The Pillow Book (), written by Tang Qi Gong Zi, is the second book in the Three Lives, Three Worlds series. This Chinese novel consists of two books, and the first volume was initially published in 2012 by the Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House, followed by the second volume in 2013. The books describe the love story between the nine-tailed fox queen of Qing Qiu, Bai Feng Jiu, and the first ruler of Heaven, Dong Hua Di Jun, spanning across three lives in three worlds.
According to Tang Qi Gong Zi, she wrote the series after wondering why people are so fascinated with immortality, and questioning what the world would be like if everyone can live such a long life.
The original books have been translated by fans and professionals into many languages such as Thai, English, and Vietnamese.
Plot
Book One: Upper Volume
"If perseverance will still be in vain, who would use up this entire life only to wait for an unobtainable love?"
Part One: The Reborn Bodhi Vines
The story begins with the wedding between Qing Qiu's Queen, Bai Qian, and the Heavenly Clan's Crown Prince, Ye Hua. Dong Hua and Mo Yuan, Ye Hua's twin brother and Bai Qian's teacher, came along with the wedding parade to receive the bride back to the groom's home for marriage, and here is where Dong Hua and Feng Jiu officially meet for the first time. After that, the story moves to heaven, where a banquet is held for the married couple, and after seeing Feng Jiu blame Mi Gu for the crime of kicking a flower pot toward his head, Dong Hua begins to take interest in her.
Later, Bai Qian set Feng Jiu up on a blind date with a celestial fairy of Heaven. Not willing to marry, Feng Jiu drove her date away and mistook Dong Hua for Mi Gu. She then began reminiscing to him about Ye Qing Ti, her deceased mortal husband.
On the last day of Lian Song's Flower Festival, Feng Jiu took her cousin, Ah Li, to see a play. On the way, Ah Li became tired and the two took a rest. Soon after, Princess Zhi He, Dong Hua's adopted sister's, carriage ascended from the lower realm and some celestials began gossiping about why she was banished to the mortal realm.
Arriving at Cheng Tian Terrace, Feng Jiu fought with a Chi Yan (Red Flame) Beast, and Dong Hua ended up saving her. Rumors circulated throughout the Heavens about Dong Hua, Zhi He, and Feng Jiu. Lian Song came to Dong Hua to confirm these rumors and said that if Dong Hua wanted to take a wife, Zhi He is not a bad choice.
Escaping from a party she was forced to attend, Feng Jiu decided to take a late-night bath. Not long after, Dong Hua appeared and draped his cloak over her just as Lian Song came. Another rumor started out, this time saying that Dong Hua kept a beauty in his palace. Realizing that she lost the bracelet Qing Ti had given her, Feng Jiu went to find Dong Hua to inquire about it. However, she went at the wrong time, causing Dong Hua to tease her in front of the newly ascended immortals. Thus, another rumor started, mistaking Feng Jiu for Zhi He.
Tian Jun, the emperor of Heaven, decided to hold a party for the newly ascended fairies and, wanting to please Dong Hua, he announced that Zhi He will be returning to Heaven. Zhi He silently provoked Feng Jiu into remembering the time she was bullied while acting as a maid at Dong Hua's Palace. To forget her painful memories, Feng Jiu got drunk and Dong Hua brought her back to her room, causing another rumor to circulate.
No longer able to face the crowd, Feng Jiu instructed Ah Li to be her eyes and ears. While waiting for Ah Li to report back, Feng Jiu turned into a handkerchief to avoid another scandal with Dong Hua. Knowing full well that it was her, Dong Hua took Feng Jiu to his battle with Yan Chi Wu, a demon lord whom Dong Hua thought kidnapped his favorite pet fox long ago. During the battle, Chi Wu summoned a cyclone that swept both him and Feng Jiu away.
The two ended up at a valley and, thinking that Feng Jiu is Dong Hua's lover, Chi Wu started telling her about Dong Hua and Ji Heng, Dong Hua's former fiancée's, love story.
Part Two: Fan Yin Valley
Later, the two ended up meeting the second prince of the Bi Yi Niao (Adjoin-Winged Birds), Xiang Li Meng, and was mistaken for the prince and princess of the Owl Clan. They stayed in Fan Yin Valley for half a year before Dong Hua came. Upon meeting, Feng Jiu made him turn into a handkerchief to quench her anger for his tardiness, but later found out from Chi Wu that Dong Hua tricked her again, and that he didn't come to save her, but was here to coax Ji Heng back.
Hearing about the Saha fruit that could revive mortals, Feng Jiu decided to enter the tournament to win it in order to revive Ye Qing Ti, only to find that her name was not on the list of participants. Thus, she got Chi Wu to help her steal the fruit only to run into Dong Hua having a battle with a demoness. Feng Jiu got involved and ended up stuck inside a barrier with Dong Hua. The next day, Chi Wu told her that he was changing residence with Dong Hua.
Knowing that Feng Jiu wanted the Saha fruit, Dong Hua got her name into the list of competitors and in thanks, Feng Jiu rented out a restaurant to treat him. However, the next day, Feng Jiu found herself confined and Dong Hua told her that he did this so that he could train her for the tournament.
Later, Chi Wu came and took Feng Jiu out to comfort Xiang Li Meng, who was sad over the death of his pet cricket. His cousin, Jie Lu, explained that the cricket was a gift that Feng Jiu had given Xiang Li Meng when he was little.
When she returned, Feng Jiu found the barrier stronger and that Dong Hua seemed distracted. Finally, the day of the tournament arrived, and Feng Jiu won first place, but was told that Dong Hua had given the Saha fruit to Ji Heng. Ji Heng said that she asked for the fruit to test Dong Hua's love for her and asked Feng Jiu not to come in between them. Thus, Feng Jiu was forced into stealing the fruit. She successfully obtained the fruit, but was surrounded by four pythons before she fainted from pain. Doug Hua went back to Heaven with a red fox that he had saved to get treatment.
Back in Heaven, Zhong Lin noticed that Dong Hua was not his usual self ever since he returned from Fan Lin Valley. Example, in deep thoughts when he held a book up (not reading it), not waiting for the water to boil on his tea and asking Zhong Lin funny question like how to get rid of a person without other people knowing it. Lian Song came to see Dong Hua and told him that Feng Jiu is the beloved pet fox that Dong Hua has searched the world for. Later, Chi Wu angrily came and scolded Dong Hua for causing Feng Jiu's life to be in danger. Hearing this, Dong Hua quickly left and was relieved when he found that Feng Jiu was still alive inside the python formation. The Bi Yi Niao's Queen told Dong Hua that Feng Jiu is stuck inside of Aranya's Dream, and Dong Hua entered the formation to rescue her.
Book Two: Lower Volume
"In the middle of a foggy dream, one walks through whose shadow, destroys whose yearnings, and buries whose current life and past life?"
Part Three: Aranya
The Second book began with revealing that the reason why Dong Hua appeared distracted the last few days was, because he was trying to find ways to get rid of Chi Wu without drawing blood, and later realized that he was in love with Feng Jiu.
Outside Aranya's Dream, Chi Wu took Ji Heng back and she cried, saying that she regretted her earlier decisions and revealed that the only reason Dong Hua agreed to marry her was because her father, Meng Hao, a water dragon who served under Dong Hua, had begged him to help her before he died.
Back inside the formation, Feng Jiu woke and kissed Dong Hua, thinking that she was dreaming. Once she realized that it wasn't a dream, Dong Hua told her that they were married, and that she had amnesia, as she only remembered the events that happened 70 years ago. Due to injuries, Feng Jiu fell asleep again, and Dong Hua placed her body inside an ice coffin while taking her soul into the Dream World to recuperate.
Feng Jiu woke and found that she is in the body of Aranya, the second princess of the Bi Yi Niao. She ran into Chen Ye, the Archmage, while trying to escape Prince Qing, a snake that Aranya raised. She later found out from her maid, Cha Cha, that Aranya doesn't have a good relationship with Chen Ye. Cha Cha also told Feng Jiu that Su Mo Ye, Aranya's teacher, had returned. The two met and Feng Jiu found out that Mo Ye entered Aranya's Dream to find the truth behind Aranya's death, and Feng Jiu agreed to help him.
For Qing Hua's, Aranya's mother's, birthday, Xiang Li Que, the emperor, decided to go on a cruise to view camellias. On the ship, Feng Jiu met Aranya's sisters and her husband, Xi Ze, the former Archmage. Since it was his first time meeting Xi Ze, Mo Ye found a picture of him and realized that the Xi Ze he met is actually Dong Hua, but doesn't tell Feng Jiu, who did not recognize Dong Hua due to magic interference. Seeing him sad and lovelorn over Aranya, Feng Jiu thought to take him to see the Yue Ling flowers to cheer him up, but ending up going with Dong Hua instead.
The next day, Feng Jiu was punished for leaving Chang Di, Aranya's younger sister, with Prince Qing. Chang Di replaced her cell with the Jiu Qu cage, and Feng Jiu was tortured for days. Then, a celestial fire broke out and Chen Ye saved her life. When Feng Jiu returned to her courtyard, she found Xi Ze carefully tending to the pregnant Ju Nuo, Aranya's older half-sister, and felt sorry for Aranya.
Feng Jiu met up with Mo Ye and told him what happened to her. Feng Jiu ended up crying herself to sleep and Dong Hua, who had been listening behind a tree, took her back to her room and told Mo Ye not to tell Feng Jiu.
Later at a banquet, Feng Jiu found out that Chang Di wanted to marry Xi Ze, but Dong Hua started to care more about Feng Jiu, causing her to wonder if he's been hexed. Jealous, Chang Di and Ju Nuo plotted to have everyone think that Feng Jiu was committing adultery with Mo Ye, but Dong Hua intervened.
Part Four: The Shadowed Soul
Both princesses were punished and when they returned to the capital, it was found that Ju Nuo's child is the result of an affair, so she was sentenced to death while Chang Di angered their father and was banished. Mo Ye requested Feng Jiu to repeat Aranya's life by saving Ju Nuo. In the original timeline, Chen Ye came out of seclusion and pleaded for Ju Nuo, his fiancée, and Aranya appeased her father's fury. In the end, Ju Nuo was banished and Chen Ye was under house arrest at Aranya's manor.
One night, while watching the stars, Feng Jiu ended up going to the Shui Yue Swamp, the barrier between the Dream World and the Real World. There, she found Dong Hua fighting with a water serpent and learned from the spirits watching that they had been fighting nonstop for two days, because the serpent wanted to devour the girl sleeping at the bottom of the lake. In the end, Feng Jiu returned to her original body and Dong Hua was injured. When they met, Dong Hua kissed her and said that the serpent's poison caused him to do so.
Wondering how Feng Jiu ended up in Aranya's body instead of in Ju Nuo's womb, Dong Hua decided to create a Miao Hua Mirror to let him see the lives of immortals. Feng Jiu made some toffee candies and had Cha Cha send them to Dong Hua while also sending Aranya's first letter to Chen Ye. This caused Chen Ye to throw a tantrum, saying that Feng Jiu can't be Aranya. Later that night, Dong Hua came to take Feng Jiu out to the Maiden's Festival. As Feng Jiu was scared that Dong Hua would turn homosexual, they ended up running away from a mob of girls who wanted to go on a date with Dong Hua.