Chapter 11: Die Again

The Celestial Realm.

Changbai Palace.

Auspicious clouds drifted like sheer veils, occasionally pierced by the resonant cries of cranes that echoed through the Nine Heavens.

Suhei sat cross-legged upon a slab of ice-jade, his immortal bearing transcendent. His silver hair cascaded over his shoulders, as if stirred by a gentle breeze.

A streak of light, tinged with a black so faint it was nearly transparent, pierced through the layers of auspicious clouds, skimmed past the wings of the cranes, and shot straight into the hall, embedding itself into Suhei’s body.

The moment the light entered his mind, Suhei’s brows furrowed tightly, his expression twisting in pain.

Suhei was the most emotionless and desireless deity in the Nine Heavens, his cultivation so refined that not a speck of worldly dust could cling to his heart.

Ordinary suffering—like dismemberment or heart-piercing agony—could not so much as wrinkle his brow.

If even a flicker of pain showed on his face, it would be equivalent to the torment of an ordinary mortal enduring the eighteen layers of hell.

After a long while, the pain gradually faded from Suhei’s expression, and he returned to his usual detached and indifferent demeanor, as though nothing in the world could move him. His clear eyes held only pity for all living beings.

“Immortal Venerable! I’m back!” Yao Zuizui’s lively voice rang through the hall before she even stepped inside.

That Yao Zuizui adored the Immortal Venerable was a fact known to every deity in the Celestial Realm.

“Immortal Venerable! Immortal Venerable!” Yao Zuizui dashed into the hall, her delicate face alight with a radiant smile, more enchanting than the celestial flowers of the Nine Heavens.

She wore an embroidered pale green gown adorned with flying blossoms, its hem swaying gracefully with her movements. Stitched onto the fabric were several cranes that seemed ready to take flight as she walked.

At this moment, Yao Zuizui was nothing like the fairy tale version of herself.

In the fairy tales, she was weary, lazy, her thoughts drifting far beyond the Nine Heavens.

But now, she was vibrant, lively, her heart and eyes filled with nothing but the Immortal Venerable before her.

The Immortal Venerable was truly a figure like a banished immortal—no matter how one looked at him, from any angle, he was so breathtaking that even gazing upon him felt like a desecration.

But… she still loved looking. Even if she tainted him, it didn’t matter—she would take responsibility for him!

“Immortal Venerable! I’m back!” Yao Zuizui rushed to his side with the speed of a little monkey, bouncing excitedly, utterly devoid of the grace and elegance befitting a celestial maiden.

“Hm.” A flicker of distraction passed through Suhei’s silver eyes, and he nearly reached out to ruffle her hair.

He closed his eyes, circulating his spiritual energy through a full cycle within his body, suppressing the strange disturbance inside.

When he opened his eyes again, they were clear and emotionless, distant and cold.

Yao Zuizui, meanwhile, stood patiently beside him, waiting.

But the temperature in Changbai Palace was so comfortable, and the spiritual energy seeped into her skin so soothingly, that she simply stood there and fell asleep.

Still so fond of sleeping.

The thought surfaced in Suhei’s mind unbidden.

He frowned slightly, closed his eyes again, and resumed circulating his spiritual energy.

Only when he was certain that all irrelevant and chaotic emotions had been thoroughly dissolved did he open his eyes once more.

By then, Yao Zuizui had already woken up.

She was staring at him with wide, sparkling eyes, unblinking, like a cat eyeing a fish or a dog fixated on a bone.

Suhei had never once seen her display anything resembling shyness.

Never mind. Suhei lowered his gaze. His soul was unstable, and he couldn’t afford to meet her gaze for too long.

Suhei spoke softly, “You did well this time.”

“Hehe, thank you for the praise, Immortal Venerable! For the sake of world peace, I, Yao Zuizui, was willing to risk my life, outwitting the Great Demon King until he vanished into the void!” Yao Zuizui clenched her fists proudly, lifting her chin with satisfaction.

At her words, Suhei closed his eyes again, his brows knitting tightly.

“Immortal Venerable, what’s wrong?” Yao Zuizui had never seen him frown so many times before. Had she not done well enough? Was he displeased?

But she was hardly the only one who felt unworthy, reduced to dust in his presence.

Suhei shook his head, suppressing the pain as he forced his expression into neutrality. “It’s nothing. If you’re willing to continue, after you return from the next realm, I will take you as my disciple.”

“Really?!” Yao Zuizui’s entire face blossomed with joy.

The Immortal Venerable had finally relented! He was finally willing to accept her as his disciple!

This had been her greatest wish all along!

Because during her idle moments in the Celestial Realm, she had read many mortal-world storybooks—most of them about the Immortal Venerable and his disciples.

So, she had always wanted to become his disciple. That way, there would be so many stories to tell.

Anticipation and excitement, nervousness and exhilaration.

Yao Zuizui didn’t have time to think too much, nor did she ask the Immortal Venerable what was truly wrong. Without a backward glance, she dashed off, not even bothering to return to her own palace to rest.

“Immortal Venerable! I’m off to the next realm now! Wait for me—I’ll be back to become your disciple!” Her cheerful voice faded into the cool air of Changbai Palace.

Suhei remained unmoved, sitting still, the faintest trace of a smile—so subtle it was nearly imperceptible—curving his lips.

——————

——————

**[Second Realm – Murdering the Younger Brother]**

Yao Zuizui woke groggily, her mind blank.

Her throat and nose felt stuffed with thick cotton.

Her lungs, meanwhile, were as though gripped by an invisible hand, ruthlessly squeezing out what little air remained.

She gasped desperately, her chest heaving like a broken bellows.

In the darkness, she heard a cold, ghostly voice, like a devil emerging from the abyss—merciless, cruel, and brimming with killing intent.

“Weren’t you already dead?”

Yao Zuizui coughed weakly, turning toward the voice. In the darkness, a pair of gleaming eyes stared back at her.

Though they held light, those eyes were darker than the void itself.

This was Suhei.

Yao Zuizui’s pupils contracted. The murderous intent in Suhei’s gaze was unmistakable.

He wanted to kill her—without hesitation, without mercy, without a shred of remorse.

Yao Zuizui quickly began absorbing the memories of the original body in this realm.

Meanwhile, in the darkness, Suhei stood and slowly approached her.

Step by step.

Inch by inch.

His eyes burned with bloodlust, mixed with boundless jealousy and hatred, surging toward her.

The person lying on the bed, barely clinging to life, was his younger brother.

He had already killed him once—his breath had stopped, his heart had ceased.

Yet here he was, alive again.

Then let him die once more!

No—if possible, he wished he could kill him a thousand, ten thousand times!

Not even that would lessen his jealousy by a fraction.

My dear younger brother…

How does it feel to suffocate?

Do you know that this feeling has haunted me since the day you were born? Like a venomous serpent gnawing at my heart—while you…

You knew nothing!

Suhei’s eyes were wild with madness and resentment. He grabbed a pillow and pressed it down with brutal force.

End it.

Everything should end!

……

Yao Zuizui wanted to dodge, but her fingers wouldn’t obey.

Suhei had drugged her—she couldn’t move at all!

The pillow smothered her face, cutting off the scant oxygen she had managed to inhale.

She began suffocating, the heat in her body twisting like a knife, tearing her apart from within.

She had already absorbed all of the original body’s memories and fully understood the situation in this realm.

Just five seconds before she possessed this body, the original owner—Zhai Zuozuo—had been murdered exactly like this by the Great Demon King.

In this realm, the Great Demon King was named Zhai Mo, the older brother of Zhai Zuozuo.

Yet he had committed the unspeakable act of killing his own sibling.

Zhai Zuozuo and Zhai Mo were not blood-related; they were stepbrothers from a blended family.

After Zhai Mo’s mother passed away, his father married Zhai Zuozuo’s mother.

The Zhai family was wealthy—a powerful, aristocratic clan with riches rivaling nations.

The conflicts of the rich, when they erupted, were often terrifying.

And Zhai Zuozuo had become the sacrificial lamb.

Because his older brother envied everything he had, coveted everything he possessed.

So, in a moment of madness, he had killed him.

What Yao Zuizui found even more absurd was that Zhai Zuozuo had actually been in love with Zhai Mo.

Not because he liked men.

But because Zhai Zuozuo was a woman.

This secret was known only to Zhai Zuozuo and her mother.

In Zhai Zuozuo’s memories, there was no explanation for why she had disguised herself as a man.

Only piles upon piles of memories about Zhai Mo.

Zhai Mo liked black.

Zhai Mo liked oolong tea.

Zhai Mo liked going out in the rain.

Zhai Mo liked solitude.

Zhai Mo didn’t like smiling, didn’t like talking.

Zhai Mo disliked noise, disliked the disputes of the business world.

Zhai Mo never laughed, was always cold—he must be in desperate need of warmth.

Zhai Mo…

Zhai Mo, Zhai Mo, it was always Zhai Mo.

Zhai Zuozuo had observed his every move with painstaking care, practicing her smiles in the mirror for hours just to show him her best self, wanting to give him everything she had.

Yet she never imagined that the brother she adored so much would, without hesitation or remorse, kill her like this.

Who knew what her final thoughts had been in her last moments?

Yao Zuizui had no time to pity Zhai Zuozuo—she only knew she was on the brink of death.

If she didn’t do something, she would be forced out of this realm in seconds.

But her limbs were paralyzed, her face crushed beneath the pillow, unable to speak.

How could she save herself?

**Author’s Note:**

Zhai Mo. His personality is very dark.

But this realm will be super sweet! Hahaha!