Gandalf the Green Robed Ancestor, Teacher Yang the Peach Blossom Hero (Part Two)

The voice was elusive and unfathomable, impossible to grasp—like a divine decree, or perhaps the whisper of a demon, or maybe just a strange thought from deep within herself. Half-awake, Rachel Luo opened her eyes, climbed out of bed, and, still in her pajamas, walked out of her treehouse.

She felt wide awake, able to see her surroundings clearly, and freely take in the nightscape of Silvermoon City. Yet she also felt as if she were still dreaming—hazy and inexplicable, wandering off course. She descended the steps, crossed the long corridor; there wasn’t a single patrolling guard, but she ignored all these oddities.

She simply followed a sudden thought that popped into her head, turning left and right, until she arrived at a quiet, secluded courtyard. The courtyard seemed ordinary, except for an ancient well at its center. The well was deep, and suddenly Rachel Luo wanted to go look at the water inside—to see her own reflection.

Just as she was about to step forward, she heard a crisp sword ring—ding! Instinctively, Rachel Luo’s hand gripped her Ice Bell Sword, which trembled slightly. Startled, she froze. Eyes wide, she glanced around, looked at herself, half-dazed and half-awake. She squeezed her eyes shut, shook her head hard, her face showing a struggle, then suddenly gripped her sword and, with a shout, drew it and slashed!

Whoosh—a flash of cold light, like blowing snow. Sword intent burst forth, cutting through everything. Rachel Luo’s strike didn’t hit any real enemy, but it sliced through the boundary between illusion and reality, freeing her from that strange mental state.

She shook her head, panting, and when she opened her eyes again, the courtyard was still the courtyard, the well was still the well—but now, standing at the well’s edge, was Galadriel.

“What’s your deal? Why are you playing tricks on me?” Rachel Luo shouted, too exhausted to swing her sword again and hoping her master would hear the commotion. But the next moment, her face changed—her shout faded as soon as it left her lips, and she couldn’t even hear herself.

The Elf Queen didn’t look up, sitting at the well with her back to Rachel Luo, combing her long hair as if preparing for a moonlit ball. Her hair was dreamlike, with a mesmerizing halo. In this courtyard, even sound was under her control.

“No need to be so guarded. I don’t mean you harm. If I did, why bother luring you here?” Galadriel finally spoke, her voice cool, detached, and tinged with deep pride: “This is the Well of Destiny, a legendary treasure from ancient times. It reveals a person’s destiny—each may gaze into it only once in their life. And that single gaze will change everything. Don’t you want to see your own destiny?”

Rachel Luo frowned, gripping her sword tightly, and mustered her courage to retort: “Ridiculous! I defeat my enemies myself. I protect my family myself. What can a mere well change? My fate is mine, not Heaven’s!” Facing a possible attack from Galadriel, Rachel Luo nervously blurted out a line straight from those overpowered webnovel protagonists.

Hearing Rachel Luo’s answer, Galadriel remained unchanged, still speaking in that indifferent, distant tone: “You’re ambitious, but you’re oversimplifying fate. Even if you really can defeat your enemies and protect your loved ones, the river of destiny carries much more than just enemies and family. There are other things—things that matter just as much…”

She tilted her head slightly, her gaze flicking from the corner of her eye to Rachel Luo’s sword-gripping hand. Rachel Luo’s fingers were clenched so tightly they’d gone numb and white, but under that gaze, she felt a sharp, needle-like pain. Suddenly, Rachel Luo realized something, a wave of panic rising. In her panic, Galadriel seemed to let out a mocking laugh, then turned away and said slowly, “For example—your lover.”

“You, you—!” Rachel Luo stammered, flustered, instinctively stepping back two paces. But she knew she couldn’t let herself get led around, so she forced herself to say, “Even if it’s love… a lover, I—I still have to rely on my own strength to…”

“Girl, don’t kid yourself.” Galadriel slowly stood up, turning to face her, her voice as powerful as a sacred hymn, striking straight to the heart: “Love isn’t about strength—it’s about fate.”

“Love is about fate…” Rachel Luo unconsciously repeated, suddenly remembering what happened in Shanghai. She’d asked Bobby Brooks for all the details, knew every twist and turn. Beneath all her rational thinking, she’d had similar thoughts herself. Maybe, just maybe, love really was about fate.

Galadriel took a step forward: “You’re hung up on your mentor—but can this forbidden feeling ever blossom?”

“Stop…” Rachel Luo instinctively stepped back again, unable to meet her gaze.

Galadriel took another step forward: “You doubt yourself, you worry about the future—so why not just take a look?”

“No, stop! You’re trying every trick to get me to look into that well—I won’t fall for it!” Rachel Luo shouted, more to herself than to Galadriel. She gritted her teeth, mustering all her strength to turn away, forcing herself to step away from the well.

She told herself, what’s the point of looking into that well? If happiness awaits, she’ll be happy regardless; if misfortune lies ahead, looking will only make it worse. Better to hold on to her little hopes, her little feelings.

But before she could take a step, Galadriel’s voice sounded behind her: “Do you think that whether you look or not, nothing will change—so it’s meaningless?”

Rachel Luo paused, didn’t turn around, opened her mouth to ask something, but then clamped her hand over her mouth, refusing to speak. But these little struggles were no match for Queen Galadriel’s insight. Galadriel spoke, calm and unhurried: “If it truly changed nothing, why would this well be revered as a treasure?”

Step by step, she drew closer, her voice growing clearer—so clear it seemed to bypass the ears and go straight to the heart: “If you succeed, you’ll see why you succeeded, and never miss out on success. If you fail, you’ll see why you failed, and won’t repeat the same mistakes. In the river of fate, the scariest thing isn’t failure—it’s not knowing where you’ll fail. But with this well, once you’ve looked, fate is no longer vague and untouchable. Only then are you truly qualified—to defy destiny.”

"I..." Rachel Luo’s heart wavered.

In that moment, the Well of Destiny that should have been behind her suddenly appeared right in front of her! For a split second, she realized she’d fallen for an illusion—she’d never moved at all, always facing the deep well.

But any reaction was too late. The well water was deep, and her reflection stared back. If her heart stayed calm, the water stayed still. If her heart wavered, the water rippled. Rings of ripples spread, turning into swirling eddies, and Rachel Luo saw scene after scene. A wild wind blew up from the well, tossing her hair, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t lift herself up—she could only watch.

Some scenes she’d lived, some she’d never known; Galadriel stood behind Rachel Luo, not leaning in to look but raising her hand—a jeweled ring on her finger suddenly glowed. With a whoosh, the well water swirled, and images flew out, displayed before Galadriel.

There was a scene with red candles burning bright—Princess Embroidered Jade and Princess Flower Shifter, both blushing and happy, snuggled up on either side of Jack Young, while Rachel Luo sat alone at a distant tavern, drinking and crying.

Another was a beautiful spring day, the grasslands stretching far and wide. Fiona Fang held Jack Young’s hand, laughing and playing across the prairie, while Rachel Luo led a horse behind them, watching their backs with a heavy heart.

There were all kinds of scenes—female disciples at Flower Shifting Palace secretly crushing on Jack Young, the major brothel in Eight Directions City where every girl, starting with Madam Dai, took turns drinking with Jack Young, and so on. No matter the scene, Rachel Luo was always the one hiding in the corner, heartbroken.

These scenes were so much that even Galadriel’s eyelids started twitching.

Some scenes were even more intense—like Jack Young and a seductive beauty having a wild, textbook-perfect romp under the open sky. Rolling around, panting and moaning, trying every position in the book. And on closer look, that beauty was none other than Lady Simone!

The best part? As the two rolled over, Lady Simone morphed into a fair-skinned foreign beauty. Jack Young grabbed her slender neck from behind, bit into her jade-like back, and his wild thrusts had her screaming like she’d lost her mind, totally into it. But as her messy hair was brushed aside—wait, that was Galadriel!

“What’s with girls these days and all these crazy thoughts?” Galadriel muttered, her brow twitching. “Although, Jack Young sure does have plenty of beauties around…”

Yep, Galadriel was roasting her—because what Rachel Luo saw in this so-called Well of Destiny wasn’t real destiny. At least, not with Galadriel running the show. To glimpse the true Well of Destiny, you’d need a super-powered prophet to help, and even then you’d only get a hazy glimpse. Fate is unpredictable—if it were that easy to see, this well would be swamped with visitors every day.

With Galadriel in control, this Well of Destiny was really just the "Paranoia Well." It could use a touch of fate’s power to create super-realistic scenes of paranoia. Take Frodo Baggins, for example—his thoughts were simple, just about the Shire, so he saw Sauron burning the Shire. As for Rachel Luo… well, everyone gets the idea.

And Galadriel had her reasons for doing all this. Last time, she wanted to motivate the hobbits to fight Sauron. Thanks to her nudge, Frodo finally resolved to destroy the Ring. This time, she was using the well’s power to tear down Rachel Luo’s defenses and uncover her secrets.

“No, that’s not it! None of these!” Galadriel kept waving her hand, flipping through the scenes like changing TV channels. The Well of Destiny started glowing, the vortex spinning faster, and Galadriel lost her cool, growing anxious: “Where is it? Where is it!”

Whoosh—another scene flew out. It was Sunmoon Peak, where the twins were practicing cultivation together. Their hands clasped, minds connected, their aura growing majestic. Galadriel didn’t know martial arts, but her eyes went wide and she couldn’t help but shout excitedly, “That’s the one!!”

She suddenly waved her hand, the vortex in the well spinning even faster, roaring like thunder. Rachel Luo felt a crushing pressure—her arms creaked as she clung to the well’s edge, her head forced closer and closer to the water. Galadriel’s jeweled ring glowed, and a hint of ferocity appeared on her beautiful face: “More! Show me more—let me see it clearly!”

But just then, the scene shifted, revealing an almost perfect woman. She hovered in the void with radiant wings, focused on something. Then something magical happened—she seemed to notice, turned her gaze toward the scene. Meeting her eyes, Galadriel froze, suddenly uncertain and stunned.

The woman in the vision frowned and waved her hand, and the scene shattered like a dream—rain of water droplets fell back into the well and onto Rachel Luo. Rachel Luo took a deep breath, yelled, and with all her strength finally broke free from the terrifying pull.

“Fake! Lies! It’s all lies!” Rachel Luo cried out, on the verge of tears, stumbling out of the courtyard. Galadriel didn’t try to stop her, just stood quietly by the Well of Destiny.

She didn’t stop Rachel Luo—first, because you only get one chance in a lifetime, and second, she couldn’t force her anymore. Because, just as Rachel Luo ran off, Jack Young stepped out from the shadows and entered the courtyard.

Galadriel didn’t turn around: “When did you get here?”

“I’ve been here all along.”

“Impossible! In the Elven Forest, nothing escapes me!” she shrieked, her voice trembling with emotion, but quickly forced herself calm. She took a deep breath and asked, “You saw everything?”

“Saw it all, every detail.” Wasn’t Queen Galadriel supposed to be all-knowing? Jack Young quietly raised his hand, miming a grab at her back: “I didn’t expect, at your age, your chest hasn’t sagged at all—still nice and perky.”

Hiss—Galadriel really was all-knowing; her aura instantly went haywire. She forced herself calm, but her voice was restless, tinged with hope: “That white-haired woman is supposedly your sister. But I don’t think so—at least, not just siblings. No brother and sister could be that close.”

Jack Young nodded: “It’s more than that.”

Jack Young meant one thing, but Galadriel took it another way. After three seconds of silence, she did something shocking—she suddenly raised her hand and gently pulled off her dress veil: “Leave her. Be with me.”

The dress veil slipped off—and she wasn’t wearing anything underneath. Her bare shoulders, jade-like back, perfect hips, and legs you could play with for a lifetime were all revealed. Galadriel’s voice was ethereal and resolute: “Whatever she can give, I can give. And…”

Her skirt fell to the floor as she turned around, head held high, eyes full of longing. She breathed heavily, chest rising and falling, but didn’t hide anything—showing off all her beauty in the moonlight. Even now, she managed to raise her hand with elegance, inviting Teacher Yang: “I can give you more than you ever imagined—better than any illusion. All you have to do is—share everything with me.”

At that moment, deep in a cave somewhere, Gandalf was struggling through his expedition. His magical light suddenly turned a ghostly green, making his white robes look like green ones. Gandalf scratched his now-green hair, muttering anxiously, “This… doesn’t feel right…”