Chapter 6

Chapter 6

“Does he look down on this child?

“He looks down on me.

“Because I’m Jiang Yuan from the countryside, aren’t I?”

An hour later, Xuan Niao stared numbly at me as I went on sobbing. “Please stop crying.

“If you keep this up, Diqiu is going to flood.”

“How could that happen?”

“You carry the Divine Lord’s investiture. Wherever you cry, rain falls.”

Seeing that I still didn’t believe him, he brought me to the Spiritual Well. With a sweep of his hand, the scene within it changed at once. I could see the lower realm wreathed in lightning and thunder, rain pouring down in sheets. Several rice paddies were already on the verge of being submerged.

Such a grand Diqiu, yet it had no room for my tears. I couldn’t help protesting, “Then where am I supposed to put all this sadness?”

Xuan Niao had no choice but to use his divine powers and send me to a desolate, empty land, telling me to cry to my heart’s content.

This was a land the gods had never blessed: a boundless desert.

And so I cried for an entire night, until heaven and earth grew dim, rainwater poured backward, and mud and sand were scoured into rushing streams. Gradually, they even formed a crescent-shaped lake.

By early the next morning, I had finally cried enough.

Through my blurred vision, however, I saw a dusty gray figure kneeling before the lake in a long, unbroken bow.

“Who are you?”

The man turned his head. When he saw me floating in the air, he jumped in fright. “Goddess, I… my name is Di.

“I wandered into this desert by mistake several days ago and nearly died of thirst. Fortunately, yesterday, a great rain fell from the sky…”

So he was just a passerby.

I looked down at the clear lake beneath my feet and couldn’t help feeling moved. “Instead of worshiping the lake, you might as well worship me.

“Since your name is Di, this place shall be called Dubai. With this lake here, it will surely become an oasis. You may lead your clan to settle here and live in peace and prosperity.”

Naturally, the man was overjoyed and kowtowed again and again.

After returning to Diqiu, I spent several days in a deep slump.

Yet in those few short days, Qi had already learned to brace himself against the wall and practice walking. Time moved so quickly for him-so quickly it made my heart ache. Perhaps because he had not heard me speak in a long while, Qi lifted his head and let out an “ah” at me.

Then he mumbled two indistinct syllables in my direction. At that, a flicker of delight rose in me.

“Qi, are you talking to me?”

“Ah, ah-” He paused, then smiled sweetly and repeated, “-Mama-”

In that instant, a tiny bolt of lightning split through my heart.

The next day.

I finally mustered the courage to seek out Di Ku, only to be stopped by Xuan Niao outside the main hall.

“Without a summons, no one may disturb the Divine Lord.”

“Move aside!”

“How dare you! You would defy your superior?!”

I knew Di Ku could hear me, so I shouted at the tightly shut palace doors, “What is below, and what is above?! Husband and wife stand side by side, like Heaven and Earth. They ought to be equals!

“If I must bow and submit, then how am I any different from a slave?!”

At that, Xuan Niao was stunned.

“Jiang Yuan! You… you actually dare say such a thing?!”

I was about to force my way inside, but he clamped a hand over my mouth and dragged me back with all his strength. For once, fear showed in those cold, indifferent eyes. “The Divine Lord is benevolent, but that does not mean he has no will to kill. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

He seemed afraid of something.

But before the two of us could fight out a winner, the great doors behind him suddenly swung wide open.