Pet Ancient Husband

Chapter 5: Identity

It felt like an eternity had passed. The anticipated pain never came. There was silence around me, not a single sound. I opened my eyes and found myself lying in a place so beautiful it seemed otherworldly. Was this heaven? Had I died? A myriad of questions bubbled up in my mind like air bubbles. I sat up, puzzled, and looked around this beautiful place.

"Little girl, we meet again," an elderly voice echoed from above. I looked up to see the face of the fortune teller from Qingxin Temple. He was dressed in a white robe, resembling the old immortals from Journey to the West. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Are you that crazy old man?" I raised an eyebrow, looking at the fortune teller's smiling eyes. "Did you die too? If you're dead, then this certainly isn't heaven." I was satisfied to see the fortune teller's smile freeze on his face.

"What do you mean, little girl?" The fortune teller seemed to get agitated, losing his previous air of sanctity and instead resembling the Old Fool from The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

I brushed the dirt off my clothes and stood up, wincing at the pain in my foot. Do you still feel pain after death? I was confused. "Because liars can't go to heaven!" I stepped over the disgruntled fortune teller and sat down on a stone chair.

"Hehe～～! Well said, your mischievous temperament hasn't changed a bit, even after your journey through the human world!" Two more old men, dressed similarly to the fortune teller, appeared and walked towards me with smiles.

"Eavesdropping is immoral," I pouted at the three strange old men. "Who are you? Why am I here? Why do you dress like the immortals from Journey to the West? Aren't you hot in all those clothes?" Although I wasn't sure if they would answer, I couldn't help but ask the questions on my mind.

The three old men burst into laughter at my words. The fortune teller said, "We are indeed immortals. I am the Matchmaker, he is the Day Keeper, and this one is the Night Keeper."

"I've heard of the Matchmaker, but what do the Day Keeper and Night Keeper do?" I was puzzled.

"I am in charge of the day, and the Night Keeper is in charge of the night," the plump Day Keeper, who was called such, stroked his beard and said.

"Is this Green Hill Hospital?" I suddenly understood where I was and was amazed by the funding of this mental institution.

"What is Green Hill Hospital?" The Day Keeper looked at me in confusion.

"It's a mental hospital! But why am I in this mental hospital?" I gave him a look that said he was being silly.

"You don't believe what I say?" The Day Keeper became impatient, probably angered by my words.

"Of course not! It's a scientific fact that sunrise and sunset are due to the Earth's rotation and revolution around the Sun. Even elementary school students know this, right?" To use this to deceive me, are you kidding? That's underestimating me.

"What will it take for you to believe us?" The Night Keeper, relatively calm, looked at me and asked.

"You at least need to give me some proof."

"Alright! Come and look at this." The Night Keeper took out a black mirror and placed it in front of me. It was a bit of a stretch to call it a mirror; the dark surface showed nothing, and looking at it, I felt like I might be sucked in. That uneasy feeling returned to my heart.

"There's nothing! You're bluffing!" I glared at the Night Keeper.

"Don't rush! Give me your hand," he said, looking at me reassuringly.

Confused, I extended my hand. The old man took out a small knife from somewhere and cut my hand. "Ah! Are you trying to murder me?" I screamed in pain, pulling my hand back. As my blood dripped onto the mirror, I was shocked. I saw a version of myself in ancient clothes in the mirror, seemingly doing something wrong. An old lady in gorgeous clothes sat on a dragon throne, saying something to me. Then the three old men pushed me into a swirling vortex with a rainbow-like glow. I saw images of my father and deceased mother holding my hand, watching quietly until the moment Xiao Shuang pushed me off the cliff. Suddenly, familiar yet strange images flashed through my mind, like something that had been forcibly removed from my body and suddenly returned. I held my head in pain, leaning against the stone table.

"Now you know, right? Princess Ruoli?" The Matchmaker patted my shoulder sympathetically.

"Grandpa Moon! Is the Queen Mother still angry with Ruoli?" I remembered that three hundred years ago, I accidentally broke the Queen Mother's seven-colored** bowl used to bless the world, causing a year of disaster on Earth.

"The Queen Mother has never been angry with you. She was just heartbroken by the disaster on Earth and had no choice but to punish you," the Day Keeper comforted me.

I cried into the Matchmaker's arms. A thought suddenly flashed through my mind. "Wait a minute! Grandpa Moon, I remember the Queen Mother said I was to be reincarnated in the Shengyuan Dynasty, right? Why was I born in the 21st century?" I looked at the three grandfathers, who seemed at a loss.

"Uh! Hehe～～!" A hint of guilt flashed across the faces of the three immortals. They pushed each other, none wanting to explain the truth.

"Grandpa Day! You go ahead! I remember you were in charge of the time and place of my reincarnation!" I smiled beautifully, gritting my teeth.

"Heh! Well! That day I... uh! I had a little too much to drink and... uh! I accidentally... uh! I accidentally..." The Day Keeper's head was almost touching the ground, becoming more and more guilty as he spoke.

"Oh! So you just threw me into the 21st century!" I glared at the Day Keeper, whose head was nodding vigorously. Then I looked at the Night Keeper, "If I remember correctly, I should have had a different face after reincarnation, right? Grandpa Night, you were in charge of that, weren't you?"

"Ah! Heh! Yes! Uh! I... I also had a little to drink, but I swear I didn't mean to keep your celestial appearance. It was just an accident!" The previously composed Night Keeper also became guilty and hid behind the Matchmaker.

"Oh! So you kept my celestial beauty? Don't you know that even in the celestial realm, my appearance is almost unrivaled? What kind of impact would it have among mortals? No wonder I was murdered at just seventeen." I wondered if my face had turned blue.

"Never mind! Now that it's done, I suppose there's nothing you can do, right? So, what do you plan to do with me now?"

"We plan to send you back to your original cycle of reincarnation," they said in unison.

It seemed these three old guys had planned this all along. "Where? What identity?"

"Well! Since you've already been reincarnated once, your appearance, age, and memories from these seventeen years can't be changed. As for your identity... uh! There isn't one! We'll send you to the Shengyuan Dynasty, and what happens next will depend on your own fortune," the Matchmaker finished speaking and quickly moved to the farthest place from me, watching me slyly.

"What? You're sending me, nameless and identity-less, to the Shengyuan Dynasty, a country not even recorded in history, with this disaster-bringing face?" These three old men. When I finish my reincarnation and return to the celestial realm, I'll definitely get back at you. Hmph! I let out a terrifying cold laugh.

Amusingly, the three powerful immortals in the heavenly realm shuddered simultaneously. "I remember the Queen Mother said I was to find my destined soul mate with my fate pearl in the human world and marry him to complete the cycle of reincarnation, right? I'll give you a chance to make up for your mistakes. Tell me who has my fate pearl."

"Uh! Well! I think it's better if you don't know. Because when you return to the Shengyuan Dynasty, your memories from the celestial realm will be automatically erased. What difference does it make whether you know or not?" The Matchmaker seemed to be dodging my question.

"Oh! That's true!" I paused. Looking at the three grandfathers nodding vigorously in front of me, I shouted. "No way! I must know!" There must be a problem.

"Alright! We'll tell you as long as you promise not to get angry!" The Matchmaker cowardly shrank his neck. "We three got drunk and accidentally broke your fate pearl. Before we could retrieve it, it split into nine pieces and fell into the mortal world."

I slapped the table, stood up, and if there was a mirror, I'm sure I would have seen my hair standing on end from anger. "You three old men, you not only messed up my time and place of reincarnation and kept my celestial appearance, but now you want me to marry nine people at the same time?" I admit I'm a bit promisc