Chapter Nine: The Daughter of Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li

So much has happened recently that I chose to share some of it with Zhong Yang, a dear friend I have known online for many years.

Our friendship began on a message board back when QQ was still popular. We added each other on QQ and eventually migrated to WeChat, marking ten years of knowing each other online.

Upon hearing about Teacher Xing and the Taoist hall, Zhong Yang excitedly expressed her desire to visit.

I was curious, "Aren't you afraid I'm a scammer?"

The matters regarding Teacher Xing and the Taoist hall were, after all, too incredible; few in reality would believe such things were true.

Zhong Yang quickly replied, "It's been so many years, don't you have even that much trust? Who would spend ten years just to scam me? Besides, I don't even have any money."

I thought that made sense, so I asked, "When will you come?"

"In three days, I suppose. My company is going on a business trip to a city near City B. Once the trip is over, I'll take a ride over to see you."

Zhong Yang works in short-form video marketing, frequently traveling all over the country for meetings.

Three days later, I took a taxi to the hotel where she was staying. Although we had talked about everything under the sun online for a decade, this was our first time meeting in person. I took it quite seriously and even wore a new outfit.

Because it was our first offline meeting, I felt a complex mix of excitement, joy, and that strange sensation of familiarity meeting reality.

Earlier, when I told Teacher Xing and the others that I was bringing someone over, Teacher Xing was silent for a moment before saying, "If that girl doesn't come soon, she will be in danger."

Those who come to the Taoist hall are people who have reached the end of their rope. For instance, I had hit a dead end in my writing, Jing Hong was at a dead end in her business, and Yang Yue had health issues. For Zhong Yang, it was a matter of her lifespan.

As for why Zhong Yang’s lifespan was so short, I will write about that in later chapters.

After having a complimentary breakfast with Zhong Yang at the hotel, we took a taxi to the hall. She was visibly nervous throughout the ride, and I kept comforting her. We went up to the seventh floor and arrived at the Taoist hall.

The moment she saw Teacher Xing, Zhong Yang looked terrified and tried to hide behind me. I pulled her out, feeling both amused and helpless.

Later, Zhong Yang told me that the first time she saw Teacher Xing, it felt like being caught red-handed reading a novel during class by a homeroom teacher who was about to call her parents.

The first step upon entering the hall was to wash one's hands and offer incense. Since Zhong Yang was quite intimidated by Teacher Xing, I had to teach her hand-in-hand how to offer incense and kowtow.

Once everything was done, we all sat down for tea. Since Yang Yue had matters to attend to that morning, she said she would join us for lunch.

As we chatted, Zhong Yang’s nervous mood gradually calmed. Suddenly, Teacher Xing, sitting at the head of the table, closed his eyes.

I knew Teacher Xing must have received a divine signal.

Sure enough, when he opened them again, his gaze was sharp and his tone sonorous: "You are Li Xixi, daughter of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing. You are my disciple from the Divine Realm."

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing holds military authority and is responsible for protecting the Heavenly Court and the Jade Emperor. His father is the Lingbao Tianzun of the Three Pure Ones, and his mother is the Wuji Laomu.

It is widely known that he has three sons: Jinzha, Muzha, and Nezha. His only daughter mentioned in *Journey to the West* was Li Zhenying, who was only eight years old.

Later, it was proven that this was incorrect; the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King always had more than one daughter, and none of them were named Li Zhenying.

Zhong Yang had an ordinary appearance, was short, wore glasses, had a slightly dark complexion, and was bloated.

Teacher Xing’s sharp eyes swept toward her again. "Her spiritual energy is too heavy, and the black aura wrapping around her has obscured her face. Her body is only 'falsely' fat; those spirits have almost hollowed her out. Once these are cleared away, she will naturally become fairer and thinner."

After a while, he added, "Zhong Yang’s mission in this life is also to open a Taoist hall to help people. She shares the same penal mission as I do. You two were sisters in the Divine Realm and were always together; that is why you could become best friends in this life. Bringing her here was destiny ordained by the Heavens."

***

After saying this, Teacher Xing asked Zhong Yang to stand up to begin cleansing her of the spirits and evil entities.

The process was similar to when he treated me, so I won't detail it one by one.

When retrieving Zhong Yang's true phoenix form, I heard a bird’s cry from outside, followed by the sound of flapping wings. A small golden phoenix flew into the hall. The little phoenix was young and mischievous; when Teacher Xing ordered it to enter Zhong Yang’s body, it refused to be bound by a human form and kept flying around the hall.

"Don't be naughty, get inside—" Teacher Xing’s face darkened as the phoenix disobeyed.

The little phoenix flinched and immediately cowered, flying sheepishly into Zhong Yang’s body to become one with her.

Once her true form returned, it was time to settle her karmic debts. The process was the same as before.

Later, Teacher Xing drove us to a nearby temple to burn paper ingots. After burning them, one must pay respects to the Four Gods of Wealth. Coincidentally, this temple housed a statue of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King.

As I stood with Zhong Yang, lighting incense and bowing before the main hall, a man appeared—tall, dignified, and handsome, holding a pagoda and wearing cyan seven-treasure armor. He walked up to Teacher Xing and said respectfully, "Many thanks to the Kunlun Divine Lord for saving my daughter's life."

Teacher Xing nodded indifferently.

Seeing me standing to the side, wide-eyed and bewildered, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King revealed a slight smile on his usually stern face. "Many thanks to the Daoji True Lord for bringing Xixi to the Taoist hall."

What? Daoji?!

Is a title that masculine something a pretty girl like me should be called?!

On the way back, I was unhappy. Zhong Yang asked, "Why are you suddenly angry?"

I looked at Teacher Xing, who was driving, with deep resentment and gritted my teeth: "Daoji True Lord. It sounds exactly like a title given by some iron-willed, straight-male master."

At noon, we met up with Yang Yue for lunch, saw Zhong Yang off on her train home, and I took a taxi back to my own place.

Because I had been running around all day, I fell asleep early. No sooner had I drifted into a sweet dream than I was yanked out of bed. Suddenly, I was flying through the clouds. Before I could react, the chilly wind and mist rushing past my ears left me dizzy and disoriented.

The moment I saw a pavilion ahead, the person who had grabbed me threw me down, leaving me sprawling on my back.

I lay on the ground, lifting my head to see who it was.

A beautiful young boy, about thirteen or fourteen—the age of a middle schooler—stood there stepping on Wind-Fire Wheels, holding a red ribbon, glaring at me with fury.

—Nezha!

Oh my god, the karmic debt of love had come!

The Divine Realm had told me that whether in the heavens or on earth, I owed too many debts of love and had to pay them back little by little in this life. I didn't expect it to come so soon.

Nezha raised his Fire-Tipped Spear high and struck it down toward my lower leg. I let out a scream and began to curse, "It's not my fault you didn't grow up! I'm not into children! Besides, I'm your sister's good friend, and Yang Jian was your comrade-in-arms during the King Wu's campaign against Zhou. You can't treat me like this! Even without Yang Jian, I still wouldn't like you."

Nezha’s fury intensified. He waved his hand and threw a giant fireball at me. The scorching flames made me wince and roll on the ground.

"How dare you burn me with Samadhi True Fire—"

Just as I was on the verge of death, I saw a handsome figure rushing toward me on a cloud in the distance, his face full of anxiety and worry.

"Jian-ge, save me—" I croaked, reaching my hand weakly toward the horizon.

"Yu’er..." Yang Jian’s eyes were filled with heartache. He landed and was just about to help me up when Nezha lunged at him with his spear. Yang Jian had no choice but to parry with his Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear.

He was furious. "Nezha, you actually did such a thing to hurt Yu’er..."

"So what if I hurt her? She knows I love her, yet she chooses to be with you." Nezha’s delicate face was filled with indignation. "Not only will I hurt her, I will fight you too—"

With that, Nezha drove the Wind-Fire Wheels with his mind. His whole body rose into the air. His Fire-Tipped Spear and Yang Jian’s Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear clashed hundreds of times in the blink of an eye; neither could gain the upper hand.

I lay on the ground, feeling like a charred pancake. As I turned my head, I caught a glimpse of a young girl crouching under a pillar of the pavilion, watching.

The girl had delicate features and heavy makeup. Her pretty eyes gazed at the fighting Yang Jian with adoration, and a malicious, satisfied smile played on her face.

"Damn it, Li Qingqing, you little green tea." I immediately recalled her identity and understood why Nezha had come to pick a fight.

This girl was none other than another daughter of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King and Nezha’s sister, known as the "Unreasonable Li Qingqing."

I didn't need to ask to know that it was definitely this "Unreasonable" Li Qingqing who had instigated the impulsive "Headless" Nezha.

The next day, when I woke up, the moment my foot touched the floor, a sharp pain shot through my left leg. I let out a howl; my left calf had truly been pierced through by a spear. I sat on the bed, cradling my leg pitifully, feeling a scorching heat throughout my body, as if I were standing under the sun in the dog days of summer while stubbornly eating Sichuan bird's-eye chilies. I was burning from the inside out.

A stream of blood flowed from my nose.

I quickly video-called Teacher Xing, told him about Nezha, and asked him to remotely treat my leg and remove the Samadhi True Fire from my body.

He inhaled with his palm, and a ball of crimson Samadhi True Fire flew through the phone screen to his end. Teacher Xing tutted, "Such a large flame; it even made my hands hot. You really offended Nezha."

"That brat Nezha!" I gritted my teeth.

Yang Yue happened to be next to Teacher Xing and heard the whole process. She leaned into the frame, "Since you don't like him, you should have made it clear to Nezha in the beginning!"

"I saw that he liked me back then, but he never confessed to me. Was I supposed to just walk up to him and say..." I tilted my chin, gesturing wildly, "Hey Nezha, don't like me, kid. I’m not going to take responsibility for you—"

I curled my lip. "That would make me look like I’m crazy."

Yang Yue burst into laughter on the other side.

"You just said the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King has another daughter named Li Qingqing," Teacher Xing asked suddenly.

"Yeah, what about it?" I was confused.

Yang Yue stopped laughing and turned to ask Teacher Xing, "Is she the one who said she was coming this afternoon?"

Teacher Xing frowned. "It must be her."

Last night, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King had given Teacher Xing a vision in his dream, informing him that another daughter would be coming to the hall and asking him to look after her.

It turned out to be Li Qingqing.