sister cannot tell you too. Everytime when we tried to read Yuan Ji’s stars, the weather will be in chaos all of a sudden. You just have to find out all about Yuan Ji yourself.”
“Then did you try reading the star about our trip to the mountain?”
“I did.”
“What is the outcome?”
Xing Jiu looked at me and said. “My king, sometimes fate can be changed just like how the legendary astrologer can change the track of the star to manipulate the fate. Sometimes death is the greatest rebirth.”
“Xing Jiu, I don’t understand.”
“My king, in fact, I don’t know as well. At first if all the star signs contain dead ends and death cliff, I would feel that it’s very natural to have all these, but the entire star sign reveals that there are hidden survival chances within it and every survival chance will have a death door behind it. My king, it all depends on you now. You are the greatest illusionist of our empire, please bless my sister and bless every single person.” Xing Jiu knelt down before me with both hands crossed in front of his chest.
I nodded, holding him by his shoulders and said. “Don’t worry. I will treat Xing Gui just like how I treat Shi.” When we have walked a distance away, I turned my head around to look at my empire – the empire I earned in the expense of my freedom and sacrificial of Shi and Li Luo. Xing Jiu was still standing at the city gate; I saw his robe flying in the wind endlessly.
