Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

Yunping: ...How about we try turtle?

Ye Yuchan: ? ? ?

(The silly man thought for a moment and then showed a look of utter disgust.)

Ye Yuchan: No, you old rogue, can you change your approach? Can you stop talking about human hybridization? It's kind of scary.

Yunping: What, you look down on animals that have become spirits?

Ye Yuchan: No, I just feel something's off. Is there no possibility that animals could have sex with each other and then slowly evolve into elves?

Yunping: So what do you think would happen if a bat, a turtle, and a white dog were hybridized?

Ye Yuchan: ...What is it?

Yunping: A chimera, I suppose.

Ye Yuchan: ……

Ye Yuchan suddenly thought of something.

Ye Yuchan: Following your line of thinking, I suddenly have an idea.

Yunping: What are your thoughts?

Ye Yuchan: If a person hybridizes with a plant, can they become a vegetable?

Yunping: What the hell is the point of this?

Ye Yuchan: Yes! Plants can absorb nutrients through photosynthesis. Look, we cultivators have to breathe in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth every day, while plants can absorb nutrients just by basking in the sun. Wouldn't it be incredibly convenient for plant people to cultivate?

Yunping didn't speak, but silently pointed to the willow tree in the corner of the courtyard.

Ye Yuchan: What's wrong?

Yunping: Starting tomorrow, it will be your dual cultivation partner.

Ye Yuchan: ……

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The author's words:

Essentially, these are just some silly ideas I had in my daily life. Since I couldn't use them in the main story, I wrote them in the side stories out of boredom.

If you think this silly dialogue is alright, feel free to leave a comment here. If there are enough comments, I'll update it when I have time later.

★ Related to the work ★

★ NO.1 What should I do if my teacher in another world is a pervert? ★

1. Preface

The rain was drizzling.

The hazy moonlight was tinged with an unfathomable darkness, as if something was deliberately blocking the bright and clear moonlight, allowing only a few rays of light to scatter and spill along the muddy roadside through the gaps in the leaves.

The cold wind was harder to bear than I had imagined. Was it because I got soaked? Or was it because my life was nearing its end?

I don't understand, why is this happening?

not understand.

Her snow-white hair fell limply to the ground, mingling with the black and yellow soil. Her petite and frail body was enduring the sharp, cold wind. The chill crept up her back, up her head, into her heart, and filled her veins.

Pain, or rather, an indescribable exhaustion, ravaged her consciousness, which was as fragile as a candle flickering in the wind. If she hadn't been clinging to life, she would probably be a corpse by now, helplessly heading towards death in the cold wind.

—I always feel so unwilling to accept this.

She bit her lip tightly on the collar of her snow-white Taoist robe, two lines of clear tears sliding down her cheeks, mingling with the rain, and finally dripping onto the soil in front of her, which was filled with the scent of weeds.

She had never felt so resentful, for death was closer than ever before. She could barely feel her back, even though there was a huge bloody hole in it, piercing through her body. Her internal organs had been smashed to pieces, and blood was spreading like a stream, gradually reaching the girl's fingertips.

I was going to die, just like that... I died so simply.

She did nothing, and couldn't accomplish anything. Even though she had died once before, she still resisted facing death again. If she could, she would jump up right now, smash Death's head, snatch the deadly scythe, run home, and then sleep in her warm, comfortable bed until she naturally woke up.

—She can't do it.

With her last breath, she couldn't defy death.

It was obvious that she would die, at the hands of her own fellow disciples.

Even now, she still doesn't think she did anything wrong. It was clearly that woman who was secretly sabotaging her, that high-ranking official who harbored malicious intentions, coveting the Xuan Yin spiritual root within her body, and even repeatedly injuring her. Why didn't her sect protect her? Instead, they personally sent people to kill her, seize her spiritual root, and give it to that woman.

This is so strange, so really strange... This kind of thing shouldn't happen.

Why? Why? Why!

She had finally escaped that world, that world filled with the stench of money and power, and was reborn here. She thought that with the Xuan Yin spiritual root in her body, she would surely achieve something great. But in the end, she didn't even have the ability to protect herself. She could only watch helplessly as her most trusted fellow disciple pierced her chest with a sword, kicked her head, smashed her body, and stole her spiritual root.

It hurts so much... It hurts not only physically, but also emotionally.

"I'm sorry, Yu Chan, we had no choice."

Standing beside the girl, the female disciple, seemingly feeling somewhat reluctant, took a deep breath and spoke apologetically.

An apology? If apologies were enough, what would we need the police for?!

Ye Yuchan angrily tried to turn her head to see her best friend's ugly face, but her head was already immobile. So she parted her lips slightly, about to unleash her furious words.

……

In the end, she didn't say anything.

Her throat was already blocked by something, and her vocal cords had stopped working.

Nevertheless, she could not suppress the burning rage in her throat, and a hoarse roar burst from Ye Yuchan's mouth.

The sound was like that of an ancient ferocious beast, its endless anger and resentment transforming into a non-human roar that surrounded the two female disciples, soaring into the sky and echoing throughout the entire forest.

Her broken body trembled with all her might, her fists clenched so tightly that veins bulged out, and her ferocious roar made it hard to believe that she was a woman.

Even the two well-informed female disciples were stunned by this sound that no human could make. Fear and panic filled their faces, and one of them ran wildly into the depths of the forest without looking back, as if trying to escape Ye Yuchan's angry roar.

The remaining person was also shivering, retreating while looking at Ye Yuchan in a panic.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...I'm really sorry..."

"Forgive me, please... forgive me! Forgive me!!"

The footsteps are getting farther and farther away.

The terrified apology gradually faded into the sound of rain.

In the end, only Ye Yuchan remained, lying alone in the rain, letting the cold water droplets take away the warmth from her body.

It's over. It's all over.

Ye Yuchan gradually stopped roaring, letting that ferocious, beast-like voice no longer linger. She knew that no matter how angry she was, no matter how much she tore her throat, she could not undo the fact that she had been betrayed by her fellow disciples, nor could she make a full recovery.

How cruel this world is—there is no crueler world than this, is there?

Ultimately, the girl made her decision.

—Just die like this.

No more rebirths, no more reincarnations into some strange world. Just die, disappear completely from the world, from any world, parallel world, other world, whatever...

Disappear.

The timid girl thought this to herself and slowly closed her eyes.

Scenes from the past flashed before her eyes like a revolving lantern, and this illusory yet somewhat real scene made the girl's consciousness tremble violently—so, the revolving lantern was real after all.

Being able to see those beautiful memories before you die is quite a privilege.

Looking at these beautiful memories, even someone who had resolved to die couldn't help but wonder, "Would it be okay to just die like this—"

"What a pity."

Yes, it's just too cute...

Huh?

Ye Yuchan seemed to hear some strange sound. She tried to open her eyes, but in fact, she no longer had the strength to keep her eyes open.

But she could clearly sense that right in front of her, in front of her lifeless body, stood a person.

"It's such a shame to die like this, maybe I should..."

Can't go wrong.

It wasn't an auditory hallucination, nor was it a visual hallucination; there really was someone in front of her!

For some reason, perhaps because humans are inherently resistant to death, Ye Yuchan's right index finger twitched slightly in reluctance the moment she realized she might have a chance to survive.

If possible, if you could save me...

The girl's fair and delicate fingers trembled slightly again. Although her consciousness was already blurred, she still subconsciously hoped that the person in front of her could save her and notice that she still had a glimmer of hope!

Please, please...

"How about I take advantage of the moment and go for it!"

That person said these words.

Then, Ye Yuchan stopped breathing.

"Waaah—no way? I was just making a joke, how could she have died? No way, let me poke her a couple of times to see... Hey, she's really not breathing anymore, seriously? How come young girls these days have absolutely no mental fortitude?"

The man looked helplessly at the girl whose life was gradually fading and shook his head.

He blinked, revealing an innocent smile, and casually hoisted the girl, who was gradually turning into a corpse, onto his shoulder. He ignored the entrails scattered on the ground and the pure white robe stained with blood and yellow soil. He carried the girl, held up the black umbrella, and walked out of the dark forest as if nothing had happened.

He was still singing when he left, which was strange, but very pleasant to listen to.

"If I had a magic wand, I could change size, become bigger, become smaller, become prettier, as long as I had it..."