The Queen In Red

The Queen In Red 34

The place had not changed, the courtyard, the dark red walls, concrete buildings and black tiled rooftops, the lake's maintenance with the stone structure at its opening and the pagoda situated as an entrance to the large wharf sitting on the lake.

Feng Jiu, who was incredibly weak and barely conscious, had a flicker of energy ignite within her. She could not believe Dong Hua had kept the place so well maintained or why.

She had unknowingly led them to her old courtyard next to the small koi pond that sat to the right of her home. The two tall red lamps that sat on either side of the steps leading to her house.

Consort Chen's home.

Feng Jiu had forgotten how everything looked, having spent most of their time inside.

Dong Hua's mortal self did not like to share her with anyone, so would often have them confined to her chambers, he later moved all of his court documents to her home, to allow him to stay close to her.

At the time, Feng Jiu cared little for the feelings of the other concubines and court officiates that often grumbled, but seeing everything around her, she wished they had spent more time outside.

She changed back into her natural form and leaned her weak body onto Ali for support.

"He used to bring you here to train?" She asked dazedly.

"Yes. Shifu said Dijun used to come here often and built everything himself."

"He built all of it?" A small sob left her voice.

Not noticing Feng Jiu's distress, Ali continued. "Yes, I don't believe he's been here for a while though, he placed a spell over the entire area, Mortals cannot enter, and everything within the spell remains untouched by age."

"That must have used up a considerable amount of cultivation. Why would Dong Hua waste so much on a memory such as this, I killed him, surely he would hate me for this." She muttered.

"Feng Jiu, who are you referring to, Dijun could never dislike you; in fact, I would be more inclined to say it would be the total opposite?"

"You don't understand what you are saying Ali enough."

"But..." He tried to convince her, but her hand raised above her head to stop him.

"STOP! No more, tell me why you bought me to a place Dijun himself created, and why would it be good for me to recover?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

Feng Jiu cuddled into his arm once more, "No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gotten upset at you, I just need to recuperate and then deal with my heart later."

"Of course." Ali smiled.

"So, why did you bring me here?"

Ali lifted his hand to move his palm, which caused a rush of wind to escape his grasp and flow in the direction of twigs a few meters ahead of them.

Feng Jiu watched as a small figurine assembled, she turned to Ali to scold him for using magic in the mortal realm, but seeing his eyes glimmer with satisfaction, she trusted he knew what he was doing.

"Dijun built everything by hand, without magic and help, he was specific about how he wanted everything, but for him to be able to come and go, he needed to allow magic to be practised within the confines of the spell, so we can do so freely without it backfiring; hence, this is perfect for training."