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“The Tower of Ascension, the Saint Lord’s residence.”
The words my godmother once told me echoed in my mind—
Nalin, were you once imprisoned in this tower for a whole three years?
The chained tower door fell down with a loud bang, raising the fallen snow into mist, and I was pushed in.
Facing us is a shrine enshrining a statue of Tunshe Tianzun. Hundreds of lamps are placed under the shrine. Even though the white lamp bases and lamp poles are inlaid with gold edges, one can still make out the shape of human bones and skulls at a glance.
I shuddered and turned around to run, but the door slammed shut.
“Let me out, I don’t want to stay here!” I pounded on the door and shouted, and then I saw a stone slab on the door flipped up, revealing a small window with iron bars, like a prison where prisoners were held.
A pair of narrow eyes appeared in the gap. It was the fat priest who sent me to the palace.
“If I’m not mistaken, the Saint Lord escaped because of you more than ten years ago, right?”
My heart jolted.
“Then he was imprisoned here because of you.” He nodded and squinted at me.
I clenched the fence: “Please, let me go. If I stay with the Saint Lord, it will only hinder his ascension.”
“Hmm…” He seemed not to hear what I said: “Although you are a man, your physique is pure yin, which makes you suitable for dual cultivation with the Saint Lord. If the Saint Lord can use you to break through the barrier, he will be able to ascend to become a god in a few days. But if after he ascends, you are greedy for the mortal world and are unwilling to enter the divine realm, it will be troublesome…”
Seeing his unfriendly eyes, which seemed to be faintly murderous, my heart skipped a beat. An idea jumped into my mind, prompting me to move closer to the fence and whisper, “I won’t be a problem for the Saint Lord… After he ascends to become a god, I will go die. Can you help me?”
The fat priest’s eyebrows jumped: “Why do you want to die?”
“I have my own reasons.” I looked at him. “You don’t want me to delay the Saint Lord, right?”
“If I help you and the Saint Lord, who has become a god, finds out, he will be furious, so how can I bear it?” Seeing him take a step back and seem to be leaving, I quickly reached out and grabbed the collar of his robe.
“Wait! I will never implicate you! Please, give me something that is easy to hide so I can end my life… such as a small, sharp weapon, or, or poison, yes, give me poison!”
He paused, his eyes unfathomable: “It seems that you really want to die. Well, when the Saint Lord ascends, I will help you.”
“My Lord, the things are here.” Suddenly, another voice came from outside the door.
A lamp was placed in front of the window, and he said, “Next, place the Saint Lord’s soothing incense by his bed.”
I reached out and took it carefully, and the stone slab fell down.
Around the shrine were his sleeping quarters, with all the windows sealed shut. Only the high dome above allowed a view of the outside. Moonlight filtered through the blue glass, spilling in like seawater flowing down embroidered banners depicting scenes from the divine realm, spreading across the jade-white floor.
It was very quiet in this place, so quiet that one could hear the sound of clouds drifting by.
For three years, was he confined here, only able to keep company with the moon above?
I drifted like a wandering soul, moving deeper into this cage, and saw the jade bed shrouded in a veil of gauze.
This must be where he sleeps. I reached out, gently caressing the jade bed, then leaned down and kissed it. But as I lowered my head, a wave of dizziness hit me, and my body weakened, collapsing onto the bed.
What happened? Am I too tired?
I stood up, but before I could stand, I felt dizzy again. I fell back on the bed and lay there for a while, but the symptoms did not ease at all. My heart beat faster and faster, and my body became hotter and hotter.
Is it a fever?
Why do I have a fever at this time?
I looked down and saw that my chest and abdomen were flushed, and there was a tent in my crotch.
How could this be?
I was confused for a moment, then I smelled the rich fragrance in the air, and then I thought of the soothing incense just now.
—There must be drugs in it.
It couldn’t be Nalin who did this. He wouldn’t do this to me. Was it the priest?
No…
A loud roar was heard, it was the sound of the door opening.
Is it Nalin? I rolled off the bed and crawled towards the door. Tap, tap, tap… I lifted my sticky and wet eyelids, and a pair of feet with gold anklets appeared in front of me, and pure white silk hung on the back of my hand. I stretched out my hands and clenched them and looked up. Nalin was looking down at me. Because of the backlight, I couldn’t see his face clearly, except for his blue eyes, which were cold and burning, as if the sea was stained with flames.
I shuddered, incredulous: “Nalin?”
“I had no choice, Mi Jia; don’t blame me.”
