Peach blossoms were in full bloom across Xingyu Island, pink like rosy clouds and white as snow, each flower competing with the next in exquisite beauty. A gentle breeze swept past, causing the branches to quiver slightly as petals fluttered down like a magnificent peach blossom rain, their sweet fragrance lingering for miles around.
The Great Elder was leading a group of disciples on an inspection tour across the island. This patrol party was a grand procession indeed: maidservants led by Liucai each carried a basket of fruit, while the island guards bore teapots and cups to serve the elders and the Lord Sovereign at any moment. Qinghui walked ahead to clear the path, responsible for coordinating specific matters with the managers of each hall. Zuoxing Chen strode at the Great Elder's left side, the two men engaged in lively conversation and laughter. The Great Elder was exceptionally faultfinding regarding the reports on the various halls, inevitably pointing out flaws at every single one they visited. Zuoxing Chen, by contrast, appeared far more lenient, merely smiling silently at the oversights of the hall managers. Advanced in years, walking the entire island was a most grueling physical endeavor for the Great Elder, yet fortunately, he found some solace in having a considerate little beauty to attend to his side. Dieyi proved remarkably observant, accompanying him all the way while supporting the Great Elder without leaving his side for a single step, doing her utmost to be helpful. Yuling brought up the rear, tasked specifically with recording the errors pointed out by the Great Elder in each hall so that prompt corrections could be urged later on.
Having toured more than half the island, as noon approached, the company grew somewhat weary. The servants served refreshments, and the entire group crowded into a small pavilion within the peach grove to rest.
Around a huge round stone table, the company sat in a circle. Pinching Dieyi's tender, lily-white fingers, the Great Elder sat beside her in the seat of honor at the easternmost side. His smile was radiant, the wrinkles on his face unfurling all at once like a blossoming daisy, perfectly complementing the fragrant peach blossoms drifting from the branches outside the pavilion.
"I never noticed before, but seeing Lady Dieyi's beauty today, I finally understand what they mean by 'people make flowers look inferior!'"
"No matter how lovely these peach blossoms are, before Lady Dieyi, they pale by three parts!"
"Since ancient times, beauties must be matched with heroes..."
Praise after praise rang out endlessly. Lately, Dieyi had heard far too many similar flatteries; though cliché, they still sounded pleasing and agreeable to her ears.
She smoothed the heavy golden phoenix hairpin in her coiffure and flicked the cuffs of her gown made of pure white silk, embroidered with intricate peony patterns in gold thread. Smiling, she poured a cup of peach blossom wine, drained it in one gulp, and poured another. Lifting her gaze, however, she suddenly caught sight of Yuling sitting somewhat forlornly in the corner. Yuling maintained her usual carefree demeanor, dressed in the most expensive blue brocade, taking listless bites of a water chestnut cake. That composed serenity aroused such intense jealousy within Dieyi that a savage expression inevitably surfaced on her face.
Keenly perceiving his little beauty's displeasure, the Great Elder followed her gaze, understanding dawning in his heart.
"That little disciple under Qinghui's tutelage, what's her name, Lingyu..."
Seeing the elder speak up, a meticulous servant stepped close to his ear and whispered a reminder: "Her name is Yuling."
"Yuling, what have you recorded today? Give us all a report."
With no other choice, Yuling respectfully produced her notes, which covered several full pages of xuan paper. She had barely read a few lines when she was sharply cut off.
"Wait a moment. First of all, this inspection of ours is meant to be properly documented and entered into the official archives. Did Qinghui not give you a formal record book for the island? How could you just scribble a few words on those scrap pieces of xuan paper and call it done? That's enough, you don't need to read anymore. It really ruins the mood."
Named directly, Qinghui's expression remained unchanged and he uttered not a word, merely offering a faint, concurring smile.
Seeing smiles bloom once more on Dieyi's face, the Great Elder was finally satisfied. His hand beneath the table fondled the beauty's delicate hands once again. Aside from Dieyi's jealousy, the Great Elder actually harbored considerable dissatisfaction toward Yuling. Take her frequent changes of rare clothing and accessories, for instance; although she spent her own silver, seeing those rare trinkets that she had never laid eyes on before made Dieyi want them, forcing him to spend a considerable sum of money to please her. Thinking of this now, he felt all the more that Yuling was truly hateful!
The more he thought about it, the more his anger flared up.
Zuoxing Chen took a sip of fiery liquor and, with a calm expression, steered the conversation to another topic: "For the past month, demon bandits have been running rampant in the southeast of the Mortal Realm, taking the lives of many commoners. Our Xingyu Island has dispatched subordinate disciples to reinforce them three times, resulting in countless casualties and injuries. Right now, numerous wounded cannot be accommodated and have all been concentrated at the Mid-Mountain Cottage in the back mountain. Pharmacy supplies are delivered on time, but at the present rate, I fear the wounded will only increase in the days ahead."
He cast a meaningful glance at Yuling, then reported to the Great Elder: "The number of pharmacists on the island is sufficient, but we happen to lack a maidservant to tally the roster of the wounded. For this task, someone meticulous would be most suitable."
The Great Elder immediately made his decision: "Then send that Yuling over!"
Yuling accepted the command: "As this is a matter for the welfare of all living beings, this subordinate will naturally devote her utmost effort and see that not the slightest error occurs."
The Great Elder nodded: "The number of wounded grows day by day. To spare you the back-and-forth travel, for the period ahead you shall live at the Mid-Mountain Cottage. By the way, sort out the ancient texts in the Scripture Pavilion as well, and make a detailed catalog of all the books in the entire pavilion, reporting back to me in two months."
"Understood."
"Pack your luggage and head straight over this afternoon. Leave the inspection records to Qinghui."
Qinghui drew a pre-prepared record book from his robe: "I was already worried this little disciple might be careless and negligent, but fortunately I brought the book ahead of time. I'll handle the recording this afternoon, so you may set your mind completely at ease, Elder."
"Then this subordinate will take her leave."
Yuling bowed and withdrew, her face devoid of the slightest panic or dejected expression, maintaining instead an air of detached nonchalance.
————
For the past month, to fulfill the task assigned by the Great Elder, Yuling spent her days tallying the roster of the wounded at the Mid-Mountain Cottage and her evenings organizing the catalog of ancient texts at the Scripture Pavilion. The Scripture Pavilion was divided into four interconnected halls: the main hall faced directly south, while the northern, eastern, and western wings housed ancient texts of the Celestial Realm, the Mortal Realm, and the Demon Realm, respectively. In the short span of a month, she had already finished organizing the texts of the Demon Realm and the Mortal Realm, leaving only the northernmost hall containing the Celestial Realm's ancient texts untouched.
On this day, the number of wounded was rather large, so in addition to registering the roster, she had also assisted the pharmacists in brewing medicine and treating the injured.
When she arrived at the Scripture Pavilion, night had already fallen. The sky was pitch black, devoid not only of stars but even hiding that single crescent moon hazily behind inky storm clouds.
She walked past the southern main hall, where faint candlelight glowed within.
Looking straight ahead, she walked directly into the northern hall, dusted off the old sandalwood table with a feather duster from the pavilion, lit two candles, and looked at the dozens of rows of bookshelves, unable to prevent a slight ache in her head.
The feathers of the duster swept the dust from the ancient books on the shelves one by one. The candlelight in the dark night flickered feebly.
Ever since she moved to live at the Mid-Mountain Cottage on the very first day, Zuoxing Chen had relocated his own administrative workspace to the main hall of the back mountain's Scripture Pavilion. She truly wondered what kind of authority he was trying to establish, or whose spirit he meant to crush.
This move had once again provoked suspicions among many people. He merely brushed it off by claiming poor health, calling the Scripture Pavilion in the back courtyard a geomantic treasure trove gathering righteous energy, which was beneficial for recuperating his body and mind. Although this effectively sealed some people's mouths on the surface, rumors and gossip only spread all the more fiercely because of it.
Yuling was unwilling to dwell on such irrelevant matters. Collecting her thoughts, she began copying the catalog of Celestial Realm ancient texts.
Unawares, the night grew deep. Her eyes suddenly caught sight of a thick, dark-blue ancient book on the shelf. Brushing away the dust, three striking characters were revealed—*Records of the Ancient Divine Realm*.
Driven by curiosity, she opened this ancient text.
Inside were recorded various bizarre tales and wonders of the ancient immortal realm. Having skimmed a few and finding them quite interesting, she took the book over to the wooden table and read on under the candlelight.
Drowsiness overtook her, and in a daze, she fell asleep.
How much time passed she did not know, but the window was blown open by a fierce gale, and the ancient book on the table rustled as its pages flipped rapidly until, when the wind finally ceased, it stopped at a certain page.
Yuling was jolted awake by the freezing air of dawn.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she saw that the sky outside was already bright, and the candles on the table had burned down completely.
She closed the window and, just as she was about to put away the ancient text, she inadvertently glanced at it, only to be instantly captivated by the content on that page.
"The Demon God Power, shaped like a crystal stone, can reveal a bewitching purple radiance each year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month at midnight when enticed by pure vital breath. Originally acquired by the God of War Zhongxiu when he slew the Demon God in the battle of the Southern Wasteland, it was later brought back to the Celestial Realm, but was lost two thousand years ago due to unknown reasons... Resembling a crystal stone, it can bring the dead back to life and restore flesh to bones, and furthermore possesses the effect of turning stone into gold. It contains infinite ancient divine power, and the method to unlock it remains unknown. Should the crystal stone suffer damage, only the Kongming Mirror of the Central Plains' Zijing Pavilion in the Mortal Realm can repair it."
Reading those sparse lines of record and looking at the shape of the crystal stone illustrated in the ancient book, Yuling realized it was identical to the crystal stone she had carried within her body since the beginning of her transformation.
She tore off that page recording the Demon God Power and lit a new candle. The paper immediately burned to ashes under the flame's scorching heat.
Suppressing the unease in her heart, she was about to return the ancient text to its proper place.
"Knock, knock, knock."
The sudden knocking startled her, and the ancient book dropped to the floor with a thud. A maidservant pushed the door open and entered. Having no time to pick up the book, she could only first feign composure.
"The Lord Sovereign saw that the light in your northern hall remained on all night and worried that you might be overtired, so he sent me to bring you some peach blossom and lotus seed soup freshly made in the kitchen this morning."
"Please thank the Lord Sovereign for his kind intentions on my behalf."
She picked up the book from the floor, neatly aligned the pages, and placed them on the desk.
The maidservant purposely glanced at the book title, then said, "You should drink it while it's warm. The Lord Sovereign instructed me to wait upon you while you finish it, so that you may shake off the fatigue and exhaustion of the night and replenish your energy before he can set his mind at rest. Otherwise, I wouldn't know how to answer to the Lord Sovereign when I return."
Set his mind at rest? She feared he harbored no good intentions at all. Who knew whose doing this latest plot was?
Yuling smiled gently on the surface: "There's nothing much the matter here with me, you may head back first."
Yet the maidservant did not budge an inch, merely smiling as she said, "The Lord Sovereign gave orders that I must watch you finish every drop of the soup to dispel the fatigue and exhaustion of the night, so that I can report back only when he is reassured. Otherwise, I cannot report to him."
A trace of suspicion arose in Yuling's heart, but outwardly she smiled and drank the soup clean. Once finished, she even held up the empty bowl for the other person to see.
Only then did the maidservant's slightly nervous expression ease; she gathered the bowls and dishes and withdrew.