[Ne Zha] Lotus Roots and Peaches

After transmigrating, Jiang Tao found herself in the Yin-Shang era, reborn as a young attendant under Shi Ji Niangniang named Bi Yun. Woohoo! She died young in her previous life, but in this one she got to be an immortal cultivator. What a thrill! There was just something familiar about the name. Jiang Tao racked her brains and finally remembered: she seemed to be a disposable character in Investiture of the Gods, shot through the throat by Nezha with a Sky-Shaking Arrow. An entirely untimely image flashed through her mind: the red-robed Third Prince, looking like a teenager, effortlessly drawing the Cosmic Bow. A Sky-Shaking Arrow tore through the air, heading straight for her forehead... Jiang Tao, who had finally gotten a second chance at life, clutched her head in terror and decided she would avoid that fate at all costs. So the next day, she sneaked down the mountain, rode her little donkey to the Li residence at Chentang Pass, and saw the little boy still tiny as a booger, chasing chicks and ducklings around the courtyard. She breathed a temporary sigh of relief. But since he was the reincarnation of a spiritual pearl, he might grow incredibly fast. So on the third day, the fourth day, and the nth day, she hid behind a tree and watched him in secret. His arms looked a little longer today. His hair seemed to be growing faster, too. Were his feet getting bigger...? She diligently recorded Young Nezha's growth in her notebook. Once she confirmed he was still growing at an ordinary human rate, she turned to leave, reassured, only for the Fire-Tipped Spear to hook the little tuft of hair on her head. "Hey, you've been sneaking around my house and spying on me every day. What are you up to?" The voice was arrogant and cold, nothing like a child's. Caught red-handed, Jiang Tao immediately dropped to her knees and fawned, tears in her eyes. "I-I have long admired the Third Young Master. I'm such a huge fan that I couldn't help coming by again and again to catch a glimpse of you..." There was a long silence above her. Trembling, she looked up, only to find the renowned jade-faced god of slaughter, who killed any god or Buddha who stood in his way, glaring down at her with a taut little face and a chilly expression. Just as she thought she was in trouble and about to die on the spot, the cold-faced killer suddenly broke into an innocent yet wicked smile. Folding his arms, he said, "All right, then. Starting today, you can follow behind me out in the open." Huh? A few days later, all of Chentang Pass knew that the Li residence's Third Young Master, feared by every person and avoided by every ghost, had acquired a pretty little sidekick. The little sidekick bowed and scraped, kept him company while he ate and played, and even smiled after being smacked into a wall by a shuttlecock. All the parents in Chentang Pass breathed a sigh of relief. At least some poor soul had taken the little menace off their hands. Jiang Tao played with him for three years, and when he turned seven, she finally managed to avoid being killed by the Sky-Shaking Arrow. Nezha didn't draw the Cosmic Bow, but he stirred up the sea, carved out his bones to return them to his father and cut away his flesh to return it to his mother, becoming a wandering soul. Jiang Tao had planned to run away, but couldn't bring herself to leave. She stayed with him for another three years, until he was given a new body and joined the campaign to overthrow the Shang. After being reborn, Nezha was even more ferocious. As an abandoned young cultivator who had given up halfway, Jiang Tao simply couldn't handle him. At last, she slipped away without a word and hid deep in the mountains, farming and tending sheep in blissful peace. And yet one day, the Sky-Shaking Arrow still pierced her throat, and she fell into a pool of blood. Nezha had drawn the Cosmic Bow, not to shoot her, but to hunt an enemy hiding in the mountains. Yet she was destined to die beneath the Sky-Shaking Arrow. Fate could not be defied, and the arrow seemed to have eyes, flying straight toward her. Before she closed her eyes, she saw the young man with his red silk ribbons fluttering, his eyes seeming to bleed. He held her cooling body tight, trembling all over. Was it regret, or anger? It seemed we were both unable to escape our fate. No matter how hard I tried to stop him back then, he still went and stirred up the sea. She thought this, and slowly closed her eyes. Oh well. She had managed to eke out another seven years. That was worth something, at least. Until we meet again in the next life, Third Prince. She just never imagined she really would meet him again in her next life. Jiang Tao had always been able to see what other people couldn't, like monsters and ghosts. As a result, she was sickly from childhood. After finally finding a job, she was so often frightened into making mistakes by evil spirits that she kept losing it. With no parents to rely on, Jiang Xiaotao had to set up a stall and pose as a fortune-teller just to get by. She even conned a Taoist temple out of a robe and a few ritual implements. Business was neither good nor bad, but since she could see ghosts, she sometimes got lucky and landed a few big-paying jobs. At least she had enough to eat. Then one day, a tall, arrogant, red-clad young beauty showed up, planted a foot on her stall, pointed his thumb at himself, and grinned insolently. "Hey, little girl! Tell my fortune. When will I get myself a wife?" Reader's Note: 1. The heroine is a few years older than the hero, but he grows up very quickly. 2. The setting is a big mash-up with plenty of original elements, and does not follow Investiture of the Gods exactly. Theme: Refuse to submit to fate.