Upon hearing Mu Ge’s words, Lord Siqing frowned, instinctively raising his voice in agitation. The chess piece he was about to place fell onto the board, and his entire demeanor radiated a chilling aura as the air pressure around him plummeted.
The Supreme Deity Wuji found Siqing’s reaction quite intriguing. He raised an eyebrow and continued questioning Mu Ge, “Oh? What did that little girl say today to anger the Heavenly Emperor to such an extent?”
“She’s angered the Heavenly Emperor before, but he usually turned a blind eye. Why such a dramatic reaction today?”
Hearing this, Mu Ge shook his head, “This Mu Ge doesn’t know either. It’s said that the Heavenly Emperor even made High Goddess Fuhuan kneel on a punishment board…”
“…”
Upon hearing this, Supreme Deity Wuji felt a gust of wind pass before him, and when he looked again, Siqing had vanished.
Seeing this, Wuji also put down his chess piece and stood up, “Let’s go take a look.”
…
After hastily leaving Wuji Palace, Siqing rushed straight to the entrance of the Heavenly Realm.
…
…
But upon arriving at the entrance and spotting Fuhuan kneeling not far away, his steps faltered, and he stopped in his tracks.
He couldn’t get too close to her…
Siqing stood in place, examining Fuhuan from head to toe. Upon noticing the bloodstains on her shoulders and the punishment board beneath her knees, he silently clenched his fists, feeling a sense of suppressed anger.
Meanwhile, at the entrance to the Heavenly Realm, Fuhuan, whose pain had already numbed her, was keeping her eyes lowered as she slowly counted the time. For some unknown reason, her heart suddenly ached, and as if possessed, she turned her head toward where Siqing was standing.
Their eyes met.
After seeing Siqing standing to the side, Fuhuan suddenly felt a tightness in her nose. All the grievances she had been holding back suddenly burst forth uncontrollably. Her eyes grew increasingly red, and large tears fell from them.
Fuhuan quickly raised her hand to wipe away her tears, not knowing what had come over her, seeing that Siqing had made her unable to contain her emotions.
Seeing Fuhuan cry, Siqing also felt somewhat at a loss. Just as he was about to step forward to approach her, someone grabbed his arm. “Wait.”
Supreme Deity Wuji’s voice came from behind him.
After stopping Siqing, Wuji cast a glance at Fuhuan and then sighed, “It seems she truly angered the Heavenly Emperor.”
“Siqing, since the Heavenly Emperor has decreed that she kneel there, the only way you can help her now is to find a way to persuade him to retract his decree,” Wuji said.
Siqing nodded, naturally understanding this key point.
However, before that, he needed to know the reason for her punishment.
“I’ll go over and see first,” Siqing said, then stepped toward Fuhuan.
Wuji sighed, “I’ll go with you. If you two are alone together, it’s easy to attract trouble.”
The Heavenly Emperor already suspected them of having an illicit relationship. If they were to be alone together again, suspicious individuals would surely report it.
…
Fuhuan hadn’t expected Siqing to suddenly come over. Having inexplicably shed tears just now, she was still sniffling, so she simply lowered her eyes, refusing to look at Siqing.
After coming to stand before Fuhuan, Siqing realized how severe the wound on her shoulder was. The punishment board under her feet had countless sharp needles piercing her knees, which were already red and swollen.
Damn it…
“What happened?” Siqing asked via secret voice transmission after standing in front of Fuhuan.
Hearing the secret message, Fuhuan wrinkled her brow. She wanted to tell Siqing everything, but didn’t know where to begin.
Previously, she had shared the forbidden area’s incantation with Siqing in exchange for his life-extending technique. Their transaction was complete.
So now, with the people from the forbidden area having disappeared and the Heavenly Emperor enraged, all consequences should be borne by her alone.
“It’s nothing, I just spoke out of turn,” Fuhuan replied, her tone seemingly nonchalant.
“Tell me the truth,” Siqing’s tone grew heavy, his dark eyes narrowing.
Fuhuan pursed her lips and looked up to meet Siqing’s gaze. “I just misspoke, nothing else.”
Upon hearing this, Siqing’s face darkened further.
After approaching, Supreme Deity Wuji first patted Siqing’s shoulder, gesturing for him to compose himself, then smiled slightly at Fuhuan, “You’ve always been a clever child. In the past, whenever you upset the old Heavenly Emperor, you would make amends promptly. What’s different today?”
“I’ve just been too unrestrained in the past, and today, no amount of making amends will suffice,” Fuhuan responded with a self-deprecating smile. As soon as she smiled, her shoulder trembled, sending a stabbing pain through her. She instinctively bit her lip to prevent herself from gasping.
Seeing that Fuhuan was unwilling to reveal the truth, Supreme Deity Wuji exchanged a glance with Siqing, signaling it was time to leave.
Siqing glanced at Fuhuan, said nothing more, and turned to leave directly.
Supreme Deity Wuji sighed and followed Siqing’s footsteps.
Behind them, Fuhuan saw them leave and immediately deflated.
After walking some distance, Supreme Deity Wuji walked beside Siqing, sensing his displeased mood. “Your reaction to her punishment is quite strong. Could it be, as rumored, that you and the Phoenix Lady have developed feelings for each other?”
“Rumors?” Siqing caught the key point in Wuji’s words.
Indeed, he had heard Fuhuan mention before that the Heavenly Emperor had withdrawn his decree because Youlan had been spreading false rumors behind the scenes. Could this be related to Fuhuan’s punishment?
“From your expression, it seems you know something as well,” Supreme Deity Wuji said, his eyes reflecting complex emotions. “When the Heavenly Emperor initially granted me a favor by allowing you to succeed as the God of the Netherworld, he probably didn’t anticipate that someone so young would have such capability to manage the Netherworld with perfect order and clear hierarchy.”
“Now, he harbors wariness toward you, but since you haven’t made any mistakes, he can’t openly act against you, though he has begun to guard against you.”
“As for Fuhuan, she is the Phoenix Lady, possessing the power of the phoenix. She has served the Heavenly Realm loyally for many years and is one of the Heavenly Emperor’s most important generals. Therefore, the Heavenly Emperor won’t stand by and watch you two come together, as that would pose the greatest threat to him.”
Supreme Deity Wuji analyzed the situation for Siqing in a voice that only the two of them could hear.
Siqing was well aware of these principles, but hearing Wuji’s words, he felt an inexplicable irritation rising within him.
At present, what he wanted to know most was how exactly Fuhuan had angered the Heavenly Emperor.
As the two walked together, they soon spotted two figures standing in a corner, whispering about something.
Those two were Fuling, the immortal attendant of Youlan, and Qinsang, the immortal attendant of Lengyan.
Upon seeing these two, Siqing and Supreme Deity Wuji immediately concealed themselves and slowly approached.
In the corner, Fuling was standing with her arms crossed, looking at Qinsang with surprise. “High Goddess Lengyan went to Phoenix Feather Pavilion?”
“Yes, because of High Goddess Fuhuan’s punishment, High Goddess Lengyan wanted to know the details, so she went to Phoenix Feather Pavilion to inquire with High Goddess Fuhuan’s attendant, Old Madam Ziyu.”
Hearing this, Fuling raised her eyebrows. “Did she find out anything?”
Hearing Fuling’s question, Qinsang showed hesitation. She looked around, and seeing no one nearby, she leaned closer to Fuling and said in a low voice, “Reportedly, after the Heavenly Emperor and High Goddess Fuhuan went to the forbidden area, the Heavenly Emperor flew into a rage and ordered High Goddess Fuhuan to kneel as punishment.”
“Forbidden area?” Fuling touched her neck, frowning, unable to understand.
The existence of a forbidden area in the Heavenly Realm was no secret.
But when did High Goddess Fuhuan become connected to this forbidden area?
“Yes, it’s about the forbidden area, though I don’t know the specifics,” Qinsang said.
“Alright, I understand,” Fuling nodded in acknowledgment, then reminded Qinsang, “At tomorrow’s birthday banquet for the Heavenly Empress, my Lord has already arranged people to make things difficult for High Goddess Fuhuan. At that time, High Goddess Lengyan can make a timely appearance to play the role of a savior and gain more trust.”
Qinsang nodded, “I understand, I will inform my mistress.”
“Good, then I’ll return to the Netherworld first,” Fuling said, then smiled at Qinsang teasingly. “Honestly, High Goddess Lengyan’s performance today was truly eye-opening. The Third Princess probably never expected to be used like this. Look at how she pinched High Goddess Fuhuan’s wound; once High Goddess Fuhuan recovers, who knows how she’ll discipline this Third Princess?”
After laughing, Fuling’s form disappeared from the corner.
Seeing Fuling leave, Qinsang also stepped away.
After the two left, Siqing and Supreme Deity Wuji’s figures reappeared, both with unpleasant expressions.
The conversation they had just overheard contained an enormous amount of information.
They hadn’t expected that the seemingly gentle and amiable Lengyan would team up with Youlan from the Netherworld to target Fuhuan.
“Indeed, you can never truly know someone by their appearance. That foolish Fuhuan has been protecting her sister Lengyan in every way, only to find out that behind her back, their sisterly bond has already broken,” Supreme Deity Wuji sighed.
Siqing seemed not to have heard Wuji’s words; his thoughts were entirely focused on the words “forbidden area.”
So, they had been to the forbidden area…
Was that silly girl being punished for this reason?
Siqing clenched his fists, his brows cold and dark, his body enveloped in a chilling aura. His expression grew increasingly grim, filled with sharpness.
The person in the forbidden area had been taken away by him last night.
He just hadn’t expected this to be discovered so soon.
Having planned for many years, he had finally managed to take the person away and would not allow them to be confined again.
Fuhuan…
You’ll have to endure this hardship for now.
“I’m leaving first,” Siqing said, and after making up his mind, his figure vanished as he headed to the Netherworld, planning to use seclusion as an excuse to properly settle the person from the forbidden area.
…
All along the way, Siqing’s mind, vision, and even his ears were filled with Fuhuan’s image—Fuhuan kneeling in punishment, the blood on her shoulders and knees, her aggrieved voice, and even her half-joking “Brother Qing.”
“Damn it.” Siqing felt as if he were obsessed. The more he forced himself to stay away from Fuhuan, the more he forced himself not to think about her, the stronger the longing became.
They had only known each other for a few days; why did he keep thinking about her uncontrollably?
It wasn’t until his footsteps stopped in front of a wooden cabin protected by a formation that Siqing barely suppressed his thoughts. He approached the door, raised his hand to knock several times, but each time he lowered it again.
In the end, Siqing didn’t knock; he just stood alone by the small stream in front of the wooden cabin, gazing at his reflection in the water.
“Creak—”
The door of the small wooden cabin suddenly opened, and the person inside, upon seeing Siqing outside, smiled, “Is everything arranged? Where do you plan to place me?”
Hearing the voice from behind, Siqing slowly turned around, his eyes dark and his face showing a trace of apology. He opened his mouth and slowly said—
“First, come back with me to the forbidden area in the Heavenly Realm.”