Chapter Twenty-Five: Another Reincarnator

Yu Qian was set to participate in a competition, and the great figures, in a rare display of kindness, granted her leave. That night, she slept soundly.

High above in the Thirty-third Heaven, a group of immortals sat together, complaining of boredom.

“I’ve gotten used to giving lessons to the little girl. Now that I don’t have to, I find myself at a loss,” Su Dongpo said, tossing the walnut plaything in his hand idly.

“Indeed, without her fresh young face, having to look at all your aged mugs is dreadfully dull,” Li Qingzhao remarked with open disdain.

“As if you’re any younger! We’re all in the same boat,” retorted Li Ye and Yu Xuanji, equally dismissive of Li Qingzhao’s airs.

“I’m younger than both of you,” Li Qingzhao shot back with a roll of her eyes.

As three of the few renowned female poets, Li Ye, Yu Xuanji, and Li Qingzhao often found themselves bickering for reasons none could recall.

Fuxi and Nuwa, meanwhile, nestled together, bantering and jesting with the denizens of the Six Realms chat group to pass the time.

Just as the conversation grew lively, Fuxi suddenly rose, swept Nuwa into his arms, and, with a flicker of magic, whisked them both back to their own abode.

“What’s wrong? Why did we rush back all of a sudden?” Nuwa was startled by their abrupt change of scenery.

Fuxi did not answer, closing his eyes in intense calculation. After a long moment, he finally spoke: “Call Siming here and tell him to bring the Book of Fate.”

He fell silent again, resuming his calculations.

Seeing Fuxi’s grave expression, Nuwa grew anxious, uncertain of what had happened. She summoned bluebirds, one after another, dispatching them to fetch Siming.

Siming himself was perplexed, clueless as to why Fuxi and Nuwa wanted him, but dutifully arrived with the Book of Fate in hand. Upon entering, he saw Fuxi gazing intently into a water mirror, his expression severe.

“Zhou Jingchen. Check his entry in the Book of Fate,” Fuxi said, fixing Siming with a steady look.

Siming hurried to look him up, then inspected the corresponding record carefully before speaking in some confusion: “He inherited his father’s work, has a happy marriage—there’s nothing unusual.”

“Are you sure?” Fuxi frowned.

“See for yourself, it’s written exactly like that.” Siming, still bewildered, handed over the book.

Fuxi took the Book of Fate and examined it closely.

The record showed that Zhou Jingchen had a long life; orphaned young, he inherited his father’s legacy, enjoyed good fortune in his career, a blissful marriage, many descendants, and was even blessed with the aura of virtue. Everything appeared perfectly normal.

Closing the book, Fuxi resumed his calculations, but the results remained unchanged. He looked again at the water mirror, where a boy of about fifteen or sixteen stood calmly before a floor-to-ceiling window, his eyes fixed on some distant place.

“Is there a problem, my lord?” Siming asked, a hint of trepidation in his voice.

“Zhou Jingchen has just reversed the cycle of reincarnation—and succeeded,” Fuxi said gravely.

“What?” Nuwa and Siming cried out in shock.

Both immediately began their own calculations, when suddenly Old Man Under the Moon rushed in. “My lord, Qian Qian’s red thread is now tied to someone!”

“What?” This time, all three were stunned.

In her past life, Yu Qian had no destined match, and in this life her red thread refused to attach to anyone. Old Man Under the Moon had tried pairing her, sculpting clay figures, even writing her fate, all to no avail. The red thread would snap as soon as it was tied, the clay figurine would crack upon touching the Stone of Three Lifetimes, and any written match would vanish on its own.

After so many failed attempts, they gave up, choosing to let fate run its course. But now, just as someone succeeded in reversing reincarnation, this happened—leaving the three immortals with a bad feeling.

Siming’s face darkened. “As the lord just said, someone has reversed reincarnation again—and it’s a man.”

Old Man Under the Moon was uneasy as well. “Surely, it can’t be such a coincidence?”

“Are you dense? Look in the Book of Matches!” Nuwa snapped.

Old Man Under the Moon came to his senses and dashed away to fetch the book from his own hall.

As soon as he brought it back, Nuwa grabbed it and turned to Yu Qian’s page. Sure enough, it now listed Zhou Jingchen as her match, described as heaven-made and earth-blessed.

She flipped to Zhou Jingchen’s page as well, and there was Yu Qian.

Nuwa felt like she would explode. In her heart, Yu Qian was a sweet, diligent girl whose temperament she adored. Now, an inexplicable match had appeared out of nowhere, and she was so infuriated she stamped her feet.

Fuxi’s expression was equally grim. Ever since bringing Yu Qian into their group, he’d taken her under his protection, intending to wait until she was older before finding her a worthy match. But as for this Zhou Jingchen, whose fate was so closely entwined with hers—they knew nothing about him, whether he suited Yu Qian, or whether he’d treat her well.

Siming and Old Man Under the Moon felt the same. They too were fond of Yu Qian, and this turn of events left them anxious, not knowing whether she’d find happiness with this stranger.

“Is the damn Heavenly Dao out of its mind?”

Boom! No sooner had Nuwa cursed than a bolt of violet lightning struck the ground at her feet.

“Damn!” Nuwa jumped back, about to continue her tirade, but Fuxi stopped her.

“Stop cursing, unless you want another lightning strike.”

“Then what do you propose? This is the Age of Decline—we can’t go down to check things ourselves! Should we bring him into the group as well? Qian Qian would blow her top!” Nuwa glared at him.

Fuxi stared at the boy still standing by the window in the water mirror, silent.

Nuwa felt herself on the verge of another outburst when he finally spoke: “We won’t bring him in, nor will we tell Qian Qian. Let it run its course. We’ll keep a close eye, and if anything goes wrong, we’ll find a way to sever that red thread immediately!”

Nuwa was dissatisfied, wanting to break the thread now, but he added, “Don’t even think about breaking it now. This is the will of the Heavenly Dao. See if you can erase the match from the book.”

She immediately turned to Yu Qian’s entry and tried to erase it with magic, but nothing happened. In a rage, she smashed a nearby rockery to dust.

Siming and Old Man Under the Moon stood by, trembling. Fuxi, after a moment’s thought, instructed them, “Inform everyone in the Six Realms about this. Do not interfere—just watch.”

They nodded and were about to leave when Fuxi added, “Don’t mention it in the group—Qian Qian might see. Don’t send messages either, in case it’s misunderstood. Go and tell each one personally.”

“Yes, we obey the Human Sovereign!” Bowing, they divided the list and quickly departed.

As expected, news of this caused an uproar among all the immortals—even Ashura from the Demon Realm, who rarely surfaced.

Ashura, the belligerent one, had been cultivating his temperament since the last great tribulation, but this event rekindled his long-buried fury. He was itching to go down and beat up this Zhou Jingchen.

But! Not only could they not descend to the mortal realm—Fuxi forbade them from interfering at all!

Fuming, Ashura left the Demon Realm, determined to confront Fuxi and give him a beating.

Their beloved of the Six Realms was about to be snatched away by some unknown swine, and Fuxi forbade any intervention!

Upon arrival, he found Pangu already fighting Fuxi in a fierce brawl, with Nuwa sitting angrily on the side, refusing to help.

After Pangu had his fill and withdrew, Ashura was about to step in when both he and Pangu were struck by twin bolts of heavenly lightning.

And the thunderclouds overhead showed no sign of dissipating, threatening every immortal present.

“See? This is what happens if you interfere. Anyone else want to try?” Fuxi said testily.

Everyone paused, sheepishly withdrawing their hands. They wanted to step in, wanted to throw a punch, but the dread of that lightning held them back.

Heavenly lightning hurt—a lot—and recovery took ages.

Misery.

Damn you, Heavenly Dao!

Cursing inwardly, they dispersed and returned to their own realms.