The Place Where Crimson Pearl Returns

Lin Xiyu had hit the jackpot in her previous life. When the Underworld held a lottery for reincarnation, she won the grand prize, securing a top-tier destiny in the human world: a prestigious family, good health and fortune, a life of wealth and glory, and a happy marriage. But the Tenth King of Hell, who was in charge of the Reincarnation Ledger, made a mistake with his brush. By a twist of fate, he replaced her excellent fortune with Lin Daiyu’s frail, sorrowful destiny, a life of hardship cut short. The moment she was born, all her good fortune shattered. From then on, she was plagued by ill health, caught up in the Jia family’s squabbles, and bound to a hollow romance of stone and wood. Her life was full of ups and downs, and her love was a lifetime of sorrow. After a brief spell of confusion, Daiyu had no choice but to save herself. Her whole life had gone wrong! Whoever changed her life should make it right! She tracked down the culprit and set out to claim compensation: “You got my destiny wrong. In this life, the next, and every life after that, you have to make it up to me and give me the happy ending I deserve!” The Tenth King of Hell descended into the human world in the form of a bald monk to make amends for his mistake. At first, he thought this would be a simple matter of saving and compensating her: She wanted her family to be safe and at peace, so he saved Lin Runyu, protected Jia Min, and kept the Lin family together. She wanted wealth and status, so he secretly paved the way for Lin Hai’s flourishing official career and raised the Lin family to the height of its power at court. She wanted freedom from illness and disaster, so he spent a millennium of immortal essence brewing medicine to cure her frail body once and for all. She wanted to avoid ill-fated romances, so he helped her find a happy marriage. He thought that protecting her, ensuring her happiness, and restoring her good fortune would be the end of it. Little did he know that this mishap, which had sent her into the wrong destiny, had never been a mistake. This was the final tribulation of his fated cycle of nine reincarnations: a trial of love. Nine lives ago, he was still the Qinghua Emperor. In a moment of compassion, he took a Nine Nether ghost herb, which had been nourished by a drop of his blood after he injured himself, out of the depths of the Nine Netherworld and planted it beside the Spirit River. Infused with immortal energy, the ghost herb became Jiangzhu. Rooted in the yin spirits of the Nine Netherworld, the Netherworld ghost herb could keep the Underworld in chaos forever, and would never wither away. The Great Dao is heartless; the hardest trial is love. Fortunately, once he finally understood, he realized that only by letting go could he achieve a perfect ending. Across nine reincarnations, he let her go each time. It seemed like he was helping her, but in truth, he was deeply bound by his own inner demon. Unless he let go of his obsession and gave up the drop of blood that had nourished the Jiangzhu grass, the Nine Nether ghost herb could never be eradicated, and Jiangzhu would remain trapped between yin and yang, unable to become a true immortal spirit. In this life, he finally let go of that drop of blood. Jiangzhu was finally able to leave her soul behind and complete nine lifetimes of reincarnation, becoming a true immortal spirit. With its roots gone, the ghost herb was sealed forever beneath the Nine Netherworld. Nine reincarnations came to an end, the ghost herb was destroyed, and the immortal spirit returned to its place. The romance of stone and wood began anew. Everyone found their happy ending, except him. He had yet to pass the trial of love, and could not relinquish his obsession. Alone in the mortal world, he became an apothecary, healing the sick and saving lives. The Heavenly Dao washed away the memories of mortal life, and all the people of the world forgot their past entanglements. Everyone praised the fated bond between Bao and Daiyu, their destined romance of stone and wood. Then a mysterious omen at a Daoist temple and a single terrible fortune slip condemned their bond and shattered the hollow happy ending they had built in the mortal world. Daiyu felt empty inside. Her obsession remained, as if by fate, and she stubbornly demanded the life she should have had, the one that was supposed to end happily. Between a single thought and a single demon, he finally understood what it truly meant to let go and gain. Across nine lifetimes, he gave up immortality to help her be reborn. In this life, he broke his vows to complete his own happy ending. Daiyu raised her eyes, her expression gentle yet determined, and made her final request: “I want a loving husband, a house full of children and grandchildren, and a peaceful life year after year.” He looked across the mortal world and its countless ordinary people. Not one was worthy of the girl he had raised with his blood and failed for nine lifetimes. He cast aside a thousand years of black robes and broke ten thousand years of immortal rules in a single moment. He lowered his eyes with a faint smile, willingly falling into ruin and into her mortal life: “No one in this world is worthy of the grand-prize life you deserve.” “Then I’ll enter the mortal world and repay my debt myself, becoming your destined love in every lifetime.” An immortal romance that began with a drop of blood in the Underworld, was bound by the fate of nine lifetimes, and ended with both of them finding fulfillment. What the Heavenly Dao and fate owed her, he would repay in full with the rest of his life. Bao-Daiyu fans, this story breaks up the pairing. Please don’t read if that’s not for you. Most of the characters from Dream of the Red Chamber are unlikable, including Jia Baoyu, Xue Baochai, Shi Xiangyun, and Tanchun. Please don’t read if that’s not for you. This story contains a made-up mythology about the past connection between the Tenth King of Hell, also known as the Qinghua Emperor, and the Jiangzhu grass beside the Spirit River. Please don’t read if that’s not for you. Coming soon: Starting September 1, 2026, the story will be locked from Chapter 65 onward. Thanks! Theme: Daiyu deserves happiness.