Fengjiu was halfway to the twin-tailed cat's home when a sharp sound stopped her in her tracks. The flute? Quickly, she spirited over the river where she found the old river god laying on the ground, groaning.

"Old god, are you ok?" She helped him up, and he winced. "What happened here? Who did this?"

"I, I didn't see them. Just heard the sound of a child crying, and then-" the old god coughed violently. Fengjiu conjured some magic to stabilize his condition. "Thank you, Queen Bai Fengjiu. And I'm sorry I was not more useful."

"Don't worry, I will definitely get to the bottom of this. I need to follow the trail while it is still hot, but do not worry. I will call Zhe Yan to tend to your injuries. They are quite severe."

He bowed slightly, and Fengjiu put a small shield around him. Then she followed the scent of the perpetrator. It was the same as the scent in the bear's house, but stronger now since it was still fresh. Strangely, the person doubled back at the river. Maybe because they had been seen? Then they ran... Towards heaven! Fengjiu followed the trail. She had to be so close!

Arriving at heaven's gates, she was stopped by two guards.

"Out of my way, I don't have time to explain!"

The guards, of course, did not listen to her. Not that they ever did. Perhaps if she had been better behaved in the past, they would not have ignored her words now. But they were used to her antics and simply blocked her way.

"If you stop me from passing, do not blame me for the consequences!" She growled, "Really, this is an emergency! You will let me pass!"

They still did not reply, and she did not have time to justify herself. She may have already lost her chance.

"I will just have to apologize in advance then."

Fengjiu muttered, and the guards looked at each other with exasperation. In that moment, she struck so fast the guards had no time to react. In just a few moments she had already taken them down and ran past.

Fengjiu searched frantically for the trail. Where was it? Frustrated tears pricked her eyes. She had been so close! If those guards hadn't stopped her- Suddenly a strong hand grabbed her arm. Reacting on instinct, she spun around with a closed fist. Her hand was caught as her eyes met a familiar face.

"Dijun!"

She blinked a few times and took her hand away. He seemed to study her face carefully before finally speaking.

"Fengjiu," she looked away quickly. "What are you doing here? And why have the guards been knocked out?"

"They wouldn't listen and-"

"Didn't you say you'd stop such foolishness?" Dijun's voice was neither gentle nor harsh. He spoke just as though he was stating facts, and his carefully guarded eyes gave no emotions away. "Fengjiu, you are a queen now, not a little princess. You should know by now how to act like one."

She pulled away, hurt by his words. Hot tears flowed down her cheeks, and she could not stop them.

"Foolishness?" Her face felt inflamed with shame. Except why should she be ashamed? "Donghua, you did not even let me explain! Just like those guards, you won't listen!" Her head felt like spinning. "Well, this Queen has more important things to attend to."

His hand grabbed her arm as she turned to leave. She tried to jerk away, but his grip was strong. So, Fengjiu settled for glaring at him. He blinked, a little surprised.

"Let go!"

Shocked by her tone, he actually did let go. Donghua only watched her slim back as she left.

She had never told him to let go or pushed him away. It was always the other way around. Had he ever seen her glare at him like that before? Staring at his hand, he pondered what she'd said, her angry voice echoing in his ears. He had not realized those words would feel like that.

They hurt.