At that time, Yu was a male celestial attendant named Yaochen (瑤辰), while you were a female celestial attendant named Yaoyu (瑤羽). Yaochen raised two teams of divine guardian dogs in the Peach Garden. The two lead divine dogs were named Yanxi (焰襲) and Fuxie (伏邪). You (hereafter referred to as Yaoyu) were very fond of these two divine dogs.
Working in the Peach Garden was extremely demanding. Not only did evil beings frequently attempt to invade the garden and steal the peaches, but the ripe peaches also had to be picked, washed with the Jade Pool’s spiritual spring water, and then handed over to the chief celestial maiden beside the Queen Mother of the West to be counted and placed into storage.
Why could the peaches, which would normally ripen and spoil easily, be counted and stored without worrying about them going bad? Because the peaches did not all ripen and get harvested at the same time. They were divided into peaches that ripened once every 3,000 years, once every 6,000 years, and once every 9,000 years.
After being picked, they had to be immersed in the spiritual spring water of the Jade Pool. The spring water possessed magical power that could preserve the peaches from ever decaying until the annual Peach Banquet.
Yaoyu actually did not need to pick peaches, but because she loved Yanxi and Fuxie, she asked the Queen Mother of the West if she could also enter the garden to help. The Queen Mother of the West was very compassionate and agreed to let Yaoyu assist the Seven Fairies and Yaochen in picking peaches.
Yaochen regarded Yaoyu as his younger sister and always gave her the easiest tasks, allowing her to happily play with the two dogs.
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