My name is Zhang Hai Sheng, but Mu Wang [King Mu] likes to call me Sheng Ji.
When I was little, I didn’t understand much. I would often cry and call for my father and mother. Mu Wang would take me onto his lap and gently comfort me, saying, “Sheng Ji, be good, don’t cry. Your father, Zhang Cheng Shan, is the greatest and most valiant general in the world. He suffered thirteen wounds on the battlefield, his blood staining his armor, yet he never uttered a single groan.”
I couldn’t understand—if my father was injured, wouldn’t he feel pain?
I wanted to ask Mu Wang, but I was too tired from crying. His embrace was so warm and gentle that I quickly fell asleep.
By the time I turned sixteen, Mu Wang said I was a grown lady and refused to carry me anymore. I was heartbroken and threw a tantrum. Out of frustration, I ran away from home and climbed to the top of Wang Bai Mountain, where I yelled at the red sunset, “Zhou Mu! I hate you! You big idiot!”
As I shouted, a boy dressed in black leapt down from the clouds tinged with twilight and said to me, “Hey, don’t you have any manners? You’re making so much noise that I can’t sleep.”
I widened my eyes and opened my mouth in shock, unable to speak for a long time. How could someone be sleeping on the clouds and sunset?!
The boy in black was incredibly handsome. He didn’t look much older than me, but his eyes were extraordinarily bright and clear—like those of a newborn child.
He walked closer, blinked his beautiful eyes, and asked, “Why do you hate Zhou Mu? Did he steal something from you too?”
I was startled. “Mu Wang would never steal anything! He’s the most righteous person in the world!”
The boy puffed up his cheeks and said, “Well, he stole my best friend. That’s a fact.”
I was confused. “Can friends be stolen? Who’s your friend?”
The boy answered, “Bai Hu [White Tiger].”
I suddenly understood. “Oh! Mu Wang has a white tiger—it must be your friend!”
The boy nodded. “Ever since my friend met Zhou Mu, he hasn’t paid any attention to me. I told Bai Hu to come home, but not only did he refuse, he even got angry and tried to bite me. It really upset me.”
I sighed in agreement. “Yeah, when a friend who used to care about you suddenly changes, it really hurts.”
The boy tilted his head. “Your friend changed too?”
I sighed again. “Yeah… Zhou Mu used to love me the most, but now he won’t even hold me anymore. He must have lost interest and doesn’t love me anymore.”
The boy’s expression became even more puzzled. “Does hugging mean love?”
I said, “Just because someone is willing to hug you doesn’t necessarily mean they love you. But if they refuse to hug you, it definitely means they don’t love you.”
The boy thought for a moment and said, “I have another friend who ran away from home because she fell in love. Do you think her love will change? If it does, will she come back home someday?”
I replied, “That’s not certain. But the books I’ve read say that love is eternal—like the sea drying up and the mountains crumbling, it will last forever.”
The boy pondered again and muttered, “That’s really troublesome… If they both don’t come back, my house’s gate might fall apart.”
I wanted to ask where his home was, but in the blink of an eye, the handsome boy had disappeared without a trace.
The Next Morning
At dawn, I climbed to the mountaintop again and shouted toward the clouds, “Bai Hu’s friend! Bai Hu’s friend, are you there?”
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