Wan San studied the mural closely, his brow furrowing. “The maiden who saved Crown Prince Ji Mu… could she have been an immortal?”
Wang Cang Hai nodded. “She revealed her true identity to him. She was no mortal but the ruler of the Kunlun Divine Palace, the Mother of All Demons, and the controller of celestial calamities. Her title is a single word: Xi [literally ‘West’]. She is a fellow disciple of the Three Pure Ones.”
Wan San gasped. “You mean… she’s the Queen Mother of the West? The senior sister of the Jade Emperor himself?”
“Yes. Ji Mu, saved by the divine maiden, naturally fell in love with her. And the Queen Mother of the West, in turn, was captivated by his charm and intellect,” Wang Cang Hai continued, narrating the story from the epitaphs. “They became lovers and secretly pledged themselves to one another. Here, in this very place, the Queen Mother used her divine powers to construct this underground palace. They were wed and consummated their union.
“Once Ji Mu recovered from his injuries, he told the Queen Mother about his responsibilities: his father was gravely ill, the borders were unstable, and rebellions needed to be quelled. He vowed to return to the capital to inherit the throne and restore order. He asked her to come with him, promising to make her his one and only queen. But to his surprise, she refused.”
Wang Cang Hai gestured for Wan San to follow him as they moved along the mural, revealing the continuation of the story.
“The Queen Mother told Ji Mu that, as a divine being, she could not remain in the mortal realm. She invited him to Kunlun to live together forever. But Ji Mu refused to abandon his kingdom and people. He pleaded with her, saying, ‘Even Jiang Ziya was a divine emissary of Kunlun, but he descended to assist my ancestors, Ji Chang and Ji Fa, and remained in the mortal realm for fifty-seven years. Stay with me, and I promise you will be my only queen.’ But the Queen Mother still refused. They quarreled and parted ways.”
Wan San frowned. “Ji Mu sounds rather ungrateful. A divine maiden lowers herself to marry a mortal, and he refuses to join her in the heavens for immortality? He’d rather stay in the mortal world, suffering the pain of aging and death?”
At the mention of “immortality,” Wang Cang Hai’s eyes briefly lit up, but he quickly suppressed his reaction and continued the tale.
“When Ji Mu returned to the capital, his father had just passed away. The nation hailed him as the new king. Ten years later, at twenty-nine, Ji Mu faced mounting pressure to marry and produce an heir. Yet his heart remained with the Queen Mother, and he refused to take any other woman as his wife.
“One day, a blue bird flew into the palace, carrying a letter from the Queen Mother. She confessed that she, too, had been unable to forget him. For her, ten days apart in the heavens felt unbearable, so she could only imagine the agony of Ji Mu enduring ten years on earth. Along with the letter, she sent him an elixir of immortality, urging him to remember his vow to love her alone. She promised to wait for him for a hundred days—until he turned one hundred and twenty-nine years old. If he relinquished his throne and came to Kunlun by then, they could reunite.”
Wan San’s eyes widened in astonishment. “An elixir of immortality? Does that mean consuming it would grant eternal youth and life?”
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