After a long silence, there was only the wind blowing past—and beyond that, the sound of water.
Yellow Springs
The sound of a river echoed endlessly, as though carrying a mournful song. It was not the first time Xie Zhenqing had heard it.
It was a shell.
Time flew by. The little shell grew up. Many of her companions were dredged up by fishermen. She instinctively felt fear, yet had no way to resist it. She could only leave herself to fate.
But one day, a spark of spiritual light descended.
To the shell, it was as though an entirely new gate had opened before her.
For the first time, she gained sentience. For the first time, she could truly see her surroundings. It was the most important light of her life.
As time passed, her wisdom blossomed and slowly unfurled. She learned of her origins and began her pilgrimage.
She swam upstream through the river, singing a pilgrim's song.
Fishing nets, river dams, and crocodiles could not stop her.
At last, one day, the Dragon Palace deep beneath the lake revealed itself—an independent realm, clouds and rosy mists filling the sky, ten thousand demons making pilgrimage.
The Shell Maiden revealed a look of yearning. At last, she had ascended to the Dragon Palace.
All around her were countless proud yet fervent cries.
"I walked in the wilds, beneath the flourishing stinkwood. For the sake of our marriage, I came to dwell with you. You would not keep me, so I returned to my homeland."
"I walked in the wilds, gathering the fufu herb. I did not think of our old marriage, but sought your new favor."
"It was not wealth that made it succeed, but merely difference."
Xie Zhenqing sneered. Another reef emerged at his side, carved with this