Chapter 10
Chapter 10: Still a Baby
Hu Qing fell silent. She was still a child.
Back then, when she brought Hu Nuan into the cultivation world, she had been only twenty. In the cultivation world, the age cap for taking disciples was fifteen—unless your spiritual root was extraordinary, fifteen was already considered too old.
She was twenty. She had even had a child. That was basically a death sentence to her prospects. She knew people must have been whispering behind her back, calling her an old woman.
Who would have thought that after reaching the Immortal Realm, she would end up being treated like a child instead?
Well, she was not even fifty yet. And she had not entered the Immortal Realm by any normal route. There were no mortals here, so lifespans were naturally long. At her age and cultivation level, she was nothing.
Even the bride ahead—she was only seven, eight, nine hundred years old. Only.
Hu Qing suddenly felt shy. Look at that. She was still a baby.
The procession flew slowly toward Changdao Sect. The mountains were lush as jade, dotted with pearl-bright peaks—an obvious feng shui treasure land.
An elder with an immortal’s bearing presided over the ceremony. The groom and bride stood at the very front, dressed in bright reds and greens. They were too far away for Hu Qing to hear the words, but it was probably the usual blessings.
The Tenth Princess stayed quiet and did not stir up trouble. Maybe she was satisfied with the groom.
Hu Qing quietly bounced her leg. No one paid attention to her, so she let her curiosity run wild and looked around.
Most of the guests were likely Changdao Sect disciples. Since it was a wedding, their clothes were not uniform; from a distance, they looked like a cloudbank of colorful auspicious mist. The younger ones laughed and joked, and for a moment Hu Qing thought they were not so different from Hu Nuan and the others.
Then a ripple of whispering moved through the crowd. Hu Qing refocused and caught a single phrase—“here to cause trouble”—and her head snapped up, startled and thrilled.
The groom was staring at someone. Not the bride.
Where everyone’s gaze converged stood another woman: a female immortal so breathtaking that even her back view made your heart go soft.
Hu Qing sucked in a cold breath. Hell right from the opening scene?
Someone stepped forward and persuaded the woman to leave. The ceremony continued. And the Tenth Princess still did not cause a scene.
That made no sense. She was not the type to swallow her anger.
Hu Qing learned why that night, when she went to deliver desserts.
The Tenth Princess’s eyes were bright as she said, “She wants to steal my man? Watch how I make her regret it.”
Fighting spirit, blazing and proud.
Hu Qing suddenly understood: the Tenth Princess might not care much about the groom, but she cared a lot about romantic rivals. Hu Qing could not help feeling sorry for the groom.
Wait—where was the groom?
Was he not here tonight?
He arrived soon after and said in a calm voice, “You don’t need to take what happened today to heart.”
The Tenth Princess snorted. “Whether I care or not has nothing to do with you.”
Hu Qing could not hear what came after. She withdrew with the other attendants and returned to their resting courtyard, quietly guarding the stove while she listened to gossip.
Some had gone to investigate the woman from earlier and had not returned. Others were betting on what the Tenth Princess would do next. A few were already rubbing their fists, eager to give Changdao Sect a lesson.
“Hey, you. Make something for everyone to eat.”
Hu Qing looked over, pointed at her own nose, and the icy maid nodded once.
Hu Qing smiled, washed her hands, and got to work. Behind her, the maids traded glances.
She boiled a pot of glutinous rice balls. The night watch ate without a word—no praise, no thanks, only the air of people who believed it was their due. Hu Qing did not mind. She was human and her cultivation was too low; in their eyes, serving at all was a privilege.
She did not sleep that night. The Tenth Princess sent no further orders, so the wedding night must have gone smoothly, right?
Hu Qing lay there thinking about her future.
She could not stay a Demon Clan princess’s cook forever. Luckily, the princess had married into a Human Clan immortal sect. Maybe her chance was here at Changdao Sect. If they had a dining hall, perhaps she could find work as a helper. Or maybe she could become a menial—immortal sects always had menials, didn’t they?
She chased the thought in circles until a maid came to summon her. The Tenth Princess wanted something light and tasty—two portions.
Oh? Was the couple making progress?
Hu Qing hurried to prepare ten dishes with auspicious meanings. She placed them in the new tableware the maid brought, arranging matching little bowls and plates into a flower shape.
When she finished and stepped aside, the maid glared. “You carry it. Come with me.”
Hu Qing lifted the large carved tray. The maid glanced back and gave a soft laugh. “You’re pretty strong.”
Hu Qing bit back a remark. This weight was nothing; anyone could carry it. The maid was only reminding her what kind of work she was “fit” for.
As they neared the bridal quarters, the maid hopped aside. “Go in.”
Hu Qing’s instincts screamed.
By rights, the second day after a wedding should come with rewards. So why did this maid look like she could not wait to avoid the room? Was she being pushed in as cannon fodder?
Hu Qing steadied her breath and went in.
The bridal chamber was a palace, lavishly decorated. She had to cross the main hall, then pass through two smaller antechambers before reaching the Tenth Princess’s bedroom. As she carried the tray deeper, she heard a voice ahead—too sweet, too eager.
“Tenth Princess, my Senior Brother isn’t good with words. If you want to know anything, just ask me. I’ll tell you everything.”
Hu Qing went numb. Was this woman here to pick a fight, or to slap someone in the face? A wife had to understand her husband through you? Who did you think you were?
Soft curtains of gauze hung in layers from the ceiling. When Hu Qing turned past them, she saw the Tenth Princess in dazzling red, lounging lazily on her beloved throne. Her long legs were crossed, her skirt spilling elegant lines, her eyes half-lidded as if she could not be bothered.
The woman sitting stiffly nearby was not the one from yesterday. This was a green-robed female immortal, gentle as water and graceful as orchids—green, in every sense of the word.
The green-robed immortal continued, “Senior Brother is just quiet. Even though he left early to cultivate, I know you’re in his heart, Princess. For hundreds of years, he’s gone to cultivate on East Mountain at first light, day after day without fail. I can testify to it.”
Hu Qing nearly choked. Testify?
So you followed him every dawn for centuries?
She set the tray down as softly as she could and did not dare interrupt whatever this was. She only watched, waiting to see how the Tenth Princess would respond.
The Tenth Princess made it simple.
She gave a lazy snort. “I can’t stand you Human Clan women. You want something, but you refuse to say it outright—so petty.”
The green-robed immortal’s face stiffened, her smile turning brittle.
The Tenth Princess looked her up and down with open contempt. “You, and the one from yesterday, both want my man. But my man doesn’t want you. Otherwise, the one living here would be you, wouldn’t it?”
The green-robed immortal’s complexion shifted—green on green.
The Tenth Princess rose with a languid stretch. “You can’t get a man to marry you, so you come here and yap at someone who has nothing to do with you. Useless and shameless.”
The green-robed immortal’s smile finally broke. “Tenth Princess, I’m still Senior Brother’s Junior Sister—”
“Shut up.”
The Tenth Princess lifted a hand as if shooing a fly. “Last night, that old man worked hard enough that I didn’t blow up. I’m giving him some face.”
Hu Qing almost laughed. The words were casual, but the dagger was buried deep—sure enough, the green-robed immortal reflexively pressed a hand to her chest.
“But some people insist on being shameless,” the Tenth Princess went on, her voice light. “If I don’t blow up, it would be unfair to you, coming all this way for trouble.”
“I—”
Crack!
A whip appeared in the Tenth Princess’s raised hand, and the moment it formed, she lashed it down. “I’m not here to trade words with you. If you make me unhappy, go die a little first.”
The fight exploded.
Hu Qing retreated to the wall in one blur, crouched low, and covered her head. She peeked through her fingers anyway, eyes drawn to the weapons.
A whip. A sword.
Immortal weapons.
Yeah. She was not about to throw herself into that.