After Provoking the Mad Beautiful Deity - Chapter 27.1

You should not desecrate.

Things once given should not be taken back; however, Hongchen felt that she had never truly “given” them in the first place.

As the two of them harbored their own separate thoughts, San Meng glanced at Yan Lai, then at the Demon Sovereign Hongchen, and curled her lip. Little Ten immediately pounced to her side. “High Immortal, I’ve learned the spell you taught me last time. Let me show you!”

Inside the spacious sleeping hall, a gentle breeze ruffled their hair, disturbing their composure. San Meng smiled. “I don’t want to check your spells. I want to teach the Demon Sovereign about those… ‘little matters.'”

Little Ten was bewildered. “Have you lost your mind in the mortal realm?”

Yan Lai let out a low, cold laugh. Her voice was deep. “She hasn’t just lost her mind; she’s gone utterly mad.”

Frightened, Little Ten fell silent. She looked at Hongchen, then at the ceiling beams, and finally at the floor tiles, not uttering another word.

Silence fell over the hall, but Hongchen remained incorrigible. She took the opportunity to pull High Immortal San Meng aside to continue discussing those “little matters.” San Meng pursed her lips. “Demon Sovereign, you could simply ask your subordinates.”

“To ask them would be to lose my dignity,” Hongchen refused flatly.

San Meng countered, “And asking me doesn’t lose your dignity?”

“Your memory is poor,” Hongchen replied righteously. “Likely as not, by tomorrow, you’ll have forgotten everything that happened today.”

Yan Lai found this amusing and shielded her smile with her sleeve. San Meng, looking embarrassed, offered a kind reminder: “My memory is actually quite good. I remember everything that happens. This is only the second time we have met.”

“You said you liked Hongyan when you were drunk,” Hongchen mentioned pointedly.

San Meng’s expression shifted to one of slight repulsion. She looked at Hongchen with a changed gaze and said displeasedly, “Hongyan was the previous Demon Sovereign. How could I have any connection to her?”

“The world says you once fell to the dark side and served under Hongyan,” Yan Lai spoke up without hesitation. Since San Meng had claimed to like Hongyan while drunk, that memory must still exist in her mind—spoken from the mouth, born from the heart. As long as San Meng had memories, they had a sliver of hope.

Yan Lai’s words caused San Meng to grow quiet. She looked at Hongchen. She knew Yan Lai would not lie. Yet, her mind was empty; there wasn’t a trace of a memory regarding Hongyan. Her existence was built upon countless ephemeral dreams, which made her current self. Dreams are intangible and uncertain; thus, her memories were often a blurred mix of fiction and reality, but there was nothing of Hongyan. Nor was there any memory of the Great War from ten thousand years ago.

She had once wondered if she had forgotten something important, but she forgot so many things that the Great War simply became one of many lost pieces. Her unique constitution had cost her a great deal.

San Meng joked, “Even if I did serve under Hongyan, so what? She has been dead for ten thousand years.”

Yan Lai frowned. It was true; the events were too far in the past. The ancient High Gods were all dead, and the “small fry” left behind might not have participated in the war. What they knew was no more than what Yan Lai already knew.

Hongchen stood in the hall, her skin glowing under the skylight. A strange smile played on her fair face. “San Meng, can you enter the Heavenly Empress’s dreams?”

The question acted as a sudden wake-up call. Yan Lai nodded, but San Meng hesitated. “If the Empress finds out, who will take the responsibility?”

“You’ve looked at so many dreams; what’s one more from the Empress? Tsk, tsk. I saw all those ‘exquisite’ dreams in the Qingxu Palace,” Hongchen mocked mercilessly, her eyes curving beautifully.

Embarrassed, San Meng considered the proposal. The Empress had lived through the Great War; compared to the Emperor, her dreams were easier to infiltrate. It was a shortcut.

San Meng performed a hand seal, her form gradually becoming transparent. Hongchen was startled, but Yan Lai reminded her, “She is turning herself into a dream—ethereal and formless.”

Before she finished speaking, the three of them were pulled into a space they had never seen before. Hongchen quickly steadied herself, Yan Lai trembled slightly, and only Little Ten, whose spiritual power was low, fell flat on her face. With a groan, Little Ten scrambled up, checking her head and limbs. Good, nothing is missing.

They looked out to see mountains shrouded in mist and lush green trees whose leaves blocked out the sky. Hongchen immediately recognized where they were standing: it was the Hundred Flower Mountain, which they had visited once before. Yan Lai recognized it as well. The Empress hailed from the Flower Clan, so it was natural for her to dream of this place. However, they were searching for the Great War; they had little interest in the history of the Flower Clan.

Yan Lai sighed softly. Standing amidst the forest where the celestial energy was at its peak, she looked around. After a moment, she said, “The Empress still remembers the scenery of this mountain so clearly. It seems this place is very important to her.”

The Empress had been married to the Emperor for thirty or forty thousand years. So much time had passed, and the mortal world had changed many times, yet she still remembered a tiny patch of scenery from the Hundred Flower Mountain.

Hongchen looked around, stomping her feet and poking at the trees, finding it all very novel. She leaned toward Yan Lai and whispered, “Do you think there will be any ‘exquisite’ dreams of her and the Emperor here?”

Yan Lai, about to sigh: “…”

The little Demon Sovereign’s mind was filled with nothing but indecency. Yan Lai gave her a sharp glare, and Hongchen immediately pursed her lips and fell silent.

As Hongchen settled down, the scenery suddenly twisted. The image turned into a blur of white, and the green mountains and rivers transformed into a palace hall representing royal authority.

A woman appeared in the Empress’s dream. She looked young, like a mortal girl of fifteen or sixteen. She was fair-skinned and hauntingly beautiful. When the two of them saw the woman, they gasped. At first glance, she was breathtakingly stunning.

The woman was so pure and untainted that one felt she should not be desecrated, nor did one dare to look a second time. She wore a simple silk robe that clung softly to her perfect waist. Her beauty possessed a bewitching power that made it impossible for the three intruders to look away.

Yan Lai took a deep breath, looked at the equally beautiful Hongchen, and finally murmured, “She might be your mother.”

The stranger’s features bore a resemblance to Hongchen’s, but the woman’s beauty leaned toward the seductive and magnetic, whereas Hongchen was more spunky and cute. As the Demon Sovereign, Hongchen possessed a more “sacred” sense of beauty.

Hongchen seemed to feel the connection as well. A strange sensation filled her heart, and she wanted to step forward to ask questions, but Yan Lai held her back. “This is the Empress’s dream. We can only watch; we can do nothing.”

They were merely prying guests; they were powerless.

There seemed to be a force drawing Hongchen forward, but Yan Lai’s reminder brought her back to her senses. Her face took on a rare gravity. “Why is the Empress dreaming of my mother?”

“Let us watch and see,” Yan Lai replied. She couldn’t say for sure, especially since the souls of the mortal Empress and Consort had returned to the Empress’s palace. If one was the soul of the mortal Empress, who was the other? There were still no answers.

The woman lay on a couch, truly living up to the phrase “as beautiful as a goddess.” The entire hall was empty, lonely, and cold. No one came to visit her, and she did not leave—until the Empress appeared.

However, at this time, she was not yet the Empress, but a Prince’s Consort. She crossed the hall and walked to the woman. The woman looked up at her lazily before quickly lowering her eyes, as if she did not want to see her.

“A-Rou,” the Empress sighed, sitting down in front of her. She reached out to stroke A-Rou’s cheek. A-Rou was visibly repulsed and brushed her hand away, looking extremely unhappy.

The Empress withdrew her hand and simply watched A-Rou in silence. Her eyes held joy, tenderness, and above all, a deep, lingering affection. From that look alone, it was clear that the Empress loved A-Rou—perhaps to the point of no return.

The one the Empress loved most was not the Emperor, but Hongchen’s mother. The revelation was so bizarre that Yan Lai was struck speechless. Hongchen, standing beside her, also held her breath, fearing even a heavy sigh would disturb the two figures.

The Empress began to talk to herself as if she had endless things to say.

“In a few days, when he leaves to campaign against the demons, I will take the opportunity to let you go. Only, you cannot return to the Phoenix Mountain. The Celestial Tribe is powerful; if you want freedom, it would be better to go to the Demon Realm.”

“A-Rou, the demons are brutal. I hear they are bloodthirsty by nature, and I worry for you.”

“But then I think, a brutal Demon Sovereign is still better than him and his lack of scruples. Don’t worry, the child… I will raise it for you.”

“I am his wife; I am tied to him for this lifetime. A-Rou, have you made up your mind? An immortal turning into a demon is a sinner to the Celestial Tribe. You must think carefully.”

A-Rou remained silent throughout, not even responding with a look. She seemed accustomed to the Empress’s rambling and paid it no mind.

The Empress added, “Your body is weak right now. You must recover. I know medicine is useless for you, so I intend to use my spiritual power to heal you.”

“No need,” A-Rou finally spoke two words. The Empress smiled, her voice remains exquisitely tender. “If you want to leave, you must be healthy. You don’t need to feel sorry for me.”

Hongchen’s chest tightened; the pain was sharp. The Empress’s humility was unexpected.

Yet the Empress seemed to enjoy it, beginning to fret over her own low spiritual power, seemingly unaware that she had already reached the rank of High Immortal. A-Rou kept her head down, her thoughts unknown.

The refined hall was quiet for a long time before the Empress found the courage to take A-Rou’s hand. “If you want to leave, you must listen to me.”

“I… can I take her with me?” A-Rou suddenly asked in a low voice.

The Empress froze, a look of difficulty crossing her face. A-Rou’s eyes gradually grew dim; she was disappointed.

Then, the vision suddenly distorted. A world-shaking tremor sent them back to the Fengyin Pavilion. Little Ten, as usual, fell flat on her face.

San Meng regained her physical form and coughed three times, trying to suppress the shock she had received from the dream. “Who is A-Rou?”

She had not sensed the conversation between Yan Lai and Hongchen, so she did not know A-Rou was Hongchen’s mother. Yan Lai naturally would not reveal the truth, and Hongchen also wore a look of deep, troubled thought. After San Meng composed herself, she looked at the two of them. “I feel the secrets of the Emperor and Empress go much deeper than this.”

The Emperor was known as benevolent and elegant, the most virtuous gentleman of the Celestial Tribe. How could he be the “thing more terrifying than a demon” described by the Empress?

Hongchen sneered, “Tsk, tsk. The Empress is the Emperor’s wife, his bedfellow. If even she thinks he’s a piece of work, it shows you immortals have crowned a devil as your King.”

The two immortals being mocked didn’t know how to respond. San Meng ignored the jab and asked, “Who is A-Rou? Did the Emperor love her or just use her? If it was love, why was she in such pain?”

Yan Lai looked at Hongchen and lowered her head, a sense of stifled frustration flashing in her heart. Hongchen, not knowing the inner details, guessed wildly, “Does Dual Pairing increase cultivation?”

San Meng immediately looked disgusted, her heart filled with indignation. “To think the one we admired was someone who used such unscrupulous methods.”

“Wait a second,” Hongchen said, shocked. “Dual Pairing to increase cultivation is considered ‘unscrupulous’?”

San Meng was still fuming. Hearing this, she felt a wave of dizziness and said hatefully, “Is that really what you’re focusing on? The Emperor imprisoned A-Rou to pair with her and increase his power. Don’t you find that disgusting?”

“If it’s disgusting to you, it has nothing to do with me. Wait, no, it does have to do with me,” Hongchen said, narrowing her eyes. A late realization hit her. “Could the Emperor be Hongyan’s father?”

Yan Lai remained silent, while San Meng’s lip twitched. “What does this have to do with Hongyan? I actually think that A-Rou looks a bit like you.”

The situation was becoming clear. Yan Lai had a good idea of the truth now but did not join in their guessing. The Emperor had used A-Rou to increase his power, but he wasn’t satisfied. Eventually, he had A-Rou give birth to Hongyan, placing his hopes on her to increase his power even further.