“Aren’t you very powerful? Then just go get the Primordial Spirit Fruit for me. Problem solved.”
Jiang Yang: “…”
Kunlun turned her head away, stifling a laugh.
Jiang Yang took a deep breath and explained, “I’m a snake. He’s a dragon. There’s even a mortal saying: ‘A strong dragon cannot crush a local snake.’ Our natural elements clash. How can a local snake like me suppress a strong dragon like him?”
“Isn’t Meng Zhaozhong also a dragon?”
Meng Zhaozhong, chopping wood outside, suddenly sneezed.
Jiang Yang rolled her eyes. “How many years of cultivation does Meng Zhaozhong have? How many years has Gu lived? Besides…”
She suddenly turned serious. “I have to return to the Upper Realm. I can’t stay by the King’s side forever. The Primordial Spirit Fruit must be picked and eaten immediately. Even if I had the power to fight Gu, I couldn’t bring it back to the King.”
“Upper Realm?!” Little Chuci exclaimed. “You came from the Upper Realm? Aren’t you a demon?”
“Who says demons can’t ascend to the Upper Realm? Back then, too many gods in heaven died. The Heavenly Emperor temporarily relaxed the race restrictions for ascension. However, after other demons ascended, they could only be assigned as minor Earth Immortals or do menial tasks in the Heavenly Court. And because the Heavenly Emperor still deeply fears the Demon Clan, virtually no demons have ascended in recent years.”
Little Chuci: “Then what about you?”
Jiang Yang pressed her lips together and smiled with restrained pride. Her dark brows and eyes seemed even more striking. “Me? I can’t say ‘second only to one, above ten thousand,’ but it’s close enough.”
Little Chuci tilted her head and looked at her expressionlessly. “Your face is practically blooming with laughter.”
Jiang Yang: “It is not.”
“Then why are you the only exception among all the demons in the Upper Realm?”
Jiang Yang: “!”
In an instant, she transformed into a streak of cyan light and vanished from Little Chuci’s sight at lightning speed.
“King! I have matters to attend to! I’m returning to the Upper Realm first!”
Little Chuci looked up at the fast-flying clouds streaking across the horizon, then at Kunlun. She spread her hands. “Did I ask something I shouldn’t have?”
Kunlun said, “Of course not. Everyone has secrets. Perhaps Jiang Yang just had something inconvenient to discuss.”
Little Chuci pondered, “Is that so? I keep feeling she’s hiding something important from me.”
“I searched her soul. You don’t trust her, but you don’t trust me?”
“I trust you.”
That scared the snake to death.
Why was she the only exception among all the demons in the Upper Realm? Because she was the one who fought Chuci the most desperately back then. That act almost cost her her life on the spot, and it took a full thousand years to recover. Also, because she was the Heavenly Emperor’s confidante. If Little Chuci had continued asking why she put on that act, why she went undercover in the Heavenly Realm, how could she answer?
She knew her own character all too well. Straightforward, direct—one path down. She was bound to say too much and mess up. If it were someone smooth and sociable, they might not have needed to spend forty thousand years by the Heavenly Emperor’s side, navigating all sides. But precisely because she seemed so guileless, the Heavenly Emperor trusted her, and Chuci could confidently use her—even manipulate her, painting a grand, forever unattainable picture for her.
And yet, pitifully, she never suspected a thing.
Her heart had just calmed down from the fright at Kunlun Mountain when she entered her palace, only to be scared back up her throat by the sight of the Heavenly Emperor inside. She forced herself to calm down and said, “A Jun, what brings you here? Didn’t you just visit a few days ago? More worries?”
“Just arrived,” The Heavenly Emperor was making tea. He knew Jiang Yang didn’t like others touching her tea set and had thoughtfully brought his own. The aroma of the tea was perfect at that moment. He poured her a cup: “Come, try my skill.”
There seemed to be a hint of hope on his face: “How is it?”
Her heart in turmoil, Jiang Yang took the cup and sipped. Bluntly, she said, “Not very good.”
The handsome young Heavenly Emperor suddenly burst into laughter.
Jiang Yang asked, “What are you laughing at?”
“Nothing. Only you dare say my tea isn’t very good.” The Heavenly Emperor’s smile faded, and he sighed softly. “It’s nothing, really. I just felt too stifled in the Purple Firmament Palace, so I came here for some air. By the way, I couldn’t find you earlier. Did you go out for a walk?”
Jiang Yang quickly seized the excuse. “Exactly. I felt stifled too, so I went for a walk.”
“Where did you go for your walk?”
“I went to the west. I’m not sure exactly which place, but it was quite beautiful.” The “west” Jiang Yang spoke of was Kunlun Mountain. How could the Heavenly Emperor guess that? But this man was easy to manipulate—Jiang Yang knew he’d complete the answer for her.
Sure enough, the Heavenly Emperor made an “oh” sound and said, “Was it the Frost Wave Pavilion at Cloud’s End in the west?”
Jiang Yang: “Yes, it should’ve been there.”
“Frost Wave Pavilion in the west, Mount Buzhou in the east… seems like all the nice places have been visited,” The Heavenly Emperor murmured to himself. Then, suddenly, “A Yang, let’s secretly go down to the Lower Realm for some fun, shall we?”
“Fun?” Jiang Yang felt her ears might have been damaged by the recent scares. How could such a word come out of the mouth of this arrogant, prideful, and always serious-faced Heavenly Emperor?
“Yes. Other than a few scattered childhood memories of my father and mother, I’ve been in the Upper Realm for as long as I can remember. I’ve never seen what the Lower Realm looks like.”
“Can’t you see the Lower Realm from the Heavenly Court?”
“That’s different,” The Heavenly Emperor said. “I can’t quite say how it’s different. I want to see it. A Yang, come with me.”
Jiang Yang was tens of thousands of years older than the Heavenly Emperor. He treated her like an older sister, like a friend. Just like a mortal boy with an older sister, he shamelessly tugged at Jiang Yang’s sleeve. Jiang Yang felt goosebumps break out in waves across her back. She quickly swatted his hand away. “Fine, fine!”
The Heavenly Emperor froze, then gave Jiang Yang a deep, penetrating look.
Jiang Yang immediately knelt. “I recognize my fault. Please, Heavenly Emperor, forgive me.”
“Stand up. Zhen has no intention of blaming you.”
Jiang Yang rose apprehensively. At this moment, she deeply felt she probably wouldn’t be able to help the King’s grand plan from the shadows anymore.
“Jiang Chu, do you also think Zhen should remain high and aloof forever, guarding this cold Heavenly Court until the moment I sink into slumber and fade away? In all these years, apart from the Heavenly Court, I only ever come here to you. Because you always treat me differently. And in my eyes, you are also different from others.”
“Now, I want to go to the Lower Realm and see the people who offer me tribute. Is that wrong?”
Jiang Yang thought to herself: I don’t think you’re wrong. Whether you go or not, it’s none of my business! I’m just afraid if you go to the Lower Realm, and the King happens to be there at the same time—what if you run right into each other? A direct King vs. King? What if it ruins the King’s grand plan?
So she advised very gently, “Of course not. But if you go to the Lower Realm, who will manage the Heavenly Court?”
The Heavenly Emperor said, “I will arrange that myself.”
Jiang Yang: “I need to prepare.”
“Good, I’ll come find you again in a couple of days.” Having received an answer, the sharp edges of the Heavenly Emperor’s eyes softened. He sat back down and said, “I can’t have come for nothing. I want to drink your tea.”
Lower Realm, Kunlun Mountain.
As the saying goes: “In the mountains, time passes without notice; seasons change, but the years go unfelt.” In a blink, three years had passed.
“Kunlun, we can go down the mountain now!” Chuci flew back from outside. As she entered the courtyard, a red light flashed, and she transformed into human form. She now had the appearance of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl. Her figure had elongated, making her features appear especially clean and handsome.
Her white fur was pristine, the red lotus on her forehead dazzling. The bells at the end of her hair still trembled and chimed.
