After Rebirth, the Heroine is Consumed by Overwhelming Regret Chapter 26

Su Miaoyin frowned at the person’s rudeness, but on second thought, it wasn’t surprising. When Mo Tao was still around, the Heavenly Sword Sect was as solid as a steel plate. Now that Mo Tao was crippled, all the peak lords had their own schemes. Except for one’s own direct disciples, anyone could be an enemy.
Ling Aorui was Mo Tao’s most favored disciple and hadn’t participated in that turmoil, so her reputation was clean, and she was qualified to contend for leadership.
But—
Su Miaoyin couldn’t help but let out a small scoff. It wasn’t that she wanted to boast, but in Ling Aorui’s current condition, needing someone to support her even to walk, it was truly hard to say what her chances of winning were.
She glanced disdainfully at Si Li, memorizing her face.
Once I ascend to the throne, there will be plenty of time to settle scores.
Si Li didn’t know she had already been marked. She checked Ling Aorui’s condition and, after confirming she was alright, carried her on her back, walking step by step down the mountain.
The night was dark and the wind strong. Carrying an unconscious person, she didn’t dare to fly on her sword. The mountain path was long and arduous; it would take at least several hours to descend. But she wasn’t afraid of being tired. Senior Sister Ling’s illness was my fault. No matter what happens in the future, I will stay by her side.
Meanwhile, Qi Qing and Yu Yan flew against the night wind for a long time. Only when the lights of the Heavenly Sword Sect were no longer visible did they slowly stop.
“Are you cold?”
“I’m alright. What about you?”
“A little, but I’m alright too.”
“Why don’t we find a place to stay for the night?”
The two tacitly avoided mentioning what had just happened and slowly landed. Looking around, they were in a deserted area with no sign of human life for several miles. The only visible building nearby was a ruined temple.
It was already past midnight. The surroundings were so quiet that not even a bird’s chirp could be heard. The wind on the ground wasn’t as strong, just a gentle breeze that refreshed their spirits.
As the breeze blew over them, much of their fatigue and tension dissipated, and drowsiness immediately washed over them.
Especially Qi Qing. She had been through a high-intensity confrontation all night and was now so exhausted she could barely keep her eyes open. Her steps were unsteady, and caught off guard, she almost stumbled. Yu Yan had to steady her, narrowly preventing her from hitting her head.
“We’re almost there, hang on.”
Yu Yan pushed open the temple door, only to be greeted by a desolate sight, everything covered in dust. She immediately felt a pang of regret, unsure if this place was even habitable. But after entering, she found it wasn’t too bad. The rooms were mostly intact, just dusty. She wiped the table and chairs clean, let Qi Qing sit for a while, and then went to clean a room and prepare a bed. She had only half-made the bed when she saw Qi Qing had already fallen asleep, slumped over the table.
She had fallen asleep incredibly fast.
Yu Yan had no choice but to move gently, settling her into the bed. She returned to the table, extinguished the lamp, and sat alone, lost in thought.
She was wondering who that ghost demon was. It knew Qi Qing and even had a marriage contract with her; it didn’t seem to be from this lifetime. She knew Qi Qing had come back from a past life, so could it be an entanglement from that previous life?
This was very difficult. Even if Yu Yan was a god, she was only a god of this time and space, not yet omniscient or omnipotent. And even if she knew the truth, she couldn’t do anything about it. Since Qi Qing and the ghost demon had come here, it meant that events in that other time and space were already set in stone. Otherwise, the law of causality wouldn’t have allowed them to come and go.
Yu Yan frowned deeply.
She looked at Qi Qing on the bed. Even in sleep, her body wasn’t relaxed. She didn’t know if Qi Qing was dreaming, but she tossed and turned restlessly, her forehead covered in sweat.
She took out a handkerchief, wiped away the sweat, and then lit some calming incense on the table. After doing all this, she thought she should fetch some water. Sweating so much, Qi Qing would surely be thirsty in the middle of the night.
So she took her ambrosia pot and went out to find water.
There was a water vat under the eaves outside, but it hadn’t been used for a long time and only contained half-dried mud. She walked on the gravel path to the backyard and, amidst waist-high grass, found an abandoned well.
The well’s edge was worn smooth. She looked down and saw the shimmering reflection of water. The moon was reflected in it, sparkling. Then, the surface of the water was broken by her pot. Just as she filled it with water and was about to leave, she suddenly heard a voice behind her.
“One person doesn’t enter a temple alone; two people don’t look into a well together. Fairy Minghuai, someone as cautious as you, how did you seem to lose your wits after descending to the mortal realm?”
Yu Yan turned around and saw a beautiful fire fox under the moonlight, sitting on a high platform nearby, leisurely licking the fur on its paw.
It emanated a faint glow, clearly not an ordinary creature. And indeed it wasn’t; it was the fox demon Jiu Chan, who had ascended on the same day as Yu Yan. In terms of cultivation and lifespan, it surpassed Yu Yan, but because it was a demon beast, it couldn’t be on equal footing with human cultivators.
When Yu Yan became a proper immortal, in charge of the prosperity of a region, it was only assigned to be a palace guard.
To put it bluntly, it was a gatekeeper for the Heavenly Palace.
It prided itself most on its beautiful fur and hated being compared to a dog. Yet it was assigned a gatekeeping position; one could imagine its resentment.
But it didn’t dare to be dissatisfied with the Celestial Emperor’s assignment, so it directed its animosity towards Yu Yan. Yu Yan was utterly innocent; she had merely ascended on the same day as it and didn’t even know it before ascending. Who knew she would be targeted so inexplicably.
Of course, Yu Yan only learned about these things later. When she first ascended to the god realm, she felt she was new and shouldn’t make enemies. She would silently resolve troubles and didn’t retaliate when provoked. But over time, she realized that all her troubles seemed to be related to this fox. She immediately became angry, didn’t follow proper procedures, and directly beat it up.
She was quite injured, and the fox also lost a lot of fur. The worst injuries were to its paws and the top of its head. She didn’t know the exact details. Later, she heard from others that the fox wore a headscarf for a while, looking exceptionally comical.
As for her, she was put in solitary confinement for three years for causing trouble.
After that, the two became bitter enemies and never spoke unless absolutely necessary. Its appearance here now was definitely not a good thing.
Moreover, it was licking its paw, almost as if reminding her that she had once injured its paw.
“What are you doing here?” Yu Yan frowned.
“This immortal is here on important business, of course.” Jiu Chan stepped on motes of light in the void, jumping step by step in front of her, looking down condescendingly. “The Celestial Emperor has an order: Where is Fairy Minghuai?”
Yu Yan really disliked its pretentious airs. But since it was here to deliver an order, she had to listen.
She could only bow her head and say, “Your subject is here.”
“Fairy Minghuai descended to the mortal realm without permission, this is her first crime. She also used divine power to reverse fate, an even graver offense. Considering she still has a love trial to undergo and it’s inconvenient to imprison her, it is ordered: she shall wear a set of shackles, and fifty percent of her divine power shall be removed. If she offends again, more shackles will be added. After three offenses, she will be demoted to a mortal.”
After reading the imperial edict, it covered its mouth and chuckled, “Fairy Minghuai, I didn’t know you were so bold as to dare reverse the law of causality. If not for your immortal foundation protecting you, you would have been torn to shreds by vengeful spirits, wouldn’t you?”
Yu Yan ignored it. She had already known this would be the outcome when she used her divine power. But she couldn’t just watch Qi Qing be framed by that Su Miaoyin and bear the reputation of a murderer.
This score, sooner or later, she would settle it properly.
Jiu Chan, seeing her lost in thought and seemingly unfazed by the punishment, added, “Oh, by the way, the Celestial Emperor is incredibly busy and doesn’t have time to watch you constantly, so he sent me to supervise you. From today onwards, I advise you to watch your words and actions, and be more polite to this immortal. Otherwise, if I’m unhappy, I can just report you, and you’ll be in deep trouble.”
After saying this, its fox tail seemed to finally pop out uncontrollably, wagging conspicuously, the very picture of a gloating villain.
Yu Yan didn’t know if it had requested this assignment or if the Celestial Emperor had arranged it deliberately. In any case, being watched by such a creature was definitely not a good thing. She had to find a way to shake it off. But before that, she couldn’t afford to offend it.
Thinking this, Yu Yan deliberately sighed and put on an act of deep remorse, saying, “Sister Jiu Chan, it was my fault for being blind and offending you so much in the past. Now that I’ve been punished and lost half my divine power, how could I possibly contend with you? We’ll be working together for a long time to come. Please be magnanimous and show some mercy.”
Jiu Chan didn’t expect a few words to actually scare her, and its fox tail couldn’t help but wag even more joyfully. But it maintained a profound and stern expression, saying, “Seeing that your attitude is somewhat sincere, this immortal will consider it. If you serve me well, I might put in a good word for you with the Celestial Emperor.” As it spoke, it slightly closed one eye, peeking at Yu Yan’s reaction.
Yu Yan naturally showered it with praises, making it feel very pleased.
After finally managing to trick it into leaving, Yu Yan found a moment to return to their room. As soon as she entered, she saw Qi Qing had woken up and was rubbing her eyes, looking around.
“You’re awake?” Yu Yan hurried over and asked, “Are you thirsty? I have water here.”
Qi Qing nodded and was about to speak when her gaze suddenly shifted behind Yu Yan. Yu Yan looked back and saw Jiu Chan, whom she had just managed to coax away, following her, transformed into the likeness of an ordinary small fox, tilting its head and sitting on the ground.
“Why did you follow me?” Yu Yan frowned.
This fox was untrustworthy, and who knew what ill intentions it harbored. Yu Yan had to be wary of it. But Qi Qing, unaware of its identity, smiled and said, “This area has been deserted for miles; it’s not strange for there to be a few small animals. Maybe it’s hungry or thirsty and wants some food from us.”
Saying this, she got out of bed, took Yu Yan’s ambrosia pot, poured a little water into her palm, and offered it to the little fox.
Just as the little fox was about to approach, Yu Yan said, “You dare!” scaring it back to its original spot. It deliberately put on a pitiful look and gently wagged its tail at Qi Qing.
“It’s okay, don’t be afraid,” Qi Qing said with a gentle smile. “Come here, I won’t be fierce to you.”
The implication was that Yu Yan was a bit fierce. Yu Yan was speechless and couldn’t tell her the truth. She could only stare hard at it, but it didn’t do anything out of line, just walked over and licked water from Qi Qing’s palm.
What on earth was it planning?
Yu Yan didn’t understand. While she was hesitating, she heard Qi Qing suddenly laugh, “Haha, it’s tickling me…”
What!
Yu Yan immediately grabbed its tail and held it upside down.