The jade palace was in chaos.
There were broken pots and damaged furniture all over the floor, torn clothes did nothing to hide the sharp edges.
Two people stood opposite to each other, their daos; gold and pink ; clashed in a intense battle for dominance. They both looked physically exhausted, but there was a similar level of stubbornness in their eyes.
The pink finally went out and the gold dao lashed out , one of the goddess hit the ground heavily, the force making her cough up blood.
"Shu hua…" Jade Queen felt a metallic taste in her mouth but she didn't let it show, she only rubbed her lips "Getting into a tantrum won't stop me from breaking the retribution pot"
Shu hua cold glare came straight from hell.
"Shu hua !"
Groups of goddesses and gods swarmed the courtyard. They all went towards shu hua gathering dao and putting it into her body. They looked hurt like they are the one that had gotten injured and not Shu hua herself.
The goddess of fate stood up , her body trembled "Guayin ! Is it not enough to separate the teacher and the disciple ?! Is it not enough to send her second trusted confidant packing?! Now you are bullying her in broad daylight!"
Jade empress let out an angry laugh "Ha! She's the one who came to my palace and attacked me! All I did was give her a light beating"
"Her internal organs are severely damaged! " the goddess of fate said, her voice trembling with anger.
"Her head is working well isn't it?"
"You! "
"What is going on here ?" Fuxin walked into the palace, seeing everyone attending to Shu hua, he frowned and knelt down beside Shu hua, his fingers wrapped around her wrist.
Guayin folded her arms and looked away. As usual her hedonistic husband have come to save the day. What will he do next? Scold her ?
Sure enough, Fuxin face darkened , he stood up and walked towards her.
Fuxin's voice cut through the murmur of the crowd. "Guayin!"
She met his gaze, unflinching. "I heard you the first time, and yes, I hit her."
'The audacity'
"Do you know your wrong?"
"I did nothing wrong , She attacked me fir-"
"You are banished to the cold palace "
The sting was unexpected. She had always known that Fuxin heart was fickle yet hearing him defend Shu hua hit the wrong kind of nerve.
When had he ever supported her? When had he ever took what she said into action ? She wasn't even asking him to treat her well, she was the one married to him , why always choose the outsiders?
"Declaring her mistress status then ?" The sting grew and despite her head telling her to calm down, she couldn't help but hit fuxin chest "Why don't you remove me from this position and put her in !"
Everyone except Fuxin and Shu hua looked at Guayin in shock. Guayin have never threw a tantrum before and although she was always pissed off at her supposed husband, their fights were just babs and scoldings.
Fuxin seem oblivious to this , his voice was as cold as the atmosphere.
"I won't do that because the position is yours fair and square but I won't tolerate you misusing your authority "
"Fuxin she hit me first! What did I do wrong hitting her back?!" Seeing he didn't respond, she hit him again "Fuxin!"
"Dont let me repeat myself "
"I hate you !"
Fuxin stiffened but he recovered immediately, his voice was soft despite his intentions "Guayin , I'm sorry but I can't do this —"
The anger came back masking every emotion in her chest "Since I am going to be punished anyway, I will break it to pieces then !"
"Guayin , can't you have a silver of conscience for once in your life " Shu hua was the one talking now , her eyes were red with either anger or tears "If you break the retribution pot , Taohua can never ascend again "
"You're wrong about one thing " Guayin pushed Fuxin aside and walked in front of Shu hua "The pot came about because of Taohua second mistake and not because of my interference. I have to break it because it's already spilling out. The heavens are tired of waiting, he have to make his choice now"
Fuxin grabbed Guayin wrist, his voice wearing thin "Guayin , don't say anything you will regret "
"So you are a bit more agreeable now your forsaken reputation is on the line ?!"
"Guayin…"
There was a thick silence before she rolled her eyes and shook off his hand, her voice was leveled now
"Okay I give you a week . Your mandated restraints have be removed from this moment, tell Taohua to make a choice now. If he doesn't make a decision by then , I will break the pot , deal?"
Shu hua nod her head.
Guayin turned and stomped off , Fuxin let out a resigned sigh before following behind her.
Immediately she left , everyone fretted on Shu hua injuries and repaired her injury with dao. Some of them even gave her merits. Shu hua collected it gracefully and stood up to leave.
The nine tailed cat voice was soft " Shu hua, can you really not give up on this disciple?"
The goddess of fate immediately rebuked him "Do you know how long Shu hua and Taohua have been together? Shu hua practically raised the boy , it's like telling a mother to cut off her son "
"But at this point, this son have caused so much trouble to his Shifu, Shu hua have never lost this much face before.."
The demon God looked at the silent Shu hua, her eyes were trained on the path as if not caring about the thoughts of others.
It wasn't uncommon for gods to develop heart demons after ascension, they weren't particularly dangerous or harmful to the god and goddess and many of them continue to be talented.
However they are terrible because they cause division. Heart demons often cause obsessions and this causes a lot of distress to the god. They would do anything to keep this object of obsession which causes chaos in their relationships and internal conflicts.
It was obvious that Shu hua have developed a heart demon.
As they got to heavens gate , Demon god held Shu hua wrist , their voice was soft " I saw his memories"
Shu hua lowered her eyes , her voice silent.
Demon god let out a soft sigh " Don't get involved, he loves the mortal too deeply"
There was a thick silence between them before Shu hua shook their fingers from her wrist.
"Its my choice "
"Shu hua, you will regret this"
Shu hua didn't respond. She walked foward , closed her eyes and jumped down.
"Shifu "
Seeing Bei Shang eyes widen with both surprise and fear , a sense of helplessness tightened around her heart.
So her little seedling was scared of her now , he have probably associated her with bad news now.
"Taohua"
Tears gathered in his eyes and he jumped on her. She held him tightly and let her emotions overflow.
"Taohua, so you have a bit of conscience in you?" She let out a shaky laugh and kissed his cheek " In your last life, you fought with this teacher for separating you and the fisherman"
"Shifu " he let go of her slowly and stood a distance, he didn't let go of her hands though "It wasn't easy for you to come here , it wasn't easy for you to send Jie jie to help me out with my memory. Did Jade empress send you here?"
"Taohua…When are you making your decision?"
"You know my answer shifu "
She covered her eyes and let out a little laugh.
"It's the same as every life "
"Shifu .."
Shu Hua rubbed her cheeks "I just feel so helpless," she whispered, her voice cracking
She could shout at Taohua and even threaten him with abandonment, but one life she did it , he had committed suicide. She have really tried her best, she was starting to get tired.
"Taohua, the retribution pot is cracking"
"….."
"Jade Queen needs to break it or it will spill and hurt everyone. You have to choose now "
The mortals had laws , the demon realm had rules, what act as the judgment for the divine was the retribution pot.
It's origins are unknown. The retribution pot appears when the god have done a deed so evil that the primary enforcers of justice cannot give an adequate punishment that will soothe the heavens temper.
If the punished god can rectify their mistake, the retribution pot gradually disappears, if the punished god refuses to rectify that mistake, the retribution pot will crack and then spill around to affect the other gods around them.
There are only three gods who have had the retribution pot appear , one was the nine tailed cat who killed another god for eating his favorite fruit , he rectified his mistake by giving up his ability to take up the mortal form.
The other was an unknown sword God who killed a child for touching his property, he never repented and got his soul destroyed.
The last and present person is Taohua.
Taohua stared blankly for a while before standing up , he rubbed his forearms , his steps pacing around.
"Shifu …. I …I …" Tears gathered in Taohua eyes "I told him to trust me , I promised him that I won't leave him again "
"You made an impossible promise"
"Shifu…"
Shu hua felt her chest hurt "You can't be with him"
"I know "
"You know what you did too "
"I know "
"It's not about the first life now!!" Shu hua pushed him , her voice was starting to climb up it's pitch , showing that she's about to get violent "Do you know why the retribution pot is cracking? It's because of your mistake, not the mistake of loving him the first time but the one you did after "
"I know that too " He walked closer and held her hand. He didn't bulge when she tried to push him ,a while later , her body relaxed and he started stroking her fingers "I know I made a second mistake, my dao is cracked again despite it was repaired, it's not as serious as the first life but It's not complete"
His dao was cracked but instead of a hole like crack ; it was more like it was split into two and the other part was no where to be found. It could have been explained as it was part of the punishment given by Fuxin, however things were more deeper than that.
" Shifu " He let out a sigh and rubbed her fingers "I don't remember what I did after Hong Jin death but I know that trying to remember it now is useless but you have to help me , you have to convince Jade Queen to give me more time, I promise this is the last reincarnation, I won't be stubborn and hard headed "
"No"
"Shifu.."
"No " She snatched her fingers and stood a distance from him , her eyes were red "I won't"
It started with her giving him chances, it's the 100 reincarnation yet he choose the mortal everytime. What about her ? What about she who sacrificed everything for him?!
"Shifu , don't think like that " Taohua moved closer, his voice was soft " Shifu you are always first in my heart I promise…"
"Why don't you choose me then? Why are you always choosing him ?!"
"Shifu …"
"Okay then , You think you can get more time but do you know the consequences?!"
"…what…what consequences?"
"If you don't ascend, your lover will die and lose his soul forever. If you ascend, you will never meet again but hi
s soul is intact. " Seeing his finger flinch , she continued " If Guayin breaks that pot , she will make that decision for you. Do you know what it means? You will die "
Taohua face turned white.