CALID Chapter 105

Extra : Red Dust Bewilderment Feng Yi Side Story

The heavens and the earth have great beauty but remain silent, the four seasons follow clear laws but do not discuss them, all things adhere to inherent principles without speaking. This is the significance of the divine beings in the Mortal world—clear laws and inherent principles. It’s the cycle of the four seasons, the process of birth, aging, sickness, and death, the order of all things and spirits.

She had always believed that the gods do not manifest their power in the Mortal realm, nor do they heed the prayers of humans. The order has been established, all things coexist and counterbalance each other, and any favouritism would disrupt this order.

After becoming the God Overseer responsible for maintaining the order in the Mortal realm for a millennium, one day, a reckless and ignorant youth suddenly stormed into the heavenly court, angrily cursing and directly challenging the order of the Mortal realm.

She asked her colleagues what was going on, and they chuckled and said, “Oh, that’s just a relic of the previous God Overseer’s policy. It’s said to give mortals a chance to correct their mistakes, so a passage to the heavenly court was left open. This mortal has the bloodline of the Wandering Star, the easiest among the people to ascend here.”

She thought, so it’s the bloodline of the Wandering Star. But in recent times, everything in the Mortal realm has been peaceful, with no major disruptions in the order. Even with this bloodline, he has been living peacefully according to his fate, so why is he causing trouble now?

Why would this mortal stir up trouble for no reason?

She said, “Human nature is inherently greedy. No matter what they obtain, they will never be satisfied and will always want more. What’s the point of letting them come up here? This passage doesn’t need to be kept open.”

Her colleague shook his head and reminded her that if they were to cancel the policy left by the previous God Overseer, there must be sufficient reasons for it, and they couldn’t act arbitrarily.

Looking at the angry eyes of the youth below, she said, “Alright then, I’ll accompany him for a stroll in the Mortal realm.”

When the youth saw her coming out, he seemed stunned and asked her, “Who are you?”

“I am the God Overseer of this millennium, and my name is Zi Ji,” she replied.

Zi Ji was her name from thousands of years ago before she ascended. It was the only thing she could remember from that time.

Her original purpose in descending to the Mortal realm was to ensure that mortals could no longer ascend to the heavenly realm without cause.

This youth, Feng Yi, was from the bloodline of the Wandering Star that she had created. The fate of the Wandering Star bloodline was genius, strength, loyalty, and early death. Few of them lived past forty. Feng Yi was also born weak, perhaps that was his reason for dissatisfaction with his destiny.

He said, “Since we’re in the Mortal realm, it’s my territory. Lady Zi Ji, I happen to need a servant. Would you be willing to humble yourself?”

He seemed very dissatisfied with her, with a hint of mockery in his tone. She thought, he is indeed just an ordinary person with grievances in his heart.

“Sure,” she agreed readily.

Since then, she accompanied Feng Yi, never leaving his side. Although Feng Yi said he wanted her to be his servant, he never made her do any servant’s work. On the contrary, he often took care of her.

“Why aren’t you wearing shoes again?” At a market, he ran over and put shoes down at her feet, looking up at her. “Don’t you know how to wear shoes?”

In her moment of hesitation, he pressed his temples, bent down to help her put on the shoes. Then he stood up and took the basket of fruit from her hand, sighing deeply. “Look at the fruit you bought. Only the top layer is good, the rest is rotten!”

“Don’t you know there are scammers in the world? No, wait, aren’t scammers also designed by you guys?” He looked her over for a moment, then smiled. “Armchair strategists.”

With that, he turned around and said as he walked away, “Which store did you just buy from? I’ll go get justice for you.”

She thought, living here is different from designing order, but as a deity, she did nothing wrong. After all, this youth who grew up under her design was indeed as kind and loyal as she needed him to be.

Powerful forces only stay in control when in the hands of such people.

Adding the restraint of early death ensures that the heart is not corroded by worldly matters, making this power even more secure.

She was satisfied with her order.

Feng Yi had been frail since childhood, a slight cold or getting wet in the rain could pose a threat to his life. Only during the mild seasons of spring and autumn could he muster the energy to go out far. She accompanied him to rid the world of evil spirits, and many places they passed through were suffering greatly, to the point of unbearable hardship for the people. He would say, “Lady Deity, look at the world you’ve arranged.”

She would say, “In this world, there are towering mountains and vast rivers, and from birth, there are differences in status, physical strength, happiness, and misfortune. It’s normal. Besides, aren’t you here to save these unfortunate ones?”

This would sometimes anger Feng Yi, and he would ask, “What if I don’t save them? What if I harm someone?”

She would reply, “You won’t, you’re not that kind of person.”

At times like these, Feng Yi often had nothing to say. Later, he said he felt like she was looking at him as if he were a perfect lump of clay she had made.

—You’re always like this, looking down from up high.

Later, by Feng Yi’s side, she encountered another figure from the destiny she had designed – Ghost King He Simu. In the destiny of the Ghost King, born as a malevolent spirit, she was the most indifferent and content malevolent spirit, precisely capable of becoming the leader of the ghostly realm due to her perseverance. With such a malevolent spirit in control of the ghostly realm, the deities could rest assured.

He Simu fulfilled her wishes and proved to be a very competent Ghost King.

—”Elder Ancestor wishes to live as a mortal, she loves the Mortal realm the most. Is there no way for the Ghost King to become mortal?” Feng Yi asked her like this.

—”No.”

—”It’s not possible at all?”

She was puzzled, she said – Why should there be? The current order operates smoothly without any mistakes. Since there are no mistakes, why create unnecessary complications?

Feng Yi looked at her for a long time, and she saw contempt in his eyes.

He said – Coward, go back.

This was the first time she heard him ask her to leave. In the many years that followed, he seemed to have given up persuading her, sometimes even saying it was his youthful folly to urge her to return to the heavenly realm early.

Yet she could still see the deep-seated contempt in his eyes, unchanged over the years.

But she didn’t think she was wrong. Everything she witnessed in the Mortal realm, including the existence of Feng Yi, proved the perfection of her order. However, when she saw Feng Yi’s gaze, she couldn’t help but feel a little sad for no reason.

She stayed because, as a deity, she wasn’t summoned at will. Feng Yi followed her wherever she went, still accompanying her. She had become familiar with this world. Now, it was the frail Feng Yi who depended on her.

Every time he fell ill and tossed and turned in bed in pain, she always felt very sad. She was even more reluctant to talk to him about his impending death.

He seemed to find it ironic and said, “Isn’t this your design?”

Yes, it was her design. She didn’t think it was wrong.

She just felt increasingly sad.

The lineage of the Wandering Star blood would continue, and there would be more individuals like Feng Yi in the future, rebellious, sincere, and kind, only to die under the weight of fate. He was just an ordinary person among the countless beings in the world.

But now he was more than just a number to her.

His death was not just the disappearance of a number, but a void in life that could not be compensated for.

As she accompanied Feng Yi into the conflicts of the ghost realm and saw He Simu and Duan Xu, she suddenly realized that Duan Xu and He Simu were like Feng Yi and herself.

He Simu was no longer a perfect piece in her perfect order; He Simu had become her.

The births, deaths, separations, sorrows, and pains of all the people in the world seemed to happen to her. When she felt pain from the order she once took pride in, everything began to fall into chaos.

She knew Feng Yi’s keenness; he sensed her confusion.

So he took advantage of it, acting out of character, pressuring her.

As she held Feng Yi’s hand, she saw a triumphant smile on his face. She suddenly realized that perhaps all these years, Feng Yi’s apparent resignation and acceptance were false. He was just waiting.

He was waiting for her to develop feelings for him.

Waiting for her to be crushed and hurt by the order she herself designed. Waiting for her to start wavering, doubting, compromising.

—”Coward.”

He said it then, and he said it later. He said, “Are you so afraid of imperfection? In this world, from malevolent spirits to deities, what is perfect?”

An order without feelings is just arrogance.

After twenty years away from the heavenly realm, she returned. When her colleagues saw her, they laughed and said, “What, is the God Overseer going to close the gate?”

She shook her head and said, “No, I’m not closing it. I’m going to change the order.”

In the new order, those with the Wandering Star bloodline could choose to relinquish their powers and live a long life after reaching thirty, or they could retain their powers and have a shorter lifespan. If the Ghost King was willing to exchange her genuine love for a mortal, she could become mortal himself, losing her powers but gaining reincarnation.

—”It’s been too long since we visited the Mortal realm. Perhaps we should go down and take a stroll.”

She said this, and her colleagues were somewhat surprised. They remarked that the God Overseer seemed to have changed a lot.

Perhaps there was still more to change.

Years passed, and one autumn day, Feng Yi walked down the street. The weather was gradually cooling, and the leaves of the ginkgo trees along the road turned golden.

Amidst the bustling crowd on the street, Feng Yi suddenly saw a familiar face.

She stood among the crowd, quietly watching him.

As he approached, he asked, “My Lady, what brings you here?”

—”I’ve come to see if my new order has any flaws.”

She said this in the same calm and indifferent tone as before.

Feng Yi looked at her for a moment, then smiled and walked alongside her. “Would you like to visit the Ancestor? She always mentions you. She’s very happy now…”

The street vendors clamoured along the roadside, and the scent of osmanthus filled the air. She realized that thousands of years ago, she had lived in such a mortal realm, a life she had forgotten. She had been tempted by the Mortal world and had come to embrace it.