章 21: Foxy Meeting
9th Heaven.
Inside the jade palace, the Jade Emperor sat on a crystal throne. Several documents littered the small table by his side. All was silent; it was just him and a few maids.
The large red doors opened.
A ruby-red dragon flew inside the hall. Once it drew closer to the Emperor, it landed on the ground and transformed back into the cold scholar.
He bowed to the Emperor.
"Your Majesty."
The Jade Emperor looked up from his documents, one stoney eyebrow raised.
"This servant has heard some interesting information from Guan Gong and Jin Tai Heng's meeting."
Upon the mention of Jin Tai Heng, the Emperor's eyes held a strange light within. He sat up straighter and leaned in. Glancing towards the maids, he coughed lightly. The maids quickly left the hall, giving the two the privacy they needed.
"Well? Do not leave Us waiting."
"Guan Gong gave half his Godhood before the war to a flower fairy, Jin Ying Hua," the dragon replied.
The corner of the Jade Emperor's lips turned up. He scoffed in derision. "Very well. Call Guan Gong over later, tell him We want to meet him. He will be late by two hours, so go now."
The scholar nodded and bowed. Turning around, he transformed back into the ruby-red dragon and flew off.
Behind the throne, a mysterious figure narrowed his eyes and took out his green fan. Soon, it would be time for everything to come together.
***^***
As Taehyung flew past the treetops of Xuanpu City, he decided to stop at an inn nearby to take a rest. The Tang Xiao Inn had an excellent view of the treetops, and the city below it. Decorated with ornate carved wood and gorgeous paintings of the city, it was a quaint place. It was busy, but not overwhelmingly crowded. Light murmurs filled the room, as well as the occasional clink of porcelain bowls against each other.
The sun lit up the whole inn, making the atmosphere seem cheerful and bright.
Taehyung was greeted by a waiter as he entered. After ordering some light lunch, the waiter directed Taehyung upstairs.
Taehyung sat next to an open window on the upper floor, watching the air traffic outside as people zoomed back and forth. Each person had their own ornate swords. He touched the hilt of his own.
He still couldn't fight very well. At this rate, if he was caught in a fight without Xue Ya or Jin Tong, he would be doomed.
A familiar tail appeared in the corner of his eye.
Ahri, still dressed in her bright red garment, slid into the seat opposite him. She leaned forward across the wooden table. That same fragrance Taehyung smelled from the gathering oozed off her body.
"Jin Tai Heng," she greeted huskily, showing her canines.
Taehyung was prepared for her advances this time, taking extra care not to breathe in her scent. He glanced coldly at her. "What?"
Ahri smirked devilishly, licking her lips. Her multiple tails twitched in delight, swishing around her.
"You know, your friends have been missing you."
Taehyung raised an eyebrow, sending her a questioning glance. As far as he knew, Jin Tai Heng kept to himself.
Ahri laughed, a sweet and melodic sound that drew the admiring glances of nearby customers.
"They're nearby. Wan Wan, Zhi Xiao, and Mu Ting. Don't you want to meet with them?" she asked, trying to coax Taehyung into following her.
Taehyung searched in his memories for any recognition of these names. Several cheerful memories of Jin Tai Heng whiling away the time with these three appeared. The memories radiated warmth and happiness, something Taehyung was lacking at the current moment. Taehyung's heart twanged at the thought of how he whiled away the time with the other members. How they would cause a ruckus, how they had all sorts of inside jokes. His mind drifted off to a certain memory of Namjoon accidentally setting fire to the toaster.
A small but sad smile graced his features. Ahri's ears perked up, waiting for his reply.
Taehyung gritted his teeth. "No. Tell them I'll meet up with them another day."
Ahri raised a fine eyebrow at him. Just then, he seemed almost certain to agreeing with her, yet all of a sudden he changed his mind.
"You've missed out on a lot these past few hundreds of years," she said.
If Taehyung went, he would be able to unlock part of his memories. These friends of him must've known what went on, how his sister died, and what the war was even about. Everyone else he talked to about the war either gave ridiculous accounts of what happened or simply refused to talk.
But, Taehyung wasn't here for mere gossip. He was here for a mission. Ahri, with all her sweet words, could not tempt him. He stood up, not caring about his order, and walked off.
Ahri panicked. She lunged forward and grabbed onto the hem of his sleeve.
"What will it take for you to stay?" she asked.
Taehyung paused and turned his head to look at Ahri. He didn't want to stay. He wanted to leave and go back to his world with everyone behind him.
"Something that shouldn't be here in the first place," he replied coldly. The rest of his family's soul was something that shouldn't be here, or the next few worlds he would go to. Their souls, locked within a fated person.
That fated person would die a predestined death. His goal was to find them before that happened.
With that, he shook off Ahri's hold on his clothes and stormed out of the inn.
Ahri pouted.
"I almost had him," she said whilst sniffling, her ears flat against her head.
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