It has been a hundred years since Hou Chi ascended, yet the possibility of war was still hanging in the air of the nine-heaven realm; even though the true gods had returned to the nine heavens their heavenly soldiers were still lingering in the mortal realms.
"I'll head down to the demon realm." Hou Chi said to the other three goddesses who looked at her like she had gone crazy
"There is no need to do so, Yuan Feng and the others have returned to the nine-heaven realm." Shang Gu said to her but she shook her head
"We must do everything we can to make sure, plus only the true gods returned to the nine-heaven realm but the heavenly army is still in the mortal realm." Hou Chi said to them
"I would like to go down with you but I have to take care of my little flame, he's going to burn down the nine-heaven palace soon if left alone." Er'Xi said to her and Hou Chi nodded with a smile, the little phoenix god had become quite powerful and mischievous as well.
"I would love nothing more than to go on an adventure but with my condition right now, Qing Mu would probably kill me if I told him that I wanted to head down to the demon realm." Chang Ge said to her and Hou Chi shook her head
"With your stomach getting bigger by the day, I wouldn't have let you go with me anyway." Hou Chi said to her and she sighed
"If I knew my life would be so limited, maybe I shouldn't have gotten pregnant." Chang Ge said and someone cleared their throat, when the goddess turned to look, Qing Mu was standing in the doorway.
"What was that? Would you like to repeat it again?" Qing Mu asked his wife as he walked over and she chuckled, Qing Mu has been keeping a close eye on the pregnant Chang Ge.
"As I've said, you've been keeping a close eye on me and not letting me do anything fun that I don't think I would want to get pregnant again." Chang Ge said to him and he sighed
"You. You only care about fun, don't you know that you should be starting to build your nest by now? You're going to lay your egg soon and the nest is still not done but you want to go out and have fun? In your dreams." Qing Mu said to her as he poked her forehead
"In the bird clan, the males usually build the nest. Shouldn't you be the one to build it and not me?" Chang Ge asked him, making the other three giggle
"Oh Chang Ge, it's our fault for marrying out of the none-bird clan. So we must build our own nest." Er'Xi said to her and Chang Ge sighed
"It seems so." Chang Ge said as she got up from her seat
"Should we head back to the Fall Palace, I'll get back to the nest building." Chang Ge said to Qing Mu who helped her get up and supported her
"Let's go back." Qing Mu said to her but before she headed out Chang Ge turned back
"What about you, Shang Gu? Will you be going with Hou Chi?" Chang Ge asked her but Shang Gu shook her head
"I'll head out, but let me know. Hou Chi, come see me before you leave." Chang Ge said and walked out with Qing Mu, leaving the three of them to look at each other. Hou Chi now looking at Shang Gu with big puppy eyes and she smile
"I won't be able to go, so don't look at me with those eyes. But I will meet you down once I'm finished with my work in the nine-heaven realm along with your work." Shang Gu said to her and Hou Chi hugged her
"Oh, you're the best! I wasn't sure who to ask to do my work for me while I was gone." Hou Chi admitted and Shang Gu chuckled
"I knew it, Chi Wu will lead you but you must promise me to not do anything dangerous or else I'll have Chi Wu bind you with my god-binding rope and send you back here." Shang Gu said to her and Hou Chi nodded
"Er'Xi." Tian Qi called out to her and she turned to look at her husband standing tall in the doorway with their son holding onto his father's hand
"A'Qi was looking for you." Tian Qi said to her and she sighed as she opened her arms to the small child, he came running to his mother with a smile on his face to hug his mother
"You are already four thousand years old but you're still acting like a child." Er'Xi said to him and the child laugh
"But Mother, you promised that you would take me to see Kunlun where the god of war is staying." he said to his mother and she sighed
"I'll be heading to visit Mt.Kunlun. Is there anything you both need or want on the way back?" Er'Xi asked the two of them but the two shook their head
"Have a safe trip." Hou Chi said and Er'Xi smiled at her
"You as well." Er'Xi said to her and headed out with her family, leaving the two of them to work in the main Four-Season Palace but it wasn't long after Er'Xi and Tian Qi had left that Yuan Feng came to take Shang Gu away as well.
"It seems like it would be another lonely work day for me in the Winter Palace." Hou Chi said as she packed up her paperwork and headed toward her winter palace.
The following day a knock came at her door, Hou Chi got up from her seat and towards the gate. Once she opened the gate, she was greeted by Shang Gu's bond.
"Zhu Zi, greet winter goddess." Zhu Zi said to her and she smiled at the little bamboo spirit
"Come in, you too little one." Hou Chi said to Zhu Zi and her little daughter. Hou Chi brought them inside to the study room where she was staying in
"What brought you here so early today?" Hou Chi asked her and she smiled, Hou Chi has been close with everyone since she came to the nine-heaven
"I heard from Master Shang Gu that you will be heading down to the demon realm?" Zhu Zi asked her and Hou Chi nodded
"That is true, I wanted to head down and see if I could convince the demon to stop the war. I promise to not be reckless." Hou Chi said and Zhu Zi nodded
"That is not what worries me. We all know that Chi Wu is a demon, they might not kill him but I am worried about you going down there alone since you've never left the nine-heaven since you've come into being. I worry about the mistake that Chi Wu might make on the way." Zhu Zi said to her and Hou Chi smiled, she understood what Zhu Zi was worried about since the Demon and gods had been at odds. Even though he is now under the care of Spring Goddess Shang Gu the others are still watching him to betray the nine-heaven realm.
If anything were to happen to Hou Chi on this journey with him, everyone would point their fingers at Chi Wu and make him out to be the bad guy who betrayed the Season Goddesses despite his connection with them.
"Do not worry. I will not let what you are worried about come true." Hou Chi said to her and she smiled, the couple had taken care of her since she came to the nine-heaven and even let their oldest daughter keep her company. They treated her like family, she had no intention of harming their family.
"Chi Wu will be waiting for you by the mortal gates, he asked me to let you know that you can take your time. He will lead you to the demon realm and back to the nine-heaven realm safely." Zhu Zi said to her and Hou Chi nodded
"I will meet up with him once my work here is handled. Oh, please take this to Shang Gu as well." Hou Chi said as she handed the winter stamp over to Zhu Zi
"I wish you a safe journey." Zhu Zi said to her and bow as she headed out with her daughter
Once everything was taken care of, Hou Chi headed out to meet with the demon. The demon treat her nothing like a goddess but like he treated his daughter instead
"Chi Wu greet the winter goddess." Chi Wu said once Hou Chi was close enough to him and she smiled at him
"Please be at ease, what is up with the sudden formality?" Hou Chi asked him and Chi Wu got up
"This is a serious matter, I must show you the respect that a bond show to their master. " Chi Wu teased her and she chuckled. Hou Chi didn't even know what the mortal realm would be like but she heard all sorts of stories from Shang Gu and Er'Xi, since the two love to travel.
The two of them stood in the open field in the mortal realm, the field was covered in white flowers but with a strong gust of wind. The flowers wilted and started flying into the sky, it was as if the snow were falling in summer.
"What is this?" Hou Chi asked in amazement
"This is called White Dandelion, this must be a tea field that the mortal grew." Chi Wu said to her and she smiled as she looked at it with a bright smile
"There are so many things in the mortal realm that don't exist in the nine-heaven realm." Hou Chi said to him and Chi Wu nodded
"That is also true in the demon realm." Chi Wu said to her and she looked over at him a little sad, as she recalled in the demon realm, nothing can grow there since the land is barren. Not many things can grow there at all unless it contains demon powers or spirits.
"Don't look at me like that, there are many things in the demon realm that are as beautiful as this. I've shown it to my wife too when we got married." Chi Wu said to her and she smiled
"If it's not too much, please show it to me as well." Hou Chi said to him and he bowed lightly to her
"It would be my pleasure." Chi Wu said to her and the two of them began their journey down the mountain.
On the way to the demon realm, Hou Chi saw many things that amazed her but there were also many things that made her sad but yet nothing was able to make her cry.