Chapter 23 - Gungun


He (Dong Hua Dijun) is more than worthy of the respect given to him when they kneel and address themselves as his subjects. - Tangqi Gongzi (author of 3L3W Series)

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Heavenly Realm, Jiuchongtian, Taichen Palace - Midday
Day 3 since Fengjius death
Gungun —-------------------------------------

Gungun was grateful his great-aunt Bai Qian had allowed him to come to Taichen Palace alone, but he still felt a twinge of unease as he landed outside the main platform in front of the palace's main gate.

It had only been three days, but he felt like an intruder while standing outside of one of the three places he'd called home.

As he approached Taichen Palace he wasn't surprised to find a lack of guards at the main gate, his aunt had warned him it would be so. Despite his brave words, he was somewhat nervous, his every sense was on alert. As a result of that, and the fact he knew there would be a barrier, he was able to sense it a few inches in front of his face.

Realistically, he should just walk forward to alert the soldiers or general inside that he had arrived, even if he was an hour early. He was going to do so, but the barrier in front of him was something he'd never come across before, and he could not stop himself from wanting to inspect it to sate his curiosity.

Gungun had two major flaws, one was his pride, the other, his insatiable curiosity. Curiosity was a trait he inherited from both parents, even though his mother always insisted it was entirely his fathers fault.

Ghosts were not able to use their power in Jiuchongtian, as extreme yang energy completely restricted the extreme yin energy that was the root of the ghosts power.

But this barrier definitely contained the slightly more intangible, colder energy of the ghosts, it was surrounding the more solid demonic energy that made up the 'strands' of this barrier.

If the barrier was a 'web' then the strands were of yin energy, and the 'gaps' were pure yang energy, that of a deity rather than an immortal of the lower realm.

The premise was simple, but actually creating such a barrier must have been a delicate process, requiring precise coordination between a ghost, a demon and a deity in order to align the opposing yin and yang energies and natures.

If someone wanted to break the barrier with force, it would require a demon, a ghost and a deity of roughly equal strength and skill to even attempt to do so.

The current strongest demon lord was his mother's friend Yan Chiwu, even though he wasn't even half as strong as would be needed to equal whichever demon had poured their magic into the barrier. He didn't know which of his father's ancient generals had created it, but he knew for certain that the title of strongest demon was no longer Yan Chiwu's.

It was something he'd never thought of before, certainly never encountered such a thing. An entire methodology of entwining different nature energy and power was unfolding in his mind, wasn't this a whole unexplored branch of magical techniques? His mind was racing with the untold possibilities and unknown knowledge, he desperately wished to meet the mastermind of this barrier, even if they only discussed theory, the process would be enlightening.

"Tripart matrix," Gungun mused aloud, "Wind based lesser yin demonic energy as both the connecting and separating mechanism between extreme ghost yin energy and extreme yang."

Without a balance between the different energies, if a high deity or another powerful demon or ghost put their full focus into breaking it, the other natures would be unbalanced, causing a backlash of opposite nature and origin energy to strike the one unbalancing it.

"Single origin energy exerted as external force would result in opposite-origin backlash..." Gungun said.

He wanted to test his theory, but knowing better than to meddle with something so complex.

"The reports of your genius were not false." a lilting feminine voice came from his right.

Turning to find a man and a woman standing under the foling tree near the main gate, the man was a High Deity, and the woman was clearly a demon.

Gungun blinked in consternation, realising he'd just been caught inspecting the barrier like a curious child, distracted from his main purpose.

There was approval in the woman's eyes, and a hint of respect, but just as with Zhe Yan, Mo Yuan and his father, Gungun couldn't sense any of the woman's emotions, they were buried deeply, like a frozen river whose currents were unknowable.

The man was another matter entirely. His emotions were extremely vivid, and confusing, nervousness, empathy-sadness, curiosity, nervousness, excitement, reverence, all of those tangled over one another, and Gungun blinked again as he attempted not to get caught up in the tempest.

Before he could do anything else the woman bowed to him in greeting, "General Liu Cai respectfully greets the Imperial Prince." Liu Cai introduced herself.

Wasn't Elder General Liu Cai on the same level as Gunguns great-grandfather, the Fox Emperor Bai Zhi? He was the son of the most revered and respected being in the world, having people kneeling and bowing to him was not something new. But he was still a child after all, to have such old and powerful people bow so deeply to him and address him as if they were inferior, he hadn't expected it, it wasn't a comfortable feeling, he'd done nothing to deserve it.

The man bowed even more deeply to him as he repeated the greeting, "General Yu Shi respectfully greets the Imperial Prince."

Even if the High Deity Yu Shi wasn't an elder general, wasn't he still of the same rank as Guguns grand-aunt and uncles from the Bai family, and older than them all too?

Being Dong Hua Dijun's son, Gungun was, of course, used to everyone that wasn't family bowing to him. He was not used to ancient beings of the same rank as his great-grandfather Bai Zhi, and his Bai family great-aunt and great-uncles doing so, it was uncomfortable and odd.

Gungun tried not to embarrass himself by being flustered, and so attempted to repay the level of respect from both of these figures by greeting them with a bow that was slightly lower than both of theirs.

Gungun didn't need to sense Yu Shi's emotions to know the man was confused, and distressed; his face and body language practically radiated it.

Had he done something wrong?

Liu Cai seemed intrigued, and slightly bemused, "We are Lord Shaoyang's," the woman corrected herself, "Dijun's subjects and servants, as that revered beings son, you need not bow to us."

Elder General Liu Cai had not ordered or asked him not to bow, only that he did not need to. Confident he would not be talking back or disrespecting them by disagreeing, he replied.

"Please forgive my insistence in returning your bows. I am not my father, and have done nothing to earn your respect. I am not your superior, nor equal, but if it is your preference, perhaps a compromise of a bow between equals would be acceptable to both Generals?" He asked both, meeting each of their eyes politely for half a second each, perfectly courteous.

The hierarchy between his status, rank and age and these generals status, rank and age was utterly muddled, but Gungun was determined and focused on not embarrassing himself or his family in front of these two.

Liu Cai replied, "The son of the sun is polite," Gungun blinked at the odd epithet, "Humble, but not excessively so, brave enough to refute our greeting, diplomatic and courteous enough to not make us feel slighted. Mature and responsible beyond your years, and a genius in truth, " Liu Cai's eyes flicked to the barrier before him, invisible but noticeable, "Good and well."

What exactly did Liu Cai mean by 'good and well'? it was spoken as if she decided a theory proven correct, and had decided something important, but Gungun had no idea what that might be. Were all of his fathers ancient generals and subjects so...eccentric?

"Have no fear of the barrier, it was created to allow you entry." Liu Cai said.

Stepping through and immediately realised it was not a barrier, but a membrane of magic covering something hollow; he'd been wrong to categorise it as one. This magic technique was more like a ball of woven strands, or a cocoon. The inside was not hollow, but part of the defences, even if someone broke through with force, they would still end up trapped within the sea of wind tendrils, it was ingenious.

"Would High Deity Zhe Yan and Crown Princess Bai Qian be able to enter?" Gungun asked, remembering he'd promised those two would be at his heavenly trial.

"If that is the Imperial Prince's wish, consider it done." Liu Cai said.

Liu Cai's hand twitched, their fingers became long and spindly, with had far too many joints, and then magic flared around it.

Gungun sensed the matrix shifting rapidly, first it allowed Yang energy, that of deities and immortals, then it sifted into a narrower and narrower aura band, until he could sense petal-wrapped flame aura of Zhe Yan, and the soft-sharp-quick feeling of Bai Qians aura meld into the barrier, their aura's no longer classified as 'enemy' or 'other'. It made sense, this Elder General Liu Cai had met Bai Qian recently, and obviously knew Zhe Yan, so amending the barrier matrix to allow them entry was doable without them needing to be present.

Gungun was immediately fascinated by the workings he'd been able to see in the half-second the barrier had rearranged itself to accommodate the entry of Zhe Yan and Bai Qian.

Gungun caught himself and reigned in his curiosity, he'd been trying to figure out how the matrix worked, it was quite rude to try and deconstruct someone's magic technique in front of them, even if he was only viewing and theorising inside his mind.

Liu Cai's hand had returned to normal in the second he'd taken to analyse and admire the 'barrier'. He realised much to his dislike that Liu Cai had once again acted as if Gungun was above her ranking, it was uncomfortable.

Gungun had only asked a question, he had not intended for his query to be a suggestion or order, but this Elder General was acting like...he was his father, the same 'suggestions are actually orders' compliance that personified most people's interactions with Dong Hua Dijun.

In order to reassert himself he bowed slightly in thanks, the degree and duration clearly that of 'equal acknowledging a favour', a compromise between what he was comfortable with and what the Elder General clearly preferred.

Gungun sensed Liu Cai was...happy? no,the emotion was too faint, amused?...it was the satisfaction of a theory proven correct, a positive outcome where the result was uncertain, pleased. Gungun couldn't analyse it further because Liu Cai spoke.

"I have matters to finish attending to, by your leave?" Liu Cai asked.

Gungun did not let anything show in his voice or actions, but he was perturbed. By asking for his permission to leave, as if he was the most highly ranked here, Liu Cai had muddled the hierarchy to her liking again; he'd not expected to play politics, but perhaps he should have.

Liu Cai bowed to him, and he bowed equally in return, reinstating his own preference of the status between his fathers respected and venerable generals and subjects and himself being that of equals.

Something like contented respect, it was very hard to sense, so much that he wasn't sure if what he was sensing from Liu Cai was accurate.

"I take my leave." Liu Cai said, then turned to Yu Shi and spoke in a tone of fond warning, "Little bird, try not to embarrass us too much."

The 'us' was clearly meaning the generals, though Gungun was unsure how many of his fathers old subordinates remained, at least three by his count, he'd almost forgotten the quiet and unobtrusive High Deity Yu Shi standing nearby.

"Yes, Elder." was the sheepish response from Yu Shi, "Fare thee well."

The 'young' general had used the ancient mode of speech again, that wasn't surprising, from what Zhe Yan had told him, this Yu Shi had been utterly secluded from the world for hundreds of thousands of years, of course there would be no chance for them to have learned the 'new' way of speaking.

Liu Cai looked like she wanted to say something, but she seemingly thought better of it and simply walked away, though Gungun could have sworn he saw the ancient general shake their head as they did so. The resigned long suffering head shake reminded Gungun strongly of his great-grandfather Bai Zhi after someone, usually Bai Chen, had done some mischief or other.

Now there was just himself and Yu Shi standing just inside Taichen Palace's main gate, the nervousness that he'd sensed from Yu Shi earlier reached a new height. The High Deity was now extremely nervous, almost worried buzzing, before it was a low hum, but now it felt similar to how Bai Chen would be in a state of mild panic, mostly when he was about to take an examination he hadn't diligently studied for.

Gungun resisted the urge to blink in utter confusion, he wasn't scary, was he? At least, no adults that were not servants or maids had ever been nervous because of him before. Bai Chen, yes, because he was often doing things he shouldn't, and Gungun wasn't above telling an adult when it involved something dangerous or foolish.

Gungun was in a state of mild disbelief and confusion as the High Deity proceeded to kneel on the floor in front of him.

Gungun would have rushed forward to stop the Hig Deity from kneeling, but a combination of shock and not wanting to be bombarded with their already turbulent emotions stopped him from doing so. Yu Shi started speaking, and as it would be rude to interrupt someone, especially an elder, Gungun listened.

"I had not the forethought to expect or prepare for your coming, and failed to greet your arrival, please pardon my crime." Yu Shi explained and began lowering his head to the floor.

"Don't," Gungun ordered swiftly, Yu Shi did stop but also looked at him, bewildered, "Please get up." Gungun asked, and again, Yu Shi complied and stood upright.

Gungun's father Dong Hua Dijun did not allow Fox King Bai Zhi or the current Tianjun Hao De to kneel and bow formally to him, only the courteous greeting of a standing bow was required of those two. Those two were rulers of the two greatest kingdoms of the gods, so that made sense, these generals were not rulers of large kingdoms or entire races, so a formal bow from them to Dong Hua Dijun was probably appropriate. That did not mean such a bow was appropriate toward himself! He was not his father, only his son.

Clearly confused Yu Shi began speaking, "Thou art-," he corrected himself, "You are half of Dijun's being, to greet you with half the reverence and respect given to the supreme sovereign is meet," Yu Shi explained, and then half a second later he asked, worried, "'Tis not?"

Even though Gungun had learned the ancient mode of language, it still took him a moment to realise Yu Shi was using the archaic adjective of 'meet' which was 'proper, correct, fitting', and the same for 'tis, an archaic construction of 'it 'is'.

That was half? Gungun thought, not quite stunned, but not quite believing this level of respect was needed, even half the level of respect they would give his father was too much for Gungun to receive, he did not feel worthy of it.

Yu Shi was babbling nervously and it made this ancient being seem younger than himself, "Not including Dihou, your late lady mother, but perhaps we are mistaken, many ages of the world have passed since we walked it, it is understandable that culture will change just as the rivers and mountains have, if not more so..."Yu Shi trailed off.

Though these ancient and powerful generals were his fathers subjects, they were also Gungun's elders, and thinking of it that way, if his elders were more comfortable treating him in such a manner, shouldn't he, as the junior, respect his elders' wishes and do things as they preferred?

But it truly was uncomfortable, everyone that was higher ranked than him were coincidentally all family, so Gungun hadn't experienced this awkward situation before, having such powerful and highly ranked beings treat him as a superior.

Gungun supposed the only one making his interactions with his fathers generals was himself, he'd simply have to get used to it.

"I do not require such formality, but if you prefer to do so, I will allow it." Gungun eventually answered.

Yu Shi was relieved, Gungun would be able to tell that even without his emotion sensing, the High Deity was very open and expressive, and, weirdly enough, reminded Gungun of a puppy.

"Thank you for your grace." Yu Shi said.

Grief-sorrow lamentation-mourning flickered from Yu Shi, "I grieve for the suffering of thee and thine."

'I'm sorry that you and your family have suffered.' Gungun translated the old language in his mind.

Gungun could also sense he was sincere in offering his condolences, the emotions born from empathy rather than sympathy, and he couldn't sense any hint of pity. Gungun supposed it would be odd if this ancient general had not lost at least one person they cared about, and thus empathy rather than sympathy was something he should have expected.

Before Gungun could reply, Yu Shi was nervously rambling again, "If my words have crossed the boundary, I beg your forgiveness, understanding and leniency, for I am ignorant of many things, much has changed since last I walked the world."

"Thank you for your condolence, I am grateful." Gungun replied, and then asked, "Where is Head Steward, Immortal Official Zhong Lin currently?"

"Replying to the Imperial Prince, I last saw the head steward in the north-western gardens, at the base of the small mountain." Yu Shi answered.

"Thank you," Gungun thanked and immediately felt that the High Deity was uncomfortable with his polite thank you, and was probably going to ramble again, so Gungun continued to speak, "You can walk with me, if you wish."

Taichen Palace had never been a bustling place, only having the minimum number of servants needed to keep the place presentable. So the fact Taichen Palace was now practically overrun with immortal soldiers was very stark to Gungun. They walked from the main gate toward the north-western mountain gardens, and Gungun quickly learned to ignore the panicked scurrying and bowing from all the soldiers that they passed near.

Eventually his curiosity won, and Gungun started a conversation by asking, "One of your titles in an ancient dragonscale-slip scroll was 'The flood', is that accurate?"

"My army's main objective in ages past was suppressing the mortal realm populations, accomplished primarily by flooding their worlds, the epithet is apt." Yu SHi responded, clearly less nervous talking about the things he knew well.

Gungun's mind was immediately trying to connect this new piece of information to his already vast knowledge, "It is proven that mortals that have never seen the sea have nightmares of a large wave crashing down and drowning them, could that be related?" he mused out loud.

"Ah," Yu Shi uttered, and Gungun sensed he was embarrassed and then slightly sad, but not regretful, "I suppose some harm cannot be undone with time, it is not surprising to find out I hath left such a dark legacy upon mortalkind's soul-memory."

After that they walked in silence for a minute, eventually they arrived at the entrance to the mountain-garden.

The large gateway arch was hard to see, as the two foling trees on either side had grown around and along it, their flowers draped above, it was only their delicate scent and appearance that stopped the flowers overwhelming the scene.

This garden was one of his favourites, as flowers, plants and trees were untouched and allowed to grow freely. His fathers forge, pottery kiln and a few other outdoor workshops were situated here, and he'd spent many hours learning skills and crafts from both of his parents here.

Now that there was nothing he could work on to distract himself, grief was pressing at the corners of his mind, he made up his mind to use the remaining time to meditate properly, something he hadn't felt at ease doing while he was caring for his baby sister.

"You may withdraw, I don't wish to keep you from your duties." Gungun said.

Gungun felt Yu Shi's dismay, and then relief strongly, almost as if it were his own, and Gungun almost sighed in relief as Yu Shi bowed in farewell and swiftly retreated.

Walking through the foling flower archway, along the pebbled path and turned left, toward the slope that was the beginnings of the small mountain, the treeline parted and he saw Taichen Palace's Head Steward.

Zhong Lin was speaking to some commander as Gungun approached, the immortal swiftly bowed in greeting to Gungun, then retreated without another word.

Relieved to see a familiar face as Zhong Lin closed the gap between them and bowed in greeting, "It's good to see you." Zhong Lin admitted.

Gungun nodded, a non-verbal agreement with Zhong Lin's 'it is good to see you too'.

"You are not unwell?" Zhong Lin asked.

Saying 'are you well, or 'are you doing alright' in this situation really wasn't suitable, and Zhong Lin was meticulous with everything, especially his own speech.

"I am well," Gungun answered, "Are the inner rooms as before?"

"They are the same, shall we go there?" Zhong Lin suggested.

He nodded once more, and they both walked into the inner palace, reserved only for family, guests and maids under Zhong Lin's direct supervision, because the inner palace contained his families personal Halls where they slept, the libraries, his fathers studies, and numerous courtyards, gardens and pagodas. As a result the inner rooms of Taichen Palace were much quieter than the outer, and there were no decisive footsteps from immortal soldiers or maids bustling around.

It was here Gungun felt comfortable for the first time since standing at Taichen Palaces main gate, and informed Zhong Lin of what had happened since he'd last seen him five days ago.

Zhong Lin hadn't known what was in the letter he'd delivered and was understandably upset when he learned of its contents. Gungun explained everything else surrounding his upcoming ascension and why it was something he would have done anyway, and this served to remove the head steward's guilt.

Gungun learned that his father had been in Taichen Palace only on the first day after his mother had passed, and has not returned since then, only passing orders via power-sealed letters and through these generals.

He also learned that items taken from Taichen Palace treasure vault and delivered to Dong Hua, only one item in particular was odd, one that the General Liu Cai had apparently delivered personally, as if it were an item of great import.

Curious, Gungun asked, "What was it?"

Zhong Lin wavered for a moment in uncertainty, then spoke, "I haven't been given any orders banning me from speaking of such things to you, so I shall." he said, decisively.

"This large calligraphy brush was actually created by Dihou as a gift for your birthday next month." Zhong Lin began explaining.

Gungun had forgotten his birthday was so close, and the idea of a birthday present sounded wrong in the current situation, tainted by loss.

"Her Highness had intended to gift it to you on your 30,000th birthday, but it wasn't completed by then, her fur could only grow so fast after all. She was worried her red fur would clash with your silver hair. So she focused on using only the longest strands from the very end of her tails, so the brushes bristles would be pure white."

"It sounds very aesthetically pleasing." was all Gungun could say, he didn't have the strength to think about it too closely, he was feeling too emotional, first the mountain-garden memories, now this.

"No matter how much Dijun tried to convince Her Highness, she was very adamant. I remember that as a compromise Her Highness did create a tassel of her red tail fur that could be attached to the bottom of the brush, if you wanted to do so. I just find it a mystery why such an item was taken." Zhong Lin finished speaking.

There was a helpful lilt to Zhong Lin's speech at the end, as if he was thinking perhaps Gungun would know more, or have clues to why.

"It is odd." Was all Gungun could say in response to Zhong Lin's tale.

Gungun didn't have any inkling as to why that item would be taken with such reverence, or for what purpose his father had wanted it.

Dong Hua Dijun had sent one of the most ancient and revered of his generals to collect precious treasures and artefacts from Taichen, that made sense and was logical. But why send such an esteemed figure to collect a birthday gift his mother had created for him?

He travelled in companionable silence with Zhong Lin for a while, traversing the inner courtyards of Taichen Palace, where maids were only allowed to enter under Zhong Lin's direct supervision.

Gungun did not think more on the calligraphy brush as he crossed the path and stood outside the closed door of his fathers study.

"I've delayed you from your tasks," Gungun apologised non-directly.

"Understood, I take my leave." was Zhong Lin's reply, and the Chief Steward left without a word or look of protest or concern.

Even though Gungun could sense some pity and sorrow coming from Zhong Lin directed at himself, the Chief Steward had still understood that Gungun wanted, or perhaps needed, to be alone for now.

Zhong Lin hadn't been Taichen Palaces Chief Steward since before Gungun had been born for no reason, he knew that Gungun would not miss the appointed time he was to ascend, Gungun was proud of many things, his punctuality was only one of them.

Gungun planned to meditate properly for the first time in three days, he hadn't wanted to do so while he was taking care of his sister, but now his grandmother and others were with Xueyu, he felt comfortable enough to do so.

With this goal in mind, he opened the door to his fathers study and walked into the place he'd spent much of the past 10,000 years learning from his father.

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