Immortal of the Nine Realms

A group of people were hastily descending the mountain, all drenched in cold sweat. Their faces were pale as though they had seen a ghost.

One of the people running slipped, tumbling more than ten zhang down the slope. However, he quickly got up again, not bothering to check if he had been injured.

They all ran frantically, eager to leave the area as quickly as possible.

Young Master Zhao was running at the forefront. He was excellent at lightness skills, leaping several yards with each step.

Finally, they reached the bottom of the mountain.

They collectively let out sighs of relief, looking as if they had just escaped from the gates of hell.

Unfortunately, their relief was short-lived.

Not far ahead, they saw a figure standing in the path. The person wore a slightly worn-out Daoist robe, patched in many places.

The group froze in place, fear filling their eyes.

Unsure of what to do, they all turned to Young Master Zhao.

Young Master Zhao took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and stepped forward, slowly approaching Fang Chen. He respectfully said, ”This humble one greets you, Senior.”

Fang Chen smiled faintly and said, ”You seem to like the Wolong Sect very much?”

Young Master Zhao immediately fell to his knees with a thud. He kowtowed repeatedly while saying, ”Please, Senior, spare me. I was blinded by greed. I am willing to atone for my actions.”

Fang Chen said, ”From now on, you will live at the foot of the mountain and help guard the sect. How does that sound?”

Suppressing his fear, Young Master Zhao quickly pressed his head to the ground and eagerly replied, ”Yes, as you command!”

A few moments later, Qing Shifu approached and softly said, ”Young Master, that high-ranking expert has already left.”

Only then did Young Master Zhao dare to raise his head. He found that the senior was truly no longer there.

He immediately collapsed to the ground, his face as pale as death. He was covered in cold sweat.

***

During this time of the year, Taoyang Town was very cold, with large snowflakes falling from the sky.

By now, most households had their doors shut tight, staying indoors.

Inside one of the houses, a strong man in his thirties was holding a bowl of hot soup, offering it to his wife. ”My dear, please drink this soup while it’s hot.”

The woman rolled her eyes at him. ”There’s hardly any meat in this soup, just a thin broth. Marrying you has really made me suffer. When will you get me some fish to nourish my body? Even if we can’t get big ones, at least get some small ones.”

The man nodded eagerly, trying to please her. ”Don’t worry. As soon as the weather gets better, I’ll go down to the river and catch a few fish to help you regain your strength.”

Satisfied, the woman finally took the soup and started drinking. As she sipped, she asked, ”How much food do we have left?”

The man showed a proud smile. ”Not much, just over a hundred pounds. It should be enough to get us through the winter. Not many families in Taoyang Town are living better than us.”

”You have a hundred jin of food stashed, yet you haven’t offered your father a single bite? I see the house is warm, and there’s plenty of extra space. Despite that, you were unwilling to offer him a place to stay.”

The couple jumped in shock, nearly spilling the soup.

”Who’s there?!” yelled the man, astounded.

They looked at the dining table with fear on their faces. To their dismay, a young Daoist had appeared out of nowhere, sitting directly across from them.

The man’s face darkened. Without hesitation, he drew a machete from his waist and slashed it toward Fang Chen.

However, halfway through the swing, the man realized that he couldn’t move the machete anymore. It was frozen in mid-air, as if held back by invisible hands.

The strong man’s expression grew increasingly fearful, while the woman had already retreated, hiding behind him.

Fang Chen smiled and revealed, ”I don’t know you, but I met an old man on the road who said he was your father.”

The man looked doubtful. ”Impossible, my father is already dead. How could you have met him?”

”Indeed, he is. But I met him on the road to the Yellow Springs. He said he wanted to come to Taoyang Town to depend on his son in his old days, but in the end, he froze to death in a shed. He died without even having a full meal.” Fang Chen laughed softly. ”You really couldn’t spare those few jin of extra food?”

The couple were stunned, and they stared blankly at Fang Chen. The fear in their eyes intensified by the second.

At that moment, the sound of a baby crying echoed.

Fang Chen turned toward the bed, where a newborn was crying loudly.

His smile widened. He stood up and walked to the door. ”I was just passing by and wanted to check on you. Remember, above your head, there are spirits. Death is not the end. So, accumulate some good deeds, or you won’t have anyone to help you cross the Forgotten River when you go to the Underworld.”

With that, Fang Chen opened the door and left, disappearing into the heavy snow.

The strong man stood frozen for several moments.

Snapping out of his shock, he rushed to close the door. He turned around and looked at his wife, his voice trembling. ”My dear, did he just say that the Underworld exists?”

The woman’s expression darkened. ”He’s definitely just pretending to be some god, trying to trick us out of our money. Don’t listen to him. Maybe those families who have a grudge against me sent someone to scare us.”

The man sat dazedly on the chair, muttering to himself, ”If the Underworld really does exist, then my father must have gone there after he died. When we die, we’ll go there too. There, I’ll see my mother, we will see our ancestors....”

The man started to tremble, and his face wrinkled with sudden anger. He looked at his wife and shouted, ”It’s all your fault! Back then, I wanted to give the old man some food, but you kept insisting he wasn’t hungry and told me to save it! It’s all your fault! How am I supposed to face them in the afterlife when I die?”

The woman was immediately enraged. She lunged at the strong man, hitting him, shouting, ”You’re blaming me now? I did all of this for the family! Do you think I did it for myself? I don’t want to live anymore! I don’t want to live! Get out! Get out of here!”

***

Five hundred miles south of Taoyang Town, there was another small town. This town wasn’t as cold, but it had been troubled by something much worse—war. By now, the town was in shambles, and there were very few people on the streets.

At this point, the head of the Zhang Family was having a conversation with the head of the Qing Family.

The head of the Zhang Family bluntly said, ”Old Master Qing, it’s not that we of the Zhang Family are going back on our word, but your son was once a general of the Hu Empire.

”Now that the Hu Empire has fallen and the Yue Empire has taken over, your Qing Family could face serious trouble if we don’t handle this soon. If we keep siding with you, we will have sought our own doom.”

Hearing the blunt words of the Zhang Family head, the members of the Qing Family felt uncomfortable, fearing that they might be dragged into trouble. However, they said nothing.

After a long silence, Old Master Qing tapped the ground with his cane and replied, ”What you said makes sense. Now that family has fallen, with my grandson’s fate unknown, we shouldn’t go through with this marriage. I don’t want to hold back your family’s daughter. She is a good girl and deserves a better future.”

Old Master Qing glanced at the person beside him. ”Go fetch the marriage contract. Tear it up in front of the Zhang Family head.”

”Yes, Father.”

The head of the Zhang Family and his relatives breathed a sigh of relief. Before coming, they had been worried that the Qing Family wouldn’t be willing to resolve the matter.

In these chaotic times, that marriage contract could very well be a death sentence.

Before long, Old Master Qing’s son returned with the marriage contract.

Just as Old Master Qing was about to tear it up, a middle-aged man stumbled into the hall. He gravely announced, ”Master, bad news! The young lady has hung herself!”

”What?!”

The head of the Zhang Family shot to his feet, shaking. Glaring at the middle-aged man, he roared, ”Say that again!”

The middle-aged man, face filled with panic, repeated, ”The young lady has hung herself. By the time we found her... it was already too late. There was no way to save her.”

The Zhang Family members slumped in their seats, seemingly having lost all their strength.

The Qing Family members exchanged glances, their faces grave.

Old Master Qing was silent for a long time. In the end, he said, ”If you don’t mind, I can let her enter the family.”

”Master, please don’t!”

The Qing Family members were immediately shocked and hurriedly spoke out in objection.

Old Master Qing calmly replied, ”If Qing Sui were still alive, he would have let her enter the family.”

These words immediately silenced the Qing Family members.

The head of the Zhang Family was disheartened, but he forced a smile and cupped his hands. ”Master Qing’s magnanimity is greatly appreciated. But we will handle this matter ourselves.”

At that moment, someone’s voice rang out.

”Am I too late?”

Everyone turned their attention to the source of the voice, only to see a young Daoist frowning at the front of the hall.