When I woke again, I could move.
Looking around, I saw Ling Ze wasn’t in the room.
I gritted my teeth, got dressed, and stepped outside.
It was night, and snow was falling gently.
Ling Ze had moved his chair outside, sitting with his head tilted back. A barrier kept the snow from touching him.
He seemed to sense me and turned my way.
“You’re up. Does your wound still hurt?”
“Much better.”
I walked over, and he expanded the barrier so the snow wouldn’t fall on me.
“What are you doing out here?”
“Reading fate.”
“Reading fate? Out here?”
A stream of spiritual light shot from his hand into the sky. Instantly, the gray sky filled with swirling stars.
“Wow—”
I’d never seen anything like it in the human world.
“See? Every star up there represents a living being—human, demon, or god. Each has their own fate.”
“Normally, I wouldn’t show this to anyone. But since we’re contracted, you can see it.”
“But your eyes…”
Ling Ze touched his veil.
“I sense it with my heart.”
I gazed up at the star clouds.
“Ling Ze… why are you here?”
He smiled.
“Finally curious about me?”
“I…”
“I wasn’t born here. As a deer god, my family oversees fate. Only our clan can read destiny in the stars.”
“When I was nine thousand years old, the fifth son of the Heavenly God was born. The moment he arrived, the heavens showed bad omens—sacred birds fell, even the demon clan grew restless. The Heavenly God was furious, blaming this child for bringing disaster to the heavens.”
“He took his anger out on my clan, saying we failed to foresee the child’s birth. He stripped the child of his divinity, cast him down as a demon, and locked me, the clan priest, here with him.”
“How could he do that? Why punish you too?”
Ling Ze shook his head and sighed.
“I’ve lost track of how long I’ve been here. At first, I hated it. We did nothing wrong, yet suffered this fate.”
“Eventually, my anger turned to that child. But really, he was the most innocent—raised alone in this frozen place, never knowing love…”
I realized something odd—since arriving, I’d only seen Ling Ze and his black deer.
“So… where did that child go?”
Ling Ze looked up at the stars, a faint smile on his lips.
“He called me ‘Master’… I saw his fate, so I helped him escape. He wasn’t meant to be trapped here.”
Back inside, Ling Ze brewed more medicine for me.
Watching his back, I couldn’t help but ask,
“And you? Did you get punished for helping him escape?”
He seemed surprised, then smiled.
“It’s nothing. The Heavenly God just took something trivial from me.”
“What was it…”
“Mei Chen, are you curious about your own fate?”
“I’m not.”
“Why not?”
“If I knew my fate, I’d just follow the script. Knowing the ending ruins the story.”
Ling Ze smiled.
“You’re interesting.”
He handed me the medicine.
“The new moon is coming. Will you take me to the human world?”
I was surprised.
“But… aren’t you trapped here? Can I really go back?”
He gave a mysterious smile.
“The barrier the gods set here loosened long ago. After that child escaped, the gods stopped paying attention. The new moon is when it’s weakest. We can leave then.”
“Really?”
I got so excited I pulled my wound.
Ling Ze steadied me.
“But remember, you only have about a month left to live. Be careful.”
I spent another ten days healing atop Bailing Mountain.
During that time, Ling Ze used branches the black deer found to craft a human bone for my left shoulder, letting me move normally again.
Every time I saw the black veins in my arm, my heart ached for Lin Feng.
Would he look for me? Did he ever think of my feelings?
Soon, the new moon arrived. Ling Ze took me, riding the black deer, back to the human world.
It was his first time there, and he was curious about everything.
“So humans and demons can live in peace?”
“Of course. There are good and bad demons, just like good and bad people.”
Ling Ze nodded, changed into human clothes, and hid his antlers with magic.
“Humans can be beast tamers now too?”
“I am one, though not a very good one. I’ve never tamed a demon.”
“Why do humans trust tamed demons to keep their word? Isn’t that naive?”
“Some powerful tamers don’t trust demons at all—they treat them like pets. But I believe sincerity earns sincerity. If I treat my demon well, he’ll return my feelings.”
Through his veil, I felt Ling Ze’s gaze.
“Mei Chen… did your sincerity earn sincerity?”
His question caught me off guard.
I lowered my head, silent.
Ling Ze patted my head gently.
Chapter 09
*