Xing was keeping her head bowed in respect to the Heavenly Emperor who is considered the Emperor of all and her being here won"t be for chit-chatting. She looked at Shengli and the Emperor by her side still in prostration and they seemed unable to handle the presence of so many powerful G.o.ds. If not for the G.o.d-blood in them, they"d have cardiac arrest by now. She felt bad for bringing them inside the temple in the first place."Well, well! Haven"t the "Dyed Radish" all grown up now? Didn"t know a radish can grow up to be a transcendent beauty. Mortals always surprise me", a bell-like voice echoed in that ethereal Hall that was filled with various G.o.ds to the brim with the sudden arrival of mortals. The last time a human was allowed here was when the G.o.d of Wind brought Little Tians.h.i.+ Emperor to beg for the revenge of his mother"s death.
The entire hall that still had some murmurings went entirely silent with their Emperor"s commanding voice laced with playfulness - a sight they had never seen before.
Xing felt her knees go weak hearing that nickname "Dyed Radish". When she was about five, she saved a white peac.o.c.k from a hunter and he was the one who gave her the gift of receiving anything she wants from the mountains. But Xing with her usual "reverence" to all things, was calling him a "Bleached Peac.o.c.k" making jokes about how he lost all his colours right to his face. Xing had raven black hair and she had extremely pale skin and she was wearing white that day and so the G.o.d called her "dyed radish" in return to mock her. She remembered that she even plucked one of his feathers and she still has it back in her home. The G.o.d got angry at her for hurting him and that"s why he brought her here previously and tried to hold her as a prisoner and made her listen to stories but she was plenty mischievous back then and he and his horde of servants could not handle a single five year old her. That G.o.d even made her trapped inside a cage and told her that the only reason he is letting her live was because she actually saved his life. But Xing sneaked out from the cage and she had turned the palace of the Heavenly Emperor upside down in a short amount of time and he had no other choice but to send her back to her place.
Well, Xing! Of course the one G.o.d you messed about a lot is the Heavenly Emperor! What do you expect? But how am I alive still?
Xing wanted to wail, "What? Nothing to speak now..? Why don"t you call me bleached peac.o.c.k, Radish? Lift your head! ", the Heavenly Emperor spoke in a commanding tone.
Xing saw Shengli flinching by the corner of her eye but he could not move and she knew she was finished. Fei Lian saw her paled expression and knew this one might have done it and the entire hall of G.o.ds were gasping in surprise about the Impudence of a mortal.
"I"ll apologise for her Impudence, Your Majesty. This one has malapert blood coursing through her veins. I"ll teach her properly in the future to be more aware of her place", Fei Lian stood in front of her and bowed and talked on her behalf.
Even though she was being called names, Xing wasn"t worried as she knew she was all those things and in this situation it would be better if she gets back to her place safely and even thanked Fei Lian in her heart.
"Raise your head, Mingxia ", the Heavenly Emperor commanded and Xing looked at the Heavenly Emperor who had silver hair and was siting majestically in the big throne made of ivory and jade. His eyes were dark like the endless sky and his glance was powerful enough to make anyone tremble.
"Do you remember the stories I told you before?", he looked deeply at her.
"Yes, Exhalted One, the most Supreme being worthy of all Praises ..", Xing found all kind of adjectives to fill in to praise the Heavenly Emperor and... Lied through her teeth. She didn"t remember most things before she met her prince and certainly not the stories he told her.
" Shut. up", Fei Lian hissed gritting his teeth knowing she is panicking and lying as it was apparent to him and thankfully Xing was able to shut her mouth.
"The previous G.o.d of Fire who rebelled against us five centuries ago is the one who is trapped in that weapon now. He is trying to rebel again and gaining the support of other G.o.ds. His sole aim is to bring down us and our descendants and he has almost succeeded in his plans. There are only a very few left with our blood in your realm. Your purpose is to kill him and to protect our bloodline from extinguis.h.i.+ng in the mortal realm. I"ve promised my son, the first Lu Emperor of your Empire that I will watch over for thousand years and protect his offsprings. I have to keep that promise but as you know, we cannot involve in the affairs of the mortal realm directly as before so we"ll need you to do our will there. You will have to stay inside the palace for that. Since you obviously need our protection, you"ll take down that spell that is keeping us from your Imperial Palace too",the Heavenly Emperor spoke in a flat tone as if what he says is all normal and everything was how it is supposed to be making Xing boil with rage.
Why is everything he said seems like it is all his problem and not mine? His enemy, his inability to keep a promise, his will to control the Human Empire... And why should I help him? They tortured me this much for this? All the sufferings I was put through was for this Heavenly Emperor to keep his throne? I don"t even belong in their realm... Why should I? What will they do if I refuse? What could they do? And kill a G.o.d? Why must I? To face the repercussions of killing a G.o.d? Shouldn"t the current G.o.d of fire kill the previous G.o.d of fire? How can a mortal kill a G.o.d? Do they think I"m a pushover? Just because I"ve gotten certain privileges from them means I am their slave? Don"t I have wishes? And what"s with the matter of fact tone he says these things? When have I ever agreed to it? Even though it seemed like simple tasks they are herculean if looked deeply. And how is what this one saying related to that awful fate that was written for me?
"I"ll respectfully refuse to obey these tedious tasks a.s.signed for me", Xing who momentarily forgot where she was, engulfed by the flames of rage in her heart was about to give the answer.
Before she spoke her mind, Fei Lian interrupted her, "Your Majesty! I humbly ask your permission to take care of this issue myself. I"ll guide this mortal to serve her true purpose as your General who had served you all my life", Fei Lian kneeled in front of the Heavenly Emperor. He knew she"ll definitely refuse to Obey his Emperor"s wishes forgetting that she is standing in a place that is extremely disadvantageous for her and the two brothers prostrating on the floor.
Xing snapped out of her rage and she realised that tiger G.o.d has actually helped her. She cannot refuse the direct command of the Heavenly Emperor when she is standing in front of him in his Throne Room with two of her people in here. Him talking to her in a slightly explanatory manner could easily be considered as him asking for help rather than him commanding her. If she had refused blatantly, that would have created a ginormous problem for them.
Xing! Just control your temper for now!
"You didn"t handle it well previously with him. How can we let you now?", some G.o.d asked Fei Lian and the entire Hall was filled with murmurs once again.
"Mortals are sneaky. They should be ruled with iron fists and treated like an animal, not educated like a child", another G.o.d said and a commotion broke in the Hall with various G.o.ds forming groups some defending and some opposing Fei Lian.
"Well, good luck winning the war with your unity being this strong!", Xing rolled her eyes.
"Fei Lian failing before is beneficial too. He now knows what not to do. And who knows Old Rong better than Fei Lian?", a clear, melodious voice of a woman was heard from the midst of the commotion that made everyone pause what they were doing and focus on her.
Xing saw the beautiful G.o.ddess in her azure robes walking towards her. Her hair was silver with streaks of blue in it and her eyes were like the beautuful summer sky, clear and blue. In one glance Xing could tell that she is the G.o.d of Water. But why is she looking a bit familiar?
She just gave a fleeting glance at Xing and looked at Fei Lian, "What do you say?"
"I"ll not fail this time", Fei Lian a.s.sured and the Emperor waved his hand in approval and Fei Lian thanked the Heavenly Emperor and stood up.
"You owe me once again, dear", the G.o.dess leaned on Fei Lian with her supple bossom squis.h.i.+ng on his arms and whispered in Fei Lian"s ears and her beautiful red lips almost touched his cheek when she pulled back. That was quite an amorous scene and Xing was the first seat viewer.
Wow! This is amazing!
"How shameless! These... Bugs! " ZhuRong snorted and the G.o.d of Water gave her a coquettish smirk and walked towards Xing and squinted her eyes, "Why are you so familiar?", she said in a soft, husky voice that made it seem like pillow talk and Xing felt many envious looks on her and she gave an awkward grin not knowing what else to do.
The G.o.ddess traced Xing"s forehead where the mark of the G.o.d of Wind was and Xing felt a trace of pain and a hint of jealousy in her eyes.
Is she misunderstanding something?
"Mazu , don"t", Fei Lian held her hand and Xing saw him interlocking his fingers in hers while pus.h.i.+ng it away. After releasing her hand, she saw Fei Lian clenching his hands tightly as if he was controlling his emotions.
Well, well! Isn"t this a tragic love story!
Xing felt bad for them. Of course their union won"t be accepted because their attributes of wind and water are opposing ones and not compatible. Even G.o.ds have no control over who they love and their fate!