Chapter 34: Demigod by Fate

“This… this is a misunderstanding, M-Master! I—I didn’t mean to summon you… No, no, no, I didn’t mean to tamper with the contract…”

Bai Shuo moved faster than thought. Nimble as a startled monkey, she leaped backward and curled herself tightly into the corner of the bed, her voice trembling as she stammered out her excuses.

Fan Yue stood where he was, watching her in silence.

Not a single word.

The silence was suffocating.

Bai Shuo forced a stiff smile, one so strained it looked more miserable than crying. “I really didn’t mean to… I—I was just… afraid of dying…”

Suddenly, Fan Yue reached out toward her.

“Spare me, Master! I’ll never trick you again! Please, for the sake of my elderly and my young, don’t take it out on me—ahhh!”

Bai Shuo squeezed her eyes shut and screamed, fully expecting to be reduced to ashes by the fury of a demigod.

Time passed.

Nothing happened.

Instead, she felt a faint warmth brush against her face—a soft puff of breath.

Heart pounding, Bai Shuo cautiously cracked open one eye.

The young man was right in front of her.

Too close.

He was poking her cheek with one finger.

His expression was… strange. If Bai Shuo had to describe it, there was only one word for it.

Curious.

What in the heavens was going on?!

Bai Shuo didn’t even dare to breathe. She blinked rapidly, frozen in place.

“I…” Fan Yue finally spoke, slowly uttering a single word.

Sound!

Finally, sound!

Bai Shuo leaned forward eagerly, ears perked, terrified she might miss a single decree from the Lord of Haoyue Hall.

But Fan Yue didn’t continue.

The two of them stared at each other in silence.

Bai Shuo’s face twisted in confusion. “Huh?”

“You…” Fan Yue spoke again, tilting his head slightly, his expression openly puzzled.

“Huh?!”

What about me?! What about you?! What are you even trying to say, Your Excellency?!

Bai Shuo wailed internally. But when she met his lost, unfocused gaze, realization struck like lightning.

Summoning all her courage, she shakily raised a finger and pointed at him.

“Are you… trying to ask who you are?”

The young man nodded.

Bai Shuo swallowed, then pointed at herself. “And… who I am?”

He nodded again, staring at her with the same innocent confusion.

Bai Shuo studied him in silence for a long moment.

Then—she clapped him hard on the shoulder.

“Good disciple!” she declared loudly. “I am your Master! How could you forget me?!”

---

The sun blazed overhead. Noon in the East Sea was windless and stifling, far hotter than usual.

Bai Shuo lounged comfortably beneath a tree on a wooden rocking chair, one leg crossed lazily over the other, swaying gently as she dozed.

A broad lotus leaf rested atop her head, shielding her from the merciless sun.

Beside her, an ordinary-looking young man knelt solemnly, holding the lotus leaf in place with utmost care, shielding her from the heat without complaint.

Old Black slowly crawled into the garden from outside. With a ripple of light, he transformed into his human form—an elderly yet spry man. He took in the scene beneath the tree and coughed loudly.

Bai Shuo jolted awake. “Oh—Old Black, you’re back…”

Old Black dropped the basket of herbs in his hands with a thud and snorted. “Living the easy life, are you? Sending an old man like me out to gather herbs.”

Bai Shuo grinned shamelessly. “We made a bet. If I could refine a first-grade Spirit Medicine, you’d handle this month’s herb supply for the inner island.”

She stretched lazily, sighing in contentment. “Ah… waking up naturally every day really is bliss. No wonder some people get lighter on their feet after taking in a disciple—drinking more, enjoying life. Must be living the dream!”

This sharp-tongued, frivolous side of Bai Shuo was something she hid from everyone else. She ruled supreme only within the small world of the medicine hut.

As she spoke, she glanced at the youth beside her. “Mu Mu, is your Master right?”

“Right,” the boy answered immediately, nodding stiffly.

Bai Shuo patted his shoulder in praise. “Good boy.”

His eyes lit up, and the corners of his lips twitched ever so slightly.

Bai Shuo froze, then leaned closer. “Mu Mu… did you just smile?”

The boy stiffened, staring blankly at her.

“Smile for your Master again.”

He tried earnestly, tugging at the corners of his mouth—but the result was awkward and stiff.

“No, no, wrong angle. That’s a sneer, not a smile.” Bai Shuo poked his cheeks with two fingers. “A little higher—like this…”

The boy followed her instructions with grave seriousness, carefully adjusting his expression bit by bit.

“Unbelievable,” Old Black muttered from the side, watching with exasperation. “A Spirit Monster who’s cultivated for a hundred years turns out to be an idiot. Only you could pick up something like this.”

Grumbling, Old Black carried the basket of herbs into the medicine hut.

Bai Shuo slipped in after him, lowering her voice. “Old Black… did you deliver it?”

He answered impatiently, “Mhm.”

“He… he didn’t say anything?”

“He did.”

“What did he say?”

“‘Thank you.’”

“That’s it?”

“He’s the Sect Leader’s head disciple and an Immortal Lord. Saying ‘thank you’ is already generous. What more do you want?”

Bai Shuo laughed dryly. “True…”

Old Black nudged her, glancing toward the dazed youth under the tree. “Girl, even if you don’t train on the inner island, you’re officially an Inner Sect Disciple now. Your name’s on the Misty Jade Register. If they find out you’ve taken in a tree spirit without reporting it, you’ll be in serious trouble.”

Bai Shuo’s heart sank further. She looked at the boy and muttered, “Heavens… I’m scared too…”

If the Sect Leader discovered she’d hidden the Lord of Haoyue Palace on the outer island—and tricked him into pretending to be a tree spirit—three bolts of heavenly lightning would be a mercy.

But what could she do?

She had dug the pit herself.

That night, driven by reckless courage, she had revived the Lord of Haoyue Palace fully prepared to die. Yet Fan Yue awakened like a newborn Spirit Monster—his words simple, his power reduced to faint embers. In her panic, she had called herself his Master.

He believed it.

He called her “Master,” clung to her, and fell asleep.

Bai Shuo lay rigid until dawn.

The next morning, he woke and called her “Master” again—softly, obediently.

She nearly died on the spot.

Unable to silence witnesses—or herself—she refined a locust-tree incarnation talisman, suppressing his demonic Qi and disguising him as a simple tree spirit.

Days passed.

Her disciple was obedient, diligent, and harmless.

And Bai Shuo grew bold enough to straighten her back and truly play the role of Master.

Behind her, thunderous snores erupted as Old Black reverted to his turtle form and fell asleep on his back.

---

Bai Shuo snapped back to the present.

The youth beneath the tree glanced at her and gave her a hesitant, gentle smile.

Her heart trembled.

“Mu Mu! I’m hungry!” she shouted.

The boy rose immediately and went to cook.

Watching his retreating figure, Bai Shuo stood under the tree grinning foolishly.

Good heavens.

A demigod as a disciple.

Even the boldest plays wouldn’t dare write such a story.

Even if she were struck by heavenly lightning one day, she’d still earn her place in immortal history.

---

Far away, in the secluded cave of the back mountain, Chong Zhao stood atop the peak. A Spirit Pill glowing with dense spiritual energy hovered above his palm.

His gaze lingered on the herbal hut hidden among ancient trees.

A falling leaf stirred him from his thoughts.

With a quiet sigh, he closed his hand and turned away. The stone gate descended, sealing the world outside.

---

A thousand miles away, four phoenix leaves imbued with immense power flew from Phoenix Tree Island.

One landed in the Heavenly Palace.

Three shot into the Yao Realm—Cold Spring Palace, Silent Mountain, and Moonlight Hall.

The Phoenix Tree Martial Banquet was approaching.

---

Yet none of this excitement reached Bai Shuo.

She was busy.

Demand for Spirit Medicine tripled.

Even Old Black collapsed from exhaustion.

Before dawn, Bai Shuo dragged her disciple out, working late into the night.

“Mu Mu—Mixed Dragon Grass! Good for Foundation Establishment!”

Under the moonless sky, Bai Shuo munched roasted beans while issuing orders. Her disciple searched tirelessly.

“These immortals rely on pills instead of cultivation… no wonder no Immortal Lord’s appeared in centuries…” she grumbled.

Suddenly, a peach was held out before her.

“Mas…ter… tired. Eat.”

The spiritual energy nearly choked her.

“Where did you find this?!”

The boy pointed. “Here. All. Are.”

Nothing but darkness lay ahead.

“Take… you… see.”

But it was already too late.

The boy’s fingers closed around her wrist with sudden force, cold and unyielding, and before Bai Shuo could even draw a breath, he had dragged her forward into the swallowing dark. The shadows surged up like a tide, muffling sound and sense alike. 

Then—without warning—a sharp crack split the air. A flash of light burst forth, violent and blinding, as if lightning had exploded at arm’s length. The darkness was torn apart in an instant, and the world flared white before her eyes.