Finally, the little frog found itself the perfect vantage point where it could remain undisturbed.
It surveyed the ongoing battle from its perch on the ceiling close to the stairway that led up to the next floor, most of its attention consumed by a ferocious Qinghe fighting Xie Xingye. When the time came and Qinghe destroyed his core to immobilize the demonic deity, it had to admire his courage and resolve.
“So you really were determined to go through with that, huh?”
But there was no time for further appreciation as Feng Huixin’s voice echoed through its mind.
“The Deity of Judgment beseeches the Heavens, bind this being and let him defy justice no more.”
The little frog’s answering mental voice sounded impatient and hurried. “Alright, alright, enough with the formalities. We will become better acquainted later on anyway. This has gone on long enough. Just bind him already! ”
Baffled by both what he has just learned and the Heavens’ attitude, Feng Huixin quickly went about binding the unruly deity.
The little frog wasn’t only hurrying with granting permission to Feng Huixin because most of its patience had been consumed earlier. No, there were more pressing matters at hand that the group of cultivators closest to the God of Justice hasn’t noticed yet.
Turning towards the side, its gaze landed on the young man, who had been fighting so bravely just a moment ago, now lying peacefully in his lover’s arms. It could already see the life fading away from him and if it didn’t do something quick, his soul would soon dissipate, entering the cycle of reincarnation.
Sigh. The life of this little frog was truly busy when it got busy.
***
Qinghe felt like he was submerged in water and as if his ears were stuffed with cotton, he could hear a faint voice calling him through the water.
“…g Qinghe… Wake up… Feng Qinghe…”
At the urging of the insistent voice he opened up his eyes to find himself inside a wide, dark space with a luminous blue backlight to it. He felt a bit disoriented, but he soon remembered blowing up his core to trap his ‘Uncle Xie’ and the events leading up to it. He also remembered his strength finally leaving him and the weakness taking over.
‘So he was…’
‘You are right, Feng Qinghe. You are on the brink of death right now.’ Hearing that voice again brought him out of his reverie, but looking in the direction of the voice startled him yet again.
‘You’re a…’
‘Yes, I am a frog. What about it?’ Noticing his bafflement, the frog answered him in a slightly exasperated tone, accompanied by an eye roll. Well, as much of an eye roll a frog actually could manage.
‘Nothing. I just wasn’t expecting the Heavens to look like a frog.’ It wouldn’t have been Qinghe if he didn’t gain his equilibrium back fast though.
‘This is the form We prefer while traversing the earthly plane. You would be surprised how many things humans pass by. But enough of that, don’t you have more pressing matters to care about?’ it inquired.
‘That’s true…’ he turned to look down at the misty, white orb glowing inside his transparent body.
‘Your questions about your soul will be answered at a later time.’
‘But shouldn’t I get some kind of reparation for all my troubles?’ asked Qinghe with mischief sparkling in his now translucent eyes.
‘Reparation…’ Shaking his head at the shrewdness of the young man standing before him, it started answering him with obvious amusement in its voice. ‘How about this… You were right in your beliefs about Us. The Heavens truly have plans for you, and as such, we cannot let you die. We will keep your soul from disintegrating and gather together enough of the parts of your destroyed core for the highest grade healing pills of the Heavenly Realm to mend it. And before you ask, your core was shattered so that even the strongest pill available in the mortal ream would be hard-pressed to fix just part of the damage.’ Sensing Qinghe was just about to argue, it continued: ‘Should you let your loved ones worry so much?’
Imagining his beloved Xiang’s worried face after hearing that mollified him a bit.
‘You should just go back for now. We promise to answer your questions later. Accompany the God of Justice to the Heavenly Realm and concentrate on healing.’
After extracting that promise Qinghe felt a lot more secure, after all, the Heavens shouldn’t lie. ‘Could you send me back then?’
As if it could sense his thoughts, a wry smile showed on the frog’s face and with a simple nod of its head Qinghe was on his way back into his mortal body.
***
Surrounded by the worried faces of the people who cared about him the most, Qinghe woke up in Wei Xiang’s arms with a cough. And even though he was often times cold-hearted, he would have been lying if he said he wasn’t touched by the concern they so openly showed towards him.
“Qin… Qinghe… you…” started a very distraught Feng Huixin.
“Father… I’m alright… now” answered Qinghe in weak voice.
“How could you be alright! You almost died!! Your body was dead for a few moments!” Jing Shui shouted angrily at his reckless friend with a tear-stained face. The others showed varying expressions, but all of them seemed to echo the opinion of this future sect master. Wei Xiang just quietly tightened his arms around his newly conscious lover.
Seeing this unanimous reaction, Qinghe begin in a pacifying voice. “I’m truly alright now. The Heavens stepped in and saved my soul” – he wasn’t about to mention that it looked like a small frog though – “and they repaired my shattered core enough for it to be able to be healed in the Heavenly Realm.”
After this new piece of information was revealed, most faces showed relief, but those who understood the hidden meaning behind those words showed a different sort of grief. And although he had been prepared that this might happen, Wei Xiang’s face looked especially stricken at the thought of having to part with his beautiful little lover whom he’d just gotten back. Even if it was only for just a short while it took for his beloved to heal his core.
“Father, we should start preparing to leave for the Heavenly Realm soon,” called out Qinghe to his father. Feng Huixin nodded his head with a solemn expression and went to prepare everything necessary. The others, with their own fears calmed, soon drifted away as well, leaving the couple alone to say their own goodbyes.
With all taken care of that needed to be taken care of, Qinghe turned his head towards his lover and his gaze met Wei Xiang’s heavy one. For a while the two just stared into each other’s eyes, communicating silently.
Then, with a cheekiness that Wei Xiang was better used to in more private, Qinghe said to his other half: “Don’t be so anxious Xiang, I’ll be able to come back right away after my core is healed. But if you are worried some other deity might seduce me away, you should just hurry and ascend.”
Wei Xiang answered his beloved’s unexpected words by pulling him in for a searing kiss.
Their passionate kiss finished, the couple separated. Qinghe could still feel his lips tingling when he went over to the Sentinel Grandmaster’s side.
“Father, I’m ready.”
Nodding his understanding, Feng Huixin gathered up Lord Zheng and the now trapped demonic deity before opening up the portal to the other realm.
After one last look at his anxious lover, the young deity stepped through the gateway to Heaven alongside his new companions.
***
The little frog was still perched at its spot on the ceiling, surveying the events in the aftermath of the battle.
After the God of Justice and his party went through the portal, it started feeling a tug at the enchantments on its form. With an unwilling expression on its face, it decided to travel the wind somewhere far away from human eyes.
It soon reached a hidden garden of greenery, where it landed atop a small hill. Upon touching the ground, its form was immediately swallowed up by a whirlwind of light green tinted wind decorated with green spring leaves.
After the wind dissipated, a very handsome young man, about the age of 26, stood in its place. His whole demeanor radiated a sense of manliness that would have made even the most experienced ladies out there swoon.
He wore a light-green, long-sleeved robe and a simply decorated, forest-green, sleeveless outer robe over it. Only a very plain, matching green-colored belt tied the robes together in the middle, lending the whole clothing an elegant air. Tied to the belt with a simple knot, a sword hiding in its scabbard rested on his waist. One could tell by just one look that it was made with functionality in mind rather than decorative purposes, because to suit its owner, it was designed to be very exquisite in its simplicity. To complete the picture, a sword charm, made in the image of a frog, was tied around the hilt.
His face had very strong features and his soulful, deep-green eyes, that could become more piercing than the sharpest dagger in an instant, could make one become lost in them if they weren’t careful. On the top of his head, part of his hair was made up in a simple, yet elaborate looking hairdo. Even like this, the luscious blackness was almost touching the ground.
The only thing ruining this majestic image was the unsightly frown his facial features were currently twisted into, like he had just tasted something very sour.
This young looking man was TianshangShou, or as he was known by the Heavenly Emperor, the Heavenly Messenger. He gained the title because whenever the Heavens had more elaborate schemes involving the Emperor, he would be sent to relay the instructions to the man.
As for why his face was twisted up so...
“I really hate this form,” he said in a pleasant, deep voice, now a bit hoarse from disuse and tinged with a sliver of petulance and disgust.
As the Heavenly Hand, he was born at the dawn of times together with the Heavenly Spirit, his task to walk the different planes and making sure the most important plans of the Heavenly Spirit went according to his wishes, down to even the smallest details. And as such, he had been there to witness the capriciousness of humanity. To see all the cruelties and atrocities man could think about to visit upon another, sometimes even experiencing them firsthand in his small frog form.
But that had been eons ago, when he still hadn’t learned the art of masking his presence well, and there was a reason why some countries didn’t exist anymore… Bringing the Heavens’ wrath upon one’s self was never a good idea…
Anyway, those experiences caused him develop a very strong distaste for humanity.
“But this form has its advantages as well,” saying that, his mind was immediately taken over by the remembered images of bodies being entwined together so tightly, that one just couldn’t tell anymore where one ended and where the other begun, and the sounds of heavy panting. Recalling those images, he finally managed to rearrange his face into its usual, calm disinterest.
“Maybe I should go and see what that person wanted,” after saying that in a very even, and maybe, maybe just a tad excited voice, he turned into the faintly colored wind once again and started for Heaven.
