Chapter 19
The Myth of the Flower Celestial Maidens
In the Primordial Era, Mother Mountain gathers the spiritual essence of Heaven and Earth. In those times, a nomadic man follows a band of hunters to prey upon the Lac birds. After a rain of arrows, two Lac birds are struck and plummet into the abyss. The hunters depart in dejection.
The nomadic man enters the abyss alone, seeking along the trail of blood, and finally discovers a Lac bird struggling to pull its fledgling from the mire of a swamp. The nomadic man is moved by a bond of kinship and devotion.
The predator instead rushes to save his prey. But he is too late—the swamp finally swallows the Lac chick. He can only preserve the life of the father bird. From then on, man and bird are soulbound.
Time flows until Yin and Yang converge, connecting the Celestial Realm with the mortal world, allowing goddesses to secretly descend to Earth and wander the wild mountains. In the early spring of a certain year, the elder sister Hoa Diep and the younger sister Hoa Dung—two daughters of the Jade Emperor—secretly descend to the mortal realm.
Upon arriving in the mortal realm for the first time, Hoa Diep immediately falls in love with the nomadic man at the foot of the mountain. He and the goddess vow to remain together forever. The Jade Emperor cannot prevent this and can only bless his beloved daughter.
A sleepless night reveals its length; long companionship reveals human bonds of kindness. Dwelling under the same roof as the nomadic man, Hoa Diep reveals her unreasonable nature. She loathes the Lac bird that circles her husband all day, and even her eyes itch with irritation because of this bird.
The worst befalls when the Lac bird enters the forest to hunt. It chances upon Hoa Diep embracing a stranger tightly.
The Lac bird does not understand infidelity, but when it sees the man embracing Hoa Diep is not the nomadic man, and the garments of the two are disheveled, their skin fully exposed—it instantly falls into a frenzy, rushing toward them without a second thought, determined to peck them to death.
This creature is nearly killed by Hoa Diep and has no choice but to fly home. The spirit bird beats its wings in fury, looking at its soulbound companion and howling in sorrow. The nomadic man finds it confounded:
"What is wrong with you?"
The spirit bird is profoundly sentient. Though it cannot speak, it understands the language of humans. It turns to signal the nomadic man to ride on its back. Just as he prepares to do so, the spirit bird suddenly rushes forward with lightning speed, striking directly at Hoa Diep who is returning home.
Hoa Diep swiftly dodges and strikes back, repelling the spirit bird. The nomadic man is terrified; he hastily places himself between his wife and the spirit bird, shouting sternly:
"Stop! What on earth happened?"
Hoa Diep is enraged and wishes to kill the creature, but is hindered by her husband. She slaps her thighs, cursing bitterly in a loud voice:
"You still ask? Just because I picked bamboo shoots and my disturbance startled its prey away, that damned thing wants to kill me! It was so last time, and the same this time. Only because of such a trivial matter, it still wishes for my death!"
She opens her eyes wide, lying to his face. The spirit bird's grievance is hard to plead; its wounds still bleed profusely as it howls incessantly in indignation.
Hoa Diep resorts to her wanton nature and the deceit of lifting her skirt, wailing and railing loudly, demanding her husband cast this beast out of the house.
The nomadic man believes the spirit bird would not go mad against Hoa Diep without reason, yet his celestial wife also has no cause to harm his friend.
He absolutely trusts his beloved wife and his soulbound companion, thus he dismisses it as a mere misunderstanding and chooses to mediate gently.
The spirit bird glares sullenly at Hoa Diep, while she sulks and glowers at both the creature and her husband. She turns into the house and slams the door with a heavy thud.
Months pass as the spirit bird watches in silence; it finds that Hoa Diep remains inside the house, never consorting with outsiders. It once thought she had repented and mended her ways.
She continues to loathe the spirit bird, sometimes quarreling with her husband. The nomadic man, though in a dilemma, remains firm in protecting his soulbound companion.
The creature does not wish for the family of its benefactor to have conflict because of it, so it silently flies away in the night. For a long time, he searches everywhere in solitude but can never find his soulbound companion.
Hoa Diep's heart is at ease, having finally escaped the watchful gaze of that damned creature. She returns to her wanton ways, trysting secretly with her paramour.
Her lustful heart nourishes her liver, making it greater than the Heavens, and she brazenly brings the man into the house. The husband witnesses with his own eyes his wife committing adultery with another man in the warm home he built himself.
That wanton adulteress rebukes her feckless and useless husband. She grumbles that he fails to provide her with a life of splendor, leaving her to endure suffering until her youthful beauty fades. Hearing her complaints, the paramour declares in triumph he will take her as his wife.
Hoa Diep curls her lips into a cold sneer, then without a moment's hesitation, plunges the short sword into the man's chest. She parts her lips slightly, licking away the bloodstains from her flawless yet gore-tainted face, then slowly turns toward her husband, who remains frozen in shock. Witnessing his celestial wife transform into a demon, the husband stands dazed and speechless.
The faithless and heartless woman speaks indifferently.
"Tying my fate to yours is the greatest mistake of my life!"
Words end; affection is severed as the blade thrusts directly toward the husband's heart. Suddenly, a peach-colored silk ribbon appears in the void, tightly binding the murder weapon. Hoa Diep glares furiously at the one who saves her husband's life. Facing each other, she recognizes that the person is none other than Hoa Dung.
She is stunned, pausing for a moment as she remembers the Celestial Festival tomorrow. Perhaps the Jade Emperor sends Hoa Dung to the mortal realm to invite her and her husband to the grand celestial banquet. With divine punishment imminent, fear takes hold of her.
Due to her crimes of infidelity, the slaying of her paramour, and the attempted murder of her husband, Hoa Diep cannot return to the Celestial Realm; she will surely be cast into rebirth in the beast realm. Dreading this terrible prospect, she decides to slaughter everyone present so that she may rightfully remain a celestial maiden with a "pure" body.
Just as Hoa Diep is plotting how to erase all traces of this carnage, a furious howl echoes from the sky. The spirit bird dives like a bolt of lightning, transforming into a streak of brilliant light that strikes directly at her foul and filthy heart. Facing this sudden upheaval, she feels utterly bewildered.
For months, the Lac bird remains absent. She deems this creature but an ignorant beast, never expecting that it is not as witless as she disdains. During this time, it returns from time to time in secret to visit its benefactor. One day, deep within the dense forest, it comes upon a faithless pair entwined in a sordid, illicit tryst.
Each time it returns home, the spirit bird yearns to lead the nomadic man to catch them in the act of betrayal. But the benefactor is sorcery-lulled by her and falls into a deep, unshakeable slumber; even shaking him or splashing water has no effect. Unable to reveal the truth or resist that lewd woman, the spirit bird is indignant yet helpless, and takes flight.
Keeping its sincere and simple friend in heart, the spirit bird cultivates its strength day and night, battling water monsters and fierce beasts. Through countless life-and-death trials, it hones the skill to slay the hypocrites.
Upon its return, it is determined to help its benefactor shatter this deceitful life. Unexpectedly, the wife who betrays her husband actually seeks to murder the nomadic man. The spirit bird is enraged beyond measure, vowing to fight this heartless woman to the death.
The force that shakes heaven and earth and the speed as swift as lightning leave Hoa Diep terrified. The most formidable and gifted celestial maiden of the Heavens dodges in haste but fails to escape the strike; her jade arm is slashed.
Hoa Diep grits her teeth and concentrates, using celestial qi to heal the wound. The blood stops, the gash gradually recovers as before, and the skin mends step by step.
Facing two adversaries at once, Hoa Diep exerts all her strength, fending off Hoa Dung while battling the spirit bird. This fleeting victory consumes over half of Hoa Diep's celestial qi. Hoa Dung takes the opportunity to press forward, gradually forcing Hoa Diep into a disadvantage. To turn the tide, Hoa Diep employs a cunning scheme, provoking Hoa Dung:
"Sister, why do you appear at the exact right moment to save my husband? Could it be that you have long harbored secret feelings for him?"
In the midst of the fray, Hoa Dung indeed loses her focus, allowing Hoa Diep to seize the upper hand.
Having witnessed his wife's betrayal and watched her slay her lover with her own hands, the husband still stubbornly believes that if he is willing to forgive, all scars will eventually be healed by time. However, the wife's cruel actions toward her sister completely shatter his trust.
Hoa Dung's life teeters on the brink, but the feckless husband shields her from the cursed blade. Scalding tears fall from the corners of the spirit bird's eyes. The Lac bird lets out a cry of grief and indignation, watching its dying benefactor in despair.
Hoa Dung is struck with panic; in her frantic state, she hurriedly pours celestial qi into his body, but his heart is already shattered.
Hoa Diep desires to put her husband to death, yet he lingers in her sister's arms. Consumed by a jealous fire, she bellows like a demon in a fit of spite:
"Why save her? Speak now!"
The husband responds that he wishes to take this tragedy into the grave with him.
Since their very first meeting, Hoa Dung has admired his kindness and honesty. He and Hoa Diep love each other, and Hoa Dung is the only one in the Celestial Realm who dares to petition the Jade Emperor to allow this pair of lovebirds to become husband and wife.
From then until now, he always maintains a wary distance from his wife's younger sister. Yet now, he chooses to sacrifice himself to ensure Hoa Dung's safety, praying to redeem the soul of his wife, which is swallowed by sin. That profound devotion awakens Hoa Dung's heart, resonating because of him, though she always mistakes it for mere familial affection.
He struggles with the last shred of his strength but fails to wait for her to answer his wish. Even after suffering such betrayal, he still devotes the final moment of his life to his deeply loved wife. In those deep, sorrowful eyes remains an infinite regret for an unfinished destiny. The sensation of pain is like a mockery, piercing Hoa Diep's heart.
Hoa Dung sobs, calling out the name of her brother-in-law as though she were the virtuous wife. Hoa Diep is driven mad with jealousy, madly pulling her husband's corpse toward herself.
In life, the devotion between husband and wife lies long trampled; even at the moment of death, he fails to escape humiliation. Enraged to the extreme, Hoa Dung tears away the "Flower Celestial Maiden" birthmark on her shoulder with her own hands. She is the twin sister of Hoa Diep, and the birthmark is the symbol of the blood-linked bond between the twin celestials.
If the birthmark is destroyed by one, it means all ties are severed. The destroyer endures a spiritual and physical agony as if their form is being annihilated, and the other feels the same pain.
Hoa Diep tightly clutches her bleeding shoulder, pain and shock intertwined. She never expects that her consistently gentle and shy sister would dare to harm herself to sever their sisterly bond. Hoa Diep vomits blood in rage, howling:
"For a man, is it truly worth abandoning our sisterhood?"
Lewd, unfaithful, and cruel to her own kin—the unrighteous woman instead accuses others of being heartless. The selfish and shameless nature of the elder sister causes Hoa Dung to scream out venomous words in resentment:
"You sacrifice everything for a paramour less than a beast—is it truly worth it?"
Hoa Diep's body slowly vanishes amidst the screams of resentment, finally transforming into a moth. This is the price that must be paid by those forsaken by their own kin.
Though celestials fear the retribution of Heavenly Law, Hoa Diep indulges in the pleasures of sin, ultimately falling into a state of eternal wandering and endless damnation. And the one who loses his life because of that sin is the very husband who loves her deeply.
Rage momentarily robs her of reason, forcing Hoa Dung to cut the ties with Hoa Diep. Once her mind calms, Hoa Dung realizes the dead cannot return to life, and a thousand years of sisterly love are buried in the sinking sea of bitterness. This tragic end becomes a final haunting as he passes. It is too late; errors follow one after another, and they are beyond recall.
She gazes blankly at Hoa Diep's fading silhouette dissolving into the misty rain, wailing and pleading for the Heavens to salvage her sister's soul.
Heaven and earth remain indifferent to the tragedy of her carrying his corpse, trudging through the cold night mist. Overwhelmed by remorse and pain, she collapses to the ground, weeping as she pleads to the Heavens once more. The heart-wrenching cries echo through the nine skies, and tears transform into a snow-like aura, soothing the wounds in his heart.
The shimmering aura and the dawn upon the horizon reflect each other in brilliance, dazzling in Hoa Dung's eyes. She chokes with sobs, holding him tightly in her arms. Her feelings for him are long-rooted, but he sees with shock that the birthmark on her shoulder is slowly seeping blood.
"You were sisters, after all! You are so heartless—is it truly worth it?"
The man of deep devotion does not wait for this "heartless one" to answer; he resolutely leaves the embrace of the one who loves him, staggering toward the spirit bird to check its condition.
The nomadic man's resurrection is an unexpected joy. Ignoring its own bleeding wounds, the spirit bird struggles to flap its wings to fly but cannot move an inch. Hoa Dung slowly pours celestial qi into its body, mending the wounds. Supporting itself with its wings, the spirit bird slowly stands and bows its head in gratitude.
He deeply thanks Hoa Dung, yet this man of profound righteousness does not cast a single glance back at her, leaving quietly, far away from that wretched place. The spirit bird also refuses to stay in this place of sorrow; it spreads its wings, soaring high along the path its benefactor is walking.
Hoa Dung falls in love with a man who does not belong to her. Mortal morality and the harsh Heavenly Law will eventually bury this forbidden love beneath an endless storm. All dogmas, to her, become meaningless.
The mockery of men's tongues and the punishment of the Heavens—she disregards them all. She allows her reason to listen to the heart willing to accompany him to the edge of the sky and the corners of the sea. The soul's agony lies here: Hoa Diep's shadow is forever engraved upon Hoa Dung, so that whenever he looks upon her, he cannot face what has been.
He walks away lonely, and she follows silently behind. Neither knows where this endless road will lead; they simply keep walking, forever toward the boundless unknown. No one knows where they go.
That pair of figures, bound by an ill-fated destiny, thus vanish quietly from the realm of men, as if they never existed. This love story, soaked in tears, becomes a legend told for a thousand years.
Later, some say the Heavens bestow a Flower Celestial Maiden birthmark upon every maiden of Mau Son. Once she loses her chastity, the heaven-sent mark on her shoulder fades, and she transforms into a wandering butterfly, pitied by none.
The legend of the Flower Celestial Maiden is passed down from generation to generation, remembered by the folk of Mau Son to remind themselves to live with a clear conscience and fully fulfill the path of human morality.