Chapter 1

As the divine light stabbed into the eyes of my husband’s junior martial sister, Immortal Chu He, savage satisfaction flooded me.

Three years ago, I had suffered the same fate, writhing on the ground in agony.

The onlookers whispered among themselves, their voices thick with contempt.

“She must have done something terrible to Immortal Lord Song for Heaven to punish her like this.”

“None of us were harmed. Why was she the only one struck?”

I had been in terrible pain, and even greater anguish.

It was not like that.

I had saved Song Lingchuan.

I had clothed him and fed him.

When his memory was gone and he did not know where home was, I told him that my home was his.

Before he ascended, he had sensed that the moment was coming.

Gripping my arm, he promised he would find a way to bring me to the heavens.

Before I could answer, divine light struck my eyes and blinded me.

If I had managed to answer him,

I would have told him that I would not go with him.

Immortals and mortals belonged to different worlds.

I did not want to make things difficult for him.

More than that, I feared the day my hair turned white while he remained forever young.

But I never got the chance to say any of it. The pain swallowed my consciousness first.

When I woke, I had become someone everyone despised.

People feared that simply coming near me would bring divine punishment down upon them.

Only Auntie Zhang from next door still slipped over when no one was watching. She brought me food and helped carry a few buckets of water.

Wiping her tears, she said in bewilderment,

“There must have been some mistake. How could something like this happen to a good girl like you, Yun Ning?”

“Other people might not know you, but I do.”

“You treated Immortal Lord Song so well.”

“And of course, he treated you well too.”

“How did it come to this?”

I did not know either.

Song Lingchuan and I truly had loved each other once.

He worked the fields, and I wove cloth.

We took the finished bolts to the market and exchanged them for money to buy salt and tofu.

He bought two taels of wine, while I bought a little box of rouge.

Back home, we prepared a few small dishes and drank beneath the moon.

His eyes gleamed as he watched me color my lips. A perfect night, a beauty beneath the moon, he said. A lifetime like this would be more than enough.

I could not imagine something as distant as a whole lifetime. I only knew that day was wonderful. The wine was rich, we were pleasantly drunk, and its sweetness dissolved all the bitterness that had come before.

We truly had been happy.

Later, I had the chance to use a secret art to send my spirit roaming through heaven and earth. That was how I saw him with Chu He, talking about my eyes.

He seemed to have learned that she was responsible for my blindness.

He rebuked her and lectured her, telling her she should never have tormented me.

His voice was harsh when he swept his sleeve and turned away.

Yet Chu He was not afraid of him in the least. She hugged his waist tightly from behind and pleaded like a spoiled child.

“Senior Brother, are you really going to stay angry with me?”

“I didn’t mean to do it. She was the one who came too close.”

“I only blinded her by accident.”

“You can hit me or scold me if you’re angry, Senior Brother. Just don’t ignore me.”

Pearl-like tears rolled down her face and soaked into his robes.

Rage filled my chest.

How could she behave like this?

Song Lingchuan had not known before. Now that he did, surely he would see justice done for me.

But I was wrong after all.

Song Lingchuan stood silent for a long time before letting out a helpless sigh, every note laden with indulgence and frustrated affection.

“Absurd! How could you do such a thing?”

“I don’t care. I was angry! The princess of the imperial capital was supposed to be your mortal love trial, but that woman stole the opportunity from her. I was only defending you. If she could steal another person’s destiny, why couldn’t I punish her?”

Song Lingchuan was silent again. At last, he said slowly,

“Whatever the circumstances, she helped me complete my love trial. You must never do this again.”

Delight lit Chu He’s face, and she broke into a smile through her tears.

She stepped around to face him, gazing at him with shining eyes.

“You’ve forgiven me, Senior Brother? Then could you—could you please not heal her? Let her suffer for three years. Just three years, and I won’t be angry anymore.”

Song Lingchuan frowned.

“She’s mortal. Her body cannot withstand divine power. She will die.”

He pushed her away and turned to leave.

Chu He stamped her foot in frustration, then bit her lip, her face flushed.

“Senior Brother, are you really going to force me to say it plainly?”

Song Lingchuan looked back.

“Say what plainly?”

Chu He’s bright eyes shone with the ardor of a sacrifice. Humiliated, she forced the words out through clenched teeth.

“Must you make me admit that I deliberately destroyed her eyes because I was jealous of her?”

“I hate her! Why should a mere peasant girl get to be your wife when I wasn’t even allowed to accompany you into the mortal realm for your trial?”

“Do you have any idea how much it hurt to watch the two of you in love through the Mirror of Three Lives?”

She wiped away her tears, then said with reckless abandon,

“Go heal her, then. Heal her, and I’ll descend to the mortal realm and blind her all over again.”

“If you can’t bear to see her suffer, report me and let the Hall of Imprisoned Gods punish me.”

“Either way, I am going down there.”

She turned and darted away.

Song Lingchuan shot through the air, cut her off, and caught her in his arms.

He gently wiped her tears away and sighed in resignation.

“Descending without permission is a grave crime. Do you no longer care about your cultivation? Are you prepared to give up being an immortal?”

“But all I want is you, Senior Brother…”

Chu He sobbed in his arms, tears streaming down her face.

Song Lingchuan sighed again and patted her back, soothing her in a tender voice.

“This is the last time. You must never do such a thing again.”

The revelation struck me like five bolts of lightning. My mind went blank.

I was not Song Lingchuan’s love trial? Then how had he completed it?

I was the one who had been harmed, so why was he comforting Chu He?

Even if I had not been his destined trial, I had still helped him complete it. Some share of the merit should have been mine.

How could he be so heartless?

I wanted to confront him, but there was nothing I could do.

When the secret art ended, I coughed up a mouthful of blood.

I was only mortal after all. Even to demand justice for myself, I would have to cross the ninety thousand miles between earth and heaven.

Then I thought: I must reach the heavens.

I had to confront those two wretches and ask them,

“How can you be so vile?”

Why should I suffer for their love?

Why should they be allowed to destroy another person’s life on a whim?

I endured for three years, and finally this day arrived.

Divine light pierced Chu He’s eyes.

At last, my suffering seemed to have found an outlet. The relief was exquisite.

The more she struggled, the better I felt.

Before anyone could begin questioning me,

I drawled with airy indifference,

“Why did she stand so close? She startled me.”