Volume 1: Unsayable – Chapters 89: Tender Affection

Hu Yu left Flower-Fruit Mountain, alone and without a clear destination. Her life had been full of hardships; she and Hu Zhi were meant to be together by fate, yet they never enjoyed peace for long, spending most of their time on the run. Later, Hu Zhi was wounded by heavenly soldiers, but with the help of the Bull Demon King and Sun Wukong, they arrived at Flower-Fruit Mountain to live in safety.

She thought she would finally find peace, but even Flower-Fruit Mountain was not tranquil. Within just over a decade, conflicts arose with the Heavenly Court. These conflicts were somehow related to Hu Yu as well. If it weren’t to save her, how could the Bull Demon King and Sun Wukong have become enemies of Bi Yue Wu and Wei Tu Zhi? Yet this was not Hu Yu’s fault. Given Sun Wukong’s style of action, his entanglement with such powerful demons meant he was destined to clash with the Heavenly Court sooner or later—this great war was inevitable.

Of course, Hu Yu didn’t think this way. Tears streaming down, she flew through the clouds, feeling like a curse who brought nothing but disaster wherever she went. As a child, her parents were killed by heavenly soldiers to protect her. As an adult, she found a perfect husband, who died tragically. Even at Flower-Fruit Mountain, its vast empire collapsed because of her—what else could she be but a calamity?

If she hadn’t left earlier, who knows what further disasters she would have caused? Brother Niu and Brother Sun were kind people; she couldn’t burden them. Anyone who was good to her, she had to stay away from. From now on, she would live alone in misery—this was her fate…

Thinking of the Bull Demon King, Hu Yu longed for such strength. If only she had it, she wouldn’t have to suffer oppression. After all, it was because her strength was too weak that she could only be exploited.

Hu Yu flew westward, not knowing how far she had gone. Her mind was restless—sometimes filled with memories of her tender moments with Hu Zhi, sometimes with the mighty figure of the Bull Demon King, and other times with the terrifying images of heavenly soldiers attacking…

She flew until she was exhausted, then slowly descended, curling up in a mountain crevice. She didn’t know how many tears she had shed; her heart had long since gone numb.

At that moment, a heat began to rise from her dantian. Hatingly, she said, “It’s happening again! Those cruel heavenly generals—whatever poison is in those demon pills they drop must torment me every day.”

The heat flow grew increasingly intense, burning like flames. Hu Yu endured the pain, lying flat on the rock. The coolness of the bluestone provided some relief. Little did she know, the Heart Moon Fox’s inner core she had consumed was nothing ordinary. The Heart Moon Fox itself belonged to the fire element, and the fire power within the core was beyond what an ordinary person could withstand. Although Hu Yu possessed some demonic strength, it was still far from sufficient.

For now, her cultivation level had risen significantly, but without proper guidance, it would eventually cause great trouble—even taking her life wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

Hu Yu knew that this inhuman torment would take at least an hour to subside. During that hour, her body would be like a furnace, burning fiercely. After each bout of torment, her cultivation would increase greatly. For the sake of growing stronger, enduring some suffering was worth it. She thought to herself that once she became as powerful as the Bull Demon King, she would exterminate all the heavenly soldiers to avenge her parents and Hu Zhi.

This time, the pain was far worse than before. Hu Yu couldn’t bear it and fainted.

She had a dream in which she found a pool of sweet water. She drank deeply from it—the water was incredibly delicious. Once it reached her stomach, it completely dissipated the heat flow, eliminating all discomfort…

When she woke up, she found herself lying on a bed. She cautiously looked around and realized it was an embroidered bed. Was this room… the dwelling of a deity?

The interior was exquisitely decorated, filled with fine fabrics and silk. Everything there was unprecedented and extraordinary. Surprised, Hu Yu felt unharmed inside and got up to leave the room.

After leaving this side room and passing through a few clusters of pine trees, she saw several magnificent buildings ahead. The doors were framed by green cypresses, and the house was near green mountains. A few pines stood gracefully, along with patches of bamboo, creating a scene beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

Hu Yu checked the sun and headed south. She was behind the main hall. The master must be in the main hall. She entered through the back door and went into the three southern halls.

High curtains hung overhead, and above the screen doors was a scroll painting titled “Longevity and Prosperity.” On the gilded columns on both sides were red paper couplets that read: “Silk drifts over willow trees by the evening bridge; Snowflakes adorn the fragrant plum trees in the spring courtyard.” In the center stood a black lacquered incense table, with a bronze animal-shaped incense burner on it.

The pattern on the incense burner was very familiar—a beautifully painted dark red fox. The fox was depicted so vividly that it seemed to emerge from the surface of the burner.

Hu Yu was so captivated that she forgot where she was.

At that moment, a gentle voice came through: “Girl, you’re awake.” Hu Yu was startled and realized she was in someone else’s house. She turned around and saw a beautiful middle-aged woman stepping out from behind a screen, smiling at her. The woman wore a gold-embroidered green silk jacket over a light red armor-like top, a colorful yellow brocade skirt, high-heeled patterned shoes, a palace-style comb adorned with red and green gems, and two red gold hairpins. Her hair was styled like phoenix wings, and her earrings were adorned with precious pearls. Even without makeup, she was stunning—clearly not an ordinary woman, but a celestial maid from heaven. Hu Yu was instantly captivated by her gaze, as if drunk. It wasn’t that the gaze was directed at her, but Hu Yu could tell that the woman’s kindness was genuine, not pretended—just like… her mother’s eyes after years apart. Realizing this woman must have saved her, Hu Yu bowed deeply and said, “Thank you, sister, for saving me.” The beautiful woman covered her mouth and laughed, “You little girl, I’m already tens of thousands of years old, yet you still call me sister.” Hu Yu was shocked—tens of thousands of years old and still so young? She blushed with shame and quickly apologized. The woman stepped forward to help her up, saying, “Child, we’re the same kind—there’s no need to be formal.” The woman seated Hu Yu on a chair and brought her a cup of strongly scented hot tea, saying, “There’s fire poison in your body. I’ve tried to remove it, but the magic of that demon pill hasn’t completely dissipated. Drinking more of this tea will do you good.” Seeing how kind the woman was, Hu Yu suddenly remembered she was an omen of disaster. Her expression changed drastically, and she stood up, saying, “I… I have to go!” The woman calmly stopped her, asking, “Where did you come from? Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Is there something urgent?” Hu Yu didn’t know what to say. She felt that staying longer would only cause harm to others. Recalling the past, tears streamed down her face as she said, “I have a fate of great misfortune. It’s not good for me to stay anywhere.” Seeing Hu Yu’s sadness, the woman reached out with her gentle hands and naturally pulled her into her arms, smiling and saying, “Nonsense. What fate? It’s all nonsense.” With no one to vent her sorrow to, Hu Yu buried her face in the woman’s arms and cried heartily. The woman didn’t try to comfort her but simply murmured, “Cry. It will feel better once you cry it out.” After a while, Hu Yu finally stopped crying. Seeing that the woman’s clothes were soaked, she felt even more uncomfortable. The woman didn’t seem to mind at all and asked with a smile, “Why do you say that? What exactly is making you so sad?”

Hu Yu found this woman extremely kind, so she told her everything that had happened to her in detail. “As a child, I killed my parents, then my husband. Even my savior had his career ruined because of me. Isn’t that also a great misfortune?”
The beautiful woman listened carefully and giggled, saying, “You silly girl, what does any of this have to do with you? It’s all the cruelty of the heavenly soldiers. Stop overthinking it. Drink this tea and sleep for a while; you’ll be fine when you wake up tomorrow morning.”
Hu Yu felt that what the beautiful woman said was right, so she drank the tea. There must have been something strange about it, for after drinking it, she indeed felt drowsy and fell asleep in her chair.
When she woke up again, she was still lying in bed. It was already late, but the courtyard was brightly lit, almost as bright as during the day. As soon as Hu Yu opened her eyes, she heard the beautiful woman’s voice saying, “Child, come to the front hall to eat.”
A warmth spread through Hu Yu’s heart; she could no longer resist the feeling of being cared for.
She followed the same path to the front hall and found, besides the beautiful woman, a handsome man in his thirties smiling at her.