The moonlight priestess

I never thought cooking would be this hard, is hard to be a maid so this is how they feel about life especially those in the palace who can be executed for the slightest mistake or just fall prey to someone's plot.

A servant's life is less valuable than that of an ant, they are never allowed to married, never allow to have their own mind or never allow to be carefree because is considered as seducing their masters and seeking status, they can be frame by others or they own, everybody's eyes are on them.

In the palace most servants that tried to get close to his majesty were killed by the empress and wether their intentions was to seduced his majesty or not, they still have to pay the price for eyeing him.

Yang mei, how are you getting along, is his majesty treating you well?

How I wish I could send you a message and tell you I'm going just fine that you shouldn't worry about me.

You are making a wish?

What else?

Tell me the wish I will surely fulfill them.

Is ease for you to said and is not a wish I'm just worried about Yang mei and how she is getting along in the palace.

You humans are so complicated, I see no point in worrying if you can't accept something then just change it.

If you can't accept something then just change it?

I think that's reasonable because rather than struggling to pursue emptiness, one should either let go or change it but how?

Figure out yourself.

When do you plan on making the wish or you aren't planning to make the wish at all, I can't keep staying here you know and I have other stuff to take care of?

Do you really want to know my wishes?

Yes I will also fulfill them and go from here I don't want to get involved in human conflicts.

Here we go again with your superstitious talkshow, do you really want to leave Yin or do you just want to know my wishes?

I want to leave but before that I must do what I'm here to do.

But a wish can't be fulfilled without efforts and the things that come with the light often goes with the lights and fall prey to darkness, I don't believe zero can make a villain.

Well try telling me and see wether I will fulfilled them or not.

How dreamy kitty but sharing one's burden eases the suffering and you are right, you shouldn't get yourself involved in human's conflicts, actually before my only wish was to exposed the empress but now I want to prove Lu family's innocence but before that I have to expose marquis Chen and his aids, I want to expose the empress, I want to protect and get Yang mei married, I want the civilians of Tang dynasty to enjoy peace and prosperity, I want that there should be no more wars, disease, injustice, violence and discrimination so can you fulfill my wishes now?

You want to go against the rules of nature, you think is possible, all living beings must experienced the seven emotions.

Life and death is predetermined, no nobody can change that, if the law of nature doesn't take its course the universe will be unbalanced, that's to said no one is above nature.

Yes life and death is indeed predestined but is suffering fated or is it that we all claimed to follow the path of destiny and that no one can escape destined fate but is everything fated or are we just biased to believe that?

In the eyes of the universe we are just pawns, we don't have any say in life or in destiny is that it then I disagree?

You are wrong kitty, in this world happiness is a choice, suffering is a choice, hatred is a choice, regrets are also the same,have you ever heard the legend of the moonlight priestess?

The moonlight priestess, our clan believe in no such thing but I heard the celestial do, we demons are willful and free-bound creatures but the celestials are different they believe in protecting and sacrificing, no demon is willing to sacrifice for another that's a fact.

The moonlight priestess is not just a legend but the reality of the celestial world because the celestials are never allowed to fall in love because to them love is a hindrance to their cultivations, to immortal and so they practice the heartless way.

Every celestial wants to be an immortal but we demons are already immortal we don't die but when we aged we go back to being young again though we lose our memories in the process.

For any celestial to live forever they have to achieve immortal or divinity but that requires timeless tribulations and trials.

The heartless way enough isn't required for achieving immortal but countless trials and practices, the heartless way is the most difficult level of cultivation which most people dare not pursue because it requires letting go of all emotions and feelings even the worldly compassion and love is a chain to it.

When a demon dies, they can never be reincarnated again, when a devil dies they souls and blood mixed with the soil and get a new form of life although both demons and devils are born from fire but we have different outlooks, they are cursed to never die while we die without resurrections or reincarnation.

The celestials when they die, they souls leave outer heaven and never returns though some they are reincarnated as humans or resurrected again but only the phoenix clan... After nirvana in fire the phoenix will always rise again.

What are you thinking of again, you don't know do you?

Well there is a legend about a moonlight priestess, who was trapped in a cage for so many years, she either left nor did she wish to leave, she wanted to explore the outside world to see what was beyond the palace walls but she restrained herself and told Herself you must stay and honour the moon though she knew the moon was everywhere and that the moon in the palace was no different from the moon outside but her obligations, they held her tight which she has since childhood, she had obliged herself to stay and keep living in confinements.

Do you know what being a moon priestess means is exactly like being a monk or being a nun, she can't eat meat, she can't wear any lavish clothes and can't ever married or have a partner so what do you think if you were her wouldn't you yearn to be normal, wouldn't you want happiness by travelling the world, wouldn't you want to pursue freedom and success of your own rather than the title that brings you solitude and pain, rather than having the power to foresee what you shouldn't see, rather than being used for your power, rather than having no loved ones, rather than receiving fake affection and overall respect but she still chose to be the moon girl even when she knows the moon listens to her, why didn't she go see the fruits of her desire?

Maybe she knows she wouldn't succeed or maybe she was so used to having the power that she doesn't want to let go of it anymore.

Wrong, she was afraid of change, afraid of letting the moon down, afraid the sun is better than the moon, afraid she will hurt or misuse her power, powers should only be used to protect never for selfish reasons or personal gain, powers have the ability to corrupt one's mind making them do evil, a power that is used to do bad or evil, is not at all power but daggers which can stabbed anyone even the owner.

I thought humans were selfish, arrogant and willful but even humans wield the power to protect.

What are you thinking of?

I'm thinking that's still doesn't change the fact that humans are evil, self-centred and violent creatures.

Does a lion become a devil after eating his prey, even so not all devils are evil and similarly not all humans are bad, selfish and dangerous, at times we should learn to trust others but the world is broken is hard to distinguished between good and evil, what we can't feel we can only guess through our intuition.

Our intuition?

Yes by trusting our hearts, the heart can never be wrong.

We demons, don't have a heart, humans have seven orifices, both demons and devils only have one though the celestial are the same as humans the only difference is they are born with immortal marrows while humans are born with born marrow which is not their life source.

We are born with an evil born, humans are born with body some complete while others incomplete but we have to attain hundreds of years of cultivation before we can take human forms, humans age with time but we age when our vital or primordial spirit is weak or damage, though they are some demons who use human Vitality and other forms of life to keep their youth.

I never once understand why the celestials are always preaching about righteousness and maintaining the natural balance but now I think I'm beginning to understand, to them all lives are equal, no wonder they detest us demons, before I thought to them all Yin are malicious beings but the fact that even mere humans without powers are protecting each other is remarkable.

Hey dreamy cat, why are you always lost in thoughts?

How do you know about devils?

When a child misbehaves their parents often told them that the devil will eat their evil hearts because devils don't have hearts so they feed on evil hearts but I think all living beings have their own hearts which is special and unique, they just have to feel or find.

Just have to feel or find?

Why are you lost in thoughts again?

Nothing, where is that idiot friend of yours, is already night time?

I'm wondering the same, is he looking around for me?

Isn't he a ghost, he can sense your smell.

Then what is taking him so long?

That idiot I hope he isn't in any trouble.

What trouble can he be in, he can only cause others trouble?

No he won't but I hope he is alright.

You are too sentimental, he is a ghost nothing can happen to him because he doesn't even have a body, he is invisible remember?

Yes he must be lazing around making me do all the hard work, idiot Lu Qian Feng.

****************

- His majesty-

Your majesty, the imperial guard seek an audience.

Let him in.

Greetings your majesty.

Skip the formalities, have you done what I asked?

Yes, your majesty but I'm still searching for the whereabouts of the princess, she cover her tracks every well, I have searched around for her but she was nowhere to be found.

Then keeping searching and has anything strange happened during your search?

Nothing specific except that during her highness's escape the inauspicious sign appears on the lanterns festival which a fortune-teller assured the locals that it was a good sign that the heavens have blessed our Tang dynasty.

I have already got the news about that.

But did you majesty knows that the young mistress of the Chen family also fell into the lake the same day and that a young refugee save her.

A young refugee?

He was her highness's age and he said he was from LuoYang.

A refugee from LuoYang?

Yes your majesty and the strangest thing was that in the same day her highness escape that too at the lake.

So you suspect that is Ling Xian but what does she want with the Chens and when did she get acquainted with them?

I don't know your majesty but if it is her highness, it has something to do with the court.

The court?

Judging by the way her highness is behaving doesn't look like she was acquainted with them but more like she was trying to earn their trust.

How is she been behaving?

Her highness first tell her story to a stall owner and then went to Shao Lin temple where the Chens where distributing goods and she then participated in collecting the goods, she even fought over the last piece and after that she went with the monks and nuns.

What happened after?

She stayed in the temple and again went to collect alms with the monks and when she ran into the same beggars she didn't fight them but surrender to be beaten up by them, after that some people from the Chen family came and took her away.

Why didn't you help her?

I wasn't sure if he was her highness and even if he was, is part of her plan, I didn't want to get in the way.

Fine but keep an eye on Chen family for me, their every move and also the reason why Ling Xian went there find it.

As you ordered your majesty.

Hmmm your majesty, I have also investigated the maid's background.

Who is she?

She is the daughter of minister Yang.

Minister of justice, Yang Yu.

Yes your majesty.

Doesn't he have only one daughter and two sons, his sons one is handling the family business and the other is a promising young talent, he is the head of Jinwun guards but what is his daughter doing serving as a maid in the palace?

Your majesty her family is the second most influential family in Chang'an, they own half of the gold mine in Tang, eunanch Mo said.

So why is their mistress being Ling Xian's maid?

Well your majesty, her highness was the one who saved their young master so she became a maid to repay her highness and her kindness towards their family and so she joined the princess's maid selection.

Young master?

Your majesty, their young master is five years old but he is every mischievous so he often run from home to play outside so that day he ended up getting lost in the woods so her highness saved him and brought him back, they wanted to reward her but she refused so their young mistress decided to repayed her highness by becoming her maid.

So that's how it is, I thought minister Yang Yu only has two sons but I never expected three and Ling Xian, what is going on in her mind, I can't tell?

Your majesty, the second princess is just like you when you were young.

But I don't want her to be like me for her own good.

Your majesty I will take my leave.

Off you go.