Guide to the Rebirth of the Evil Woman in the Immortal Realm - Chapter 35

Having caught the underlying implications, Shen Fuxin instinctively glanced at Ji Ting, only to find Ji Ting’s gaze shifting toward her at the exact same moment.

They exchanged a knowing look. Turning to Chu Huaizhuang, who was still engrossed in the bamboo slips, Shen Fuxin said, “Perhaps the War God from thirty thousand years ago and the one today are not the same person. She existed once, but in some unknown era, she ceased to be recognized.”

Chu Huaizhuang listened and replied, “If there had been a change regarding the War God, the official histories would have recorded it.”

Shen Fuxin remained silent. How easy it was to alter the history of a mortal kingdom; the Great Gods needed only to flick their fingers to turn black into white without a sound.

She found it difficult to maintain any trust in the Immortal and Divine Realms. The more she saw and learned, the more disappointed she became. But facing the young mortal Chu Huaizhuang, she was reluctant to speak the truths that would shatter her worldview. After all, they were merely passing travelers, while Chu Huaizhuang still had a long life ahead of her.

Chu Huaizhuang was briefly energized, but a headache soon followed. She made a pained face at them. “But how can a few lines in the history books be enough? People could easily say the historian made a mistake, or that the Emperor herself suffered from hysteria. To find the truth, we need something more tangible. Seeing is believing.”

“That is simple,” Shen Fuxin said, putting down the bamboo slips. “Since your library houses the records of so many Emperors, the imperial tombs must be clustered together as well.”

The imperial tombs?

Shen Sha remembered the smile on Shen Fuxin’s face when she had crushed her father with her bare hands today. She felt the underground chamber grow even chillier. Looking at Shen Fuxin, she asked, “What are you planning to do?”

Chu Huaizhuang, still unaware of Shen Fuxin’s past deeds, simply thought she was being helpful. “A single imperial tomb could never hold so many Emperors. Fortunately, Taiyin is a land of spiritual excellence with several dragon veins distributed across the cardinal directions. Consequently, there are several imperial tomb complexes.”

At this point, Chu Huaizhuang seemed to realize something. She asked hesitantly, “Does the immortal mean?”

Shen Fuxin spoke with perfect logic. “Is seeing not believing? We will simply dig up that Emperor’s tomb and see what is among her burial goods.”

Histories could be forged, but she didn’t believe the contents of a dead person’s tomb could be changed so easily.

She spoke with such casual confidence that even Chu Huaizhuang, who had a high threshold for the extraordinary, was stunned. Seeing Shen Fuxin standing there with her arms crossed and her chin tilted up, Ji Ting couldn’t help but smile. “How can you incite a junior to dig up the grave of an ancestor from tens of thousands of years ago?”

Unexpectedly, Chu Huaizhuang took a deep breath and looked up with a serious expression. “I understand. This late Emperor will surely appreciate our intentions.”

The more she thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. Pointing at the bamboo scroll, she said, “Think about it. This Emperor so admired the War God of her era, yet later generations overturned her faith to worship a male War God of unknown origin. Even the late Emperor herself is misunderstood, nearly thought to have loved a man. What a great insult that is!”

Shen Fuxin agreed. If one couldn’t even rest in peace after death, she herself would crawl out of the coffin to tell the world she didn’t like men.

Having lingered long enough, Chu Huaizhuang decided to discuss the details the next day. She returned the bamboo slips to their place, Shen Sha resealed the stone lid perfectly, and the group returned to the library above.

However, just as they stepped out of the library, Chu Huaizhuang ran straight into two figures waiting there.

To her left was her elder sister and to her right was her younger sister. They had clearly been standing there for quite some time. Chu Huaizhuang smiled awkwardly at the three immortals. “Perhaps the three immortals should return to rest first?”

Ji Ting found their expressions amusing and wanted to watch longer, but she was ruthlessly dragged away by Shen Fuxin and Shen Sha, one on each side.

“Huaizhuang, let us talk,” Chu Huaijing said softly in the darkness, her brow relaxing. “And Huailing.”

A moment later, in the Crown Prince’s palace.

The servants had been dismissed, leaving only the three sisters in the vast hall. Chu Huaijing looked at her sisters, and for a moment, it felt like they were children again, with no secrets between them.

As the eldest, she felt responsible for clarifying matters they might care about. She spoke openly. “Regarding the upcoming Divine Rite, I proposed to the Imperial Mother that the War God’s statue be removed, leaving only the Goddesses for worship. She rejected the proposal.”

Hearing this, Chu Huailing instinctively turned the jade ring on her finger. Chu Huaijing was always the conservative one; for her to make such a suggestion, something unknown must have happened.

Despite their political differences, their blood remained their strongest alliance. Chu Huailing stopped hiding and took the small golden statue from her sleeve, placing it on the table. “Tomorrow, I will join Sister in petitioning her again.”

Chu Huaijing had never seen the statue and was momentarily surprised, but she quickly suppressed her emotions and looked at Chu Huaizhuang along with Chu Huailing.

“I wonder what the Second Sister has been busy with lately,” Chu Huailing said gently. “Why not tell us?”

Under their combined gaze, Chu Huaizhuang guiltily looked away, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s hum. “…We are getting ready to rob a grave.”

“What?”

“Because I have doubts about the War God’s identity, I plan to dig up the tomb of a late Emperor from thirty thousand years ago.” Chu Huaizhuang looked everywhere but at her sisters. “I cannot dig it alone, so Immortal Shen and the others are coming too.”

Amidst Chu Huaijing’s silence and Chu Huailing’s cold smile, Chu Huaizhuang was forced to tell the whole story. Chu Huailing’s reaction was predictable; she was a radical who welcomed the idea of overthrowing the War God. Chu Huaijing remained silent for a moment before habitually rubbing her temples.

“Do not get caught,” Chu Huaijing said, her fatigue showing, yet she signaled her silent approval. “I will give you the small squad under my command to take with you.”

Chu Huaizhuang beamed. “Thank you, Sister! But there is no need for a squad. The fewer people who know, the better. I will only take one or two trusted confidants.”

Chu Huaijing was usually so rigid; for her to react this way was unexpected. Chu Huailing pursed her lips and said, “I am going as well.”

Chu Huaijing did not stop her. She simply listened to these shocking statements and quietly processed them. She nodded. “I will stay in the palace to distract the Imperial Mother. She must not know of this.”

Saying this, she found an old map of Taiyin on the shelf. With a finger dipped in black ink, she marked several points along the dragon veins. “Legend has it that the imperial tombs from ten thousand years ago are all in the south. The capital used to be in the south and only moved north in the last three thousand years. The most likely location is here in the southwest, or these mountains by the sea in the far south.”

Chu Huaizhuang and Chu Huailing huddled with their elder sister like a nest of birds, joyfully studying the map. Following the marks Chu Huaijing had made, Chu Huaizhuang decided, “Southwest first. I will leave tomorrow.”

Chu Huailing grabbed her wrist and repeated, “I am going as well.”

When Chu Huailing prepared to leave the Crown Prince’s palace to pack, she paused and looked back at Chu Huaijing, who was still sitting under the lamp.

The Crown Prince’s features remained the same, but the firelight made her look less severe and a bit softer.

“…Why the sudden change?” Chu Huailing hesitated before asking. “Sister was not like this before.”

Chu Huaijing couldn’t quite say why.

She put down the map and looked at Chu Huailing. “Perhaps it is just intuition. Besides, Taiyin does not gain much with a male War God, nor does it lose much without one. The ancestral Emperors lived perfectly well without him. Since that is the case, why not remove him?”

Chu Huailing caught her meaning. As she turned to leave, Chu Huaijing continued, “Furthermore, gender and blood are our natural alliances.”

Chu Huailing lowered her head and smiled slightly. She stepped past the bright lights of the hall, feeling the uncertain places in her heart become stable again.

“It is late,” she said softly. “Sleep well, Sister.”

The next morning, having packed her bags, Chu Huaizhuang hurried to the side hall where the three immortals were staying.

She thought she was early, but upon opening the door, she found Chu Huailing already sitting there drinking tea.

Shen Fuxin was sitting aside, reading and eating snacks. Seeing Chu Huaizhuang, she gave a brief glance and said while biting into a soft cake, “When do we leave for that matter we discussed yesterday?”

Chu Huaizhuang produced the map and circled the spots the Crown Prince had marked. Pointing to the two dragon veins, she said, “Southwest first. Huailing and I are ready, but I don’t know how long we will be gone or what to tell the Imperial Mother.”

“That is easy,” Shen Fuxin said. “Southwest, then?”

Ji Ting understood. She casually poured a circle of leftover tea on the floor and signaled for everyone to stand inside. Chu Huailing and Chu Huaizhuang were confused, but Ji Ting snapped her fingers. Using the tea as a boundary, a burst of silver-white light suddenly surged up.

“Southwest dragon vein,” Ji Ting laughed. “Everyone inside? Let’s go.”

Amidst her sister’s exclamations of praise, Chu Huaizhuang shouted, “Wait, my guards are waiting at the door!”

Before she could finish, the silver sparks flickered over their heads. Chu Huaizhuang’s voice was still trailing off when they found themselves in the middle of a dark green mountain range, the shadows of the trees blotting out the sun.

No wonder the Emperor Kunling mentioned by the Second Sister fell in love with an unattainable immortal. Chu Huailing was awed by their magic. Who wouldn’t be enchanted by such beautiful spells?

“Alright, where do we dig?” Shen Fuxin kindled a spiritual fire at her fingertips, surveying the lush forest. “Time to get to work.”

…Like grave robbers. Chu Huaizhuang felt a bit helpless as she stepped over the thorns that snagged her silk clothing. A group of three immortals and two princes acting as grave robbers was truly unheard of.

She hoped Emperor Kunling would find it in her heart to forgive their actions today.

“Searching one by one is too troublesome,” Ji Ting said. “Usually, the places where the dragon energy is strongest are also the places where spiritual energy is most abundant. Once Xiao Fu and I sense it with our spiritual energy, we can start digging.”