💕💕💕 ( The lands of the gods) ( Jade palace)
Ring ting ting Ring ting ting Ring ting ting
A woman danced in the center of the palace; her gracefulness and beauty mesmerized everyone; even her enemy ' Jade empress '.
The guapin strings fluttered in the fingers of Xuan Hua; who at times gave it spiritual energy boosting the purity of the music.
She raised her wrist in an arch and shook the bells; the bell rang with a ting before the place was filled with blossom petals.
As if it was not magical enough; she unbound her hair and let it spill; the hair floated in the wind bringing out the sweet scent of blossom petals; thereby completing the dance of the blossom tree.
The gods and goddesses couldn't help but clap. Shu hua as usual still can't stop amazing them with the dance of the blossom tree; too bad her favorite disciple wasn't around to play the guapin for her; the new disciple just can't compare with Taohua.
The Jade emperor looked pleased with the performance; his face couldn't help but glow.
"Shu hua come here "
The Jade empress, Guan yin, couldn't help but roll her eyes. Shu hua resisted the urge to also roll her eyes and came closer to the emperor.
"Emperor..."
"Shu hua you pleased me; I can't help but feel happy and warm... what do you want? I'll grant it to you "
Guan yin let out a snort " What if she asks for your position? "
The emperor frowned " She's not like you who is overly ambitious "
"Ambitious? " She laughed aloud sending shivers down the spine of everyone present" Even in the mortal realm; women are becoming leaders now, no more restricted to the kitchen and made to work like a slave; It's only in this realm we still have to wait for the husband to die before the wife can get the opportunity to lead "
The dragon god couldn't help but interrupt " You are the goddess of mercy; you are supposed to be sweet, kind, and virtuous "
"Sorry to break that illusion then " She shrugged her shoulders and drank a cup of wine " I am speaking for at least half of the goddesses here; most of them have much better things to do with their time than to hang like an ornament around your necks but well ... You can continue your majesty "
The emperor seemed embarrassed now but he couldn't rebuke his wife; he let out a deep breath to dispel his anger and faced Shu hua with a tight smile.
"Dear Shu hua; what is it you want?"
She let out a deep breath and knelt " Emperor, please command jade Queen to revoke her punishment on Taohua !"
The palace broke into discussion and the empress let out a laugh again. Xuan Hua slapped her forehead in frustration.
The emperor's face turned red " Shu hua I can't grant this "
She didn't give up, she held the feet of the emperor; trying to hold in the tears that threaten to spill "Please... you said you will do anything remember?"
"It's not like I can't..."
"Give it up shu hua," Guan yin said loudly, making the emperor cough " My commands can't be revoked based on his voice alone, I am my own god , why don't you ask me instead? "
When Shu hua faced her , Guan Yin let out a laugh ; her eyes were bent into crescent " I am listening "
The tears spilled "Please..."
Xuan Hua watching this tightened her hold on her handkerchief.
"No"
Xuan hua burst into sobs.
The emperor wanted to comfort this delicate woman but in the end, Guan yin was right, he really can't revoke her power.
He patted her head " I'll send gifts to the hua palace "
Shu hua walked back to her palace, a shawl wrapped around her delicate body. Xuan hua walked a distance behind her; her head lowered in order not to show the feelings of jealousy raging through her.
Shifu would never cry for even herself but she cried every time she heard of her senior brother's suffering.
Shifu would never smile but there was always a smile on her face every time she heard of her senior brother's funny acts.
Shifu would never beg for anyone but she begged the emperor even in front of respectable gods and goddesses just because of her senior brother.
She tightened her fists till blood dripped out; She was always there for Shifu, she would always smile for Shifu, and she would even die for her Shifu, why can't she look at her? Why can't Shifu even let out a smile for her ?!
Was it because she wasn't as white as her senior brother? was it because she wasn't a man? was it because she didn't look as good as her senior brother?!!
"Xuan hua..."
Xuan Hua raised her head, a small smile on her face.
"Shifu "
"I am not eating dinner today; I am going to sleep early "
She wants to go and cry
"Yes Shifu "
💕💕💕 ( Mortal realm; the boundary of the demon and Mortal realm)
"Mom ...."
The immature voice woke him up at once. Bei Shang let out an inward sigh and sat up; With his eyes closed, he raised his hand and placed it on his face.
"Good morning Mitch " He pulled him close and gave him a soft kiss on his cheeks " Let mom sleep a bit..."
"Okay " He felt Mitch wrap his arms around his neck and bury his face into his shoulders " Mom I had a dream the monster took you away"
"Don't worry, I'm okay"
"Mom, hold me "
It was rare for Mitch to be this clingy, his ankles were aching and his mind just went through a major shock yesterday. If it was up to him, he just want to hide in the room and never come out.
But he doesn't want to punish the child because his dad was a psychopathic jerk. He opened his eyes slowly and started to rock him.
"Mitch mom … I brought food"
Bei Shang moved his eyes to the side; Iran was in a bright smile and a bright yellow dress; this cherry personality contrasted heavily with her arm hanging on a blue sling.
"What happened to your arm?"
"I fell" She looked at his carefully bandaged ankles blankly " oh you fell too …. what a coincidence"
Bei Shang's lips twitched.
Iran dropped the food on the table in front of the bed and started to feed him with one hand; Bei Shang juggled between rocking the clingy Mitch and trying his best not to choke on food.
If not for the concentration on Iran's face, he would have thought she was doing it on purpose.
"Where's he and the young woman from yesterday?"
"Oh they're packing up the house and rounding up the properties to give a friend of theirs, we are going to be leaving in the evening"
There wasn't even enough time to escape, even if he tries. Bei Shang sighed softly and looked at the windows.
Iran touched her hand "Do you want to go on a stroll outside? We have a wheelchair"
".... why do you guys have a wheelchair?"
"General said to be always prepared "
Bei Shang sighed and waved his hands " just bring it "
Although he didn't know how Iran did it, she managed to put both him and Mitch in the wheelchair at the same time without breaking a sweat. She even helped them push, whistling along the way.
The gardens were beautiful as ever, the grass green, the air fresh and the flowers bright uplifting his mood. He uncurled Mitch's arms from his and let Mitch lie in his arms.
His closed eyes and peaceful smile made Bei Shang's heart soften.
Thinking about it now, he was rash to try and leave yesterday. What if Mitch had woken up to see his mom left for the second time again, to be abandoned again?
Just because he was afraid of the unknown.
He let out a sigh and looked at the blue sky.
"Iran, did you fall?"
"Well …. I know general set the trap that made me fall but ehh " She shrugged and laughed " I have always known he's a little petty, at least he's not like my first Master"
"First master?"
"Yeah, I had an owner before I ended up with Mitch…. I was both his pushing bag and prey " She pulled off her sleeve, and there were bullet marks on her arm " It was the general who saved me "
Seeing the grim look on Bei Shang's face, she pulled the sleeve back " This is the first time the general has been petty with me, so don't need to worry about it okay "
" Can you tell me a little bit about Nick?"
"Ohhh let me go get the cookies and fruit juice, we have a lot to talk about"
Seeing the genuine joy on Iran's face, Bei Shang felt a sting of guilt in his heart; he couldn't believe he was snobbish towards this sweet girl. She had been nothing but friendly since yesterday.
She grabbed two chairs and used one as a makeshift table, using the other as her chair.
" General real name is General Autumn Storm; Aunty Kate's real name is Queen Spring storm, Mitch's chosen name in the demon realm is General Wind storm; I don't know much about our King but older demons tell me that he's in a deep sleep"
"What's your name?"
"Oh I'm just called Iran Storm"
Bei Shang nods his head in understanding "Describe the demon realm. "
" I have never been to the demon realm but older demons tell me that the demon realm is divided into five tribes; the first is the Huli Jing tribe, they're the strongest tribe because of their military forces headed by the general; they're also the second wealthiest tribe "
Bei Shang looked briefly at the sleeping Mitch and continued rocking him "Then why leave everything behind and come to the mortal realm?"
Iran shrugged" I don't know too, no one wants to talk about it, it's like a taboo topic; general gets moody anytime someone even offhandedly mentions it "
"The second tribe is the Wolf tribe, that's my tribe although not by birth but by my form. They are the second strongest tribe in the realm, their team effort is on another level, pack control on a tight control. Older demons tell me that the wolf king is very handsome even with a scar on his face …However he doesn't get along well with the Huli Jing clan…especially with General "
" Nick was the one who scared him right?"
" …Yes but the Huli Jing tribe is a lot more peaceful than them; the Wolf tribe is the only tribe always going to war on petty things"
Bei Shang's lips twitched " At least try to be on the side of your tribe"
"If I could be born a Huli Jing, I would be so happy " Iran sighed sadly and then shugged " But eh what else can we do? Next on the list is the Hunter tribe "
Bei Shang straightened up in excitement " Oh I have a friend from that tribe although he's a halfie "
"Yup, Hunter's tribe is the best with technology and sciency stuff. Their tribe leader hates Queen Spring and Queen Spring mutually "
Seems like a lot of tribes have a big grudge against Nick and Kate.
"Their Tribe leader also makes the scariest talismans and her portions have been known to cause mass effect. I think they're cool though but I fear them; I heard they use stray demons are experimental pets "
"My friend is nice though, he just kills the bad demons "
"Bad demons are extremely rare though " Seeing Bei Shang freeze in horror, she quickly shook her head " But I'm sure there are a lot of bad demons in the mortal realm so no worries hahaha "
" The fourth demons are the Formless demon tribe, they're the king of trades and the wealthiest tribe in the demon realm. Older demons claim that they're the only tribe that has never gone through an economic crisis before; Queen Spring is engaged to a princess there "
"Princess?"
"I know weird right but the princes of the Formless demon tribe are all married and they wanted to ally so they just make do with it; Fortunately queen spring likes male demons and female demons so she doesn't care"
"The last Tribe is the mixed Tribe; this is the tribe of other demons like the remnants of the snake tribe, the mouse tribe, outcasts demons, and smaller tribes; they are mostly demons who managed to escape from genocides or just like me became demons from cultivating for a very long time "
"Then why didn't you claim that Tribe?"
"My loyalty is first and foremost to my park; if I had my way, I would be a …"
"Huli Jing, I got it "
There was a brief silence for Bei Shang to digest what he had just been told; He handed a cookie to Iran.
"What's the power status in the Huli Jing tribe?"
Iran nibbled on her cookie " well I don't know, older demons don't like talking about it but I do know that it's not in a good position as of now, that's why they're leaving so soon…Oh, I forgot!"
"Forgot what?"
Iran stood up sharply and ran into the house " General told me to pack!!!"
Bei Shang sighed before breaking into laughter; his laughter echoed around the garden.
On the other side of the forest, Kate and Nick were struggling with trying to balance a portal. Kate's ears twitched at the echo of the laughter and she looked toward Nick.
Just like she expected, the corner of Nick's lips lifted and he seemed to be more focused on the activity at hand now.
It was like she could see a glimpse of old him before he turned thirteen.
Autumn wasn't always grumpy and petty, he was gentle and often found in his room drawing. However, when he turned thirteen, his mood started becoming unstable and he would often start mumbling about making it right.
At first, they thought it was their mother's harsh training that broke him, later on after a brief consultation from a stork demon, they discovered it was feelings carried over from multiple past lives.
Pain begets pain, he has to find what caused him pain and resolve it to have a peaceful life.
However, memories were very hard. No matter how hard Autumn tried to remember; there was always a fog hindering him and a painful heartache.
She would watch as her brother stood up in the middle of the night and walked over to the peach tree in the royal garden; his purple eyes sparkling with electricity.
"I'll make it right this time" she would hear him mumble " I'll make it right this time"
When they got to the mortal realm, their lives weren't difficult because of Nick's role as a soldier in the Japanese war; However, he never stopped looking for the mysterious person in his memories.
There were many times he would call her saying he found someone who gives him a sense of familiarity; each time he ended up disappointed, his heartache getting more pronounced by the time.
Telling him to let go of his obsession was easier said than done; Even Nick tried his best to forgive, but nothing worked. All it took was just one heartache and a foggy memory to start it all over again.
"I don't think it's forgiveness" Nick had said to her over the phone one night, his voice was tired " I just want to see the person, it's not the heartache of a betrayed heart; it's the heartache of a lonely heart "
Eight years ago, Nick suddenly called her. He had gone to the small company he had just assimilated into the "Storms" group of companies and felt a connection with an employee there.
"What's the person's name?"
"Xingfu Kim"
"How does she make you feel?"
"Xingfu makes me feel like I've met her before but in a more shallow way… I'm more attracted to her face than her character "
"Is she the person you're looking for?"
Nick tightened his lips and shook his head "I don't know "
Xingfu was beautiful, with long brown hair, limpid brown eyes, and lush lips. But there was something about her that made Kate uncomfortable.
Despite her doubts, she was ready to bless their union if Nick ever says the intent of marrying her; however, Xingfu betrayed Nick's trust when she got him drunk and raped him.
That was not all, she wanted to give him his child in exchange for a comfortable life filled with money.
She expected Nick to feel furious or even betrayed, but the day he told her over the phone; he sounded so …relieved.
"She isn't that person; the person in my memories isn't greedy"
"Autumn…must you find that person?"
"Yes, this life has to be right for us"
Nick completed his part of the deal; Xingfu enjoyed her life filled with money till her last breath.
Nick never found it in his heart to hate the mortals but the event scared him and he stopped working physically in the company.
Mitch's arrival softened Nick but it didn't bring back the old him. Nick smiled more, laughed more, and played more; but something was missing.
Kate placed her hand down and looked at him.
"Autumn"
"What?"
"Is he who you're looking for?"
There was a silence between them before Nick broke into a soft smile.
"Yes"