Becoming Immortal - Chapter 3 - Part 1

Gentle waves stirred the misty waters of the black river. 

“I’ve said everything that needs to be said. It’s not that hard to be a human.”

Within the thick mist, only the upper half of Lin-niang’s translucent body appeared above the water. She raised her head to the woman on shore. “When are you going to get me out?”

Even now, Lin-niang could not get used to looking at her own face on shore. That face was still vibrant and lively. Conversely, in the water, Lin-niang’s own face had started to change. 

Since she had died in the water, she became a water ghost. 

Her hair became extremely long, her complexion pallid. Shiny scale-like marks appeared on her forehead, and the bottom half of her body melted into the water, as if the water had become her legs. Because of this, she could not take even a single step out of the damp, frigid black river. 

“You were born as a human.”

Although the woman on shore was pale, she had a rosy complexion. She smiled brilliantly, her facial expressions no longer unnatural. “No matter what you do, it is human nature. Of course it is not hard for you.”

She lowered her eyes to glance at a strand of ebony hair caught between her pale, slender fingers. “But I don’t understand humans.”

Lin-niang looked at her from the water. The moment the woman finished speaking, she raised her head, a dark red light shining in her amber-colored eyes. At the same time, a tendril of smoke shot out from her sleeve. It melted into the rainy fog above the river, then pierced into the water, immediately raising violent waves.

Lin-niang could not help but get swept away by the thrashing water. The tendril of smoke wrapped around the water, inclusive of Lin-niang, and violently yanked the entire mass toward the shore. 

The smoke brushed past the belt of the woman on shore, instantly turning into a small, exquisite red gourd. Bundled in the river water, Lin-niang was stowed away into the gourd. 

Amidst the turbid fog, the water in the black river looked like it had reduced by half. The exposed mud of the river bed glistened wetly. 

The woman touched the gourd at her waist and turned slowly. 

She had just taken a few steps when her ear twitched, damp with drops of rain. She raised her dark red pupils to look at the patch of forest nearby. 

Discordant noises rang out from the forest. 

They were approaching. 

It was the discordant sound of footsteps. 

They emerged from the forest in twos and threes, moving through the rain towards the river bank. Old Fish Head was the first to see the woman standing nearby. She was wearing a vermillion dress with an emerald green coat, a goose yellow shawl draped over her shoulders. 

It was truly an unbearably vibrant sight. 

Old Fish Head looked at the woman’s eyes, and saw that they were dark red. He inhaled sharply and wiped at the raindrops hanging on his eyelids. Looking again, the woman’s clear, delicate eyes were dark. 

It was a trick of the light. 

Even so, Old Fish Head’s heart continued to thump erratically. The youths at his side saw the woman and ran over, shouting, “Lin-niang’s over here!”

A dozen villagers immediately surrounded the woman, who looked at their faces one by one. She could see their flaccid or taut skin, clear or murky eyes, but at present she could not distinguish between human faces. 

It was just a pair of eyes, a nose, and a mouth. 

Within her damp sleeve, the woman’s pale fingers twitched, the dark red light flashing. A young man approached her bashfully, saying, “Lin-niang, don’t be scared. An immortal has come, maybe he can fix your cra…I mean, your illness!”

Lin-niang was the most beautiful lady in Black Water Village. There was not a single young man in the village who did not fancy her. Standing in front of her, these strong young men became blushing, tongue-tied fools. “Y-yeah! Lin-niang, hopefully after seeing the immortal, you’ll be better!”

“I told you not to wear those clothes! My mom made them with colors that I don’t like. I hid them at the bottom of the drawer, I have no idea how you found them…” Lin-niang’s gloomy voice sounded from the gourd. “It’s no wonder folks think I’ve gone crazy, running around dressed like that everyday.” 

“Isn’t it nice?” The woman lowered her eyes to her vibrant clothing, unable to understand. 

Nobody else could hear Lin-niang’s voice. Hearing the woman’s sudden outburst, the young men glanced at each other. Forcing a smile, one of them said, “It’s great! I think it looks fantastic!”

Lin-niang had also been the most fashionable lady in Black Water Village. In the past, she would never have looked so eccentric, as if she wanted to drape every bright color across her body. 

Despite this, she still had a lovely appearance. 

In response to the man’s praise, the woman raised a doe-eyed smile to him. 

The young man’s face immediately went beet red. “Lin-niang looks great no matter what she wears! She’s beautiful!”

He was obviously intoxicated with her smile. 

Within the gourd, Lin-niang let out a wail of despair. “That man’s lousy mouth!”

“Lin-niang!”

A cry pierced through the air. 

The woman raised her head to peer through the continuous drizzle. In the gourd, Lin-niang cried out, “Mom…that’s Mom’s voice!”

Lin-shi lagged behind because she was supporting Old Zhao, who could not walk well. The woman raised her eyes to them. Slippery as a loach, Old Fish Head pulled aside the foolishly grinning youngsters and slapped a cinnabar talisman on the woman’s forehead with a resounding smack. 

Old Fish Head quickly withdrew his hand, but he could not avoid meeting the woman’s eyes under the talisman. He felt his heart constrict suddenly, and he collapsed onto the muddy ground. 

“Old Fish Head! My daughter is just sick, what kind of rubbish are you doing?” Lin-shi was infuriated. 

“Old Zhao’s wife, calm down!”* Seeing her pull up her sleeves, an old man rushed forward to block her path. “It’s urgent, we should hurry and let that little immortal take a look at Lin-niang, whether she’s sick or…anyway! Hopefully he can cure it!”

Hearing his words, Old Zhao grabbed Lin-shi’s hand and raised his head to look at the woman draped in ostentatious greens and reds. “Lin-niang, come with Dad. Just let the immortal look at you to ease our minds.” 

The woman did not speak or move. 

Old Zhao and Lin-shi moved to either side of their daughter. Grabbing hold of her arms, they coaxed her softly as they followed the villagers back to the village. 

*T/N: Kinda annoying but ancient East Asians like to refer to women in relation to men (some still do ): )