A Warning, A Choice

"What are you saying, you brat?!"

A certain man completely lost his cool. His entire face, his neck and even both his ears were burning a bright shade of red, making him look like a human volcano about to spew out fire.

On the other hand, a certain woman only lightly coughed, opting to look away like nothing was heard or said. However, her frail shoulders were obviously trembling, whether from laughter or embarrassment, no one could ever say.

Yin harrumphed. "You are a brat! Your whole family are brats!"

Ye Mo would have pulled out his beard if he ever has one! "Why is your mouth so filthy? Have you been cursing from the moment you were in your mother's womb?"

"You do not feel angry, so why are you still farting nonsense? Are you not enjoying being teased together with a beautiful wifey material? Dense, dumb old fogey!"

"Y-You! Do not drag us into your nonsense! We are talking about you leaving those spatial pouches behind."

"Why are you changing the subject? Are you... feeling shy?"

"Hell no!"

With a satisfied grin, she studied Ye Mo and Zhi Ruo, considerably content with the reactions she fished out of the two.

From the moment the two entered the pocket dimension, they had been under Yin's surveillance. She trusted the adorably frank Ye Mo and was willing to share her spoils of war with him, but she was wary of the woman shadowing him.

Despite no words being shared between the two, Yin could see the type of relationship they had.

Just like how a few nights ago, when Yin was found, the young couple Ye Hua and Wu Xuan'er were running with a certain tacit understanding shared between them.

A certain level of trust, a lack of vigilance, and a sense of reliance could be seen from the way they move around each other. Even though facial expressions could be controlled, the body language could give the truth away.

With her powerful divine sense, how could Yin not perceive this? After all, she could get to tease shy little Ye Mo with this discovery!

"Both of you looked like you want to eat me alive, but deep inside are secretly happy. What hypocrites. Bah, no need to hide it from my discerning eyes. I know a dragon and a phoenix when I see one. "

Yin waved at them like she did not care a wit, before looking at the broken white sky above her. Her expression was full of woes. She muttered under her breath. "My Dao of Love, ah, does this world not even hold a vestige of it? Is this because I was gone for too long?"

She remembered that back in the Yama-boy's palace, she heard many ghosts talking among themselves about a younger generation deity, someone called the Old Man under the Moon, 月下老人, who tied invisible red strings of fate around the ankles of predestined people.

All the love scenes on earth, however many, fade.

Their tender love flows like a stream,

Their happy date seems but a dream (1)

What tragic love is still love? What forced lovers? What meeting once is enough to last a lifetime? Loads of bull!

Yin's Dao is a carefree Dao, a pursuit of the freedom, a path of happiness!

Love... is a choice! A decision to stay together! Because only if it is one's choice could he or she truly gain happiness!

Her Church would only lay down paths and give opportunities, maybe even help; still, it is up to the couple if they willingly and thoroughly accept each other.

Yes, fate exists. Destiny exists.

Most importantly, so does free will!

Obviously, trying to do a crappy half-assed work of randomly tying strings, chaining people to marriages without properly cultivating their hearts, even if they had potential or compatibility, it had turned love into a complete state of a mess it is currently in!

The new deities are sabotaging her Church!

Since when did gods get so much free time they started dabbling in the lives of the mortals? Why did they not just leave them on their own? Would people need others to dictate who to love?

Micromanaging mortals sounded like a hard, thankless job. Are the new gods so bored?

"Miss Xiao Yin."

The lady in a phoenix robe warmly eyed the little girl, her red lips curved into a breathtaking smile. And though it was as beautiful as art, it triggers a pang of sadness inside a person's heart.

"Ruo'er is indeed pleased that my humble self has entered your eyes. It is my lifetime's luck that you have deemed myself fitting to become Elder Ye's partner. However, Ruo'er is infatuated with the dao. I cultivate the Heartless Way of the Sword and will never marry."

Suddenly, Yin heard a helpless female voice inside her head. It was a voice only she could hear, and it obviously came from Zhi Ruo.

[My conscience would never allow me to pull him and the Ye Sect into my part of the world.]

Though the voice came out from nowhere, Yin calmly accepted this and waited for Zhi Ruo to continue.

[You seem not to be surprised that a secret technique like this exists, and this proves to me that you are from beyond the Qing Blessed Lands. After all, in this place, it is common sense cultivation starts at the age of ten or eleven.]

Yin deliberately looked away, focusing her attention towards the still red-faced Ye Mo who had no idea he was left out of the discussion.

[You do not know the turmoils churning under this facade of peace], the soft, gentle voice sighed. [This matter must be dropped from now on. Elder Ye is a good man. My intuition tells me that with you with him, it is like gaining a talisman from god. Find him a normal but virtuous wife and protect him well, little sister.]

Just in time, Ye Mo turned to Zhi Ruo and made a deep bow. "Third princess, I apologize on Little Yin's behalf. She is just a child that speaks like an uneducated rogue, and I hope this does not offend the princess. I am willing to shoulder her punishment if you must give her one."

"Ruo'er rather likes Miss Xiao Yin's humor. A child is innocent. Elder Ye need not worry."

Yin scrunched her tender face, frowning towards bowing Ye Mo and smiling Zhi Ruo. Something she could not understand was weighing down her chest.

Her thoughts were initially simple. She only wanted to grab some treasures, pay back the favor of life-saving grace to the Ye Sect, fulfill her destiny of growing up into a big-breasted beauty, and then travel this world to have some fun. As soon as she cultivates back to Immortality, she would be off to a higher realm of existence.

Her cultivation right now, in this world's standards, was already in the third stage Nascent Divinity Realm, the Divine Ascension Stage! It was a patriarch-level cultivation! Yet, why was she feeling this level of cultivation was still not enough to do as she pleases in this place?

Why did it seem... she is about to be dragged into a mess not of her own making?

Is playing matchmaker so hard nowadays?

A turmoil? Is there war? Will there be war? Will Ye Mo, Ye Hua and Wu Xuan'er be in danger in the immediate future? Knowing that if she leaves, she might never get to see them again, could she still leave?

Troublesome!

If she were her main body, one word from her and her generals from the Church would kill all oppositions just to execute her order.

Right now, alone, weak and ignorant of affairs, these make Yin feel very, very uncomfortable.

"In this world, strength is the only voice that could be heard. I need to make my voice loud and clear. No matter what happens, this Phoenix girl must marry Old Fogey Ye!"

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(1) excerpt from Immortals at the Magpie Bridge, 鹊桥仙, by Qin Guan (Song Dynasty)