Sorry for the long wait. Happy reading!

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The sun poured through the window and lit up Xu Yi Palace's master bedchamber. The occupants were still snugly nestled in their shared bed; soundly asleep, completely unbothered with the light's intrusion. However, the momentary silence was interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming from the outside hall.

"What's that noise?" Bai Qian mumbled as she carefully removed the arm that wrapped around her waist. The movements she made woke Ye Hua up, but she tried to console him to go back to sleep since he came home late last night. "Just continue with your sleep. I'll wake you up when it's breakfast time already."

Ye Hua mumbled an 'okay'. She placed a kiss on his head before she vacated her spot. She took the time to fix herself before she went out of the room. And just outside the hall, she found Ali sitting on the floor with a scroll in his hand.

The kid heard the little noises from the master chamber, and he gave his mother a bright smile upon seeing her come out of the room. "Good morning, Mother!" He greeted, a bit too loud for the early morning.

Bai Qian placed a finger on her lips to signal Ali not to be too loud. The kid nodded in understanding and smiled brightly at her. She helped him up and held his hand as they made their way towards the pavilion where they usually spend their mornings.

When they reached their destination, Bai Zhen was already there. He was reading a scroll with his eyebrows drawn together. There was an unfinished jade hairpin in front of him. The sound of their footsteps wasn't even enough to distract him from the material he's intently reading.

Bai Qian took the seat across Bai Zhen, and she helped Ali sit next to her. "Good morning, 4th brother. What made you so stressed early this morning?" She asked.

Finally, Bai Zhen put down the scroll and let out a sigh. "It's a missive from Zhe Yan. He says that he won't be able to come to Jiuchongtian as scheduled today since something came up that needed his assistance." He then patted Ali's head, who tried to reach for the hairpin he was working on. "Don't play with it yet, Ali. It's not yet finished." He said gently.

The mischievous kid backed down, but he gave his uncle a smile that said he would get his due later.

Bai Qian looked around and noticed that her niece was out of sight. "Where is Xiao Jiu, 4th Brother? Is she helping sort the menu for breakfast in the kitchens?" She asked.

Bai Zhen shook his head. "I've been sitting here since early this morning, but I haven't seen Xiao Jiu come out of her room."

"That's weird. But I'll ask Nai Nai to go check on her to make sure also she's ready for this morning's meeting." Bai Qian said. She then called for Nai Nai and asked her to see if her niece was already awake.

A few minutes later, Nai Nai came back. "Your Highness, Queen Feng Jiu is not in her room."

"I see. Can you confirm with the guards the time she left today? She probably went out for a very early walk." She replied, and Nai Nai then left to do as instructed.

"I remember you gave her a gift last night. Maybe you could use it to track where she is right now." Bai Zhen said while polishing the jade hairpin.

A look of puzzlement crossed her face. "How did you know it meant to do that?" She asked since as far as she could remember, no one aside from Ye Hua knew about its unique feature.

A small, amused smile appeared on Bai Zhen's lips; his eyes still focused on the hairpin. "I gifted you one when you were around her age."

Her 4th Brother's answer rendered her speechless for awhile. "What?! How come I didn't--" Her words were interrupted when Nai Nai returned. "What did the guards say, Nai Nai?"

"Your Highness, the guards said that the young queen didn't return home from her walk last night."

She frowned, unsure where her niece could be at the moment. "I see. Thank you." Nai Nai then left for the kitchens.

Bai Qian faced her 4th Brother also had the same look on his face. "I guess the trinket has a use after all." She then performed the spell to activate the said artifact. "She's still in the 34th Heaven. Don't tell me she fell asleep outside?"

Bai Zhen chuckled. "That's not possible. The lass is a fussy sleeper. She can't just sleep anywhere uncomfortable."

A-Li, who was listening to their conversation the whole time joined in. "That's true mother, Feng Jiu jiejie doesn't like to sleep somewhere not soft."

Bai Qian smiled at his son's remark. "Okay, I'll ask someone to take Feng Jiu back here." She called the attention of another maidservant stationed near the pavilion and told her to inform two guards to discreetly look for Feng Jiu in the public garden of the 34th Heaven and bring her back to the palace.

They were finished with their breakfast when the two guards returned to deliver a report. One of the guards spoke. "Your Highness, the young queen is nowhere to be seen in the 34th Heaven. We have already searched the area and even discreetly asked the guards manning the other palaces if they have seen the young queen."

Ye Hua, who was not present earlier, asked Bai Qian what's going on. "Feng Jiu has not returned home from her walk last night." She said.

Bai Qian then faced the guards. "Are you sure? My tracking location says my niece is in the public garden. Have you checked the area more than once?"

The other guard answered, "Yes, Your Highness, we did. No one was in the garden."

She paused for a while to think. Maybe her niece was up to something and probably used an invisibility spell to hide. But why would Feng Jiu do such a thing when she knows that there is an early meeting this morning. With mind made up, Bai Qian decided that she will instead look for her niece personally. She dismissed the guards.

"Where are you going, Qian Qian?" Ye Hua asked when his wife stood up from her seat. Bai Zhen also looked at his younger sister.

"I'll go look for Feng Jiu. The trinket says she's somewhere in the public garden. It's not that far from here." Bai Qian replied. She patted Ali's head to stop him from going with her. "Ali, you stay here with your father for now. Mother won't be away that long."

The kid pouted but sat back down after hearing his mother's words. Bai Zhen looked at Bai Qian. "I'll go with you. It's been a while since I had a stroll in this level in Heaven." He then gave the hairpin he made to Ali for him to admire/play with. The kid smiled brightly at his uncle.

When the siblings were in the garden, Bai Qian could not detect Feng Jiu's fairy presence. Bai Zhen's brow knitted as he scanned the whole area. Nothing seemed to be amiss.

Not until Bai Qian found the trinket she gave her niece a few meters beside the pond. She examined the item and found nothing suspicious. But she realized that even if the trinket fell on the ground, it must magically find its way back to its owner.

Finding the situation weird, Bai Qian faced Bai Zhen. "4th Brother, I remember you said that you gave me a trinket similar to this one before." She showed the item to him. "Trinkets like this usually stick to its owner no matter what. But I find it odd that I found this one near the pond instead of being with Feng Jiu."

Bai Zhen took the item from his sister's hand and studied it for a few seconds. "It is indeed strange since the trinket doesn't look damaged to me."

Bai Qian sighed. "I guess we'll find out what's wrong when Xiao Jiu returns later."

-----

It was already 20 minutes before the scheduled meeting, and Feng Jiu still hasn't returned yet. Bai Qian decided to be her niece's substitute to ensure that at least two monarchs were representing Qing Qiu.

When they arrived at the grand hall, some seats were already occupied by the other monarchs. Their entrance seemed to attract the attention of the other leaders since Bai Qian also arrived with Ye Hua. She already informed Ye Hua in advance that she would sit next to her brother since she would be temporarily substituting Feng Jiu this time.

A few minutes went by, and almost everyone had finally arrived. The last to come was Dong Hua Dijun, who either usually came or a few minutes earlier or at the same time as Tianjun. After the agenda was mentioned, the King of the Horse Clan continued with his speech that abruptly ended yesterday. There were exchanges of ideas provided by the other monarchs.

Nothing seemed amiss from the outsider's point of view, but for someone who has keen eyes for odd behaviors/mannerisms, Bai Qian noticed the telltale signs of a very stressed Tianjun and the taciturn behavior of Dong Hua Dijun whose eyes usually reflected mock disinterest was now replaced with a blank stare.

After all the meeting agendas have been discussed and addressed, it was finally Tianjun's turn to speak. He stood up from his seat and began his speech by thanking everyone's understanding and cooperation for the interrupted court yesterday. He then finally opened the topic about the sudden interruption that happened.

"An unexpected problem occurred in the Ministry of Mysteries that required immediate action from the higher officials. We have already looked into the issue, and we have implemented measures to curb the effects it brought. Dijun himself helped us with the solution as he encountered a similar situation in the past. We can assure everyone that no imminent dangers are lurking as the problem itself is not something to be distressed about, and the right set of immortals is already working on it. Further details will be disclosed once everything has been resolved."

He paused for a while. "I trust that the matter we discussed stays in this hall, and no other ears shall hear nor know about this to avoid unsolicited rumors and complications to arise in the future." His ended in a resolute tone.

Bai Qian's remained skeptical after hearing Tianjun's explanation and 'attempt' to be transparent, but she did her best not to be too obvious with her thoughts. A few minutes after that, the meeting ended. The monarchs inside the hall slowly left until only Dijun, Tianjun, Ye Hua, and she were left. Bai Zhen also left for Xu Yi Palace to check on whether Feng Jiu has already returned.

Bai Qian took the opportunity to ask Ye Hua why his grandfather and Dijun, who seemed to be in a serious talk, haven't left yet. Her betrothed was about to answer when an unexpected person appeared.

"Shifu, you're here." She said in a slight disbelief tone. She remembered her manners and gave Mo Yuan a bow.

With her words, the other people inside the hall also turned their attention to the arrival of the God of War. His presence in Jiuchongtian was a surprise since it's only been a few years since he woke up from thousands of years of sleep. He was supposed to be recuperating in Kunlun as planned, but what brought him here? Bai Qian couldn't help but overthink that a calamity was most likely awaiting to unfold; since why would her Shifu visit if whatever is actually going on was not something to be worried.

"Seventeen." She heard Mo Yuan say softly and gave her a small smile. He then went to Dong Hua's side, and they were only a few meters away from where she was standing.

That was odd. Ye Hua seemed to have read her thoughts when she felt him squeeze her hand lightly. And to make things more intriguing, a transparent forcefield suddenly appeared around them. Magic like this was usually erected as an attempt to make sure that no one can hear the noises made by the people within the field.

Bai Qian looked at Ye Hua and quietly asked him again, "What's going on?" She paused and subtly glanced to the side where other people in the hall seemed to be in a solemn discussion. "Why is Shifu here? Isn't he supposed to be in his annual seclusion?"

Ye Hua gave Bai Qian's hand another squeeze. "Do you know why I came home late last night?" He asked in a volume that's only enough for both their ears. When he saw his betrothed shake her head, he continued, "Tianjun asked me to join him look into the problem in the Ministry of Mysteries. The peculiar incident happened in one of the innermost chambers of the temple where the rare, magical stones are protected. And the only cluster of moonstone crystals held within a powerful protection case was discovered to be in shatters when the assigned immortal did his routine check-up."

Bai Qian furrowed her brows. "What does a broken crystal indicate?" She asked.

"This particular cluster of moonstone crystal was owned by High Goddess Zuti. And a few years ago, it was not regarded with prominent significance. But the idea that it was one of the possessions of a once-powerful ancient deity made the previous head scholar of the temple store it in a case to keep it protected from the hands of the wrong immortals." Ye Hua answered.

"Did someone break into that chamber?" Bai Qian asked, now very intrigued with the direction where their conversation was going.

Ye Hua slightly shook his head. "That's the strange thing. No one could easily break into that room and shatter the crystal. But the assigned immortal mentioned that before he left to seek help from the others, a bright light illuminated the whole area." He paused and gave Dong Hua a subtle sideway. "And I heard Dijun talked about this matter to High God Zhe Yan and that this might have something to do with Goddess Zuti's power and the bright light could be a portal."

Then everything seemed to connect. An alarming look flashed on Bai Qian's face. "No one got hurt, right? Aside from the broken crystal. And why was Zhe Yan here? What does he--" Her words stopped when the door of the hall opened, indicating the arrival of another person.

Even Dijun, Mo Yuan, and Tianjun, who were in a deep conversation, stopped when Bai Zhen went inside. A panicked look was painted on his usually calm face. He then went to his sister's side.

"Qian Qian, one of the guards you asked earlier to look for Feng Jiu brought forward another guard who was patrolling last night. He said that he saw a bright light erupt in the public garden where you found the trinklet you gave to Feng Jiu." He said in a slightly worried voice.

Bai Qian and Ye Hua shared a worried look. But it was Mo Yuan who spoke first, "A bright light last night? Is Feng Jiu okay?"

Everyone turned to Bai Zhen. He shook his head. "We're not sure since, until now, she hasn't returned yet from her walk last night."

Bai Qian couldn't help but involuntarily think of the worst.

Suddenly, Dong Hua Dijun left and disappeared, leaving only a trail of shimmering light.

------

In the other universe, Feng Jiu woke up as sun rays hit her face. She slowly sat up, still yawning. She looked around and found herself in a very familiar-looking chamber.

"How come I'm here?" She whispered in disbelief to herself. She remembered the last time she was here was when she attempted to trick Dong Hua by feigning getting hurt.

Speaking of Dong Hua, last night, she remembered him calling her Xiao Bai. It confused her greatly since when did he start calling her in that name? Wasn't she always Feng Jiu or Bai Feng Jiu to him? And very rarely, Jiu'er?

That train of thought woke her senses. It was already daytime; she can't recall how she got inside the room. She doesn't remember how she fell asleep. It was as if some force put her to slumber and, for some unknown reason, brought her to Dong Hua Dijun's chamber.

"What happened?" She asked herself, feeling lost. She was about to get up from the bed when she heard someone enter the room.

And for some bizarre reason, Zhe Yan was here, and he held a tray full of bowls in his hands.

When Zhe Yan saw her awake, he stopped from his tracks. "I see you're finally up."

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A lot has been going on in my mind lately, and I only found the motivation to complete this chapter even though the outline was already completed more than a week ago.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments section. Thank you! ❤