Chapter Forty-Three: The Young Princess of the Jiang Dynasty

Lotus finally understood—this was most likely about inheriting Chonglian’s mission.

“There can be no growth without hardship. Why must one rid the world of every evil thought? Without wicked thoughts, one would no longer be human. Look at me now—well, the me that’s your reincarnation—I’m a little scheming, I bully people now and then, I have a sharp tongue, and I’m a bit greedy for money, though I’m not lacking it. Sometimes I even get jealous. Aren’t these all just thoughts? If you rid yourself of all of them, you lose your happiness!”

Chonglian’s voice was still tinged with sorrow as she murmured, “But if the Abyss of Resentful Souls isn’t purified, will there be any living beings left in this world...”

Her words were so soft that, with the echoes of this space, Lotus didn’t quite catch them. “What did you say?”

“Never mind. All things are arranged by fate—why burden myself with worry?”

Chonglian’s lips curved into a faint smile once more.

“I meant that the divine consciousness I left within the second petal has a general understanding of the outside world. If you want to deal with those corpse poisons, you just need to practice ‘World Purification’ diligently. Remember, your blood is precious—don’t spill it so easily.”

Lotus reached for the bamboo slip floating in midair, the words “World Purification” scrawled across it with wild arrogance. She could vaguely sense the lingering divine power and the aura of the Heavenly Dao.

There was no time to look closely, for Chonglian was already beginning to fade. Lotus hastily asked, “I have one more question—what is your relationship with Chongli?”

A soft, amused laugh drifted from the shards of soul flickering with white light. “Oh? Chongli? That is just his taste...”

The space was plunged into darkness once again. Lotus closed her eyes; in the next moment, upon opening them, she found herself outside that mysterious realm.

[Master! I thought you’d fallen asleep! I called and called, but you wouldn’t wake up!]

Huh? Was this fluffy, round white ball in front of her—Little Rascal?

[Waaah, master, do I look bad like this? I asked the Main God for this form, especially—boo hoo!]

The words of disdain stuck in her throat, unable to come out. She couldn’t help it—this creature’s current appearance was exactly to her taste: cute, soft, fluffy, the very image of a loyal little house pet. Absolutely adorable!

She picked up Little Rascal, placed him in her palm, and kneaded away. Mmm, the feel was wonderful. Perhaps she should train in the space more often.

“How could you not look good? You’re clearly so adorable! If anyone dares say otherwise, I’ll get angry and yank their fur off!”

[Master, you’re so good to me~!]

“By the way, why did the system stop issuing missions?”

Little Rascal purred contentedly as she stroked him. [Mmm, the Main God said there’s no need for missions anymore. From now on, as long as you retrieve the lotus petal in each world, you can move on to the next!]

Oh... so Chonglian and the Main God must get along well too.

“Anything else?”

[Of course! The Main God also said he’s taking back the system. From now on, he’ll open shortcuts for us to travel between worlds. And I—Little Rascal—am now your contracted beast forever!]

Lotus’s lips twitched. Shortcuts, huh? Wasn’t this just pushing her to follow in Chonglian’s footsteps—collect petals, restore her true form, practice ‘World Purification,’ and ultimately sacrifice herself for the Three Thousand Worlds.

Perhaps it was because she was a reincarnation, but Lotus was not Chonglian. She had her own desires and selfishness. She only wanted to live a peaceful life—was that so much to ask?

Besides, why did peace for the Three Thousand Worlds have to come at the expense of a single god’s sacrifice? It simply wasn’t fair.

And when she’d first transmigrated into Bai Ruo and bonded with the system, Little Rascal had promised all sorts of mischief. Now, shackled by destiny, what mischief was there to make anymore?

She would practice ‘World Purification’—not for the sake of others, but because she didn’t want to die from blood loss. Not to mention, Chonglian had said her blood was precious. She recalled the bowl she’d donated to save Little Cui last night; her heart ached at the memory.

For now, larger questions about the fate of the world could wait. She would take things one step at a time.

[Master,]

“What?”

The more Lotus thought, the angrier she became. Little Rascal called out to her several times, but she had tuned him out.

[Master, something’s happened outside.]

“What the hell! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?!”

Little Rascal poked at her with his tiny bean-sized hands. [I did call you, but you didn’t answer~]

Hmph. Little Rascal was aggrieved, but he wouldn’t say so.

Outside the space, at the palace walls, Jiang Sheng and Jiang Ling were leading soldiers to drive back the walking corpses trying to storm the palace, some using ladders, others smashing the gates with huge stones.

“My god! These things are actually this smart? Look—they’re using ladders!”

“What, got your head on backwards? They were all people once; of course they know how to use ladders!”

One of the gate guards saw a walking corpse about to break through the wall at the corner, so he hurried over, dragged a stone, and wedged both himself and it into the gap.

“Boss! Help! These corpses are shameless—they’re scratching my butt! I haven’t even married yet—I can’t lose my chastity!”

A vein pulsed on Jiang Ling’s forehead. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you get a wife—a pretty one! Just be careful not to let them scratch you!”

The soldier was quick-witted and grinned slyly, “I came fully armored today—got an iron plate on my butt!”

His words made the others laugh, easing the tense atmosphere.

Jiang Sheng continued patching the barrier. The one he and his junior brother had set up around the imperial city last night had already been scorched by the black miasma rising from the first generation of walking corpses.

In just one night, the walking corpses seemed even stronger.

And today was overcast. Although the sun didn’t much affect these creatures, it was still comforting to have sunlight. Now, with the gloom, it felt as though the heavens themselves were mourning, predicting the city’s fall before the battle had even begun. Inauspicious—thoroughly inauspicious!

Like misfortune’s grandfather opening the door for misfortune itself—misfortune had arrived in full force!

Jiang Ling watched as the hole in front grew larger—a walking corpse’s head popped through!

Startled out of his wits, Jiang Ling hurriedly fished out something from his pocket and shoved it straight into the creature’s mouth.

The walking corpse chewed twice, gulped, then rolled to the ground and began vomiting.

Jiang Che, Jiang Sheng, and the others who witnessed this were dumbfounded.

“Idiot, what did you feed it?”

“Yeah, boss, I think it almost puked up its guts.”

Jiang Ling wiped the cold sweat from his brow, patted his pocket, and said, “Yesterday, Mother cooked me some pastries as a reward for saving so many people—I gave it one.”

Jiang Che swallowed hard.

It seemed Mother’s cooking had reached new heights; from now on, best to steer clear...