Chapter 45
Even though it was a night tour of Xingfu Village, Shi Jian was still wearing a dress.
As long as conditions allowed, Shi Jian would wear little dresses—even at 80, she’d still wear little dresses!
To match, just a bit, her Barbie-pink high heels, Shi Jian’s dress today was a white-to-light-pink gradient. The color coordination was elegant. Her long black hair was partly tied up, the rest cascading down naturally and smoothly.
Her curled lashes, delicate brows and eyes looked like they were painted on. Her face, already beautiful and out of sync with the style of everyone around her, now carried a divine quality due to her expression—so much so that people couldn’t even look at her directly.
Because she was radiating such an intense glow that it almost burned the eyes in the darkness.
A celestial maiden?
The villagers who had charged out of the ancestral hall with murderous intent were immediately stunned. Hesitation and uncertainty showed on their faces.
The livestream viewers hadn’t expected things to take this turn either.
...
【A celestial maiden??? Should I even be surprised? This is Shi Jian, after all.】
【I’ve slapped my thigh red. This is too insane—I never expected the streamer to pull out a “celestial maiden” this fast.】
【This feels familiar. Basic maneuver, don’t overthink it. She’s just conning the NPCs. She conned a ghost once too. (Proud veteran fan.jpg)】
【Am I the only one dying to know why she’s glowing? I’m losing my mind here.】
【Let’s see what happens first—maybe once they get through this, we’ll get an explanation.】
【Damn, my heart almost jumped out earlier. I was afraid the village chief would lead an all-out attack. There’s only eight streamers total, and even with props, it’d be hard to fend off that many villagers. And they need to stay in Xingfu Village to complete the mission, so they can’t offend the villagers… Well, maybe now they can. But will the villagers buy it?】
“So this is a celestial maiden!”
“Dear heavens! I, Wang Er Mazi, actually have the fortune to see a celestial maiden today!”
Shi Jian had only said one sentence, and already villagers were getting excited.
Livestream viewers: ?
Well. Being good-looking really does let you do whatever you want. The streamer’s beauty was too deceptive!
The villagers looked ready to believe her, but the village chief wasn’t convinced.
He signaled the villagers to calm down a bit. Forcing himself to stay composed and ignore the blinding light, he questioned Shi Jian, “I remember you. Weren’t you the hiker staying at Granny Yu’s place before? The outsider who came to our village?”
The village chief had recognized Shi Jian. After all, once you’d seen her, she was hard to forget.
Shi Jian had expected this and responded easily, “Exactly. That’s why I said being a celestial maiden is my other identity.”
She gave a helpless, troubled expression. “I hadn’t planned on revealing it—it’s such a big fuss—but I didn’t expect my magical power to surge out of control and lose control of it.”
Lies!
Shi Jian screamed internally. She hadn’t expected that the whitening pills would really make her glow, and then she ran into the villagers near the ancestral hall with no way to escape.
Of course, Shi Jian remained calm on the outside. She even skillfully struck a hand gesture.
Learned from the celestial maiden in the New Year print at Granny Yu’s place.
She spoke with a clear, resonant voice: “I know you’re facing difficulties, so I came here to help guide you through.”The burly man beside the village chief grabbed his arm, his expression feverish, his face flushed red. “That hand gesture… it belongs to the celestial maiden! The celestial maiden on the New Year print at my house does exactly that!”
Others chimed in, “Yes, yes, the celestial maiden on our New Year print does the same.”
“And also, she knows about our village…” The voice trailed off.
Shi Jian maintained a benevolent, compassionate smile, while secretly pricking up her ears to listen as hard as she could.
Her decision to pretend to be a celestial maiden definitely involved some gambling. But Shi Jian wasn’t gambling blindly—if it were a different setting, she wouldn’t dare pull this off.
During her time in Xingfu Village, she had noticed how backward and ignorant the place was. Most of the villagers were uneducated.
Right now, she owed this success to their ignorance.
Shi Jian also picked up some extra intel: the celestial maiden New Year print at Granny Yu’s house seemed to be well-liked by the villagers.
Shi Jian thought: since ghosts exist, why can’t celestial maidens? And why can’t she be one?
With the help of the villagers, the village chief was already more than halfway convinced. After all, normal people don’t emit light.
Dog barks rang out. One of the slobbering, vicious dogs dragged a streamer out of the bushes.
Although the streamers had scattered and hidden as soon as they realized they had wandered too close to the ancestral hall and the villagers had come charging out, they were far luckier than Shi Jian in that they didn’t glow and could actually hide. But the time was too short—they hadn’t gotten far.
Now, one had been dragged out by a dog.
Facing the ferocious, half-starved dog, the streamer trembled and raised both hands. “I’ll come out on my own, don’t bite me.”
The village chief glanced at the captured streamer and asked Shi Jian, “Who is this?”
Shi Jian had arrived with them, after all.
But Shi Jian had already gained experience back at Rose Castle. Her red lips parted slightly, and she uttered two words: “A believer.”
Yes, she was a believer.
Absolutely confident.
The streamers: ???
Shi Jian had already completed the role assignments—she was the celestial maiden, and the other streamers were her believers.
When it came to role distribution, Shi Jian had always been good. Not only could she arrange for a lonely old man to escort a little boy home, she could also find suitable identities for the rest of the streamers.
Originally, when the dog found the first hiding streamer, the others had assumed they were doomed too. The dogs’ noses were too sharp; it was only a matter of time before they were all found.
Now that Shi Jian had assigned them roles, they weren’t newbie streamers anymore. Some of them quickly caught on to her meaning.
“Celestial Maiden Shi Jian, boundless magic!”
One person shouted first, then all the streamers rose from the bushes and joined in chorus.
“Celestial Maiden Shi Jian, boundless magic!”
“Celestial Maiden Shi Jian, boundless magic!”
...
The chants grew louder and more confident, echoing across the entire wilderness.At that moment, the brightest light source in the wilderness—Shi Jian—slowly opened her arms, as if embracing her believers. The scene was so majestic that the villagers of Xingfu Village were deeply shaken.
They subconsciously wanted to chant along.
Human nature is to mimic, to parrot. With such a catchy and repetitive slogan, how many people could actually resist joining in?
People couldn’t resist the hypnotic, brainwashing chant—but dogs could.
One of the vicious dogs became agitated and suddenly lunged at Shi Jian.
The streamers who had been chanting the slogan immediately tensed—
Things had just started going well, and it seemed like the villagers were really buying into Shi Jian’s story. Was it all going to fall apart here?
If so, that would be such a shame!
Then, to the villagers’ exclamations, Shi Jian quickly stepped back—her expression management still flawless.
In reality, Shi Jian was sprinting in her Barbie-pink high heels, but to the villagers’ eyes: a celestial maiden! She had to be! No ordinary person could move that fast!
Her light, flowing skirt fluttered as she dodged the dog, looking both beautiful and sacred.
Shi Jian reached out her hand and softly said something to the dog—then a miraculous scene unfolded.
The once-ferocious dog suddenly began wagging its tail wildly at Shi Jian, then fully crouched down in submission.
Villagers: A celestial maiden! Even the dog listens to her—if she’s not a celestial maiden, then who is?!
“Celestial Maiden Shi Jian, boundless magic!”
“Celestial Maiden Shi Jian, boundless magic!”
More and more villagers joined in the chanting, some even kneeling in reverence. The village chief finally let go of his doubts and murmured, “So there really are celestial maidens in this world…”
“Celestial maiden, please bless our Xingfu Village!”
Shi Jian realized she had successfully fooled them and finally felt a little more at ease: let’s just keep the story going.
【Incredible! When it comes to putting on a show, no one tops our streamer.】
【She actually pulled it off!】
【Shi Jian: My Life as a Celestial Maiden in Xingfu Village.】
【This is too much fun—I’m not leaving her personal stream ever again!】
【But seriously, how did the dog suddenly become so obedient? What did Shi Jian say to it? Don’t tell me even dogs fall for her looks!】
The other streamers, having narrowly escaped disaster, were now incredibly curious.
They were dying to know both why Shi Jian glowed and why the vicious dog obeyed her so suddenly.
There were too many villagers around to explain the first question—it couldn’t be addressed just yet. But Shi Jian could reveal the second.
While the villagers discussed how to offer tribute to the celestial maiden, Shi Jian lowered her voice and said, “I told the dog, it’ll get meat later.”
Just like humans can’t resist a catchy chant, dogs can’t resist meat.
The streamers who now knew the truth: “……”This response was truly unexpected—but it actually made sense.
...
Shi Jian was carried back to Xingfu Village by the crowd, sitting high up on a sedan chair of sorts.
After a group discussion, the villagers unanimously decided that a celestial maiden must not walk. They had already been disrespectful earlier, but now that her true identity was revealed, they couldn't afford to act casually anymore.
The villagers were so insistent that Shi Jian couldn’t refuse. And if she kept refusing, it might raise suspicion—so she was forced to accept.
If it had been someone else in this grand setup, they might have died of embarrassment on the spot. But Shi Jian was an actress—a professional actress—so she didn’t flinch at all. She treated it as just another performance.
She carried herself naturally, surrounded by the villagers, entering the village at dawn. The weather in Xingfu Village had been bad lately—though it wasn’t raining today, a thick fog hung in the air.
Of course, the mist only made the celestial aura around Shi Jian more convincing.
“What’s going on?”
At this hour, the villagers had already started their morning chores. They personally witnessed the celestial maiden Shi Jian being carried into the village.
Shi Jian didn’t need to answer—the villagers surrounding her had already rushed to explain the whole situation.
“This is Celestial Maiden Shi Jian!”
Granny Yu hadn’t slept all night after her failed attempt to assassinate Shi Jian in the dead of night over her grandson. And now, the moment she stepped outside, she nearly passed out from what she saw.
The very Shi Jian she hated to her core was being carried back with such honor and ceremony?
Infuriated, Granny Yu stormed over to the sedan chair, screaming sharply, “Are you all crazy?! Why are you carrying that scourge?!”
She reached out toward Shi Jian, trying to claw at her.
But the village chief immediately blocked her. His face was ashen. “Granny Yu, don’t disrespect the celestial maiden!”
Granny Yu stared at Shi Jian wide-eyed, utterly disbelieving. “Celestial maiden?”
Shi Jian nodded like a celestial maiden, “Mm-hmm.”
Granny Yu: ??? She wanted to ask Shi Jian—is this the “unexpected thing” you mentioned?
Shi Jian had told Granny Yu before that she had many more “unexpected” things in store.
Now Granny Yu was questioning her entire reality. There was no way she’d believe Shi Jian was any kind of celestial maiden. Her impression of Shi Jian was already rock bottom—how could she possibly have transformed into a divine being overnight?
“Bullshit celestial maiden!”
Granny Yu was so angry she began cursing non-stop, and the livestream was filled with censor beeps.
The village chief’s already darkened face grew even worse due to her tantrum.
He was terrified Granny Yu would offend Shi Jian. He’d seen her divine power with his own eyes.
So he hurried forward, grabbed Granny Yu, bent at the waist, and apologized to Shi Jian in a fawning tone, “Please don’t mind her, celestial maiden. I’ll go teach her a lesson. She’s just an ignorant old country woman.”
Shi Jian had adapted to her new role perfectly. She rubbed her temples in an elegant, celestial fashion and clicked her tongue.
“Then handle it quickly. Though I’m magnanimous and don’t hold grudges against petty people, hearing too much nonsense still makes me unhappy.”
Posture: flawlessly held.The village chief's expression turned stern at once. "Alright, rest assured."
Then, without giving her a chance to resist, he forcibly dragged the still thrashing Granny Yu to the side.
Granny Yu didn’t want to be pulled away at all. Her face trembled with hatred. She didn’t understand why the village chief was stopping her, why he was obeying Shi Jian so blindly. She wailed:
“Let me kill her! That little bitch made my grandson suffer so miserably!”
The village chief was suddenly struck by a wave of realization. If Granny Yu hadn’t reminded him, he would’ve completely forgotten about her grandson’s matter.
He muttered thoughtfully, “Right... your grandson tried to do something to Celestial Maiden Shi Jian, and now he’s crippled, isn’t he?”
Granny Yu was full of hope, thinking the village chief was about to promise justice for her grandson—only to see him straighten up with a solemn, respectful look and exclaim in an enlightened tone, “No wonder your grandson ended up like that. It was indeed because he disrespected the celestial maiden.”
The village chief dug up the past and became even more convinced of Shi Jian’s divine nature!
Granny Yu: ?
The village chief cleared his throat and barked at Granny Yu, “Your grandson’s matter ends here. Stop causing trouble for the celestial maiden—or you’ll be going against the whole village.”
“Your grandson only got crippled. The celestial maiden almost lost faith in our village!”