Exciting News – I'm Translating Again! 🎉

Hey everyone! I'm happy to announce that I'll be translating again! However, I won't be releasing as many chapters as before. As much as I love bringing these stories to you all, I also have a life and other responsibilities I need to focus on.

That said, if you'd like to support me and help me stay motivated to translate more, please check out my Etsy shop AdorableThingsByNoen! 💕 Your support—whether it's a purchase or just following my shop—means the world to me. Plus, I'll be adding new merch soon, so following will keep you updated on the latest drops!

If you can't buy anything, I totally understand! Just knowing you're here, reading and enjoying my translations, is already amazing. But if you can spread the word or follow my shop, that would be a huge help!

Thanks for all the love and support! Let's enjoy these stories together. 💖✨

______

Lu Qiao's small mouth kept running nonstop, but she didn't manage to explain why she absolutely had to follow Zhang Yiyi.

What made Zhang Yiyi both exasperated and amused was that her opinion on the matter seemed to hold no weight at all—this girl had latched onto her like a shameless rogue. No matter where she went, Lu Qiao followed, sticking to her like glue.

Judging by her persistence, she wasn't just joking.

"How long do you plan on following me?" Even after disembarking from the flying boat, Lu Qiao remained stubbornly attached.

Whenever Zhang Yiyi walked, she walked. Whenever Zhang Yiyi stopped, she stopped.

Her determination was unwavering.

"It's fine. You walk your way, and I'll walk mine. It's not like I'll be bothering you."

Lu Qiao deliberately feigned ignorance and even increased the distance between them a little, as if that alone would make her presence less intrusive.

After all, no one had said she wasn't allowed to walk on this road, right?

And if there was one thing she excelled at, it was being thick-skinned.

"You're saying you won't bother me? But you following me like this is making me very unhappy!" Zhang Yiyi came to a stop, her patience nearly exhausted by this clingy girl.

"If you keep following me, I'll kill you!"

"No, you won't."

Lu Qiao remained completely unfazed by the threat, her face filled with conviction.

"You can't fool me. Killing without reason would harm your Dao heart. You're not the kind of person who would do something so foolish."

"Heh."

Zhang Yiyi let out a dry laugh.

"Fine, I won't kill you. But I can definitely hurt you."

"Breaking your limbs won't count as murder, nor will it bring any karmic consequences. Will you still follow me then?"

"Oh no, please don't!"

Lu Qiao instinctively took a few steps back, patting her chest in mock fear.

But then, she quickly resumed her persistent stance.

"You really can't hurt me. There's a great karmic bond between us. That's why I must follow you."

She softened her tone, finally revealing a tiny fraction of the truth.

Otherwise, she wasn't crazy enough to cling to another girl like this.

After all, she had always preferred men.

Exclusively and without exception.

"What karmic bond?" Zhang Yiyi narrowed her eyes, clearly not believing a single word.

A so-called great karmic bond?

A mutual benefit for both of them?

The more Zhang Yiyi looked at Lu Qiao, the more annoyed she felt.

At first, she had found Lu Qiao rather amusing back in the secret realm.

Now, she simply found her insufferable.

"I can't explain it clearly, but my grandfather said that only you can take me out of this world." Lu Qiao's voice turned serious, transmitting her words directly into Zhang Yiyi's mind.

Her grandfather had strictly forbidden her from revealing this information.

But Zhang Yiyi was too difficult to persuade.

If she didn't say something convincing, she had no doubt that Zhang Yiyi would find a way to get rid of her.

"Leave this world? Why? And who is your grandfather?" Zhang Yiyi also responded via transmitted voice, though her tone was now much sharper.

"Explain yourself. If I don't get a reasonable answer, I have a hundred ways to make your life miserable."

Not kill—just make her live in utter torment.

It was a genuine threat, not an idle one.

Lu Qiao had appeared too suddenly, her actions too suspicious.

Even mentioning something as extreme as leaving this world was alarming.

If she couldn't provide a satisfactory explanation, Zhang Yiyi wouldn't hesitate to remove her as a potential threat.

"So if I explain clearly, you'll agree to let me follow you?" Lu Qiao hesitated, weighing her options.

Her grandfather had already passed away, probably reincarnated by now.

Even if she spoke about his predictions, it wasn't as if she'd be breaking a promise anymore.

Besides, since she was destined to stay by Zhang Yiyi's side anyway, it made little difference whether she revealed the truth now or later.

Yes, yes, this logic makes perfect sense.

Grandfather would surely understand.

"That depends on whether your explanation is real or fabricated." Zhang Yiyi's gaze bore into her, watching for even the slightest flicker of deception.

"Alright, I'll tell you in advance." Lu Qiao took a deep breath and finally began her explanation.

"My grandfather was the greatest celestial diviner of this world. When I was born, he foresaw that I possess the 'Heaven-Blessed Fate' and that I am destined to ascend to immortality."

Even though she was using transmitted voice, she subconsciously lowered her volume.

"You must understand—my grandfather has never been wrong. Ever. My ascension is certain."

"However, he also said that something is wrong with this world."

"The path to ascension has long been severed."

"If I want to ascend, I must first leave this world and enter another realm where ascension is still possible."

"And you—" Lu Qiao's voice softened, "—are the person he divined as my 'Destined Guide.'"

"As long as I follow you, I will eventually leave this world."

"..." Hearing this, Zhang Yiyi's expression grew unreadable.

Heaven-Blessed Fate?

Destined Guide?

What kind of nonsense was this?

So this girl had latched onto her just because her grandfather did a divination?

True or false, Zhang Yiyi had no obligation to be anyone's guide.

Besides—if not for the Zhanying Platform's key, even she would have been trapped in this world forever.

She didn't have the power to leave at will, let alone bring someone else along.

"You've got the wrong person. I don't have that kind of ability." After a moment's silence, Zhang Yiyi rejected her outright.

"Your grandfather must have been joking with you. Wake up—unless you find a literal deity, no one can help you. Following me is a waste of time."

"No, no, don't say that!"

Lu Qiao panicked, blocking Zhang Yiyi's path.

"My grandfather would never joke about something so serious! And he has never made a mistake before. I am destined to ascend, and you are definitely my guide!"

"I've been looking for you for a long time!"

Seeing Zhang Yiyi's complete lack of belief, Lu Qiao blurted out even more.

"I know who you are. You're the one who impersonated that dead guest cultivator in the Tang Family's Secret Realm and left abruptly. I lost track of you for half a year before I finally found you again!"

She hurriedly added, "Also, my grandfather taught me a special method to recognize you! Your aura is different from this world's inhabitants."

"So no matter what, I am certain—you are the right person."

"..." Zhang Yiyi felt a headache coming on.

Fated bonds? Karmic ties? And she couldn't shake Lu Qiao off?

The way she said it made it sound like Zhang Yiyi was some heartless scumbag abandoning a lover.

"Fine! Follow me if you want—but if you interfere with me in any way, I'll throw you off immediately!"

Seeing that Zhang Yiyi had finally relented, Lu Qiao beamed with satisfaction.

"Hey! You still haven't told me your name! Since we're going to be together from now on, I can't just keep calling you 'hey, hey, hey.' That would be rude, wouldn't it?" "Call me 'Big Sis.'"

"That won't do. You're not older than me, so how could you be my big sister? You should be my little sister instead."

"..."

"So, little sis, where are we going now?"

"..."

"Hey, don't ignore me! We're going to be together all the time from now on. It's better to discuss things openly, don't you think?"

"Shut up! If you keep chattering, I'll forbid you from following me!"

Zhang Yiyi finally lost her patience and shot Lu Qiao a warning glare.

This girl talked too much.

She wasn't sure anymore if letting Lu Qiao follow her had been a moment of kindness or a complete mistake.

Lu Qiao's personality was the exact opposite of Luo Qiheng's—if the two of them balanced each other out, they'd probably make the perfect combination.

"..."

Lu Qiao, sensing that she had hit a sore spot, immediately clamped her mouth shut and didn't dare say another word.

She had finally managed to stick to Zhang Yiyi openly.

There was no way she was going to ruin things by being too talkative.

Now that the surroundings were finally quiet, Zhang Yiyi wasted no more time and headed straight for her destination.

Bafang Town – Chen Family Village

The village was deathly silent.

A once-thriving community of thousands now stood completely abandoned—nothing remained but lifeless houses and deserted courtyards.

There wasn't a single soul in sight.

Not even livestock.

The Chen Family was a vassal of the Wang Family, and Chen Family Village was their ancestral home.

One day ago, the Wang Family had received an urgent distress signal from the Chen Family.

They claimed that a monster had appeared in the nearby mountains—one that came and went without a trace, abducting numerous clan members whose fates remained unknown.

The Chen Family had no way of dealing with it.

To prevent further disappearances, they had no choice but to seek aid from the Wang Family, hoping they would dispatch high-level cultivators to eliminate the creature and rescue their kin.

However, the Chen Family Village was incredibly far from the Wang Family estate.

And since this was only a one-sided account, the Wang Family couldn't be sure if the situation was as serious as claimed.

Instead of immediately sending elite cultivators, they chose to send messages to Wang Family disciples and guest cultivators in the field.

Whoever was closest was instructed to go investigate first.

If the situation was manageable, they would handle it immediately. If it proved too dangerous, they would send a message back so that high-level cultivators could be dispatched.

By the time Zhang Yiyi arrived at the village, the situation was far worse than expected.

Not a single person was left.

"What are we doing here? There's no one around."

Lu Qiao stared at the empty village, an unsettling chill creeping up her spine.

The sun was about to set, and the eerie atmosphere made her uneasy.

She suddenly felt an urge to leave as quickly as possible.

"I don't know. Let's go inside and take a look."

Zhang Yiyi strode forward without hesitation.

The stone-paved paths stretched into every household, unnervingly clean—as if no one had ever lived here.

Lu Qiao hesitated.

She didn't want to go in.

But seeing Zhang Yiyi inspecting each house one by one, she had no choice but to follow.

"Huh? Why does every house have meals set out on the tables?"

After a while, Lu Qiao moved even closer to Zhang Yiyi.

The dishes on the tables looked freshly prepared, as if the residents had just finished cooking and were about to sit down to eat.

Yet something must have happened.

They had vanished before they could take even a single bite.

Zhang Yiyi had noticed this as well.

But she had observed something even stranger.

The food was completely ordinary—the kind of meals mortals would eat. There was no trace of spiritual energy in any of it. The animal pens were still filled with livestock feed, but there were no animals in sight. Everything here was real—not an illusion.

And that made it even more unsettling.

Although Chen Family Village was merely a small affiliated clan, not every single resident should have been an ordinary human.

At the very least, some should have been cultivators.

Yet, every single person was gone.

"Look, over there! Isn't that a child?" Suddenly, Lu Qiao excitedly tugged at Zhang Yiyi's sleeve and pointed toward a large locust tree in the distance.

Zhang Yiyi followed her gaze.

Sure enough, a small round head peeked out from behind the tree, watching them timidly with wide, fearful eyes.

"Don't go over there!" The moment Lu Qiao stepped forward, Zhang Yiyi grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

Her expression darkened instantly.