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Feng Jiu stood frozen as the young man who resembled Dong Hua locked her in a tight hug. She remained silent for a few seconds, and as time went by, she suddenly remembered that he called her his mother. It woke her senses and made her push the man off her.

The young silver-haired man had a sorrowful look on his face while his eyes reflected confusion as well.

Feng Jiu fixed herself and gave the person in front of her a pointed look. "How dare you evade my personal space like that?"

The young immortal's brows furrowed together. He continued to stare as if lost at her question. "What do you mean, Jiu Jiu?"

Her eyes narrowed at him. "Why do you address me in that name? As far as I can recall, I've never met you. Who are you?"

His lips parted in surprise at her questions. "What do you-- what's going on here?" He stammered, completely bewildered at the situation.

Feng Jiu sighed and patiently asked the shocked immortal in front of her. "Who are you? And what are you doing here in Taichen Palace?" She then stared at the familiar-looking face.

Suddenly, an assumption came to her mind. Could this person be the reason why Dong Hua didn't want to be with her aside from the excuse that their names weren't in that cursed stone? She gave him another once over and noted that he's definitely only a few years younger than him. Could it be that Dong Hua has a secret family hidden from the public and the dangers of the world?

The thought of this possibility made her heart clench. Is this the reason why he has been behaving kindly towards her? Could it be that he's planning to break it to her gently about this hidden truth?

Feng Jiu's eyes watered at that painful assumption.

Meanwhile, the other immortal was rendered speechless at the questions of the woman in front of him. He didn't know what to say because his mind was still surprised to see her awake and in a healthy state, and then her puzzling behavior made his headache.

When he focused back on the woman he called Nian Qing, he noticed the instant reddening of her eyes. It made him slightly panic.

He went closer to her and took hold of her hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze. With a concerned look plastered on his face, he asked, "Mother? Are you alright?"

Feng Jiu did her best to hold her tears. But her mind went haywire again when he called her his mother. What kind of sick game was going on?

She let out a sigh. "You haven't answered my question. Who are you? What are you doing in Taichen Palace?"

"I am Gungun. It's been days since I saw Father, and I thought he might be here." He replied, albeit still uncertain why she asked him those.

Feng Jiu nodded. "I see. So you're saying that Dong Hua Dijun is your father, am I correct?"

Gungun frowned again. "Yes."

"Okay. But what I don't understand is why you're calling me your mother. I'm certain that I haven't bore a child and I could not have a child around your age. Are you sure you're calling the right person your mother?" Feng Jiu thought of the situation as a sick joke of destiny.

The corners of Gungun's mouth were slightly drawn downwards. He missed his mother greatly, especially with what happened in the past weeks. That's why the moment he saw her looking well and standing in front of him, he instantly locked her in a tight embrace, afraid that she might vanish anytime he blinked his eyes.

What his mother said now brought his memories back to when he woke up in the Ancient Era after colliding with Goddess Zuti's ward. He remembered his father say something slightly similar to that.

Why does it seem like his mother doesn't remember him? Could this be a result of the mishap that happened during her trial? He was about to answer when he felt the familiar presence of his father.

Both Feng Jiu and Gungun turned to look at Dong Hua, who appeared in a hurry. He went to Feng Jiu's side and placed a hand at her back. He then looked at his son, who seemed confused at the situation.

"Gungun, why don't you check the scrolls I left in the study and give them a read." He said.

His son looked at him incredulously, completely not understanding why he asked him to do that. Gungun's eyes shifted to his mother, who seemed to be in the same state of confusion with him.

As much as he wanted to say more, he knew something was going on, and his father will explain to him everything later. Heaving a deep sigh, he relented. He gave his father a nod and bid them goodbye.

After the departure of Gungun, Feng Jiu slightly calmed down. She noticed that Dong Hua was studying her face, and he still had his hand at her back.

She then remembered the assumptions she had earlier and this made her move away from him. After putting some distance between them, she cleared her throat and slowly looked at Dong Hua's face. He seemed to be waiting for her to start talking.

"The immortal who just left looks so much like you. He seems to be around my age as well or not a few thousand years younger." She commented.

Dong Hua's eyes bored her face. He nodded and briefly answered, "He is."

"He also said that he's your son." She continued.

Like earlier, Dong Hua once again nodded. "He is."

This confirmation made her heart clench. Her eyes went wide and instantly reddened. So her assumptions were correct? Could this secret be the true reason behind his puzzling treatment of her?

She was in so much agony that all she could say was a painful, "Why?"

As she knew that the immortal who called her mother could never be her son.

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In the other universe...

The group of immortals previously gathered in the chambers of the gravely injured young queen was asked to leave the room as Zhe Yan attended to his patient.

Bai Qian held Ye Hua's hand in a slightly tight grip as her heart and mind were filled with worry for her niece. The others were also silent from what just happened. They were now all seated in the sitting area in the cave. Only Migu's footsteps could be heard as he placed and prepared tea for the stunned gods and goddess inside the den.

"Qian Qian, Xiao Jiu will be all right. Zhe Yan is already doing his best to heal her." He said as he comforted his betrothed.

Bai Qian let out a deep sigh. "What happened to Xiao Jiu that left her in that state? I remember her leaving days ago only to take a stroll outside to unwind." She then turned to face Ye Hua. "She was under my care. How could I have let this happen, Ye Hua?"

Bai Zhen, who was listening, finally intervened. "Xiao Wu, this is not your fault. Do not blame yourself for this. We don't even know yet the full reason behind Xiao Jiu's current state."

Ye Hua agreed to Bai Zhen. He gave Bai Qian's hand a slight calming squeeze. "Your brother is correct, Qian Qian. You shouldn't worry and blame yourself too much. We will do our investigation later after Zhe Yan is finished with his full assessment."

Bai Qian nodded. "I know. But don't you all find this mysterious? She was gravely injured yet she managed to return to the den without Migu nor the other people noticing. What's more peculiar was a protection cage encircled around her, one that was surely not created using her cultivation."

Mo Yuan, who was quietly listening, darted his eyes to Dong Hua. This didn't go unnoticed to Bai Qian. She knew she's going to get a scolding for what she's about to do, but she couldn't just stay still and do nothing for her beloved niece.

"However, it seemed like Dijun can help enlighten us... Seeing that the powerful cage suddenly vanished the moment his hand went contact with it." Her eyes were bored at Dong Hua's figure, who was thinking very deep that he seemed like his mind wasn't present.

Ye Hua slightly squeezed her hand in an attempt to stop her. But Dong Hua suddenly returned to reality as he turned his attention to the high goddess.

Dong Hua knew that Bai Qian greatly loved Jiu'er. She took care of her niece growing up, to the point where she was bold enough to reprimand him of his actions four years ago. Despite the good intention of the high goddess, this didn't stop Dong Hua from giving her a cold stare.

Mo Yuan decided to intercede for Dong Hua. "Seventeen, you must calm yourself down." He quickly glanced at Dong Hua before looking back at his former student. "I also assure you that Dong Hua Dijun doesn't have anything to do with what happened to Xiao Jiu. For the past three days, we spent most of our time doing investigation about a certain case."

Dong Hua also decided to speak. "Mo Yuan is correct. But even I also find it a mystery why the shield suddenly vanished the moment I touched it. As far as I recall, I haven't cast such a powerful cage like that. My Tiancang Cage is also still with me."

Bai Qian's forehead scrunched after what Dong Hua said. "Then why was there a cage made from your cultivation that wrapped around her, Dijun?"

The other high gods also turned to Dong Hua as they waited for his response.

Uncharacteristically, Dong Hua let out a deep breath. "This is something I don't have an answer at the moment."

Silence enveloped them once more after that.

However, minutes after, Zhe Yan finally stepped out of Feng Jiu's chamber. All eyes turned to him as he made his way to the gathered high gods and goddess.

"How is Xiao Jiu, Zhe Yan?" Bai Zhen asked his partner.

Zhe Yan looked at the faces of the immortals in front of him and noted their anticipation, even Dong Hua. "As I have said earlier, Xiao Jiu is gravely injured. I also noticed a wound around her abdomen area, which is likely one of the reasons that put her into such a state. Her body seemed to have gone through an intense state that she's physically hurt. However..." He paused as he saw felt the level of cultivation and aura that surrounded his little niece-in-law.

"However what, Zhe Yan?" Bai Qian asked.

Zhe Yan cleared his throat. "However, her cultivation doesn't seem to be in the same state. I felt the powerful cultivation and aura that surrounded her after the careful assessment I did. It seemed like she just went through a trial recently since I saw the remaining signs of being hit by lightning strikes."

Bai Qian sagged beside Ye Hua. "How could that happen, Zhe Yan?" She mumbled bewilderedly. "Xiao Jiu is still not that old enough to have her high immortal trial.*"

The other high gods were also in a mixed state of shock and confusion. But Bai Zhen spoke out, "Xiao Wu is correct, Zhe Yan. I also checked Xiao Jiu's star, and there seemed no signs yet of her trial. How could this even be possible?"

Dong Hua was silent the whole time. He agreed with the Bai siblings since he also checked his Jiu'er's star, and there seemed nothing amiss yet hence why he didn't expect to find her in such a state.

Zhe Yan rendered everyone speechless once more after he shared another discovery. "Xiao Jiu's body showed signs indicating that she has been in a state of coma for more than a week now. It is truly puzzling since she's only been gone missing for three days."

"What?" Dong Hua unconsciously said out loud.

Migu, who was serving everyone tea, seemed to be in a great state of shock after what he heard that an empty teacup fell from his tray and shattered on the ground.

The whole den went silent. 

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* I know Feng Jiu is 70,000 years old in TMOPB. However, in this story, she's only around 50,000 years old.

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