This God-Awful Immortal Realm [GL] - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: This Was an Accidental Incident

“…Why do you think I’d get angry? Could it be that your work error caused me to cross over to this place?”

“Oh, no, no, no,” Xiao Yunji hurriedly waved her hands. “Don’t misunderstand; I can’t take the blame for something that big. I know crossing over is no small matter, and I don’t have the ability or the motive to just move a living person from the modern world to here for no reason. This actually had nothing to do with me originally. You are in my room now partly because I also crossed over from several hundred years in the future, so… and of course, it was also because I happened to be passing by the scene at the time, so I saved you.”

“…And then?”

“And then you lay on this bed and slept for an entire day; it’s now the second day. Seeing how deeply you were sleeping, I figured crossing over must have been exhausting, just like when I first arrived, so I didn’t dare disturb your slumber. I just pushed the door open to see if you were still asleep—I figured sleeping for a day was about enough, and if you slept any longer you’d probably be starving—I didn’t expect you to be up already. That’s how it happened.”

Ling Xiyao hadn’t felt hungry before, but now that Xiao Yunji mentioned it, she realized her stomach was already rumbling in protest. She asked somewhat sheepishly, “Sister Xiao… is there anything to eat? I really am hungry…”

Xiao Yunji pulled open a desk drawer. “Hehe, I anticipated that, so I prepared some flatbread and water.” She pointed to the cup on the table. “Make do with this for now to line your stomach. Once everything is settled, I’ll treat you to something good, local specialties and whatnot.”

“What else is there to settle…” Ling Xiyao gratefully took the flatbread and took a bite. “By the way, you still haven’t told me exactly how I ended up crossing over!”

“Actually, the cause of the whole thing…” Xiao Yunji glanced at her. “Oh, right, you must promise not to tell anyone about this.”

“…I don’t know anyone here except you. Who do you think I could even tell?” Ling Xiyao spread her hands. “Come on, Sister Xiao, just tell me. I promise I definitely won’t go around talking.”

“Alright. For the sake of our shared bond as fellow transmigrators in a strange land, I’ll tell you everything I know. But I can only tell you, since you are the person involved.”

“Yes, yes, yes, Sister Xiao, you can rest completely assured,” Ling Xiyao nodded urgently. “I have at least that much discretion. Like you said, currently only the two of us are transmigrators. I’m a stranger in a strange land; if I don’t rely on you, who can I rely on? Right, Sister Xiao? So please, tell me.”

“Mm, it goes like this. A certain High Immortal—that is, an immortal of the highest rank, whose name is being omitted here for ‘Harmony’ reasons…”

“Wait a second!” Ling Xiyao interrupted Xiao Yunji’s narrative. “What? There’s ‘Harmony’ in the Immortal Realm too?”

Xiao Yunji replied, “Of course. Right now, the higher-ups are working on ‘Building a Harmonious Immortal Realm,’ making a more harmonious realm a strategic goal, and so on. It’s all empty talk and clichés, you know (she gave a wink), totally boring. But… sigh, as for who that person is, I really can’t say. After all, I’ve only been here for a few years. Even though I’ve made some minor contributions, my seniority is too low. Plus, my status as a transmigrator isn’t an advantage—at the end of the day, I’m an outsider. In this vast Immortal Realm, I’m just an insignificant little fry. As for those high and mighty High Immortals, I can’t afford to offend any of them. He won’t let me say, so I have no choice.”

Ling Xiyao nodded again. Thinking about it, Xiao Yunji had no reason to lie to her about this. Since she didn’t know anyone here, even if she insisted on knowing the name, it would be useless. Besides, it might make the other woman angry. “Alright, I accept that. Keep going.”

“Fine, back to the point. Over the last dozen or so years, he…”

“Uh… Sister Xiao?” Ling Xiyao raised her right hand like a well-behaved student. “Can I ask a side question?”

“Just ask, I’m not a teacher…” Xiao Yunji rolled her eyes. Ling Xiyao asked: “Is the saying popular in the mortal world—’one day in heaven, one year on earth’—actually true or false?”

Xiao Yunji shook her head. “Complete nonsense. Heaven knows which bored immortal made that up to tease the mortals below. It probably fit some mortal fantasy—though I still don’t understand exactly what fantasy that would be—so it’s been passed down for thousands of years. But there is another saying: because the lives of immortals are so happy, they feel the days in heaven pass very quickly, whereas there is much suffering in the human world, so they feel the days pass slowly. Thus, those mortals made up the exaggerated claim of ‘one day in heaven, one year on earth,’ and it spread.”

“So, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl can really only meet once a year in the Immortal Realm too?”

“Naturally… you think such a massive bug would really exist in the Immortal Realm? Stories like the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl are clearly wish-fulfillment created by busybodies on earth, fitting a need to express certain sentiments. By the way, your mind really does wander, doesn’t it?” Xiao Yunji maintained a deadpan expression.

“…” Ling Xiyao was speechless.

“Anyway, for the past dozen years, he has been cultivating some spell that only God knows what. But this spell, according to him, is extremely difficult—obviously, otherwise he wouldn’t have researched it for so many years without success. Until three days ago, due to one of his failed experiments, that magical tornado was generated. Originally, he thought the location was a deserted island and it wouldn’t be a big deal, at most destroying some plants and flowers. But he didn’t expect that you, who just happened to be there for fun, would get caught in it. And so… you were brought here just like that.”

“How hateful,” Ling Xiyao gritted her teeth and muttered. “Can I still go back?” This was her primary concern now.

Xiao Yunji shook her head again. “Regarding this question, I asked him too. He actually wants to send you back, because to him, who caused this accident, having an extra person appear out of thin air means trouble. But it can’t be done. First of all, that tornado was an accidental byproduct of his failed experiment; he doesn’t understand the principle behind it himself, so he can’t replicate it. Moreover, coming here and going back are two different things. If he were to forcibly open a space-time channel, with his current level, he couldn’t aim it. This means no one knows where you would be transmigrated to; the probability of luckily returning to the modern era is basically zero. I assume you wouldn’t want to risk that?”

Ling Xiyao looked dejected and nodded. “I was thinking if I could get you to help send me to the HP world, but if that’s the case… forget it, I’ll just stay here.”

“Furthermore,” Xiao Yunji continued, “to the Immortal Realm, the transmigration of a human is a very serious matter. If an accident like this reached the ears of the Jade Emperor, there would be big trouble. So he could only use his authority to try and suppress the matter. Fortunately, only a few immortals were present at the time, so it wasn’t very difficult to manage. Anyway, it’s just one extra person; it doesn’t get in the way of other immortals, so no one cares to stick their neck out to mind such business. Since I was there at the time and he saw I was the only other transmigrator, he handed you over to me and asked me to look after you. So, I settled you in my room. You’ve been sleeping almost since the moment you arrived, and only woke up after nearly three days. But your luck is pretty good; you didn’t suffer any injuries.”

Ling Xiyao looked around; the room was indeed a bit simple and the decor was quite plain. Aside from a bed, a bedside table, a bookshelf full of books, and a set of table and chairs, there was almost nothing else.

“Given these conditions… and this is the Immortal Realm? To my eyes, it’s not even as good as an ordinary person in our era. Sigh, it seems crossing over, even to the Immortal Realm, isn’t that interesting. Novels and things are indeed just beautiful fantasies.” Ling Xiyao sighed with a bit of helplessness.

“Oh no, the conditions in the Immortal Realm are better than you imagine. First, I have several rooms; this is just one I don’t use often. Second, I’ll show you later—my crossing over has actually brought quite a few things to the Immortal Realm.”

Hearing these words of comfort, Ling Xiyao actually felt even more depressed. It seemed Xiao Yunji, having arrived before her, had indeed already brought modern things to the ancient world, leaving her with very little room to show off her skills. She picked up the cup of water, drank it all in one go, wiped her mouth, and asked, “So what should I do next? Should I go down to the mortal world, or stay here?”

“If you don’t petition for grievance…” Xiao Yunji began.

“But I can’t guarantee I won’t petition,” Ling Xiyao rolled her eyes, suddenly wanting to tease Xiao Yunji. “If I were to petition, what do you think my chances of success would be?”

Xiao Yunji countered, “What do you think the chances of a successful petition are in the modern world? The Immortal Realm is actually much the same. Although they are all immortals, it’s just how things are; don’t think too highly of the Immortal Realm.”

“But…”

“Since we’re both transmigrators, I’m definitely telling you everything I can. After all, our situations are similar, and knowing more helps us look out for each other. Actually, my situation back then was similar to yours; I was also brought here because of another High Immortal’s failed experiment. But what can be done? I was a soul transmigration, making it even more impossible for me to go back. I could only take things as they come.”

Ling Xiyao lowered her head, her fingers interlaced. Although she knew Xiao Yunji was telling the truth, she was still a bit gloomy. “Sigh… after all, now that I’ve crossed over like this, I can never go back. For this kind of thing to happen so suddenly and without warning is really… a bit hard to accept for a moment.”

“I can understand.” Xiao Yunji’s expression changed, as if she were reminiscing about her own past, and she nodded gently.

The two fell into a brief silence. Xiao Yunji pulled Ling Xiyao into an embrace and patted her back.

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