Guide to the Rebirth of the Evil Woman in the Immortal Realm - Chapter 8

In the Immortal Realm, at Qingdi’s Sacred Mountain.

As dusk settled, Yu Zhanxu lingered by the barrier at the mountain’s entrance, idly plucking petals from a flower stem she had casually snapped off. Her thoughts were a tangled mess, and she had been standing there for a long time, as if waiting for someone. Just as her impatience was mounting, the previously still barrier suddenly parted.

Yu Zhanxu tossed the flower stem aside, self-consciously touched the red blossom tucked behind her ear, and straightened her posture.

The person who emerged expressionlessly from the barrier was indeed Shen Fuxin. Suppressing a strange sense of satisfaction, Yu Zhanxu stepped forward to intercept her, just as she had done countless times before. But in the next moment, an unfamiliar figure darted out from behind Shen Fuxin, heading straight toward Yu Zhanxu.

Yu Zhanxu stumbled back from the impact, assuming it was some reckless junior immortal. Just as she was about to reprimand the intruder, the person in front of her suddenly ducked behind Shen Fuxin.

With jade-white fingers clutching tightly at the fabric of Shen Fuxin’s waist, the stranger taller than Shen Fuxin deliberately stooped, hiding half her face behind Shen Fuxin’s shoulder. Only a pair of captivating peach-blossom eyes peered out at Yu Zhanxu.

Ji Ting said weakly, “Xiao Fu, who is she? She’s so scary, she’s been glaring at me.”

Shen Fuxin pulled her upright, feeling as though she had brought back a hot potato. With a strained smile, she said, “Xiao Ting, have you forgotten again?”

Ji Ting suddenly understood and smiled shyly. “Master.”

Yu Zhanxu was fuming. She blocked the master-servant pair, who seemed ready to stride away, and said coldly, “Qingdi’s Sacred Mountain has strict rules. Outsiders are not permitted to enter without authorization.”

Shen Fuxin, already at her wit’s end from Ji Ting trailing so closely behind and repeatedly stepping on her heels, found Yu Zhanxu’s provocation the last straw. Turning around with a cold laugh, she retorted, “There is no rule at Qingdi’s Sacred Mountain that forbids students from bringing immortal attendants. I paid three thousand spirit stones to hire her, so she must not leave my side day or night!”

Ji Ting, who had stopped as well, raised an eyebrow.

Three thousand spirit stones to hire me? Wasn’t it more like forcing me to hand over the three thousand spirit stones I had on me? Is this what they call chasing after someone unwanted?

She tucked her hands into her sleeves, waiting idly for the drama to unfold. Sure enough, the next moment, Yu Zhanxu snapped angrily, “A mere three thousand spirit stones? I’ll pay ten thousand! Make her leave Qingdi’s Sacred Mountain!”

“Senior Sister Yu, who do you think you are to me?” Shen Fuxin’s laughter suddenly turned light and airy. As if she couldn’t be bothered to argue further, she turned to leave. “You have no right to meddle in my affairs.”

Hearing this, Yu Zhanxu froze in place, as if struck by lightning, and made no move to follow.

Ji Ting followed Shen Fuxin up the stone steps, glancing back at Yu Zhanxu’s despondent figure. She chuckled softly and asked, “Not even tempted by ten thousand spirit stones? Do you have some grudge against her?”

She had meant it as a jest, but to her surprise, Shen Fuxin replied casually, “Yes, a grudge. I have plenty of people who hold grudges against me.”

Ji Ting was taken aback by her response. By then, the two had reached the mountaintop. Shen Fuxin pushed her into her own modest dwelling, a simple “green room” and sealed the entire space with a barrier.

Ji Ting landed seated on the bed, silently scanning the room before her eyes settled on the doorless entrance. “Though this is a humble abode, the virtue of its owner is truly.”

Shen Fuxin cut her off. “Shut up.”

Her words hung in the air, casting a delicate silence between them. Just then, a rhythmic tapping sounded against the small window by Shen Fuxin’s bedside. Ji Ting, though she had stopped speaking, was far from idle she promptly opened the window for Shen Fuxin.

No one stood outside, only a large, entirely azure bird.

The creature, remarkably intelligent, let out a startled squawk upon seeing an unfamiliar face and tried to flee. But Ji Ting was quicker, snatching it back and clutching it firmly in her hand.

Her demeanor was usually delicate, yet in that instant, her fingers stretched out fully, and Shen Fuxin noticed for the first time how large her hands were slender and pale, yet undeniably sharp and formidable.

Those hands seemed less suited for holding star-charts as a celestial diviner and more akin to a swordsman’s grip on the battlefield.

As Shen Fuxin’s thoughts drifted, Ji Ting thrust the bird toward her like a prized offering. “This bird came for you.”

The messenger bird, thoroughly ruffled by Ji Ting’s grip, had its feathers standing on end. Under normal circumstances, Shen Fuxin would have tenderly taken it to soothe and groom it. But today, she merely cast a cold glance and said, “It’s a bird raised by my family.”

“Your family? Where is your family?” Ji Ting’s interest was piqued. “If you have a home, why worry about finding traces of your mother?”

“My home is in Guteng Immortal Residence, west of the Immortal Realm,” Shen Fuxin replied. “But I was a foundling, an abandoned celestial child.”

As she spoke, she pried open the bird’s beak, retrieved a green pearl from within, and casually crushed it on the floor. Instantly, a shimmering water mirror materialized before them.

Shen Fuxin made no effort to hide the scene from Ji Ting she had witnessed it all in her previous life. A purple-robed immortal appeared beneath a withered vine tree, his features lacking solemnity and instead hinting at weakness and frivolity.

Yet, the moment he faced the water mirror, his expression hardened, straining to project the authority of a patriarch. “Fuxin, I presume Immortal Hongjing has already delivered the contract to you. Your joyous union with the immortal is set for the fifth day of the sixth month. Remember what I’ve taught you, this marriage is an invaluable opportunity for you and our family. I’ve toiled and slaved for seven hundred years to raise you, Fuxin. You must repay this debt.”

Watching the man’s incessant chatter in the water mirror, Ji Ting suddenly asked, “Did he give you the name Shen Fuxin?”

Shen Fuxin paused, pressing her lips together. “No. It was embroidered on the lotus leaf I was wrapped in.”

Had the one who abandoned her not left her a name, she would not have yearned for a mother she had never met for seven centuries.

Ji Ting understood. “Makes sense. With his shifty eyes, he doesn’t seem like someone who could come up with a decent name.”

A flicker of emotion stirred in Shen Fuxin’s heart. By then, her so-called father had reached his final remarks: “In three days, your eldest brother will marry into the Tianqing Manor. Return for the celebration. If Immortal Hongjing would grace us with her presence, please invite her to attend as well.”

Hearing this, Ji Ting let out a peculiar laugh. “Who would have thought? For someone with such shifty eyes, he’s quite the meddler when it comes to matchmaking.”

“He’s running a lucrative business,” Shen Fuxin said lightly. “As a male immortal, he cannot conceive celestial children through natural means, so he scours the realms, adopting children. Once they’re grown and able to contribute, he sends them out like clinging vines to form bonds with other immortals, siphoning benefits for himself. That’s how it was for me, and for all of us.”

“In that case,” Ji Ting mused, “why not just kill him?”

Shen Fuxin lifted her gaze, only to meet Ji Ting’s eyes, which seemed to burn with blazing fire.

“In the past, I couldn’t even draw my sword, let alone cultivate enough power to kill him,” Shen Fuxin paused briefly before continuing, “Besides, in the immortal realm, death as mortals know it doesn’t exist. Even if I were to ‘kill’ him, he would merely become a fallen immortal, a walking corpse, so to speak. His spirit would perish, but his body would live on. Even if he existed somewhere beyond my sight, he would still be alive. That’s not the outcome I desire.”

“A fallen immortal?”

Ji Ting asked in confusion, “What is a fallen immortal?”

Shen Fuxin was even more puzzled than she was. “Immortals do not die; they only fall. This is common knowledge in the immortal realm. Have you truly forgotten even this?”

Ji Ting lowered her eyes, seemingly lost in thought. After a while, she noticed Shen Fuxin rising to her feet and asked again, “If you can’t kill him, are you just going to let him live on eternally in the immortal realm?”

Shen Fuxin smiled faintly and raised her head. “Of course not. Doesn’t he enjoy being a beast of burden? There’s a place far more suited to him than the immortal realm.”