They all walked together to the grand hall for a pre-wedding gala. Master chefs from all realms had prepared delicious food, wine, and several beverages for the pleasure of all guests. Yan Chiwu and his ministers were being gracious hosts and mingling in the crowd. Dancers, acrobats, jugglers, and jesters performed on a large stage. 

The Demon clan's rituals disallowed the bride and groom from seeing each other the night before their wedding. So Ji Heng had not made it to the party. She stayed back with her trusted maids and a few guards in her palace.

Dong Hua, Lian Song, Zhe Yan, Bai Zhen, and Gun Gun sat at a large marble table. Servers came in with tea for Dong Hua and his son and wine for the rest of them. The High Gods couldn't help but be impressed with Gun Gun and his natural curiosity at everything. They all were pleasantly surprised to see Dong Hua patiently answering his son's questions, attentively explaining everything. At the same time, they could see Dong Hua glancing lovingly at his gorgeous wife sitting at the adjacent table. They had never imagined that one day they would get to witness this side of the formidable almighty Dijun. He had become a doting husband and father.

Feng Jiu, Jie Lu, and Cheng Yu had occupied another table next to the guys. Feng Jiu and Cheng Yu were busy pointing out 'the good guys' to Jie Lu and teasing her. There was a lot of giggling and hushed voices.

Every time Feng Jiu's musical laughter filled the air, Dong Hua couldn't help but look at her with pride and love. To his chagrin, he noticed that it also attracted several other men's attention at the gala. She had mesmerized everyone, including the Demon Lord. Feng Jiu herself, however, was utterly oblivious to all the attention she was getting.

Yan Chiwu stopped by Feng Jiu's table as they were laughing and greeted them. "Xiao Jiu, it's so good to see you in good health and laughing like this.", he said, patting her shoulder. 

"Thanks, Xiao Yan. It's good to see you so happy. At last, your dream comes true. My heartfelt best wishes to you.", Xiao Jiu replied, smiling sincerely. 

Dong Hua was watching all this and felt a pang of jealousy. He was very possessive of his little fox and wanted all her smiles only for himself. He decided to focus on breathing to control his emotions.

"Mother's laughter is the best sound in the world. Isn't it, Father? She is simply the best!" Gun Gun declared proudly, noticing Dong Hua's gaze. Dong Hua gave a smiling "Hmmm" while the other guys laughed out loud. 

"Gun Gun, you love your mother more than you love your Father. And your mother loves you more than she loves your father, isn't it?" Zhe Yan looked teasingly at Dong Hua but spoke to the little boy patting his silver hair.

Dong Hua raised his eyebrows, giving a death stare to the old bird diety. Everyone else tried to stifle their laughter. But little Gun Gun was not at all fazed. "Mother and Father love each other dearly, and they love me dearly. In our family, there's room for all of us in our hearts. We don't need to compete for it. And now that I have both of them, I can't imagine one without the other. They both are my whole world.", he said, smiling, and reached out to hug Dong Hua. Dong Hua smiled at his son's very mature, diplomatic answer. He pulled Gun Gun closer in a warm hug and placed a kiss on his head. As Zhe Yan shook his head in disbelief, Dong Hua smirked, raising an eyebrow at him.

They continued chatting and having fun. It was the hour of the pig when everyone left the banquet to retire for the night. Gun Gun was already asleep. Dijun carried him in his arms to his room.

Yan Chiwu had placed special guards outside the room of his celestial guests. But just out of an abundance of caution, Dijun had appointed a couple of guards from Tai Chen palace and Zhong Lin in front of Gun Gun's room. He and Feng Jiu got Gun Gun into his room, kissed him, and went into their bed chambers.

As Feng Jiu got ready for bed, she realized she was more tired than usual. Maybe it was because of the harsh environment in the demon realm, she thought. She decided not to say anything to Dijun, lest it would worry him.

As she got to bed, Dijun pulled her into his arms. He felt he had been away from her for too long. All evening he had watched her from a distance. Her innocent looks, carefree giggles, the way she pouted her lips had wreaked havoc on his self-control. He had struggled to keep a straight face and sit with all the men while she sat only a foot away from him, looking delectable. He had wanted to dip his head and take her lips into his then and there. He wanted everyone to know she was his.

"At last, I can have you to myself.", he huskily whispered while kissing her neck. He rained cold, wet kisses on her face, on her neck. "You. Are. Just. So. Beautiful. You. Are. Mine. All. Mine.", he continued, punctuating each word with a kiss on her jawline.

She could not stop giggling and responded to him enthusiastically, forgetting all about her tiredness. Their tongues met as they explored the dark secrets of each other's mouths. A primal need to have her blossomed in his heart. She moved under him, trying to meld herself into his chest. He let his hand roam over her back and her legs and then pulled her closer into him. "I love you, Dijun. I am yours. All yours. Only yours.", she exhaled and tangled her fingers in his hair to pull him closer.

It was hours before they closed their eyes for a peaceful night's sleep.
But someone somewhere had other plans.
Peaceful sleep was not something they would have that night.

After a short while, both of them woke up with a sudden sense of alarm. "Dijun, what's wrong?" Feng Jiu asked him. "Xiao Bai, something is up. Stay here. I will be right back.", he squeezed her shoulder and requested urgently. "But.. ", she tried to protest. "Please, Xiao Bai, just this once. For me. It's important. Stay here.", he said urgently. "Ok, I will. Dijun, please stay safe.", she pouted. He nodded, patted her reassuringly, and disappeared in a purple mist.

Dong Hua emerged in front of Gun Gun's room and was shocked to see Feng Jiu trying to enter. Chong Lin had opened the door for her, but Dong Hua had placed his magical safety barrier inside the room. Feng Jiu was not able to cross that. Chong Lin was surprised, "Dihou, what's the matter?" Chong Lin asked hurriedly. She turned and saw Dong Hua standing behind Chong Lin. "Xiao Bai, I asked you not to come. What are you doing here?" Dong Hua asked Feng Jiu almost angrily. Feng Jiu opened her mouth to say something but suddenly disappeared in a black mist.

Chong Lin was flabbergasted. Dong Hua understood what it meant. He hurried inside and found his son sleeping soundly. Dong Hua picked up Gun Gun and left the room.

"I am extremely sorry, Dijun. Please punish me for my mistake.", Chong Lin said, bowing with his hands clasped. 

"It was not your mistake. Someone is either trying something mischievous or dangerous. Please be on your guard. Tell everyone to be extra vigilant, but don't give away any details of what happened here. We don't want anyone to be alerted just yet. I will take Gun Gun to our room. Keep guarding this room as you were so that we don't raise any suspicions.", Dong Hua said before vanishing in a purple mist.

On the other side, Feng Jiu saw Dijun return immediately. She was surprised. "What happened, Dijun? How come you are back so soon? Did you check on Gun Gun? Is he alright?" she asked him lots of questions, all at once. "It's nothing, Xiao Bai. Everything is okay. Let's go back to sleep.", he said, casually walking towards her. However, as he tried to come closer, he was thrown backward by her security force field. When Dijun had left, she had put up the barrier around herself, knowing that's what he would have wanted her to do. She had not cared for taking it down because she knew Dijun or Gun Gun could easily cross it to come inside. They were the only two people to whom she had extended this privilege. It was the first time her security field had rejected Dijun. "Dijun!!!" she screamed.

At that very instant, she saw another Dong Hua entering the room with Gun Gun in his arms. "Xiao Bai!!" he replied urgently to her scream. Before they could react any further, the Dijun, who had fallen on the ground, disappeared in a black mist.

"What was that?" Feng Jiu asked as she ran towards her husband and son. This time they both effortlessly crossed her security field and came in.

"Give me a moment. I will explain everything.", Dong Hua replied. He conjured another bed in their room and laid Gun Gun on it. He carefully tucked him in and placed him under a protective, sound-proof barrier.

He turned to see Feng Jiu pacing the room with a worried look on her face. She was biting her lower lip and playing with the sash of her robe. Even with the look of worry on her face, she looked adorable. Dong Hua came and hugged her. He slowly kissed her hair, breathing in her Peach Blossom scent, letting it saturate his lungs. She hugged him back, relieved to smell his sandalwood scent. It started to calm her nerves. Slowly, almost reluctantly, Dong Hua released her and held her at arm's length.

"Xiao Bai, are you worried? Are you scared? Don't be. I am here. I will not let anyone or anything hurt you or Gun Gun. You both will be safe.", he said earnestly.

"Dijun, I am not worried about myself. I worry about you and Gun Gun. Tell me what happened when you went out. Why did you need to bring Gun Gun in here? What was it that woke you up earlier?" Feng Jiu asked anxiously.

Dong Hua cast out another soundproof privacy barrier for both of them before replying, "When we put Gun Gun to bed and came to our room, I had placed my protective shield inside his room. I felt that someone was trying to barge in it. That's what woke me up, and that's why I went to check on him. When I reached there, I saw you were trying to enter the shield and could not."

"But I never left this room. You asked me to stay here, and that's what I did, Dijun.", Xiao Bai said, confused.  

"I know, Xiao Bai. You are my Dihou, the love of my life. My shield will never restrict you, so I immediately knew she was not you. I still pretended as if I thought it was you. I almost yelled at her for disobeying me when I had asked not to come. I wanted her to think that I was considering her to be Xiao Bai. Bur before I could lure her into believing any of it, she disappeared in a black mist, just like you saw the fake Dong Hua disappear here."

"What does all that mean, Dijun? Can it be just a prank or something else? Is Gun Gun in danger? Why would anyone do that?" Feng Jiu grabbed Dong Hua's arms tightly and asked, teary-eyed.

"I don't know yet. It may be a prank. Or it could be something more sinister. I couldn't figure out why anyone would want to hurt Gun Gun. I did figure out something else, though. The fake people we saw were either imposter demons or demon puppets. Conjuring demon puppets is a dark art. I have forbidden it ever since I was the Emperor of Heaven and Earth. If someone is doing that, they likely have bigger, more dangerous motives. We will need to investigate this thoroughly before deciding what to do next.", Dong Hua explained seriously.

"Xiao Bai, if we are to investigate this further right now, we will have to involve Yan Chiwu. It will disrupt a lot of things here. It may also bring hostility between the Demon clan and the Celestial Clan. What do you think we should do?" Dong Hua asked her, looking deeply into her eyes. 

He wanted her to know that she had his complete trust. He wanted her to realize that he took her as his partner in everything, including in making important decisions in their life. He wanted her to feel that she was his equal.

"Can we keep this to ourselves, for now, Dijun? Let's alert only key people like Chong Lin, Zhe Yan, and maybe Third Prince. We will stay extra vigilant from our side. After we get done with the ceremonies here, let's invite Yan Chiwu to Tai Chen palace and discuss it with him discreetly. That way, we will be able to contain any chaos that might erupt. What do you think?" Feng Jiu responded after careful consideration.

Dong Hua was impressed with his little fox. She was wise way beyond her years.  

"Sure, Xiao Bai. I agree that would be the right thing to do. Xie xie, my wise Dihou.", he said and kissed her. 

She was inadept in many skills. He would guide her, coach her, train her in those skills. But she was far ahead of him in some other aspects. She had a strong sense of justice. But that did not make her cold and insensitive. Instead, she upheld it with compassion and kindness. She put on a strong exterior, but she had a soft, caring heart. She demonstrated bravery, not for any personal gains, but for protecting others.

This petite woman was a unique amalgamation of opposites. Strength with vulnerability, dogged perseverance with silly impatience, maturity with naivety, refined sophistication with innocent awkwardness coexisted in her gracefully. 

Dong Hua was a well-read master of Buddhist scriptures. He could recite any of them from memory. He understood their meaning enough to win any debate about them. But she simply embodied them. Effortlessly. 

He could help her with affairs of the outside world. But only she could protect his heart and soul. They were made for each other.

He knew it.
He wanted her to know that he knew it.
He would show her with his actions.

She was happy Dong Hua was not trying to do it all by himself. She knew he would have had no trouble finding out the perpetrators and sending them into oblivion if he wanted to. She was glad that instead of rushing to do that, he had considered everyone's feelings, including hers. He had never needed to seek anyone else's opinion or approval, but he had asked her thoughts. He had involved her in the decision-making. She understood it was his attempt at being a team instead of a solo player. He was working on their marriage with these little things. She smiled at him with gratefulness and a hint of pride.

He was happy to see her reaction. Pulling her in his arms, he kissed her mouth. He maneuvered them to the bed without breaking the kiss. In a smooth motion, he laid down and brought her on top. She slid to the side, sighed, and rested on his arm. "Sleep for some time with me, xiao huli. You have had too much excitement for today. You must be exhausted.", he said. 

"Mmm.. " she mumbled incoherently, breathing in his sandalwood scent. She took his hair in her fingers and tried to calm herself. Slowly she felt lethargy take over, and she fell asleep.