Chapter 77

Yun Pianpian was just about to write down her name.
But the moment she had this thought, her body felt as if struck by thunder, her head went numb, her ears buzzed, and her vision blurred and darkened. Her limbs stiffened as she collapsed to the ground, her consciousness hazy, nearly fainting.
Yun Pianpian’s breath was faint, her bewildered eyes were filled with confusion.
What was going on?
Could it be that she couldn’t tell him her real name?
Seeing the tiger suddenly collapse, the young man Yuan slightly furrowed his brows and sheathed the cold sword in his hand.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Yun Pianpian shook her dizzy tiger head, struggling to control her tiger body, and used her weak and limp tiger paw to write a few words on the bluestone slab.
“Can’t say, there’s divine punishment.”
The young Yuan frowned deeply, his expression displeased.
“You immortals have too many rules.”
Yun Pianpian ignored the displeasure on his face. She wanted to tell him the most important thing, to be careful of Chu Yi. But just as she was about to write these words, the feeling of being struck by thunder returned. This time, the divine punishment was even more severe than before. Yun Pianpian even saw the white lightning strike the top of her head.
Her vision went black, and she completely lost consciousness.
But she didn’t remain unconscious for long before the young man Yuan ruthlessly slapped her awake with his cold sword.
“Are you dead?”
The young Yuan’s voice was clear and indifferent.
Yun Pianpian opened her eyes and instantly tears welled.
If you slap my head with that cold sword one more time, I’ll die right in front of you!
That cold sword was icy, chilly, and very hard.
Although it didn’t hurt much, the humiliation was immense.
Yun Pianpian extended her little tiger paw, pushed the cold sword away from her head, and wrote a few large words on the bluestone slab.
“Don’t slap my head!”
The young Yuan chuckled coldly and softly: “If you tell me not to slap, I won’t slap? Who do you think you are?”
He picked up the cold sword and lightly slapped her head three times.
Yun Pianpian immediately performed a dramatic “tiger shedding tears” act.
She cried as if her heart were breaking.
You foolish boy! You're about to lose your future empress!
Your future empress!
Tears as clear and sparkling as pearls welled up in Yun Pianpian's eyes, streaming down endlessly like an unceasing river. Under the moonlight, those glistening, scalding tears appeared especially pitiful.
Young Yuan hadn't expected this tiger fairy to be such a crybaby. He reluctantly sheathed his cold sword and said impatiently, “I won't kill you. Stop crying.”
Yun Pianpian wiped her tears with her paw, still sniffling and sobbing as she hung her head in sorrow.
Not knowing how to comfort a fairy, young Yuan could only try to distract her, his expression indifferent.
“How did you faint earlier?”
Yun Pianpian wrote: “Heaven's punishment is disciplining me.”
From these two instances of divine retribution, Yun Pianpian deduced that the Heavenly Dao wouldn't allow her to interfere with the plot. She couldn't tell Xiao Changyuan her name, nor could she reveal who Chu Yi was. Anything that might affect the original storyline was forbidden to her.
Young Yuan asked in confusion, “What crime did you commit? Why did the Heavenly Court banish you to the mortal realm to endure tribulations?”
Yun Pianpian shot him a resentful look.
“Because I fell in love with a great demon king.”
Young Yuan was left speechless. After a long pause, he furrowed his brows and said, “You must be blind.”
Yun Pianpian: “...”
That's right, I must have been blind to fall for you.
Yun Pianpian lowered her head and wrote on the bluestone slab: “Why didn't you kill me on the first day we met?”
This matter puzzled Yun Pianpian endlessly.
She even began to wonder if she possessed some mysterious attraction to Xiao Changyuan. Whether in human form or as a tiger, could he see through her physical appearance to her soul and consequently fall in love with her? Though the thought was beautiful, it seemed utterly absurd.
Young Yuan remained silent for a while before speaking softly, “I had an elder brother, two years older than me. When we were first locked in this cage together, on the very first day, my brother helped me climb to the top of the cage. He told me never to let go, if I did, I would become food for the tigers. We hung from the top of the cage for three hours.
Eventually, my brother lost his strength and fell. I was terrified and wanted to climb down to save him, but from the ground, he shouted, 'Don't look, don't listen, just survive.' I watched with wide eyes as the tigers tore him apart. He was trembling uncontrollably, screaming in agony as he was shredded to pieces, but with his dying breath, he kept calling my name.”
Hearing his words, Yun Pianpian felt her nose sting, and tears fell once more.
She could almost hear that child's desperate screams.
“Don't look, don't listen, just survive. Yuan'er, survive.”
The young Yuan lowered his long, thick black eyelashes and continued, “After you were locked in the cage, you did the same thing as my elder brother did. You clung to the cage just like him. At that moment, I wondered if I should kill you without hesitation, just like the tiger that tore my brother apart. But when you actually fell, I saw your eyes, they were filled with the same fear and despair as my brother’s.
In that instant, I thought, my brother must have desperately hoped the tiger wouldn’t kill him, that he could survive. So, I felt a pang of compassion and spared you. Later, I noticed your behavior becoming more and more unusual. You’re not a tiger at all, you’re a monster.”
Yun Pianpian promptly corrected him.
“Owwwwww!” I’m a little fairy.
The young Yuan glanced at her, as if he could understand her words, and said with a look of disdain, “How could there be a fairy who falls in love with a great demon king? You’re clearly a monster, trying to trick me into thinking you’re a fairy.”
Yun Pianpian was so angry she wanted to bite him, but she worried her current appearance might scare him. Instead, she rolled around on the ground in frustration, like an infuriated cat.
Seeing her so worked up, the young Yuan couldn’t help but curl his pale lips into a faint smile, it had been a long time since he’d laughed like this. “You haven’t eaten anything these past few days, yet you still have the energy to roll around?”
His words only made Yun Pianpian feel even more weak and listless.
She lay on the ground like a pile of mud.
The young Yuan asked, “Why won’t you eat meat?”
He had noticed her throwing away all the meat these past few days.
Yun Pianpian used her tiger claws to write stroke by stroke: “We fairies don’t eat raw meat.”
“But if you don’t eat, you’ll starve to death.”
“If I starve to death, I can return to the heavenly realm.”
The young Yuan lifted his cold eyes and gazed at her intently.
“Are you sure?”
Yun Pianpian paused, her expression turning hesitant.
Truthfully, she wasn’t certain whether she could return to the tyrant Yuan’s side after death, it was merely a guess.
Seeing her hesitation, the young Yuan knew he was right. He said softly, “I’ll bring you something to eat tomorrow. Don’t try to kill yourself anymore.”
She nodded obediently.
The young Yuan added, “Also, from now on, when you write, don’t leave marks on the bluestone. Your behavior is so strange, if others see it, they’ll surely burn you as a monster.”
Tiger Pian nodded compliantly.
The young Yuan said, “Let’s scrape off the writing.”
Tiger Pian nodded again, well, behaved.
He glanced at her and bent down to scrape away the characters.
Only then did Yun Pianpian realize that, without noticing, she had written such a large section of text on the bluestone with her claws. It was truly unbelievable.
The cool moonlight spilled onto the bluestone, making the characters appear mysterious and enigmatic. The young Yuan used his cold sword to scratch out the words, while she extended her claws and made random scratches on the stone. Fortunately, she hadn’t pressed hard when writing, so the characters were quickly obscured by the sword marks and claw scratches.
Yun Pianpian breathed a sigh of relief.
Although the young Yuan now knew her identity, Yun Pianpian still dared not sleep too close to him, partly because she feared him, and partly because she feared he might fear her. So she slept far away from him, avoiding any intimacy.
And so, the two settled down as roommates in the cage.
The weather grew colder and colder and the distance between them gradually shrank.
The young Yuan often brought back meat buns to feed her. While she nibbled on the buns, he would watch her and say, “Your eyes really look like a cat's.”
Yun Pianpian lifted her head, let out a low rumble from her throat, and finally emitted a sound like a kitten's.
“Meow.”
The young Yuan was amused by her and couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile. He reached out to stroke her furry head, intending only a brief touch, but his hand seemed magnetically drawn to her. He couldn't resist petting her again and again, never pulling his hand away.
The young Yuan brought back more and more food, even once returning with a beggar's chicken. He explained that he had defeated all the death warriors and was rewarded by his master, Qian Qiuxue. It seemed he no longer saw her as a ferocious tiger but had instead raised her like a tame little kitten. Every time she ate, he would lazily lean against her waist and belly, idly stroking her furry head while chatting casually with her.
When she choked on the beggar's chicken, the young Yuan scolded her with disdain but still took out his water pouch, pried open her mouth with his hands, and personally fed her water.
“Do the heavens not care about you immortals when you descend to endure trials? You won't even eat the raw meat the eunuchs bring you. If it weren't for me, you'd have starved to death long ago.”
“How can you choke on meat? You're so clumsy.
Did the heavens send you to the mortal world because they thought you were too foolish? How did someone as dumb, lazy, and picky as you even become an immortal in the first place?
Are you getting angry just because I said one thing? Why is your temper so big?”
Yun Pianpian had never imagined that the taciturn Xiao Changyuan had been such a chatterbox in his youth. She recalled that in the original story, before his descent into darkness, Xiao Changyuan was a fair, skinned, red, lipped young prince beloved by the palace servants. He wasn't born a tyrant, nor was he inherently cruel and bloodthirsty.
He was, in fact, a pitiful soul, hatred had distorted everything.
But now, in front of Tiger Pian, he seemed to shed all his defenses and resentment, reverting to the aloof yet talkative little prince of his childhood.
Snowflakes began to drift slowly from the sky.
The young Yuan, dressed in tattered clothes that barely covered him, nestled close to her, who warmed him with her body. Leaning against her waist and belly, he drew what little warmth he could from her and gradually drifted into a deep sleep.
She enveloped him like a warm, soft quilt, bringing him a sense of security.
To him, she was a blanket, a pet, a friend, a blessing from the heavens, a glimmer of hope.
She was his only warmth in the bitter cold of winter.
He was determined to cling to this warmth with all his might.
Yun Pianpian was more than happy to be the young Yuan's quilt. In warming him, she seemed to warm herself as well, for she had always dreamed of accompanying him through his most difficult childhood and bringing Xiao Changyuan the happiness he deserved.
Every time, Young Yuan brought back a lot of food.
Yun Pianpian thought he had eaten his fill, until one day.
While Yun Pianpian was burying her head in eating a meat bun, she suddenly heard Young Yuan’s stomach growling with hunger.
Yun Pianpian froze.
She lifted her eyes to look at Young Yuan.
Perhaps the shock in her eyes was too obvious that Young Yuan seemed a little embarrassed.
He turned away his delicate, cold little face, but his fair ears turned red.
At that moment, Yun Pianpian suddenly remembered what Liu Shun had once told her, that Xiao Changyuan had lived a childhood of tattered clothes and empty stomachs.
So he had never actually eaten his fill.
Even though he was hungry and cold, he still saved food to feed her. Yun Pianpian’s eyes stung, and her heart ached with a dense, throbbing pain. She ran to Young Yuan’s side and returned the meat buns to him.
Young Yuan said, “You eat. I’m not hungry.”
“Aow aow aow aow!” I’m not hungry either.
Young Yuan frowned. “What’s that expression? Do you think I can’t afford to feed you?”
“Aow aow aow aow aow!” I feel sorry for you.
Young Yuan turned his face away, his pale jaw tightening slightly. “I don’t need your pity. One day, I’ll send all these people to hell…”
His voice was icy and bloodthirsty but Yun Pianpian only felt heartache.
She lay down beside young Yuan, burying her tiger head into his palm. Though his hand was young, it was calloused. She rubbed against his palm, wanting to comfort him, heal him, and stay by his side.
Young Yuan stroked her furry head, then pried open her mouth and fed her the bun.
“Eat.”
Yun Pianpian held back her tears and finished the meat bun.
“Don’t cry.”
Late at night, Yun Pianpian saw a young eunuch sneaking up to the tiger cage, handing a bundle through the bars. “Young Highness, have some steamed buns.”
Yun Pianpian lifted her tiger eyes and realized the eunuch was Liu Shun, so she happily greeted him.
“Aow aow aow!” Little Liu Shun!
Liu Shun, hearing the majestic tiger roar, turned pale with fright, scrambled away, and fled in a panic.
He never appeared again.
Yun Pianpian: “…”
She had been too careless.
Young Yuan opened the bundle and handed the steamed buns inside to Tiger Pian. “This young eunuch sometimes brings me steamed buns. You can have some too.”
Yun Pianpian couldn’t bear to eat them.
Young Yuan pursed his thin lips.
That delicate, cold little face showed a hint of displeasure.
“Don’t worry, as long as I have a mouthful of porridge, you’ll have a bite to eat. You’re the tiger I’ve resolved to raise, I’ll never let you go hungry.”
In such harsh conditions, the young Yuan truly kept his word.
They huddled together for warmth in the bitter cold of winter, lay on the bluestone slabs basking in the sun during the thaw of spring, were drenched by sudden summer downpours under dark clouds, and shared food in the golden autumn.
Seasons turned, day after day.
In the blink of an eye, two years passed.
Yun Pianpian had spent two winters and autumns with Xiao Changyuan in the iron cage. She thought she could accompany the young Yuan as he grew up, he was eleven now, and she believed she could stay with him until he turned twenty, letting him meet the real her in Jiangjia Village. But an unexpected turn of events arrived abruptly.
Emperor Zhaoyan had taken notice of her.
That day, the young Yuan went to the death warrior camp as usual, leaving the her alone in the iron cage. She was sleeping when suddenly many people appeared before her. The man at the forefront wore luxurious dragon robes, his eyes sinister, dark circles beneath them, his expression tinged with a hint of madness.
“Yuan has been raising her for two years?”
A eunuch timidly replied, “The young prince tamed this tiger and has kept her as a pet for two years.”
“Utterly incorrigible! It seems the lessons he’s learned are still not enough!” Emperor Zhaoyan roared furiously. “Guards, kill this tiger for me, dig out its heart, and make it into a meat broth to serve to Yuan!”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Yun Pianpian was terrified, her hair standing on end.
Several sword, bearing guards opened the iron cage and raised their cold blades to strike at Yun Pianpian. Frightened, she dashed around the cage, but a sharp pain shot through her back. Her soul drifted out of the tiger’s body, and she watched helplessly as they killed the tiger.
They extracted the tiger’s heart. After Yun Pianpian became a spirit, no one could see her. She followed the crowd and saw them take her heart to the imperial kitchen, where it was made into a bowl of meat broth.
The broth steamed with a rich, savory aroma.
It was brought before the young Yuan.
Emperor Zhaoyan had set up a banquet in the imperial garden to entertain the young Yuan.
The young Yuan did not touch his chopsticks.
Emperor Zhaoyan’s maddened face broke into a kindly, elder, like smile. “Yuan, try this meat broth. It’s a new dish created by the imperial kitchen, made with freshly slaughtered rabbit meat, extremely tender. You’ll surely love it. I remember how much you adored rabbit meat as a child, always eating several bowls at a time.”
The young Yuan pressed his thin lips together and said nothing.
Emperor Zhaoyan smiled faintly. “I know you don’t want to dine with me, and that’s fine. As long as you eat this broth, I’ll let you return. It’s getting late, if you don’t feed that tiger you love so much, it might go hungry. Would you bear to see it starve.”
The young Yuan abruptly lifted his bloodthirsty, icy eyes.
“Do not touch my tiger!”
Emperor Zhaoyan smiled. “I won’t lay a hand on it. If you behave, I’ll let you keep it forever. It’s just a tiger, if you finish this bowl of broth, I’ll let you raise a hundred, even a thousand of them.”
“I only want this one.”
“Then finish this bowl of broth.”
The young Yuan’s jaw tightened. Finally, he lifted the white porcelain jade bowl and quickly finished the broth.
“No!”
Yun Pianpian reached out to stop the young Yuan, but her hand passed right through his body.
She wept, tears streaming down her face, and cried out, “Xiao Changyuan, don't eat it! Don't eat this bowl of meat stew.”
When Yun Pianpian had been killed by them moments ago, she hadn't shed a tear. But now, watching Xiao Changyuan consume her heart, she trembled uncontrollably, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.
After finishing the stew, the young Changyuan turned to leave.
Emperor Zhaoyan called out to stop him, his voice dripping with a chilling amusement, “Where are you going, Yuan'er? Back to look for that tiger?”
“There's no need, Yuan'er, because it's already in your stomach! Hahaha.”
The young Changyuan's face instantly turned deathly pale.
He stiffly turned back.
“What do you mean?”
Emperor Zhaoyan laughed maniacally, “The tiger you loved so much, I had it killed, made into stew, and fed it to you. How does it feel now, Yuan'er? Can you feel it wailing inside your belly?”
Changyuan's stomach churned; his face pale, he began to vomit, expelling all the stew he had just consumed.
His eyes were wide with fury, bloodshot and fierce.
He gritted his teeth, forcing out the words.
“Why?”
His crimson, sinister gaze fixed on Emperor Zhaoyan.
“Why?!”
Emperor Zhaoyan roared with laughter, “You dare ask me why? What do you think you are? You're nothing but a weapon I use to unify the five kingdoms! A weapon should only know how to kill! It shouldn't have attachments! And you dared to keep a pet?! Do you hate me now?! Good! Carry that hatred with you as you conquer the five kingdoms! I don't need a weapon that doesn't know how to hate!”
Yun Pianpian wept, her tears falling like a torrential downpour.
She finally understood why Xiao Changyuan hated being controlled, because Emperor Zhaoyan had always controlled him.
She finally understood why Xiao Changyuan kept his distance from others, because Emperor Zhaoyan had murdered everything he held dear.
Her heart felt as if it were being sliced by a knife.
Suddenly, the young Changyuan drew his icy blade and charged at Emperor Zhaoyan. Countless fell beneath his sword; countless others threw themselves in front to protect the emperor. Emperor Zhaoyan's expression shifted from madness to a flicker of fear, even terror, this child had grown so powerful.
He retreated step by step.
His eyes filled with dread as he stared at Xiao Changyuan.
Emperor Zhaoyan's face twisted grotesquely as he screamed, “Qian Qiuxue! Restrain him now! Qian Qiuxue!”
Qian Qiuxue descended from the sky.
Hundreds of death warriors surrounded Xiao Changyuan, swarming him, raising their cold blades to strike.
Blood flowed like a river; corpses littered the ground.
Suddenly, a violent blizzard swept across the sky.
“No!”
Yun Pianpian rushed into the crowd, weeping, desperate to save Xiao Changyuan, but the fierce wind and blizzard swept her farther and farther away.
Strong winds cannot blow away butterflies.
She must become a butterfly to save him!
Yun Pianpian’s fair, delicate arms transformed into fluttering butterfly wings, her body into a butterfly’s form, and her flowing black hair into delicate antennae…
She had truly become a butterfly…but the raging storm and snow suddenly vanished.
Her eyes were dazed.
She fluttered her butterfly wings under the azure sky, tears that had not yet dried clung to the corners of her eyes.
Yun Pianpian looked down beneath her.
Below was Qingcheng County, a place she knew well.
Yun Pianpian lifted her head, her bewildered gaze gradually grew resolute.
The butterfly flapped its wings, without hesitation, it flew toward the distance.
Her destination was Luojing, over two thousand li away.
Because there was the world’s most pitiful child, and the emperor she loved most.