Second Time

Chapter 85 - Lifetimes

Ten years passed in the blink of an eye.

All of the direct disciples aside from Ren Meili made a breakthrough, advancing one step further along the Heavenly Realm. They all begun earnestly researching Domain, except Xiao Shi'er, who focused her attention on the Emperor Realm.

Many of the inner disciples also made advancements. The once-per-decade ranking tournament occurred, after which three inner disciples ascended to the main peak as core disciples. With everyone in seclusion, it remained peaceful even with the extra additions.

"Hu'er, could you help out Fei?" Shao Yue asked.

"No problem!"

The fox demon manifested outside of Shao Yue's body and skipped towards the door. Shao Yue grabbed her by the back of the robe and dragged her back.

"Not like that," Shao Yue chided. "I want you to show her some illusions. Let her live some lives with me with both of us being mortals. One where she stays as a mortal while I cultivate, and one where I stay as a mortal while she cultivates. Help her learn what she wants from life."

"Can do!"

After explaining everything to Cai Fei, she agreed to it.

Hu'er kept the illusions relatively short, trapping Cai Fei in them for twenty to thirty years each time. If she did longer, there would be the risk of Cai Fei's memories getting jumbled and confused, as within the illusion, Cai Fei would have no memory of her real life. If the fake life lasted a similar length of time to her real life, she might forget which was real.

The first illusion was a very peaceful one. Shao Yue and Cai Fei lived far from civilization in a simple home. They spent each day tending to the land. They picked weeds, fed and brushed the animals, made sure the crops had water, and so on.

Cai Fei sat at the table and used a needle and thread to close a hole that had been torn into one of her robes.

Shao Yue rested her head in a hand and stared out the window. "It'd be nice to try travelling the world."

"It'd be hard," Cai Fei replied. "We don't have much money. We wouldn't be able to get very far."

Shao Yue sighed. "Yeah."

Their uneventful life continued for two decades.

Then, Shao Yue came down with an intense illness.

Cai Fei panicked more and more as nothing she did helped. "I'll run to town and get the doctor!"

Cai Fei ran off, but she wasn't as young and fit as she used to be. The nearest town was over ten kilometers away and required her to traverse around a mountain.

Halfway through, she tripped over a tree root and tumbled down a short cliff, landing awkwardly on one of her legs with a snapping sound. She cried out in pain.

"I have to... get the medicine for Yue," Cai Fei mumbled, doing her best to continue forward.

She hopped on one foot, supporting herself with the nearby trees when she could. She stumbled often, eventually resorting to crawling, but in the end, was unable to make it to the town.

When Cai Fei woke up from the illusion, she pounded her fists on Hu'er's back. "Why would you show me something so sad?! Make a better ending!"

"Ow, ow, ow, I didn't make the ending! I just made the situation!"

Cai Fei sighed and reviewed everything in her mind, then went to find Shao Yue.

After hearing the story, Shao Yue laughed. "Well, something like that could happen. There will be many poisons and illnesses out in the universe that I've never seen before."