Sky Kingdom gates

Yan Chiwu walked out of the Sky Kingdom lost in thoughts. He turned to look around when he heard a familiar voice. That's when he spotted Jie Lu with Cheng Yu. The girls were whispering something to each other and giggling. Jie Lu looked so carefree. Her slender figure and small face had gained a look of maturity over the years. She was beautiful. Why had he never noticed that before? 

Yan Chiwu realized he was staring when Jie Lu turned to see him. She abruptly stopped laughing and came towards him, bowing slightly. "Demon Lord, I pay respects", she greeted with a smile.

Yan ChiWu stared at her as if she had grown one extra head. "Jie Lu - what's with all the curtsy and the Demon Lord? I am Xiao Yan. Have you forgotten?" he blurted out loud, his eyes wide.

"I am sorry, you are the Demon Lord now. It's not appropriate for me to address you in any other way", Jie Lu replied, a faint blush tinting her face.

"I don't care and neither should you. For you, I will always be Xiao Yan. Don't forget that. Ok?", he patted her shoulder and responded.

"Hmm. So... Xiao... Yan... What brought you to the Sky Kingdom today?", Jie Lu inquired, turning a shade more of that delicate pink.

"Oh, my friend Lian Song was hosting a banquet for my wedding. He had invited my Ji Heng too, but she is not keeping good health lately. So she could not make it. Your friend Lord Cheng Yu knows about it. She helped with some of the arrangement", he explained.

The bird tribe princess's face fell at the mention of the wedding banquet. "Yes, I did help with the food and drinks. I could not trust Lian Song to do all that on his own", Cheng Yu noticed her friend's mood change and decided to smoothen the awkwardness with humor.

"It's good to see that you have settled well here, Princess. I better be off on my way", Yan ChiWu moved away waving at them. The girls waved back as he disappeared in a black mist.

"Spill!", Cheng Yu demanded from her friend.

"Um? What do you mean?", Jie Lu tried to act innocent, but she wasn't able to fool Cheng Yu.

"I mean what's going on here? You and the Demon Lord? Do you...?", Cheng Yu asked and as her friend's face lost all color she exclaimed, "You do! Really? Him?"

"Cheng Yu, I... You are right. But I can't do anything about it anyways. He is married and so in love with his wife. I would never come in between them. Please promise me you won't breathe a word about this to anyone. Anyone. Not even the Third Prince. Promise me, Cheng Yu...", she grasped her friend's hands tightly and urged.

"Relax, Jie Lu. I promise. I swear on our friendship. I will not do or say anything that would harm you. Ever. Trust me?", Cheng Yu comforted her friend as best as she could even when she was troubled by her discovery. She knew Jie Lu's family had been massacred by the former Demon Lord Miao Luo. She had seen how Jie Lu had grown overnight and taken the helm of her clan with strength and grace. And now the bird princess had her heart to a married man, the Demon Lord no less! What did it mean for her future? As a friend, Cheng Yu could not help but worry. But she also knew that no matter what, she would stand by the younger girl's side and be there for her. After all, that's what friends did.

Mortal Realm

Ji Heng reached the mortal realm at night. She had seen that her husband was going to meet his friends in the Sky Kingdom and would be unavailable for a few days.

When she had heard of the invitation, she had planned her moves carefully. She had made sure to spend special gifts with her husband to the Sky Kingdom. Gifts that she would control to become her eyes and ears around one particular family that lived there.

She herself had decided to take care of the other important work. She needed to infuse the knife with as much resentment as possible. After all the weapon was intended to trap an immortal, a quite powerful one at that. It had to be brimming with negative energy so that the pure soul would have no chance of escaping in an eternity. Ji Heng smiled a wicked smile at the prospect of that.

As her first step, she landed in a war-torn area. Sadness, torture, sickness, and death - misery was rampant. Soldiers from the troops that were winning take it up to themselves to loot wherever and whenever they could, taking innocent people's possessions, dignity, and lives. There was nothing remotely human among those beings. Sins and resentment thrived in that zone.

Ji Heng did not waste a moment more - she killed and claimed all the souls in that area. The knife in her hand did not discriminate. It turned crimson for a minute before all the blood entirely disappeared inside its blade.

Laughing out loud, Ji Heng left to find her next spot with her next prey.

Kunlun Mountain

Disciples in Kunlun mountain were all excited today. There was a palpable energy around them today. Some of them had witnessed something like this centuries ago when the current Princess Consort of the Celestial Tribe, Bai Xian had come to Kunlun as a student and the mountain had gifted her with her spiritual weapon - the Jade Purity fan. They wondered what the day would bring.

Their master Mo Yuan, the God of War was also curious about the same thing. He knew he would be getting a new disciple today. Dong Hua Dijun had spoken to him about it a few days ago. Was the mountain preparing for this new arrival?

Three immortals made their way up the Kunlun mountain. Ah-li kept talking about his experiences there. He had been there before with his parents and knew what to expect. His nephew was new to all this. So as Gun Gun's 'little uncle', Ah Li decided it was up to him to educate the younger. Zhong Lin was quietly listening to the two boys talk. He marveled at how mature and calm Gun Gun was.

As they reached the gates they found the disciples and Mo Yuan himself had come to greet them. "Master Mo Yuan, Zhong Lin pays respects. I am here to escort these little Majesties and entrust them to you", Zhong Lin bowed deeply.

They sensed something around them and just like that, a beautiful black flute with gold and white tassel flew in front of Gun Gun. Several disciples came running right behind clearly unsuccessful at claiming the flute for themselves.

Mo Yuan caught Gun Gun's eyes and gestured him to step forward and take the flute. The flute glowed and settled in the little boy's hands as everyone including the boy himself looked at it in awe.

"Looks like we will be having a soul master amongst us this time. Dijun, this is a huge responsibility you have entrusted me with," pondered Mo Yuan to himself. Outwardly he said to one of his senior disciples, "Since Mount Kunlun has decided to welcome our youngest guest with a gift, so be it. Please guide everyone to the meeting hall. Let's have our new students perform their bows to become disciples of this great institution."

Ten miles of peach forest

Bai Zhen and Zhe Yan were pensive as they reached their home.

Zhe Yan noticed his partner being unusually quiet. "Zhen Zhen, is anything bothering you?" he asked softly.

"Not really, Zhe Yan. I was just thinking about the recent events. Whoever played those tricks in the demon realm may not have good intentions. I am glad you proposed to train Xiao Jiu. It's best to be over-prepared in such cases.", Bai Zhen replied as he placed the silk handkerchief on a chair. "You can come out now," he told the handkerchief.

Feng Jiu stood up giggling. "Fourth Uncle, traveling as a handkerchief in your sleeves is so much fun. I almost feel like a small kid again," she told him happily.

"Ha! You will always be a kid to us, Xiao Jiu. Even when Gun Gun has his kids," Bai Zhen flicked her forehead and replied.

"Ow, that hurt, Uncle," exclaimed Xiao Jiu in mock hurt. "High God Zhe Yan, if it is alright, let me cook something for all of us. After lunch, we can start our practice sessions."

"Xiao Jiu, how come you always think of cooking when you are sad?" Zhe Yan asked her gently.

"God Zhe Yan, what are you saying? I am not sad" Feng Jiu smiled but it did not reach her eyes.

"I know you very well, Xiao Huli. You bury yourself in cooking or working when you are upset. I know how much you love that old rock of your husband. Being away from him is making you sad. There is no need to pretend everything is fine with us. We are family, are we not?", Zhe Yan was kind but firm. 

"You are right, God Zhe Yan. I miss him. I miss my Gun Gun too. I wonder if it is in my fate to always be alone. Why else... aw, that hurt..." she snapped out of her thoughts when she felt her uncle flick her forehead. 

"Little one, fate is not illogical. It can be influenced by your heart and it has been influenced already. Against all odds, you are now married to the man you love and have a beautiful child with him. Stop thinking these unnecessary and depressing thoughts. At this time you have a key role to play in protecting your little family and maybe even the world. We don't know a whole lot of what happened in the demon realm or who was behind it. Are you going to sit here and wallow in self-pity and blame it on fate or are you going to follow the plan to grow stronger and do your best? Won't giving up now be like giving up on people you love?" Bai Zhen said to get her focus back.

And that's all she really needed to hear, to form a resolve and say, "You are right, Uncle! I will never ever give up loving my people. I will do whatever it takes to ensure safety of my husband and our son. Nothing will stop me from it. Okay, let's start training. What do you want me to do first?" 

Bai Zhen and Zhe Yan both smiled at her enthusiasm. That same day they began her training. 

----------------

{A/N}
Source of main image: https://woo-do-hwan.tumblr.com/post/614490816813088768/eternal-love-of-dream-episode-56

Hello dear readers, 

I am overwhelmed by your response to my little story. What started with a need to not let go of the little DongFeng world, has grown to be a book with thousands of words read by over 20K people! {Can someone please pinch me? ...! :-) }

I am slowly getting back into writing. Plot thickens now. I have it laid out in my head, but just getting the words out is becoming a little bit harder as I recover from a surgery. Hope you all still like it and stay with me on this journey.

As always please know that I am ever so grateful for your support and welcome all your comments and feedback.

Wishing you much love and some sweet treats!
~PickwickAndMarket

p.s. I got entangled in another tale - #theuntamed and have started another fan fiction with our favorite Wei Ying and his Lan Zhan. Hope you do check it out and show some love.

https://www.wattpad.com/story/295950934-i-will-always-put-you-first

Thank you!
~PAM