That was from a long time ago. Those memories seemed like a faint flickering flame about to die out. The time she spent inside the abyss of chaos, the time she trained under the previous demon lord, and that time she sent off her teacher and ascended as the demon lord, the faint pain in her heart that no longer beats.
"Why me," Xuan Yi had asked but her teacher did not reply. He stood back facing her with his hands behind his back, his figure against the night seemed so lonely.
She had asked herself this question so many times and yet, nobody answered her. Not even the water god whom she now regards as her friend. So she decided not to pursue it. In the end, she has taken up this position and she will fulfill her duties. After settling the grudge of Qingli, she was feeling quite happy with the result. In the end, she managed to get the sisters to realize who was manipulating the truth behind their backs. She even managed to punish the mastermind and helped Qingle change for the better. If only the people around her when she was still alive were as reasonable as Qingle.
Xuan Yi was in a good mood until she sensed the presence of the water god in her mansion. As a friend to the previous and current demon lord, the water god is free to enter and leave as he pleases. A small privilege given out of friendship as both of them understood that the water god only comes to their mansion when he wants to hide from something or someone.
"If you do not wish to tell me, there is nothing I can do." Xuan Yi told the water god. She took his hands off her shoulders and stood up.
"My little kitten is being mean to me," the water god whined as he stomped his foot.
"Until now I still cannot believe that you are the elegant and graceful water god that every immortal admires," she shook her head at his childish behavior.
"I can be elegant when I want to be," the water god pouted.
Xuan Yi shook her head before she headed towards the door. Just as she was about to step out of the study, she suddenly felt another presence in her domain. It was an overwhelming and oppressive power and yet it gently washed over her as if trying not to shock her.
Xuan Yi looked up towards the sky to see a man descending from the sky and land gracefully in front of her. As if following their elements' color code, the man in front of her was wearing jade green robes, his hair tied up neatly with a pale green ribbon. But the most captivating aspect was his eyes. His narrow eyes are of the same color as his robes and they seem to draw everyone into them.
The man is one of the four elements, the Earth God, Chen Xiu.
If the water god is the most beautiful god in the three realms, then the earth god is the most handsome god. He can be considered the dream husband of every single immortal and possibly every single mortal should they have seen him before. But Xuan Yi sees nothing in him. She who was the empress had seen countless men trying to worm their way up the political world using all sorts of tricks, was immune to beautiful things.
Like how Yun He had a flirtatious and seductive appearance, he had no effect on Xuan Yi. His antics to gain her attention always resulted in failure and he had found out the hard way that Xuan Yi was not affected by his beautiful face.
"No matter how beautiful you are, you cannot compare with me in terms of being beautiful." Xuan Yi had once shot back at him when he whined about this matter. He was shocked at her statement. Did she think he was trying to be a woman? Him?
"Xuan Yi, my little kitten, I think you misunderstood. This Lord is not trying to be a woman. This Lord is just using what was given to him to get what he wants," Yun He patted his face to emphasize his statement.
What he got in return was a face full of disgust.
Xuan Yi was bought back from her memories when Chen Xiu landed in front of her.
"Greetings, Demon Lord. I am here to bring back Yun He," Chen Xiu saluted and gave his greetings.
Most of the gods live in the realm of gods, in other words, heaven. They would seldom descend to the world of the living and much detest entering the realm of the undead. They find the place dirty just like how they find humans dirty. Although Xuan Yi agrees with them about humans being filthy but she dislikes how the gods generalize the entire human population as filthy greedy beings. Not all of them are like that, Xuan Yi knows herself the best.
Although most gods held nothing but contempt for humans, not all of them are intolerant of humans. Such is the god standing before her. Although she has ascended into the throne of the demon world, the gods living in their comfortable nests high up in the clouds refuse to acknowledge her. They would find troubles with her and would even condemn her as they could not accept a human ascending to the position of a god. All previous demon lords were gods who took up the job of governing Hell because of their uncanny connection with the darkness. After all, only those acknowledged by the core running in the abyss of chaos is able to control the realm of the undead and the dead as well. For as long as they remembered, only gods could do it. Never had they thought that a human could do it as well? It took a while for the previous demon lord to convince the higher-ups that this decision is right. Although the gods relented and allowed for the succession to happen, acknowledging and accepting her is another matter.
For Chen Xiu to greet her in his gentle manner, Xuan Yi returned the favor and retracted her cold gaze from him.
"Lord Chen Xiu," she gave a slight bow but did not move from the entrance of the study. Her tall frame blocked his view and entrance into the study, making him grimace.
"Lady, please allow me to retrieve Yun He." Chen Xiu gave her a helpless look, silently pleading her not to make things difficult for him.
"Yun He, get over here." Xuan Yi did not move from her spot and called the water god over instead.
Yun He pouted as he slowly made his way over. When he saw Chen Xiu looking at him, he quickly shot him a glare and hid behind Xuan Yi.
"Xuan Yi, I don't want to go back." Yun He made the last attempt to save himself from the Earth God and clung onto Xuan Yi's sleeve.
Before Xuan Yi could speak, Chen Xiu narrowed his eyes at the behavior of his elemental brother. The four elements are close to each other and interact closely ever since they were young. It was natural that they would think of themselves as brothers.
"Yun He, is this the way to speak to the Lady?" Chen Xiu rebuked him before turning to face Xuan Yi.
"My apologies, Lady Xuan Yi. My brother was out of line," Chen Xiu bowed.
If it was any other person, they would have been flustered with the earth god's earnest behavior. Like his element, his personality was down to earth and he was never one to judge without evidence, hence his righteous attitude when he deals with matters. Both his looks and his personality gained him much fame and many respected him and admired him.
But who was Xuan Yi? Does she even give a damn about his face or reputation?
Bloody hell no.
"He is acting like this because he is allowed to, unlike that suffocating place where you live in." Xuan Yi brushed off his apologies and shook off Yun He's fingers from her sleeve.
"Lord Chen Xiu, forgive me for being blunt but you can only bring the person away if he wishes for it. From what I see, Yun He does not wish to go back with you. Please leave," Xuan Yi stated in a strong tone. The air seemed to get heavier every second with the tension and Chen Xiu could sense the darkness coiling around her, ready to lash out at any moment. It was as if Xuan Yi would throw him out of the realm the moment he insists on bringing Yun He back.