Chapter 8: The Purple-Gold Thread
The Judge nodded, flipped through the Book of Life and Death in his hands, then seemed to notice something, his face instantly falling into a mournful expression. "Venerable, something has gone wrong. Zhu Yanyi has been reborn, but we forgot to coordinate with the Venerable Hongluan regarding her marriage fate. She will remain single for her entire life." He had not forgotten what Zhu Yanyi had said before leaving earlier: she wished to find a suitable partner and live a complete life.
Venerable Yanluo seemed to pause, then waved his hand. "I will handle this matter. Archive all her records and send them to me. You need not concern yourself with what follows." As expected, debts incurred must eventually be repaid; there is no escaping them, no matter how one tries.
"Yes." The Judge replied loudly. Excellent. With Venerable Yanluo overseeing matters, he need not worry about unexpected complications regarding Zhu Yanyi, nor fear complaints from her after death. However, given such a significant error in Zhu Yanyi's case, he would certainly need to communicate thoroughly with the relevant offices and give them a proper warning. With this in mind, the Judge went off to attend to his duties.
Venerable Yanluo remained in the room, seemingly lost in thought for a while, then leapt upward, vanishing into midair. He reappeared directly before Zhu Yanyi.
Zhu Yanyi looked at Venerable Yanluo with a helpless expression. Although she had spoken with him on several occasions, they were hardly close enough for him to appear before her so casually.
Venerable Yanluo seemed to perceive her confusion and sighed helplessly. "An error in the Underworld's administration has caused a problem with your marriage fate."
"Marriage fate?" Zhu Yanyi was slightly taken aback. Her previous marriage had ended in failure, leaving her without children. What had gone wrong in this life? "Do not tell me I will have neither husband nor children in this life either."
"No." Venerable Yanluo seemed to hesitate for a moment, then produced a purple-gold thread. "Your other half is the one bound by the other end of this purple-gold thread. When you meet him, the hand bearing the thread will grow slightly warm." Upon finishing his words, Venerable Yanluo gave a slight flick of his wrist. The purple-gold thread seemed to gain life of its own, drifting forward to wrap around Zhu Yanyi's right hand. It tied itself into a knot of shared hearts before fading into her wrist.
"What is this?" Zhu Yanyi looked at her wrist. Not a trace could be seen on her slender arm.
"A thread of shared hearts. You may call it a red thread, or a thread of marriage fate," Venerable Yanluo explained.
"I see." Zhu Yanyi acknowledged. "You are tying the thread of marriage fate to me now, which means I did not have one in my previous life."
"Yes." There was little point in concealing such a matter, so Venerable Yanluo did not hide it. "Your thread of marriage fate was not tied in your previous life. Since you have been granted a new life in this incarnation, this detail cannot be overlooked. Last time, while you were in the Underworld, we forgot to tie it for you. Therefore, I have come specifically to bind it now."
Zhu Yanyi felt grateful toward Venerable Yanluo in that moment. He was a deity, yet he had made a special journey for someone as insignificant as her. She looked at him with appreciation. "Thank you, Venerable Yanluo. While I live, I will gather plenty of food, and when I pass away, I will bring it to you."
Such words were spoken. Fortunately, no one else was present at that moment, or they would surely have been frightened.
Venerable Yanluo let out a soft chuckle at her words. "Very well, I must take my leave." He then cast a deep look at Zhu Yanyi. "I hope you will not blame me in the future for tying this red thread to you."
"I will not, I will not." Zhu Yanyi waved her hand. Although she sensed an underlying meaning in his words, for reasons she could not explain, she simply trusted Venerable Yanluo standing before her.
The corners of Venerable Yanluo's mouth lifted slightly, and then he vanished.
Before Zhu Yanyi could react, she saw the curtain at the room's door drawn aside, and a person stepped inside.