Chap 1
Prologue:
I am a fruit.
On the day I was born, the Ancient God who plucked me gave me the grade of Good.
All the other fruits from my tree were graded Excellent.
From that moment, I knew I was different—lesser.
The excellent fruits were taken away immediately by other gods. They didn’t even need to turn into human form.
But I, forced into a trembling human shape, stood before the god who picked me. He pinched my face so hard my lips pouted, tilted my head, studied me, and finally muttered:
“Hmm…”
“Lord God,” I asked softly, “why were all my fruit brothers and sisters taken away, but I alone remain?”
“You lack merit.” He released me, coughed twice as if weary, and said, “You’re not ripe yet.”
“Then… how can I mature?”
I knew only ripe fruits were chosen to become seeds, to claim their own territory, and grow into new Hidden God Trees. That was the dream of every Mountain River Fruit—to take root, to rise, to face the sun.
The god’s eyes grew distant. “Then go save the world.”
I stared. “…Me?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”
I couldn’t say no. For my own land, I had to try.
“Okay!” I answered with conviction.
The god led me back to the towering Hidden God Tree, its trunk rising like the spine of the divine realm. He tapped the bark, and an ink-like image rippled across its surface.
“This is a world divided between mortals and immortals. The immortals have lost themselves, drowning in romance and neglecting their duties. The mortals suffer. You must intervene.”
I looked closely. In the painting, humans knelt and prayed for rain, while the immortals above played at love.
“...How should I intervene?” I asked.
“Bring them under control,” he said. “Make them change.”
But his answer felt vague. “What’s the standard? ‘Emotion’ has many meanings—love, family, friendship, sympathy. And by ‘change,’ do you mean…”
Before I could finish, he shoved me from behind!
The bark’s painting swallowed me like smoke. As I tumbled into the spinning world, I heard his indifferent voice:
“You talk too much for a Good fruit. If you fail to save this world—don’t come back.”
Something clinked through the mist into my hand—a metal bell.
And just like that, I, a so-called Good Fruit, was thrown into the painted world.
My task: to save it.
First decree? Immortals were forbidden from moonlit romances beneath the flowers.
...
The first immortal I encountered was Chen Yuan, lord of Acacia Palace—better known as Yue Lao, the God of Love.
He was trouble.
On the day I arrived, I fell straight into his palace. Red threads hung everywhere, and celestial attendants rushed past me with books and spools, too busy to notice me.
A fairy bumped into me and snapped: “If you’re struggling, go to the backyard! Take a number and wait—eighteen immortals are already lined up for Lord Yue’s guidance today!”
No wonder the Ancient God said immortals had abandoned their duties. They left everything to Yue Lao.
My prejudice grew—but I was thrilled. I’d found the root of the problem.
Clutching the bell the Ancient God gave me, I dashed to the backyard.
The scent of blossoms swept through the air. Music drifted from strings. Beneath an acacia tree strung with red threads, couples leaned into each other, lost in affection.
As someone raised in the divine realm, I’d never seen such a sight.
Then I heard a smooth voice, gentle as jade:
“Fairy Qingyin, Immortal Lord Changhe’s sincerity is obvious. This immortal fruit may not be a full thousand years, but it’s still his heartfelt gift. Why fuss over whether it’s nine hundred or a thousand?”
I turned and saw him—lounging lazily on a sandalwood couch behind silk curtains, dressed in pink robes embroidered with mandarin ducks and phoenixes. His slender fingers played with a jade cup, letting droplets of wine spill.
He was beautiful. His skin pale as jade, lips red as cinnabar, eyes shimmering with intoxication.
But beauty couldn’t distract me.
“Of course the age of the fruit matters,” I declared, folding my arms. “Picking unripe fruit is careless. Giving it away is insincere. A gift without true feeling is false. Fairy, he does not love you.”
Fairy Qingyin and Changhe froze, stricken. The immortals behind them craned their necks but dared not speak.
From his couch, the man in pink laughed, his voice ringing like chimes. “Eight hundred immortals in the Nine Heavens, and I’ve never seen you before. Who are you?”
“I am a Good Fruit.”
“A… Fruit Fairy?” he teased.
“Be respectful,” I said firmly. “The Ancient God sent me to discipline you immortals. From now on, talk of duty, not love.”
“Ancient God?” He smirked. “Never heard of him.”
“Think of me as Heaven’s inspector,” I said coldly. “You may call me the God of Law.”
He laughed harder, joined by the immortals behind me.
“Then tell me, little God of Law—what rules will you set?”
I lifted my hand. The golden bell gleamed on my wrist.
I rang it once.
Boom!
Thunder ripped the sky. A bolt crashed down, splitting the carved sandalwood table and striking the pink-robed butterfly.
The music silenced. Blossoms burned black.
The God of Love lay scorched, his fair skin darkened with ash, lips purple, though his phoenix eyes still glared with clarity.
I straightened, feigning composure.
“The first rule: Immortals may not fall in love.”
Gasps echoed. Some fainted. Others wept.
“Why?” they cried.
“Because mortals suffer while you indulge. From now on, you’ll bring rain when it’s needed, wind when it’s due. Slack off, and I’ll strike again.”
I shook the bell once more.
Crash! Another bolt struck the acacia tree, blackening its blossoms.
Fear silenced the crowd.
I fixed my gaze on the charred “Black Butterfly.” He glared at me, servants rushing to hold him upright.
I sneered: “Rule two—Acacia Palace is closed. Yue Lao, the God of Love, is dismissed.”
With a flick of my skirt, I left.
But later, when I thought back on that day, I realized I had been reckless.
Not because of the thunder, nor because my knees shook after leaving—
But because I failed to notice the smoldering God of Love staring at me, eyes cold and calculating.
That day, Yue Lao, the one who ensnared all of Heaven in romance… set his sights on me.
Previous/Next
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
