After Provoking the Mad Beautiful Deity - Chapter 25

I Will Touch You, and Kiss You Too

Once an illusion is formed and then destroyed, the people inside will be trapped forever. Furthermore, to be killed within the illusion is to die in the real world. Yan Lai’s primary fear was that the collapsing illusion would seal their exit.

 

Hongchen used her magic to stabilize the dreamscape and summoned her young disciples. she ordered them to leave the illusion and find out who was sabotaging it. Yan Guang and Yan Heng took up their weapons and charged toward the boundary, but after walking for a long time, they found themselves back where they started. They couldn’t even leave the manor house, let alone the illusion.

 

The two stood there in a daze, looking at each other before casting guilty glances at their Master.

 

Hongchen sat at a stone table, propping her chin on her hand as if in deep meditation. Si Ming watched the boundaries of the illusion with a grim expression. “Who could have discovered the illusion and launched a sneak attack?”

 

They had been extremely cautious, disturbing no one. Even the Empress’s personal official knew nothing; how had an outsider found them? Si Ming performed a calculation, and her expression shifted drastically. “The mortal Emperor has a State Preceptor who is an expert in illusion arts. We have run into a professional.”

 

Hongchen’s strength lay in combat and spells, not the subtleties of illusions. The two women shared a look, but Hongchen remained undaunted. “What is there to fear? Let them finish the ceremony first. Even if the heavens fall, I will hold them up for you.”

 

The Demon Sovereign remained wild and unbridled, which eased the tension for the others. Hongchen pulled the bracelet from her wrist and began chanting incantations.

 

Si Ming had an epiphany. “Of course! We cannot get out, but Bodhi is connected to the Buddha; it won’t be deceived by an illusion.”

 

However, no matter how much Hongchen shouted, the bracelet remained just a bracelet. Usually prone to violent outbursts, today it sat motionless. Humiliated, Hongchen watched as Si Ming burst into laughter. “Your artifact spirit is quite disobedient.”

 

Hongchen’s face darkened. Yan Lai walked over, injected her spiritual energy into the bracelet, and said, “Princess, are you willing to save us?”

 

Still, there was no response.

 

Si Ming laughed until she couldn’t stand straight. Her pride wounded, Hongchen stomped her foot. “I’ll crush you into powder!”

 

“What are you making a fuss for? If you’re so brave, act tough with me; go act tough with Yan Lai!”

 

As the voice rang out, a shadow flew out from the Bodhi bracelet. She had no celestial body and her form was ethereal as she glared disdainfully at Hongchen. Hongchen blinked, dazed by the woman’s beauty. Yan Lai let out a low cough. “She is your sister. Control your lust.”

 

“Sister?” Hongchen was confused. She circled Princess Qing Gu three times before her gaze settled on the woman’s features. “If you hadn’t said so, I’d have taken her for my mother.”

 

Princess Qing Gu was so incensed she vanished back into the bracelet instantly, refusing to come out no matter who called. Hongchen gripped the bracelet, threatening to burn it with fire, when someone shouted, “The auspicious hour has arrived!”

 

The group temporarily set aside their squabbles and headed toward the wedding hall. Yan Lai slowed her pace to wait for Hongchen. As Hongchen drew near, Yan Lai spoke first. “I don’t think the State Preceptor is after us.”

 

“He’s after the eight people in the hall?” Hongchen finished her thought.

 

There was no benefit in killing immortals or demons in the mortal realm. But the eight people in the wedding hall were different; they held military power and were the subjects the Emperor feared most.

 

Yan Lai stopped in her tracks. “I am thinking… of leaving them in the illusion.”

 

Hongchen was puzzled. “Leaving them here?” If they stayed, their real bodies would die and they would have no chance at reincarnation.

 

Yan Lai stood with her hands behind her back, as straight as a green bamboo. Her eyes held a trace of compassion. “What they want is very simple.”

 

“No. Si Ming promised me they would have a beautiful afterlife. This place is too lonely.” Hongchen refused. Giving up everything for love? That was madness.

 

The auspicious hour arrived and the sky turned dark. A scarlet light enveloped the manor, and everyone cast aside their gloom to immerse themselves in joy. The Empress and the Noble Consort approached, supported by the Matron of Honor, each holding a fan to hide her face.

 

Yan Lai stood under the eaves. The sight of all that red made her head throb. Suddenly, a memory surfaced—another scene of red. It wasn’t a mortal house but a mountain path shrouded in mist. A grand gate was draped in red silk with “Double Happiness” characters pasted everywhere.

 

Yan Lai’s head felt as if it were splitting. She looked deeper into the memory; red lanterns hung from every branch, yet the people’s faces were grim, devoid of joy. She rubbed her temples, and a vision of Hongchen in red robes appeared…

 

Yan Lai gasped, her body trembling as she took two steps back. Hongchen caught her, her face full of concern. “What is wrong?”

 

Those words pulled her back. She looked at Hongchen in shock. In that vision, Hongchen had clearly been wearing wedding robes. Yan Lai hurriedly pulled away from her touch, her forehead breaking out in a cold sweat.

 

“Did you see a ghost? Wait, even ghosts tremble when they see me,” Hongchen said, confused.

 

Yan Lai couldn’t laugh. These familiar scenes brought her nothing but pain. Inside the hall, Si Ming acted as the Master of Ceremonies and shouted: “First bow to Heaven and Earth!”

 

Yan Lai looked over, and the image of High Immortal San Meng appeared before her eyes. Si Ming’s place was taken by San Meng, who wore black robes and was surrounded by a murderous aura—so different from her usual gentle self. Yan Lai shuddered; San Meng’s inner good and evil were controlled by the dreams of others.

 

Who was San Meng presiding over a wedding for?

 

“Second bow to the parents!” Si Ming shouted.

 

Everyone smiled, except for Yan Lai, whose mind was flooded with memories that didn’t belong to her. She clutched her head in agony. Hongchen patted her back. “They’re getting married, and you’re so happy you’re crying.”

 

Hongchen’s flippant, humorous tone was a poor match for the title of Demon Sovereign. Seeing Yan Lai’s distress, Hongchen cast a spell to calm her mind.

 

“Bow to each other!”

 

Yan Lai’s mind went blank. She watched like a wooden puppet as the Empress and Consort performed the final bow. The Empress did something uncharacteristic—she tossed aside her fan, revealing her exquisite face. She cast aside the propriety of the Mother of the Nation to commit this one wild act.

 

The Empress looked at the Consort with eyes full of love. The Consort threw her fan away as well, returning a sweet smile. The Empress stepped forward and took the Consort’s hand. “A Yin, live well.”

 

Si Ming laughed and shouted for them to enter the bridal chamber. The Empress finally blushed, while the Consort smiled shyly.

 

Hongchen stood outside and asked Yan Lai, “Does entering the bridal chamber mean Dual Pairing?”

 

Yan Lai: “…” The silly Demon Sovereign is back to her ‘tiger-and-wolf’ talk.

 

Sure enough, Hongchen’s next sentence was: “Let’s go see how they do it.”

 

“You are not allowed to go!” Yan Lai’s heart surged like a tide. Being with her was a constant state of anxiety. She sighed as Hongchen tried to follow the couple. Yan Lai grabbed her quickly, fearing Si Ming would laugh at them.

 

Suddenly, someone broke into the illusion. Hongchen immediately dropped her playful act and shielded Yan Lai behind her.

 

The intruder was a middle-aged man in a black cloak and a veiled hat, holding a spinning wheel as an artifact. He walked toward them and swept off his hat, revealing eyes as sharp as a hawk’s. He looked at Hongchen with a greedy gaze. Yan Lai felt an instinctive disgust; the man looked at Hongchen as if she were a prize to be claimed.

 

Hongchen tilted her head, but Yan Lai pulled her back, standing in front of her. “Look at her one more time, and I will gouge your eyes out.”

 

“You both are quite fine,” the man said, his voice arrogant.

 

Si Ming rushed over and frowned. “State Preceptor Fan Yin.”

 

“Oh, another one,” Fan Yin laughed wildly. “Since you can enter this illusion, your cultivation must be significant. Why not pair with me? I guarantee I can help you ascend to the celestial ranks.”

 

Hongchen stepped around Yan Lai and circled Fan Yin. “Whether you can pair with me depends on your skill.” She had never met a cultivator so eager for death.

 

She pointed her finger at his eyes, and a sword flew from her fingertip toward him. Strangely, the sword passed right through him without leaving a scratch.

 

“The man before you is only a shadow,” Yan Lai explained. “No matter how many times you kill him, he will not die.” Fan Yin had come prepared; his physical body was outside the illusion, and he was using his spiritual energy to project a shadow. The shadow couldn’t be killed, but the shadow could kill them.

 

Hongchen nodded. “You’ve taught me a lesson. I should thank you.”

 

Fan Yin spun his wheel toward Hongchen. She scoffed, “This thing is similar to Jiu Han’s wheel, but his glowed. Yours just spins; how boring.”

 

Hongchen dodged his attacks with ease. She did not kill mortals, so she played along. But no matter how many times she “killed” him, he stood back up.

 

“Little girl, your cultivation is deep, but what a pity,” Fan Yin laughed. He suddenly sent his wheel toward Yan Lai, thinking she was the weaker one since she hadn’t moved.

 

Yan Lai sneered at his overestimation of himself. She didn’t even move; the wheel turned to powder before it reached her. Fan Yin’s face finally changed. He charged at her with his palms out. Yan Lai’s cultivation was top-tier in the immortal world; a mere mortal was no match. Fan Yin was sent flying by the sheer force of her aura.

 

“I didn’t think your cultivation would be this high,” Fan Yin laughed. “No matter. It will only help me ascend faster.”

 

Hongchen sat on a stool and commanded her disciples, “You two go try. Let me see if you’ve improved. He can’t die anyway, so use your most lethal moves.”

 

As the night deepened, Fan Yin stood in the air like a specter. After midnight, Hongchen finally remembered she wanted to see the “bridal chamber” and tried to pull Yan Lai away. Yan Lai, knowing her intentions, pulled her back immediately.

 

“You are not allowed to go.”

 

“Just one look.”

 

“Not even half a look.”

 

“You are so stiff and boring,” Hongchen huffed. “I must have been blind to ever like you.”

 

“You certainly were blind, and you liked me twice,” Yan Lai sneered.

 

Hongchen was forced to stay and watch her disciples fight Fan Yin. The girls were thousands of years old; a mortal Preceptor was no match for them. Eventually, Fan Yin grew frustrated and vanished into a cloud of smoke.

 

“He’s done playing?” Hongchen asked.

 

“He’s gone to get reinforcements,” Yan Lai warned. “Quickly, coax your artifact spirit to take us out of here.”

 

“She’s so temperamental,” Hongchen scoffed. “I’d rather find my own way out than coax her.” She planned to crush the bracelet into medicine once she got out.

 

“Coax her,” Yan Lai said, patting Hongchen’s shoulder. “She cares for you; ten thousand years of feelings are there. She is very obedient.”

 

Hongchen laughed. “How do you know she’s obedient? Do you like her, or does she like you?”

“I do not like her.” Yan Lai felt a headache coming on. That day, Princess Qing Gu’s words had been ambiguous, hinting at a past connection between them. However, Yan Lai remembered none of it. Since the past felt like a void, it was better left unmentioned.

Yan Lai remained indifferent, but Hongchen smirked, speaking triumphantly to the bracelet, “Did you hear that? She says she doesn’t like you.”

The Bodhi bracelet suddenly flared with light, and the artifact spirit manifested once more. Startled, Hongchen ducked behind Yan Lai, cautiously peering at the spirit’s form. The spirit appeared young, around twenty years old in mortal terms, but she carried an overwhelming aura of nobility and authority as she hovered in the air.

Qing Gu looked coldly at Hongchen. Hongchen, resting her head on Yan Lai’s shoulder, peeked at her and whispered, “Yan Lai said it, not me. I actually quite like you.”

“Why are you so afraid of her?” Yan Lai asked, displeased. She did not like seeing Hongchen act submissive before others.

Hongchen tilted her head, her hair brushing against Yan Lai’s ear. Yan Lai, being ticklish, tried to lean away, but Hongchen wrapped her arms around Yan Lai’s waist, her movements intimate. Qing Gu was so incensed she vanished back into the bracelet to spare her eyes the sight.

“Oh, she’s gone again,” Hongchen noted. Yan Lai pried Hongchen’s hands away from her waist. Hongchen sighed, “Your waist is so slender.” Her smile was bright and genuine, lacking any predatory desire, which gave her an air of innocence.

Yan Lai, flushed and feeling a sudden dryness in her throat, managed to say, “Do not touch me from now on.”

“I will touch you, and I’ll kiss you too,” Hongchen replied defiantly. The more she was told not to do something, the more she wanted to do it. With those words, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed Yan Lai’s cheek.

It was a light touch, like a dragonfly skimming water, yet it sent massive waves through Yan Lai’s heart. Yan Lai froze. Yan Guang and Yan Heng stood by with dropped jaws, eventually nodding in approval. “Master is amazing!” they cheered.

“Be quiet,” Yan Lai snapped. The disciples took a step back, their smiles still devout. Having grown somewhat accustomed to Hongchen’s forwardness, Yan Lai didn’t feel a deep aversion to the kiss. Meanwhile, Si Ming covered her eyes and muttered, “See no evil, see no evil.”

The illusion suddenly shook as a horde of soldiers stormed in. They wore identical armor and carried matching blades, moving with perfect, mechanical synchronicity.

Yan Lai rose into the air, her form as light as a breeze, and cast a spell to bind the soldiers. Like Fan Yin before them, these soldiers were shadows—indestructible, tireless puppets. Trapped by Yan Lai’s barrier, they began to emit a thick black mist that soon enveloped her.

The mist filled the barrier, making it impossible to tell if the darkness was from the night or the poison within the smoke. Hongchen grew impatient and tossed the bracelet toward Yan Lai. “Ask her for help!”

Qing Gu manifested again. She stood beside Yan Lai, who finally snapped, “If you’re going to help, do it quickly. If not, get lost.”

“You are so gentle with her,” Qing Gu murmured, her lips thinning. “Can you not have some patience with me?”

“She has saved me countless times. And you? I have forgotten everything from the past,” Yan Lai said coldly. Her face began to darken from the toxic fumes in the mist.

“Even if you remembered, you would never look at me,” Qing Gu mocked. “Yan Lai, it wasn’t just Hongyan who loved you. I, too, kept you in my heart for years.”

“You’re speaking of old grudges to someone who has lost her memory?”

“Your memories are with the Heavenly Empress. You gave them up yourself. Do you want them back now?” Qing Gu sneered. “You were the one who wanted to forget Hongyan, yet look at you now, entangled with her again.”

Yan Lai fell silent. Suddenly, Qing Gu realized her mistake. “You’re tricking me into talking.”

As the two stood side by side, Hongchen felt a twinge of jealousy. She flew up and squeezed herself between them. “Are you a bun filling?” Qing Gu scoffed. “Do you only feel comfortable squeezed in the middle?”

“Who are you anyway?” Hongchen asked seriously. “You aren’t as pretty as me, your cultivation isn’t as high, and you don’t even have a body. Why are you so arrogant?”

Qing Gu’s expression darkened with rage. “Say that again.”

“I respected you at first, but how dare you flirt with my woman? I’m going to crush you into dust,” Hongchen barked.

As the two bickered, Yan Lai watched coldly. One was elegant and celestial, the other cute and fiery, yet they were sisters. Their argument was cut short by the reappearance of Fan Yin.

“More beauties have arrived,” Fan Yin laughed greedily, eyeing Qing Gu. “This trip was worth it.”

Yan Lai grabbed Hongchen’s waist and pulled her back to the ground. “Let the two of them fight,” Yan Lai whispered. She knew that if the Preceptor enraged the Princess, Qing Gu would vent her fury by breaking them out of the illusion.

Indeed, Qing Gu was disgusted by the mortal’s gaze. She struck out, her blade piercing Fan Yin’s heart, but he stood back up. She then unleashed her ultimate move, Bodhi vines piercing through him like swords until he vanished into black smoke.

“Bodhi is a Buddhist object,” Yan Lai noted. “It can destroy filth. He was too dirty.”

“And what about me?” Hongchen asked.

“Are you dirty?” Yan Lai countered.

Hongchen thought for a moment. “I am clean. I only have eyes for you; I have no interest in anyone else.”

“I suppose I should be honored,” Yan Lai teased.

The group escaped the illusion, landing in the State Preceptor’s mansion. Yan Lai immediately set the building ablaze, destroying the arrays within. As the mansion burned, they found Fan Yin attempting to kill Qing Gu. Since Qing Gu was an immortal, she was bound by the law not to kill mortals.

Hongchen stepped forward, her eyes like a painting. “They cannot kill you, but I can.”

“You are of the Demon Realm?” Fan Yin stammered, clutching his wheel.

“The Demon Sovereign even dares to kill the Heavenly Emperor. Die,” Hongchen laughed. She summoned a massive ball of fire and incinerated him. Fan Yin’s soul was scattered, leaving him with no hope of reincarnation.

As they left the burning mansion, the mortal Emperor arrived. Seeing the fire, he laughed manically. “Dead… they are all dead…”

Back at the Changchun Palace, they returned the souls of the eight family members to their bodies. Si Ming calculated the time. “The Empress will die tonight. Watch closely.”

A servant brought a pot of poisoned wine into the hall. Hongchen cursed the “dog Emperor” once more. “In his next life, let him be born in the animal realm. Let him be a dog.”

“Do not insult the reputation of dogs,” Yan Lai remarked dryly.

Hongchen burst out laughing, while Si Ming turned red trying to hold back her own amusement. When the servant exited, Hongchen tripped him with magic, then broke his leg for good measure.

“The poison will act soon,” Si Ming warned. “The Noble Consort is coming.”

The Consort rushed into the hall, crying out for the Empress. The three immortals followed. The Empress sat at her mirror, having changed into a simple violet gown. She looked at the Consort with eyes full of pity. “Noble Consort,” she called, using the formal title instead of “A Yin.”

The formal address broke the Consort’s heart. She rushed forward, only to see blood trickling from the Empress’s mouth. “Why?” she sobbed. “You were his wife for years!”

The Empress coughed up a spray of blood, staining the Consort’s robes. “I’m sorry… I’ve frightened you,” she whispered.

“Don’t say sorry!” the Consort cried. “Don’t be afraid!”

“I am not afraid,” the Empress smiled weakly, cradled in the Consort’s arms. “I know you are here. Live well… you are still so young…”

The Consort grew eerily quiet. “I will live… I will live like a dog…” The Empress tried to protest, but her body began to convulse.

“It’s okay,” the Consort whispered, stroking her back. “I will watch over you, just as you watched over me. Entering this palace and meeting you was the only right thing I ever did. Without you, how would I have protected myself from the others?”

The Empress took her final breath. The Consort, seeing her path, reached for the poisoned wine with a smile.

As the souls left the bodies, the messengers from the Underworld arrived. But before they could act, a sudden hurricane swept the souls of the Empress and Consort into the sky. Hongchen and Yan Lai immediately gave chase, leaving a bewildered Si Ming behind.

Hongchen and Yan Lai followed the souls to the Nine Heavens, stopping outside a grand palace.

“Where are we?” Hongchen asked.

“The Heavenly Empress’s palace,” Yan Lai replied. She spoke to the guards: “Yan Lai of Phoenix Mountain requests an audience with the Heavenly Empress.”

The guards hesitated, claiming the Empress was in seclusion. “I must see her,” Yan Lai insisted. “Did you not see something fly into this palace just now?”

The guards claimed to have seen nothing. Hongchen was about to mock them when the palace doors opened. A maid emerged. “High Goddess Yan Lai, my mistress invites you in. The… ‘immortal lady’ need not follow.”

Hongchen’s eyes darkened at being dismissed. Yan Lai stood in front of her. “Wait here, I will be out soon.”

“We go together,” Hongchen insisted. “I don’t trust these Celestial people. They are a nest of vipers.” She pulled Yan Lai forward. “Hiding away is not the act of the righteous.”

“Hongchen,” Yan Lai whispered, her eyes as deep as a dark pool. “Have you ever considered that your very birth might have been a conspiracy?”