After Rebirth, the Heroine is Consumed by Overwhelming Regret Chapter 43

For a moment, Qi Qing didn’t know how to say goodbye.
She couldn’t even bring herself to be cold to Yu Yan. Even knowing Yu Yan’s kindness towards her had ulterior motives, she couldn’t expose it to her face or say anything harsh.
She was just that kind of soft-hearted person.
At least, at least until after we’ve traveled the mortal realm.
Before I truly fall for her, Yu Yan wouldn’t kill me, right?
Qi Qing no longer knew if she wanted to repay Yu Yan’s kindness or just deceive herself into pretending nothing had happened. She had a long dream, and when she woke up again, she felt as if seas had turned into mulberry fields; many grudges didn’t seem so painful anymore, just tinged with a slight coolness.
But she still craved this tiny bit of gentleness.
Yu Yan, Yu Yan.
The name lingered in her mouth, a bittersweet caress. Before the farewell came, she wanted to create enough memories with her, so that at least after it was over, they would still have beautiful moments to cherish.
So she smiled very gently.
An ultimate, unprecedented gentleness.
Yu Yan sensed something was off about her but didn’t guess the reason. She opened her mouth to ask several times but couldn’t bring herself to. She just assumed Qi Qing’s temperament had changed after the divine bone entered her body.
Qi Qing was indeed different from before.
If before she was somewhat timid and weak, now she possessed a composed gentleness. This composure probably stemmed from her strength; ever since the bone replacement, her cultivation level was already on par with Yu Yan’s.
Of course, she had also wondered why this was, but Yu Yan had brushed it off with an excuse, saying it might be a lingering effect of that technique she used.
Qi Qing didn’t press further, which made Yu Yan sigh in relief.
She had once wondered what Qi Qing would do once she became stronger. Now she had the answer—Qi Qing would use her strength to help the weak and fight the strong.
This was actually a very broad and somewhat empty concept. Many people wanted to help the weak and fight the strong, but few knew how to do it specifically. Evil deeds were the result of many catalyzing factors. To correct such things, one needed to distinguish right from wrong, handle matters justly, and educate the oppressors while strengthening the oppressed. None of these steps could be omitted, or else once the intervener left, things would revert to how they were, or even worsen.
Qi Qing was very smart.
Her talent in cultivation wasn’t top-tier, but she had a knack for solving these difficult social problems. Everywhere they went, stories of Qi Qing’s deeds were left behind. The common folk lacked champions of justice; Qi Qing, with her good name, upheld a sky of justice for them.
Yu Yan, apart from helping her catch some bad guys, found she couldn’t get involved at all. She felt a little guilty. She herself was a divine official, responsible for the prosperity of a region. In all these years, her governance couldn’t be considered good; at best, it was barely enough to ensure favorable weather. As for the suffering of the common people, she wasn’t very clear about it.
The two wandered around and eventually arrived at the territory she governed.
Yu Yan wasn’t among the highest-ranking divine officials; she was more like a minor deity, responsible for a small area, just a small county town. The moment she set foot there, she saw a temple dedicated to herself, but its entrance was very deserted, with few offerings.
Seeing her stand still, Qi Qing asked what was wrong.
Yu Yan pointed. “That’s me.”
Qi Qing looked down. The clay statue was sculpted very carelessly and crudely, not at all resembling Yu Yan’s beautiful original form. It looked more like someone had found a Guanyin statue and sloppily copied it.
But even the copying was poorly done; it barely resembled a human figure.
With a casual flick of her finger, the statue seemed to be reborn, transforming into a likeness somewhat similar to Yu Yan. It was only about seventy to eighty percent similar, not an exact match, but even that seventy to eighty percent was already stunningly beautiful.
Yu Yan shook her head. “It doesn’t look like me.”
“It’s not good if it’s too similar,” Qi Qing said. “Otherwise, how could you walk around in public? Would you go back to wearing a veil?”
Previously, Yu Yan wore a veil wherever she went. Firstly, to prevent other deities who had secretly descended to the mortal realm from seeing her, and secondly, with a face like hers, she would cause a commotion anywhere.
But this time, she didn’t wear one.
Because Qi Qing had said that beauty isn’t afraid of being seen.
In fact, a beauty like her should be out and about more often. Seeing someone so beautiful might even give people some meaning in life. As for worrying about harassment, Qi Qing just told her not to worry; if anyone dared, she would be the first to deal with them.
Yu Yan wasn’t actually afraid of being harassed. Her strength was evident, and this was the mortal realm; it would be difficult for others to even get close to her. She was just afraid of trouble. But once she got used to it, she found that most people reacted to beauty with awe and it didn’t really cause any trouble.
On the contrary, wearing a veil made many people curious.
After she stopped wearing the veil, she felt much more at ease and gradually got used to it. Suddenly being asked to wear it again would actually feel quite unnatural.
Later events proved that Qi Qing’s approach was correct.
Because the people in this place didn’t believe in Yu Yan, and some even hated her intensely, deliberately sneaking into the temple at night to smash her statue.
Of course, it wasn’t smashed after they arrived.
After learning that Yu Yan was the divine official in charge of this place, Qi Qing curiously dragged her to see the various temples. Who knew that most of them were dilapidated, and in the worst case, one statue had even been smashed to pieces.
Although destroying the statue couldn’t harm Yu Yan’s true form, it was still an insulting act. Qi Qing closed her eyes and, from the fragments of the statue, identified the culprit. That very night, she found the scoundrel’s home.
This scoundrel was named Wang Da, and he was so poor his house was bare.
The two of them peeked through the window and saw him sleeping soundly. However, for some reason, even though it was late autumn, he was only covered with a piece of sackcloth. The sackcloth didn’t fit well, looking as if he had stolen it from somewhere.
Qi Qing shushed Yu Yan and slipped into his dream.
Yu Yan didn’t know what she was planning to do but quickly followed.
One after the other, they entered. At first, they saw a vast expanse of white mist. Then, as their vision gradually returned, they saw that Wang Da’s dreamscape was desolate, not much different from the white mist.
How could this be?
Aren’t people’s dreams usually full of strange and wonderful things?
Qi Qing and Yu Yan searched for a long time before finding Wang Da’s hiding place—he was actually hiding in his house, sleeping. Sleeping in reality, and sleeping in his dream too. Could it be that this man has no worries at all?
How could someone with no worries smash a divine statue?
Qi Qing shook him awake. Just as he was groggily rubbing his eyes, she suddenly made a scary face to frighten him—this was Qi Qing’s retaliation for his disrespect towards Yu Yan, just a small punishment.
He was badly frightened and scrambled to run away, but the dreamscape was now controlled by Qi Qing. No matter where he fled, the scary face stuck close to him until he was too tired to run anymore.
As he panted heavily, Qi Qing changed back to her original appearance and asked him why he had disrespected the statue. Wasn’t he afraid of divine retribution?
He stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly became defiant, saying he would smash it, that it was a good smash, a wonderful smash, a fantastic smash!
Before he could finish speaking, Qi Qing slapped him across the face.
“Now, speak properly,” Qi Qing said, her face cold. “Why did you smash the statue? Tell me everything from beginning to end.”
She had initially thought this man had just acted impulsively and that a bit of education would suffice. Who knew he would be so brazenly self-righteous? Even when she had come to him, he showed no remorse.
One couldn’t be soft-hearted with such a person.
After being slapped, hatred immediately surged in the man. He stared at her gloomily for a long moment, then suddenly lunged forward to attack. Qi Qing had already anticipated this move and directly slapped him aside, sending him crashing hard against a wall.
His head was broken and bleeding, blood splattering everywhere.
After realizing he couldn’t defeat Qi Qing, he became much more subdued, but he still hadn’t yielded. This was evident from the expression on his face.
“Not convinced? Then I’ll beat you until you are.” A whip materialized in Qi Qing’s hand. She lightly tapped his face with it. The man trembled like a sieve, and indeed, he didn’t dare to bare his teeth anymore.
But in the end, he still blurted out: “Praying to gods is useless, so why not smash them?”
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of both Qi Qing and Yu Yan changed.
What does he mean, praying to gods is useless?
Yu Yan had never heard any prayers. But from his words, it seemed as though his pleas had reached the heavens but received no response. Why would he say that?
They grabbed the man, made him sit up straight, and said sternly, “What do you mean? What exactly happened? What do you mean, praying to gods is useless?”
The man didn’t answer. Qi Qing had no choice but to use her spiritual energy to form threads, delving into his mind to see what he had experienced. She had already seen the scene of him smashing the statue; to find out the reason, she just needed to trace back a few days.
Time rewound to a month ago.
Wang Da visited the temple in the middle of a rainy night, begging the goddess to cure his old mother’s illness. At the time, he probably didn’t hold much hope, just said his piece, and once the rain stopped, he hurried home with medicine.
A few days later, he came to the temple again.
This time, he was much more desperate than before, kowtowing and praying incessantly, begging the goddess to help him this once. He was willing to trade ten years of his life for his old mother to live a few more days.
Something miraculous happened.
A day later, he happily came to fulfill his vow, saying his old mother’s illness had indeed improved greatly. He brought many fruits and pastries; it was clear he had spent a lot.
Three days later, he came to pray to the goddess again, saying his wife was about to give birth. As long as she could ensure his wife’s safe delivery, he was willing to trade another ten years of his life. Of course, he said this because he had tasted the sweetness of trading his lifespan, but he wasn’t stupid and added in a low voice:
“If my wife is fine on her own, please don’t take my lifespan. I still want to live a few more years, to see my child grow up and start a family, to have grandchildren around me.”
Another half a month later, on a pitch-dark night, he suddenly rushed in, crying and begging, asking the goddess to take his life—ten years, twenty years, he was willing to trade it all—just for the mother and child to safely get through the difficult birth.
The next day, he came again, beaming with joy. He scattered some fruits and sweets in front of the statue, saying his wife and child were both healthy, all thanks to the goddess.
After that, he didn’t appear for half a month.
Then, on the eve of smashing the statue, he burst in, his eyes bloodshot, his heart full of a rage so intense it almost materialized. He pointed at the statue and cursed, saying she had toyed with him, that she was faithless, that she had saved them only to make him believe there was hope, before destroying it all.
“They’re all dead! My old mother, my wife, my child…” He raised the hammer in grief and fury, smashing it towards the statue. “Give them back to me! Give me back my family’s lives!”