Chapter 1

While I was undergoing my lightning tribulation in preparation for ascending, a herbal apprentice braved the thunder to gather herbs on the mountain and was struck by the tribulation lightning.

Harming someone during a tribulation was a grave taboo. In saving him, I was injured by the lightning and lost consciousness.

When I slowly woke, I found myself looking at cobwebbed rafters and earthen walls that let in the wind. The young apprentice huddled beside me, his head dipping like a sparrow pecking at grain.

I meant to leave, only to discover that a karmic debt bound us.

He had taken a bolt of lightning meant for me, but I had saved him. Surely that should have settled it. Why was there still a debt? I sat up, and his ragged coat slipped from my shoulders.

Of course. Shelter, a drink of water, a piece of clothing—each incurred a debt of its own.

Until my debts in the mortal world were settled, I could not ascend.

He was a light sleeper and woke the moment I moved. “Immortal, you’re awake?”

I shook my head. “I’m no immortal.”

“But I saw you last night. You were about to fly into the sky, but then you fell. I was the one who saved you…”

“I saved you… Doesn’t that mean… you ought to repay me…?” He kept glancing around as he spoke, his voice growing fainter.

I nodded in understanding. “Since you saved me, I shall grant you three wishes. Provided they defy neither Heaven’s law nor human morality, I can fulfill them all.”

Three thunderclaps rang out across the clear daytime sky. Heaven had accepted our agreement.

His eyes brightened. Then, thinking it over, he murmured, “Only three wishes…? Could I make them later?”

“You may. When you wish to make one, summon me with these fox hairs.” I plucked three hairs and gave them to him.

He tucked them carefully inside his clothes.

I returned to my cave and found that a little black snake, yet to assume human form, had moved in.

At the sight of me, he tried to flee in a panic. “Boss! I thought you’d ascended. That’s why I came into your cave.”

“Stay, then. I won’t be here long. Once I’ve settled my affairs in the mortal world, I can ascend to the upper realm.” Seeing his battered face, I waved him back.

A cave left behind by a spirit who had ascended was always in demand. Clearly, the little snake had gone to considerable trouble to secure it.

For the time being, we became “roommates.” Fortunately, he was well behaved and generally curled up in the farthest corner. Fox and snake managed to stay out of each other’s way.

On the third day, the herbal apprentice summoned me with a fox hair.

We met in the same shabby, unfinished house.

“Have you a wish to make?”

He nodded, his eyes sparkling. “Lady Fox Immortal, my first wish is to take you as my wife.”

I had heard of other spirits and immortals granting mortals wishes. They always said that mortals wanted wealth, silver and gold, or a smooth path to official rank. This was the first time I had heard of one asking for a wife.

I considered it briefly. Marrying me defied neither Heaven’s law nor human morality. All I needed to do was spend a mere hundred years or so with this mortal. I readily agreed.

“Granted.”

I assumed human form, took the name Hu Li, and accompanied the young apprentice to the government office, where we registered our marriage and obtained a marriage contract.

Taking the document, I stared at the names Leng Yushu and Hu Li, black ink on white paper, in a momentary daze. I had cultivated alone in the mountains for a thousand years. Never had I expected to marry a mortal just as I was about to ascend.

We had the marriage contract, but the wedding troubled him.

“I’m the only one left in my family. I want to give you a proper wedding, my wife, but my purse is empty.” Leng Yushu lowered his head as he spoke, apparently very shy.

I gave it some thought. Since I had agreed to marry him, we ought to have a wedding. With a wave of my hand, I supplied everything we needed and repaired his unfinished house while I was at it.

His eyes lit up. “Thank you, my wife!”

Leng Yushu was alone in the world, without a single relative. So there were only the two of us at our wedding, with Heaven as our father and Earth as our mother. Dressed in bright red wedding robes, he took my hand tenderly and knelt in reverence before the sky.

“With Heaven above and Earth as witness, today I, Leng Yushu, take Hu Li as my wife. For the rest of our lives, we shall have only each other. We shall treat each other kindly, weather hardship together, and never part.”

When he finished, he gave my sleeve a gentle tug and whispered, “Your turn, my wife. Just repeat what I said.”

I nodded. Knowing nothing of mortal wedding customs, I repeated his words. “With Heaven above and Earth as witness, today I, Hu Li, take Leng Yushu as my husband. For the rest of our lives, we shall have only each other. We shall treat each other kindly, weather hardship together, and never part.”

A bolt of lightning suddenly flashed across the clear daytime sky.

When we entered the bridal chamber that night, I cast a spell on Leng Yushu and wove a dream for him.

I watched him in the dream I had made, sometimes looking entranced, sometimes letting an expression of distaste cross his face.

Mortals were truly unfathomable. How did they manage to wear two faces?