Yue Yao carefully pondered the matter and found that it really seemed to be the case… ‘How did I forget something so important?’
Yue Yao panicked, unsure of what to do. “Highgod Cang Lan…”
She subconsciously tightened her grip on Cang Lan. He patted her head comfortingly.
“Highgod Qing Guan, this is a day of celebration for you. Perhaps we could discuss this at a later time?” The Jade Emperor tentatively suggested.
Shi Sheng’s icy gaze drifted over to him, turning his scalp numb. Her eyes seemed as though she were looking at an inanimate object rather than a person.
A bad feeling rose up in the Jade Emperor’s heart.
His premonition proved true when Shi Sheng opened her mouth to ridicule him, “Time and again you’ve helped her. I wonder what kind of relationship the two of you have?”
‘Helping her out once or twice is normal. But the Jade Emperor still lets Yue Yao off the hook so easily even after all the mistakes she’s made.
Even though her mistake this time was so severe, all he did was send her off to the Mortal Realm to fix it without telling anyone else.
None of the other immortals here are even aware that Yue Yao went to the Mortal Realm, much less what she did there…’
The Queen Mother’s gaze darkened and she shot daggers at the Jade Emperor with her eyes.
She’d always felt that the Jade Emperor was a bit too lenient with this Yue Yao. Although she’d had her suspicions about it, she’d never dared to bring them up.
But now that Shi Sheng had highlighted the issue, she was determined to use this opportunity to get to the bottom of the matter.
The Jade Emperor broke out in cold sweat. ‘This Highgod Qing Guan just had to bring up the topic I was trying to avoid!’
“Highgod Qing Guan, you can’t spout nonsense just because you’re a Highgod! There’s nothing between me and the Jade Emperor!” Yue Yao burst out in anger before the Jade Emperor even had the chance to speak. After all, Shi Sheng had just accused her of having an illicit relationship with the Jade Emperor, so how could she stay calm?
“Your words aren’t enough.”
‘The Jade Emperor and Queen Mother haven’t even said anything yet and you’re already anxiously trying to clear your name. Doesn’t that make you look even more suspicious? Idiot!’
“Why not?!” ‘I’m involved in this, so why aren’t my words enough?!’
Shi Sheng scoffed, “Are your words more important than the Jade Emperor’s? Who calls the shots in the Heavenly Realm: you, or him?”
Although Yue Yao was usually slow on the uptake, she wasn’t completely lacking in the IQ department. She understood what Shi Sheng was saying after pondering briefly, whereupon her expression suddenly changed and she glared angrily at Shi Sheng. “I didn’t mean it that way! Highgod Qing Guan, don’t twist my words around!”
“Didn’t your proclamation just now imply that you have the last say?”
The crowd didn’t dare to even breathe too loudly. The spectacle today…could very well claim a life or two if the cards weren’t played right.
However, even more people were now inwardly speculating what kind of relationship Yue Yao had with the Jade Emperor.
Yue Yao was just a minor immortal nobody used to know about. But one day, the Jade Emperor had suddenly appointed her as Moon Elder.
After that, even though she’d made several mistakes, the Jade Emperor merely gave her a few token punishments; he was clearly biased in her favour.
“Jade Emperor,” the Queen Mother’s expression turned frosty. “Aren’t you going to explain?”
The Jade Emperor wiped away the cold sweat that had broken out on his brow and spoke in a subdued tone, “Queen Mother, it’s a long story. I’ll explain when we get back, but the important thing now is to pacify Highgod Qing Guan!”
The consequences of offending a Highgod were far more severe than the matter of Yue Yao. The Queen Mother was quite clear on this, so she didn’t pursue her line of questioning.
Since the Queen Mother decided to let it go, the other immortals didn’t dare to ask.
The Jade Emperor heaved a sigh of relief before shooting Cang Lan a meaningful glance, wordlessly telling him to prevent Yue Yao from blurting out any more foolish words.
“Highgod Qing Guan, Yue Yao has indeed failed in her duties. What do you think about stripping her of her title as Moon Elder and sending her to the Reflection Cliff to repent?”
“And?” Shi Sheng raised her brow.
The Jade Emperor was stumped. ‘Isn’t that enough? What “and?!”’
Yue Yao glared angrily at Shi Sheng, but Cang Lan was preventing her from speaking. ‘Wasn’t it just pulling the wrong red string? She clearly wasn’t even affected by it, yet she still insists on having me punished! Isn’t she just a Highgod? As if that’s anything amazing! The only reason she even is one is because she had good parents who birthed her as a Highlord! If she was born the same as everyone else, there’s no way she’d be this brilliant!’
“Highgod Qing Guan, this… Why upset the harmony among immortals for a matter such as this? Sending Yue Yao to the Reflection Cliff will be enough to teach her a lesson.” The Jade Emperor placed special emphasis on the words “Reflection Cliff”.
The Reflection Cliff was a place specially used to punish immortals who had committed a wrong. It was a place of extreme temperatures; fire in some places and ice in others. Furthermore, immortals would be unable to use their divine power to protect themselves, so they could only endure the extreme environment with their physical bodies.
Shi Sheng poked at the floor with her sword. ‘Well I guess it won’t be fun if she dies too easily, so…’
Shi Sheng reluctantly agreed to the Jade Emperor’s proposal.
Yue Yao was stripped of her position as Moon Elder and sent to the Reflection Cliff as punishment.
Before Cang Lan left, he glared at Shi Sheng. She merely gave him a provocative smile in return. ‘Like I’m(bbb) scared of you!’
……
After this matter, rumours saying that Yue Yao was the Jade Emperor’s illegitimate daughter began to circulate.
Even more rumours claimed that the Jade Emperor had taken a fancy to her.
But of those involved, one was currently at the Reflection Cliff and the other refused to give any statement. Thus, the immortals could only make do with guessing.
With an eternity ahead of them, there was no real entertainment other than gossip for the various immortals. As a result, they naturally would not give up such a juicy topic that had presented itself before them.
Countless versions of the original rumours began circulating.
At this time, Shi Sheng had already left for The Great Desert located at the fringes of the Heavenly Realm.
The final villain of this novel was called Dong Jing, one of the fiends that lived in The Great Desert.
The Great Desert was its own little world with a variety of people, devil beasts, demons…and gods.
And Dong Jing was a god. One who had nearly made it to Highgod. However, he had given up at the last moment. And then after causing no small amount of chaos in the Heavenly Realm, Dong Jing left for The Great Desert.
No one knew what had really happened back then.
Shi Sheng had to explore the area supposedly containing the entrance to The Great Desert for several days before she could find it.
The Great Desert was, as its name suggested, a desert. Sand and rock stretched out in every direction as far as the eye could see, yet there wasn’t even a single hint of vegetation, much less of civilisation. Since the surroundings were all pretty much the same, Shi Sheng simply picked a direction at random and started walking.
“Help… help…”
“Help…”
Cries for help echoed from the top of the cliff beside Shi Sheng, prompting her to raise her head and take a look. A strange critter seemed to be stuck up there. It was the one making the cries.
Shi Sheng jumped up to have a closer look at the thing.
It had a body covered in sharp, barbed quills.
‘A porcupine?! And a very big one at that… These things could turn into devil beasts? How interesting.’
“Help…” When the porcupine caught sight of Shi Sheng, it’s beady little eyes immediately lit up with hope.
But Shi Sheng merely remained standing a distance away, with no intention of approaching. “Do you know where Dong Jing is?”
“D-Dong Jing?! Wh-why’re you looking for him?” The porcupine appeared visibly afraid as it trembled.
“I want to have lunch with him,” Shi Sheng replied calmly.
The porcupine, “…” ‘The hell is wrong with you?! Why would anyone want to have lunch with that demon?!’
The porcupine’s eyes swivelled. “I know where he is. But I can’t move, so you’ll have to help me first.”
The corner of Shi Sheng’s eyes lifted as she smiled. “Okay.”
The greed in the porcupine’s eyes hadn’t even fully shown itself before it was permanently frozen there when Shi Sheng drew her sword and slashed.
“I’ll help you go to heaven. No need for thanks.”
‘Sonovabitch, even a goddamn porcupine’s trying to plot against me(lz). Do I(lz) look that easy to bully?’
Author’s note:
Little Fairy: Any votes?
Little Angel: No means no!
Little Fairy: *sweet smile* Then you guys can go to heaven.
Little Angel: …We got votes!!!