Luoyun City.
Yunqian Bureau.
In a thatched hut at the edge of the stables.
A faint, sweet fragrance mixed with the heavy stench of sweat.
The acrid smell made Jiang Man, who was half-asleep, wrinkle his nose and instinctively raise a sleeve to cover it.
But the moment the sleeve neared his nose, a sour stench that had been building for days shot straight to his brain, jolting him wide awake with a shudder.
The instant he opened his eyes, he froze.
He was standing before a simple wooden bed, surrounded by mottled earthen walls. A faded, torn paper character for "double happiness," looking like it had been salvaged from somewhere else, was stuck to the wall.
Other than the wooden bed and a chipped table and chair set, the room was almost completely bare.
But the most striking sight was the woman sitting on the edge of the large bed before him, dressed in coarse linen clothes.
The rough clothing itself was nothing out of the ordinary here.
What was astonishing was her face, so exquisite it didn't seem of this world, like a masterpiece meticulously carved by a grandmaster. Her almond-shaped eyes were like obsidian submerged in a clear spring, their gaze carrying a hint of shyness.
Her vermilion lips were pressed lightly together, as delicate as cherry blossoms.
A face like that belonged in the heavens; how could it be found in a thatched hut?
"Husband, are you going to let go?" she asked softly, her voice as pleasant as a mountain spring.
Hearing this, Jiang Man paused.
Only then did her words register.
'Husband?'
'Me?'
He then realized his own large, rough hand was gripping a rusty key, while the woman's slender, delicate fingers rested on the upper part of it.
Instinctively, Jiang Man wanted to release his grip.
But suddenly, a faint, sharp pain pierced his mind.
Then, memories flooded in like a tidal wave...
At the very beginning of his memories, he knew he had transmigrated—into a mother's womb.
But for some reason, midway through, he had suffered a tremendous shock while still unborn.
At the time, he thought his mother was trying to have an abortion. He was unwilling, but powerless to resist.
Then he fell into a coma.
Plunging into endless darkness.
And when he woke up, he was here.
But he quickly grasped the general situation.
The abortion he expected never happened; he had indeed been born safely.
But because he was simple-minded, he was seemingly abandoned.
He ended up in a rather remote village at the foot of a mountain.
The town and its villages were under the jurisdiction of one of the Three Major Sects, which were themselves governed by the Immortal Sect.
As soon as he arrived, he was put to work in the fields.
At ten, he was assigned a yellow ox.
At sixteen, because the village was sparsely populated and he was the only one of the right age, he was sent to Luoyun City to participate in the Cultivation selection. He brought his Old Yellow Ox with him and joined the Cyan Cloud Pavilion within the Yunqian Bureau.
This year, at eighteen, the Old Yellow Ox suddenly began to speak without any warning.
It asked him if he wanted a wife.
The simple-minded him didn't question a talking ox. He was simply envious of others who had wives, so he nodded and said yes.
The Old Yellow Ox then told him that in three days, at noon, a stream would appear behind the mountain. If he followed it upstream, he would find an Immortal Lake, and some Immortal Robes would be left by the shore.
Whoever's Immortal Robe he took, that person would become his wife.
He believed it, and he did as he was told.
In the end, he really did bring back a woman as beautiful as a fairy from heaven.
The very one before him now.
They had just performed the wedding ceremony during the day.
And now, in the evening, she was gently telling him that since they had performed the ceremony, they were husband and wife.
And that they must live a good life together from now on.
She even offered to clean the house and help with chores, but the iron chain on her ankle was holding her back. If he could find the key to unlock it, she could truly contribute to their home and build a happy life with him.
His simple-minded self couldn't resist the allure of her every frown and smile, so naturally, he believed her again.
And now, the key was in his hand.
As his memories returned, Jiang Man felt a strange sense of unease.
'A talking ox, a woman who lost her clothes, and me, the one who married her...'
'Why does this plot feel so familiar?'
Immediately, Jiang Man glanced at the iron chain around her ankle.
'This is...'
'Isn't this kidnapping a Fairy?'
'Would a Fairy like her willingly be with me just because we went through a wedding ceremony?'
Jiang Man didn't believe it.
This shabby home, this rock-hard bed, the end of which was stained with a dark patch of dried mud.
'How could a home that's no better than a pigsty make her feel like she belongs?'
'Besides, this coarse linen clothing is so scratchy even I find it uncomfortable, not to mention the nauseating stench of sweat.'
'Let alone a pampered Fairy with delicate skin.'
'She must be suffering every single moment.'
'The Fairy isn't a fool.'
'How could she willingly help with chores? Be a devoted wife and raise children?'
'If I give her this key, her revenge will arrive swiftly. I probably won't survive the day.'
'Offending a being like her... what awaits me is utter catastrophe.'
'In storybooks, a tale like this might have a happy ending, but reality isn't a storybook.'
'A Fairy from the heavens above, even if she were completely bewitched, would never truly commit herself to a country bumpkin!'
Thinking this, Jiang Man suddenly tightened his grip on the key, trying to pull it back.
However...
It didn't budge an inch.
His heart sank as he instantly realized something was wrong.
'Can holding a key for a long time also restore Magical Power?'
Jiang Man tensed up, a thousand thoughts racing through his mind.
Finally, he forced himself to remain calm and said slowly, "Fairy, if I told you this was all a misunderstanding, would you believe me?"
The once shy and timid Fairy now stared at him with an icy gaze.
Jiang Man knew she didn't believe him at all.
"Fairy, if I let you go, can you spare me? I was young and ignorant, deceived by a villain. I've only just come to my senses today and realized the colossal mistake I've made," Jiang Man asked, struggling.
As he spoke, he secretly tried to use his strength to take back the key.
But the key in her hand was as if it were embedded there, not moving in the slightest.
"What are you talking about, Husband? You and I are a married couple who have performed the rites. What is this talk of being spared?" The Fairy's vermilion lips parted, and her cold words sent a shiver down Jiang Man's spine, even though it was August.
Before her voice had even faded, Jiang Man suddenly felt a piercing pain all over his body, as if countless ice needles were stabbing into his marrow.
He even felt as if his body was about to be torn apart.
He instinctively wanted to let go and retreat.
But his hand holding the key felt like it was glued in place.
Now he could neither advance nor retreat.
'She really is a Fairy.'
"Husband, do you know what happens when someone performs a wedding ceremony with me? I have never met anyone who dared to do so. You must be an Unparalleled Celestial Pride, I presume?" the Fairy asked, a barely perceptible sneer in her eyes as she looked at Jiang Man.
Jiang Man stuck to his guns. "I was truly framed by a villain."
'I just woke up. It's the Old Yellow Ox's fault.'
MOO!
Just then, the sound of an ox lowing came from the courtyard. It wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear.
At that moment, Jiang Man felt the key in his hand begin to vibrate.
Even the strength in the woman's hand seemed to weaken.
Soon, she tightened her grip on the key with a slight exertion of force.
The Fairy's gaze shifted. She glanced at the door of the hut, and when she looked back at Jiang Man, her eyes were filled with indifference. "Husband, you even keep an Evil God as livestock. No wonder you dared to marry me. I suppose you also understand what you must bear for doing so."
Before she finished speaking, the key shattered.
Even the iron chain vanished along with it.
Then, Jiang Man felt something strange happening to his body, as if something had drilled into his mind.
But before he could focus on it, the figure before him began to slowly fade away.
Her soft voice sounded again: "A couple for a day shares a bond for a hundred. You must work hard, Husband. The price for marrying me is not easy to bear. Also, your livestock has offended me. My punishment will arrive soon."
"We will meet again at any time. I just don't know if, when we do, you will still be alive as you are now, or long since reduced to dried bones in the earth."
With that, she disappeared completely.
Immediately after, with a CRASH...
The dilapidated wooden door fell down.
'My door,' Jiang Man thought, his heart aching at the loss.
He looked through the doorway and saw an Old Yellow Ox, its eyes filled with disdain.
Jiang Man's heart tightened as he remembered what the Fairy had said.
'This is an Evil God.'
'The ox he had depended on for survival was actually an Evil God that everyone wanted to hunt down and kill.'
'I'd better keep playing dumb,' Jiang Man thought.
But suddenly, he felt that sharp pain in his mind again.
A golden, unidentified object was floating in his mind.
With a flicker of his thoughts, he tried to figure out what it was.
The golden object then seemed to be interpreted, presenting itself as text.
[Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart]
[As an Unparalleled Celestial Pride, you can certainly succeed at Introducing Qi into the Body within three days.]
[If you fail to introduce Qi, the Fate Chart will backlash.]
[You may die suddenly at any time.]
Jiang Man was stunned. "..."
'So this is the price for marrying her?'