After My Husband Died, I Spent Ten Years Killing Fish in the Cultivation World

Three-sentence summary:

A gorgeous 3,000-year-old man who looks young digs me out of the ground and tricks me into digging out the heart of another gorgeous boy, who's seventeen.

I actually dig the heart out, the boy dies, and the old beauty breaks down.

Because I feel so guilty for causing the beautiful boy's death by taking his heart, I spend ten years killing fish in the cultivation world to atone.

Except he didn't die.

1.

Before Ji Rumo dug me out of the ground, I was a star jasmine flower on the verge of withering away.

After healing my wounds, Ji Rumo sent me to the Immortal Alliance to find the Seven-Orifice Exquisite Heart.

I spent three years undercover in the Immortal Alliance before discovering that the heart I'd searched for all that time was inside Wen Xingqiao, my "senior brother" in the alliance.

He may be called my senior brother, but he doesn't act like one. For the past three years, he's constantly made trouble for me and nearly discovered my true identity.

When I learned the Seven-Orifice Exquisite Heart was inside him, my first reaction wasn't happiness.

After all, spending so much time together means it's hard not to get attached...

Ji Rumo saw my hesitation and controlled me, making me cut out Wen Xingqiao's heart.

The worst part was that, when Wen Xingqiao was dying after having his heart removed, he actually told me he liked me.

"..."

Aaaah! Damn you, Wen Xingqiao! You're about to die, so why say something that makes me feel so guilty?!

Because of those words, I disobeyed Ji Rumo for the first time and didn't give him the heart.

I even stayed in the Immortal Alliance and killed fish, expressionless, for ten years.

2.

Ten years later, I saw Wen Xingqiao in the Demon Prison.

The demons were in an uproar, trying to break through the barrier and escape.

He appeared surrounded by cultivators and, in the blink of an eye, wiped out the demons who had caused the chaos. His icy gaze landed precisely on me.

I stared at him in shock as he came over. Behind him, demon blood fell like rain, yet not a speck of dust touched him.

He reached out, brushed the bead of blood from my cheek with his fingertip, and smiled at me. "Why are you looking at me like that? Did you think I was completely dead?"

Me: "..."

"You should've told me you were alive! I killed fish for nothing!"

3.

No one knows how much Song Xishan regretted cutting out Wen Xingqiao's heart.

The people of the Immortal Alliance only saw their usually cheerful junior sister kneel in front of their master's cave for ten days after Wen Xingqiao died, then take her leave and depart the alliance without looking back.

Seven years later, she returned with a head in her hand, her features steeped in a blood-soaked, murderous gloom.

Seven years ago, before Song Xishan left, her master had said to her:

"Since your mind is made up, I wish you a smooth journey down the mountain. May all go well, and may you return in peace."

After that, Song Xishan descended the mountain and began her ten-year "fish-killing" journey.

[She's not really killing fish. "Fish" is a stand-in for her enemies. In fact, the heroine is avenging her senior brother.

Plot-focused.]

Cover and character profile illustrations authorized by the artist Xiao Niba

Theme: Be positive, brave, and full of hope