The dream seemed so real. Huayu fell in love with the Goddess of Flower, because she was blind to his status… because she was herself around him. I closed my eyes and saw the vivid dream flashing in my head. Did it really occur? Why did I dream of them? And if she was so happy, then why would she commit suicide?

I rubbed my face in frustration. Nothing made sense.

I leapt out of bed, sat down at the desk, and pulled out the Pillowbook, scanning the pages for all mentions of the Goddess of Flower. It was only then that I noticed something strange. In a book that even contained disparaging remarks about Emperor Jadeite, there was not a single bad comment about the Goddess of Flower.

How could anyone be so perfect? This question echoed in my brain until I fell asleep once more.

When I woke up again, it was broad daylight. Light streamed through the lattice windows to create intricate patterns on the wall. A spread of dishes lay on the table; Obe had come with breakfast already. I looked at the clock on the wall. Normally at this time, I would head to the waterfall. That that I finished the beginner manual and did not take Huayu's intermediate version, I had nothing to do.

I let out a sigh and decided to wait for Huayu outside the morning court. The intermediate manual was better than nothing.

“Finally,” a high-pitched voice said as I stepped out the front gates. “I’ve been waiting for a quarter-incense of time and you are the only one I’ve seen. Where are all the usual girls?”

I stared at the goddess in front of me. She wore a bright pink floral dress under a bright pink floral cloak that matched her bright pink floral shoes and bright pink floral hairpieces. Even her face was tinted bright pink on her apple cheeks.

Since word got out that Huayu preferred to pursue rather than be pursued, goddesses stopped crowding the front gates of Azure Vault Palace. But the goddess in front of me was clearly behind the times.

“His highness is not here, but you can find a report of his daily schedule in the Pillowbook,” I quipped. Part of being a good disciple was getting rid of stalkers for him. Eventually, he might take me on a mission.

They seemed to take that as an insult.

“Do I look silly enough to use that sort of thing?” The bright pink goddess exclaimed.

I looked at the two pink flowers blooming from her head and replied, “no.”

Perhaps my sarcasm was too obvious. The goddess burst out crying and flew away.

I turned awkwardly to her fairy.

“Did she have something to give or a message for his highness that I can pass along?” I asked, feeling guilty.

The fairy was glaring at me, but she managed a smile.

“Are you headed to the Court of Divine Might?” She asked.

I nodded.

“With your low rank—” she eyed my plain robes “—you wouldn’t be able to get past the outer gates. But I’ll give you a tip.”

She lowered her voice mysteriously. I figured that she and her goddess seemed well-versed in the art of stalkery so I leaned in.

“Behind the Court of Divine Might, there will be a few dragons resting in the trees. Get on one. These dragons will open the doors of the court when it ends. Just hop off right in front of the doors and you should see his highness as he comes out.”

“Thanks!” I said.

The fairy smiled sweetly, and then casted a cloud to chase after her goddess.

I arrived outside of the Court of Divine Might. As the fairy mentioned, to get inside, one required either a summons by Emperor Jadeite or to be one of the Top Echelon gods. So I circled behind the building.

There I found nine dragons resting underneath the trees like she said. I picked the smallest of the nine and hoisted one foot over its back. The dragon glanced at me lazily but quickly went back to sleep. It would be another half shichen before morning court would be over.

Every morning, Emperor Jadeite held these meetings with ministers. Every morning, Huayu attended, after which he returned with mountains of scrolls to review. I wanted to go with him, if only to people watch, but he never offered. I sighed. General Guan Yu took Daoxu sometimes. It all came back to dependability again.

Suddenly and without warning, all nine dragons thrust themselves into the air. I just had the time to wrap my fingers around a slippery scale before my dragon slithered towards the Court of Divine Might. Thankfully, the doors were right there.

But the dragons did not stop at the doors. They swooped right inside.

I let out a yelp that echoed in the giant hall. Below my feet were rows and rows of kneeling officials. Some lifted their head to see the commotion while my dragon twirled itself around a beam that supported the ceiling. I lost grip and pitched headfirst onto the ground.

SPLAT!

The hall grew silent. I found myself on all fours facing a giant throne. Panting heavily, I lifted my head to see Emperor Jadeite. He was sitting on the giant throne, appearing more forbidding than I had remembered from the Baishi Ceremony.

“Do we have a solution to the issue of the Purple Omen?” Emperor Jadeite’s voice echoed in the silent court. Horrified, I read the placard in front of me. “Kneel Behind The Line to Deliver Your Proposal”

“He thinks I’ve come forward with a proposal!” I thought. How did he not notice that I dropped from the ceiling?

“Well, how do you suggest we eradicate the Purple Omen?” Emperor Jadeite asked expectantly.

“Uh, the Purple Omen,” I repeated helplessly. No one came to my rescue. Around me were thousands of ancient, intelligent ministers yet no one made a sound.

“Since the Purple Omen refers to a particular shift in the stars… a realignment of constellation…” I tried to remember what Barette had said. “Then the simplest way to get rid of it would be… would be to move the stars into an alternate alignment?”

Laughter exploded inside the court and echoed off the walls. My cheeks felt as if someone smashed chilis into a paste and smeared it all over my face.

“You must be a new disciple.” Emperor Jadeite said and sighed. “Can whomever this disciple belongs to retrieve her?”

Someone walked forward. His footsteps echoed in the grand hall. From the corner of my eye, I saw Huayu bow.

“She is mine.”

My heart fluttered hearing his words.

Laughter turned to murmurs. I heard quite distinctively someone say, “How embarrassing for his highness.”

Emperor Jadeite was now frowning at Huayu.

“It is my oversight for failing to properly prepare her,” Huayu apologized.

I clawed my nails into my palms. Huayu taking the blame was harder to bear than my own embarrassment.

“Your majesty, is the shifting of stars impossible?” I asked indignantly.

Emperor Jadeite cleared his throat.

“The literal star alignment of the Purple Omen does not concern us, as very few know how to read and use it,” Emperor Jadeite explained politely. “We worry that the perceived lower threshold may lead to escalating crime and eventual societal chaos.”

“Would the shifting of stars be a huge undertaking?” I asked.

Laughter broke out again, but in a more unpleasant fashion.

Emperor Jadeite nodded patiently, but out of the corners of my eyes, I saw a page approaching me. I spoke up before he could usher me away.

“Send as many gods as needed to realign the constellation, all of the armies, any solitary gods, and make it known that Shenjie wants to end the Purple Omen. Allow everyone to think that the phenomenon of the lower threshold will soon be over,” I said in one breath.

I expected more snickers, but instead I heard silence.

I felt Emperor Jadeite’s eyes on me.

“Continue,” he said after a moment.

“When the time is right, announce the end of the Purple Omen, whether that is true or not doesn’t matter. I doubt the general public will find out otherwise, if they can’t read the actual omen.” I paused. “But the only flaw is… those who commit crimes—”

“—Will rush to do so right before the end of the Purple Omen,” Emperor Jadeite finished in a booming voice.

I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. My plan wouldn’t work. I peeked at Huayu, but he wasn’t looking at me. I followed his gaze to Emperor Jadeite.

I was stunned to find a look of delight on Jadeite’s face.

“Huayu, draft an announcement that Shenjie shall terminate the Purple Omen, broadcast the message in Shenjie, Haijie, Yodu, and Mojie. Mobilize all troops to the stars immediately,” Jadeite ordered.

“All troops? Even those guarding…” Huayu said slowly.

Jadeite nodded, eyes ablaze with fervor.

I did not understand what was going on, and from the confused murmurs, the rest of the gods did not either. But apparently, Huayu did.

He bowed to accept the command and began to retreat. I followed him.

“Wait,” I heard Jadeite say. “Award 10 milliliters of chi to the disciple of Huayu for her ingenius idea.”

Ingenious idea? But there was a flaw in the plan. I was thoroughly confused but did not protest when a page led me to the side of the court. As he held a contraption to my finger, I looked beyond him. Row and rows of ministers all watched me with open mouths. I stared back at them with wide eyes.

The warm flow of chi entered my finger, coursed through my veins, and circled inside me. I suddenly realized what this meant! Ten milliliters was surely enough to protect myself from minor dangers, which meant that I could accompany Huayu on missions!

That was all I could think about for the rest of the morning court. When it ended, Huayu came to me. But senior ministers soon surrounded us.

“Your highness, in light of the ‘Uprising of Volcanic Yaos’, will you be putting a word in support of my argument for preemptive monitoring of chi upsurge in all worlds?”

“Your highness, please give me your opinion on the matter of army commanders engaging in factional activities. His majesty requested my official report. It would be stronger with your input.”

“Your highness—”

“Your highness—”

Huayu glanced at me.

“My disciple has bad memory,” he said to the ministers before answering them one by one.

I frowned. My memory was amazing.

“His highness sure is nice to you,” one of the gods’ disciples whispered to me. “He just excused you from greeting all the ministers by name. The nicest thing my shifu ever did was refill my rice bowl—and I think he was drunk that time.”

I had a stupid smile on even as Huayu and I flew back to Azure Vault Palace.

“Why were you at morning court?” He asked.

I told him how the pink goddess’s fairy tricked me.

“I had no idea that they were not escort dragons but pillar dragons,” I said with a sigh.

“So one more goddess believes that I’m a… what was the word?”

“Masochist,” I supplied without thinking.

He raised his eyebrows.

“On the bright side, they are no longer bothering you," I reminded immediately. "Isn’t it nice to be able to use the front doors?”

Huayu stared at me, but the upturned corners of his lips told me that he wasn't mad. I quickly changed the topic while he was still in a good mood.

“Now that I have more than 10 milliliters of chi, can I accompany you on missions?”

Huayu looked at me in the eyes.

“Ziyan,” his voice was deadly quiet. “Why do you want to go on a mission?”

“I… I…,” I mumbled as I searched for a better reason than being with him. Then something deeper bubbled from within as I remembered the villagers.

“On the day that my village was massacred, I never felt more useless,” I said slowly. “I could only watch as everyone I knew die in front of me. When you appeared, I realized that there was justice in the world. I came to Shenjie not only because I like y—”

I clasped my hand to my mouth.

Our cloud came to a stop. I kept my eyes on my feet.

Huayu took a step towards me.

“You.”

He took another step.

“What?”

He stopped when his face was only inches from mine. A tingling sensation spread through my body. I hardly dared to breathe. I watched him carefully, but he did not look annoyed.

“I… li…” I stammered. My face began to burn. I wished he would just forget what I said, pretend that nothing happened. Wasn’t that what god were supposed to do in awkward situations according to etiquette?

"Not only because I li... li... listened to my guts that coming to Shenjie was the right choice in order to save my people and all those who suffered needlessly due to yaoguai attacks," I blabbed.

Huayu stepped back. The cloud started moving again.

“I promise to take you on a mission,” he said. Something danced in his eyes as he surveyed me. “When this busy period is over.”

“You mean the Purple Omen Project?” I asked, eager to change the topic. I focused my eyes on my shoes again. My face still burned. “Why didn’t his majesty mind the flaw in my plan?”

“It isn’t a flaw. It is the perfect bait.”