Chapter 10: Who Will Fall First? (1)

Ruo Yin decided not to go to the waterfall. She did not want You Xie to think she was not focused on her mission or that she was not trying to seduce the War Deity. So after a few minutes after Zhan Luo's departure, she also went back to the pavilion.

"Ruo Yin, you came back just on time. We were just joking that you couldn't tolerate High God Zhan Luo and left him," You Xie said to her.

That is when Ruo Yin knew she blew it. You Xie was surely going to reprimand her when he can about leaving Zhan Luo here alone with the other deities. Just as Ruo Yin was going to say something, Zhan Luo stepped in.

"Hahaha... Don't joke on something like that. Ruo Yin and I are getting along pretty well. Isn't it?" He asked her lifting an eyebrow.

"Yes... I just wanted to stretch my legs. So I went for a small walk. Zhan Luo noticed that I went missing, and we just walked a bit. Since he didn't want to be a poor host, he returned first. If I have disrespected you, elders, I beg your pardon," Ruo Yin bowed.

Everyone was waiting for the Sky Emperor's opinion. No one there really cared, but if the Sky Emperor cared, then they needed to also care.

"What is with the silence? When You Xie offered Ruo Yin's hand in marriage, we already knew that she didn't know the Sky Clan's rules. So, what is the matter? She already knows her mistake," the emperor said towards the other deities. He really did not care the reasons the War Deity took an interest in the Demon Princess. He knew that Zhan Luo would never betray the Sky Clan, and that was all that mattered.

"And Princess Ruo Yin, I hope there is not another incident of this." The emperor looked at Ruo Yin in the eyes.

"Thank you, Your Highness," Ruo Yin said.

"It is already late, so maybe we should depart soon," the emperor said.

"Then let me see you all off. Ruo Yin, please accompany me," Zhan Luo then extended a hand for Ruo Yin and with the other signaled the guest the way to the exit.

After the deities left, Ruo Yin and Zhan Luo were finally left alone again. They just stood there at the entrance of the mountain waiting for the other one to move or speak. Finally, Zhan Luo broke the silence.

"Did you went to see the waterfall?"

"No..." Ruo Yin replied. With each passing second with the War Deity, Ruo Yin was forgetting her initial mission. He just felt like home for her, and she knew she was playing a very dangerous game where her heart was at stake.

"Do you want to see it now?" He asked her.

"What about the mess in the pavilion?" She asked him back. She needed to focus on her mission.

"That's easy to clean. Nothing that a small cleaning spell can't solve," he said to her as he casted it.

"Then, what are we waiting for?"

Ruo Yin grabbed Zhan Luo's hand and started walking. Her pulse getting faster with each pace.

"Do you even know where the waterfall is?" Zhan Luo asked her.

"You are not only a weirdo, but you are also kind of dumb. Didn't you told me that if I followed the path where I was walking, I was going to reach the waterfall?"  Ruo Yin turned around to look at his response while still grabbing his hand.

Zhan Luo noticed that Ruo Yin's hands were not smooth and soft. Instead, her fingertips had calluses, and her palms had slight scars probably from when she was sparring. Ruo Yin was definitely a breath of fresh air, and he did not mind sharing his space with her.

"Hey..." Ruo Yin waved her hands in front of Zhan Luo and tiptoeing she put her face close to his. "Did the cat got your tongue?"

"Don't be dumb. I was just deep in thought..." he said.

"What? Were you thinking how your pretty wife could have run away?" Ruo Yin was loving her bickering with the War Deity. He was the first immortal outside the Demon Clan who did not look at her as a freak.

"Do you know that even if you ran away and hid in the ends of the universe, I will come and find you?" Zhan Luo raised Ruo Yin's chin with his hand that was free.

"If... if you were to come chasing me, then you are breaking our deal. You promised me freedom, and I promised you my loyalty. I can still be loyal to you, but I don't exactly need to be with you," Ruo Yin said, finally feeling that she won a discussion with the War Deity.

Zhan Luo could not stop admiring this girl who was always trying to pick a fight with him. He could only hope that she would still be the same when she finally knew the truth.

"Huh, so this is how it is?" Zhan Luo raised an eyebrow. "So, we didn't talk about what happened to the party who broke the deal?"

"Hm..." Ruo Yin started thinking. This was a wonderful opportunity. She should harness this opportunity that may help her find the truth in the future, "Then, the one who breaks their part of the deal shall be punished by fulfilling a request of the other one."

Zhan Luo realized that Ruo Yin may use this against his favor and help You Xie in case she was really on his side, or she said that because she suspected that whatever You Xie told her was not the truth. From the short time he interacted with her, he knew she would not have come back to the pavilion if it were not if she had something to do there. Now, the question was, who was going to make the other one spill the truth first.

"You've got yourself a deal, my dear wife. Now weren't we going to the waterfall?"

For the first time, Zhan Luo suspected that his heart was not made of ice as the others said.