No Envy of Immortals - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Heavenly Emperor’s punishment caused me essentially zero damage.

I had no obsession with staying in the Heavenly Court to be an immortal; in fact, I had long since considered packing my bags and leaving.

Being a security guard is the same job no matter where you do it, right?

The employment environment in the Heavenly Realm was abysmal, and the person in charge was a dictator who couldn’t stand the sight of me. I had wanted to make a run for it ages ago.

However, I had still thought of things far too simply.

I knew my employer would give me a hard time by making me guard the Southern Gate for a hundred years.

I just hadn’t expected him to be so petty as to specifically pick a godforsaken snow-capped mountain to dump me on.

On a freezing, snowy night, with no Spiritual Power to protect me and no thick clothing to wear, I nearly froze to death right at my landing point.

After taking a long time to compose myself, I managed to crawl out of the snowdrift with great difficulty.

I had just finished snapping off the ice that had frozen to the ends of my hair when a rustling sound suddenly came from the frost-covered tree above me.

I followed the sound and looked up.

In the next instant, a snow-white figure fell from the branches. Instinctively, I reached out my arms and caught the person in a full embrace.

The Beauty’s body was as light as a drift of fragrant snow.

But I couldn’t hold him up; I was starving and freezing, with hardly any strength left in my body.

So, the moment after I caught him…

The two of us crashed back into the snowdrift together.

Me, having just struggled out of the snow: “…”

The Beauty, looking at me in disbelief as if he hadn’t expected me to be so useless: “…”

I waved a hand weakly.

“Hey, friend. If you aren’t hurt, could you get off me first?”

The Beauty’s lips moved slightly, though I couldn’t tell if he wanted to thank me or say something else.

In the span of a few breaths, his expression shifted several times before finally settling into a look of gentle, innocent bashfulness.

“My apologies, miss,” he said, slowly shifting his weight off me. “I came here to look for some bird eggs for food. I didn’t expect to fall on someone.”

The Beauty braced his hands in the snow on either side of my face, reaching up to brush the snowflakes from the strands of hair on my forehead.

“It’s all my fault. I’ve caused your clothes to get soaked through by the snow,” he said, his tone full of guilt.

To show his apology, he sincerely invited me to be a guest at his home.

“The snowy paths are difficult to navigate. Why don’t you stay at my house for a while, miss? I live alone, so whatever you want to do… it would be very convenient.”

I tried my best to ignore the ambiguity in his tone, tried not to look at his loose collar as he leaned over, and tried not to think about what kind of “convenience” he was referring to.

If I had a choice, I would certainly keep a respectful distance from this eccentric who went hunting for bird eggs in the dead of winter.

But currently, I only had two paths before me.

Either freeze to death tonight on this desolate, snowy mountain, or let him pick me up like a bird egg and take me back.

And so, being sensible, I took the hand the smiling Beauty offered me.

“Then I shall trouble you.”