Soul Land 5: The Rebirth of Tang San-Chapter 800: Xiao He and the Queen Consort

It had been a little less than a year since Mei Gongzi ascended to godhood, yet she had already reached such a level. This was nothing short of a miracle; in fact, it was so incredible that even the word "miracle" didn't quite cover it.

When the light flashed again and the spatial fluctuations quietly receded, they found themselves in a luxurious room.

Xiao He shivered as he realized where he was.

Familiar—everything here was so familiar to him, just as it was when he had left. Nothing had changed.

He had once been the ruler here, the true authority. Even when he had to distance himself from his wife for the sake of his plans, she never interfered with his governance over the Peacock Demon clan and all of Kali City. In terms of managing the main city, he believed he had done his best, allowing this remote city to thrive and prosper, matching the bustling and wealthy cities near the Ancestral Court.

Now that he was reborn and back here again, how could he not feel overwhelmed with emotion?

In the next moment, a flash of silver light erupted, and two figures appeared almost instantly before them.

"Little Mei!" With a tearful shout, Su Qin rushed forward, tightly embracing Mei Gongzi as tears streamed down her face.

Mei Gongzi hugged her mother back, her eyes also filled with tears. She was really home. For the first time in a long while, she felt truly relaxed and at peace, and now that she recalled the perils they had faced in the Ancestral Court, she felt as if she had lived through several lifetimes.

Accompanying Su Qin was the acting city lord—Grand Elder and Queen Dowager of the Peacock Demon clan, and the Peacock Great Demon King's consort.

She watched Mei Gongzi and Su Qin embrace, her eyes reddening as she muttered, "It's good to have you back, it's good to have you back."

As they appeared, Xiao He's gaze immediately locked onto the queen dowager in her elegant dress. He was in a daze—what could be more thrilling than seeing his beloved after being reborn?

The look in his eyes was exactly like Tang San's when he first encountered Mei Gongzi in the milk tea shop upon his rebirth on the Daemon Continent.

The queen consort, a Great Demon King herself, immediately sensed the strange gaze and instinctively turned her head. She saw a human standing beside Tang San, his eyes filled with an odd expression. When their eyes met, she felt her heart skip a beat for some reason. But this was clearly a stranger—moreover, a human whose aura suggested he was not even cultivating.

She turned to Tang San and asked, "Who is this?"

Tang San said, "His name is Xiao He, I—"

Xiao He raised his hand, stopping Tang San. Tang San understood: the man wanted to speak for himself.

Xiao He stepped forward hesitantly, then took another step, closing the distance between him and the queen dowager.

Her gaze was full of confusion, with hints of wariness and annoyance. Who was this human, and why was he looking at her so brazenly? If he hadn't been brought here by Mei Gongzi and Tang San, she would have been furious.

"Qingzhu, Qingzhu... it's me!" Xiao He's voice trembled, and tears streamed uncontrollably down his face.

At that moment, the queen consort shivered violently, and her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at him.

Her real name was Luo Qingzhu[1]. Within the Peacock Demon clan, there were two major branches: Wang and Luo. The Wang family was stronger right now; the former two clan leaders had that surname. But even though the Luo family was smaller, it was actually the main lineage of the clan. That was because the Peacock Demon Emperor's husband bore the Luo surname, and thus, so did her direct descendants. Among the elders of the Peacock Demon clan, a third were from this family.

Luo Qingzhu's name was common knowledge only among the elders of the Peacock Demon clan, and normally, not even they dared to address her by name. She used to be referred to as the queen consort, and now the queen dowager.

To be called by her personal name, and in such an odd tone accompanied by such a strange look, caused her to be instantly and profoundly shaken.

She stared at Xiao He in utter disbelief. "You... who are you?"

Xiao He murmured, "I didn't originally have that name, but after marrying you, I changed my name to include the Qing part of your name. You once said that we were like two clear mirrors reflecting each other[2]... Do you remember?"

If Luo Qingzhu's name was known to the elders, then the saying "two clear mirrors reflecting each other" was something only two people could possibly know.

In an instant, her beautiful face turned pale, her eyes widened, and she started trembling uncontrollably.

On the other side, Su Qin, who was busy reuniting with her daughter, turned her head when she felt the violent shift in atmosphere. She glanced at Xiao He, then at Mei Gongzi, her eyes also filled with disbelief.

"You..." Luo Qingzhu's voice also trembled. Her divine consciousness scanned Xiao He from head to toe, but he was exactly what he seemed to be—a normal human, with no trace of Peacock Demon aura. Although he seemed stronger and healthier than an ordinary human, he was still just a human!

Xiao He took a deep breath, calming his emotions. "Thank Little Mei and Tang San. I found out from Tang San that once I died, he preserved my divine consciousness using a divine artifact. At the Ancestral Court, they brought me back to life using a human body. They... they succeeded."

Luo Qingzhu instinctively stepped forward, almost instantly arriving in front of Xiao He. Looking at the unfamiliar face and those deeply familiar eyes, she was overwhelmed with emotion. Tears burst uncontrollably from her eyes.

Su Qin looked at them, then at Mei Gongzi, and asked softly, "Is it... really him?"

Mei Gongzi nodded gently. "He is."

Back when Tang San told Mei Gongzi that he would find a way to revive the Peacock Great Demon King, Su Qin had heard it too. At that time, they all thought it was just a comforting promise; they had never imagined that he would truly achieve it.

Xiao He looked at the sobbing Luo Qingzhu and lifted his hand, intending to wipe her tears, but Luo Qingzhu instinctively stepped back. After all, the face before her was still too unfamiliar.

"I'm sorry." Xiao He lowered his hand and said softly, "These years, I've made you suffer. Please give us some time to slowly readjust, okay? Whatever you decide, I will respect your choice."

Luo Qingzhu just cried, as if she were releasing all the sorrow that had built up in her heart over this time.

Su Qin hurried forward, wanting to offer some comfort, but Tang San stopped her.

Ever since the Peacock Great Demon King's death, Luo Qingzhu had helped Mei Gongzi manage Kali City, but her heart had always been filled with sorrow. Now that she finally had an outlet, it was best for her to release all that pent-up grief. Letting her cry was the best thing they could do.

Tang San signaled to Mei Gongzi and Su Qin, and with a wave of Mei Gongzi's hand, a circle of silver light enveloped the three of them. They silently vanished from the room, reappearing in Su Qin's residence within the city lord's mansion and leaving that space for Xiao He and Luo Qingzhu.

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Looking at his tear-streaked wife, Xiao He's own eyes filled with tears as he spoke softly, "Do you remember when we first met? From the moment I saw you, I felt admiration. You know, I never felt inferior to anyone, but in front of you, I felt like... a nobody. I don't even know where I got the courage from, but back then, I fell deeply in love with you. I secretly vowed in my heart that I would work hard and become strong."

1. The novel keeps alternating between her name and the title "queen consort," but we will only be using her name from now, due to her not being queen in any sense really. We will still use the Grand Elder title where relevant. ☜

2. The original is an untranslatable wordplay based on the phrase 清清相映. The 清 (qīng) character in Wang Qing and Luo Qingzhu means "clear, pure," and as you can see, it appears twice, a common practice with adjectives/adverbs in Chinese. The second word is literally translated as "mutual reflection" and usually refers to two people cheering each other up or supporting each other. The expression used here looks like a chengyu (i.e. a classic 4-character proverb) but it seems to have been invented by the author; all references we could find point to this specific scene. This is reinforced by the next sentence, so we just translated it as we found appropriate. ☜