Chapter 10:

When entering White Deer Valley, Lin Jiujiu had been hesitating. Gazing at the dense fog shrouding the valley, she recalled Lin Shen’s words in her mind.

“My child, you were born frail, beyond the reach of medicine. Back then, I personally traveled to Taisu Valley to beg the master physician Cangwu to save your life. Though your life was spared, your meridians remain blocked, and your qi cannot circulate freely. Even with miraculous elixirs, you can only live for a hundred years.”

Thinking of this, Lin Jiujiu clenched her handkerchief tightly. Though she was known as a beauty in Taichu Sect, she knew that in the eyes of those elite disciples, she was nothing.

Unable to cultivate meant she was trash. Even as the daughter of an elder, she was barred from participating in many Taichu Sect affairs.

Eldest Senior Brother…

Lin Jiujiu bit her lip lightly. She wanted to be with Eldest Senior Brother, but with her condition, not only was being together impossible, even in daily encounters, Du Yizhou wouldn’t spare her a second glance.

After being reborn and distancing herself from Liu Junzhuo, Lin Jiujiu developed a new longing—she wanted to cultivate, just like the other Taichu Sect disciples, clad in robes of power and wielding treasures.

But with her constitution, she couldn’t even perform the most basic act of drawing qi into her body.

Unless she found another path, another method to attain longevity.

Like Xue Ying, who drank the blood of others to transform her body.

But Lin Jiujiu had no intention of seeking out the Demon Lord Shen Jin. Setting aside Shen Jin’s actions in her past life, even in this life, she wouldn’t go to him.

That man who had bathed the three realms in blood.

Excluding Shen Jin, her memories from her past life guided her to seek out another person.

The Buddha Child, Youtan.

Lin Jiujiu’s impression of him was more hearsay than firsthand experience. It was said that Youtan was born in Deer Park, with white hair from birth and great wisdom. Revered as the Buddha Child by Deer Park, he was rarely seen by ordinary people.

Lin Jiujiu had seen Youtan once in her past life—an indescribable feeling. Youtan was extraordinarily beautiful, detached from the mundane world, untouched by worldly desires, his eyes often filled with compassion. He lacked the solemn majesty of a deity on an altar, resembling more a white lotus, pure and untainted by dust.

This should have been a Buddha who remained aloof from worldly strife, yet he encountered the heroine Xue Ying. In her past life, Youtan died for Xue Ying, his body transforming into a white deer, taken away by Cangwu of Taisu Valley. Only then did Lin Jiujiu learn that Youtan was the incarnation of a white deer—a true Buddha Child in every sense.

Buddha Child, white deer…

Lin Jiujiu had heard the legend: drinking the heart’s blood of a white deer granted immortality.

She only needed a single drop. Lin Jiujiu’s fingers trembled slightly. She wouldn’t disturb Youtan’s cultivation, nor would she let him die for Xue Ying. She would save him from death, so couldn’t he…?

The call of her maidservant snapped Lin Jiujiu out of her reverie. “Miss, this White Deer Valley is so dilapidated. If there really is a secret realm, let others go. If something happens to you while running around like this, what would we do?”

Their party wasn’t heavily guarded, as if Lin Jiujiu were merely out for leisure. While convenient, the problem was that the two maidservants had little combat ability, let alone Lin Jiujiu herself.

If they encountered trouble along the way, what could they do?

Lin Jiujiu didn’t explain. “Father gave me so many treasures. What could possibly go wrong?”

The reason she came to White Deer Valley alone was that she knew Youtan would appear there. This was something she’d learned from others. Back then, the unremarkable White Deer Valley had been shrouded in fog, drawing many curious cultivators who found nothing.

Xue Ying had also gone. She healed an injured white deer in the valley, and after recovering, the deer gifted her a jeweled necklace before disappearing.

Now Lin Jiujiu knew—the white deer was Youtan, and the necklace he gave Xue Ying was a powerful treasure that saved her many times in the future.

When the necklace shattered, Youtan personally appeared to repay his debt.

While Lin Shen was investigating the secret realm, news of the fog in White Deer Valley also reached them. Lin Jiujiu’s heart stirred—if she saved the Buddha Child, could she…?

She wasn’t being selfish. In her past life, Xue Ying had countless adventures, surrounded by innumerable men and treasures. Lin Jiujiu only wanted a single drop of the Buddha Child’s heart’s blood to attain longevity and be with Eldest Senior Brother.

Xue Ying had so much—losing one act of gratitude from the Buddha Child wouldn’t matter.

Lin Jiujiu told herself that Xue Ying had changed so much in this life—she wouldn’t mind.

“Staying on the flying boat all day is boring. I’m going for a walk.”

Dismissing her maidservants, Lin Jiujiu mustered her courage and ventured deeper into White Deer Valley.

She didn’t know where Xue Ying had found Youtan, and she couldn’t entrust this task to her maidservants, so she had to search alone.

Where was the Buddha Child?

…

As for Lin Jiujiu appearing in the town, Xue Ying didn’t give it much thought. For one, they lived far apart, and Xue Ying wasn’t aware of Lin Jiujiu’s itinerary. Secondly, she was here on official business and had no time to speculate about others.

After the lively lantern festival ended, Xue Ying and her disciples set out the next day, arriving at White Deer Valley three days later.

According to reports, cultivators entering White Deer Valley had suffered varying degrees of attacks. Judging by the methods, the threat wasn’t particularly dangerous. The higher-ups hoped Xue Ying’s group—thick-skinned and combat-ready—could scout the situation. If it could serve as a training ground in the future, they’d be even happier.

In short, they were the vanguard.

Upon arriving, the first thing the vanguard saw was thick fog. Despite the bright sun at noon, the fog in White Deer Valley refused to dissipate—no wonder rumors of supernatural beings abounded.

Xue Ying, as the eldest senior sister, took charge, arranging for the group to settle temporarily while she scouted the area. Liu Junzhuo eagerly raised his hand. “I’ll go with you.”

Xue Ying hugged her sword and said coldly, “Know your limits.”

Weaklings shouldn’t drag her down.

The fog seemed sentient. As Xue Ying ventured deeper, it grew denser, obscuring the path ahead. After circling a few times, she couldn’t even find her way back. Returning to a marked spot, Xue Ying concluded she was trapped in a “ghost wall.”

How annoying.

Bailu flew out from her sword case. Xue Ying picked a direction and prepared to force her way through.

Just as frost coated her blade, a faint call reached her ears.

“Disciple.”

Familiar, yet strange—the owner of that voice would never address her like that.

The voice grew clearer. Xue Ying paused. To her right, a figure emerged from the fog—black hair, jade crown.

Staring at this man who should have been recuperating in Taixuan Sect, Xue Ying froze momentarily, as if unable to process it. “Shizun?”

‘Yuhengzi’ smiled softly, his usually cold expression now filled with warmth. He approached Xue Ying slowly, gazing at her tenderly, calling out again. Reaching out to caress her face, he murmured like a lover, “My dear disciple, you’ve grown up.”

The distance between them had never been so close. Xue Ying took a step back, her expression unchanging. “Shizun, is it really you?”

‘Yuhengzi’ smiled. “I was worried about you, so I followed.”

“So your injuries have healed?” Receiving confirmation, Xue Ying was overjoyed. “That’s wonderful.”

I’ve had enough of you!

Before ‘Yuhengzi’ could react, Xue Ying lunged at him with her sword. Where her sword aura passed, the fog dispersed. Unable to dodge in time, he was stabbed and collapsed to his knees. As his illusory appearance faded, Xue Ying raised her sword again, only to find someone else on the ground.

Cloaked, with an indistinct face and strands of white hair peeking out.

Clearly not human. She raised her sword to finish him off, but a little girl leaped out of the fog, blocking Xue Ying’s path. Likely a demon, her transformation incomplete, with strange horns on her forehead.

“Don’t kill Big Brother!”

The girl’s large eyes welled with tears as she pleaded, “Big Brother didn’t hurt anyone. He just wanted to scare them away. Big Sister, please spare him, okay?”

Disgustingly cute. Xue Ying sheathed Bailu and considered what these siblings were up to. Seizing the chance, the girl helped the cloaked figure up. He recited lines given to him stiffly: “I am willing to offer a treasure. Can the Daoist spare me?”

As he moved, his hood fell back, revealing his face—green robes, white hair, a sacred and untouchable aura, his translucent eyes meeting Xue Ying’s as if spanning eternity.

But Xue Ying’s heart belonged only to Yuhengzi. She said, “I’ll let you go on one condition.”

“Change back to how you looked before and call me ‘Daddy.'”