Oh no! Alice almost cried. Your majesty I beg you, please don't ground me in the heavenly court, it's so boring here and I will be bored to death.
The empress looked at her sad face and had pity on her.
You are my niece, Stanley's fiance and the future heavenly empress, you have to watch your words and behaviors, the empress advised.
I don't want to be the heavenly empress! Alice bellowed. I don't understand, why is our marriage decided since birth? Without asking if we are willing or not, without considering if we have feelings or not. No wander the phoenix wants to fight the heavenly court, she said as a matter of fact, squinting her face at the last sentence.
Alice! The empress screamed her name to stop her from talking innapropriatly. She sighed deeply, shook her head and began to leave.
You are grounded, reflect on your mistakes.
Hmm! Alice fumed and sighed.
Cyrus and Linda were taking a walk around the demon realm, they felt relaxed, but had adamant looks as they walked till they came to the podium where the purple rose was being protected for years.
What time is it now? Linda asked.
It is evening now, soon it will be dark in less than two hours, Cyrus replied.
Why is there no sunset at dusk? She asked.
The demon realm is a chaotic place, he answered. Although we experience day and night, rainfall and snow, we are isolated from the heavenly realm, so we can't see the sun.
Yes, I can't see it again, Linda said remembering when she and Stanley viewed the sunset.
Immediately she remembered this, her heartbeat increased and she clutched her chest as she felt pain too. Soon red veins started showing throughout her hands. She closed her eyes and winced in pain.
The formula! Cyrus exclaimed with his eyes wide open. How come the formula is on you? Sister did you ask Stanley to pass the formula to you? From now on, stop having feelings of any sort for Stanley or else you will die.
Hearing this, Linda opened her eyes.
How did you know about the formula? And how did you know the formula was on Stanley?
Cyrus couldn't answer and only kept his face down like one with a guilty conscience.
It was you?
I'm sorry sister, I didn't expect it would hurt you in the end.
Linda nodded sadly and turned to walk away. Cyrus went after her calling her sister but she stopped him.
Everyone wants to kill me, Stanley too wants to kill me and you? She asked.
I did everything for you sister.
Stop calling me sister! My life is up to me, it's non of your business.
Okay but please don't make the same mistake as you did in your past life.
In my previous life? She asked sensing it may have some significance to the present. What happened?
See for yourself and you will know, Cyrus told her.
He took her to another section in the demon realm where there was a stone wall with an engraved mirror. The mirror had some words on it saying "the stone reflects past life".
Sister I brought you here so that you will know the truth and see how horrifying Stanley is, the man you are in love with. Don't be trapped in love, Cyrus told her.
Cyrus waved his spiritual power at the mirror and Linda's past life which Cyrus was also a major part of began displaying on the screen:
It happened thousands of years ago, Linda was also born as a mortal in her past life with the name "Adlin". She was the daughter of general Sima who was successful. She had a brother who never took life serious and only wasted his time at brothels and peer group gatherings. His name was Adu. Older than Adlin as he was, he knew nothing about martial arts, while their family had been known as martial arts family for generations. He hated Adlin because their father loved her the most but also afraid of her because she would easily beat him up as a martial artist she was.
Adlin was highly skilled in martial arts even more than many army generals, she was an elite. She always practiced martial arts with Cyrus, a boy she saw on the streets when she was only 10 years old, with no parents or guardian. He was alone, begging to feed and cater for himself till Linda saw him and liked to play with him. She begged her father to adopt him into their home which he did. Cyrus became her brother and also her best friend, they were of the same age. This made Adu extremely jealous. They played and practiced martial arts together, soon they both became very skilled in martial arts that one couldn't defeat the other. The more one tried to be more skilled than the other, the more powerful they became in martial arts and their father was very impressed.
Cyrus didn't waste any time in blending into the home, he saw the Sima family as his own. Although he was assigned to always take good care of Adlin, he did it as a hobby and he was never treated unfairly in the family, they were his only family.
Adlin's mother was only a house wife, a good woman but always shielded her husband from reprimanding Adu when he was wrong. But she was never biased when any matter arose between her two children. She treated both of them equally, just that Adu chose to be unproductive and she let him be with little or no reprimanding actions against him.
In the general's mansion, Adlin was being dressed to meet a guest who had come to ask her family's permission to marry her but she didn't want it.
It's okay now, her mother told the maids dressing Adlin up.
She held Adlin's shoulders, turned her round and examined her dressing.
Nice dressing, she complimented. Adlin, you've seen Mr Ma today, don't mess around like before.
I don't want to see any Mr Ma, Mr Mo or Mr Mu, Adlin replied.
Look at you, you have scared away more than ten men from well known families in the past two years, if you continue like this, how can you get married?
Anyways, I don't want to get married, Adlin answered unseriously.
You... Her mother almost got mad. Nonsense! You always play with weapons, how can a girl act like that? If you still can't get married, not only will your relatives laugh at you but the whole Sima mansion will be disgraced, she said tapping her face to emphasize disgrace.
Brother goes to the brothel everyday, he is bad at literature and knows nothing about martial arts, why don't you say he will disgrace the family? Adlin asked as a matter of fact.
You... Her wanted to speak but became short of words but instead began to cry in a cunning way.
Why am I so unlucky to have you two as children? She lamented as she cried.
Adlin then hugged her mother playfully.
Okay it's alright, I will go to see him, she said.
Her mother immediately stopped crying and pretended to wipe her tears.
Do you mean it? She asked to be sure.
Yes.
Then let's go?
Go!
And they left to the reception hall where the guests were waiting, holding hands.