Paradise Manor

"Is it confirmed?" Yông Zìxìn asked his expression cold.

"Yes," the informant said before leaving.

Zìxìn looked at the many letters addressed to Ghost King by Wind Master, he looked through them which explained what happened at the crowning ceremony about the marriage proposal.

He rolled his eyes before burning all those letters, 'He doesn't need to know any of this. He is distracted from his revenge as it is. I don't need some girl's love to distract him even more,' Zìxìn thought as he watched the letters turn to ashes.

He walked to Ghost King, who sat on his seat once again, building something, "They are getting engaged today," he informed simply as Ghost King paused.

"This quickly?" Huá asked, sitting up straight.

"Yes, Jun Wu wants to create a good reputation for his son as a King and Water Master is pretty famous too for her work, so they do make a match made in Heaven," Zìxìn answered, but every word of his hurt Ghost King deeper and deeper.

Huá didn't say anything leaving the Main Hall, 'I am sorry Huá, I know it hurts you now, but you don't need that stupid girl to distract you anymore,' Zìxìn thought as he stared at his friend's retreating figure.

The Martial Hall

The newly announced couple sat as the officials congratulated and talked among themselves; Jun Wu got up from his throne. "I officially engage King Jūn GuānYû with Water Master Bài ShuîYuê," he announced.

"Congratulations, Your Highness, congratulations, Water Master," many officials greeted happily as the King thanked them brightly; ShuîYuê sat by his side, numb; she didn't even look at anyone except for staring at the floor.

Yìfēi pulled her friend away, saying she must have been tired from thanking the officials when she hadn't uttered a single word; ShuîYuê followed Yìfēi as she held her hand firmly, and they walked to an empty corner before Yìfēi spoke.

"I sent the letters and made sure they were delivered to Hell, but I haven't received a reply yet," She informed gently.

"He'll reply right? once he sees them?" ShuîYuê asked, her voice breaking at the end.

Yìfēi hated to see her friend like this, she had only been this heartbroken once before. It hurt to see her cry, and it hurt even more as she gave her friend false hopes. Yìfēi had sent the letters, but she had no idea if they were delivered to the right place or not but she couldn't tell this ShuîYuê. Who was already suffering like this?

"Yes, of course, he'll reply as soon as the letters reach him," Yìfēi replied as she held her best friend's hand, who was upset,
"Come on, don't look so upset now, you still have to pretend for a few hours," Yìfēi added as she tucked a strand of ShuîYuê's hair.

They walked back together as Yìfēi fake smiled at everyone, ShuîYuê sat next to the prince. Oh no, King, she should say. He noticed her looking upset. She was oddly quiet.

"You look beautiful," he whispered to her, trying to make her speak, but she didn't say anything back, "Water Master, what's the matter? You look upset," He asked gently as he touched her hand.

She pulled her hand away, "Nothing,"

"No, something is bothering you," he pressed on, shaking his head.

'Yes, a lot of things, firstly What is he even thinking about me, I admit I wasn't very lovable to him but it was clear that I cared for him very much, I just want him to know that I don't love this Crown Prince, I just want us to be like the friends we were before as I can't wish for anything more and secondly you are bothering me I have no interest in you why would you think I would like you and then you have the nerve to ask me for marriage in front of the whole world couldn't you at least ask me first! And then when I am stuck with you here pretending to be happy you ask me what the fucking matter is and that I look upset? Of course, I am upset! You have left no choice for me but to suffer!' ShuîYuê thought angrily but of course, she couldn't say all that out loud, "I am not feeling well," she lied instead.

"Oh, you should go rest then, the little ceremony is over anyway. You must have been tired," he consoled softly as ShuîYuê nodded her head, getting up and leaving.

Wudu Palace

She sat by the Koi fish pond in her palace later at night. As Jīnyú came and sat by her, she leaned her head on his shoulder, "Master, you don't like Gege, and now you are stuck pretending to be happy," he said gently.

ShuîYuê didn't reply if one thing that differentiated Jīnyú from everyone was his emotional intelligence, he could exactly understand what happened just by the few words Yìfēi had explained to him, "But don't worry, you won't marry him," he added.

"How do you know who I'll end up marrying or if I will even marry ?" She asked quietly.

"I know, I made you guys choose some papers on the Mid-autumn festival evening at the table, and later, you all put the paper back with your names in it."

"So?"

"So your and Ghost King's papers were the same, they had the same word love written on them. Similarly, Fēi JîeJîe and General Yông choose the same word, free; MíngLóng and YànQīng JîeJîe choose blue, Yan and Han Gege choose a flower," he responded proudly.

"Jīnyú you know this is the most random probability in the world," ShuîYuê commented, unbothered.

"It may be random, but it still is a probability," he remarked as he watched the shooting star. He closed his eyes to pray, 'Please let my Master be happy always,' he prayed before leaning his head on his Master's head.

Paradise Manor, Two months later

Ghost King had been busy these past few months trying to find ways of getting the spiritual weapon out of Jīnyú's body without killing anyone, but he had found nothing yet.

He had looked through various texts, books, and scrolls, he had even had his informants ask some other people but he had found nothing, the only way right now it was possible was by killing GuānYû and even after that there was no clarity whether Jīnyú would be able to take the weapon out of his body.

It seemed that training Jīnyú was the only available option right now, which was, of course, only something Water Master was capable of.

He had heard of them getting officially engaged as well, 'Of course, it's Jun Wu who is benefiting the most from this, he will get the spiritual weapon from Jīnyú's body after he manages to do that and his throne is as usual safe with him being in complete control of GuānYû and now that Water Master was engaged to his eldest son it was, even easier to keep her close to him, he had his secret safe by his side while the holder of the secret trained his younger son who had the spiritual weapon in his body, both the secret to his death and the spiritual weapon which would cause it, was safe and sound under full control of him.'

'He is using her so much and the worst part is she doesn't even know any of this,' he thought as anger filled him, 'I need to find a way to let her know, I can't have her being another one of Jun Wu's puppet-like Gege was, but how do I let her know?' Ghost King wondered.

"Your Highness, miss is here to report," a maid informed the Ghost King, who motioned his hand to let her inside.

A tall, ebony-skinned woman strode in, her dreadlocks swaying with every long step she took as she came to a halt; she bowed her head, "Good evening, Your Highness," she greeted.

"Continue," Ghost King said simply.

"The Emperor is assigning a lot of new tasks to the officials these past few days, and the King is very busy visiting the different cities and fulfilling his duties."

"Hmm, anything else?"

"No, Your Highness," the female looked very tired, and anyone could easily tell she was trying her best to appear normal, but her facade couldn't escape Ghost King's eye.

"Are they getting married soon?" He asked calmly. The female in front of him took a sharp breath as if the words had pierced her heart, She nodded her head stiffly, and Ghost King clenched his hands, "Fine, you may leave."

"Is Jīnyú being trained?" He asked suddenly.

"Yes," Ghost King nodded his head as the female left the Main Hall.

ShuîYuê hadn't been to her own Palace for the last two weeks, she was busy handling the new matters assigned to her by the Emperor, she had been at the Southwestern mainlands trying to catch a ghost who had been causing way too much trouble but any time she managed to find a clue to his location he would cause disturbance in a completely different part of the city.

She had never come across something like this; she had hacked all her brain trying to figure out what this ghost was after; when Jun Wu summoned her back to Martial Hall, she showed up three days later because that's how long it takes to reach the Central Palace from the Southwestern mainland.

"Your Majesty," she greeted, bowing to Jun Wu.

"Water Master, there's a different matter I need you to look into," Jun Wu said as he strolled around the side hall.

"What is it?" She asked, already feeling this was not going to end well.

"There was a huge ghost fire which soared high in the sky a week ago, it isn't something any ghost can manage except for the Supreme rank Ghost King," Jun Wu replied slowly as ShuîYuê felt dread filling her body.

"You suspect it's the doing of Ghost King?" She questioned already knowing the answer.

"Yes, even though he didn't attack the crowning ceremony, I still can't be sure of his intentions."

"What are orders for me?" She asked stifling the overwhelming emotions she was feeling.

"I want you to go to Hell and investigate whether it was Ghost King who did this or not. Just find out who was behind this and come back."

"Your Majesty, I still haven't managed to clear up the Southwestern mainland issue."

"Don't worry, Wind Master will handle that since it has caused a huge disturbance in her territory as well; she'll accompany you to Hell; I have heard from some resources that the ghost is hiding in Hell for now."

"I shall follow your order," she bowed her head.

"You two leave as early as possible,"

"Yes," she agreed, leaving the Martial hall and sending a message to Yìfēi to come to Wudu Palace.

Wudu Palace

ShuîYuê was finally back at her palace after three weeks of staying out. She took a bath and was simply sitting and going through some scrolls when Yìfēi appeared,
"YueYue, you called urgently is everything all right?" Yìfēi asked as she sat down.

"Yìfēi, there are matters which will need our time and energy," the Water Master responded seriously.

"What is it?" she asked carefully.

"Jun Wu summoned me today and told me that a ghost fire soared high up in the sky a week ago. Many officials witnessed it, and even though it didn't cause any harm to anyone, it is still a sign of dominance; Jun Wu wants me to go and investigate whether it was Ghost King or not who did this."

"Okay, so you need to go to Hell for that, and you can't go alone it won't be safe," Yìfēi remarked, worried.

"Yes, that is why you are going with me. Jun Wu handed over the Southwestern mainland case to you saying the ghost is hiding in Hell."

"We can both go together in this case," Yìfēi noted as she thought of something.

"Yes."

"YueYue, this is a wonderful opportunity for us to meet Ghost King, and you can clear up the misunderstanding who two had," Yìfēi advised gently.

"I don't know whether it would be a good idea to bring this up after more than two months," ShuîYuê mumbled, unsure.

"YueYue, you still have feelings for him, right?" Yìfēi asked softly. Water Master didn't say anything back, "So you do have feelings for him, why aren't you clearing up the misunderstanding between you two?" Yìfēi questioned, confused.

"Our priority is to investigate the matter at hand. We are not going there to sort out some stupid misunderstandings," ShuîYuê snapped coldly.

"YueYue, you know better than me that you can't suppress your feelings forever, right?"

"Let's just deal with the matter right now,"

"No, we will go to Hell and investigate the matter, but if you find a chance to explain it to him, you will. Is that clear?" Yìfēi asked firmly.

"Fine, Jun Wu said we should leave as soon as possible,"

"Okay, but I still have a few things to deal with, so it'll take around two days for me to handle them, we'll leave after that," Yìfēi said, getting up. ShuîYuê nodded her head.

'To explain? What am I going to explain to him? If I don't like Crown Prince who I am getting married to in two months, will he even believe me? And after that, it's not like he likes me. Why am I even trying to clear this with him when it doesn't matter to him? He would have tried to communicate with Yìfēi if he cared about what was happening with me but he didn't!'

'Yìfēi had sent hundreds of letters in the past two months, but she didn't receive a single reply. Knowing her friend circle, it wouldn't be difficult to find the address to where he lived, but even after that, we didn't get any reply. Is he ignoring the letters on purpose? I don't know, I don't know what I feel anymore, I don't understand any of this.'

'I can't process what's happening with me either, I only know that I have something I need to investigate and that's it, I shouldn't care about my feelings right now, I don't have the time to either, I have always dealt with things using my brain and I have never followed my heart this time I am afraid that if I follow my heart I'll end up only being hurt,' ShuîYuê thought as she wrote something on a piece of paper.

Jade entered the study of Water Master, who had been away for the last three weeks; she had a tea tray in hand as she padded, and she placed the tea tray on the table before looking for Water Master, who was nowhere in sight.

"Master?" She called.

"Hmm," ShuîYuê hummed from the window sill where she was sitting, hidden behind the curtains.

"Your tea," Jade noticed Water Master who looked tired.

"Thank you," ShuîYuê replied, getting from the window sill as she walked quietly to the centre table.

"Is everything okay? You look tired," Jade asked as she poured hot tea.

"I am tired," she sighed.

"Here," Jade said, placing the teacup on the table.

ShuîYuê took a sip from the cup, closing her eyes in satisfaction. Only her lavender tea brought her calmness, "How are your studies going?" ShuîYuê asked as she felt better after drinking the tea.

"They are going fine, Mr. Qin let me borrow as many books as I want," she said, smiling.

"That's good, at least someone is happy," ShuîYuê remarked as she stared at the rim of the cup, lost in thought.

"Master I have been meaning to ask for some time now but never had the chance to,"

"Ask away,"

"Do you really like the Crown Prince?" Jade asked curiously.

"It's difficult to say," ShuîYuê answered as she drew little circles on the cup with her thumb.

"I mean, I never thought this would happen so suddenly," Jade remarked, clearly pointing to the sudden marriage proposal and engagement that appeared out of nowhere.

"Nor did I, it's just complicated, that is all I can say," ShuîYuê sighed, refilling her cup.

"I understand, but please think of yourself first before anyone else," Jade whispered, worried.

ShuîYuê looked at her, surprised, "I'll try," she said softly; Jade got up as she was about to leave, ShuîYuê called her.

"Yes?"

"Jade, brew me an entire pot of lavender tea," ShuîYuê ordered suddenly.

"Are guests coming over?" Jade asked curiously.

"No, I just feel like getting...drunk," ShuîYuê replied, staring off into space.

The two elementals dressed up as commoners as they stood outside of the forest, connecting the boundary of Hell,

"Ready YueYue?" Yìfēi asked, ShuîYuê nodded her head as they made their way through the forest. They stood outside a large city gate that read, "Hell awaits you."

"Well, it does," Yìfēi mused as she read it; both the elemental masters walked through Hell as many peculiar things passed their way, such as eyeballs being boiled in a soup, and many weird-looking ghosts passed by them.

ShuîYuê and Yìfēi were scared to see some of the scary-looking ghosts; they continued to walk and look around when someone bumped into Yìfēi. She turned her head to see that it was a boy who had bumped into her.

ShuîYuê stared at him, trying to figure out where she had seen him when she realised he was the one who had been causing trouble on the Southwestern mainland; the boy had walked off quite some distance away when ShuîYuê finally came back to her senses, "Yìfēi! He is the one!" ShuîYuê shouted, dragging a confused Yìfēi by the hand.

"Who is who?" Yìfēi asked as she apologised to the ghosts she bumped into.

"That boy, he is the ghost of the Southwestern mainland," ShuîYuê huffed as she ran with Yìfēi.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

They ran after him as he entered a big Manor; the Wind and Water Master stopped, "Paradise Manor," Yìfēi Read, "YueYue, this is his. You know who I am talking about, right?" Yìfēi asked ShuîYuê who nodded her head stiffly.

"We need to enter, but we can't just go inside like this," Yìfēi said as she pointed to herself and Water Master who was dressed in normal clothes worn by middle-class citizens.

"So what should we do?" ShuîYuê asked, looking around.

"I have an idea. Let's go in. If anyone asks us what we are here for, we'll say we need jobs," Yìfēi suggested.

"Fine," ShuîYuê grumbled, covering her face with a veil.

They padded sneakily, trying to avoid ghosts when someone asked, "Who are you?" The voice came from behind.

Yìfēi and ShuîYuê froze, as the person who had asked them walked to the front, It was a woman who was clad in a beautiful light silk dress, her features pleasing to the eyes and she smelled sweet, ShuîYuê turned her head away not wanting to smell that sweet scent, it was too overwhelming for Water Master.

"Who are you, and why are you sneaking around?" She asked her voice firm.

"We are looking for jobs, Miss," Yìfēi said quickly.

"We aren't hiring staff right now, so you can leave," she replied, her hands on her hips.

"But Miss, we need jobs. Please help-"

"What's the matter?" Came a familiar voice, ShuîYuê grabbed Yìfēi's sleeve and nudged her back with her elbow.

"Miss Xià, these two were sneaking around the Manor. When I asked what they were doing, they said they were looking for jobs. I told them we weren't hiring but they are still insisting," the women explained to none other than Xià MíngLóng, who was staring at the two with interest in her chartreuse green orbs.

"Leave them to me," Xià MíngLóng ordered as her eyes smiled wickedly.

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A/N: Hey, I hope you enjoyed it. The chapters are a bit shorter, but I don't want to put two chapters together so 😉. The story is so sad right now. don't worry, it'll get sadder soon. Take care until then, Bye Bye!!

Word count:3391