Luan Ling sighed helplessly.
“She’s a woman—why would she be jealous that you’re good-looking?”

 

Honestly, staring at the fish head’s current face made it hard for her to even breathe, let alone imagine anyone falling in love with him.

 

She boldly guessed: either a fisherman… or a chef.

 

“I have nowhere to go now,” the fish head said gloomily. “All I can do is hope to find someone who can break this curse.”

 

He lowered his head, despondent. “Back when I was like before, what girl wouldn’t have liked me…”

 

Please. Just stop talking.
This was entirely your own fault—chasing after someone else’s woman and even trying to steal her away. Wasn’t being a proper prince good enough?

 

Luan Ling hadn’t even sorted out her own situation yet, and now she’d run into this one. Her mood grew complicated.

 

“So… where exactly is this place?” she asked. “I dug my way out from underground. I can’t go back for now.”

 

Underground?
The fish head looked confused, but given the circumstances, he didn’t have the luxury to dwell on it. All he cared about was getting his curse lifted.

 

“This is the mortal realm. The real deal.”

 

The mortal realm.

 

Luan Ling had already suspected as much, but having it confirmed still felt unreal.

 

The immortals always said the mortal world was dangerous. Having seen countless examples from those who came before her, she believed it.

 

Immortals were powerful and few in number, yet even they were mired in endless troubles. How much worse must it be for mortals, whose strength was so limited?

 

Among all the cases she’d seen of immortals descending to undergo trials, seven out of ten ended tragically. Two returned to the heavens only to spiral into depression. One had a perfect ending—his love story moved the heavens and became a mortal legend.

 

The problem was, legends were rare.

 

She’d been born a god and never needed to undergo a trial. She’d planned to prepare thoroughly before ever descending—but instead, she’d come by accident, and at her weakest moment no less. The thought made her uneasy.

 

“Boss… you really love me, right?”

 

The fish head’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

 

Luan Ling immediately pressed herself closer to the tree, eyes sharp.
“Back off. Take one more step and I’ll braise you.”

 

There was instinct mixed into her retreat.

 

“…Then what am I supposed to do?” the fish head murmured sadly, gazing into the distance.

 

Luan Ling fell silent for a moment. She could feel her divine power slowly—very slowly—recovering. Helping him through brute force was clearly impossible.

 

“Isn’t it just true love?” she said. “There are so many women in the world—finding one who likes you shouldn’t be that hard.”

 

She was lying. She knew it was very hard.

 

Even she—a god with lofty ideals—found this painful to look at. What kind of woman could swallow this fish?

 

“Boss, you make it sound easy…” the fish head’s voice grew quieter. “But in truth, no woman would dare come near you. What advice could you possibly give me…”

 

Luan Ling waved dismissively, smug as ever.
“That’s not necessarily true. I may never have been in love myself, but when it comes to matchmaking and marriage, I know plenty.”

 

The fish head stared at her with one eye. Fish couldn’t make expressions, but he tried very hard to convey his doubt.

 

“Ah… I used to be the dream of nine hundred million sea creatures. So many sea-folk maidens adored me. If my mark hadn’t disappeared, they’d definitely help me.”

 

“Pah,” Luan Ling scoffed. “Stop emotionally blackmailing people. When idols turn ugly, that’s the original sin.”

 

The fish head froze, then sighed sadly.
“But surely… someone would be willing to stay with me at my lowest point. There must be.”

 

“Give it up,” Luan Ling stabbed again. “You’re not pure anymore—neither physically nor emotionally.”

 

The fish head took two critical hits from his boss and could only swallow his tears.

 

“Boss… you went to the heavens and came back so sharp-tongued, wuwuwu…”

 

“I’m just telling the truth.”

 

The rain finally began to lighten. Luan Ling snapped off a tree branch and held it over her head.

 

“Don’t just stand there. Let’s go—find true love.”

 

She lifted the branch and ran out.

 

---

 

Si Zhuo stared at the group of guards ahead, mentally subjecting the person on the ground to execution a hundred times over.

 

The poor soul hadn’t even recovered from the dizziness of the fall, unable to crawl up in time.

 

“W-where… is this?” Luan Yu finally realized something was wrong. His limbs felt heavy, powerless.

 

“Miss, the master asked me to tell you—it’s time to go home.”

 

Miss? Master?
Luan Yu was completely lost.

 

He tried to stand, only to be viciously lashed back down.

 

“If the miss hasn’t spoken, how dare a servant stand!”

 

Servant? What servant?!

 

Furious, Luan Yu tried to summon his divine power—only to weakly raise his hand.

 

His divine power was gone.

 

He stared at his hand in horror. Not only was his power gone—this wasn’t even his hand anymore.

 

It was clearly a woman’s hand.

 

The wounds on his back burned. Before he could recover, the second whip came down. Then the third. He couldn’t even scream.

 

“That’s enough,” Si Zhuo said coldly.

 

“Miss, these are the master’s rules. She incited you to flee the household—she deserves this punishment.”

 

“You saw him incite me with your own eyes?” Si Zhuo asked calmly.

 

“Well… no,” the guard admitted. “But it’s obvious.”

 

“With no evidence,” Si Zhuo said coolly, “there’s no need to put such a lofty charge on him.”

 

Drawing from the memories of this identity, he made a quick decision.

 

“I’ll go back with you. Let him go.”

 

Si Zhuo wasn’t saving Luan Yu out of kindness. If not for this reckless divine prince crashing into him, neither of them would’ve stumbled onto the path of tribulation and ended up in this half-baked mortal descent.

 

He saved Luan Yu because he didn’t want him dead.

 

Death would only mean losing cultivation and reincarnating—given Luan Yu’s pitiful level, that loss wouldn’t even come close to satisfying Si Zhuo’s hatred.

 

He wanted Luan Yu to see for himself whether the mortal world would still let him walk unhindered, just like in the heavens.

 

“Miss…”

 

“Send him elsewhere. Spare his life,” Si Zhuo said coldly.
“If you want me to return, don’t negotiate.”

 

---

 

“All humans love silver.”

 

The fish head fished a few gemstones out of his pocket like copper coins, but his fins couldn’t hold them. The gems clattered onto the ground.

 

Luan Ling picked them up one by one. She held one up to the rising sun—she couldn’t really tell what it was, but it felt valuable.

 

The spiritual energy was strong.

 

She closed her eyes and took a breath. As she did, the gem in her hand visibly dulled.

 

“Boss, easy there,” the fish head said. “If the color goes bad, it won’t look as nice.”

 

He wasn’t worried about the gem—he was just curious. Si Zhuo had always disdained relying on external objects to restore divine power.

 

Luan Ling knew her limits. If she weren’t truly desperate, she wouldn’t resort to this.

 

“True love can be bought with money,” the fish head mused, watching the people passing through town. “You just need the right target.”

 

“What nonsense,” Luan Ling said. “Even children know that ‘true love’ bought with money is just money.”

 

“It’s worth a try. Looking like this, what else can I rely on if not silver?”

 

“Don’t you have talent?”

 

“….”

 

“Fine. Let’s find a woman who loves money.”

 

After observing for a while, they locked onto a young woman lingering outside a silver jewelry shop.

 

Her clothes were worn, a single hairpin in her hair. She gazed longingly at the jewelry.

 

“That’s her. Fish head—go.”

 

“Boss, don’t call me—”
Before he could protest, the girl left the shop with a sorrowful expression.

 

“Follow her,” Luan Ling said.

 

They followed her to the riverbank. She removed her hairpin, stared at it, sighed—and then stood up and jumped into the river.

 

?!

 

Luan Ling panicked and shoved the fish head.
“Go! Save her!”

 

The fish head leapt into the water and, after some struggle, dragged the woman ashore with his slippery hands.

 

She soon regained consciousness.

 

The fish head delivered his prepared speech.

 

“I’m your lifesaver. I’m very rich, and I’m a prince of a kingdom. If you’re willing to love me, I can give you everything you desire.”

 

The woman blinked.

 

Then she jumped up, turned around, and ran without hesitation.

 

“A MONSTER—AAAAAAAH!”

 

The fish head slumped, half-closing his dead fish eyes.
“Money makes ghosts turn millstones… so why won’t it make someone like me?”

 

Honestly, ghosts are usually better-looking. At least they resemble humans.

 

Luan Ling decided not to rub salt in the wound.
“Don’t be sad. There are so many women in the world—someone’s bound to be blind enough to love you.”

 

The fish head paused. Then suddenly looked up, energized again.

 

“That’s it! We can find a blind woman!”

 

……

 

There were way too many tropes now.

 

Luan Ling was impressed by his determination and began another round of searching.

 

Finding someone completely blind wasn’t easy. They passed many villages and towns, nearly reaching the outskirts of the imperial city before finding a suitable candidate.

 

Well… she should count as one, right?

 

“Are you sure…” the fish head hesitated, looking at the elderly woman sunbathing in her small courtyard, her hair white as snow.
“…that she can still fall in love?”

 

“Aren’t you over fifty yourself?” Luan Ling encouraged him. “You’re probably even two years older than her. Perfect match.”

 

“I’m sea-folk!” the fish head protested. “Fifty is barely adolescence!”

 

Luan Ling clicked her tongue.
“If you’re an adolescent, then I’m a toddler. You’re fifty—she’s fifty. What’s wrong with that?”

 

Some immortals refused to admit their age—enjoying the benefits of long cultivation while insisting they were still children.

 

Which was why, no matter how long they lived, many immortals remained idiots in certain aspects. Immortality didn’t always improve intelligence.

 

“I understand the logic,” the fish head muttered, “but I just… can’t do it. It feels sinful.”

 

“I’ll help you.”

 

Luan Ling kicked him hard, sending him straight into the courtyard.

 

Hearing the noise, the old woman lowered her head.
“Who’s there?”