Thousands of years ago, the gods fell one after another, and calamity descended upon the divine realm.
The immortal realm took on the task of quelling the chaos, uniting its sects and joining forces with the other realms. But the rebellious gods could neither die nor be destroyed unless the Dao itself brought about their end. The only choice was to join forces and suppress them, imprisoning them in the distant Sea of Immortals, a place beyond the reach of the world.
This tale was written in countless versions. Storytellers in the mortal realm had told it time and again, yet Song Yangai still loved to hear it.
Song Yangai was wealthy and influential. She ran the finest theater in Ning'an, yet preferred spending money at other people's establishments.
When listening to storytellers, she booked the most expensive seats just to sleep. When traveling, she bought the fastest steeds to pull her carriage. And whenever she was in a good mood, she randomly picked a few lucky people each year and paid their taxes for them.
In just a few short years, she'd earned herself quite a good reputation in Ning'an.
So when a gravely wounded man grabbed the hem of Song Yangai's skirt on the busy General's Street, barely alive and begging for help, everyone watching assumed she would lend him a hand.
Instead, she crouched down and pried his fingers loose, not particularly gently, then casually handed him a few silver ingots. When her softhearted young maid tried to help, she stopped her. "Didn't the storyteller say that picking up a man on the roadside only brings bad luck?"
Later, the man still came to her Tingling House, bringing his most valuable possessions to beg for a place to stay.
They each got what they wanted, and Song Yangai agreed.
Even when misfortune kept striking afterward, and her young maid grew ever more convinced that her earlier words had been true, Song Yangai only laughed and said they were a joke.
"It's the debt I've owed for a thousand years. At last, it's come to collect."
Completed on July 29 (first draft, kept for now and may be revised, screenshot saved)
Theme: Keep living with determination
