Chapter 1: Rebirth
Blooming for a thousand years, falling for a thousand years, flowers never see leaves, leaves never see flowers. Zhu Yanyi felt as though she saw the red spider lily. Unwilling to forget her previous life, she had returned.
Opening her eyes, Zhu Yanyi looked at her small hands. She turned her head and saw the wall calendar: the third day of the twelfth lunar month, 1980. The bold, heavy black characters made it clear to her that this was not a dream.
She was reborn—truly reborn. Recalling what had just happened after her death, she couldn't help but smile silently. Covering her eyes with her hands, tears streamed down through her fingers. It was not sorrow, but joy. Life could truly start over; her life had already started over.
In her previous life, Zhu Yanyi was a writer who had penned numerous works. Many of them were popular and sought after by readers, eventually adapted into films, television series, and games. Just before she passed away at fifty-five, she had just finished another book. She died from overwork, making it her final work. Given her fame, that book would likely have earned a considerable fortune after proper packaging and promotion, but that no longer concerned her. Besides, she had already drawn up a will at the age of fifty, so there was no need to worry about her affairs after death.
She had originally thought her life would end in an unremarkable, mediocre fashion. Now she realized this was not her end, but her beginning.
Closing her eyes, she used her spiritual sense to scan her mind. Indeed, everything was real; she had truly returned from fifty-five years old back to five.
It is often said that if one can start over in life, it is undoubtedly a surprise and blessing bestowed by heaven. And now, Zhu Yanyi knew she had received exactly that surprise and blessing.
It was wonderful to be back. She let out a sigh of relief. Her previous life was in the past; rebirth meant a new beginning. From now on, she would start her own life over. Just like the white spider lily and the red spider lily, she would forget the unpleasantness of her past life, cherish everything she currently possessed, and remember the blessings bestowed by heaven. That was enough.
The loneliness, desolation, coldness, and helplessness within her soul would all be cast aside. Zhu Yanyi's life would start over, allowing her to forge a path that truly belonged to her.
Flowers bloom and wither. The red spider lily blooms for a thousand years and falls for a thousand years; flowers never see leaves, leaves never see flowers. It is much like her previous life and this current one: the past cannot reach the present, and the present will not repeat the past.
She smiled faintly, decided to take a nap, and left the rest for when she woke up.
"Zhu Yanyi, wake up." A cold voice rang out. A man materialized out of thin air in the space before her. He wore a silver dragon-shaped mask that covered most of his face, leaving only his eyes and mouth exposed. Yet, it could not conceal his inborn aura of authority. His eyes shimmered, seemingly radiating boundless wisdom like stars in the night sky, offering a glimmer of guidance. They seemed to draw souls in, making one fall into their gaze involuntarily and spill every secret without reserve.
"Venerable One, why are you here?" Indeed, the figure that had appeared was none other than Yanluo Zunzhe, the actual ruler of the Underworld.
"I did not wish to come either. Unfortunately, there were certain matters I had not explained clearly to you, so I had no choice but to appear." Yanluo Zunzhe spoke.
"What matters? Please, just tell me quickly." Zhu Yanyi cut straight to the point. Besides, the person opposite her was far beyond someone she could contend with in this five-year-old body. He was a genuine Venerable One, the kind of divine existence spoken of in legends.