Chapter 19: Lovers from a Past Life

Could it be that Murong Xue has also crossed over into this world? I folded my arms, resting my chin on my hands, and asked, “Miss Murong, why do you say that? Could it be that you, like me, have traveled from another world?”

Murong Xue was slightly taken aback. “Crossed over? Have you remembered something? Are you not from this world either?”

How does she know? It's true—I don’t belong here.

“How did you know I’m not from this world, Miss Murong?”

Murong Xue sighed softly. “Wukong, do you really not remember me?”

“What?” Did she just call me Wukong? Did I mishear her, or did she call me by mistake?

“Were you speaking to me just now, Miss Murong?”

She nodded, then turned away without looking at me any further.

What was happening? I—a 21st-century international police officer—had inexplicably arrived in another world, and now, for no reason, found myself acquainted with these strange people. I sighed and said, “Since you’re unwilling to say more, Miss Murong, I won’t ask. Take care.”

Murong Xue turned back, taking a small step forward, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated. When I reached the door, she called out to me. Was she finally willing to tell me the truth? I turned around and strode to her side.

Murong Xue slowly began to recount the story. A thousand years ago, she was a maid in the Heavenly Realm. At that time, the Mortal Realm was newly formed, and chaos reigned without governance.

One day, a being from the Mortal Realm came to the Celestial Palace, asking the Jade Emperor for an official post. The Jade Emperor, furious, sent countless celestial beings to bind him, intending to punish him severely. Murong Xue had already known this mortal for a long time. He was none other than Sun Wukong. Wukong’s real purpose in coming to the Heavenly Realm was not to seek an official position—if that was his aim, his powers would have allowed him to dominate the Mortal Realm. He had come only to see his beloved, Zixia.

Zixia was a wandering immortal of the Lingxiao Hall. Wandering immortals could roam freely in the Heavenly Realm, and were only summoned when help was needed. Zixia’s status in the Heavenly Realm was quite good—a decent job with excellent benefits and high treatment, all proportionate to her abilities.

Zixia and Wukong met by chance. When Wukong was born, strange omens appeared in the heavens, so the Jade Emperor sent Zixia to the Mortal Realm to investigate. The first time Zixia and Wukong met, they were deeply captivated by one another.

Zixia had never loved a man, but from the first moment she saw Wukong, she fell deeply for him. For Wukong, the first thing he saw after being born was Zixia, so he developed a sense of dependence on her. But the rules of heaven are strict. Zixia, once gone, did not return. The Jade Emperor sent people to investigate, and upon learning the truth, ordered the celestial general Yang Jian to bring Zixia back to the Celestial Palace. She was shackled in the Lingxiao Hall with the Monster-Subduing Lock; her powers stripped, her position revoked. Only if she admitted her mistake and promised never to leave the Heavenly Realm would she be released.

Yet Zixia refused to bow her head, vowing to defend her love to the death. She could not bear to be trapped in the Celestial Palace, forever separated from Wukong—a torment worse than death. So Zixia shattered the Monster-Subduing Lock with her primordial spirit and slipped down to the Mortal Realm.

When Wukong and Zixia embraced beneath the setting sun, the Jade Emperor’s celestial warriors appeared—Yang Jian, a formidable foe. In the end, Wukong lost, and Zixia was forcibly taken away. After recovering from his wounds, Wukong resolved to storm the Heavenly Realm to reclaim his beloved. Even if it meant mutual destruction, even death, he would risk it all for a single glimpse of Zixia.

For days, Wukong wept, recalling his time with Zixia—experiences unattainable in the Mortal Realm. When he arrived in the Heavenly Realm, his fury unleashed, injuring countless celestial beings. But when Wukong finally saw Zixia, her eyes were empty, and she held a broom in her hand. As Wukong called her name again and again, the woman he yearned for failed to look at him even once. His heart froze; he could not help but kneel at her feet, clutching her legs and weeping bitterly. Who would have thought that the supreme of the Mortal Realm would cry like this for a woman?

Yet, no one in the Heavenly Realm was moved. Under the Jade Emperor’s gaze, two celestial warriors approached, weapons in hand. Unprepared, Wukong was struck down from the Heavenly Realm. When he awoke, his body was wracked with pain, but it was nothing compared to the agony in his heart—a heartbreak only Wukong could know. He refused to give in, determined to return to the Heavenly Realm for one last meeting with Zixia, even if it cost him his life.

Wukong set out alone, but found his powers had weakened. What once took only a few hours now took him three days. Surely, this was the Jade Emperor’s doing. Wukong clenched his fists in rage. He knew the odds were against him, but he had no choice. As expected, he was subdued by the celestial warriors. He never admitted defeat, and now experienced for himself what Zixia had endured, imprisoned by the Monster-Subduing Lock. He finally understood Zixia’s suffering, and his anger deepened—he roared, shaking the Heavenly Realm. But this roar drained his remaining strength, and he fell unconscious for ten days.

During those ten days, Murong Xue often visited him, washing his body and tending to him. She was moved by their love—there was no fault in loving someone, only in loving the wrong person. Murong Xue, too, could not help but fall for the wrong man—a man whose heart belonged elsewhere. When Wukong awoke, his eyes, once filled with boundless power, struggled fiercely, shattering the Monster-Subduing Lock. Wukong began a bloody rampage in the Heavenly Realm; countless celestial beings were slain or wounded. If not for the Buddha’s intervention, pressing Wukong beneath Five Fingers Mountain, the Heavenly Realm might have ceased to exist.

Murong Xue realized she had fallen for this passionate, loyal man. She begged the Jade Emperor to revoke her celestial status, preferring to become mortal so she could forever remain by Wukong’s side. She brought him food each day, kept him company, laughed and cried with him. Yet Wukong was unmoved; in his eyes, there was only Zixia. Perhaps Murong’s sincerity touched him, or perhaps he slowly forgot Zixia. Wukong gradually began to accept Murong. On a stormy day, he broke free from his bonds, walking out from beneath Five Fingers Mountain. Murong smiled with joy.

But the happiness was short-lived. Wukong’s powers had diminished greatly. Former demon kings who once ruled the Mortal Realm flocked to celebrate his return. Upon learning of his weakened powers, they joined forces to eliminate this once arrogant monkey. A fierce battle erupted; outnumbered, Wukong fell to the demons. Murong held his corpse, crying for three days and nights. In Wukong’s embrace was a short sword—Zixia’s most cherished blade.

“Sun Wukong—is he real?” I asked, bewildered.

Murong Xue nodded solemnly. “You look exactly like him.”

She sighed softly after speaking. “I hope you aren’t him. I’ve begun to forget him. Why must you appear before me?”

What a joke! I am certainly not that dead monkey. I am a 21st-century international police officer. Murong Xue said I look just like him—that I can’t understand. Zhang Lei claimed I’m the reincarnation of a demon god. I’m conflicted. Let me go back, heavens, stop toying with me! I listened to Murong Xue’s story as if it were just that—a story. Honestly, I don’t care who I was in a past life. I only know that, in this life, I love Liu Tingting. But she has already left me...

I wonder if I’ll ever see Liu Tingting again. Though she betrayed me, I still can’t forget her. Is it foolish of me? And then there’s Xu Qinghuan, a woman who looks identical to Liu Tingting. Ah! The more I think, the more confused I become. Just as I was lost in deep thought, Murong Xue said something that brought me abruptly back to reality.