The identities of the two little grasshoppers are shocking.
My master carried me through the clouds, but I felt his speed was too slow, as slow as a slow-moving old bamboo forest right under my nose.
"Yuan'e, you must learn to be steady, steady."
Don't assume that just because Master is dressed in flowing robes and exudes an aura of venerable immortality today, his words carry weight.
As soon as we landed outside the Ziji Palace, he pushed me toward Xie Jinhui, who was waiting by the lotus pond and the water bridge.
Master, where is your self-restraint? Where is the self-restraint you taught your disciple to maintain?
Since you don't want it, what else do I need?
Xie Jinhui's eyes softened with tenderness, and he spread his long sleeves like wings. I, like a weary bird returning to its nest, leaped with joy and embraced his slender waist.
"Yo." The voice of Lord Muheng descended from the sky, still carrying that irritating and impatient tone of the Immortal Binding Cloud Lock.
"Tongtang, I didn't believe you when you told me about their situation in the lower realm, but seeing them today, they're so affectionate."
"Great, great, great! I knew it, you two must be a loving couple."
I just buried my head in Xie Jinhui's arms and gave a perfunctory hum as a greeting.
A passing deity hid behind the clouds, laughing and joking.
"See? They're not carrying people anymore."
I scoffed inwardly: If I liked him, why would I be carrying anyone on my back? I didn't like him back then either.
It's strange, though, that I could hear the conversations of immortals from so far away, even though I haven't been deliberately practicing any immortal arts or spells lately.
Could it be that she was intimate with Xie Jinhui? That would be incredibly audacious.
My sinful gaze met Xie Jinhui's lips.
Xie Jinhui lowered his voice and whispered in my ear.
"Yuan'e, wait a minute, let's find a good place later."
His aura was alluring, and my heart was pounding with excitement. Is it really necessary to make Emperor Sheng set our wedding date?
Haha, that's too much. I wish no one would ask me for my opinion anymore. I'd rather just hang on to Xie Jinhui as an accessory.
We listened to him completely. He's quick-witted and efficient. We started our journey as soon as the wedding was over.
She shook off the congratulatory gifts from the matchmaker holding a large bundle of red threads, and dodged the eager, expectant gazes of the many immortals in the Purple Palace.
And then there's Master, Lord Muheng, who consider themselves heroes for forcibly binding me and Xie Jinhui that day.
They were, of course, our matchmakers, but I just feel that the day I sat on the celestial steps and first saw Xie Jinhui was actually the beginning of my falling for him.
"I liked you the moment I saw you, otherwise, why would I have been so concerned about you?"
As I entered the hall, I gave Xie Jinhui instructions.
"Really? I remember that the goddess Yuan'e both tricked me into being a mosquito to win my heart, then turned into a grasshopper to avoid me, and even chased me away, making me a playboy for a while."
"Yuan'e actually dared to say she liked me from the beginning? I'm so wronged! How are you going to make it up to me?"
I gripped Xie Jinhui's hand tightly and pouted at him. "Don't believe me? Fine. If it weren't for that 'deeply rooted love,' my Jianyuan would have grown taller by now."
Xie Jinhui didn't understand what I meant at first, but after thinking for a while he suddenly realized. He then took my hand, crossed the wall of people offering their congratulations, and stepped over the jade steps reflected in the Wujin Starfield.
He led me directly to the throne of the Holy Emperor, bowed deeply and said, "Uncle, I want to marry Yuanhe. It's urgent. Please arrange it as soon as possible."
Both I and the Holy Emperor were taken aback. I was surprised that after more than ten years, Xie Jinhui and the Heavenly Emperor had become so warm and familiar with each other.
Saint Emperor Sheng's stunned expression was rather suspicious and strange!
He didn't look at his nephew Xie Jinhui, but stared straight at me, his mouth wide open and his eyes wide.
It was as if he was seeing me for the first time, yet also as if I were his own blood-related niece.
In short, the Holy Emperor murmured to himself as if in a dream, "The Goddess Yuan'e, so this is how she is..."
Before the Heavenly Emperor could finish speaking, he snapped out of his daze and turned his eyes to Xie Jinhui.
"next month."
The Heavenly Emperor seemed impatient, yet he restrained his emotions.
"Next month, Hui'er will marry the goddess Yuan'e."
Xie Jinhui was overjoyed and pulled me to thank him.
However, when I secretly glanced up, I saw that the Holy Emperor's gaze was on me again. This time, he was neither thoughtful nor confused.
Rather, it was the infatuation and possessiveness Xie Jinhui showed when he said he liked me.
I panicked. The Holy Emperor's gaze, which lasted only a moment, sent a chill down my spine.
The Holy Emperor's face quickly regained its elder-like kindness, and he beckoned us to his side.
I didn't want to go; the Heavenly Emperor on the throne seemed strange to me.
Hopefully it was just an illusion, a temporary lapse in consciousness caused by the Holy Emperor's long-term illness...
But, is it really just my imagination?
I tried to sense the Holy Emperor and connect with his divine consciousness.
His divine power was like a funnel pulling me deeper into an abyss.
It quickly pulled me down.
A moment of dizziness, an incredibly intimate connection, a special feeling, appeared between him and me, then vanished in an instant.
Too fast, too dizzying... I can't catch it.
"Uncle, something's not right with Yuan'e. Her fairy power is flowing backwards."
I felt as if the world was upside down, and my mind was in a state of chaos.
Xie Jinhui had already picked me up around the waist as I suddenly started to sway.
I heard the Holy Emperor shout.
"Quickly, send the goddess Yuan'e into the inner courtyard of the Ziji Palace."
The dizziness vanished in an instant. I nestled in Xie Jinhui's arms and deliberately spoke loudly to the Holy Emperor Sheng, who was following closely behind.
"Xie Jinhui, I'm fine. I got poisoned when I kissed you last night. Kiss me again."
Xie Jinhui's furrowed brows relaxed, and he placed a kiss on my forehead.
I heard his voice echoing in my mind.
“Yuanhe, the Holy Emperor Sheng, something’s not right.”
I winked at him: Yes.
*
Early in the morning, when Mu Zhu was combing my hair, he said a few words about the Holy Emperor Sheng, but I didn't take it too seriously.
She said that after Shengsheng came out of seclusion, he was not only in a great mood, but his personality also became much brighter.
The Heavenly Emperor, who used to be stern and unsmiling, has recently started singing nursery rhymes to the creatures he encounters from time to time.
Mu Zhu mentioned that the Heavenly Emperor sang about butterflies, grass, rivers, and clouds.
All the immortals said that although the Heavenly Emperor had changed his temperament, in other aspects, his immortal body and immortal power were exactly the same as before.
The Holy Emperor only said that he felt happy and was finally able to release his true nature because he had a successor.
The immortals believed the Heavenly Emperor's words and thought this was a normal behavior before retiring after achieving their goals.
If it weren't for the strange look in the eyes of the Holy Emperor just now, I would have been willing to believe it too.
This Heavenly Emperor, who had painstakingly shouldered the responsibility for all living beings for 320,000 years, finally figured things out and gave himself a chance to rest.
It's fine if I misread it, but thanks to Jhin's performance, I'm sure I wasn't wrong.
I could clearly sense that Xie Jinhui carried me toward the inner hall, and with every step he took, there was a barely perceptible wariness and hostility in his eyes.
It was a terrible jealousy that made me feel like no one could care about me. I was afraid he was being too sour, so I reached out and touched his face.
I understand that Xie Jinhui didn't take me away directly because he wanted to see if the Holy Emperor would react differently when we were not in front of the immortals and only in private.
During the time I spent adjusting my immortal power in the inner palace of the Purple Extreme Palace, Emperor Shengsheng remained relatively calm, just as always.
He gazed silently at Xie Jinhui's meticulous care for me, his expression indifferent, without uttering a word.
It wasn't until the celestial messenger brought in the mountain-shaped package that I had given to the Heavenly Emperor years ago that the Holy Emperor stood up from his seat, pointed at the mountain-shaped package, and said to me.
"Yuan'e, have the hills here grown taller?"
I remember last time, the Heavenly Emperor explicitly told me that the small mountain had grown taller. Is he asking me this time to express his affection?
Or has he already forgotten?
“I’ve grown taller, but…” I replied to the Heavenly Emperor because I didn’t want things to get complicated, and then I smiled and looked at Xie Jinhui.
"Reporting to Emperor Shengsheng, Shanbaobao has grown taller, but it is not as robust as it was in the Moxu Chenyuan."
"May I ask the Heavenly Emperor, may I take them away and entrust them to Xie Jinhui for raising?"
I examined the Heavenly Emperor's expression, and he naturally revealed a sense of understanding.
“Of course,” he said. “Take him to the Abyss of Nothingness, and you two can get along well.”
The Heavenly Emperor's tone felt familiar to me. Xie Jinhui and I looked at each other, but for the time being, we couldn't find any other strange things about the Heavenly Emperor.
In the Purple Palace, a group of immortals were still silently lingering, waiting for the Heavenly Emperor to discuss matters. Xie Jinhui and I could not stay any longer, so we bid farewell to the Heavenly Emperor.
The Heavenly Emperor is going to the Purple Palace, so we can leave on our own.
"From now on, you must love each other."
Emperor Shengsheng left behind a word of advice and strode towards the Starry Corridor leading to the front hall.
For some unknown reason, the Heavenly Emperor suddenly began to hum a little tune, and the long corridor amplified the melody into a long and deep abyss-like sound.
The melody fell on Xie Jinhui and my backs, like a black mist surrounding us. A memory was revived in the song, and we were instantly chilled to the bone.
The Heavenly Emperor sang: "Two little grasshoppers, so green..."
Xie Jinhui and I exchanged a look of fear and composure, our eyes widening in surprise.
The next moment, we hid directly in a secluded barrier within the Feikong Mountain Range, isolating us from the outside world.
Inside the barrier was a vast expanse of white void.
We spoke at almost the same time.
"You told others about that?"
We both shook our heads at the same time.
"I didn't say that."
"I didn't say that either."
But I hesitated for a moment, then carefully took his hand and said uncertainly, "Before we separated these past few days, I was sure I hadn't told anyone about that."
But... I looked up at him, feeling flustered and wronged.
"I've missed you so much these past few days. I'm often in a daze, and I don't know if I've blurted it out or forgotten it."
Xie Jinhui lowered his head, stared into my eyes, and said apologetically, "I miss you too, I miss you so much that I'm completely infatuated. Maybe I said it by accident."
I suddenly realized that love is a bit of a brain drain, even if one of us were to tell others about turning into a grasshopper.
Surely we wouldn't sing the same nursery rhyme that the monster who captured us sang back then.
When Xie Jinhui saw my bright eyes, he also became more sober and stopped his infatuated state.
It's really a bit awkward for the two of us to be alone together now.
It requires restraint, overcoming difficulties, and focusing on important matters.
Xie Jinhui believes that even immortals, when deeply in love, can concoct secrets they themselves don't know.
Therefore, we need to be more rigorous and serious, and find the most impartial place to verify whether what we say is true or false.
Before we can determine that the Heavenly Emperor is suspicious, we must ensure that we ourselves have not made any mistakes.
It's not that we don't trust each other, it's just that we can't even trust ourselves anymore.
The only place that can verify authenticity is the Heavenly Execution Platform.
"The Heavenly Punishment Platform's lightning pillars have never failed to detect lies since ancient times."
"Come on, love deeply, and strike hard."
Xie Jinhui stood on the Heavenly Execution Platform, surrounded by thirty-six pillars of heavenly lightning.
He unleashed streaks of lightning from his hands, flashing wildly, displaying an imposing aura.
"Let's see who comes!" I said.
I stood right in front of him, showing no weakness, and the power of the heavenly thunder in my hand was no less than his.
There's only one truth we need to verify: to see if we accidentally revealed the old story of how we were turned into grasshoppers together, put on aphrodisiac fog, and forced into marriage.
The thunder is in the other party's hands; if anyone lies, the impartial thunder will judge.
The thunder of criminal law will strike immediately.
Xie Jinhui and I asked the question at the same time.
Did you say that?
"no!"
The question and answer were completed in one smooth motion.
Our eyes were firm, our voices overlapped, and the lightning bolts in our hands remained completely still.
It seems that, apart from him and me, only that "murderer" in the whole world knows about the grasshopper incident.
Could it be that the murderer is the Holy Emperor?
Was his singing of the grasshopper song intentional or accidental?
Or perhaps, the Holy Emperor Shengsheng is no longer the Holy Emperor Shengsheng, but has fallen into demonic possession, been replaced, or no longer exists?
A thick cloud of doubt swirled in my mind, its darkness even more intense than the ever-present, rolling clouds of heavenly tribulation above the Heavenly Execution Platform.
Thunder crackled in Xie Jinhui's hand. I didn't know what he was thinking, but his eyes held a hint of heartache and reluctance.
"Yuan'e," he called softly.
I immediately reached out and hugged him, saying, "I'm here."
The thunder is still howling, reflecting our anxious hearts and unclear thoughts.
In the blink of an eye, things swirled and shifted unpredictably.
Just then, a series of footsteps suddenly sounded, and the footsteps quickly stepped onto the Heavenly Execution Platform.
I could see the person's face through Xie Jinhui's shoulder, and when I saw him, I couldn't help but tremble.
Xie Jinhui used his immortal power and lightning to protect me in his arms. I couldn't understand why it was the Holy Emperor Sheng who followed him to the Heavenly Punishment Platform.
Did he realize that Xie Jinhui and I had discovered something, and was he trying to silence us?
Xie Jinhui remained calm and composed, maintaining his sweet embrace with me without making a sound.
Then the newcomer spoke in a curious yet friendly tone.
"Yuan'e, Hui'er, what are you doing at the Heavenly Execution Platform?"
Xie Jinhui remained motionless, responding as if chatting and laughing freely.
“Uncle, Yuanhe and I couldn’t help ourselves and thought we could use this place to improve our cultivation.”
He just spouted nonsense.
"We'll just look at each other, hug each other, and test our willpower. Whoever falls in love will be struck by lightning!" he said.
That's a brilliant reason, I thought to myself.
Unexpectedly, two pillars of heavenly lightning rose up on the Heavenly Execution Platform, blocking the approaching person's path to the platform.
The Holy Emperor stared at me with that ambiguous look he had just given me, and then burst out with angry displeasure.
"I am the Holy Emperor Sheng Sheng, how dare you stop me!"
I saw the lightning between the pillars let go, while the lightning in Xie Jinhui's and my hands struck towards Emperor Shengsheng at the same time.
With a deafening roar, Emperor Shengsheng was horrified.
Xie Jinhui immediately hugged me tightly, because at that moment, we both understood that there was only one reason why the lightning struck at the same time.
The statement "I am the Holy Emperor Shengtian" is a lie.
Heavenly thunder reveals even the smallest detail!
He is not the Holy Emperor, so who is he?
The Holy Emperor Sheng, who was struck by lightning, was initially bewildered, but his gaze towards me turned incredulous.
It changed in an instant.
He tried to maintain the dignity of the Heavenly Emperor, smiled slightly, and spoke calmly.
"You guys play around, but I, hehe, would never be moved."
His figure disappeared outside the Heavenly Execution Platform, and I heard him mutter, "This... is impossible!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com