Accompanying the Phoenix

Chapter 48: Are You Really?

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[March 6, 2021]

...

Tomorrow would be the Hundred Flower Banquet.

It wasn't difficult for two people with magical abilities to avoid one another, so Shen Li and Xing Zhi hadn't seen each other since the day with the tablets.

Xing Zhi cooked Shen Li tasty meals and left them by her door for the first two days after that, but he stopped when he saw she hadn't touched her food.

Even if she wasn't eating his home cooked meals, Shen Li wasn't going to starve herself. She didn't like immortals in heaven, but she had to go out everyday to find something to eat. She wandered over to the banquet venue intending to pilfer some fruits.

She picked up a couple peaches and was in the middle of turning around when from behind her who did appear and stare at her but Goddess Luo herself.

Shen Li coughed. "The peaches in heaven are quite big," she said before putting the peaches back.

"They are not big in comparison to others. Those peaches came from a tree that began fruiting a hundred years ago. They're nothing special. Taste it, then taste the other plate of peaches over here. These came from a tree that fruited 500 years ago. Judge the quality after you've tried both."

Shen Li blinked. This... was this letting her eat whatever she wanted?

Youlan made a weird face before turning her head awkwardly. She walked closer and picked up three peaches along with a jug of wine. She shoved them into Shen Li's arms before walking away shaking her head.

Shen Li stared at the food in her arms, not sure how to react. What was that? Was she trying to choke her to death with heavenly peaches? Frame her for theft?

Shen Li turned to the maid, who was bustling about preparing things, and asked, "Your goddess handed these to me. It's not counted as stealing if I take them right?"

The maid was surprised. "Your Highness must be jesting. Goddess Luo gave them to you; it is certainly not stealing."

Shen Li raised an eyebrow before biting into a peach enthusiastically.

She walked leisurely back to the residence with wine and peaches in hand, munching as she did. Once she reached her room she realized something was not right. Her energy was so low she barely made it into bed. She buried herself under the covers muttering as she did so. "I knew this place was no good for me..."

...

Shen Li slept soundly and would not have woken had the bells not tolled to signal the start of the banquet. It rang through the nine levels of heaven 81 times.

She stretched under the blanket before peeking out from underneath it. The color of the sky jolted her completely awake. She was attending on behalf of the Demon realm. Being late would be incredibly unseemly! She got up, then quickly tied her hair before pushing open her door to exit her room.

Xing Zhi was nowhere in sight.

That guy! He hadn't even bothered to call her awake. But she quickly doused the anger that rose in her heart, after all it wasn't like they were housemates who were on good terms. She was about to call a cloud to ride over when a red light streaked across the sky.

She frowned thinking it was a fireworks display, but instead of blowing up it kept getting closer. She was wondering whether to block it or not when it accelerated towards the main hall. Then with a loud "boom!" it crashed into the roof. The ground shook while a part of the structure collapsed in flames. Hot air rose up and engulfed the area. The flames spread upwards and tinted the sky a smoky, bloody, red.