I flashed a loyal smile at the Heavenly Emperor. Then, in an instant, I wiped the smile off my face and stuffed the handkerchief into my bosom expressionlessly.
The moment I stepped out of the Southern Heavenly Gate, I felt a sense of relief.
At the same time, the Morning Star Lord was standing there, smiling, waiting for me.
"Your Excellency, sorry to have kept you waiting," I greeted him.
"Don't mention it. From now on, we'll be colleagues. Why be so polite with me?"
"Colleagues?" I turned to look at the Morning Star Lord.
"Right. You're a friend of the Second Prince, and I'm on good terms with him. So, of course, you're my friend too. Before he went down to the mortal world for his trials, he told me to take good care of you if I ever met you."
"As the saying goes, one day in heaven equals one year on earth. He should be back soon to inherit the position of Crown Prince. His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor is truly a wise ruler."
This guy was completely brainwashed by the Heavenly Emperor. I didn't bother to explain. I just bowed to him and said, "Your Excellency, I'm in a hurry. I have to go."
"Wait..." The Morning Star Lord quickly took out three talismans from his wide sleeve and stuffed them into my hand.
"What are these?" I asked in confusion.
"These are the Summoning Talismans. Call me if you ever get into trouble."
I neatly put the talismans into my pocket, nodded, and said, "Thank you... I really have to go this time."
With that, I walked towards the Southern Heavenly Gate. The same guards were still there.
Now, they treated me like a VIP, bowing and scraping. They looked like complete sycophants.
"I want to go back the same way," I said. One of the guards received the order. I didn't know what spell he used, but suddenly there was a mist in front of me.
When I opened my eyes again, I was standing under the old locust tree.
The water in the puddle was still there, but the rain had stopped. My clothes had been dried by my body heat.
I heaved a deep sigh in front of the tree and looked back in the direction I came from. How I wished I could go back.
"Girl, think it over..."
Just as I was in a daze, a hoarse voice suddenly came from behind me, scaring me almost out of my skin.
I quickly turned around and saw that it was the Earth God who had taken me to the Heavenly Court.
It wasn't surprising since this was his territory.
"Your Excellency, what do you mean?" I asked, puzzled by his words.
"Actually, I lied to you. It wasn't the Second Prince who told me to take you to the Heavenly Court," the Earth God said, walking forward a few steps with a cane in his hand.
"I know. You were ordered by the Heavenly Emperor to take me there."
"You... Who told you that? Did the Heavenly Emperor tell you everything?" The Earth God turned to me, looking surprised.
"Yes. May I ask, Your Excellency, how can I get to the Underworld?" Although I was a medium, every time I went to the Underworld, I was guided by the spirits. So, I still didn't know how to leave my body and go to the Underworld by myself.
After hearing what I said, the Earth God seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Was I wrong? Was he not sent by the Heavenly Emperor?
Just as I was about to ask, the Earth God spoke first:
"Girl, it's not that I don't want you to go. But once you go, it might be very dangerous for you when you return to the Heavenly Realm." The Earth God continued earnestly.
"For the sake of you protecting me just now, I have to tell you the truth. His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor may seem kind, but he is actually very scheming. He wants you to get the Mengpo's Soup from the Underworld. That's like cutting off your backup. From then on, you'll have to work for him."
"Your Excellency, you seem to know a lot," I said, not really caring about his words because I had already thought of all these.
"Hehe... I watched him grow up. How could I not know these things? I still remember clearly what he did to Princess Xi back then. I couldn't stand it, so I asked to be sent down to the mortal world as an Earth God."
"What exactly did he do to Princess Xi?" They never seemed to mention this.
"You're just a young girl. I'm not going to tell you these things. In this era, whether in heaven or on earth, a woman's chastity is more important than her life. But Princess Xi's chastity... was violated by force. I was guarding outside the back garden of the Purple Star Palace that night."
"After that, the Heavenly Emperor didn't cherish her. He married the Fairy of Flowers. Princess Xi was so angry that she moved to live in the clouds. By then, she was already a few months pregnant..."
"I didn't expect you to know so much. Do you know anything about Princess Xi's snake scale?"
"Girl, you seem to know a lot too. Back then, Nuwa gave the snake scale to Bai Xi. I don't think she could have imagined that the Three Realms would fight so hard for this tiny snake scale. I don't know if this thing is a blessing or a curse."
"The Heavenly Emperor made Long Yuan the Crown Prince to coax Princess Xi into giving up the snake scale. It was originally agreed that when Long Yuan turned eighteen, Princess Xi would hand over the snake scale to the Heavenly Emperor. But later, I heard that the snake scale disappeared without a trace. He's the Heavenly Emperor! How could he just swallow this humiliation? Look at how miserable Princess Xi and her son are now..."
Yes, I knew the rest of the story. No wonder Princess Xi hated the Heavenly Emperor so much. It turned out that the Heavenly Emperor had forced himself on her back then. No wonder she hated him so much.
"Your Excellency, I have one last question. What will the Heavenly Emperor do if he gets the snake scale?"
"That's an ancient spiritual artifact, a very powerful auxiliary magic weapon. Whoever gets it will be able to dominate the Three Realms. Of course, he'll refine it and absorb it into his body so that it truly belongs to him."
"You mean that no matter what happens to the snake scale, it will eventually be refined?"
"Sigh... You can say that. So, I still advise you not to help the evildoer. If the Heavenly Emperor gets the snake scale, the Three Realms will be in great trouble."
"Your Excellency, are you really just an Earth God?" He knew so much. He must be more than just a servant of the Heavenly Emperor.
"I'm just an old man. As you can see, I'm just an old, withered locust tree."
"Please take me to the Underworld," I said. I didn't want to dwell on his identity anymore. I just wanted to save Gu Yuan.
I knelt down on my knees with a thud and begged the old man to take me there. Now that I couldn't see Gu Yuan and couldn't find the dragon scale, the only way to get to the Underworld without anyone knowing was to ask him for help.
"Oh, girl, you're killing me. I can't accept this. Think it over. Once you go, there's no turning back. The Mengpo's Soup will make you forget all your past. And that old woman Mengpo is not easy to deal with."
"I've made up my mind. Even if I have to kneel and beg, I'll get a bowl of Mengpo's Soup. Some things only need to be remembered by me."
"Sigh... Alright. To go to the Underworld, you need to leave your body. I'll help you leave your soul. Your body will stay under the old locust tree. You go to the Underworld alone to find the Mengpo's Soup. I'll stay here to keep your body alive. Remember, you must come back within two hours."
"Okay." I nodded heavily. The Earth God tapped his cane on my forehead. I felt dizzy, as if my soul was falling into an endless abyss.