Chapter 82
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Chapter 82: Title
The night’s muffled sounds made Suiyin’s ears burn crimson. Gripping the table’s edge, she tried ignoring the adjoining noises – yet caught every gasp, every broken plea from Senior Sister Yan Li.
How could Lu Ciyou be so…so…
Suiyin’s thoughts scattered as she peeked at Xia Shi’s composed profile across the table. She’d never subject Xia Shi to such torment. Wait—
She gasped, mentally scolding herself. When she dared look up, Xia Shi’s gaze pinned her in place.
"W-what?" Suiyin croaked, throat dry.
Xia Shi’s lips twitched. How amusing – this same girl who’d boldly touched her months ago now squirmed like a scalded kitten.
"Time to sleep." The cultivator tapped her scroll, nodding toward the water basin behind the screen.
"You first. I’ll read more."
Suiyin fled behind the partition. As she splashed cool water on her face, she glimpsed through the screen’s lattice – the woman sat motionless, candlelight gilding her lowered face.
Suiyin forgot Xia Shi hated reading. Forgotten too was the scroll’s crumpled corner beneath the woman’s sleeve, its page untouched for hours.
In the Mortal World, even cultivators’ resolve wavered. Xia Shi stared unseeing at dancing characters, her pulse quickening with each adjoining moan.
Desire coiled thick in her throat. She knew its source – had she been unmoved, no amount of adjoining passion could rattle her. Yet now her breathing hitched, treacherous thoughts swirling.
Rubbing her temples changed nothing. The screen’s other side whispered of trickling water, pulling her gaze like lodestone.
The semi-transparent screen revealed the faint figure of a young girl…
The instant Suiyin removed her outer garment, someone burst out of the room, the door slamming shut noisily.
"Xia Shi?" Suiyin peered out worriedly to find the room empty. Grabbing her outer garment, she discovered the door was being held shut from outside.
"It’s too stuffy inside. I needed air."
Xia Shi pressed her back against the door, eyes squeezed shut in self-reproach.
How could she have peeked!
Only when water sounds resumed inside did she loosen her grip, fingers stiff from clutching the doorframe.
The secluded courtyard housed a ginkgo tree shading stone furniture. A chessboard lay atop the stone table.
Xia Shi recognized this setup – she’d witnessed Lingyang Jun and Tiansui playing chess in the Lingyang Secret Realm. This must be Lingyang Jun’s game.
Approaching, she found an unfinished match. Black pieces dominated through ruthless strategy, while white pieces hesitated at their winning moment, allowing black’s resurgence.
Puzzled, Xia Shi took the white side. She placed a piece at what seemed the solution.
A black stone suddenly flew onto the board, landing beneath her white piece. Her supposed winning move became futile. Startled, she looked up to see the pitch-black cat from Qingxue’s side crouching opposite her.
Its golden eyes gleamed as it issued a challenging yowl.
"I surrender." White had no escape routes left.
The cat growled disapproval, pawing the chessbox toward her.
Xia Shi marveled at its intelligence – common in Nine Realms, but extraordinary in the Mortal World.
"Another chance?" She reexamined the board, immersing herself until she glimpsed the ancient Nine Realms conflict through the stones.
When she finally looked up, the cat had vanished. The board showed no trace of their game.
"I finished bathing."
Xia Shi turned to see Suiyin standing in the corridor, white underrobe glowing in moonlight.
Returning inside, Xia Shi found fresh towels behind the screen. After washing, she invited Suiyin to share the bed. Their shoulders touched as they lay gazing at the canopy.
Next door had quieted. The deep night’s stillness enveloped them completely.
Xia Shi lay awake, her eyes lightly closed as she listened to the even breathing beside her.
Her hand crept beneath the thin quilt, cautiously seeking the warmth nearby.
When heat brushed her fingertips, Xia Shi instinctively withdrew, only to have her hand firmly captured.
She tilted her head and saw through moonlight the faint smile curving the other’s lips.
So she hadn’t been sleeping.
At dawn, Lu Ciyou and Yan Li’s door remained closed while Xia Shi and Suiyin decided to tour Lingyang City.
The moment they exited the courtyard, an endless queue caught their attention.
Half the city’s residents stood in silent devotion, piously gazing ahead.
Suiyin approached the last child in line. "What’s happening here?"
Seeing two beautiful sisters, the child’s initial irritation dissolved.
"We’re inviting Fairy Lord Lingyang to the Lantern Festival!" she chirped. "Everyone knows Lingyang Jun loves lanterns. We bring treats and toys yearly to ask him down!"
"I see." Suiyin patted the girl’s head, noting her basket overflowing with sweets.
Few children could resist such temptations – true devotion for Fairy Lord Lingyang.
"Let’s join them," Xia Shi suggested.
Though knowing the Fairy Lord perished millennia ago, they owed respects at his sanctuary. They bought pastries and queued behind the child.
The sun dipped westward before they reached the temple. Before Lingyang Jun’s statue lay mountains of offerings – fruits, flowers, and neatly folded ceremonial robes.
Xia Shi and Suiyin lit incense and placed their gifts. Ahead of them, the child kowtowed brightly: "May the Fairy Lord enjoy tomorrow’s festival!"
Suiyin blinked. Most prayed for personal gains, yet these people wished joy for their deity.
Leaving the temple, Xia Shi surveyed streets ablaze with dragon-like lantern chains, every face glowing with anticipation.
They prepared to welcome their god.
None knew he’d been dust for centuries.
Xia Shi sighed softly, leading Suiyin back.
"Young one, seek a divination?"
That voice. Those words.
Xia Shi froze. Slowly, she turned toward the figure at the temple gates.
It was that Fortune-teller.
She had appeared at Beauty Manor, then at Yunze, and now had trailed them to Lingyang City.
Xia Shi narrowed her eyes distrustfully. Once might be coincidence, twice could be chance, but a third occurrence defied random explanation.
The first two encounters occurred in the Nine Realms, yet now they stood in the Mortal World. Had this Fortune-teller predicted their movements or been shadowing them deliberately?
What did she truly want?
"Very well."
If divination was requested, divination they’d receive.
The Fortune-teller gestured toward the temple interior, inviting them to follow.
Xia Shi arched an eyebrow and stepped forward, only to have Suiyin seize her sleeve.
"Something’s wrong with her," Suiyin warned, her free hand tightening around Wugui’s hilt.
"All’s fine," Xia Shi countered, shaking their joined hands. "You’re here beside me."
Suiyin wavered. "But… oh!"
Outmaneuvered, she allowed herself to be tugged inside.
The Fortune-teller sat cross-legged before Fairy Lord Lingyang’s statue, crunching daytime offerings meant for the deity. Turtle shell and copper coins lay arranged before her.
"Such insolence!" Suiyin scolded, brows knitting. "Those aren’t yours to consume!"
The Fortune-teller chuckled, brushing crumbs from her robe. "Fallen immortals can’t receive tributes. Better nourish the living than rot before stone."
Suiyin gaped at her audacity.
"How did you track us here?" Xia Shi demanded.
Wiping her hands, the Fortune-teller lifted her divination tools. "First the reading, then answers."
As the turtle shell rattled, Xia Shi broke protocol. "I never stated my query."
Milky white eyes fixed on her. "This casting concerns your next life."
Next life?
Preposterous.
While fortune-tellers might interpret current fates, peering beyond death’s veil supposedly cost years of the diviner’s own life. None in Nine Realms lore could achieve such feats.
Xia Shi scoffed inwardly – until unfolding events challenged her skepticism.
The clattering coins within the shell grew louder. Fog-like tendrils materialized around the Fortune-teller, thickening into visible swirls.
Xia Shi’s breath caught. Spiritual energy – coalescing in the deity-forsaken Mortal World? What manner of seer was this?
Before she could voice the question, the hexagram resolved.
“Water Mountain’s hexagram.”
A cursed sign.
Xia Shi stated calmly, “If it concerns the next life, that’s for my future self to handle.”
The Fortune-teller’s face paled further before she suddenly laughed, as if angered.
“Having a next life would be fortunate—but I fear you won’t have one.”
No next life. This meant Xia Shi’s current existence would end in… the annihilation of her spirit.
