Inside the Immortal Beast Garden, Yao Qin stared at Jiangbu, finding it more precious the more he looked at it. Since ancient texts didn’t specify what Black Gold Blood-Flame Beasts liked to eat, he had gathered all the finest delicacies in the garden and presented them. To his surprise, the beast only sniffed them, turned its head away, and gave an extremely disdainful snort.
Yao Qin was stunned. As expected of the highest-ranking demonic beast, it certainly had a personality.
Just as Yao Qin was pondering how to win the favor of this “little ancestor,” heavy footsteps sounded at the entrance. Turning around, he saw Qi An stepping into the garden with a face full of resentment and anger. Qi An was usually the most easygoing person and had never been this angry before. Seeing her like this, Yao Qin knew something major had happened and rushed up to ask, “What did the Heavenly Emperor say to you?”
Qi An’s eyes were bloodshot. She said indignantly, “I was deceived by the Demon Lord! The Heavenly Emperor is selling me to the Demon Clan.”
Qi An recounted the conversation that had taken place in the Heavenly Clarity Palace to Yao Qin, but he didn’t seem surprised at all. “Actually, I wanted to tell you this earlier. Black Gold Blood-Flame Beasts are a rare breed that can only be kept by the Imperial Family of the Demon Realm. Gifting such a beast signifies that the giver accepts the recipient as a member of the Demon Imperial Family and recognizes them as their life partner.”
Qi An looked silently at Jiangbu. She couldn’t believe she had accepted such a remarkable “thing.” Truly, a lack of knowledge made it easy to be deceived. Had she learned more about spirit beasts while working under Yao Qin, she wouldn’t have been taken in so easily.
“What should I do now?” Qi An glanced at Jiangbu, lowering her voice as if afraid it might hear her. “Should I return it?”
“You’ve already signed the Scripture of Fate; what’s the use of returning it now? Since you’ve already accepted it, you might as well keep it. Don’t worry, if you’re too busy, I’ll help you raise it properly.”
Seeing his expectant expression, Qi An knew he just wanted to keep Jiangbu. She rolled her eyes immediately. “I thank you so much.”
One after another, they have all been bought off so easily. Is there anyone on my side?
Qi An suddenly remembered that when she was at the Hehe Immortal Palace, her fellow officials had all loathed the Demon Lord. If she could get them to go to the Heavenly Clarity Palace and speak to the Heavenly Emperor, perhaps, seeing that the masses were restless, the Emperor would reconsider this matter.
With this in mind, she handed the pills and Five-Spirit Stones that Jiangbu usually ate to Yao Qin and rushed back to the Hehe Immortal Palace. However, as soon as she returned, she saw two long rows of black crates lined up from outside to inside the palace, and her colleagues were enthusiastically unpacking them. She had a bad feeling.
One immortal official noticed her and waved her over. “Little An, come take a look.”
Qi An stepped forward and saw that the open crates were filled with high-grade magical artifacts and cloud-silk fabrics. Her colleague said excitedly, “These were sent by the Demon Lord to thank us for facilitating Princess Yuejiao’s marriage. You were right the Demon Lord is not a bad person; he is very thoughtful.”
Another official chimed in, “Looking at it this way, marrying into the Demon Clan isn’t as terrifying as we thought. If there’s another chance for an alliance with the Demon Clan in the future, we should definitely pay close attention, if only for the sake of these treasures.”
Clearly, the Matchmaker hadn’t told them she had been sold, and more clearly, they had already been bought. Qi An decided to struggle one last time. “Have you forgotten the fear of being suppressed by the Iron-Faced Lady and General Giant Hammer when we went to the Demon Realm?”
“What does that matter? Look at these gifts; a single crate pays for our medical bills. And think about it when has our immortal palace ever earned this much money? A little injury is nothing.”
Hah, is this the legendary power of money?
Qi An gave up. She had every reason to believe that if she told them she had been duped into a marriage by the Demon Lord, they might just tie her up with red silk ribbons and deliver her to the Demon Realm as a living gift. She left without a word. If she wanted to annul this engagement, she would have to think of another way.
The next day, Qi An didn’t go to work at the Hehe Immortal Palace, instead holing up in her room to contemplate a strategy. The Matchmaker knew she had a lot on her mind and didn’t bother her, giving her a small long-term leave. However, after two days passed, she still hadn’t come up with a solution.
On the third day, she decided to stop obsessing over it. Since there was no way to dissolve the engagement, she might as well throw caution to the wind. If it came down to it, she would just let the engagement stand. After all, Mo Qing had said that as long as she wasn’t willing, no wedding date would be set. In other words, as long as she didn’t agree, the wedding date would be delayed indefinitely. She didn’t believe that Mo Qing, as the Demon Lord, could endure a lifetime without marrying. In any case, her life was destined to be solitary; having the title of the Demon Lord’s fiancée wouldn’t harm her.
Once she thought of it this way, she immediately felt enlightened. If it was just a name and didn’t affect her life, it wasn’t exactly a hopeless situation. Beyond this, she remembered something more important—she hadn’t been recorded in the Immortal Personnel Registry yet! She had worked for days and even sacrificed herself; it wouldn’t do for her not to be officially recognized.
Thinking this, she immediately got off the bed and headed to the Hehe Immortal Palace.
At the palace, the Matchmaker was organizing red strings. The moment he sensed Qi An’s aura, he frantically looked around for a place to hide, fearful that she had come to ask for an annulment. Before he could flee, Qi An arrived at his desk, placed a hand on it, and looked down at her supervisor. “Boss, let’s talk.”
“What do you want to talk about?” Seeing he couldn’t escape, the Matchmaker sat up straight. “If you want to talk about the annulment, go talk to the Heavenly Emperor; it’s useless talking to me.”
“I’m not here for that,” Qi An said. “I mean, I’ve been back for three days shouldn’t my transition process be moving forward?”
So it was just that. The Matchmaker breathed a sigh of relief. “This matter? Easy.” He took a folder from his drawer, wrote and drew on it, stamped it with his seal, and handed it to Qi An. “This is your appointment letter. Take it to the Personnel Department. Once the officials there confirm the information is correct, they will enter your name into the official personnel list of our immortal palace.”
Qi An asked doubtfully, “Is it that simple?”
“How complicated could it be?” The Matchmaker leaned back in his chair. “As immortals, isn’t simplicity and clarity what we prize?”
Qi An thought about it; the Matchmaker had no reason to lie to her. She took the appointment folder and hurried to the Personnel Department. There were few personnel adjustments in the Heavenly Realm, except for those like Qi An who worked odd jobs. Once familiar, Qi An had been to the Personnel Department so many times that her relationship with the officials there was like a fully ripened melon.
As soon as the official Yan Ding saw Qi An, he greeted her warmly. “Little An is here. You haven’t stayed at the Hehe Immortal Palace for long this time.”
“This time isn’t for a job change.” Qi An placed the folder from the Matchmaker solemnly in front of Yan Ding and said triumphantly, “I’m here to become an official immortal.”
Yan Ding was surprised. He opened the folder, read it carefully, confirmed it was indeed the Matchmaker’s handwriting and the seal was correct, and felt happy for Qi An. “Little An, you’re something else. An official position in the Hehe Immortal Palace has never been easy to get. You’ve only been there for a short while and you’ve already achieved it? Tell me, how did you do it?”
Qi An stared at Yan Ding and said word by word, “It’s simple: I sold myself.”
Yan Ding laughed out loud. “Now that you’ve become an official immortal, you’ve learned how to tell jokes! If you don’t want to say, don’t say it; lying isn’t good, though.”
Qi An felt bitter. She was telling the absolute truth. She gave a wry smile. “Whatever you say. Just finish the paperwork for me first.”
Yan Ding replied with a smile, “Fine.” He reached out into the cabinet behind him, retrieved the personnel list of the Hehe Immortal Palace, turned to the last page, picked up a red brush, and was about to write Qi An’s name.
Just as the ink was about to touch the paper, a deafening sound erupted nearby, and at the same time, Qi An felt the ground, paved with floating clouds, shake violently. Qi An was stunned. Do earthquakes happen in the Heavenly Realm too?
After the shaking stopped, Yan Ding put down the brush and pulled Qi An outside to investigate. To the west of the Personnel Department, dazzling beams of spiritual light tore through the sky, shooting about in a chaotic fashion.
Qi An said, “It looks like someone is dueling. Judging by the light, their power is quite high.”
“The Heavenly Realm never allows private duels. Which Upper Gods are so bold that they don’t even know to duel quietly?” Yan Ding was full of interest. As he headed toward the scene, he said, “Come, let’s go take a look.”
Qi An grabbed him. “Finish my business first, and then we’ll go, alright?”
“It’s just a matter of one name. What are you rushing for? If we go late and there are no good spots to watch the fun, what then?”
With that, regardless of Qi An’s wishes, he dragged her toward the west. Qi An felt her life was bitter. She was only one name away from becoming an official immortal, and even this could lead to trouble?
When they arrived at the duel site, they discovered that the spiritual light was erupting from the divine mansion of the Third Prince, Yangxu. By this time, the area outside the mansion was crowded with gods. Qi An and Yan Ding had arrived a bit late and couldn’t occupy the best viewing spot. Yan Ding, who loved excitement the most, wasn’t bothered by this. He pulled Qi An along, diving through the crowd like a loach, and within a few moments, they were standing at the very front.
Qi An finally saw the situation inside through the mansion gate that had been shattered by the magic. Several Upper Gods were standing in opposition to a young girl emitting demonic energy. When she saw the girl’s face, Qi An was stunned and let out a soft cry: “Princess Yuejiao!”