Dong Hua woke up earlier than usual. He made sure that Xiao Bai would sleep some more due to his sleep enchantment. He got ready and used his inner vision to check on Zhe Yan. He realized that the old Phoenix was up and about already. He started a mental conversation.

"Zhe Yan, I need you to do something for me this morning." Dong Hua said.

"Good morning to you too, former emperor of Heaven and Earth. And what service can I offer you today?" Zhe Yan replied mockingly.

"Good morning, brother. I should have asked politely instead of just barging in. I need you to look after Gun Gun for some time this morning.", Dong Hua said. Zhe Yan was surprised to hear an uncharacteristic somewhat-apology from Dijun. He realized Dong Hua had something on his mind. He could also feel the niceness of Feng Jiu rubbing off on his usually stoic brother.

"Sure, I can do that, Dijun. What happened? Did he get sick? But if he got sick, you should be able to treat him without my help. You are a skilled physician yourself. So what exactly happened?" Zhe Yan asked, confused.

"Last night, Xiao Bai had a nightmare, and when I woke her up, she had regressed to the time she was alone in the mortal realm. She did not remember about Gun Gun's birth at all. She was a nervous wreck, and I somehow tried to calm her down. If she is still like that when she wakes up, I don't want Gun Gun to see his mother like that." Dijun explained.

"Hmmm... That is sad but not surprising, Dong Hua. This girl, she has had a hard life ever since she ... ", he left the sentence unsaid but decided to continue saying something else. "I don't think we know all the things she went through in the mortal realm. She cares deeply about people and ends up getting hurt often because of that. Over time, she has developed a tough exterior. But that's mostly a facade. "

"Dong Hua, I love that little kit like she was my own daughter. Now that she has chosen you to be her mate, I expect you to take great care of her. Please don't let me see her be hurt again. I won't be able to handle it. I will forget the ties of our brotherhood and save her if it comes to that." Zhe Yan said solemnly.

"Zhe Yan, I understand. You will never know the amount of remorse and regret my heart holds for when we were apart. All that while I was foolishly thinking I was saving her. I did not know that it actually hurt her. I always loved her the way I thought she should be loved. I am trying to learn how to love her the way she wants me to love her. We will grow together, my friend, as equals, as true partners in everything. I will treasure her." Dong Hua tried to assure Zhe Yan.

"You have already grown up, old rock. You were just speaking about feelings and regrets? Well, that's a first! Okay, I will take care of Gun Gun this morning so that you can focus on Feng Jiu. Let me know when he wakes up, and I will come over. Let him have breakfast in my room. Bai Zhen and I would love to spend some time with our grandson. If you need help with taking care of Feng Jiu, you can tell me that too", Zhe Yan said, chuckling.

In a little while, Gun Gun woke up. Dong Hua helped him get ready and told him that Zhe Yan Ye Ye wanted to spend time with him. He also informed Zhe Yan to come over.

Gun Gun was a bit surprised but did not mind meeting with his Ye Ye. Gun Gun had not interacted with Zhe Yan much, but he knew Zhe Yan was fun and interesting. "Father, why is Mother not awake yet? Is she sick again?" Gun Gun worriedly asked Dong Hua as Zhe Yan entered.

"Your mother had a nightmare yesterday and was awake for a long time. So let's let her sleep longer today, ok? I will come to get you when she wakes up and gets ready.", Dong Hua replied to his son and kissed him on this hair.

"Nightmare? Did she talk a lot in her dreams? In the mortal realm, she often had nightmares. Sometimes she continued to believe those were real even after she woke up. In all her nightmares, she used to call for Dijun and ask why he had left her, why he lied to her. Only after meeting you, I realized that Dijun was you.", he said in a small voice.

He took Dong Hua's large hand in both of his hands and continued, "Father, over the years, I discovered a way to calm her down. I would scoot real close to her and hand over some of my hair. She would start playing with it. Eventually, her sobs would calm down, and she would sleep. One day I asked her what it was in my hair that soothed her, and she said it was the sandalwood scent. Father, since you also have the same hair like mine, maybe you could do that next time?" Gun Gun explained to Dong Hua in a very business-like manner. He felt that since he has spent so much time with his mother, it was his duty to educate his father about taking care of her.

Dong Hua felt his heart was being torn from his body. How many times had she experienced something like last night? Why hadn't he been there?

Zhe Yan could sense the immense feeling of sadness washing over Dong Hua. He figured if they were to avoid a heavy rainfall in the demon realm, he needed to intervene and stop Dong Hua from losing himself in that feeling.

"That's a cool way you figured out, Gun Gun. You are a smart kid for sure. Alright, let's get to our room. We have several rice cakes specially made for you for breakfast this morning. It's not every day that we get to treat our grandson.", Zhe Yan said as he extended his hand and walked out with Gun Gun.

"Dong Hua, snap out of it. You need to help Xiao Jiu feel better. If I can sense your sadness, I am sure she will be able to do it too. She is so attuned to you since you are her mate. You don't want to cause her to spiral in sadness, am I right?" Zhe Yan communicated to Dong Hua mentally.

"I will take care of her. Thanks for taking care of Gun Gun. You need to be on alert because of what I told you last time. Don't leave him out of your sight any time." Dong Hua pulled himself together and instructed.

"Will do, Dijun. Bye now.", Zhe Yan replied as he led his grandson to their room.

Dijun returned to the bed and sat down near his wife. He caressed her forehead, her nose. He would have loved to watch her sleep, but he was anxious to check if she was okay. He lifted his sleep enchantment and woke her up gently. "Good morning, sleepyhead.", he said smiling.

She woke up and smiled a sheepish, half asleep smile for him. Then she reached for him and tried to sit up. But she was not fully awake yet. She lost balance and he rolled onto her. She looked at him like a deer caught in bright light. He did the only thing he wanted to do. He dipped his face and kissed her. She was caught off guard and completely lost herself.

When he finally let go, she pulled up on his sleeve and sat up panting. Her hair and clothes were disheveled, cheeks flushed pink and lips showed the imprint of his kiss. He could not take his eyes off of her. He decided to focus on his breath and calm down. Slowly he reached out and caressed her birthmark.

"How are you feeling today, Xiao Bai? Do you feel pain anywhere?" he asked her softly.

"I feel... I feel well-rested physically. But I feel drained and sad emotionally.", she replied looking up. He noticed tears beginning to form in her eyes. "What happened to me, Dijun? I don't know why I feel this way, but I feel so sad." she continued trying to control the tears that were dangerously threatening to spill on her face.

Dong Hua pulled her close and hugged her. "It must be the atmosphere here in the demon realm. It can affect not only the physical but also the emotional state of immortals. You went through a lot of suffering while we were apart. A memory from your past came back to haunt you last night and you had a nightmare. But it was just that, Xiao Bai. Something happened and it is over. Please don't let it get to you now. I will help you every step of the way. I am here for you.", he said.

She stirred and asked in a worried voice. "Is that why you had prepared the medicine for me before we got here?"

"Yes. From the time when we used to fight wars in the demon realm, I know the havoc it can cause on people's minds. It causes immortals who have experienced trauma in their past to be reminded of it again and again. So many of our soldiers would get depressed. Over the years, I created a remedy for this. I concocted the same for you this time.", Dijun told her.

"I am so sorry, Dijun. I am truly sorry that you have to deal with me being like this now. I was careless and on the first day itself that medicine bottle broke. I wanted to tell you about it, but...", Feng Jiu started sobbing.

"Xiao Bai, it's alright. What has happened has passed. Let's focus on the present. What made you not tell me? Did you forget? Were you afraid I would be mad at you? I will never be mad at you. At the most, I would have worked with you to take care of you in other ways - maybe with mental exercises or calming meditation. Please don't be scared of me, sweetheart. Ever. I may be anything to everyone else, but to you - I am only your husband. You can always count on me. You can demand things from me anytime. You can openly say whatever you want to me without fear of ridicule or shame. I love you. I respect you. You should only feel cherished. Because to me, that's what you are. Why would you feel like you could not tell me about it?" Dong Hua looked into her eyes and asked.

"I am so sorry. I wanted to tell you in a non-alarming way. I wanted to work with you on this. But...", she stopped and looked down. She started biting her lip.

Curious at her reaction, Dong Hua reached out and took her hand in his. "But what, my Dihou?"

"These days you have been looking so handsome I... I forgot all about the medicine whenever I was around you," she said and quickly covered her face with her palms.

So, that's what it was! His presence affected her. She found him good-looking, enough to distract her. Dong Hua realized he would have to do something about this so that she would not be distracted enough to ignore her own health, but at the same time, he was very happy to hear it.

He chuckled and gently pulled her hands away from her face. "I am happy you feel this way about me," he said kissing her forehead, "But please don't love me so much that you forget about your own health. Okay?" He hugged her close and rested his chin on her head. She snuggled close.

"Xiao Bai - I am wondering why you got the nightmare last night. Is there anything else that happened that could have triggered it? Did you feel very sad about something? Could you tell me about it?" he breathed in her peach blossom scent and coaxed her. He tried to sound casual enough so that she would not hesitate. He already could guess the reason because he had been in her memories. But he wanted his wife to learn to communicate openly with him. He wanted her to learn to trust him.

"Well, if I tell you something else, I am afraid you might think less of me. But at the wedding ceremony, when you stood with Ji Heng's hand on your arm, I... I felt a sharp pain in my heart. It brought back the memory of when I was a small spiritual fox, and everyone stood at the entrance of Tai Chen Palace to welcome her as your bride. Chong Lin was holding me, and when I wanted to run away, he told me that you had agreed to his marriage with her. It broke my heart on hearing him say that. Seeing you and her standing together at the podium last night gave me the same feeling. Maybe I was jealous or petty? I don't know. I could not control that feeling. I felt the pain linger on. I am so sorry." Feng Jiu explained.

Dong Hua could feel her relieving that scene again. He sensed her feeling hurt again. How could he have missed it?

"I did not have to perform that ritual. I could have easily said no if you didn't want me to do it. To me, what everyone else thinks does not matter. My dear wife, why did you agree to it then?" Dong Hua asked.

He wanted to get to know her better.
He wanted her to get to know him better.

"Well, I said yes to you giving away Ji Heng because I almost felt obliged to do so. I know you considered her father like a brother, so I thought it meant something for you to do this for him. I also felt this might be a good way for Ji Heng to feel assured about renewed relationships between Tai Chen Palace and the Demon Realm. Also at the time, I did not realize my past memory would cause me much pain." Feng Jiu explained in a small voice.

"Hmm. There is a lot still left unsaid in our past. I wonder when it will stop haunting us. But for now, let me tell you something about that whole wedding charade. It started on the day I saved you in the Demon Realm from the tiger. Do you remember? That was the first time I encountered you. I didn't pay any attention to you, but from your energy essence, I know it was you." Dijun started reminiscing.

"What? That's an incredible story! The whole thing about your marriage to Ji Heng started on the day you saved me?" asked a thoroughly confused Xiao Bai.

"Yes, ironically, it did! That day Ji Heng's brother - the demon lord Xu Yang - demanded that I hand over the woman to them who broke into the forbidden land and was saved by me. I wasn't going to do that, of course. When a war almost broke out, Lian Song came in and proposed a truce. He asked me to promise Xu Yang that I would agree to one of his requests. To avoid causing so many unnecessary deaths, I promised Xu Yang that as long as it did not involve killing anyone and does not conflict with my morals, I would agree to one of his requests."

"How interesting! So he asked you to marry his sister? And when you saw that she was pretty, you agreed?", Feng Jiu was completely engrossed in the story.

"Not exactly. Did you think your husband would fall for mere good looks? I have an immense responsibility towards all the realms. Being my Dihou requires someone to be brave, just, and selfless. That's why I fell in love with you. To me, you are beautiful outside and in. No one else can ever please my eyes.", Dong Hua said caressing her face.

As she felt her face getting warm, Dong Hua leaned in and chuckled, "Are you feeling pretty proud of yourself, honey?"

Feng Jiu let out a small laugh and tried to bring their conversation back to the story, "So then what happened? What made you agree to the marriage?"

"The next thing also comes back to you. When you burnt your paw while trying to save me in the Lotus ward, I went to Baishui mountains to get ingredients for your medicine. That's where I met Ji Heng. She was trying to save her guard Minsu whom she was in love with. They were being attacked and Ji Heng's father - Meng Ho - was trying to protect them. I stopped the attack. Meng Ho was very badly injured. I could not save him. Before he died he asked me to take care of Ji Heng. I could not deny one of my sworn brothers his last wish, so I agreed."

"I helped Ji Heng control the poison that had gotten into her because of the attack. She begged me to save Min Su. She also told me that she loved Min Su and would only marry him. Well, I knew Min Su was a girl just from her energy, but I am not the one to judge people's choices about who they love. So I just went with the idea and helped save Min Su."

"I took Ji Heng and went to meet with Xu Yang to hand over his injured sister. In return for the favor of saving his sister, I asked Xu Yang to pardon Min Su. Since the demon lord had ordered the attack on Min Su, I would need him to pardon her. Otherwise, he would certainly have Min Su killed somehow. Xu Yang was cunning. He decided to take advantage of the situation and made me agree that as part of fulfilling my old promise, I should marry Ji Heng."

"I was confident that Ji Heng did not want this marriage. So I agreed to Xu Yang's request. When Ji Heng came to Tai Chen Palace, I took the time to cure her poison and also planned for her to escape with Min Su. That's how she ran away from the wedding." Dong Hua told the whole story. He could see all the expressions on his lovely wife's face. She loved stories.

"Ohhh... That's really incredible. You think really fast and you are very clever.", she said with a bright smile.

"Apart from Chong Lin, Ji Heng, and me, you are the only person who knows the truth about Ji Heng's wedding in Tai Chen Palace. Let's keep it that way, ok?" Dijun said with a smug smile. He enjoyed her compliments.

"I will not tell anyone.", Feng Jiu agreed simply.

Dong Hua took both her hands in his and looked at her earnestly. "Xiao Bai, could you firmly believe now that I have never ever loved Ji Heng in my life? For quite some time I considered her to be my responsibility as I had promised Meng Ho. But she destroyed all my patience the day she showed me her father's dragon scale and told me to divorce you. I was so mad, I almost killed her then and there. But Meng Ho's dragon scale kept me grounded. As the last act of my promise to my deceased brother, I cured Ji Heng's poison completely. But that's it. Whatever whoever told you otherwise or might tell you otherwise in the future, I want you to ignore it. No one and nothing will ever make me stop loving you, Xiao Bai. Please believe this."

"I do. I believe you, Dijun. Before I fell into Aranya's dream, Ji Heng came to speak with me. She told me that I was just a temporary plaything for you. She suggested I give up on my obsession with you. She said you needed to be with someone like herself, who could make you really happy. From the beginning, I never thought I was good enough for you. So whatever she said, naturally made sense to me. I knew I would be in constant pain if I were to give up on you. But because I believed I did not deserve you, I agreed to move away from you. I know better now. I believe your words completely. I may not be all skilled and may not deserve you. At least not yet. But you love me. I promise I will try my best. I will learn and grow and make myself worthy of your love." Feng Jiu replied with complete sincerity.

Dijun pulled back and squinted his eyes. He shook his head and said, "You are wrong about that one, Dihou. You are worthy of my love already. You are the only one who truly is. You can grow the way you want. Please feel completely free to explore your limits and count on me to help you. But don't do anything because you need to be someone more for me. You are enough as you are. I neither need nor want anything other than your love from you. I... I love you, my little fox. I am yours." He pulled her close and sighed into her hair. They stayed that way for several moments.

"Oh Dijun, where is Gun Gun? Is he sleeping still?" Xiao Bai asked.

"He is up and ready. Zhe Yan and Bai Zhen are spending some time with him. I asked Zhe Yan to take care of him so that I could talk to you alone. Now let's get you ready and head out. Is there anything you want to do here before going to Tai Chen Palace? I am thinking we should return there instead of going to Bihai Cangling. I want to invite Zhe Yan and Bai Zhen to come with us so that we can discuss the matter of fake Dong Hua and fake Bai Feng Jiu with them. Depending on how our discussion progresses we might want to involve Ye Hua and Mo Yuan too. But for now, let's discuss with just these three high Gods who have come here with us. What do you think?", Dong Hua asked her as he helped her get up.

Feng Jiu began getting ready and said, "I like this idea. Let's discuss with Great uncle and the others first. But before we head out, can we do one more thing here in the demon realm? Can we go to the outskirts? To the place where I saw you first? That was the day I... I fell in love with you and this feeling has never changed for me." She looked at him, smiling. When he smiled back, her heart skipped a beat.

"Even after all the centuries, Dong Hua Dijun still makes my heart flutter." she thought to herself. Dijun heard her thoughts, and his smile widened.

"So my wife finds me so attractive, eh?" he chuckled and hugged her from behind. He stood behind her dressing table and started making her hair. He liked the feeling of her luxurious locks in his fingers. She loved the feeling of his cold fingers on her scalp. She leaned back into his hands.

As they stepped out of their room, a guard came to inform them that Demon Lord Yan Chiwu had requested all the celestials to gather in the throne room. He had prepared some farewell gifts for everyone and wanted to thank them for coming.

Dong Hua and Feng Jiu agreed and started walking behind the guard towards the throne room. Everyone else including Gun Gun joined them in the hallway.