Taohua left that same night.
He used his dao to poke into Hong Jin subconscious, then put him into a coma for a few hours.
He paused and rubbed his forehead, a headache announcing its presence.
It wasn't easy using his dao , Hong Jin was guarded even within a fragile mental state. He had to physically soothe him, while also trying to probe into his subconscious and knock him out , double tasking at it's core.
He sighed and continued to go up the hill.
Furthermore, he doesn't have the time to nurse the pain. He has to look for the immortality pearl and come back quickly to calm Hong Jin anger. He might misunderstand and then a series of actions will happen that involves plenty of chains, shouting and crying.
He really doesn't have the strength to deal with a tantrum Hong Jin.
He closed his eyes and despite the pain sent out his dao. After a full hour of concentration, he finally felt a line of connection towards his left side, and he opened his eyes.
The pearl was still a long distance from here but it was starting to get stronger now. He might be able to get it by morning then he will get home by evening the same day. He will meet up with his wedding.
However, as he walked closer to towards the cave, the more uneasy he felt.
Wasn't this too easy? How could he find such a rare item so easily without any difficulty? Why didn't others failed to be gods take this route themselves?
He stopped right in front of the cave.
His uneasiness became stronger.
He stepped a foot back and turned. Sure enough there was someone right at his back, the fox demon he had fought with a while ago.
She smiled and bowed her head at him, " Demi God, you finally found out"
Taohua clenched his fists, " He tricked me"
"You shouldn't have trusted the words of a demon "She stood upright and brought out her fan , her face was still and cool as the night air "I have to keep you here for a whole week, that is the instructions I was given"
Taohua grabbed a branch on the ground and hit it on his palm to check its sturdiness. "If xue xin can turn his back on me , he will turn his back on you one day"
"I don't care"
"He is a selfish man , he will never love you back"
There was a thick silence before she flicked her fan , Taohua moved back and the wind broke a tree branch.
Her voice slightly cracked "My feelings are none of your business! "
"Do you think you can stop me from leaving?! "
" I am not the only one here "
There was ravenous laughter coming from the caves. The harmony of the voices made Taohua scalp tingle. He looked behind her, there were eyes staring at them from among the trees, he could see the battle lust in their eyes.
He clenched his fists tighter , that bastard had thought of it all. He really can't hold up against fifty rank 1 demon commanders within three days.
The lady bowed her head briefly, then She attacked.
💕💕💕💕
The demons kept coming.
If he managed to subdue one, another will come, if he tried to escape, he would be attacked by several of them. By the time he fought off the last demon, he didn't know how many days had passed.
He pushed off the last demon stabbed with his stick before trying to leave the environment.
He walked around but found himself back in front of the same cave.
He let out a scream, that sonovabitch have created an illusionary realm.
He gathered his dao in his hands and threw it at the sky. The dao bounced back and hit him, making him throw up blood.
He coughed before closing his eyes and busting into tears.
"Hong Jin … " He cried louder, his voice echoing "Hong Jin"
He shouldn't have trusted Xue Xin , he shouldn't have given his trust to a demon , he have no idea how he will explain himself to Hong Jin.
His scalp started to tingle, but it wasn't the bad kind of tingling, more like when his shifu is trying to reach him.
He immediately called out" Shifu ?!"
"Oh yeah it's me, I just wanted to say that congratulations on your wedding, should I change the mortal status to husband now or you …"
"Shifu , thank goodness it's you "He cried again but this time it was tears of relief" I am trapped, and you have to get me out "
" Trapped? " He heard some shuffling as if she were standing up" I will come get you immediately, stay where you are "
A full hour later, he heard a loud boom in the distance. The illusion disappeared and shu hua appeared right in front of him. Seeing his state, she let out a sigh and covered him with a clean robe.
" I told you getting involved with that mortal is nothing good, who did this ?"
" I can't explain now …" He kissed his shifu fingers and ran out of the place, " I will tell you everything when I get back I promise "
"Taohua , you see …. " She sighed when he already took off " He …oh no "
Taohua didn't bother to check whether she's gone or not. His mind was filled with how he was going to explain himself to Hong Jin.
Hong Jin must be feeling betrayed, first he used his powers on him, then Xue Xin came and probably had a massive fight with him. He would have believed that Taohua joined hands with Xue Xin to leave his side.
He would let Hong Jin tie him up without a fight. After he was calm, Taohua will bargain for his freedom back.
The entire place was far too quiet. Taohua slowly stopped and looked around.
The normally busy markets are empty, the houses were shut as if trying to hide themselves from intruders, there were not even an animal on sight walking around.
Taohua held the robe tighter against himself and swallowed.
He doesn't know what he's up against if he gets to the palace.
That's until he saw it.
"Oh no "He whispered and started to run faster , he fell down at a point and stood up back, his heart against his chest" please no…"
The palace was in flames.
Taohua widen his eyes and ran into the courtyard.
There were dead bodies littering the courtyard, some showed signs of being stabbed, some necks were in an abnormal posture and some had their tails pulled out before being stabbed to death.
"I was too late" Taohua cried and started to look around for Hong Jin figure , his dao moved chaotically against his body and he held his chest before continuing his search" Hong Jin, where are you ?"
Was he in the burning building? Should he enter there to look? Where was —
Right in front of the flaming palace was Hong Jin.
He was in a red wedding robe, his white hair left to tumble on his shoulders, and he stood diligently as if the world weren't in flames at his back.
He also had a blood stained sword on his left hand.
Taohua paused for a full minute before stepping right in front of Hong Jin.
" Hong Jin "
Hong Jin raised his head , his face was calm and languid " Taohua? "
His voice was a whisper "Did you do this ?"
" You said you will marry me "He threw the sword aside and let out a wail "YOU SAID YOU WILL MARRY ME BUT TEAMED UP WITH THAT MAN TO RUN AWAY FROM ME !!! WHY DON'T YOU EVER KEEP YOUR PROMISES!!!"
Taohua eyes blurred " Hong Jin, I am sorry … I won't do it anymore, just come over here, let me hug you…"
"GET AWAY FROM ME !!!" he shouted and moved closer towards the burning building, he smiled when Taohua stood still, his eyes filled with panic" Oh now you suddenly care?"
He placed his hand on his head and let out a laugh, " Hahaha all you do is confuse me "
"Hong Jin …"
"DON'T FUCKING HONG JIN ME ." He grabbed his jade bracelet and threw it on the ground; he stomped on it in murderous anger " You never choose me, YOU NEVER EVER CHOOSE ME "
"Let me explain…" This Time Taohua didn't know when tears started to drop , his chest hurts so much, but he didn't know whether it was from the heartache or it was from his dao "I wanted to help you , someone lied to me and …"
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR EXCUSES!"
"Hong Jin …" Taohua voice cracked and he held his robe tighter to his body " I won't run away again, didn't you want to break my ankles? I won't fight back, I promise".
Hong Jin stopped, he rubbed his face and moved away from the burning palace, his blue eyes were bright" Really?"
Taohua nodded , he sniffed and started to take off his shoes. His movements were clumsy" After you break my ankles, let's retire to the mountains, just me and you, it will be like those times when you will bring food and I will spread your laundry, we can even raise a few chickens".
Hong Jin didn't look convinced, " What about your godhood?"
Taohua paused for a full minute before shaking his head "I will handle it when the time comes … " He let out his hand towards Hong Jin "Common let's go, we don't want the mortals to find us here"
"You're not mad I killed everyone?"
"No I am not mad" He Smiled as tears ran down his face, " Let's go okay?"
What Hong Jin did was a Little terrible but if they hid , he could live a few years , Even if the world wanted to punish Hong Jin he won't allow it , he could plead for insanity or even take on the crime.
He didn't even need Hong Jin to be sane , he just wanted Hong Jin safe with him.
Hong Jin looked at that hand before taking out a dagger from his robes. He handed it into Taohua hands instead, his face was in a calm state.
Taohua voice broke "Hong Jin…please … please let's be calm about this …"
Hong Jin looked towards the burning building
" I knew that the man came to visit you that day, but you didn't want to talk about it and our wedding was was in three days so I didn't care"
Taohua grabbed Hong Jin hands, his voice cracked" Hong Jin…listen to me … "
" I woke up the next day, but you're not there. I didn't panic, after all you promised. I waited until the day of the wedding, but you didn't come back "
Tears flowed down Nick eyes, his eyes gradually turned red as if dipped in blood.
" Then he came over and told me that you made a deal with him to leave the palace and in exchange he gets the throne" He let out a boisterous laughter "I ripped his throat right there and pulled out all his tails"
He looked at Taohua with his red eyes, his look bothering on insanity" He had the audacity to grab your hands and lead you out of the palace? Who else was in on the plan? The attendants, the maids, the villagers? …you know the villagers never liked me loving you "
" So I killed them all, one by one. You see the houses were shut tight right? I, personally, went through the trouble of killing them sweetly in their sleep and making sure the wild animals do not have access to their bodies… I want them to rot " He looked at Taohua silent tears and rubbed it with his fingers , his voice was soft " I can't have you die before me , I have sacrificed too much "
'He can be someone important to me without it necessarily meaning love; I am not like the demons who hold affection so significantly it ruins their life, and I am not like the mortals whose affection are fickle and shallow.'
"What about me ?" Taohua pointed at himself, his chest hurts so much, he could feel the coppery taste in his mouth, and it flowed down his lips, he cried, his breathing frantic " Why do you always think the worst of me? Why do you always punish me ?"
" Your noble blood and my dirty blood can't mix right ?"
Taohua hit him on his chest, his voice broke into sobs "Please stop punishing me "
Everyone called him a demigod or a god , that it was his destiny to be of divinity but ever since Hong Jin came into his life , it was hard for him to go along with destiny.
A word said in anger , now repeated towards him in the most hurtful way.
Punished repeatedly for daring to fall in love.
Hong Jin covered his dagger hand, his voice was resolute" This is my last punishment to you "
"I don't want to … I don't want to" He pushed Hong Jin away himself, Taohua let out a cry "Please stop punishing me! "
Hong Jin wrapped Taohua fingers around the dagger before placing it on the side of his abdomen. He exerted full strength when Taohua tried to pull his hand.
" No …no …please don't do this to me, Hong Jin, don't do this "in a bid of desperation, he fulled the chaotic dao into his hands, his hand burned blue but Hong Jin strength was greater.
Hong Jin smiled, his eyes as bright and blue like the first day he saw him.
"I didn't reply to your confession, I love you too "
The whole world went silent as blood flowed down Taohua fingers. The warm body leaned on him and enveloped him into a hug.
Taohua didn't know how he sat down on the floor with Hong Jin in his arms. The world was in flames, but his heart felt cold.
The blood on his hands can't be Hong Jin own, perhaps it was Xue Xin playing an illusion with him now.
"Hong Jin…" His voice was a whisper "Please wake up…"
He swallowed and touched Hong Jin face with his hands. Hong Jin still had a soft smile on his face like he just finished eating the sweetest candy.
A dead person doesn't smile, it must be an illusion.
He sat there, cradling Hong Jin's lifeless body, his trembling hands brushing against Hong Jin's cold cheek. Perhaps if the palace burnt to the ground, the illusion will finally stop.
It was nighttime when the palace gradually went down and the last embers of fire disappeared.
Hong Jin body was still not awake.
Taohua swallowed and started to pour dao into Hong Jin body , he ignored how his dao flowed properly and without interruptions.
The body remained cold with the smile on his face.
'No …No it can't be …'
Taohua hugged the body tighter to himself; his voice was soft.
"I won't leave again, I swear… I swear I won't… I'll give it all up. The godhood, the dao, none of it matters without you. Please… Just come back…"
"I'll let you punish me," Taohua whispered, His chest tightened with every breath. "Break my ankles. Tie me up. I won't fight you… Just please… don't leave me…"
The sky let out a rumble and rain started to pour down in vengeance.
"You said you had nine lives , you said you will wake up , you promised me"
Taohua rocked back and forth, clutching the body tighter. His chest heaved as he struggled to breathe, the sobs choking him.
"Please..." Taohua whispered one final time. "Wake up... Please..."
But even until the daylight, Hong Jin never opened his eyes once.
Taohua let out a gutteral scream , the sounds of Guapins and bells rang in the sky , the heavens and earth trembled, A sky dragon ran though the mortal realms.
A new god is born.
Author note: I tried so hard to cry during this scene but I couldn't get myself to. It probably wasn't emotional enough oufff.
Either way I hope you enjoy it, take it as the rambling of a sleep deprived hustler hahaha.