"Young master, you have to try on your robes.."
"Young master, you have to review the mooncakes again…"
"Young master, you haven't picked your dowry yet …"
"Young master …"
"Young master…"
"Can you all fucking shut up!" Taohua slapped a table so hard , it turned to dust underneath his palms , there were veins popping out on his temple " We go through this every fucking time, It's the same cake, the same flavors, the same procedures , why can't I have a break?! It's a wedding, it's MY FUCKING WEDDING!!! "
There was a brief silence before a demon raised a tray of rice balls close to him , her voice was soft " Young master, please choose a riceball"
"…" Taohua slapped the tray off her hands and stomped off. The demons followed behind him , their pandering but firm voices repeating 'young master' in his ears.
The wedding was in three days. The preparations were endless , from the amount of guests to the demons second guessing his food choices. Were weddings always been stressful? Why do some gods remarry multiple times then?!
He put some dao into his steps and ran out of the hall faster than his breath could catch up. He entered an empty room and locked the door, only when he heard the nagging voices pass did he slid down the door and let out a sigh.
He doesn't want to have another wedding again after Hong Jin. Well if Hong Jin reincarnates and still likes him …which is unlikely, he doesn't mind another wedding, it's just that this time, it will be smaller, no fussing over mooncakes and wedding robes.
The chaos in his dao immediately reminded him about how dangerous his thinking went just now. It was one thing to marry to fulfil a purpose, it's another thing to marry because of the willingness to choose the same person again.
All he had was just 3 months after his wedding.
His chest started to hurt, Taohua swallowed then rubbed his chest.
After the wedding, there was now a count down on Hong Jin life.
And he will have to be the one to stab him.
He will have to feel Hong Jin warm blood in his fingers, feel his breath leaving his chest and his eyes closed in the embrace of death.
Hong Jin will die.
Taohua will become a god, the god of war , Shifu will be proud of him , fuxin will award the hua palace some gifts , they will escape the tyranny of the Jade empress Guayin.
But he will never see Hong Jin again, Hong Jin will be reincarnated with no memories whatsoever and he will probably fall in love with someone else.
A sense of reluctance arose in his chest and he swallowed.
"I …I don't want him to die …"
"Have you relaxed so much, you didn't notice a presence with you for over 30 minutes?"
Taohua threw his hand towards the voice before jumping aside , his eyes narrowed at the sight of Xue Xin resting comfortably on the wall.
"Xue Xin!"
"Yeah it's me " He stood upright, rolled his shoulders and stretched " Children are so rude ,your wedding is in three days and you didn't inform me , how selfish don't you think?"
He then stopped and retched "Or you know what, it's great as you didn't invite me. I don't want to see two men marry "
Taohua stepped back , his voice wary "What are you doing here ? What do you want?!"
" Who takes it up the ass?"
Taohua rolled his eyes.
"Secretive much aye? I am not really that interested anyway" his lips widen into a huge grin " I thought it was a way to justify your canal desires then I remembered it's just a death parade framed as a wedding "
"…."
Xue Xin seeing Taohua rub his forearms and lower his head , let out another laugh.
"I was just guessing, but you really did fail the love tribulation? All for some d*ck?, hahaha"
Taohua sighed "Xue Xin what are you doing here?"
"Are you that stupid? " Disregarding the threat of Taohua hitting him , he walked closer and tilted his head " Do you think that everything will resolve if you just kill him ? Do you think the heavenly tribulation is that easy to carry out ? If everybody killed their lovers won't everyone ascend peacefully? The heavens will probably be a market place by now but It doesn't work that way "
Xue Xin have never been a great demon. He was mean , he was crafty and his plans had the unique stamp of the Huli Jing manipulation. He probably just wants to hurt him in order to fulfil a diabolical plan.
He should probably ignore him and let it all bounce off.
But it hurts.
Taohua just wanted to fulfil his duty without having to hurt the person he likes the most in this world.
He just wanted to ascend, maybe take Hong Jin with him , introduce him to his shifu, then go back to the mountain life with him where hong Jin will wash the clothes and he will spread it , where Hong Jin will feed him and he will wash the fruits.
He just want to love Hong Jin without feeling so guilty for once.
" What do you want me to do then ?" Taohua voice cracked and tears brimmed in his eyes " It's not like I have a choice "
Xue Xin seemed stunned about the sudden tears ,he raised his hand briefly before coughing and lowering it. He turned to look at a lonely vase at the corner of the room.
"I …I didn't know gods could cry "
"I thought that too once about myself " Taohua sniffed and rubbed his eyes again" But then we all have an heritage. We can love , it's just that we don't dare to love too deeply"
It wasn't just the wedding preparation, at the back of his mind, the mission lingered like a ticking time bomb mocking his incompetence.
His biggest enemy turned out to be a great listener; how ironic.
Xue Xin waited for Taohua to adjust his emotions before facing him. Despite the look of arrogance on his face , his voice have lost it's cutting edge making it soft.
" Do you really want to marry my cub without any death flag hanging over his head ?"
Taohua nodded.
"Okay then , I can help you " Seeing Taohua eyes brighten, he gave a small smile "You just need to get the immortality pearl from kunlun. If you get it , you can offer it to the heavens in replacement of Hong Jin life "
" I have never heard of an immortality pearl…"
" It's a pearl that fell from nuwa hair during the creation of the world. It have absorbed a lot of dao and therefore become a soul. Unlike you , it's unable to become a conscious spirit . Once you get the immortality pearl, just put my cub blood on it then offer it. The heavens will never have a clue "
It was a cruel method, letting the innocent suffer for the guilty crime but it was unconscious and lonely. Perhaps the heavens will put it into the reincarnation cycle and then it will become a proper soul.
"What do you want in exchange, Xue Xin?"
Xue Xin rubbed his chin " After you save your little husband, I ask you guys vacate the throne and give it to me . "
Taohua internally let out a sigh of relief. It was great that Xue Xin still wants the throne, now he could feel relieved that no malicious intent was coming from him.
Xue Xin having said his piece, turned to leave. He jumped down the window before disappearing.
Taohua sat there for a few more hours making plans about the immortality pearl before a knock on the door roused him.
Taohua opened the door wide and stepped aside , his voice was soft " I hope you didn't bully them"
Hong Jin didn't answer, he only let out a slow smile before sitting on the floor. Taohua lied down on the floor and placed his head on Hong Jin lap.
Hong Jin fingers were soft in his hair. The fingers moved from his face down to the carotid artery at the base of his neck, it continually circled it.
His voice was hoarse " Taohua?"
"Hmm"
"Did you meet someone?"
Taohua didn't open his eyes, his voice was calm " No , what made you say that?"
The fingers turned to five and they gently encircled his neck without pressure.
" I don't know…I smell someone apart from you on your body , it's smells like snow…the smell is irritating "
Taohua opened his eyes and pulled Hong Jin down, before Hong Jin could blink , there was warm lips on his.
The kiss was as brief as it's suddenness. Taohua let go immediately and went back to closing his eyes.
"Our wedding is in three days, don't think too much about anything "
"…."
"Hong Jin?"
There was a loud gulp before Hong Jin fingers found their way to his lips, his voice was trembling.
"Ummm can you do it again?"
Taohua opened his eyes, seeing the flush on Hong Jin face and his heavy breathin, he pulled on Nick's robe again.
The kiss was just the meeting of lips. They clumsily pecked each other but the tingling feeling making their heart race and their head dizzy.
Hong Jin lips tasted like fruit ,it was addicting making him want to kiss again and again. It felt so good.
Something prompted Taohua to lick Hong lips , the taste was so nice Taohua shivered. If his lips could tastes so good…what about the inside of his mouth?
Taohua pushed his tongue between Hong Jin lips. Hong Jin parted without hesitation. Exploring his mouth felt so good, their tongues danced with each other and their lips rubbed with delicious friction.
He was so immersed that he stuck his tongue down Hong Jin throat.
Hong Jin let out a whine and pulled him closer.
It was with great reluctance that Taohua let go of Hong Jin, a thread of saliva connected their lips.
He have somehow managed to climb on Hong Jin during the kissing and now , he is sitting wide apart on Hong Jin laps.
Hong Jin face was flushed , his eyes were lowered , breathing was frantic and his robes were messed up. Seeing him in this state made Taohua shiver.
Taohua combed Hong Jin hair with his fingers before moving aside.
"Let's not be improper "
Hong Jin let out a soft voice of affirmation before adjusting his robes. By the time he was done, nothing except the flush on his face wil
l give out what he did.
Taohua stood up and raised his hands towards Hong Jin , there was a soft smile on his face.
" It's late "
Hong Jin smiled and took the hand "hmmm"