Around the astronomical dragon were two horse-like creatures, each with a long, pointed horn and manes of golden fire. Fish scales glinted across the qilins’ bodies, and, with a flop, came a tail, much like a lion’s. Following the creatures were the servants, who had accompanied Wei Sheng. They bowed their heads alongside the large, magnificent white carriage of streaming curtains, bells, and lucent jewels.

Small, white flowers soon fluttered down, spinning gently like little dancing fairies.

While trembling in fear, the kowtowing people felt the cool breeze that followed the crowd of Heaven Immortal servants as they quietly loomed over the hunched backs.

Ah, who would have expected that the dragon would stop before a tall pillar that holds three cultivators?

As more Heaven Immortal servants descended from the heavens, several demonic cultivators, from afar, abruptly emanated in front of their veiled leader. “We will protect you, Your Highness!”

Though shaking, the men and woman in their red-splattered robes gathered around with their glinting weapons.

“Don’t!” hissed the wicked Immortal, flicking his long, wide sleeve. “Just scram while you all can! The Heaven realm has come for me, and you will need to gather additional forces during this vulnerable one’s absence!”

“And souls?”

“Well, this vulnerable one didn’t anticipate for Him to be here—so, of course!”

The people seemed confused and turned to ask for more information. However, before they could speak again, various enormous black magical circles manifested from beneath the other surviving demonic cultivators. In a single blink, all the subordinates vanished altogether with the dark mists.

A long shadow cloaked over the villain, who sighed and slowly rose to his feet. He looked over the red ribbons that wrapped around his upper body, his arms even. Without glancing up, the Heaven Immortal rotated to meet the figure and snorted.

“Big bro—”

His face met the ground. His cheek was burning unbearably hot. A warm red line of liquid came from his mouth; yet the culprit only snickered from the punch.

“Are you mad?” asked the wicked person, looking smug.

“Bing Wen!” Grabbing onto the warrior god, Wei Sheng whispered, “St-Stop!” Shoved off to the side, the man shook his head and tucked back his red hair, maintaining his flawless appearance. “Aiya, you…”

A few servants, hearing the struggle, darted over and yanked hold of Bing Wen’s muscular arms and—even his legs. “Stand down! Stand down!”

As the other Heaven Immortals helped the villain stand up, he apathetically stated, “If you’re going to ask me about intentions, wait for the results.” His words were so faint, that only Bing Wen caught them. “I wanted to confirm everything for myself.” No shred of remorse could be felt. “She…finally paid attention to me.”

Bing Wen stepped back.

His reaction was noticed by Mei Ying, who was quite far away. However, she was able to detect the figures from the sky-high pillar, moving and making wild gestures down below. As compared to a god though, the mortal huntress had countless physical limits.

With the same low intonation, the culprit smirked at Bing Wen. “I got to hear her voice, talk to her, and…even got a good read on her soul.” There was a sigh. “Having these wishes granted only encourages me to keep living. If only her flower storm was closer, I would’ve gathered them all and preserve their beaut—”

“Take him away.”

The other person turned around and distanced himself from the lunatic. With grave expressions, the Heaven Immortal servants nodded. They escorted the bounded villain to the white carriage that was pulled by the two qilin creatures.

Bing Wen added, “This needs to be further investigated, unfortunately.”

Wei Sheng walked over and grabbed the warrior god’s arm. He wanted to slap his friend silly. “Are you seriously listening to his crazy talk? You’re really all brawn and no brains then!”

As though the God of Fate was right, the villain was heard laughing, like a raving mad man, inside the vehicle. “Haha! She is still very beautiful…”

“If he’s lost his mind, then, how did he get into your study room? The enchanted lock is always changed out every day.” Folding his arms, Bing Wen cursed under his breath. “I suspect that someone helped set him up.” Turning to Wei Sheng, the man continued, “Their goal was to probably have him read Mei Ying’s scroll of fate and confirm her identity… Was it really a coincidence that they waited all these centuries until now?”

Hearing this, the God of Fate fixed the crookedness of his lapels and sash. It did not look much different than before since the attire had always been clean and crisp.

“Well, this one will leave everything to the great Guan Di, then.” Wei Sheng casted his golden eyes to the ground as the free-flowing air around him dissolved. “After today, this one will be out of commission.”

“What will the Immortals and other gods think when their Si Ming is charged with theft, the act of concealing evidence, intentional deceit, and unlawful descent and interference with fate?” asked Bing Wen. “Sounds like at least five hundred years for you—and perhaps, three hundred for me.”

“Si Ming didn’t even interfere with fate at all.” Feeling the accusatory look, Wei Sheng laughed nervously. “So, alright, I was a bit short on my calculations about the other humans…” He absentmindedly scratched his head. Ah, the recently deceased were more likely to die in the later disasters. “…and maybe the only one I cared about was her."

The god's smile quickly faded away. “But...being born into the Song clan, Mei Ying was always in a financial dilemma. According to her scroll of fate, she was destined to enter the Jin Sword sect's Tian Shan Feng tournament after hearing about it from some traveler on that same day, ah.”

Wei Sheng raised his eyes to the astronomical divine creature hovering before the young, naïve huntress.

Behind Mei Ying, he spotted the smiling Jian Yu and his apprehensive servant standing nearby.

Playing with the end of a few long, red hair strands, Wei Sheng murmured, “Well, I…did make the events more interesting.”

All the while, the Spring God was encircled by untold masses of righteous cultivators. The dragon himself had a white snake-like body, speckled with sparse turquoise scales. He was still so titanic, that the rest coiled out and around the place’s perimeter, rather securely. However, the dragon’s mountainous size had shrunk enough to not blot out the picturesque blue skies and sparkling sun.

As white flowers decorated his huge stag-like horns, the Spring God locked eyes with the white-robed huntress. With his scaled snout a foot away from Mei Ying, he examined the tiny red birthmark, shaped like the chrysanthemum, on her white pearly forehead. He then flickered his attention to Jian Yu and Xiao Li, both flanking the petite cultivator from either side.

Mei Ying.

At this moment, Mei Ying stiffened. The calm, deep voice had somehow linked into her spiritual communication channel. Normally, it was invasive for someone to barge into another’s headspace without permission. But the huntress felt oddly at ease whereas the two young men by her side—were ready to strike at any time, despite putting away their weapons.

Though she was sweating a little, Mei Ying answered, Yes, Spring God?

Unexpectedly, the pupils of the enormous dragon shrank. A slight gasp seemed to escape him as the surrounding cultivators, with heads resting on the ground, murmured their curiosities.

Only the Spring God and Mei Ying could hear each other’s thoughts.

The divine creature smiled serenely. The tensed, solemn expression melted away, by and by. This one…is amazed that our connection has not been severed over the past several centuries. You do not remember but your soul says otherwise. It is proof that you are indeed…her seventh incarnation.

Gradually, the stunning dragon scanned over the snow-white scabbard by Mei Ying’s side—and the ash-black one on Jian Yu’s. So, it was true about the Dragon Hero sword. He glanced back at Jian Yu and Xiao Li once more. Zhenyi husan.

Immediately, everything and everyone around Mei Ying and her friends became frozen in time and unable to make a sound. The hundreds and hundreds of righteous cultivators remained afraid, refusing to look up. Even those who were former ‘walking corpses’, about to get up and ready, were stuck in motion. Their eyes were no longer devoid of light. Their skin was more flushed and livelier.

Upon closer inspection, Kong and the other Song cultivators were among those who received their missing souls. Even Nian Zu, Mei Ying’s other senior hunter friend and Li Qin’s shixiong, was watching from the seats overhead, having risen from his deathlike state. All activities ceased.

The spiritual communication channel stopped.

A swirl of wind blew by, raining more white flowers and green leaves upon the dragon. There was a sparkling light that overtook the entire stadium. After Mei Ying lowered the wide sleeve from protecting her eyes—a tall, middle-aged man was there, floating in the air instead of the divine beast.

Draped in a long, ornate turquoise outer robe, the fair person wore silver earrings that dangled elegantly from his earlobes. A pair of white stag-like horns rose from his forehead, with one per corner. His long, straight hair was white as pearls and sheeny like silk. He was at least a head taller than Jian Yu. At large, the god himself was unbelievably striking in his human form.

A few Heaven Immortal servants drifted around the man, whispering a few words to him.

The Spring God nodded. "Take the prisoner to the Pearl Lotus Palace, and report to His Highness.”

“Yes, Prince Qing Di.”

Mei Ying saw that Qing Di’s eyes flitted across the tremendous distance to Bing Wen and Wei Sheng, both of whom cupped their hands. He returned the gesture. Within seconds, a multitude of golden magical circles manifested under all the surrounding Heaven Immortal servants, the gods, and the vehicle. They disappeared.

Prince? The huntress was puzzled.

Prince Qing Di, the current Spring God, is the son of the former dragon king, whose father and nation was defeated in war by the late Heavenly Emperor. Jian Yu answered his friend’s question. After that, the crown dragon prince, Qing Di, and his brother were granted permission to resume the use of their royal titles. The dragon nation assimilated into the ways of the Heaven realm. Qing Di was then given the seat of Spring God, but that happened a long, long time ago.

Mei Ying looked back over her shoulder. Jian Yu had averted his gaze elsewhere. A corner of his red lips slipped upward into a grin. The young woman then returned her attention to Qing Di.

“Being ten thousand years older than Guan Di and Si Ming, ascending to the Heaven realm gets easier when you don’t need the incantation.” The Spring God smiled kindly upon the awestruck huntress. He broke eye contact and sighed. “This one apologizes for the horrible mess. These gods are still young, but they both know what awaits their arrival in the Heaven realm.”

“Spring God has not wronged anyone.” Sinking down, Mei Ying was ready to kowtow in demonstrating her profound respect. “This—”

“No.” Motioning her to remain standing, Qing Di chuckled. “No need, Mei Ying.” His way of addressing the mortal was almost familial.

Once more—the polite man turned to Jian Yu and Xiao Li. He quietly studied the two, lowered his gaze, and flicked his bright green eyes back at the huntress.

This is the third time that he keeps staring at them. Suddenly, a cold rush blanketed the young woman’s spine. Though the person appeared to mean well, she was unsure if he would be good to her friends. Despite Mei Ying feeling a connection with the deity, she did not know what he wanted…yet.

“To start, this one is the Spring God, Qing Di, one of the dragons who serve the current Heavenly Emperor and the court. It is an honor to finally meet the Child of Red Omen, who is said to end the divine war of our Three Realms.” Qing Di paused shortly, then, inquired, “But, if I may, what is your relationship to these two young men?”

The curiosity was jarring. The strain between the two parties grew.

“Ah, they are my shidis.” Mei Ying felt the lie roll off her tongue. She steadied her pounding heartbeats and maintained her smile. Her hands were warm. “As their shijie, if they had offended you in any way, please forgive them. They, like myself and the other Song cultivators, are not quite familiar with the cultural customs and etiquettes of the main cultivation world.”

“They…did no such thing. Do not worry.” Qing Di was careful and slow with his words, causing the huntress to sense a dismal matter. “However…it pains this one to present a proposition to the courageous shijie, then.”

As the sentence left the Spring God’s mouth, the young woman felt the atmosphere shift into a wintry, dark one that brought goosebumps along her arms. Isn’t it enough that First Judge, from the Netherworld, offered a daunting deal with her?

Even when Mei Ying kept her hands to the side, they would not stop trembling. Her feet were rooted to where she stood, facing the smiling god.

She now understood that Qing Di froze time to greatly diminish the number of witnesses.

Jian Yu’s crimson sleeve brushed softly against the young woman’s robe. No, Mei Ying would be alright.

Qing Di continued, “Song Mei Ying, as you may or may not know, you were once a Heaven Immortal, born to the Heaven realm, and given a curse for defying the former Heavenly Emperor through treason.”

“To summarize…” Noting that he had gained Mei Ying’s attention, the man watched her eyebrows furrow. “Your association with a young mortal had conflicted with His Highness’ interests and contributed to a series of disasters on the Mortal realm, even after your exile. To preserve law and order, your powers as an Immortal was sealed, your soul was branded with a nearly eight-hundred-year-old curse mark, and your lifespan for each reincarnation was immensely reduced.”

A young mortal? Mei Ying considered this. I wonder...

The Spring God went on, “You were afflicted with various horrendous conditions in your short lifespan and met each end with a tragedy. With Heaven’s Curse, you will always reincarnate as a mortal and never live past a certain point. You will always be betrayed—you will always suffer—and you will always die a brutal death.”

Qing Di’s soft expression did not change as he spoke, “These are the results of your treasonous actions and your unwillingness to repent when asked kindly by the former Heavenly Emperor.”

Not knowing how to feel, Mei Ying’s breaths quavered. She blinked a few times and looked down at her feet.

A strange numbness came over her.

“May I know…the age of my end?” asked the young woman. Somehow, her friends from either side—seemed eerily silent.

“Twenty.”

Huh? Mei Ying met Qing Di’s gleaming green eyes. For a moment, she thought that she had heard wrong.

“You will never live past the age of twenty.” answered the other. As the huntress attempted to process the god's response—he kept going, “Recognizing your accumulated good karma in terms of your benevolence towards mortals and those who bore ill will, the Heaven realm itself eventually overrode His Highness’ curse.”

The Spring God extended a hand for Mei Ying. “It granted you a chance to redeem yourself as the Red Omen prophecy’s ‘chosen one.’”

It is an ultimatum.

Qing Di added, “It is why this one is proposing that…you ascend to the Heaven realm with me now. Leave your shidis behind, detach yourself from the Mortal realm, and forget your troubles. Do that, and we can also help you prevent the prophecy from fulfilling itself.”

The only other option would be death.

Mei Ying curled a hand up into a tight fist by her side. They know that I do not remember anything.

All humans fear the end.

That, including Song Mei Ying.

The cultivator is only twenty years-old, and to be told that she will not live past twenty unless she accompanies the Spring God…is not a bad offer at all. To the people who follow the Heaven realm’s path of Immortality, it would be perceived as an act of mercy.

Lest the child of Red Omen

ascends time of great dire,

keep a promise and cut the clash.

Well, the literal key word in the prophecy’s last half is ‘ascends.’ It is also a ‘time of great dire.’

But what is the ‘promise’? Mei Ying pondered on this to herself. For enigmatic reasons—her intuition screamed that she should not move forward at all. She was wary of the Heaven realm, a place that no mortal has ever been to or returned from to tell the tale.

There must be a reason…why her first incarnation chose to be cast out of there.

There must be a reason why the former chose to live as a mortal.

There must be a reason why the first Mei Ying chose death over Immortality.

Why else did the Heaven Immortal refuse to repent for her crime?

If only the huntress can remember...