Immortal Paladin

“Can we talk somewhere else?” I asked, not bothering to hide the weight in my tone.

“Sure, Da~! Wei~!” she replied with an infuriating lilt, dragging out my name like we were childhood friends playing house. I turned away from her and began walking the familiar path that snaked through the forest and up the slope. I gave her my back without hesitation, tempting her to strike if that was her intention. No one sane would let a stranger… especially one with an aura this murky… walk behind them unguarded. But I wanted to test her, and besides, if she did attack, I’d at least know what to do with her.

My Divine Sense told me enough to know she wasn’t someone to underestimate. It didn’t give me an exact measure of her strength, but it screamed one thing loud and clear: dangerous! Her presence clung to the air like incense smoke, fragrant yet suffocating.

We reached the hill in silence, the one where I often watched over Willow Village. Its trees had grown familiar, and the tallest cedar had become my usual perch. Without a word, I leapt onto one of its thicker branches and took a seat, the bark cool under me. I leaned my back against the trunk, eyeing her from above as she found a smooth stone and sat with dainty poise.

“You call yourself the Heavenly Seer,” I remarked, keeping my voice even, “but you’re awfully unguarded.”

She tilted her head, brushing a strand of ink-black hair behind her ear as she smiled. “I have a name, you know. It’s Wen Yuhan. And I’m not as unguarded as I look... For example, I’m aware this entire hill is rigged with wards. There’s even a dragon vein nearby that you’ve tapped into to power an explosive formation. It’s sloppy work… charming, really… but strong enough to make the Heavenly Demon think twice.”

Her amber eyes glowed faintly, like molten gold. That was no ordinary gaze. I cursed internally.

Foresight-type abilities were a nightmare to deal with. No matter how fast or clever you were, they always seemed to be one step ahead, like you were fighting your future self with none of your advantages.

I asked the obvious question. “Your eyes. Are they the Heavenly Eye?”

Wen Yuhan giggled, twirling a finger beside her temple. “Wow, you really are knowledgeable. That’s one thing we old coots are good at, I guess. Yes, it’s the Heavenly Eye—specifically, an Immortal Art called the Destiny Seeking Eyes. My original title was the Destiny-bound Seer. Cute, right? I’m trying to rewrite my own fate by stealing the Heavenly Demon’s epithet and making it part of my name.”

Heavenly Demon.

Heavenly Seer.

Huh?

That sounded like the kind of plan that gets you obliterated by cosmic backlash.

I groaned and rubbed the bridge of my nose, her chatter triggering old headaches from dealing with people like Shouquan and Nongmin. “Why are you so damn talkative...?”

She grinned with mock innocence. “Because I’m making a deal~!”

Her tone dropped just slightly, a subtle but noticeable shift in atmosphere.

“I’ll give you information about this world,” she said, her voice no longer teasing. “In return, I want you to kill the Heavenly Demon within five years.”

My breath caught for a moment. That wasn’t a small ask. Five years to kill one of the most dangerous beings in this world, someone who even now felt more like a force of nature than a person. This wasn’t a decision I could make in a few short breaths. But I also knew, if I hesitated too long, this chance might vanish like mist under the morning sun. Wen Yuhan didn’t seem like someone who lingered in one place for long.

She knew things. That alone made her valuable. She could be lying, manipulating, or hiding entire layers of truth, but the knowledge she hinted at was too important to ignore.

I chose my words carefully. “Are you from Earth?”

She leaned back and tapped her cheek with her index finger in mock thought. “Nope! I’m a cutie, though~!”

That… wasn’t an answer. It also had nothing to do with the question, but I scanned her anyway. No deception. She wasn’t lying, not technically. That made it worse. She was telling the truth without giving me anything.

So I tried again. “What is the ‘fate’ you’re trying to change?”

This time, she didn’t dodge the question with a joke. Her lips curled into a smaller smile, but her eyes, those terrifyingly bright, smiling eyes, held something deeper. Her voice came quieter now, more reserved.

“I don’t think you want to ask that question.”

Her tone wasn’t threatening, but her words suggested otherwise.

I stared at her a moment longer. Then I looked back toward the village, smoke curling from chimneys, the walls standing tall, the wind moving through the trees like a sleeping beast’s breath. I didn’t know what the right answer was.

But she didn’t wait for it.

“So?” Wen Yuhan asked, placing her hands on her knees and tilting her head. “What’s it gonna be, Immortal Paladin?”

“What’s up with that? Immortal Paladin?” I asked, adopting the tone of a sulky child as I swung my legs over the branch. “It sounds so grandiose. I’m just a fifteen-year-old teen who’s still wet behind the ears.”

I layered my voice with forced innocence, dragging out the syllables with a childish pout. Maybe I was being petty, but mocking her theatrics felt like the only way to stay sane. I’d long since learned not to ignore it when prophet-like weirdos started slapping titles on me, though. Nongmin, for instance, once called me a God of War. I didn’t get it back then, but somehow, because he said it, the world decided to agree.

Wen Yuhan let out a scoff. “Oh, don’t play coy now. A teen? Then I’m a princess from a faraway world where the Supreme Beings can’t reach me… and everyone can be gay.”

That mental image nearly broke me. I stared at her, lips twitching, halfway between concern and disbelief. There was definitely something wrong with this woman’s head. She gave off that specific brand of eccentricity where you couldn’t tell if someone had divine enlightenment or just hadn’t slept in two centuries.

I sighed. Let’s try again. “Look, lady… I don’t care about your sexuality or your faraway gay utopia. What I do care about is the information you want to bargain with me for my services. But let me make something clear… I’m not a mercenary, and I’m not about to throw my life at the Heavenly Demon just because you flashed me a smile and said please. You want me to kill him in five years? For what? Your lip service? Even if your intel is worth its weight in gold, that price isn’t fair unless your life’s on the line too. So tell me, Wen Yuhan... Does what you know actually justify your death?”

Her eyes didn’t waver. She simply smiled and said, “Yes.”

I sighed again, deeper this time. This woman had a way with words, like Nongmin, but her sincerity felt... different. Nongmin was like a walking scripture, heavy and cryptic. Wen Yuhan, on the other hand, was alarmingly human. Flawed, ridiculous, but unmistakably honest... at least, according to my Divine Sense.

“If I tell you what I know,” she said, lifting her index finger and waving it side to side in a playful scolding gesture, “the other ‘Prisoners’ will target me. And dying by their hands? That’s a no-no!” She punctuated it with a pout so exaggerated it belonged in a cartoon. For a second, I wondered what it’d be like if Da Ji acted this cute around me. Then I immediately shoved that thought aside before my brain could rot any further.

I consulted the peanut gallery in my head. ‘Jue Bu, thoughts?’

He answered instantly, his tone gleeful. ‘Ask her if you can fondle her chest. If she agrees, she’s telling the truth!’

What. The. Hell.

I nearly choked on air. It was painfully easy to forget just how much of a pervert Jue Bu really was. I shoved his presence into the furthest, darkest corner of my mind and focused on the woman in front of me.

Wen Yuhan tilted her head and said, “You can touch them.”

I froze.

“You’ve been eavesdropping,” I muttered, voice flat with exasperation.

“I didn’t do it on purpose,” she said with a sheepish grin. “My five senses are just that sharp! I can see with my nose, ears, tongue, breath, even my armpit!”

I blinked. Did I just hallucinate that sentence?

She was such a weirdo that I almost found her charming. Her speech was playful, and her expressions exaggerated, but her aura told a different story. Her power was real, her sincerity genuine, and despite looking physically like a woman in her mid-twenties, her mannerisms danced wildly between childlike whimsy and ancient calm. She was probably just eccentric. Probably.

“I know convincing you won’t be easy,” she continued, voice softening slightly. “And I know trying to manipulate you would only be detrimental to me. So I’m offering this openly. In addition to the information I’ll give you upfront, I’m also willing to grant you a single favor. Anything! If you want someone dead, I’ll kill them. If you want me to warm your bed, I’ll do that too. If you want me to seduce someone, consider it done.”

I raised a brow. “You really want the Heavenly Demon dead, huh? So tell me… what makes you think I even have a chance against him?”

Her eyes dimmed with gravity. “Because you’re his Natural Enemy.”

I sat still, watching her carefully, but she wasn’t finished.

“In order to free myself from my ‘destiny’—or ‘fate,’ if we’re being casual—I have to steal his. Not just any destiny will do. It has to be his, the most absolute, and the most defiant! That’s the only one that binds me, and it’s the only one that can break me.”

She leaned forward slightly, her amber eyes flickering like dying embers.

“As for your chances? I believe you have plenty. You and he trace your power from two fundamentally opposing sources. You’ve walked into this world late and at a massive disadvantage, true, but you carry with you the scent of something the others don’t. The Heavenly Demon may be unstoppable to many, but not to you. The Yama King, the Dark Witch, even the other ‘Prisoners’... They won’t find you easy prey. Because whether you know it or not, you were born to stand against them.”

I decided there was no harm in hearing her out. Knowledge, even from eccentric weirdos, often proved more valuable than spirit stones. So I spoke, carefully and clearly, “I won’t make any promises, but I’m willing to listen. As for the Heavenly Demon… I imagine I’ll have to fight him eventually. There’s already a grudge between us.”

Wen Yuhan smiled like a child who had won a prize at a festival game. With a casual wave of her hand, golden light shimmered into being, weaving in the air before spiraling downward like threads of fate. A red string materialized and curled gently around our wrists, binding them with an eerie softness.

“That’s a promise,” she said cheerfully. “I’ll give you this information in advance. Fulfill my request, and I’ll be obliged to reciprocate with a favor… any favor.”

I glanced down at the red string. Even as I tried to probe it with my Divine Sense, I found myself hitting a wall. No feedback. It wasn’t just masked; it was invisible to the senses, as though the world itself refused to acknowledge its existence. That unsettled me more than I cared to admit.

Wen Yuhan didn’t wait. “Now, the big reveal… What’s the information that’s worth even my life?” Her voice carried a singsong quality, yet the weight of her words killed the air around us. “It’s the identity of the six others like me… their abilities, their locations, and their motives. Most importantly, it’s about the goal behind the turbulent era that has fallen on this world. I’m sure you’ve noticed. The chaos isn’t a coincidence. Nor is it simply the turning of an age.”

She paused, letting the tension hang before continuing, “There is a grander scheme behind it all. I loathe to admit it, but I played a role in it. I had to. It was the only way to try to escape this world. That being said, I’m bound by oaths and fate not to reveal the core mechanics or logic behind the scheme. What I can share, however, is still extensive. Let’s start with this… I’m a neutral party, forced to stay that way.”

I frowned deeply. No wonder she claimed her life was forfeit if she shared this with me. Knowing the identities of the six others alone was already enough to make her a target, but being entangled in some cosmic escape plan? Ugh…

Wen Yuhan went on, her voice leveling out as her antics faded. “While I can’t tell you much about the intricacies, I can tell you what the ultimate goal is. It’s simple: to escape this world. But to do that, we must devour each other. That’s how we grow stronger despite the lack of spiritual qi. That’s how we reach the threshold required to break free. I, on the other hand, do not want to partake in the feeding frenzy. So instead, I wish to form an alliance with you, Da Wei.”

She looked at me with earnest eyes. The golden glow that occasionally flickered in her gaze was gone, replaced by something too human… exhaustion and longing.

I clenched my jaw and gave her a flat stare. “I think you yap too much.”

My Divine Sense didn’t flare, which meant she was being truthful. But that didn’t mean I trusted her. I’d been manipulated before, used like a tool because of my disposition. The moment I heard the word “alliance,” I could already smell what would come next: her sob story.

Sure enough, she delivered. “I want to die,” she whispered. “I’ve lived too long, Wei. Reincarnated into the same life again and again. I’m tired of it. I’m not even scared anymore. I just… want it to end. Will you help me?”

Of course. I should’ve seen it coming. With the Heavenly Eye… or rather, a more advanced form she called the Destiny Seeking Eyes… it was safe to assume she had studied me down to the bones of my soul. She knew my leanings, my code, and the things that would tug at my heart. Even now, my silence was part of a script she’d predicted. She wasn’t giving me a choice; she was giving me the illusion of one.

I sighed, heavy and long. I was tired of being strung along by fate and prophets and destiny and whatever other nonsense the world insisted on throwing my way. At some point, I needed to draw the line.

So I did.

“I will kill you,” I said plainly, “if I find out you’re lying to me. Not just about this scheme, or those people, but even the smallest thing. Do you understand? I’m not your friend, your hero, or your salvation. Our relationship is purely transactional. No more, no less. Do you understand?”

Wen Yuhan didn’t flinch. She only smiled faintly, almost gratefully, like someone who had finally heard the answer they’d waited an eternity for.

“Yes,” she said. “I do.”