Chapter 123

Su Heng sat on the swing with her legs crossed, reading the memorials in her hands. They were all about the changes in the demon realm. The Heavenly Emperor was determined to make her a true empress, not just a lazy bug who only knew how to eat, drink and sleep. He not only brought her to the Nine Extremes Cloud Palace, but also assigned some of his own duties to her.

She reached out and took a peach of immortality. The peaches were sent from Kunlun, the finest ones that only bore fruit every three thousand years. When it reached her, it was already perfectly ripe. With a gentle bite, the sweet juice flowed out, perfectly suiting her taste.

Su Heng didn’t know how the Heavenly Emperor knew about her preference. She had never told him, nor had she ever shown it in front of him. Yet he had silently figured out her likes and dislikes, and expressed them in just the right way.

It had to be said, whether it was Tan Ye in the past or the Heavenly Emperor now, whether as a lover or a husband, they were both very suitable. When taking care of her, it was like a gentle breeze and light rain, making her feel cared for while still being able to feel that it was all his doing, not just silently unnoticed.

She no longer had the intense desire to leave as she did at the beginning. She moved her wrist and looked at the mark on it, thinking that when the time comes, she would discuss with him about removing this mark. She now did not mind living with him in the heavenly realm.

The divine realm did not have the strong mortal atmosphere of the lower realm, but it was fine once she got used to it.

She took a bite of the peach and continued reading the memorials. They reported that the demon tribe was using the old Qiushan of the Qiongqi as a base to constantly invade the divine realm. The new Demon Emperor had the same abilities as the first generation God of War, so the demons were fearless.

Su Heng had both feet crossed, leaning on the swing.

“What have you figured out?” The Heavenly Emperor’s voice came from behind her.

Su Heng ate the last bite of the peach. “You still have no intention of sending troops, right?”

The Heavenly Emperor sat down beside her and carefully wiped her fingers. He could have easily cleaned it with his divine power, but he insisted on doing it the mortal way, meticulously wiping her hands clean.

“No rush,” the Heavenly Emperor nodded, looking at her with approval. “As expected, only A Heng knows my intentions. It seems we are indeed a destined couple. Although Gou Chen’s intentions were not good back then, he inadvertently did a good deed.”

“Since we went through so much trouble to hook it out, naturally we have to use its value to the fullest. Otherwise, there won’t be another chance next time.” He gently stroked her fingertips, wiping away all the peach juice on her fingers. His force was just right, leaving no traces of wiping on her fair skin.

Seeing his secretly mischievous look, Su Heng thought that while others looked fierce when being mischievous, the Heavenly Emperor had a face full of compassion for all living beings. If she didn’t know his plans, Su Heng would think he could immediately be enshrined in a temple as a Bodhisattva.

“Do you know the background of that Demon Emperor? Is he the former God of War, or…”

The Heavenly Emperor nodded. “Both.”

His expression was full of pity. “I didn’t expect that after ten thousand years, the person who was feared even by the previous Heavenly Emperor failed to fully occupy Zhu Chi’s body from the beginning.”

The Heavenly Emperor quickly shook his head. “No one knows if he was really weakened to such an extent over the ten thousand years, or if he deliberately put on such an appearance.”

Su Heng listened. “Anyway, you don’t care about these things, right?”

She flicked the memorial in her hand. “I reckon you won’t kill him until you’ve squeezed out even his bone marrow. So what difference does it make?”

The Heavenly Emperor smiled. He hugged her with one hand, resting his head on her shoulder, looking all docile. “Can’t A Heng say something nice to coax me?”

Such a grown man, acting more childish than mud.

“You’re pretty smart too.” Su Heng rolled her tongue in her mouth and comforted him in a pleasant tone. “Look, in heaven and on earth, who else but you could think of this fishing method? See how good it is.”

The Heavenly Emperor sighed softly. “Listening to you, I always feel like I’m being scolded.”

Su Heng shook her head and said no. “This is just telling the truth. If you expect me to quote scriptures like your subordinate gods, that would be too unnecessary, right?”

Her hands were not behaving. One hand was properly holding the memorial, while the other pinched his inner thigh.

The Heavenly Emperor endured her pinch with a straight face. “This is not good.”

“What’s not good?” Su Heng looked at him with a full smile, and then gave him a second pinch, this time a little higher.

This time, the Heavenly Emperor really couldn’t stay still. She was wild with her hands, never minding whether it was appropriate to touch during the day or not. When the mood struck, she didn’t care.

“Don’t do this.” He pleaded softly. “If you keep doing this, I’m afraid you might have to be a widow in the future.”

Su Heng frowned in confusion. “It can’t be that bad. I’ve seen a lot in the lower realm. You can’t fool me. Mortals can still hold on for a while, and you can’t?” Then she used more force with her hand. The Heavenly Emperor quickly grabbed her wrist and started talking about official matters with her, lest she really pinch all the way down. Although it wouldn’t really make her a widow, it was still a threat he found hard to bear.

This was far more terrifying than any life-and-death battles he had experienced before.

Su Heng didn’t make things difficult for him. After all, she was just scaring him, not really intending to do anything. She withdrew her hand and flipped through the memorial back and forth.

The Heavenly Emperor had responded to the demon tribe’s provocation by deploying troops outside Qiushan. As long as the demons really made a move, what followed would be a great battle.

“So the Taihao clan still hasn’t made any moves?”

Su Heng asked.

She naturally understood his intentions. Now that troops had been deployed, there was still no sign of any action from the Taihao clan.

The Heavenly Emperor shook his head. “No rush… take it slow.”

He said softly, “There’s no need to rush for this kind of thing. Right now, it’s about seeing who can be more patient. Even if it takes hundreds or thousands of years, as long as it gets done in the end, that’s fine.” Su Heng understood, but she was too lazy to say anything after understanding. She asked a question verbally to let him talk more, satisfying his need to chatter.

The Heavenly Emperor’s nature was not entirely the silent and reticent appearance he showed on the outside. From time to time, he liked to talk to her about anything and everything. Su Heng noticed this nature of his and simply went along with it.

Sure enough, he started talking to her again, as if eager to pour out all his experience of being a ruler for ten thousand years, so that she could graduate immediately and join him in being deep and cunning, becoming a wicked couple.

Su Heng listened lazily. Suddenly, Yuan Ling entered from outside. Su Heng found his hurried steps somewhat novel.

Yuan Ling had learned his lesson after a few times and didn’t dare to enter when the Heavenly Emperor and her were alone together, fearing he would ruin their good time again.

“Something big happened?”

Su Heng asked.

The Heavenly Emperor’s wedding news had spread throughout the six realms, and he had also issued an edict to crown the Heavenly Empress. All that was missing now was a grand wedding to announce it to the six realms.

Yuan Ling raised his hand to salute Su Heng. “Your Majesties, besides Qiushan, the demon tribe has acted against the divine realm’s garrison troops.” The news came so suddenly that even Yuan Ling was a bit slow to react when he heard it.

Su Heng’s eyes flickered. She casually put down the memorial, clapped her hands, and then pressed down heavily on the Heavenly Emperor’s shoulder.

The Heavenly Emperor always needed a righteous reason for whatever he did. Now that the demon tribe had made the first move, he could openly take action.

“Come with me to the palace.”

The Heavenly Emperor held her hand.

Su Heng didn’t want to at first, but the Heavenly Emperor tightly grasped her hand that was instinctively pulling back. Su Heng nodded. “Alright.” When they arrived at the Nine Extremes Cloud Palace, Su Heng found that Yuan Ling had understated it. The demon tribe was causing far more trouble than he had said.

It had been a long time since such a major event, causing the entire divine realm to be in an uproar.

The Heavenly Emperor then ordered the divine generals to go suppress and investigate. The celestial soldiers of the North Dipper Palace also took the field, commanding the divine generals to keep all the actions of the demon tribe within a controllable range, especially not allowing the demons’ actions to affect the lower realm. It was a lively and bustling scene until night fell before it finally dispersed.

In the Kai Yang Palace, Su Heng picked up the delivered documents and took a look. The Heavenly Emperor, high above, also had a pile of matters that required his attention every day.

Su Heng glanced at it and saw that they were wishes from mortals in the lower realm.

“How come even this is sent to you?”

She gleefully shook the documents in her hand at him.

The Heavenly Emperor shook his head. “Those are just the earth immortals below trying to prove they aren’t derelict in their duties. Just acknowledge it and that’s enough.” He looked at her and blinked, reaching out his hand to her. Seeing this, Su Heng placed her hand on his palm. As soon as her palm touched his, he closed his hand, gently bringing her whole person over.

“If I’m not here, you guard this place well for me.”

The Heavenly Emperor gently rested his head on her shoulder. Su Heng heard a different meaning in his words and frowned slightly.

“What bad thing are you planning to do again?”

The Heavenly Emperor nearly choked on his breath. Her reaction was always so different from others. The concern he expected was nowhere to be seen in her.

“Can’t A Heng show some concern for me?”

Su Heng looked at his face from side to side. “Tell me, you’re up to no good again, aren’t you?” The Heavenly Emperor was directly choked by the breath he couldn’t get up.

“Must you always think so badly of me?”

Su Heng sat on the Heavenly Emperor’s lap. “Weren’t you always like this?”

These words made the Heavenly Emperor’s vision go a bit dark. He couldn’t help feeling a little aggrieved, but he couldn’t find any fault with what she said.

He admitted to himself that he wasn’t really a genuinely good person either.

“But judging from how you had the divine generals protect the lower realm from being affected by the demons, you are doing a very competent job as the Heavenly Emperor.” The Heavenly Emperor glanced at her hand patting his shoulder, then heard her words, feeling quite torn between laughter and tears.

“This was originally part of my duties. Doing it well is what I should do. Not doing it would be dereliction of duty.” Su Heng looked at him for a moment and blinked. “Then I have nothing more to say.” The Heavenly Emperor felt quite heartbroken. Su Heng looked at him again. “But I still think that no matter how you look at it, you’ve done a good job.”

This finally salvaged a bit of his wounded heart.

“A Heng, this time I’m truly entrusting everything to you.” He changed his usual tone of indulgence when he was with her, carrying a rare decisiveness.