Xiang Ling, the precious blue star, cultivated for ten thousand years and finally faced her heavenly tribulation to ascend to the position of an Immortal. Unfortunately, her tribulation occurred the very night when the Crown Prince of the Heavenly Realm was undergoing Nirvana. While Xiang Ling passed her tribulation, the heavenly thunder disturbed Nirvana, and the Crown Prince failed to ascend. In her rage, the Heavenly Empress punished Xiang Ling and sent her to the Mortal Realm to face life tribulation. When Xiang Ling opened her eyes in the Mortal Realm, she found herself inside the body of an eighteen-year-old girl who shared the same name as hers. It didn't take long for Xiang Ling to realize just how harsh her punishment was. The original owner of the body was the only daughter of the County Magistrate of Dongzhi Province and was famous throughout the province for her shameless, unfilial, and overbearing attitude. She was known to create trouble for her parents and siblings. She was famous for bullying the young ladies and masters of other families. She tortured the servants. She regularly visited brothels, pawn shops, and other places where a girl should never go. But if all these weren't already enough, she was also famous for bullying her husbands. Right! Xiang Ling was married and not only to one man but to five men in total. Now, it was not only the entire province and her family that hated her, even her husbands despised her and wanted to get rid of her. Could Xiang Ling possibly survive in the Mortal Realm when every other person seemed to hate her to the core? * * * Warning: Mature content in the story! This is a Reverse Harem novel. ----- This story is part of the WSA 2024 contest, so please show your support for the story and the author! ----- For more updates about the story, follow me on Instagram: @nightsummer20 ******* Disclaimer: The book cover is mine.
"Wha-what are you doing?" Xiang Ling cried out in horror as she tried to force her gaze away from the man which proved harder than she expected. Her eyes shamelessly took in every inch of his finely built body while her brain screamed at her to not act so brazenly.
Seeing a man in his full glory for the very first time, especially such a fine-looking one, Xiang Ling was experiencing some very weird emotions.
After taking their sweet time to adore his physique, her gaze finally returned to his face and she found his sharp eyes observing her closely while she was busy ogling him.
Xiang Ling was surprised by the contrast between the sharp and flirtatious aura he carried. It was hard to tell if his alluring eyes were scaring her or tempting her.
Shaking her head, she tried to get rid of the troubling thoughts that were focused on his naked body instead of the reason she came to find him. She was about to speak when the man finally decided to answer her initial question. "I thought you would not be coming here tonight. But seeing you here, Yuan'er is really happy. Let Yuan'er serve you tonight and make you warm."
Xiang Ling almost screamed in alarm when the man suddenly started crawling toward her. If she thought that finding out about the horrible acts of the previous owner of her body was too much for her to handle, then meeting the Fifth Master surpassed everything.
"STOP!"
She shouted in panic and moved far away from the man who was looking at her in confusion.
"What is wrong, Lingling? Are you angry at Yuan'er?"
Lingling? Yuan'er? Exactly what was going on between the Fifth Master and the previous owner of the body? Xiang Ling wondered even though a part of her already knew the answer. It seemed like unlike the other Masters, the Fifth Master had no trouble sharing the same bed with the previous Xiang Ling.
Taking in a deep breath to compose herself, she spoke - "Master Wen, please put on your clothes and stand up. I have something urgent to ask you. Please."
Xiang Ling thought that for a moment she saw Wen ZheYuan's eyes turning sharper at her words but before she could confirm her doubt, he had already looked away. What she didn't notice was that she took him by total surprise when she made her words sound like a request instead of an order unlike what the previous Xiang Ling used to do.
Wen ZheYuan stood up as she requested and put on his purple robes that finally hid his body from her shameless eyes. Once he was done, he turned to face her and a bright smile suddenly bloomed on his red lips as he started walking toward her. "Tell me, Lingling. What important thing do you want to talk about with me?"
Xiang Ling suppressed herself from taking any more steps away from the man and instead of focusing on his nearness, she focused on the important matter. "Do you have any money?"
Her question stopped the man in his tracks right before he was about to reach her. There was a confused look in his dark eyes for a moment before he once again smiled and turned away to walk toward a closet. He opened the closet and after flipping through some of the scrolls and papers, he took out a small wooden box and opened it. Inside, there were two silver coins which he grabbed and returned to stand in front of her.
"Here. This is all I have." He took hold of her hand and placed the two coins in her palm.
Xiang Ling stared at the two coins and bit down on her lower lip as frustration took over her thoughts. The man noticed the shift in her expression and realized that she wasn't satisfied with the little money he gave her.
"Yuan'er is at fault. I can't even provide Lingling with enough money for her to go out and enjoy the night." Though he had a weak smile on his lips and his eyes carried sadness as he spoke, his words carried a completely different intent. Xiang Ling stared at him with her jaw hanging open. With such an innocent look, he just slandered her so easily.
Despite the sudden anger she felt brewing deep within, Xiang Ling tried to stay calm and reminded herself that she was not the person he just slandered, it was the previous owner of the body. "Why are you apologizing? It's not your fault at all. But this money is indeed not enough to call a physician."
"Physician?" Wen ZheYuan asked in confusion, not understanding why there was a sudden need for a physician. "What is going on? Are you not feeling well, Lingling?" Even though he looked like he was worried about her, Xiang Ling felt something was off about this Fifth Master.
At first glance, Wen ZheYuan looked innocent and simple, a man who seemed to actually care about the previous Xiang Ling. The way he acted by taking off his clothes and the way he talked, it even seemed like he and the previous owner of the body had a good relationship. However, Xiang Ling couldn't help but feel that this man with a sweet face was hiding something behind his perfect facade.
"It's not me but Wei Guang. He's having a high fever and we need a doctor to check on him. However, we don't have enough money for that. Just two silver coins wouldn't be enough." Xiang Ling explained while she tried to think of a solution.
"Though this money is not enough to call a doctor, we can buy some fever medicines from it." Wen ZheYuan suggested and relief washed over Xiang Ling as she hurriedly nodded her head. "Right. That's great. We can do it."
"Then let me go and buy the medicine." Wen ZheYuan said as he took the coins from her palm.
"But-"
"The rain is heavy. You shouldn't go out in this weather. Look after First Master and I will be back soon with the medicines." The man didn't give Xiang Ling any more chance to protest as he immediately ran out of the room and into the heavy rain.