Zhiyu was a little immortal whose shrine had only just opened. With few worshippers, she was threatened by Lord Yisuan with having her immortal status revoked.
During the royal family's great ceremony to worship Heaven, the little prince slipped away from the crowd and ran to Zhiyu's side hall. He placed a jade pendant on the altar. “May disaster never befall the immortal maiden.”
In an instant, divine light filled the hall and Zhiyu's power surged. During the war, she protected countless people and gained many believers.
But after the little prince came of age, he committed terrible acts of slaughter and fell into the animal realm. He had to undergo nine cycles of reincarnation to atone for his sins. Unable to bear it, Zhiyu sought him out in every life.
First life: He was a stray kitten that could be bought for eight coins. His skin had been peeled off, and by the time Zhiyu arrived, he was barely breathing.
Second life: He was a dog worked to death in a breeding cage.
Third life: He was a pangolin, killed while pregnant.
Fourth life: He was an elephant whose tusks had been cut off and who was forced to perform for money.
Ninth life: He was an immortal mermaid. In the dark depths of the sea, chains pierced his tail fin, and his blood stained the marble platform red. Hoarsely, he begged for death. The people below acted as if they couldn't hear him, grinning greedily as they held cups of vinegar. “I wonder if mermaid meat tastes fishy?”
Through all nine lives, he died right before her eyes.
Unable to bear it any longer, Zhiyu's power surged and she revealed her true form. “The Heavenly Way has been wrong from the very beginning!”
The Heavenly Way wants him to atone? Then I'll rebel against it for his sake.
Theme: All beings are equal, and all beings deserve compassion
