The True Gods || Kim Taehyung ||

The Heavenly Mother

The hem of the jade green skirt fell to the ankles. The beautiful figure under the veil was looming. The woman sitting on the spirit tree beside Juxian Pond had a charming face. She lowered her head and eyes to look at Ji-woo, saying blatantly, “Princess Ji-woo, I helped you hide from His Highness Jing Yang for you to go out of Juxian Pond and also told you a way to save that High Deity Tae-hyun. Why be so cold to me?”

Ji-woo paused, then glanced at her and said, “You are a demon deity. If you are discovered by my Heavenly Father, you’ll inevitably end up as smoke, so why not leave earlier?”

“You’re afraid that I’ll tell High Deity Tae-hyun that you saved his life!” The suspended feet swayed and kicked on the branches and leaves. The fairy dew on the spirit tree fell to the ground. Ah-In gave a ‘tsk tsk’ and softly smiled, “Unexpectedly, Princess Ji-woo of the Heavenly Palace is an infatuated one. But, you used your dragon pellet to save him but your sweetheart doesn’t know about it at all, isn’t it a pity?”

Ji-woo’s pale face struck a touch of disdain. She glanced at her and said lightly, “Ah-In, don’t believe that I don’t know what you are thinking. How can Tae-hyun be comparable to Chan-yeol? Do you think that he will stay in the Heavenly Palace because of my dragon pellet? The Three Realms knew your methods back then, so why bother to be a good person here now!”

Hearing this, the smiling woman in the green skirt paused. There was a sharp look between her eyebrows. She squinted her eyes, her voice full of mockery, “Princess Ji-woo, why pretend to be high up there? You used your dragon pellet to save him, also so Tae-hyun would be grateful and stay by your side. And besides, even if you don’t say it, the Heavenly Emperor and Empress will know sooner or later. Don’t think that your thoughts can be hidden from others. You keep saying that you don’t want him to know, saying it in an awe-inspiring way, but in reality, you’re no different from me!”

Maybe it was because she was a proud daughter of the heavens once she was born and was respected by all immortals. Ji-woo had never heard such harsh and disdainful words, but every sentence was shot into her heart. The gloom hidden at the bottom of her heart had nowhere to hide. Ji-woo, who was crouching on the fake mountain, lowered her head. She didn’t pay attention to the coldness in Ah-In’s words. Her dry lips tightened furiously, and her loose hair fell, silent and embarrassed.

Ah-In, who was quietly sitting on the spirit tree, looked at her coldly and heard Ji-woo’s voice after a long time.

“You’re right, but at least I’m willing to use my life to gamble once. Ah-In, you are more pitiful than me. You used ten thousand years to weave your lies. Once you wake up from your dream, won’t you regret it?” Ji-woo raised her head and fixedly looked at Ah-In who was sitting on the tree, with a serious and determined expression.

The ridicule in Ah-In ’s eyes eased. She squinted her eyes, a wave of fluctuation appearing in them, and she suddenly curled her lips and smiled, “No, at least he has been with me for ten thousand years. If I can’t get it, then no one can. Princess Ji-woo, since you are willing to gamble, then I’ll wait and see. Will Tae-hyun stay in the Heavenly Realm for your lifesaving grave or will he return to that little god of Qingchi Palace?”

After saying these words, Ah-In glanced in the Heavenly Palace’s direction, and suddenly disappeared beside Juxian Pond without a trace. Only the spirit tree she was sitting on a moment ago left a strange fragrance.

Hearing the name of the last person Ah-In said, Ji-woo blinked and her hands slightly tightened. Her expression was a little unwilling, and she closed her eyes in silence.

Thousands of years ago, in the depths of the North Sea, she had locked eyes with the black and red-robed immortal deity. Since then, she determined him to be the one. Tae-hyun, if I am willing to gamble everything, will you stay for me?

After a while, Jungkook appeared beside Juxian Pond. He looked at Ji-woo who was weakly leaning against the fake mountain with a complex expression, and sighed, “Third sister, why are you doing this? You clearly know…”

“Second brother, no need to say more. How is Heavenly Father going to punish me?” Ji-woo interrupted Jungkook’s words. She opened her eyes, a touch of decisiveness in them. The golden dragon inner pellet was so important to her. How disappointed her Heavenly Father will be…

“Heavenly Father said…to have you go to Suoxian Pagoda.” Jungkook hesitated for a moment and said the Heavenly Emperor’s order. But seeing the coldness on Ji-woo’s face, he hurriedly said, “Third sister, don’t worry. Heavenly Father loves you the most. He’s just momentarily angry. After he calms down, everything will be fine.”

Ji-woo’s face was pale. She didn’t say a word, but her eyes flashed faintly.

“Ji-woo, how did you know that Tae-hyun had caught the Three-Headed Fire Dragon’s dragon breath, and how did you come out of Juxian Pond?” Jungkook paused but still asked the question he wanted to ask the most.

“Second brother, you don’t need to ask. First brother is in Juxian Pond. You should go wake him up. I’m going to Suoxian Pagoda now.” Ji-woo shook her head and stood up, her body fragile, and a trace of stubbornness flashes across her eyes.

Jungkook watched anxiously and hurriedly reached out to help but was blown away by the colorful light that suddenly appeared from Ji-woo’s body. The light was full of spiritual power and the darkness contained coercion, enveloping Ji-woo inside. It was only a short breath’s worth of time that her pale complexion recovered some of its redness.

Jungkook’s eyebrow tightened. Knowing the reason, he took a few steps back calmly and stood upright, a look of respect suddenly appearing in his eyes. 

“Ji-woo, why haven’t you changed your personality. You’re like this now, and you still want to be strong?”

The colorful light slowly disappeared from Ji-woo’s body, and a cold voice sounded in the void, with a touch of anger and pain.

“Greetings to Heavenly Mother.”

It had already been a thousand years since the Heavenly Empress started cultivating in retreat. Her birthday banquet was several months away. Jungkook rarely had chances to see her during normal times but didn’t expect her to be alerted by this situation and leave her retreat in advance.

Ji-woo raised her head and looked at the shadow in the air. The grievances in her eyes finally surfaced and her reddish eyes were full of mist, “Heavenly Mother, Ji-woo doesn’t dare.”

The soft cry reduced a lot of the anger from the person in the air. The Heavenly Empress’s voice came slowly, “Your father and I have spent thousands of years teaching you, but you have now made yourself so pitiful for a mere high deity. I ask you, do you really like him?”

“Heavenly Mother…” Ji-woo froze, her face turning red and showing a bit of a little girl’s tenderness and bewilderment. She said nervously, “You know about it?”

“Your dragon pellet is in that immortal deity’s body, I could feel it when I used my god sense. How could it be hidden from me? But he has deep spiritual power and is rare among immortal deities. I didn’t know such a person had appeared in the Immortal Realm these one thousand years…” The Heavenly Empress’s voice paused before saying, “But even so, I will still retrieve the dragon pellet inside his body. Ji-woo, he is only a normal deity, how could you use your dragon pellet to save him?”

Her Heavenly Mother hadn’t asked about the affairs of the Immortal Realm for a thousand years, and even when the three of them got injured last time, she just sent the order to have them enter Juxian Pond. Not knowing about Tae-hyun was normal. Jungkook paused, about to make a sound, but was anxiously interrupted by Ji-woo.