The Little Peacock Raises a Snake (GL) Chapter 23

“I still remember, a thousand years ago, when the Divine Lord and the Blue Luan Fairy made their marriage agreement. He said he was afraid of delaying the Blue Luan Fairy’s cultivation, so he insisted on waiting until she became an upper god before discussing marriage. Back then, who knew how many people talked behind their backs, saying the Divine Lord simply did not like the Blue Luan Fairy? And the result? Five hundred years ago, when the Blue Luan Fairy descended to the mortal world for her tribulation, the Divine Lord lowered his noble self and followed her. Unfortunately, the Blue Luan Fairy jumped into the wrong reincarnation path. The Divine Lord was born into the human world, but from birth to death, he never met her once. In the end, he grew old alone for his whole life.”
A young immortal maid from Molan Palace said, “Yes. I heard from maids who have been to Northern Xuan Palace that after Divine Lord Zhiming returned, he guarded the Reincarnation Mirror every day. He is very devoted.”
“But has Divine Lord Zhiming not always kept the Yuezhuo Fairy in his heart…”
“It has been more than a thousand years. No matter what, he should have let go by now, right?”
“Ai.” Another immortal maid sighed. “Who knows when the Blue Luan Fairy will return from her tribulation? These hundreds of years have truly made Divine Lord Zhiming wait until his eyes ache.”
“Soon, I suppose,” one maid said. “The Blue Luan Fairy descended nearly five hundred years ago. With her phoenix clan immortal bloodline, as long as she cultivates seriously, even if she reincarnated as a lump of stone, she should have cultivated a human form by now.”
“Do not even mention it. I long ago heard that among all the fairies, the Blue Luan Fairy was the one who liked cultivation the least.” The young immortal maid from Molan Palace covered her mouth and laughed. “Five hundred years in the human world may truly not be enough for her to cultivate a human form.”
“I heard the Blue Luan Fairy reincarnated in Wuyou Valley. A great demon lives in Wuyou Valley, and his face is extremely handsome. One fairy saw him once while weaving clouds for Wuyou Valley, and from then on, she thought of him day and night… People say the pavilion closest to the water gets the moon first. If the Blue Luan Fairy truly spends every day with him, I fear…”
When the maid beside her heard this, she could not help worrying. “The Blue Luan Fairy must not fall in love with that demon. A mortal lifetime is only sixty years, but demons live long. If she grows feelings there, it could tangle on and on without end. Then Divine Lord Zhiming would not be… would not be made a cuckold…”
When immortal maids from different palaces were free, they always loved gathering to chatter. Today they discussed a red thread tied by the Old Man Under the Moon. Tomorrow they discussed a script written by the Star Lord of Fate. If there was nothing new, they would find something from anywhere under heaven to talk about.
Ciyin passed by carrying a bottle of frost plum. She turned her ear and listened to a few sentences. When one young maid saw her, she quickly tugged the sleeve of the maid beside her and used her eyes to signal the others to shut up.
After a moment of shock, the five young maids hurriedly turned. “Fairy Ciyin…”
“Why did you stop?” Ciyin took a few steps forward and glanced at the maid in pink. “Continue. I also want to hear.”
“Fairy, we…”
Ciyin frowned. “Once the Blue Luan Fairy returns from her tribulation, she will be an upper god. Every immortal official in the heavenly realm, great or small, will have to call her Sovereign Lady. You gossip about her behind her back with such a contemptuous tone. Where did you get the courage?”
In the heavenly realm, who did not know that Ciyin, daughter of the Flower God, had a close private friendship with the Blue Luan Fairy? Now five little immortal maids had talked about the Blue Luan Fairy behind her back and happened to be caught by Ciyin. They shook with fright and did not dare say even half a word more.
Seeing that she had frightened them, Ciyin gritted her teeth and said, “Forget it. This time, I will pretend I heard nothing. Do not do it again.”
The young maids who had done wrong scattered as if fleeing. The immortal bridge that had been lively a moment ago suddenly became empty.
What immortal went through a tribulation for five hundred years and did not return? She must not truly have formed a bond with a demon and become tangled for thousands of years…
Ciyin lowered her head and looked at the snow plums in her hand. She could not help biting her lip, then turned and walked toward Northern Xuan Palace.
No matter how much time passed, Northern Xuan Palace was as cold and quiet as ever.
Everyone in the heavenly realm knew Zhiming’s nature was as cold as thousand-year black ice. He disliked being served most of all. For thousands of years, he had never kept even one immortal maid at his side.
Ciyin placed the snow plums in this quiet Northern Xuan Palace, then formed a seal with both hands and cast a spell. Plum petals scattered around her. When they landed, several new plum trees grew.
At last, she lifted her skirt and followed Zhiming’s spiritual aura, running all the way.
Zhiming sat quietly in a side hall of Northern Xuan Palace. The Reincarnation Mirror, which originally belonged to the Star Lord of Fate, now hung in the air under the control of spiritual power.
Ciyin stood at the door and said softly, “Divine Lord Zhiming, I saw that there were not many flowers here, so I brought several snow plums and planted them outside just now…”
“The Star Lord of Fate’s Reincarnation Mirror can glimpse matters of the human world. Is the Divine Lord caring about Susu?” As Ciyin spoke, she cautiously moved forward. Seeing Zhiming frown but not drive her away, she grew bold and quickly circled behind him, raising her eyes to the mirror.
In the mirror, a woman’s cheeks were slightly red. She wore a pink dress and a fluffy little cape, squatting inside a broken temple. Her hands hugged a small hand warmer, and her eyes were half closed, drowsy.
That familiar face carried a bit of childishness it had not had before.
“This…” Ciyin could not help laughing. She had never seen Yun Su like this: pink, round, and like a child who had not grown up.
Suddenly, a woman in black pushed open the door and woke the girl by the brazier.
She raised her eyes to look at the person entering, and a smile spread through them. “You are back!”
“The spiritual flow nearby feels wrong, but Miss Shen and I searched around and found nothing.”
A trace of blank unease appeared in the girl’s eyes. “Then is it safe or unsafe?”
“Do not be afraid. I am here.” As the woman in black spoke, she sat beside the girl and suddenly closed both hands together, placing them in front of the girl. “I have something for you. Guess what it is.”
The girl poked the back of the woman in black’s hand with one finger and tilted her head. “Is it something tasty?”
The woman in black shook her head and opened her joined palms. In her left palm lay a jade hairpin, blue-green in color and shaped like a tail feather.
The girl reached out to take it, her eyes full of joy. “It is very pretty. When did you buy it?”
“I made it myself!” As the woman in black spoke, a trace of dissatisfaction appeared in her eyes. “I ruined so many pieces of jade before making this one…”
“Little Black, you are amazing. You really can do anything!” The girl quickly leaned forward and kissed the side of her face. Then she lifted the jade hairpin, blinked at the woman, and asked, “Will you put it on me?”
The woman smiled, took the hairpin back, and gently placed it in the girl’s hair.
“Black flood dragon!” Ciyin could not help frowning. She had clearly seen this woman in black before!
Back then, Yun Su had gained the chance to ascend as an upper god because she badly wounded the black flood dragon. Now that she had descended for her tribulation, how had she run into the black flood dragon?
And why were these two so close? These actions, this relationship… no matter how she looked, it was not ordinary.
“How is Susu with her? Is she… is she not…”
Before Ciyin finished speaking, she saw Zhiming raise his hand and brush it over the mirror. The image shifted, replaced by a view looking down at the area around the broken temple.
With Zhiming’s reminder, Ciyin noticed a faint and hard-to-detect flow of spiritual power slowly moving around the broken temple. But its direction seemed completely irregular, making it impossible to understand.
Ciyin hesitated and looked at Zhiming. “This is…”
Zhiming did not speak. His fingertip followed the spiritual flow shown in the mirror and drew a spiritual array outside the Reincarnation Mirror.
“This… this is a killing array!” Ciyin looked at the image appearing on the Reincarnation Mirror and could not help covering her mouth.
“Eighty-one people form the array. Their life souls return to one, completing nine turns of soul destruction. When the power of sunlight fades and the netherworld descends, gods and devils are all killed.” Zhiming said, “This is a devil clan array.”
Those inside the situation were confused, while those outside saw clearly.
People inside the array could not grasp the flow of spiritual power, so it was very hard to notice anything unusual.
Ciyin frowned. “How could there be devils in the human world? Did the seal on the Nai River Spiritual Territory break?”
“Of the eighty-one people, not one is a devil.”
“Not devils. Then… are they Withered Lamp blood slaves?” Ciyin asked worriedly. “What exactly happened? Has the love tribulation turned into a killing tribulation? Divine Lord, this array is extremely powerful. Susu is in danger of having her soul destroyed. Should we go help…”
“Since she is a demon, her fate is no longer managed by the heavenly realm. Whether it is a love tribulation or a killing tribulation, it all lies in one thought of the person passing through it with her. If you or I interfere and disturb cause and effect, this tribulation will no longer count.” After Zhiming finished speaking, he was silent for a long time. Then he closed his eyes and said, “Ciyin, where is the Nether Soul Lamp now?”
“I… I will go get it at once!”
*
The last great snow had already melted. Though the weather was still cold, the new year had brought winter turning toward spring.
The three of them traveled from Fenglu to Qianyang. Along the way, they passed a ruined little temple. After casually cleaning it, they temporarily stopped to rest.
During the day, Qu Linyan faintly sensed an unusual spiritual flow near this village. But after circling around, she discovered nothing strange, and the spiritual flow she had first sensed had vanished who knew where.
The setting sun sank heavily, and night slowly arrived.
Fu Xiaoba had wrapped herself in clothes and fallen asleep, snoring softly. Miss Shen sat on the roof of the broken temple, quietly looking at the distant moon.
Qu Linyan leaned against an osmanthus tree outside the temple. Intentionally or not, she kept glancing at the devil girl on the roof whose real name she still did not know.
All around them was still a quiet scene, but the unease in Qu Linyan’s heart grew stronger and stronger.
She frowned and looked around. She straightened, and the instant she raised her eyes, she met Miss Shen’s gaze.
Seeing Qu Linyan’s worried expression, Miss Shen quickly rose, leaped down from the temple roof, and walked to her. “What is wrong?”
“Something is wrong.” Qu Linyan hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth. “We need to leave. Now.”
Doubt appeared in Miss Shen’s eyes. She looked around and still found nothing unusual. But Qu Linyan had already walked into the broken temple and woken Fu Xiaoba, who was sleeping soundly.
Fu Xiaoba struggled to open one eye and rubbed the other eye that would not open. She gave a heavy yawn.
“Xiaoba, let us rest somewhere else. Tonight, we will travel first.” Qu Linyan took Fu Xiaoba’s hand and led her outside.
“All right…” Fu Xiaoba answered softly. Her mind was not awake at all, but she still followed Qu Linyan out.
But the moment she stepped out of the temple and opened her eyes, everything before her turned strange.
“The moon… why is it this color?” Fu Xiaoba raised her eyes and shivered as she looked at Qu Linyan.
The moon in the sky was full, but at some unknown time, it had become blood red. It was like a blood pool in hell, as if it wanted to slowly swallow heaven and earth.
The surroundings, which had been completely normal a moment ago, were now wrapped in layers of dark red mist. Within the mist, clusters of ghostly blue flames faintly burned.
It was silent, so silent that not even wind could be heard. Everything was strange and wrong.
No wonder Qu Linyan had not sensed much in the daytime. When the power of sunlight was strongest, netherworld power was extremely weak. Add to that the special array and its wide range. Without seeing the whole thing, it was basically impossible to discover the array’s existence.
Qu Linyan turned her hand and protected Fu Xiaoba behind her. Her gaze swept toward Miss Shen. “Devil clan array?”
Miss Shen thought for a moment. “The Withered Lamp clan’s Nine-Turn Soul-Destroying Array.”
“That sounds rather frightening.” Qu Linyan took a deep breath and asked, “How do we break it?”
“I do not know,” Miss Shen answered cleanly.
Qu Linyan rolled her eyes. The Cloud-Tangling maces appeared in her palms, and icy killing intent rose in her eyes.
“If you do not know, then we kill every person who set the array.”