My heart gave a sharp, painful twitch.

I pretended nothing was wrong. “My boyfriend ran off, and I don’t plan on ascending anymore. I’m just a mortal now, living one day at a time.”

In truth, I was lying.

I hadn’t been able to fulfill Xie Yu’s wish. I couldn’t marry him, nor could I become his bride.

Having already violated the duties of a River God, the backlash from the oath was absolute. Even if I still had my powers, I wouldn’t have survived this ascension.

Rather than wasting a spot, it was better to let someone else have it.

No one believed in or worshipped the River God anymore.

At the age of one thousand two hundred and three, I was finally approaching my end.

I remembered the day my master faded away. He, too, could have ascended to become a High God, but he didn’t want to.

He said he was just tired of living.

He had lived for three thousand years; it was too lonely.

He wanted to try being reincarnated as a mortal in his next life.

Master, being human isn’t all that great.

You feel heartache, you shed tears, you get hungry, you fall ill…

The countless miseries of the world happen to all sorts of people every single day.

But Master, being human is also wonderful.

You feel joy, you feel happiness, you feel sweetness; you find the greatest satisfaction in the most ordinary, trivial things.

If I were to be reincarnated as a human in my next life and found Xie Yu a little earlier, would things be different from this lifetime?

My heart throbbed with pain.

I pretended nothing was wrong: “My boyfriend ran away. I don’t plan on ascending anymore either. I’m just a mortal now, living one day at a time.”

Actually, I lied.

I failed to fulfill Xie Yu’s wish; I couldn’t marry him, and I couldn’t be his bride.

I had already violated my duties as a River God, and the backlash from the power of the vow was taking its toll. Even if I still had my magic, I wouldn’t survive this ascension.

Instead of taking up a spot for nothing, it was better to give it to someone else sooner.

No one believed in or made offerings to the River God anymore.

In my one thousand two hundred and third year, I was finally approaching my end.

I remembered the day my master faded away. He could have ascended to become a high deity too, but he didn’t want to.

He said he was just tired of living.

He had lived for three thousand years; it was too lonely.

He wanted to try reincarnating as a mortal in his next life.

Master, being human isn’t good at all.

There’s heartache, tears, hunger, illness…

Thousands upon thousands of hardships happen to all kinds of people every day.

But Master, being human is also very good.

There’s joy, happiness, sweetness, and the greatest satisfaction found in the smallest, most ordinary things.

If I reincarnate as a human in my next life and find Xie Yu a little earlier, would things be different from this life?

My heart ached with every beat.

I pretended nothing was wrong: “My boyfriend ran off. I don’t plan on ascending anymore either. I’m just a mortal now, living one day at a time.”

Actually, I was lying.

I hadn’t been able to fulfill Xie Yu’s wish. I couldn’t marry him, nor could I be his bride.

I had already violated my duties as a River God, and the backlash of the broken oath meant that even if I had my magic, I wouldn’t have survived this ascension.

Rather than occupying a spot for nothing, it was better to give it to someone else sooner.

No one believes in or worships the River God anymore.

In this year, my one thousand two hundred and third, I was finally approaching my end.

I remembered the day my master passed away. He could have ascended to High God status too, but he didn’t want to.

He said he was just tired of living.

He had lived for three thousand years; it was too lonely.

He wanted to try being reincarnated as a mortal in his next life.

Master, being a human isn’t good at all.

You feel heartache, you shed tears, you get hungry, you get sick…

Thousands upon thousands of miseries happen to all sorts of people every single day.

But Master, being a human is also wonderful.

You feel joy, you feel happiness, you feel sweetness, and you find the greatest satisfaction in the most ordinary, trivial things.

If I am reincarnated as a human in my next life and find Xie Yu earlier, would things be different from this life?

My heart ached with every beat.

I pretended nothing was wrong: “My boyfriend ran off. I don’t plan on ascending anymore either. I’m just a mortal now, living one day at a time.”

Actually, I was lying.

I couldn’t fulfill Xie Yu’s wish; I couldn’t marry him, nor could I be his bride.

I had already violated the duties of a River God, and the backlash of the broken oath meant that even if I had my powers, I wouldn’t survive this ascension.

Rather than wasting a spot, it was better to give it to someone else sooner.

No one believes in or worships the River God anymore.

In this, my 1,203rd year, I was finally approaching my end.

I remembered the day my master faded away. He could have ascended to High God status too, but he didn’t want to.

He said he was just tired of living.

He had lived for three thousand years; it was too lonely.

He wanted to try being reincarnated as a mortal in his next life.

Master, being human isn’t good at all.

You feel heartbreak, you shed tears, you feel hunger, you get sick…

Thousands upon thousands of miseries happen to all sorts of people every single day.

But Master, being human is also wonderful.

You feel joy, you feel happiness, you feel sweetness, and you find the greatest satisfaction in the most ordinary, trivial things.

If I were to be reincarnated as a human in my next life and found Xie Yu earlier, would things be different from this lifetime?