Chapter 45 Execution and Plea

Because I had always harbored resentment toward Yang Jian for his prolonged hesitation in coming to formally propose marriage, it ultimately gave that green tea bitch Xiaoyue an opening to exploit.

It wasn't until Teacher Yang said to me, "The reason Yang Jian didn't come to propose back then was because the threshold of the True Martial Emperor's household was much higher than his. Given your family background and social standing, Yang Jian was simply not qualified to marry you. Have you ever considered why you had the confidence to reject the King of Yunnan's marriage proposals twice, yet Yang Jian didn't even dare to show his face? Coupled with your overly strong personality, being with you put immense pressure on Yang Jian. When Xiaoyue appeared—a manipulative woman who acted gentle, considerate, and understanding while plotting for a long time—and Yang Jian began to develop feelings for her, he started weighing the pros and cons, because Xiaoyue was much more of a social match for him."

After hanging up the call with Teacher Yang, I contacted Zhongyang via video call, asking her to channel Yang Jian's mind so I could ask about the marriage proposal from back then.

To my surprise, the moment I pointed the phone's camera at Yang Jian's photograph, before I could even utter a word, Zhongyang stared blankly and said, "Yang Jian is crying..."

In the photo, the corners of Yang Jian's eyes were crimson, and tears streamed down silently. "Originally, I wanted to keep hiding it forever, but I never expected that everyone would find out."

I sighed. "In a matter like this, you can't wrap fire in paper. I was bound to discover it sooner or time."

"Yuer, I'm sorry." Yang Jian's voice was low, broken, and filled with deep remorse and guilt for his past wavering affections.

I gazed at Yang Jian in the photo and asked him, "When you didn't come to propose back then, was it because of my family background?"

"Yes." Yang Jian wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes with his thumb, his voice choked as he said, "I wanted to work hard and achieve success before coming to marry you. During that great War of Investiture of the Gods initiated by Jiang Ziya, I tried desperately to prove myself and earn military merits, all so that I could become worthy of you."

"You could work hard, but why did your heart wander halfway and you fell for Xiaoyue?"

Yang Jian took a deep breath and said, "Xiaoyue's father originally begged me to teach his daughter spells for a period of time. It was during that time that the two of us developed feelings, but I never truly got together with Xiaoyue."

I thought to myself silently: Since you fell for Xiaoyue, she already held a place in your heart. What difference does it make whether you officially got together or not!

I asked Yang Jian, "Do you love me?"

Yang Jian hurriedly replied, "I do."

"How much do you love me?"

Yang Jian pressed his lips together and said with a hint of embarrassment, "I showed you that scene before."

I knew Yang Jian was referring to the time when I told him I no longer loved him, and he stood outside the gates of Guanjing Mansion, his heart broken into pieces.

I asked again, "Then do you like Xiaoyue?"

Yang Jian hesitated before answering, "I like her..."

"And do you love her?"

"Hard to say." Then, Yang Jian gave me an unexpected answer. "There has always been a woman hidden deep in my heart."

This sparked a bit of my curiosity. I asked, "Who? The Third Holy Mother?"

Many people who have watched the stories of *The Lotus Lantern Rescuing Mother* or *The Lotus Lantern* assume that the Third Holy Mother is Yang Jian's younger sister, but that is actually not the case.

The Third Holy Mother was the first woman Yang Jian ever loved, yet she only loved Liu Yanchang and bore him a son named Liu Chenxiang.

Liu Yanchang was not a mortal, ordinary scholar as fabricated in the story. His surname was Liu, not Liu [homophonic difference in Chinese, but both mean scholar-class names], and while he was indeed a scholar, he was actually a civil official in the divine realm. I had once laid eyes on Liu Yanchang: tall and slender, with exceptionally refined facial features, like a handsome man stepped right out of a comic book—a rare man in the divine realm who could rival Yang Jian in sheer physical beauty.

Otherwise, the Third Holy Mother would never have passed over such a gorgeous hunk like Yang Jian in favor of Liu Yanchang.

I had also met the Third Holy Mother. Her beauty was pristine, cold, and holy. Xiaoyue had always tried to imitate the Third Holy Mother's pure and icy detachment, but the Third Holy Mother was genuinely holy, indifferent and flawless like a snow lotus on a high mountain.

Xiaoyue, at best, was a puddle of muck mixed with filth in a mortal lotus pond.

"The woman in the depths of my heart is Yang Yuhuan..." Yet Yang Jian's answer once again caught me completely off guard.

I asked in bewilderment, "Wasn't Yang Yuhuan me?"

"It was you. In that lifetime, I went to watch over you."

I retorted, "Didn't Yang Yuhuan look like me in the divine realm?"

"Very much, but..." Yang Jian stopped mid-sentence, hesitating to continue.

I understood his meaning instantly. Yang Yuhuan was gentle, considerate, understanding, talented in singing and dancing, and possessed infinite charm. Yang Yuhuan embodied every man's ultimate dream of a woman deep within his heart.

Yang Jian went on to tell me what happened after the Jade Emperor arranged a marriage between him and Xiaoyue.

After Xiaoyue's sister went to the Jade Emperor to report that Xiaoyue was pregnant, the Jade Emperor summoned Yang Jian to the Lingxiao Palace.

High upon the throne in the Lingxiao Palace, the Jade Emperor informed Yang Jian of Xiaoyue's pregnancy and asked for his opinion.

Yang Jian bowed with cupped hands, his tone distant yet respectful, "Yang Jian will obey whatever arrangements the Jade Emperor sees fit."

Seated high upon the dragon throne, the Jade Emperor gazed at Yang Jian for a moment through the veiled beads of his crown with a melancholic look, slowly sighed, and canceled the unfinalized arranged marriage.

Once the marriage was canceled, Yang Jian wanted to immediately go find Yuer and explain everything clearly. Although Yuer's heavenly soul had descended to the mortal realm to undergo reincarnation, her divine prime soul still remained in the divine realm.

Just at that moment, the King of Yunnan came to propose marriage for the second time.

It turned out that ever since Xiaoyue became pregnant, all her scheming had resulted in nothing—she had exhausted every plot only to lose the entire game, and she was carrying the child of that disgusting parasitic worm, the King of Yunnan.

Because the Jade Emperor already knew of her pregnancy, and the penalty for abortion in the divine realm was extremely grave, Xiaoyue had no choice but to grit her teeth and bear the child. The true form of the child was a writhing parasite, utterly repulsive. She wished she could strangle the infant to death with her bare hands; the moment it was born, she threw it directly to her parents to raise, refusing to spare it even a single glance.

By this time, Xiaoyue's hatred for Yuer had reached its absolute zenith.

The very first time she laid eyes on Yuer, Xiaoyue had deeply resented her, because Yuer effortlessly possessed everything she desired: an illustrious family background, a noble status, and a boyfriend like Yang Jian. Yuer overshadowed her in every single aspect.

Especially Yuer's naturally exquisite face, which provoked intense jealousy in Xiaoyue.

Whereas her own face was...

Xiaoyue pulled out a mirror, gazing at herself with a gaze that was both infatuated and narcissistic. The mirror clearly reflected a peerless beauty with delicate features and skin whiter than snow.

Yet, what no one knew was that every month, there were always a few days when Xiaoyue would secretly hide away, refusing to let anyone see her, and loathing the sight of her own reflection in the mirror.

Xiaoyue put away the mirror, thinking darkly to herself: The secret hidden beneath this peerless human skin must never be exposed to a single soul.

Now that she was living in misery, she wouldn't let Yuer off easy either. Thus, she induced the King of Yunnan to propose to the True Martial Emperor once again.

The territory of Yunnan was vast and immensely wealthy. Although the King of Yunnan was a demon who had cultivated into a deity, his influence was formidable, and the divine realm operated entirely on mutual interests. The True Martial Emperor readily and happily agreed, even broadcasting to the outside world that once Yuer completed her mortal trial and returned, he would hold a grand wedding for her and the King of Yunnan.

When Yuer's prime soul learned of this, she wept bitterly as she went to find the True Martial Emperor, making a tremendous scene in the Hall of True Martial: "You might as well annihilate my divine soul completely, or I shall stay in the mortal realm and never return to the divine realm. In any case, I'd rather die than marry that disgusting bug."

Knowing that Yuer had a stubborn and fierce temperament, and that forcing her into the marriage might actually drive her to shatter her own prime soul, the True Martial Emperor had no choice but to go and call off the engagement once more.

The King of Yunnan was a powerful regional lord, whereas Yang Jian merely administered a tiny jurisdiction of Guanjing Mansion—equivalent to a mere county magistrate. In terms of both strength and influence, he was entirely unmatched against the King of Yunnan. This was the exact reason why the True Martial Emperor would rather marry his daughter to the King of Yunnan than consent to a union between Yuer and Yang Jian: as a mere county magistrate, Yang Jian was simply unqualified to marry a princess like Yuer.

During those days, Yang Jian galloped across the clouds to Yunnan every single day, making frequent trips back and forth to secretly observe the movements in Yunnan and spy on whether the engagement had been annulled.

On that particular day, he finally caught sight of the True Martial Emperor through his divine third eye, hoisting a white flag high and leading a grand procession carrying countless chests of opulent betrothal gifts previously sent by the King of Yunnan.

In the divine realm, weddings were governed by many strict protocols. When a groom proposed, red banners were raised in festive celebration. If a bride wished to break off an engagement, however, she had to hoist a high white flag to signify absolute severance. The moment Yang Jian caught sight of that white flag, a surge of wild elation burst through his heart. He knew Yuer refused the Yunnan marriage, and the True Martial Emperor had come precisely to call off the engagement.

But where had Yuer gone?

Yang Jian reopened his divine third eye, carefully scanning the vast expanse of heaven and earth for Yuer's figure, until his third eye finally located the person he longed for day and night: she was currently at Mount Taiyuan.

At the summit of Mount Taiyuan stood a refined and elegant courtyard. A trellis of lush green wisteria vines framed bubbling spring water where several divine cranes lowered their heads to drink. A tea table had been set up in the courtyard, with Yuer and the deity of Taiyuan seated at opposite ends.

Yuer wore her customary light purple gauze dress, the dangling ornaments on her silver hair crown trembling slightly to add an untainted, ethereal fairy aura. Those captivating eyes, capable of stripping a man of his soul with a single glance, were currently shedding heavy, heavy tears.

Cup after cup, she poured wine down her throat, crying in her drunkenness and getting drunk in her tears, weeping in a manner that broke one's heart.

The deity of Taiyuan held an exquisite white porcelain wine cup, yet for a long time he did not bring it to his lips. His gaze was tender and profound, filled entirely with heartache and forbearance for Yuer; watching her drown her sorrows in alcohol this way left a complex whirlwind of emotions churning in his heart.

He sighed, stood up, and walked over to Yuer. Gently pressing down on the hand with which she intended to raise her cup yet again, he spoke in a gentle, soothing tone: "Yuer, stop drinking."

To his surprise, in the next instant, Yuer suddenly flung her arms around the deity of Taiyuan, burying her exquisite, radiant face deeply against his waist. The deity of Taiyuan started in shock; after all, Yuer had never shown him such intimacy before.

Hesitating for a brief moment, he finally lowered his palm to rest upon Yuer's trembling shoulders, gently patting her as he coaxed, "Yuer, don't cry anymore."

Yuer's tears rolled down like broken beads, overflowing with sorrow. The news that Yang Jian was about to marry Xiaoyue had struck her like a bolt from the blue, causing her agonizing pain. Furthermore, her father was forcing her to marry the King of Yunnan; even though this engagement had now been broken off, given the King of Yunnan's temperament, he would never let the matter rest. Next time, he would surely use every possible scheme to beg the Jade Emperor for an imperial decree, and she would be forced to marry him whether she liked it or not.

A thief is easier to fend off than a thief who keeps you in mind; the only way she could truly be safe was to marry someone else as quickly as possible.

Sobbing intermittently and choking back tears, she stammered, "Xiaoyuan, would you be willing to..." Before she could even ask the words "marry me," she heard Yang Jian's voice suddenly roar, "Yuer!"

In that instant, a powerful force yanked Yuer away from the deity of Taiyuan's warm embrace. Intoxicated by the alcohol, Yuer staggered, her footing unstable and her body swaying.

Without a word of explanation, Yang Jian grabbed the drunken, feeble Yuer and attempted to leave. The deity of Taiyuan stepped forward to block their path, his normally gentle face hardening with a trace of sternness: "You have no right to take her away."

Blinded by fury, Yang Jian snapped, "Yuer is my girlfriend; she doesn't need you to comfort her."

The deity of Taiyuan replied calmly and firmly, "Since she is your girlfriend, why did you let her grow so heartbroken? If she is your girlfriend, why didn't you cherish and love her instead of letting her suffer grievances?"

Yang Jian barked furiously, "That is a matter between Yuer and me; it's not your place to judge."

With that, Yang Jian forcefully pulled Yuer along, riding the clouds away. The deity of Taiyuan instinctively took a few steps in pursuit before finally stopping his stride and resigning himself in defeat.

The clouds sped like shuttles, and the two instantly arrived beneath the Heavenly Pillar of Mount Kunlun—the very place where they had once pledged their love. Although Yuer's vision was clouded by drunkenness, a shred of clarity still remained in her consciousness. She feebly raised her hand in an attempt to wrench herself free from Yang Jian's tight grip: "Let go. Everything between us is already over."

Recalling the scene just moments before, when Yuer had leaned into the deity of Taiyuan's embrace, a wave of jealousy and rage surged through Yang Jian's heart, mingled with lingering fear and anger. He knew full well what was on Yuer's mind: rather than marrying the King of Yunnan, she would rather choose to marry the deity of Taiyuan.

Clenching his teeth, he shoved Yuer forcefully against the Heavenly Pillar, pinning her fiercely struggling body in place with hands like iron vises. Then, leaning down, he ruthlessly captured her lips, heedless of everything else.

The innate disparity in physical strength between men and women was infinitely magnified in that moment, especially since Yuer was mired in the haze of intoxication and completely incapable of resisting this sudden assault.

The long kiss, mixed with Yuer's tears, finally ended. Yang Jian pulled Yuer tightly into his embrace, as if trying to melt her into his very flesh and bones. He murmured softly, his voice heavy with indescribable pain and remorse: "I'm sorry. Everything before was my fault. I was too greedy. Yuer, please forgive me, forgive me..."

Yuer rested against Yang Jian's solid shoulder, tears streaming down continuously like severed pearls. At the mere thought of Xiaoyue, the hatred for Yang Jian's betrayal surged uncontrollably, yet down deep she still loved him—furious, resentful, and deeply in love all at once.

When the mental communion ended, I let out a long, heavy sigh deep in my heart.

Suddenly, a thought flashed across my mind like lightning: so many individuals in the divine realm had cast malevolent spells upon me, and given Xiaoyue's base and despicable nature, it was highly likely she had also tampered with me. Realizing this, I hurriedly grabbed my phone and quickly contacted Teacher Yang, asking her to check the Dragon-Seeking Ruler for me.

As expected, the dragon head of the Dragon-Seeking Ruler unhesitatingly pointed toward the direction of "Yes," confirming my suspicion.

Teacher Yang put away the Dragon-Seeking Ruler and told me, "Ever since you accepted the Jade Emperor's assignment as a disciplinary officer, Xiaoyue began casting malevolent spells on you. Knowing the wicked deeds she had committed, she was terrified that when you descended to the mortal realm to write, you would write about her misdeeds, exposing her scandals to the entire divine realm. That would utterly destroy the persona of a perfect maiden she had painstakingly cultivated, as well as the network of connections she spent years building. Casting malevolent spells on your writing was done, firstly, to prevent you from exposing her affairs, and secondly, because failing to complete your writing assignment meant you naturally wouldn't be able to return to the divine realm."

Meanwhile, Teacher Teacher Xing's eyes suddenly burst with divine light as he said in a deep voice, "Your entire body is densely covered with yellow talismans, even your face—not a single place is spared, with a striking yellow talisman plastered right across it. Around your body hang various kinds of iron chains, meant to bind you tightly. A restrictive hoop is clamped around your head, and three deep needles are driven into your brain to inhibit your creative imagination. Strange, dark spellwork is coiled around your left and right hands, your shoulder blades have been pierced, and a lump of pitch-black Taisui flesh rests within your body."

This malicious sorcery extended from the inside out, from top to bottom, vividly displaying the depths of Xiaoyue's malice toward me!

With practiced skill, Teacher Xing dismantled the spells one by one, reflecting and returning every single piece of that malevolent sorcery back upon Xiaoyue as karmic retribution. For some reason, even though the spells had been lifted, an indescribable sense of panic welled up within my heart.

I realized that the matter concerning Xiaoyue had to be resolved tonight. If she wasn't locked away, knowing that I had discovered the truth, she would undoubtedly come to take my life tonight in order to protect herself!

The moment I finished speaking, Teacher Xing's expression shifted drastically. "There are two bat demons right behind you."

Two hideous-looking bat demons with massive, pitch-black wings flared open bared their fangs and lunged straight at me...

Teacher Xing lashed out with a single palm, and two blazing fireballs instantly tore through the air like shooting stars, striking the two bat demons with pinpoint accuracy. The bat demons let out sharp, ear-piercing shrieks, twisting and struggling within the roaring flames of Samadhi True Fire before finally turning into wisps of ash and dissipating into nothingness.

Teacher Xing's expression remained grim as he slowly spoke, "Those two bat demons were spies sent by Xiaoyue to monitor you. I will help you submit a formal report."

In the Daoist hall, Teacher Xing submitted a formal report to the Jade Emperor. As the yellow tableaus paper bearing the name "Lin Yueyu, daughter of the Star Lord Maori," was consumed by fire, Teacher Xing's expression suddenly stalled.

Sensing something was amiss, I hurriedly asked, "Teacher Xing, what is it?"

He slowly exhaled a breath, his brow furrowing tightly. "The Jade Emperor has issued an order: execute Xiaoyue!"

"What?" Although I had asked Teacher Xing to report Xiaoyue for casting malevolent spells on me, I had filed plenty of such reports before. Because people in the divine realm frequently and covertly cast dark magic on me, those reported would usually face nothing more than some form of detention and punishment, with the heaviest sentence merely being cast down to the mortal realm.

Never before had someone who cast malevolent spells on me been directly sentenced to execution by the Jade Emperor!

Teacher Xing shook his head and explained, "Your situation was merely the catalyst. You also served as bait in the mortal realm, drawing out those who previously committed atrocities in the divine realm so they could be made an example of."

As it turned out, the divine realm had been secretly investigating Xiaoyue for a long time. However, due to the secretive nature of her actions, and the fact that the divine realm generally operated on the principle of "no official prosecution unless a victim complains," a victim had to step forward as the primary plaintiff to root out the disease and dig up the dirt so all her past misdeeds could be formally investigated and docketed. I was the chosen victim.

Acting as an intermediary, Teacher Xing was akin to a lawyer who could help me file the formal accusation.

Someone like Xiaoyue was far more terrifying than Xu Linlin and Bai Juan. Xu Linlin and Bai Juan were blatantly malicious—like bandits openly wielding knives to kill people, making everyone instantly recognize them as villains. Xiaoyue, on the other hand, was the type who would stab you in the back, ruin your entire family, confiscate all your property, and then stand before outsiders to arrange your funeral, keep vigil, and weep bitterly with a devastated expression, thereby winning universal praise.

Much like Tomoko Taniguchi from *Journey Under the Midnight Sun*—anyone who stood in her way was ruthlessly eliminated through despicable means, yet Taniguchi still retained fans trying to whitewash her crimes as the result of a dark childhood—Xiaoyue's entire family doted on her exclusively, and she was simply born an extreme, utter evildoer.

If all the vile deeds Xiaoyue had ever committed were truly written onto imperial decrees and published one by one, a thousand imperial decrees probably wouldn't be enough to document her monstrous crimes. In the end, the Jade Emperor let out a light sigh, summarizing it all with four characters: *too numerous to record*.

With heavy shackles upon her limbs, Lin Yueyu knelt upon the God-Execution Platform, the cold iron chains reflecting her terrified and resentful expression. Beside her, the executioner holding a sharp blade stood in silent vigil.

Beneath the platform, numerous deities stood with diverse expressions, their silence laden with concern and scrutiny over this trial.

At this life-or-death juncture, a high-ranking martial general stepped forward, dropping to both knees as he pleaded with undeniable earnestness: "I beseech the Great Emperor of Jade Heaven to show mercy, spare Lin Yueyu's life, and grant her a chance to reform." As these words fell, the air around the entire God-Execution Platform seemed to freeze in anticipation of the Jade Emperor's verdict.

Perhaps because there were still many other complex matters surrounding Xiaoyue that needed investigation, the timing was not yet ripe.

Seated high upon the celestial throne, the Jade Emperor furrowed his brow in deep thought for a long moment before finally nodding slowly, granting a temporary reprieve to spare Xiaoyue's life and instead casting her into the grand dungeon to suffer punishment.