After Provoking the Mad Beautiful Deity - Chapter 22

Spanking her across her lap.

Despite the spiritual aid, Yan Lai remained severely injured. The phantom figure wore a look of sorrow. “Forgive me. I promised Hongchen to protect you, yet I broke my word. This tiger was drugged; someone in the mortal palace clearly did this by design.”

Yan Lai clutched her chest, the pain there agonizing. She looked around. “Where is Hongchen?”

“The Demon Realm is in peril; she has left. Yan Lai, I thought you would ask who I am first.”

Yan Lai’s breath was in shambles, her body feeling as if it were being consumed by fire. She endured the agony to look at the phantom. “Who are you?”

“So, you truly don’t remember me.” The figure forced a self-deprecating smile, her eyes filled with loss. Soon, she regained her composure, a smile gracing her face. “I am Hongchen’s elder sister, Princess Qing Gu of the Celestial Tribe, and the former Goddess of Fire.”

“You are the daughter of the Heavenly Emperor and Empress?” Yan Lai’s face was deathly pale. Her internal organs felt as if they were burning, yet the physical torment could not distract her from the person before her. She struggled to sit up, her lips devoid of color.

Qing Gu gazed at her. “The fact that you forgot me at least proves that I was once… different in your heart.”

Yan Lai sat on the couch, bracing herself with one hand. Hearing these ambiguous words, she felt no stirrings of emotion; she felt only confusion and bewilderment.

Qing Gu continued, “You and Hongchen are not meant to be. She slaughtered the Phoenix Clan and left only you alive. Do you not hate her?”

“You take advantage of my lost memories to speak such nonsense.” Yan Lai was not swayed; her expression remained calm.

Qing Gu frowned. “Everything I say is true. How can there be love between Master and Disciple? High Goddess Yan Lai, since you have forgotten her, do not let your heart be moved again. Trust me just this once.”

Yan Lai ignored her, asking instead, “Where is your celestial body? Why is your soul bound within the Bodhi bracelet?”

“The past should remain forgotten.” Qing Gu sighed and transformed into a streak of light, returning to the bracelet.

Yan Lai stared into the void, speechless for a long time. If Hongchen and I are Master and Disciple, then Hongchen is “Hongyan.” What happened to make both of us forget?

The love between a Master and a Disciple was a disgrace to the Celestial Tribe. She understood Qing Gu’s implication: it was a shame.

She could not suppress the sense of humiliation. The pain grew too great for her to think further. Hongchen was such a domineering and irrational person. If she was the “Hongyan” who had lost her memories, what kind of person had she been? To destroy the Phoenix Clan yet leave her alone; was it an act of mercy or revenge?

Outside, the Empress finally broke free from her maids and rushed in. She saw the tiger lying submissively on the ground and, suppressing her fear, hurried to Yan Lai’s side.

“Lady Yan, how are you?”

Yan Lai emerged from her daze. Looking at the mortal Empress, a metallic taste rose in her throat and she spat out a mouthful of blood.

The Empress panicked, catching the collapsing woman. “Lady Yan! Summon the physicians! Summon the physicians!”

After several great wars where the Celestial Tribe gained no ground, they had uncharacteristically stationed themselves at the border, refusing to advance.

Hongchen was anxious to return to the mortal palace. Not wanting to waste time, she flew alone over the Celestial camp. The terrified immortals immediately formed a battle array. The Heavenly Emperor emerged from his tent to face her.

Hongchen blinked at him, grinning. “Princess Yu Ling is indeed in the Demon Realm. I captured her because I thought she was the Crown Prince’s beloved and hoped to force his surrender. As for where the Prince went, I truly don’t know. How about this: I return the Princess to you and issue a Demon Order stating that no demon is allowed to kill Prince Qing Feng if they see him. Deal?”

“That the Demon Sovereign would compromise… truly surprises me,” the Emperor said sternly.

Hongchen smiled helplessly. “I don’t want to compromise either, but I’m in a hurry to get married. How about we fight next time?”

“How can I trust your word?”

“What would I want with your Prince? Can he eat? Can he drink? Can he warm my bed?” Hongchen was at her wit’s end. The Emperor grew furious. “How dare you insult the Prince!”

Hongchen lost her temper too. “You stubborn old man! If you anger me, I’ll order his execution on sight. With your son’s mediocre skills, crushing him is easier than crushing an ant. Accept the peace talk and he lives. Refuse, and my tens of thousands of demon soldiers won’t be easy to bully. Also, I might just kill the Empress’s niece to vent my frustration.”

She turned and left. The old man was too rigid, she grumbled, flying back to demon territory.

The situation was resolved quickly when the Emperor, desperate for his only son, sent a peace treaty: a hundred-year truce, provided the demons do not harm the Prince. Hongchen signed it without a second thought. “All this effort for a single brat,” she muttered.

She left her disciples to handle the formalities, announcing she was going to get married, which left them and the Emperor stunned.

In the mortal palace, heavy snow fell. The Empress had lost her temper, which was a rare occurrence. Lady Yan was unconscious and medicine wouldn’t go down.

“If she dies, the entire Imperial Academy of Medicine will be buried with her,” the Empress hissed.

Eventually, she used the “Immortal Pill” Hongchen had given her. Noble Consort Yin stayed by her side, comforting the Empress. “Your Majesty, she is no ordinary mortal. The physicians’ medicine was never going to work.”

When the pill took effect and Yan Lai’s color returned, the Empress was relieved. She left the Consort to watch over Yan Lai while she went to investigate the tiger incident.

Hongchen returned to find the Consort asleep by the bed. She sensed Yan Lai’s internal energy was in chaos, not from the tiger, but from nearly falling into a Qi Deviation during her meditation because of the disturbance.

Hongchen stabilized her, even kissing her softly while she was unconscious. When Yan Lai woke, she was cold and distant.

“Prince Qing Feng went missing and the Emperor brought his army to my door,” Hongchen explained. “I left the bracelet to watch you. Why did it fail at the crucial moment?”

Hongchen went to crush the bracelet in frustration, but Yan Lai stopped her. “It had nothing to do with her.”

“You seem very concerned about it,” Hongchen noted.

Yan Lai took a breath. “Do you not know its origin? You killed the Phoenix Clan and left only me. Do you not want to find your lost memories?”

“Why? To experience more pain?” Hongchen scoffed. “I cultivate Dual Pairing with you for the sake of power. The Empress says I like you, so I like you. Since I like you, I don’t care about Master and Disciple rules. I am the Demon Sovereign. Since when do I follow Celestial laws?”

Yan Lai trembled. “I… must find that memory.”

Hongchen looked down at her. “Go if you want. I won’t stop you. But don’t drag me into your search for misery.”

Gazing at the weakened state of the woman before her, the cold immortal appeared uncharacteristically fragile. For a moment, Hongchen felt a flicker of tenderness. With a soft sigh, she cupped Yan Lai’s cheeks and pressed a kiss against the soft corner of her lips.

The sky was bright and the snow was vast and white; the reflected light filled half the room with brilliance.

 

Hongchen held her tightly. The touch of their lips brought a sense of familiarity that made her close her eyes, and a vision surfaced before her. In a hazy, shimmering dreamscape, two figures embraced in a similar pose, their robes half-open.

 

Hongchen snapped her eyes open and released Yan Lai, her heart surging with a tumultuous wave of emotion. What was I thinking? She hurriedly gathered her spiritual energy and returned the power Yan Lai had previously given her.

 

“I only kissed you once; I didn’t take advantage of you,” Hongchen muttered to herself, comforting her own ego. After transferring the energy, she laid the woman back down and stood up in a hurry.

 

Her ears felt hot. She pinched her earlobes and performed a hand seal, chanting several incantations. Blossoms of spiritual fire surrounded the person on the couch, yet even after the energy was returned, Yan Lai’s injuries remained. Hongchen sighed and began injecting her own cultivation into Yan Lai’s body.

 

As their spiritual energies fused, the woman on the bed soon opened her eyes. Seeing this, Hongchen flicked her fingers and the fire vanished. Panting with exhaustion, she grumbled, “I got a bit of energy from you, but not only did I give it back, I had to throw in several hundred years of my own cultivation as well.”

 

Yan Lai’s eyes were cold at first, but the chill dissipated upon seeing a familiar face. She looked at Hongchen, her heart rising and falling like a tide. Her gaze turned misty as she slowly lowered her head, concealing her complex emotions.

 

Yan Lai remained silent, so Hongchen started chattering away. “That dog Qing Feng went missing, and the Heavenly Emperor personally led troops to the Demon Realm, so I had to go back. Before I left, I told the bracelet to look after you. Why did it fail at the crucial moment?”

 

As she spoke, she looked at the Bodhi bracelet on her wrist, her brow furrowed in disappointment. When Hongchen’s finger brushed the bracelet as if to destroy it, Yan Lai cried out, “It has nothing to do with her!”

 

Yan Lai gasped in pain, clutching her chest. Her long hair slid from her shoulders, masking her pale face. Hongchen paused. “You certainly seem to care about it.”

 

Yan Lai took a breath and looked at the foolish Demon Sovereign. “Do you truly not know her origin?”

 

“You know?” Hongchen grew interested and sat eagerly by the bedside.

 

Yan Lai scoffed. “I am injured. Are you not sad?”

 

“You’re injured, but I’m not sad,” Hongchen blurted out, touching her own heart. “Actually, why aren’t I sad?”

 

Yan Lai caught the anomaly. “If your disciples died, would you be sad?”

 

“No. I didn’t kill them, so why would I be sad? You are indeed hurt, and I feel guilty for failing to protect you, but as for the ‘sadness’ you speak of… why should I feel it?” Hongchen found it amusing. She tilted Yan Lai’s chin up, meeting her deep eyes. “I can help you get revenge, though.”

 

Forced to look up, Yan Lai’s long neck was exposed. A white veil immediately appeared over Hongchen’s eyes; she was moved by desire. Yan Lai looked at the veil. “You have desire, yet you lack human sorrow. Hongchen, you do not understand what it means to be sad.”

 

“That’s not true. If the Empress were in trouble, I would be sad,” Hongchen retorted. Her thumb brushed Yan Lai’s chin as she leaned in, her breath fluttering against Yan Lai’s eyelashes.

 

Yan Lai remained unmoved by the ambiguous posture. Hongchen kissed her forehead. Yan Lai said, “You are only sad for the Empress.”

 

Hongchen seemed to have an epiphany. Her fingers tightened on Yan Lai’s chin. Yan Lai did not move, but a flush of red spread across her fair skin where she had been treated roughly.

 

“You might have a point,” Hongchen conceded. Her gaze swept across Yan Lai’s jade-like face, landing on the white marks on her lower lip from where she had bitten it. Facing such an alluring immortal, Hongchen wanted to taste her.

 

She kissed the bloodless corner of Yan Lai’s mouth and smiled triumphantly. “Look, I kissed you.”

 

Yan Lai closed her eyes, a storm raging in her heart. She said helplessly, “Hongchen, you and I… truly… are Master and Disciple. Perhaps I raised you. Do you not want to find your lost memories?”

 

“Why? To suffer again?” Hongchen sneered. She noticed the veins pulsing in Yan Lai’s neck and knew she was enduring great strain. She remained disdainful. “I engage in Dual Pairing with you for cultivation. The Empress says I like you, so I like you. Since I like you, I won’t care about so-called ‘Master and Disciple’ relations. I am the Demon Sovereign now. Do you think I care for Celestial rules?”

 

Yan Lai trembled and pushed Hongchen away. “I… must find those memories.”

 

Hongchen stood up and looked down at her. “Go if you want. I won’t stop you. If you want to go looking for pain, don’t drag me with you.”

 

“Hongchen, you killed so many of the Celestial Tribe. Do you expect to just forget it and act as if nothing happened?” Yan Lai sat up, her initial majesty returning to her face. “The Phoenix Clan was destroyed because of you.”

 

Hongchen was confused. The sudden hatred in Yan Lai’s eyes was difficult to grasp. “Are you sure I am Hongyan? Don’t talk nonsense. I am me, and Hongyan is Hongyan. Don’t blame me for someone else’s deeds.” She flicked Yan Lai’s forehead. “You’re still hurt. Why not pair with me? Your spiritual power will increase, and then you can go find your memories.”

 

Yan Lai was furious, her pale face flushing with a rare, vivid beauty. Hongchen leaned in again. “You smell so good. I want to kiss you again.”

 

“You…” Yan Lai backed away. Hongchen laughed. “If you really are my Master, then I should pair with you even more. To satisfy my desires while trampling on Celestial rules; what could be more delightful?”

 

As Yan Lai faltered, Hongchen pulled her into an embrace. When Yan Lai struggled, Hongchen leaned in and nipped her earlobe. As Yan Lai gasped in pain, Hongchen laughed. “You tell me we are Master and Disciple. Do you expect me to stop liking you? I am the Demon Sovereign. When have I ever cared for logic or rules? You came to the mortal realm with me yourself. Do you regret it now?”

 

She breathed against the shell of Yan Lai’s ear, dampening the skin. Yan Lai’s eyes lost their luster as she suppressed her trembling. She asked weakly, “What if… what if it was you who destroyed the Phoenix Clan?”

 

“If I did, I did. It just means they were incompetent. Don’t ask such impractical questions. Who did you see after I left?” Hongchen realized something was wrong. Yan Lai’s emotions were too erratic.

 

Hongchen looked at the bracelet on her wrist; it flickered. Yan Lai suddenly snapped back to reality. “The tiger hurt me, and I had a dream that you were Hongyan. I saw no one else.”

 

Hongchen didn’t believe her. She pinched the Bodhi bracelet hard but said nothing. She gently helped Yan Lai lie back down and found some healing pills. Her concern was evident, despite her words.

 

Yan Lai watched her, the words of Qing Gu echoing in her ears: You and Hongchen are not meant to be. She slaughtered the Phoenix Clan and left only you. Do you not hate her?

 

Hongchen, unaware of her thoughts, handed her the pills. “Take these. We can talk about other things later.” Hongchen had always been pragmatic; life was most important, and the past was the past.

 

Once Yan Lai fell asleep, a female official from the Empress arrived. “Lady Chu, the Empress wishes to see you.”

 

“What for?” Hongchen’s smile vanished. “Has your lady not found out who let the tiger into the Central Palace?”

 

“She has. The Emperor has a new favorite, Consort Zhang, who is skilled in taming tigers. The tiger was sent from the zoo for her, but somehow it wandered into the palace. The Empress wanted to punish her, but the Emperor refused. They had a row.”

 

Hongchen: “…” That dog Emperor.

 

Hongchen wound a lock of Yan Lai’s hair around her finger and smiled coldly. “What a small matter. If she likes taming tigers so much, let her do it for the rest of her life.”

 

Without another word, Hongchen vanished. Immortals were forbidden from using magic in the mortal realm, but she was a Demon; she didn’t care for such rules.

 

She flew into Consort Zhang’s palace. The Consort was reclining, mocking the “aging” Empress for having no children and no favor. Hongchen revealed herself, terrified the woman, and choked her in front of her maids.

 

“Your petty squabbles over a dog of a man are your business,” Hongchen smiled. “But you shouldn’t have provoked my person. You like tigers? I will satisfy you.”

 

She whisked the Consort to the imperial zoo and threw her into a den with over ten tigers. As the woman screamed and the tigers closed in, Hongchen watched impassively. By the time guards arrived and killed the tigers, Consort Zhang was a bloody, broken mess, her spirit shattered.

 

Returning to the palace, Hongchen found the Empress and Noble Consort Yin in an intimate moment. She watched from a distance, finding the mortal drama of many women fighting over one man tedious.

 

She went back to her own quarters where the Empress’s head official was waiting. The official told her the Empress thought the palace was no longer safe and urged her to leave.

 

“What’s the rush?” Hongchen lounged on her chair, looking at the snow. “Tell her I’ll leave in a few days.”

 

Back in the main hall, the Noble Consort was kissing the Empress’s ear, whispering her love. The Empress, though shy, felt a rare sense of peace. Their intimacy was interrupted by the Emperor, who stormed in to accuse the Empress of being jealous and threatening her life if Consort Zhang died.

 

Hongchen, watching through an illusion, laughed. “The Heavenly Emperor is better than this one. At least his harem is quiet.”

 

Later, Siming the Fate Master descended from the sky, frantic. “You’ve broken Heavenly Laws by interfering with the Emperor!”

 

Hongchen ignored the warning and went to see Yan Lai, who had just woken up. Yan Lai sent Hongchen away so she could speak with Siming alone.

 

“Do you know of Princess Qing Gu?” Yan Lai asked.

 

“The former Fire Goddess? She died at Hongyan’s hands, her soul burned away by karmic fire,” Siming answered. “Her true form was a Bodhi tree. Why do you ask? The Heavenly Empress has been in seclusion ever since.”

 

Yan Lai realized that Qing Gu was not dead, but trapped in the bracelet. She asked one final question: “Was Hongyan the daughter of the Heavenly Emperor?”

 

“Impossible,” Siming denied. “Hongyan was a demon.”

 

Yan Lai leaned back against her pillow, her face pale and sickly, her mind lost in thought.

Si Ming continued to fret, repeatedly blaming the younger disciple for her lack of care. Taking advantage of the disciple’s brief absence, Si Ming recounted the results of her investigation over the past few days. “I have visited several High Gods. Their souls are all accounted for, so it is unlikely the Empress is one of them.”

“What about the Heavenly Empress?” Yan Lai pressed.

 

Si Ming chuckled softly. “That is the Heavenly Empress we are talking about. How could she possibly embroil herself in mortal affairs and knowingly break the law?”

 

“How many days of life does the mortal Empress have left?” Yan Lai did not argue. She knew that once the Empress died and her soul returned to its true place, they would finally know which immortal she really was.

 

Si Ming remained tight-lipped, glancing instead toward the palace doors. “That little disciple of yours is a nuisance. You should manage her when you have the chance. A good spanking would fix her right up.”

 

“A spanking?” Yan Lai asked candidly. “How should I do it?”

 

Si Ming had no disciples of her own and had never disciplined anyone. Hearing the question, she carelessly replied, “Press her across your lap and hit her.”

 

“What?” Upon hearing such a scandalous method of discipline, Yan Lai covered her mouth and began to cough violently.

 

Startled, Si Ming reached out to pat her back. “I know you feel for her, but if she deserves a beating, she deserves a beating. She is your disciple; you have every right to teach her a lesson.”

 

Yan Lai did not want to hear another word. She brushed Si Ming’s hand away with her sleeve. “Say no more.”

 

Si Ming curled her lip. Hearing the coughing from outside, Hongchen flew directly into the room, landing gracefully by the couch. The sudden entrance frightened Si Ming so much she had to grab the edge of the bed to steady herself. In that moment, she realized that she was half a head shorter than this “little disciple.”

 

Si Ming couldn’t help but lower her eyes. Her gaze landed on the disciple’s long, straight legs. Those legs were so long; there was no way she could ever be pressed across a lap.