2 Chapter 1

Yu Wang stared outside the window while waiting for his student to call for him. It was peaceful outside just like yesterday, and the day before. Like a week ago, a month ago, just like in the past years, it has been peaceful. No trouble, no war, and most of all no deaths caused by demons.

The sky was blue and the clouds were nowhere in sight. It was no doubt a very hot day in the kingdom of Gonghuang, rain lately comes at dawn that lasted till the middle of the night.

He wonders if he was near if the remains of that person's scattered soul were still on the mortal world if he was still roaming aimlessly like he used to do.

Clenching his fist, mentally erasing the previous thoughts he had. He no longer cares about what happens to that person, after all, the dead will remain as dead.

"Teacher," a voice called unto him.

He heaved a sigh and gaze back inside the chamber he was in. Yu Wang smiled to his student, "is there anything I can help, your highness?"

The youth stared at him for a quick moment, thinking, then later handed him something. "This, I've already finished reading it," referring to the 'thousands of pile' book that he let him borrowed a few days ago.

"That is good. I suppose his highness is also finished with the one I previously gave yes?"

"Yes," came an answer to his gentle question.

The young lad noticed the quick change of his teacher's expression, there was nothing but the longing in his eyes the moment the started to gaze outside but the moment he called onto him, the deep longing vanish as quickly as it appeared.

"Teacher," he started.

"Yes, your highness?"

"I've always wanted to ask this, did something happened back at your home? Although I've heard from father that you don't have a family anymore, the teacher always seemed anxious about something. Whenever you are not saying something and starts to gaze out, you somehow look like a different person. Is something worrying you?"

Qin Huojin, the crown prince of Gonghuang empire was indeed a very excellent child. At a very young age, he already learned how to read and write letters. With his high cultivation energy, he'd be farther than most of the other cultivators of his age. His sharp observation and understanding skill is definitely not to be underestimated.

Even so, Yu Wang's smile did not falter. "Your highness is thinking too much, everything is fine. Since your highness is already finished his work here, you are allowed to practice with your sword."

Instead of rushing out like the young lad usually do, he remained inside the chamber. His eyes did not leave Yu Wang's orbs, "teacher you have a sword, why not just teach me?"

Yu Wang's smile disappeared and his face turned serious, "I refuse to hold a sword unless it is an important emergency your highness, therefore, I cannot teach you."

Qin Huojin, "... did something happened in the past that's why you won't use a sword anymore?"

"There is but I don't want to talk about it with your highness. Isn't the general's son teaching you how to use a sword?" Yu Wang harmlessly asks, the previous seriousness already disappeared. The boy nods his head but refuses to answer "I heard from the eunuchs that young master Fu has quite a unique way of wielding a sword. His skill are polished as what my eyes see, so learning from him is better than learning from me."

"He did teach me something, but I don't like the way how he immediately loses both interest and focus whenever Xiao-Feng and Xiao-Tao pass by!"

Yu Wang stated, "young master Fu is still young and is still chained to beauties."

Qin Huojin, "it is true that Xiao-Feng and Xiao-Tao are beauties but it is unreasonable for one to completely disregard the presence of a prince for such desire!"

Yu Wang smiled, your highness humans are greedy and selfish, one will ignore everything for their own desires. "To talk behind someone's back is a disgraceful-"

Qin Huojin, "deed. I know, I know. It is written in the 'thousands of pile'."

Yu Wang, "good. Now you have to choose, run in circles in my residence till sundown or go and practice your sword with young master Fu?"

Qin Huojin stared at him blankly before walking out.

Yu Wang watched the back of the youth until it disappeared in his sight. He turned around and placed the book to one of his high shelves. Now that his job is finish, he walked outside of his main house and into his back yard. The emperor granted him a place to live and all the essentials for him to settle in. Food was given, money was also provided and luxuries were also handed. Thinking of his current lifestyle, he suddenly remembered how he became the crown prince's tutor.

"... an immortal"

"Your majesty, I don't know what you are-"

"I saw you three decades ago, I was young back then and as time pass, I grew old every year while you Sir remained just the same as the day I saw you."

The emperor sure has dirt on him.

It was not a very good memory to be remembered at all. Yu Wang tried his very best to decline the offer but the emperor didn't give him a way out, he even had him a threat. A threat that was enough to make Yu Wang stay.

Behind his mansion was a large man-made pond and the center with a small cottage. As he walks towards the cottage, the maid the emperor assigned to keep the place clean bowed their heads. "Good afternoon lord Yu," and he returned then with a nod of his own.

"Are you going to spend the rest of the afternoon in the cottage again lord Yu?" The head maid asks, "would you like us to send you some snacks?"

Yu Wang stopped and turned his head to the maid, "there is no need."

He settled himself in his favorite spot in the cottage before gazing into the waters. The lotus' would bloom in the following weeks and once again, there would be three or four unusual lotus' in his pond.

White. Whenever his in a place that blooms lotus' there will always be a white lotus, paler than the usual ones sometimes the petals are transparent that whenever the sun would shine on it, the flower seemed to glow. Yu Wang was no longer a god nor does he use his spiritual energy anymore, yet the moment a white lotus blooms in the middle of the night he feels like the energy rush to his meridians.

A voice stated beside him, "your thinking of white lotus' blooming this year, are you?"

Yu Wang turned to his new visitor, "to show yourself in the mortal realm is a huge offense much less to a human, Yin Fei."

Yin Fei grinned, "Wang-er you know I'm nothing but a lowly spirit now. Sun Yi won't even spare me a second of his time anymore."

Yu Wang, "..."

Yin Fei, " and you, a human? Hah! You may be living in the mortal realm but you are no longer a human. You being a human had long been gone. When was it exactly? Three hundred years ago? Or maybe four hundred years ago? No, if I remember correctly it was longer than that."

Yu Wang plainly replied, "enough."

Yin Fei didn't stop and she later beamed at him, "ah! It was seven hundred years ago! It has been seven centuries since you have lost being called a human."

Yu Wang, "..."

Yin Fei, "Almost a hundred years of enjoying being a god and six hundred years being in banishment, am I right?"

Yu Wang shifted his gaze back on to the water and replied in a calm tone, "being a god has nothing to be of joy about."

Yin Fei stated, "what do you mean? Don't tell me you didn't celebrate when you entered godhood! Almost every new gods do as such, even Shen Xuan celebrated."

Ah, Shen Xuan...

Knowing the man, he probably did. Though Yu Wang thinks that he did it alone if he was not close to the other gods, what more can that person be? He gets in a fight where ever he goes, be it in the heavens or the other two realms. Shen Xuan was no better than Yu Wang and that much both of them know. But Yu Wang only replied, "I did not bother such time-wasting activity."

Yin Fei stated as a matter of fact tone while holding her laugh inside, "no wonder the others gods do not favor you much, you refuse enjoyment as much you hate wine being offered to you."

Yu Wang, "..."

Yin Fei stared at him for a long while being standing up in her seat. Yu Wang was one of the people she doesn't like much but couldn't leave alone. After all, Yu Wang helps her so many times that she had not enough fingers to count on. "That student of yours," she said in a serious tone making her own Yu Wang's attention.

"What about the crown prince? You're not going to lay your hands on him, are you?" It was only a simple question but enough to make Yin Fei shiver.

"I don't like laying my hands of inexperience humans, they're no fun at all," Yin Fei spat at him.

Yu Wang gazed at her long before looking away, "so, are you going to tell me?"

"I sense a large amount of unpleasant energy coming from him, a large amount of problem I should say. Though not now but in the future years, I am sure he'll not only cause trouble for the mortal realm but also the remaining realms will turn to chaos," Yin Fei's voice was serious and hard. "But it is just an intuition. Who knows what will happen," she quickly added with a smile.

Yu Wang stopped for a moment before looking hardback at her, "Yin Fei are you playing with me? If so, leave. I don't plan on satisfying you on your play."

He heard Yin Fei tsk twice before crossing her arms around her chest, her face turned to serious. "Believe I am not playing right now. I don't like the energy that your student is emitting, it's getting stronger. If it continues then it is enough for devourers to know where it is exactly."

The moment the word devourers entered Yu Wang's ears his eyes widen of shock, "devourers?"

Yin Fei nodded her head.

"Weren't they long gone? How come you still mention it?" His voice sounded in haste as if the need to protect and to search for something or someone.

Yin Fei gazed away and spoke in a somewhat annoyed tone, "I don't want to be kind to you but since you've been hiding for so many decades, I'll feed you some information that I've gathered in the last years. You should pay me for this, you know!"

"What will a spirit like you use the money for?" Yu Wang asked indifferently.

"I don't need your money, I want a single piece of your white lotus."

"My lotus?"

"Yes, it doesn't matter if it is dead or small. All I need is a single flower."

"Before you tell me about the devourers, tell me first why you need my lotus'. I don't think you what them for decorations or some sort," Yu Wang ask suspiciously, eyeing Yin Fei for any questionable actions.

He doesn't have many uses for the white lotus' in his manor, but for those who know, the white lotus that grows near him are special. Especially for spirits and humans.

"Your lotus contains enough spiritual power to created me a new body. If I cultivate it with my own energy then I am to own a temporary body that could last till the next blooming season," Yin Fei answered truthfully.

Yu Wang considered her answer for relaxing back to his own seat. "The white lotus' in this pond are unguarded ever since I took hold of this place, how come you still haven't got your own body after coming here uninvited? "

"I've been trying to pick them for so many years now but whenever I held out my hand it would attack me."

"Attack you?"

"Yes! Of course, I am not one whose easy to back down, I had to use force in getting them but no matter what, I still couldn't get one."

"And what makes you think the flowers would allow me to hand them to you? If they hate you so much already, there will be no way they'll allow me to give them to you."

With Yu Wang's statement, Yin Fei couldn't help a smile to creep to her lips, "Yu Wang, are you not their master? Well, not anymore but used to, they still bloom wherever you're around. It makes no difference to a familiar you gave to someone but still follows your orders."

Yu Wang, "..."

Yin Fei, "well, what do you say? I will give you what you want and you will have to give what I want, it isn't a bad deal."

Yu Wang nodded his head and sighs, "very well."