Gate of God

No one knew how long had passed before the rain stopped and the clouds dissipated. Finally, a stream of sunlight from the setting sun and stained the sky red. It shone over the oil paper umbrella.

Dots of red light intermingled with raindrops and slid down the oil paper umbrella like a stream of reddish-gold pearls as they trickled onto the grass.

Then…

The powdery lips started to open as if it wanted to say something. Warm breaths came out from it, smelling as fragrant as lavender.

However, the lips said nothing. The long red dress billowed and slowly, it got caught up with the blue robes. Both of them were tightly-tied together.

The wind continued to blow.

A pair of jade-white arms wrapped around the blue robes and grabbed onto it. It was trembling as if it was extremely afraid.

“I’m here,” said a plain voice. At the same time, a pair of arms grabbed the red dress tightly.

“Yes, I know,” replied the lips. Then, teeth bit down on the lips tightly.

Ping Yang!

She was formerly the favorite princess in the Great Xia Dynasty and the most powerful figure in the Flame Capital City. She was brutal and headstrong. Almost everything you could think of, she had done them all.

However, today, this princess just wanted to hug the person in front of her tightly. She did not want to let go and she could not bear to do so. She hoped that what she was real and not an illusion.

She stood for half a year in front of the cold pond, waiting non-stop. All for a promise that she could guarantee.

In this half a year, Cang Yue had come many times.

Ping Yang did not like Cang Yue. She even found her annoying sometimes.

However, every time Cang Yue came, she would be happy even though she never showed it. In her heart, she was most assuredly happy.

It was not because Cang Yue would speak to her but because she would bring news of a person to her. For example, this person had come to the Holy Region, or that this person had gone to the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Until the end, Cang Yue told her that this person had died for Yan Xiu. He had chosen to exchange a life for a life.

Whenever Cang Yue asked her that question, she answered that she would continue waiting. Even if it passed the promised half a year, she would continue waiting.

“I’ll continue waiting until the end!” Ping Yang told herself this time and again. Furthermore, she was sure that she could do it.

However, when this time actually came, she finally realized how difficult and lonely it was.

Resolute. Determined.

None of this mattered anymore. All Ping Yang wanted to do was to hug the person in front of her, tightly. She would not let go.

“Speaking of it, you, as a princess of the Great Xia Dynasty, had seen some tough times? Your dress is in such a bad shape. How long have you not washed it? I think I led a better life than you!” Right when Ping Yang was biting on her lips, this calm voice rang out once more. This time, it contained traces of mockery.

In other words, he seemed to be asking for a beating!

“Oi! So your life is good then?” She finally stopped biting her lips and smiled. Her smile was like the sun, bright and refreshing.

Then, Ping Yang reacted. She slowly let go of the person in front of her. However, before she let go, she wiped her face in his chest forcefully.

“Hmph! I don’t like how you are so unclean. I shower every day and furthermore, I need to shower five times a day. Can you do that?” Ping Yang lifted her to look at the figure in front of her. This was the person whom she had waited six months for.

His name was simple, Fang Zhengzhi. However, unlike his name, he was neither straightforward nor proper!

However, without knowing why, Ping Yang felt that as long as she was with Fang Zhengzhi, she would be happy, even if her life did not go well.

“Five times a day?” Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang who stood in front of him, wearing a fiery-red dress.

However, the bottom of the dress was in tatters. The long dress could no longer cover her bare feet.

Furthermore, there were some pieces of ice which had yet to melt underneath her feet. They seemed to have fallen from her dress as they gave off a white aura.

Most importantly, her feet were shackled. The manacle connected to a black chain which led into the cold pond behind her.

“That’s right. Every day, I’ll…,” said Ping Yang. She did not continue because she realized the smile on Fang Zhengzhi’s face had disappeared.

At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi looked extremely cold. His face was chillier than the water in the cold pond. Ping Yang felt her heart shiver.

Then, she noticed Fang Zhengzhi bending over. He knelt in front of her and carefully touched her bare feet.

Ping Yang’s body trembled and she blushed. However, she did not move as she allowed these two hands to touch her body.

Then, these two hands pressed on the manacles around her feet.

“They can’t be opened. These are Thousand Years Cold Steel. Even a Sage can’t do anything to them!” Ping Yang shook her head. Her face was wistful but quickly, the wistfulness disappeared and a look of joy crossed her face. “Right, I need to tell you something. I’m a Sage now. Not bad, right?”

After Ping Yang said that, she waited for Fang Zhengzhi’s reply. However, after she waited for a while, she noticed that he was silent. She smiled gleefully and said, “It was thanks to the demonic pill. Do you regret giving it to me now? Hahaha, but I have to tell you, there’s no point in regretting this decision. I’m more powerful than you, do you believe that? However, in your own words, that’s useless…”

“Boom!” A dull sound rang out, interrupting Ping Yang. This made the gleeful smile on her face freeze.

Then, Ping Yang felt a pair of big hands pulling her in for a hug. They were warm and tight.

“I don’t regret it at all. If you give me another chance to choose, I’ll still give you the demonic pill,” said the plain voice.

Ping Yang’s body froze.

Her eyes, which were as clear as water, looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was hugging her tightly. From his face, she could see that he meant every single word which he had said.

Ping Yang stopped biting her lips.

This was because two streams of tears were trickling out of her eyes. This time, she did not resist it anymore. She just wanted to cry in his arms.

“Shameless fellow, why did you only come now! Could you not have come earlier? I… I thought you were dead. I thought you died in the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and had been turned into a pill by them. Why are you so stupid? Trading one life for another. I know you’ll do something like this. However, I don’t want you to die. I really don’t want you to die. Also… I was determined, had you died, to go to the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and retrieve the pill they turned you into. Even if I die, I must take it…”

“Yes, now this pill is in your hands. Actually, I’m a pill,” said Fang Zhengzhi with a warm smile.

“Stop talking nonsense! I don’t want you to talk nonsense anymore!”

“Alright, I’ll shut up. Can I give you a present?”

“Present? Great! What do you want to give me? If it’s a trinket that could be bought by the roadside, I don’t want it!” Ping Yang said greedily.

“I’ll give you clothes. Your dress is too tattered!” Fang Zhengzhi said as he took out a long, red dress.

One could see that this dress was extremely vibrant. Three rays of fire were embroidered in silk onto it and a stream of pearls wrapped around its center.

“Wow, a dress! Wait a minute, why do you have a dress?” Ping Yang was delighted as she looked at the dress in Fang Zhengzhi’s hands. Then, quickly, a look of suspicion crossed her face.

“The details are not important, right? Come, I’ll help you put it on,” said Fang Zhengzhi with a smile as he prepared to help Ping Yang change.

“Shameless!” Ping Yang dodged him immediately. Then, her face turned red once more as the tears on her face disappeared. “Turn around, I’ll… I’ll change myself.”

…

When the sun finally set, a red and a blue figure sat next to the cold pond side-by-side. An oil paper umbrella lay next to them.

“When you came, did you meet anyone?” Ping Yang looked up at the smudge of red in the sky as she placed her head on Fang Zhengzhi’s shoulder.

“Of course I did,” said Fang Zhengzhi naturally.

“Where are they?”

“I knocked each and every one of them out with one stroke of my stick.”

“No wonder it’s so peaceful,” said Ping Yang with a nod. She did not find his words strange.

“The sunset is really nice. It’s so close to dusk…”

“Are you tired?”

“To be honest, I’m slightly tired. Do you know that to travel from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain to the Ling Yun Tower is no mean feat? I traveled non-stop without sleeping!”

“Sadly, I don’t have a room to give you.”

“This is a nice place! There are birds and flowers. More importantly, I can avoid the heat!” Fang Zhengzhi said as he reached out and yawned. He lay next to the rock by the cold pond.

Ping Yang lay down on Fang Zhengzhi as she wrapped his arm around his waist. Quietly, she lay next to him as she greedily inhaled his warmth.

“The outside of the Ling Yun Tower is not well-guarded. It’s not surprising that you managed to come. However, it’s a different story inside the Ling Yun Tower. Most importantly, every morning, someone from the Ling Yun Tower will come to take the ice from the cold pond. Then, it’s possible that…” When Ping Yang said the last bit, she stopped.

“Will Cang Yue come?” Fang Zhengzhi asked casually.

“She doesn’t come as often but she will come. For matters like taking the ice from the cold pond, she won’t ask much about it,” said Ping Yang as she shook her head.

“It seems that I need to make a trip up the Ling Yun Tower,” said Fang Zhengzhi as he nodded his head.

“You want to go up the Ling Yun Tower?” Ping Yang said in surprise. However, she quickly explained, “If you want to go up, you should do so at night when it’s dark. It’ll be easier. However, even at night, their defenses are strict and you’ll need a good plan!”

“I want to go up via the proper channel.”

“The proper channel!?”

“Yes. I’ll go up in the day. What do you think?”

“That’s impossible!” Ping Yang’s face changed. Then, she bit her lips and said, “The Ling Yun Tower is unlike the four other sects of the Holy Region. It’s better for us to go at night. We can join forces. Cang Yue can’t resist and we’ll kidnap her. Then, we’ll escape and slowly torture her…”

“Ping Yang!” Fang Zhengzhi’s face turned serious as he stared at this chest and her excited little head.

“Eh? You want to… kill her?” Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi’s serious face and was slightly taken aback.

“Is Cang Yue important?” Fang Zhengzhi asked.

“…” Ping Yang fell silent. She felt as if she had been caught doing something naughty. She lowered her head and her breathing became tighter.

“Do you really not want to see your mother?” Fang Zhengzhi asked again.

“…” Ping Yang remained silent. Her breathing became faster and a look of pain crossed her eyes.

“Do you not want to know why did your mother abandon you? Why did she leave Great Xia? Why does she recognize you as her daughter? Do you really not want to know all these?” Fang Zhengzhi continued asking.

“I…”

“In my impression, Ping Yang is not like this. Half a year ago, when you came here, did you forget what you said?”

“I… I miss her and I want to see my mother. I want that more than anything else. However… it’s been half a year. I have been waiting here for half a year. She has never appeared once, not even once! I think she doesn’t want me anymore. I’m unwilling, really unwilling!”

“Hence, we need to go up the Ling Yun Tower, right?” Fang Zhengzhi’s gaze turned extremely serious.

“However… the Ling Yun Tower is well-defended. I’m afraid…” Ping Yang gripped her hands tightly and her body trembled. It was as if she was making a hard decision.

“What are you afraid of?”

“I’m afraid that if we go up, we can’t come down. I can’t see you ever again. I… I’ve waited for half a year and now that you’re finally here, we can actually leave now. As long as you’re next to me, when we’re strong enough, we can come again. Then…”