Golden Orchids

Chapter 31

Yan Zhi spat out blood, her sword was clattered somewhere on the floor. It's way too far for her to retrieve it. The monster she was facing was fierce. It was a gigantic bull with a hideous rotten face and four razor-sharp horns. Its fur was so long they reached the floor. As if the bull was covered in midnight. When it roared, Yan Zhi swore that she saw rotting flesh between his fangs.

Yan Zhi gripped the chains around her wrist tighter, she swung them around with a fury hoping that the monster would back off. 

It did not. 

It charged straight at her. Every muscle in her body was telling Yan Zhi to flee away. But she did not. Instead, she stood her ground and waited for the right moment. When the bull was inches away from her, Yan Zhi leaped and landed on its back. 

She wrapped the chains around its neck and braced herself for the aftershock. The monster's head banged against the pillar behind her with a loud crack. 

The monster stumbled on its hoof after a moment. When it realized that Yan Zhi was on its back, it tried to shake her off violently. Yan Zhi tightened her chains around its neck refusing to let go. 

Ao Yin, Yan Zhi remembered the monster was called. She always thought that it usually roamed the mountainside. It was known for terrorizing villages and eating human flesh. That was probably why the celestials had captured it and imprison it here. 

That was understandable. This thing was an uncontrollable beast. The same couldn't comply with Yan Zhi's case. She had done nothing wrong here in the Nine Heavens. She was just helping her friends. And yet they dare to imprison her here. Dare to shut her away.

Demon Sealing Pagoda.

They needed a gigantic bell to seal her father. Naturally, she would have to own up to that. So they wanted to lock her away in this suffocating, harrowing prison? Well, Yan Zhi was going to bring it all crashing down.

She pulled with all her might, guiding the monster to ram against the cracked pillar again and again. The whole building rumbled and Yan Zhi heard a satisfying loud…

Crack.

_______________________________ 

The day of Ye Hua's coronation started out as well as it should be. Ye Hua had waited for this day for a really long time. What makes this day so special was not because he had assented to power. It was because Dong Hua Di Jun was here today.

The venerable god was once the ruler of the Heavens and Earth. He eventually got bored and gave the reign to Ye Hua's family. But that didn't mean that he's completely out of the picture yet. Once in a while, he would join events and give his input. If there's anyone the Heavenly Lord was afraid to offend, it's him. 

The ceremony was held in the Imperial Throne Room by the Southern Heavenly Gate. 

Ye Hua looked down at the scared artifact presented to him, a crown and seal made out of the purest jade. He could already imagine the weight of the jade crown on top of his head. He received approval from the sovereign territories with the divine right to rule the realms.

 His eyes scanned the room while everyone bowed before him. Every royal family had sent representatives to attend this event. Ye Hua saw Die Feng from the western sea. Zhe Yan from the Peach Forest and the fourth son of the Fox Emperor. And of course, Li Jing from the Ghost Realm was here. 

He lingered his eyes a bit too long on Su Jin. She blushed and hid her face behind her sleeves. Ye Hua wanted to scoff, did she really think that he would agree with his grandfather's arrangement for them? Over his dead body.