Chapter Seventy-Nine: After the Baptism of Fire

In the town of the Eight Immortals of Penglai, an adorable little fairy, unable to contain her curiosity, peeked here and glanced there, and finally, unable to resist, dashed out once more. “Fei’er! Running off again! This child! So naughty!” her mother shouted, chasing after her. Little Fei’er, oblivious, ran excitedly toward the bustling crowd across the street.

A dark-faced immortal and a pale, ethereal-looking immortal with a sickly countenance were walking along the road.

Suddenly, little Fei’er darted over and collided right into the pale immortal. She landed on the ground with a thud. The pale immortal turned around to see a little fairy sitting on the ground, staring up at him with big, dewy eyes. He crouched down to help her up and asked kindly, “Little one, are you alright?” Fei’er stared at him, silent.

Her mother soon caught up, smacked her bottom, and scolded her. “Oh dear! I’m so sorry!”

“It’s nothing... Please, don’t hit her,” the pale immortal said with a gentle smile.

Fei’er, however, gazed at him with a touch of fear and said nothing.

“Fei’er! Why are you so naughty? Quick, apologize to this Immortal Lord!”

The pale immortal was momentarily taken aback, his brows furrowing slightly, his face growing paler, lips nearly bloodless.

Fei’er, still staring, shrank behind her mother, timid and wary.

“This child suffers from a stubborn illness and must be treated quickly,” the pale immortal said, reaching out to take Fei’er’s pulse. Fei’er hid further behind her mother, tucking her hand away.

“Does Immortal Lord know the healing arts? My child is indeed ill, and nothing has worked. I heard there’s a divine healer here, so we’ve come a long way,” Fei’er’s mother said, her eyes lighting up. “Could it be you, sir?”

The pale immortal smiled. “No.”

“Oh, then we must hurry to the medical hall in the south of the city to find the healer. Forgive us, we must be going.” She bowed in farewell and hurried off with Fei’er in tow.

The dark-faced immortal wanted to stop them, but the pale immortal held him back.

“Second Brother, could that child be—?” the dark-faced immortal asked urgently.

The pale immortal watched the mother and daughter leave, his gaze icy. He murmured, “If she has been reincarnated, she’d still be in swaddling clothes.”

“We don’t even know where this divine healer came from. Should we go see for ourselves?” the dark-faced immortal asked.

“Hurry and pick some gaudy storybooks for Eldest Brother, then come with me to the southern medical hall,” the pale immortal replied.

The mother and daughter arrived at the medical hall, but the patients had long since dispersed. An elderly, hunchbacked servant woman with silver hair was slowly locking up the doors.

Fei’er’s mother, anxious, began to weep and scolded Fei’er. “You child! Always running off! That divine healer travels the world—if we miss him, where shall we find him again? You make me worry so! I can’t deal with you anymore! I won’t care for you! Go wherever you like!”

Fei’er, frightened by her mother’s words, pleaded, “Mother! I was wrong, don’t abandon me... don’t drive me away...” As she spoke, her expression twisted in pain, sweat beading on her brow, and she fainted.

“Fei’er! Wake up!” Her mother, now frantic, cradled her in her arms.

The old servant woman wiped her face, then approached and crouched down beside them.

Fei’er’s mother grabbed her arm desperately. “Granny, do you know where the divine healer went? Please, help us! Find him, please—save my child!”

The old woman stroked Fei’er’s cheek and quietly said, “Don’t speak of abandoning her again.” Then, trembling, she rose and, with a leap, flew away...

Just then, the two immortals arrived at the medical hall. Seeing Fei’er stricken, they hurried to help. The pale immortal gently took Fei’er’s pulse...

Fei’er came to, her cheeks rosy. Seeing the unfamiliar, sickly-looking immortal holding her wrist, she jerked her arm back in fright and hid in her mother’s embrace.

“Fei’er, how are you feeling?” her mother asked anxiously.

“Mother! Don’t abandon me! I won’t go anywhere!” Fei’er clung to her mother’s leg, pleading.

“She is cured,” the pale immortal said.

“What?” Fei’er’s mother was taken aback.

“She’s cured. Was it the divine healer who treated her just now?” the dark-faced immortal asked.

“No! The medical hall was already locked,” Fei’er’s mother replied in confusion.

“Very well. In the future, do not scold or beat her again,” the pale immortal instructed. Then, rising, he left with his companion.

“Second Brother, how did she recover so suddenly?” the dark-faced immortal asked as they left.

“The divine healer must have treated her in secret,” the pale immortal said.

“That child really wasn’t her? If she was reborn as a Butterfly Sprite, she’d grow quickly,” the dark-faced immortal said.

“No. She would not fear me so... even if only hatred remained,” the pale immortal replied.

On Hundred Flowers Island, the High Immortal of Spring Breeze was cradling an infant in the nursery, sweating anxiously. “Oh, little one! Are you thirsty? Hungry? If you don’t cry, how will I know when to feed you?”

But the baby simply smiled in his arms. The High Immortal nearly leapt out of the island in fright, spinning in circles, torn between wanting to abandon the child and being unable to let go. “Quick! Peony! Peaony! Camellia... Foxtail Grass! Hurry, bring the diapers! Pine, fetch my robe! Wait—no, she’s done it! Water! Bring water!”

Shanhe burst in with a washbasin, nearly smashing down the door, her voice booming, “I’m here! I’ll look after the baby. High Immortal, go change your clothes!”

Spring Breeze took two steps back, clutching the child, and said with distaste, “That’s the twentieth door you’ve broken! Do you even know how to hold a baby? Don’t break mine!”

“I do! I can even sing lullabies!” Shanhe replied.

Spring Breeze eyed her, half amused, half exasperated. “You? A lullaby or a thunderclap?”

“Fei’er taught me! It’s really nice!” Shanhe said, then opened her mouth and bellowed.

“Enough howling! Help me, quickly!” Spring Breeze shouted.

“Oh!” Shanhe carefully took the infant, her hands unexpectedly gentle as she cleaned the child...

Spring Breeze could hardly believe her eyes. This clumsy, rough creature, so wild and reckless—how could she be so gentle with a child?

“How do you know how to care for babies?”

“Fei’er taught me!” Shanhe rumbled.

The baby, hearing Fei’er’s name, smiled again.

“She teaches you everything!” Spring Breeze threw off his outer robe in disgust, tossing it aside.

“She also told me not to drink tea straight from the pot,” Shanhe said.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if you did,” Spring Breeze muttered, noticing a stain on his undergarment as well. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Awful!” He stripped it off and called, “Pine! Bring me a clean undergarment! And some scented lotion!”

“She said I’m a girl—” Shanhe began, but stopped short, stunned to see Spring Breeze undressing right in front of her, exposing his strong, fair-skinned body. Shanhe gently placed the baby on the bed, then clapped her hands over her face and howled, “High Immortal, don’t do that! I’m not ready!”

Spring Breeze, puzzled by her reaction, asked, “Not ready for what?”

“For undressing!” Shanhe’s large hands covered her blushing, square face, leaving her bristly chin exposed.

Spring Breeze had always regarded Shanhe as something of a beast, never once considering her a fairy. Suddenly, she realized what she’d done, and her own cheeks flushed red. With a flash, she summoned her robe from Pine’s hands mid-corridor, wrapped herself up, and scolded, “What are you staring at! You think I’m for your eyes?”

“You undressed in front of me,” Shanhe replied.

“I did not!” Spring Breeze snapped.

“Fei’er told me not to undress in front of men and men shouldn’t undress in front of women—only in the bridal chamber is it allowed. High Immortal, are you going to—” Shanhe trailed off bashfully.

“Who’s going to the bridal chamber with you! Only a madwoman would! Ugly and thickheaded! And stop always mentioning Fei’er! She’s gone!” Spring Breeze, wrapped in her robe, hurried out, both annoyed and embarrassed.

“Oh...” Shanhe sat down, dejected, cleaning the baby and cradling her ever so gently. The child lay quietly in her swaddling, peaceful and silent.

Spring Breeze left the nursery and entered the closed-off Chen Guang Cave, sitting cross-legged to calm her mind. The grief and chaos of a hundred years ago felt as present as yesterday...

The little crow had self-immolated before his very eyes, as if struck by his own Dawn Spring Palm at full force. The fire reduced her to ash—he gazed upon the charred remains, torn between pity, anger, pain, and regret. Only a few dozen days, blow after blow, hope given and snatched away again and again. In the end, she could not be saved. He knew no soul-calling magic, and even if he did, nothing could restore such a body.

Could it truly have been that palm strike, two thousand years ago, that laid the seeds of this illness? Or had he, unable to control his anger, thrown her too hard just now... It must be. He was a High Immortal—one careless sweep of his hand could cripple an ordinary fairy. But he was only angry... angry at her foolishness! Angry at Ming Zhong’s cruelty! He never truly wanted to harm her!

“I always threatened to roast you, and now I really have—do you know? But you’re not delicious at all! So ugly and charred! Come back! My Hundred Flowers Island has no room for such an ugly bird!” he mourned before the burned little crow.

“High Immortal, please restrain your sorrow. This tribulation was fated; it could not be averted. The more we tried, the more she suffered. At least this time, it was quick. Best to bury her soon,” the old cypress sage consoled the grieving Spring Breeze.

Scenes from the past replayed in Spring Breeze’s mind. The little crow was bound to die—why else save her again and again, only for each calamity to be worse than the last? Burned or buried, it made no difference. At least, unlike Yunxiao, she hadn’t vanished without a trace—her kind heart would surely see her reborn in the heavens. Even if he had to turn all heaven upside down, he would find her again!

“Make a sandalwood casket, the finest! I will bury her with my own hands!” Spring Breeze commanded.

“None of you are to bury her! If anyone tries, I’ll eat them!” Shanhe, half transformed into a beast, charged over, snatched up the little crow’s ashes, and ran off on her sturdy legs.

“Idiot! You’re making a mess!” Spring Breeze leapt after her.

Shanhe dashed into Chen Guang Cave, and Spring Breeze followed, cornering her there.

“Shanhe! Hand over the little crow! If you squeeze any harder, there’ll be nothing left!” Spring Breeze shouted.

“I’m not squeezing! You can’t bury her!” Shanhe bellowed back.

Spring Breeze, furious, cast a spell turning Shanhe into a small beast and sealed her mouth, lunging for the little crow. Shanhe shielded the crow’s remains beneath her body, fixing herself to the ground with a spell, refusing to let go.

Spring Breeze summoned her twin maces...