Chapter Three: Past Lives and Present Fate

[Bear Kid Number Two, Red Boy]: “@Shallow Water Fish, which realm are you from?”

[Little Cutie Jingwei]: “@Shallow Water Fish, are you from the Demon Realm? What kind of species is a shallow water fish? Long Jiu said he’s never heard of this type among the aquatic tribes.”

[Little Cutie Long Jiu]: “That’s right, I just asked Father and my brothers—they haven’t heard of it either.”

[Prettiest Sister Little Chick]: “@Goddess Nuwa, I was wrong. Please, for the sake of all my hard work over the years, even if I have no achievements, I beg you to lift my ban. TAT”

[Prettiest Sister Little Chick] sent a private red packet: I was wrong, please, Goddess Nuwa, lift my ban. TAT.

Yu Qian: ......

Just from the tone, she could tell it was Su Daji, but Nuwa neither accepted the red packet nor replied.

As one of the first gods born after Pangu created the world, the Empress Nuwa lacked nothing; she was simply determined to teach Su Daji a lesson.

Yu Qian waited for a while, but only the red packet remained in the chat.

She fell into contemplation. There must have been some accident during her rebirth that brought her phone along and landed her in this group of immortals. This group must connect the spaces between heaven and earth. Judging by the members, most were familiar gods, immortals, and demons from mythology, and the Six Realms seemed to refer to the worlds born after Pangu split the chaos.

After chaos was first opened, the world divided into six realms: God, Immortal, Human, Demon, Devil, and Nether.

There were thirty-six layers at the beginning of the world: nine for earth, twenty-seven for heaven. The God Realm was the first world to appear in the highest heavens. Its ruler was Pangu, born from the Primal Lotus of Chaos, and the God Realm produced the first generation of gods in all six realms.

The Immortal Realm came after, also known as the Heavenly Court. Its ruler, the Celestial Emperor Haotian, was one of the first gods after chaos. When the Heavenly Court was established, there were few immortals; it was only after Jiang Ziya established the Investiture of the Gods and delivered many immortals that the court became lively.

The Human Realm was the world inhabited by the descendants of the Demon Queen Nuwa and the Human Emperor Fuxi. Their later generations possessed weak or no divine power, and their lifespans were short. Pangu renamed them humans, thus creating the Human Realm.

In the Demon Realm, all flowers, plants, trees, birds, and beasts could cultivate into demons by absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The most skilled could take human form. Its ruler was Nuwa, also called the Empress, and she was married to Fuxi.

The Devil Realm stood apart from the others and was opposed to the God Realm. Devils were neither human, ghost, nor demon. Its ruler was Asura, and his influence made the denizens of the Devil Realm prone to war.

The Nether Realm was the final destination and origin for all things' reincarnation, containing the Gates of Ghosts, the Bridge of Forgetfulness, the Yama Hall, and the Eighteen Levels of Hell. All beings must pass through five rounds of reincarnation to be reborn; if not, they remain as ghosts, all under the rule of Yama, the King of the Nether.

[Fuxi]: “This newcomer has great fortune. When she reversed the cycle of reincarnation, she drew my attention. With the Dao Sovereign’s permission, I brought her into the group. @Shallow Water Fish, come and introduce yourself.”

The vibration of her phone snapped Yu Qian back to herself. When she saw who messaged her, she was stunned.

Fuxi! Nuwa’s husband! The legendary Human Emperor! The ruler of the Human Realm!

To Yu Qian, this was the real authority, since she was, after all, human.

[Shallow Water Fish]: “Great Fuxi! Please, may I have your autograph? Fangirl face.jpg”

[Little Cutie Jingwei]: “What does fangirl face.jpg mean?”

[Little Cutie Long Jiu]: “Why do you want an autograph? What’s it for?”

Jingwei and Long Jiu asked at the same time.

[Messenger of the Pure Altar Pig Wuneng]: “Is the newcomer a young lady?”

Yu Qian hadn’t spoken yet when another message popped up, but seeing this one gave her a headache. Wasn’t this Pigsy? The most lecherous of them all—he couldn’t give up his nature even after becoming a Buddha.

[Shallow Water Fish]: “@Little Cutie Jingwei @Little Cutie Long Jiu I’m not from the aquatic tribes.”

[Shallow Water Fish]: “I’m a mortal.”

[Shallow Water Fish]: “A human under the jurisdiction of Great Fuxi.”

[Fuxi]: “You are my descendant. Though many generations separate us, you may address me as Ancestor God, just as other humans do.”

Fuxi’s tone was gentle.

[Fuxi] sent a private red packet: Be good, Qian Qian, call me Ancestor God.

Yu Qian opened the red packet—it was a brush named the Celestial Mechanism Pen.

[Shallow Water Fish]: “Hello, Ancestor God! Starry-eyed.jpg”

[Little Cutie Jingwei]: “What does starry-eyed.jpg mean?”

[Little Cutie Long Jiu]: “What did the Grand One send you?”

[Shallow Water Fish]: “The Celestial Mechanism Pen.”

[Shallow Water Fish]: “Fangirl face.jpg and starry-eyed.jpg are both ways of expressing emoji in words.”

[Fairy of Rainbow Skirts Chang’e]: “What are emojis? And what is jpg? Also, the Grand One mentioned you reversed reincarnation. What’s that about?”

[Shallow Water Fish]: “Emojis are pictures used to express emotions; jpg refers to animated pictures. By reversing reincarnation, Ancestor God means I was reborn, returning from the future to the past.”

After thinking about how to explain reversing reincarnation, she replied to Chang’e.

[Victorious Fighting Buddha Sun Wukong]: “Returned from the future to the past? Does that mean you have memories of the future? How did you come by such fortune?”

[Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens]: “Generally, those with a pure heart who have done good for many lifetimes enjoy a happy fate each reincarnation. If misfortune befalls them by accident, the Path of Karma grants compensatory opportunities, proportionate to their accumulated merit. Qian Qian has this fortune because of her kindness over many lives, but the reason for her reversal of reincarnation can only be found if the Grand Judge @Yama checks the Book of Life and Death.”

[Yama]: “@Judge, check it.”

The mention of reversing reincarnation brought out Sun Wukong, and the Mysterious Lady, known as the great educator of the Six Realms, stepped in to explain the origins of fortune.

[Judge]: “@Shallow Water Fish, tell me your name in this life.”

[Shallow Water Fish]: “Yu Qian.”

Yu Qian was also curious about what the Book of Life and Death would reveal, so she obediently replied.

[Judge]: “Yu Qian, daughter of Yu Wen and Wen Yu. Ten lifetimes of virtue. In this life, she was meant to be born into a happy and harmonious family, but an accident claimed both parents, and she died seeking revenge. The Path of Karma granted her an opportunity to make amends.”

The judge found the answer quickly.

Staring at the message, Yu Qian was silent for a moment. She recalled the last time she saw her parents—they were already lying in the mortuary. “Does accident mean my parents weren’t supposed to die? That they should have lived peacefully to old age?”

[Judge]: “Correct. Your parents’ lifespans were originally nearly ninety years, but for some reason, the Book of Life and Death shows unexpected calamity, even in this life. @Star Sovereign, check the Book of Fate.”

[Star Sovereign]: “I’m already checking, give me a moment.”

The group fell quiet, everyone waiting for Star Sovereign’s reply.

[Star Sovereign]: “...Qian Qian, I think I owe you an apology. Your parents’ fates were erased. It must have been from one of those times Elder Moon and I got drunk together. I’m sorry!”

[Star Sovereign] sent a private red packet: Sorry, Qian Qian!

[Star Sovereign]: “I’m truly sorry. These hundred merit points can’t fully restore your parents’ lifespans, but they may at least extend them a little.”

Silently, she accepted the red packet, saying nothing. She had thought that being reborn and keeping her father from that accident would be enough, but she never imagined that fate could not be changed.