Song Cheng stood at the Heavenly Gates with Yuan Jin. Yuan Jin kept playing with the flower in his hair, while humming something.
There wasn't a chance if anybody wouldn't be surprised to know he was a god.
"General Song, I wasn't here the last time you were called to the Chamber. Is it true that you and Lu-" Yuan Jin spoke caressing the snow white flower petals.
"I know" Song Cheng said, cutting him off.He didn't wish to speak about Lu Feng. Even his name made him feel like a gigantic weight on the sky.
"Why isn't your subordinate here yet?" Yuan Jin asked, tapping his feet.
Before he could answer, Song Cheng heard his name being called. "Song Cheng! Wait for me-ah! "
He turned around to see Qin Su on his feet, rushing towards the two. "Lord Yuan Jin!" He spoke as he caught up to them, panting.
"You're late," Yuan Jin remarked "I thought all Heavenly Guardians were disciplined." He chuckled and turn towards the gate.
Qin Su only frowned and looked away from the god.
Fishing a talisman from his pocket, Yuan Jin flung it out towards the Heavenly Gates. In a while, it disappeared and a strong wind blew through the gates.
"HOLD MY HANDS!!" Yuan Jin yelled over the wind. It sounded like a big storm, rather a tornado.
All Qin Su could hear was the WOOSH! sound of the wind.
"WHAT?"
"HOLD MY HANDS!"
"I DON'T TOUCH OTHER PEOPLE!!" Qin Su yelled.
Song Cheng held onto Yuan Jin's hand and the two jumped into the tempest with Qin Su following them.
It seemed like they had entered a dark tunnel with wind so strong that could rip a mortal into two. The wind tore at Song Cheng's face, trying to pull his hair away from his scalp. He buried his head into his elbow, and held onto his belt tightly. He didn't want to lose it in the current.
Qin Su couldn't grasp anything in the dark, while the wind tormented him, causing nausea. He frantically waved his hands and caught hold of someone's head and held onto it for dear life.
"LEAVE MY HAIR! MY HAIR-" Song Cheng heard Yuan Jin yelled into his hair. Probably it was Qin Su who had grabbed his hair searching for support.
Song Cheng didn't know whether to laugh or not, the situation was surely funny but inside he felt as if his gut would explode right out of his mouth. His head spinned like crazy and he was sure if he hadn't been holding Yuan Jin's hand, sure he would have lost track of himself.
Although he was a Heavenly Guardian, he had never gone back to the mortal world after being appointed. Rather, it had been his first travel out of the heavens in a hundred years.
Soon, the current began to die down and Song Cheng found his feet on solid ground. Next to him, Qin Su had crashed into Yuan Jin, knocking the latter out.
Qin Su let go of Yuan Jin's hair finally as he stood up on his feet, rubbing his head. Surprisingly, Yuan Jin's hair were still as neat as before. Yuan Jin got up from the ground, clutching his hair.
"YOU!" Yuan Jin yelled at Qin Su, trying to get him to reason.
"I-what? Do you always travel like this whenever you go to the mortal world?" Qin Su questioned.
"What's wrong with it? It's quick and convenient." Yuan Jin responded, tucking his loose locks behind his ears.
Song Cheng let the two bicker while he looked around. They had landed on the outskirts of a small town. In the distance, bustle and noise could be heard coming from a small settlement. On the edge of the town, a glistening lake could be seen, almost golden to the eye.
"Where are we, Lord Yuan Jin?" Song Cheng asked.
Yuan Jin, who had been reasoning with Qin Su looked back at Song Cheng.
"JinHu town." Yuan Jin spoke.
Song Cheng took a deep breath invisibly. JinHu. This was where he grew up, where he had met Lu Feng.
If it were a hundred years ago, he would surely know in a glance but now, it looked alien.
A faint memory suddenly rushed to his mind.
It was a late summer evening.
"Song Cheng! I've brought you watermelon. Now open the door. Song Cheng!" A male voice on the other end on the door spoke.
"SONG CHENG! OPEN THE DOOR OR I'LL KICK IT DOWN. I'VE BROUGHT YOU WATERMELON. IT'S HOT OUTSIDE. SONG CHENG?" the voice rang again.
Song Cheng sat in the courtyard of his house, polishing Lan Tian. When he heard the voice, he couldn't help but smile.
"A-Cheng. Should I open the door? Master Lu has been standing out for a while." Song Mi asked, sitting next to her brother.
Song Mi's hair were tied into a high bun, and long locks fell on her back. Her face had a gentle expression, and a tint of pink of her cheeks.
"Don't bother-jie. He will go away himself." Song Cheng replied, still smiling as he looked at the door once again.
"SONG CHENG! DO YOU REALLY NOT WANT THE WATERMELON? I PICKED IT MYSELF. AAGH- I'M GOING TO GO EAT IT ALONE!" The voice spoke in frustration, making the siblings laugh.
Song Cheng couldn't help but smile now.
It was Qin Su who spoke that brought him back to reality
Qin Su bit his lip. "Did you bring us to JinHu on purpose?" he asked.
"JinHu is the only close town where the Heaven's will still acts." Yuan Jin murmured, playing with the flower in his hair.
"But.....Song Cheng grew up in JinHu." Qin Su spoke, keeping his voice low.
Yuan Jin looked at Song Cheng, who looked at the small town in distance. His face didn't bear any expression but Yuan Jin couldn't help but feel guilty inside.
"I-I'm sorry General Song. I didn't know you had a history with-" Yuan Jin panicked, trying to explain himself.
"It's okay Lord Yuan Jin. Afterall, it's not the same JinHu as before." Song Cheng spoke and walked ahead towards the town.
Yuan Jin and Qin Su followed his lead.
"What does he mean by 'its not the same as before'?" Yuan Jin wondered aloud.
Qin Su looked at Yuan Jin meekly.
"You don't know? How can you be a god and not know? JinHu was destroyed when Song Cheng and that- Lu....Feng rescued a thousand maidens. It was rebuilt later." Qin Su explained.
"Oh. It's just that I wasn't in the heaven when General Song was appointed." Yuan Jin spoke.
It was true. Yuan Jin became a god a few days after the centenary appointment of Heavenly Guardians. Of course, no one knows anything about his mortal life, not even Yuan Jin himself. As per the rules of the heaven, a god must forget his mortal life.
Yuan Jin took the place of Xue Zhong, as the fourth most powerful in the chamber.
Although Yuan Jin was popular, neither Qin Su nor Song Cheng knew what he could do. But afterall, he was a god.
Song Cheng was swift in his steps, while Qin Su and Yuan Jin lagged behind. After a mile, they found themselves at the gates of the town. The lake at the end of the town seemed closer, shining brighter than everything else.
The gate was a large frame of stone. On the top, a carving saying "JinHu Town" was inked black.
Qin Su looked at Yuan Jin and asked, "Where's your aura?"
"It sheds off in the mortal world itself." Yuan Jin shrugged.
Song Cheng waited for the two to catch up. It wasn't anything like before. Earlier, the gates had a curved frame with flower patterns. Now, it was just bland and more of an imposition.
In silence, they entered the town. The path was not too crowded, but still not deserted. On either sides of the road, stalls and shops filled the sight.
As the people saw the exotic trio enter, they all began to try their best to sell their products.
"YOUNG MASTERS! COME HAVE A LOOK, WE SELL THE BEST WINE IN JINHU!"
"MASTERS, COME HERE AND TRY OUR HAND KNIT ROBES PLEASE!"
"AH! NOBLE SIRS, BUY THESE HAIRPINS FOR YOUR LADIES! COME HERE!"
Song Cheng ignored them and Qin Su would yell a random "NO!", while Yuan Jin would almost get dragged into every other store whom Qin Su would have to pull back.
Song Cheng couldn't remember if such a grand market ever existed in JinHu before but atleast the way they sold goods hadn't changed a bit.
Suddenly, they came across a flower shop that an old lady took care of. Inside the shop, colourful hairpins and ribbons were hung in design.
The three stopped at the shop. Yuan Jin and Qin Su looked at the flowers, while Song Cheng's eyes caught a white hair ribbon.
Song Cheng ran his hand through it. It was fine quality and woven with intense care.
"Do you look for your lady, Master?" The old lady asked Song Cheng.
"For someone." Song Cheng replied and placed a silver coin on the counter and put the white ribbon under his sleeve.
"Look at these flowers." Yuan Jin frowned. Most of the flowers in the shop had already wilted, looking dead.
As Song Cheng joined them again, they marched ahead.
"You don't wear white ribbon." Qin Su spoke next to Song Cheng.
"I don't." Song Cheng spoke and paced ahead, leaving Qin Su behind to wonder by himself.
After they had walked ahead, the old lady put the coin in her pouch. When she turned around to look at her flowers, her eyes grew wide with shock.
Each and every flower looked fresh as alive. The wilted ones seemed to come back to life.
The old lady rushed to the street to look for the trio but they were long gone.
"OH HEAVEN'S GRACE! A GOD HAS VISITED ME! HOLY HEAVENS, THOSE YOUNG MASTERS-ER-THANK YOU!" She cried with joy.
"That old lady just thanked me." Yuan Jin spoke, smiling.
"What old lady?" Qin Su asked.
"The old lady at the shop. I just heard her thank me," Yuan Jin replied, smiling "her flowers came to life."
"There's something I always wanted to ask Lord Yuan Jin." Song Cheng spoke.
Yuan Jin, who walked next to him nodded his head.
"Go ahead."
Song Cheng didn't know how to frame his question.
He couldn't just ask "What are you a god of?". That would be embarrassing for Yuan Jin. If he were someone like Zhang Yue or Wu Jing, he wouldn't have to ask, everyone knew what they did. Zhang Yue looked over life while Wu Jing delivered the Heaven's will. But Yuan Jin was different, rather weird.
Firstly, nobody really spoke of him or his powers. Secondly, he was a new god but still was the fourth most powerful, so Song Cheng wouldn't be surprised if he could hold a mountain in a hand but atleast if he could.
"Lord Yuan Jin, what does My Lord look after in the world?" Song Cheng spoke finally, deciding that it was the most feasible way to ask his question.
Song Cheng didn't really ask questions. If there was something, half the time he already knew and if he didn't, that probably wasn't something of his concern.
"Yeah. That's something even I want to know." Qin Su remarked.
"Uh me? I'm the God of Flowers." Yuan Jin answered, smiling casually.
Hearing his answer, both Song Cheng and Qin Su froze.
After a moment, Qin Su finally managed to speak.
"You're a what??"
***