Shen Sheng was generous for once. She spent all the money she’d acquired, buying New Year gifts for everyone in the household.
It filled two full horse-drawn carriages, especially the many new toys she added for Buyan and Buyu.
Shen Manor bustled with excitement. Shen Sheng bought a pair of warm jade bracelets for her mother. When she delivered them, Madam Shen was chatting with Madam Su—Su Lian’s mother.
After Shen Sheng arrived, Madam Su took the opportunity to excuse herself and leave.
People navigating the circles of the Imperial Capital were no fools. Madam Su’s New Year visit certainly carried its own agenda.
Shen Sheng asked directly. Madam Shen’s expression was gentle yet helpless. “Madam Su wants to secure your support. You and Su Lian are the best of friends. You command powerful troops. She hopes you can help the Crown Prince.”
One circle influencing another, one household entangled with another. Madam Su’s visit might not have been without the Crown Prince’s instigation.
Suddenly, Shen Sheng lost all interest in these political scheming games. She simply said: “I won’t support anyone. I have more important things to do.”
Madam Shen gazed at her youngest daughter’s tightly furrowed brow. Here, power and influence seemed important, but they weren’t the core focus.
The Lovesickness Gu within Shen Sheng destined her to be no ordinary mortal.
“I understand your intention to stay clear of trouble. No need to worry about it. I’ve already declined on your behalf. Ah Sheng, are you investigating the origins of Buyan and Buyu?” Madam Shen smiled gently.
The State Preceptor’s pace was too slow. Shen Sheng still didn’t understand the true origins of Buyan and Buyu.
A glimmer of hope flashed in Shen Sheng’s pitch-black eyes. She felt crushed by the weight of it. “You know?”
“The children are yours. That is true. The South River water—sacred and holy. The Lovesickness Gu—ardent and deep. Countless women aspire to both, and you once possessed them both.” Madam Shen sighed softly. “You can try to search for the traces of the past.”
“You seem to know something?”
“Mhm, the State Preceptor told me,” Madam Shen started spinning lies with open eyes, then began encouraging Shen Sheng. “If you like her, then trust her. The State Preceptor is quite good. I don’t object to you two being together. It doesn’t matter if others mind. I’ll buy a residence for you. But I must tell you this: buy the residence to live in yourselves. Don’t live at the State Preceptor Manor. Living under someone else’s roof leaves you with no ground to stand on.”
“Don’t worry about lacking money either. Your mother will give it to you. Your Fourth Sister-in-law’s fear of the State Preceptor is also reasonable. But you should also think: someone whom others fear, yet treats you well—the contrast will stand out. Do you… understand?”
Oh-ho, she might have accidentally said too much.
Shen Sheng was bewildered but nodded vaguely. She asked: “Why do you trust the State Preceptor so much?”
Madam Shen said: “Although she’s a madwoman, she hasn’t done anything that truly goes against the heavens. She may seem insane, but she doesn’t hoard wealth. Take the incident where she had an official chopped into thousands of pieces and fed to dogs, for example. The other party was trying to kill her to test her abilities. Things having reached that point, was she still supposed to be merciful and spare him?”
It’s not that one is born a Devil. It’s simply being forced to that point.
Just like Shen Sheng reversing the desperate situation and killing Princess Anle—both were forced into a corner.
Madam Shen felt she was observing everything from a godlike perspective. The law of the jungle, the strong preying on the weak—everyone understands this principle.
Shen Sheng was silent. Madam Shen continued: “Think about it yourself. If you care about others’ gossip, I’ll buy you a residence. As for the State Preceptor as a person, you know her better than I do.”
“Mother…” Warmth flooded Shen Sheng’s heart. In her times of hesitation, her mother’s words gave her boundless warmth and strength.
She looked up, the pressure of recent days nearly suffocating her. “What if this trust requires you to pay with your life?”
“Will you die?” Madam Shen cut straight to the heart of the matter.
You won’t die. The power of the Lovesickness Gu is spreading within your body. The State Preceptor’s blood has cleansed your marrow, bringing about a complete rebirth. You are already beyond an ordinary mortal.
The feeling in her heart abruptly intensified. Scenes from that night flooded into her mind one after another…
The Lovesickness Gu granted her longevity. She had become one with a God.
She had gained so much, yet it came without reason. The unease in her heart slowly expanded.
Madam Shen watched her intently, wanting to say something to prompt her, but if she said too much, the other party would become suspicious.
“Ah Sheng, go and try. The power of the Lovesickness Gu will bring you many surprises.” Madam Shen finally offered a nudge.
The Fox Demon escaped.
She slipped right out of the State Preceptor’s Formation. The State Preceptor rushed back to the palace. The Demon Hunters were all dead.
The Emperor was furious. He needed the Fox Demon to refine the Phoenix Cauldron, yet these useless wretches had allowed the Fox Demon to escape.
He placed his hopes on the State Preceptor, commanding her to go capture the Fox Demon and bring her back.
The State Preceptor accepted the edict and left to search once more.
The Fox Demon was grievously wounded and hadn’t run far. In a certain cave, she was found.
Seeing danger approach, the Fox Demon stared at her without a word, then said: “Clan Leader Jiang, going to such lengths to capture me—you’re trying to do something that defies the natural order of the heavens.”
“And what of it?” Anu’s expression was icy.
The cave was cold and dark, with a demonic flame set inside. The flames blazed upwards, casting a red glow across Anu’s cheeks.
The Fox Demon, wanting to live, had to make the other party abandon the idea of using her as fuel for the Phoenix Cauldron. She hurriedly shouted: “That Young General Shen’s appearance… I feel like I’ve seen it before!”
“Even if you have, so what?” Anu sneered.
“She’s a mortal, but that person died, her soul completely destroyed. There can be no reincarnation. I’m curious—who exactly is she?” The Fox Demon leaned weakly against the wall. “Clan Leader Jiang was once married. The other party was a Demigod. I had the honor of attending your wedding ceremony. She looks exactly like that Demigod.”
A Fox Demon that had lived for a thousand years knew a few things too many.
The Fox Demon had survived until now by her own efforts, whereas Anu had avoided destruction by being transmitted a thousand years into the future via the Phoenix Cauldron.
Both were survivors of the South River era, but their means of survival were different.
The Fox Demon said excitedly: “Let me live, and I’ll work for you. How about it?”
“I have people to do my work. No need for demons. You can’t even enter the cities,” Anu mocked.
“I can help you restore the South River! I know you’re working on this, Clan Leader Jiang.” The Fox Demon cried out urgently, desperately trying to demonstrate her sincerity. “Believe me, I am a Great Demon, having lived over a thousand years. I’m far more useful than ordinary mortals. I can help you find other demons to feed the cauldron. You won’t have to lift a finger.”
Anu calmed down and said: “Tell me about the events of these past thousand years.”
“You don’t know yourself?” The Fox Demon’s eyes were dark and deep, a hint of jealousy in her heart. The Gods were all dead, yet she was still alive. What terrible luck.
“I don’t know.”
The Fox Demon straightened her body, adjusted her collar, and spoke slowly: “After the South River water dried up, the divine source vanished. The Immortals fell. Our Demon Race was also implicated. Not a few Great Demons, having lost their source, also died. I survived by hiding in the wastelands and because I hadn’t formed a contract with anyone. That’s how I narrowly escaped.”
“Even so, with the collapse of heaven and earth, my demonic power was also damaged. Many Divine Artifacts all vanished, until I laid eyes on the Phoenix Cauldron. It’s not an ancient Divine Artifact, yet it rivals one. That’s when I wanted to seize it. Clan Leader Jiang, how did you survive?”
An Immortal cut off from their divine source is like a mortal—unable to live for a thousand years.
Anu didn’t say.
The Fox Demon, seeing her hesitation, pressed further: “What’s the story with that Shen Sheng? Zhou Yi said she’s eighteen or nineteen years old, a mere mortal body. But after meeting her face-to-face, I realized something was wrong. She seems to be the very person you married back then.”
Anu still paid her no attention. She slowly lifted her head. “I’ll give you a chance. Find some demons for me. Otherwise, I will still come to capture you.”
“That cauldron is full of Resentful Energy. Once it reaches its peak and the resentment surges to the heavens, a major catastrophe will occur,” the Fox Demon said uneasily. She just wanted to live a few more years; she didn’t want to alter the very fabric of heaven and earth.
Anu turned and left, not taking her words to heart.
The Fox Demon let out a relieved breath, leaned against the wall, and coughed up a large mouthful of blood. She couldn’t help but curse: “Damn it all! Just because you’re an Immortal, you’re so great? I can’t beat you one-on-one. Let’s have a group fight! This old lady will call a whole horde of demons to gang up on you, then we’ll see who’s stronger!”
After cursing, she collapsed weakly again, utterly depressed.
That damned Zhou Yi. Of all people to provoke, he had to provoke Jiang Wan. Tired of living, was he?
When Anu returned to the Cinnabar Peak Palace, Shen Sheng was also there.
“You’re back? I heard that demon escaped?” Shen Sheng trotted over quickly to ask. “Did you go capture it?”
Anu didn’t speak. Shen Sheng had grown accustomed to her silence and didn’t press further.
She said: “Let’s get married, okay?”
“Not okay,” Anu refused. Actually, they had already been married. A thousand years ago, before the assembly of all the Gods, on the South River, they had bowed and become husband and wife.
Shen Sheng sighed and recounted some of what Madam Shen had said. “My mother seems to like you quite a bit.”
Anu mocked: “Your mother is truly indulgent with you.”
It had to be said, Madam Shen was a very good mother.
Shen Sheng pulled her out of the palace. “Come to my place. I had a whole table of dishes prepared just for you. You need to nourish yourself properly. Forget this Fasting nonsense. Eating your fill is what feels comfortable.”
