Damn Heaven

Jiang Ziya shook his head and said to Verdant Green Maiden, "Ziya was thinking about matters of state..."

Green Maiden pried open the shell with a small knife, scooped out the clam meat, swallowed it whole, then breathed out a puff of warm air.

Blowing on the warmth, she glanced at Jiang Ziya.

"Let me hear it."

"The Former King has only just passed away, and the Crown Prince is young. Ziya fears the Under Heaven Vassal Lords may have their own thoughts about it."

Jiang Ziya looked troubled as he turned to Green Maiden.

"Does Teacher have a brilliant plan?"

Green Maiden clapped her hands, brushing the crumbs off them. "Here's a piece of wisdom for you: children and grandchildren will find their own blessings! Don't dwell on it so much. When are we starting class, Teacher Jiang?"

"Ziya is only mortal and can't escape worldly concerns. Unlike Teacher, who can stand apart from the world."

Jiang Ziya sighed.

Anyone living in this world had ties that bound them!

A Banished Immortal like Green Maiden, alone and unattached, was probably one of a kind.

At Green Maiden's urging, Jiang Ziya devoted all his spare time outside of handling Qi State's affairs of state to teaching her the Art of Divination. That way, those Turtle Elders wouldn't have made their efforts in vain, either.

Later, just as Jiang Ziya had feared,

the Rebellion of the Three Guards broke out!

The King's Command ordered him to lead troops and join Duke of Zhou in putting down the rebellion.

Green Maiden lay at the head of the table, looking up at Jiang Ziya as he donned his armor. She stretched lazily.

"Remember to come back and keep teaching me."

"The battlefield is perilous. Ziya is going off, and he doesn't know how things will turn out."

Hearing Green Maiden's words, Jiang Ziya smiled helplessly. "If Ziya can return safely, he'll continue teaching Teacher."

"You'll come back."

Green Maiden shook the Turtle Shell and said, "I worked it out this time."

At that, Jiang Ziya laughed. "At this rate, Teacher is ready to graduate."

Green Maiden curled her lip.

Graduate?

She couldn't be bothered to take on students and become a teacher. Why choose teaching when there were so many other things to do? Those little brats would drive her to an early grave.

Jiang Ziya led Qi State's army out to put down the rebellion.

Left behind in Ying Qiu, Green Maiden was bored out of her mind. To test how much she'd learned, she set up a Fortune Telling Stall in the city.

She charged nothing and told fortunes for anyone who came by.

She hadn't expected this little venture to set off a chain reaction.

The fame of the Green Robe Immortal Maiden spread farther and farther!

Many people even came from outside Qi State, hoping to have their fortunes told.

As the number of people seeking her fortune-telling grew each day, they even started asking about trivial matters, like how much rice they should eat that night or which foot they should step forward with first the next day.

Surrounded by the crowds, Green Maiden was furious!

If the snake's bestial nature hadn't been so subdued over the last one or two thousand years, she would have wanted to bite the heads off those noisy people.

She couldn't bite them, and she couldn't drive them away. But Green Maiden had a trick for dealing with that.

She ran!

Her fortune-telling stall vanished overnight, leaving no trace, as if it had never existed. The people who came the next day to visit the Immortal Maiden stared in bewilderment, wondering if their eyes were playing tricks on them.

In the Qi State Palace, Green Maiden lay sprawled on a tree.

Her small, fair feet, bare of shoes and socks, dangled below her, swaying in the breeze like a snake's tail.

"Snake, I'm so mad!"

Green Maiden clenched her fist and shook it at Jiang Ziya, who had returned from putting down the rebellion.

"News travels way too fast among you Qi people! A few days ago, I even met some people from Hao Jing who came to ask me about their marriage prospects."

"Qi people are good merchants, so naturally news travels fast."

Jiang Ziya lifted his head, looking at Green Maiden's slender figure among the shadows of the branches.

"Of course, the main reason is that Teacher's Art of Divination is so accurate. That's why so many people came seeking Teacher."

"You can flatter me all you want; I still won't come sweep your tomb."

Green Maiden tilted her head, shifting into a more comfortable position.

Hearing Green Maiden's half-joking remark, Jiang Ziya chuckled. He stroked his beard and shook his head. "I wouldn't dare ask Teacher to sweep my tomb."

"Don't worry. We've known each other, after all. If I run out of money someday, I'll come rob your tomb."

"Qi State is wealthy. Tell your descendants to pack plenty of treasures into your grave."

Green Maiden flipped down from the tree and patted Jiang Ziya on the shoulder.

Looking at her, Jiang Ziya smiled. "Teacher truly is a Banished Immortal, unlike ordinary mortals, who are so full of reverence for Ghosts and Spirits."

Jiang Ziya didn't take offense at Green Maiden's plan to rob his tomb.

If, hundreds or thousands of years from now, Green Maiden really came to his tomb, that would be a stroke of good fortune for him!

"I told you I'm an Immortal Snake, but you never listen!"

Green Maiden rolled her eyes at Jiang Ziya and waved as she headed out. "Come on, let's go to the seaside and catch fish."

Jiang Ziya quickly reminded her, "Ying Qiu is two or three days' journey from the sea!"

Green Maiden walked a few steps, turned around, and came back to Jiang Ziya. "Then have your people roast me a few oxen."

"Teacher seems to have a much bigger appetite than before Ziya went to war."

Jiang Ziya looked at Green Maiden in surprise. He'd never seen anyone count their beef by the ox.

"It's getting cold. Eating more helps me sleep."

Though Green Maiden had taken human form, she still kept many of a snake's habits.

She liked shade and hated both hot and cold weather.

Jiang Ziya nodded. "But sacrificial animals are precious. Even as Qi State Ruler, Ziya can only find one old ox for Teacher at most. Please forgive me."

Green Maiden waved it off, unconcerned.

"As long as there's food, I'm not picky."

As winter came, the clouds above Ying Qiu grew heavy, bringing the first snow of the year.

The snowflakes fell pure white, blanketing every house in Ying Qiu.

Green Maiden curled up indoors, her feet stretched out beside the stove. She tucked the Animal Skin Blanket around herself and muttered, "How come I never thought it was this cold before?"

Jiang Ziya came in from outside, brushing the snow off himself. He'd heard Green Maiden's complaint.

"It has never snowed this heavily in Ying Qiu before. I imagine Heaven sent down this Auspicious Snow because of Teacher."

"Damn Heaven."

Green Maiden cursed.

In this age, Green Maiden was probably the only one who dared to curse Heaven so openly.

Hearing her curse, Jiang Ziya smiled and shook his head. He took a bundle of bamboo slips from a nearby rack and spread them across the table, then began carving something into them with a knife.

Green Maiden raised her eyes halfway and glanced at him.

"I see you working every day. Aren't you tired?"

"State affairs are so demanding that Ziya can't enjoy the carefree leisure Teacher does."

Jiang Ziya concentrated on carving the bamboo slips.

Green Maiden rolled over and stretched. "Hasn't the Rebellion of the Three Guards already been put down? How can there still be so much to do?"

"The Great King has summoned the Under Heaven Vassal Lords to select craftsmen. He wants to build a new capital city beside the Luo River!"

Jiang Ziya looked at Green Maiden as he explained.

"Work will begin next year!"

"By the end of this year, we have to gather all the craftsmen and building materials we'll need."

Green Maiden kept her eyes closed, lying there in comfort. She answered casually, "Can't you just leave that sort of thing to the people below you? If you insist on doing everything yourself, you won't live long."

Jiang Ziya laughed.

"Ziya has lived long enough. He only wants to do a little more for Great Zhou."