The angels have finally descended upon Hell—and those who once would have had much to say about it were now wisely keeping their mouths shut.
By the time He Bolin follows Liu Xue into the emergency council chamber, chaos has already erupted. The core ministers of the Ten Courts are barely restraining themselves as they face Heaven's delegates, tempers flaring while contingency plans disintegrate into shouting.
"How in the world did he acquire an augmentation stone of that calibre without any of your knowledge?" Angel Gin roars, his voice echoing violently off the chamber walls. "How dare your realm produce such illegal artifacts? Do not think for a moment you will escape responsibility!"
He jabs a finger at each minister in turn. "Once this is resolved, Heaven will investigate every last one of you!"
"Are you accusing us?" one minister snaps, bristling. "How dare you pin this on us! We toil day and night cleaning up the surge in deaths, only for you elite bastards to swagger in here and insult us?"
Others quickly join in.
"Mind your own pansy business!"
"Yeah! Fuck off already!"
Angel Gin steps forward, towering over the demons. "Oh? You want to run your mouths? Keep talking if your blasphemous asses are ready to—"
"Enough!"
The single word slams into the room like a thunderclap.
Sleeves stop rolling. Fists freeze mid-clench.
Monk Tsuneo stands at the entrance with the four Elders flanking him, their expressions carved from stone. Jin Niu lingers behind them, visibly exhausted, shoulders sagging.
It seems that the prime minister has tattled on them.
"Indecent. Mannerless. Shameless." Monk Tsuneo's voice rises, each word striking like a gavel. "All of you."
The other angels hurry to restrain their leader as Monk Tsuneo continues. "Untimely deaths plague this realm due to your rampant demons, yet you still find time for churlish squabbling!"
Monk Shiraishi's cold gaze sweeps over the ministers. "Pathetic…"
Unable to respond, the ministers drop to their knees, prostrating themselves in silence. But the monks have no patience left for theatrics.
They issue curt orders. Urgent duties are assigned. The ministers scramble out of the hall, leaving behind only the angels, the princes, and Jin Niu—standing in thick, uneasy silence.
Monk Hisao reaches into his rucksack and withdraws several stones, gesturing for Jin Niu to distribute them. As the angels mutter heatedly about banning augmentation stones in Hell entirely, Liu Xue narrows his eyes at the elders.
"Where are we going?"
"To a temple."
Liu Xue raises a brow. A strange sensation prickles his spine. Was it his imagination or had the monks been watching them far too closely?
He turns to He Bolin for confirmation, only to find the man cheerfully attempting to flirt with a group of stern-faced angels.
…Never mind.
Before Liu Xue could dwell on the unease, Jin Niu and the angels crush the stones and vanish. The monks do not follow. Instead, they wait silently for the princes to go first.
This is weird. Liu Xue thinks before teleporting to the temple.
"Whose temple is this?" He Bolin chirps as he looks at the temple nestled among dense foliage, in the middle of a dense forest area. "How dilapidated…"
"Is it?" Liu Xue counters, pointedly eyeing the glowing sapphires embedded in the cracks and crevices of the ancient stone.
Behind them, the elders emerge and usher them inside.
The interior is stark. At its centre stands a lone sculpture of a nameless goddess, her form fluid, her expression unreadable. A lotus rests in each of her hands.
"Who's that?" He Bolin finally asks the gnawing question. It seems that apart from him and Liu Xue, the rest are familiar with this place.
Even the angels…
"This temple is devoted to…" Monk Shoji cleared his throat softly.
"The Blue Lotus."
"The what now?" He Bolin overlooks the dumbstruck expression on Liu Xue's face and continues to act ignorant. "Why are we sight-seeing right now? We have a crisis on our hands!"
"That is precisely why we are here," Monk Masashi replies evenly. "She will aid us."
"Excuse me, who is she?" He Bolin diligently acts clueless.
"Was the Blue Lotus not a magical artifact in the old grandma's fables?"
Monk Shiraishi sighs. "No, such is just a rumour. The Blue Lotus is a goddess who is the personification of our realm. As she remained nameless, we called her by many names. Mother hell, Lady Sanzu…
He gestures toward the statue. "And because of the two blue lotuses she holds, the name endured."
"Upon her creation, she laboured for eons to establish and stabilize this realm. Until the day Hell no longer required her."
"Accepting this, she shattered herself into thousands of fragments. Each crystal scattered across the mortal world and the underworld alike."
"Thus she was forgotten," Monk Masashi continues. "Her temple abandoned. Her existence reduced to baseless fables."
"Tales such that some flower grants this kingdom?" He Bolin asks with wide eyes.
Monk Shiraishi looks sharply at the two princes. "Yes. That is entirely false."
"Hmm…" He Bolin scratches his head. "You say that she was shattered, then how can she be present right now?"
That's right. Liu Xue thinks to himself. Then how did Zhang Xiyu obtain such power.
For some reason, no one answered. Every mouth in the temple remained tightly sealed.
"Elders." Angel Gin tilts his head toward the sculpture. "Shall we?"
The monks nod and approach the statue—then go right past it.
Liu Xue takes a step forward to follow, but a firm hand catches his sleeve.
"We will stay here." Jin Niu says.
The three of them watch as the monks and angels vanish behind the idol, swallowed by the shadows beyond.
Liu Xue turns on him, expression icy. "If we are not needed, why were we brought here?"
Without answering, Jin Niu lowers himself to the floor before the goddess and closes his eyes, settling into meditation. "It will take some time," he says calmly. "Make yourselves comfortable."
Then, he adds quietly. "…It's not like you can leave."
He Bolin lets out a dramatic sigh and leans against the windowsill. "That's true. We don't have stones to return, and flying on the sword from this backwater would be a nightmare."
"No, that's not what he meant." A cold voice cuts in. Liu Xue's gaze pins Jin Niu's back. "He means that he will not let us leave."
"No." Liu Xue says coldly. His gaze never leaves Jin Niu's back. "That's not what he meant."
He Bolin blinks. "What do you mean, younger brother?"
"He means he won't let us leave."
Liu Xue's voice sharpens. "Jin Niu. Why are you supervising us?"
The silence in return gets on his nerves.
A humourless laugh escaped Liu Xue's lips. "You're afraid that we will also invade the mortal realm."
"Hah… no way." He Bolin scoffs instinctively but Jin Niu does not deny it.
"Seriously?!" He Bolin stares at him.
"If one prince could do it," Jin Niu says mildly, "what prevents the other two?"
He opens his eyes at last. "Do not waste your breath. The two of you are not trusted and must remain under supervision."
"That's not what I am saying." Liu Xue frowns, his shadow falling upon Jin Niu's back. "My capabilities are being squandered. While my brother ravages two realms, I sit idle like a useless ornament."
His fists clenches. "That would disgrace my bloodline."
He inhales, steadying himself. "And to be regarded the same as him…" His grey eyes burned. "I despise it."
Taking a deep breath, he composes himself. "Let me retrieve that savage myself. Ending this quickly is far better than grovelling before a dead goddess."
"So, you want to go to the mortal world?" Jin Niu asks.
"Yes." Liu Xue's shoulders squared. "I shall drag back that criminal in no time."
"And the millions of demons who crossed over?"
This time it was Liu Xue's turn to stay silent.
Jin Niu gives a dry chuckle. "I see. You hadn't thought that far."
He closes his eyes again. "Your feelings are irrelevant. This is no longer an internal matter. Proper protocols will be followed."
"You kids should stay out of it."
And just like that Jin Niu goes back to meditating, no longer willing to hear a word from him.
"I've had enough." Liu Xue scoffs loudly and strides out of the temple.
Without the clash of voices, the temple became unnervingly serene. Leaves rustled. Wind whispered through stone making it a great place for cultivation.
Jin Niu's eyes snap open with alarm. His gaze fixed on He Bolin, who stands by the window, enjoying the breeze with a faint smile.
"He left?" Jin Niu asks with clenched teeth.
He Bolin's easy expression shifts, his eyes gleam with sharp laughter.
"Your father will be furious." Jin Niu says in all seriousness.
"I don't care." He Bolin says darkly. "Many people want him dead."
He meets Jin Niu's gaze. "And the two of us are among them."
Hooking his finger, Jin Niu beckons him. He Bolin obediently plops down across from him.
Jin Niu leans in and whispers. "He gave you the augmentation stone to send Liu Xue?"
"Correction." He Bolin arched a brow. "I asked for it."
A faint smile curved his lips. "And since Zhang Xiyu and I are such close friends, he was happy to oblige."
An hour earlier—
He Bolin had intercepted the Third Prince as he stormed to the royal court.
"Xiao-Xue did you know?" He Bolin sneaked upon him. "…that one can blackmail their way onto the throne."
"Absolutely… despicable!" Liu Xue had snapped, fury cracking his usual composure as he unleashed a torrent of curses aimed at Ren Jiang.
He Bolin watched with mild fascination, wondering whether Liu Xue was outraged by the act itself—or simply furious he hadn't thought of it first.
"Third brother." He Bolin smoothly interrupted with a heavy sigh. "I can't say that I didn't know about this."
He turns to him with a frown. "What do you mean?"
He Bolin closed the distance between them. Looking around in an anxious manner, he put his hand to his mouth and whispers. "You see, a few days ago… me and that guy were drinking at his place."
"At first, I thought he had just called me over to rant. You know, his wife ran off, father's returning, that stuff." He swallowed. "But then—"
"He lets me in on this plan." He jerked his chin toward the fractured sky.
Hands trembling, He Bolin dug into his interdimensional ring, fumbling far longer than necessary before finally dragging something out.
"And then he gives me this!"
A heavy augmentation stone landed in his palm, nearly filling it.
"And tells me to help him take over the mortal realm!" His eyes were wide, almost frantic. "Promises to make me the new prime minister!"
"Do I look like I am interested in that thankless job?"
"…"
He Bolin continued in an aggrieved tone. "I thought of it as him having a breakdown, just some drunken rambling of a sad guy but then- "
"If anyone finds out I have this—" He lifted the stone like it might detonate. "I am finished! They will call me his accomplice. Now what do I do with this damned thing!"
"That's how you handed it over?" Jin Niu asks incredulously.
"He was eager to help his hopeless brother." He Bolin replies smugly.
"'I can hold it' that's what he said with the nonchalance of an iceberg." He Bolin chuckles.
Jin Niu remained unimpressed. "My lord, pretending to be an idiot for this long may have caused permanent damage."
"When this is over," he added, "your lessons will resume."
Offended, He Bolin protests. "What do you mean! It was unconventional and effective. Also, I am far too old for that stuff!"
And so, above the sealed depths of the temple, the two continued to bicker as they waited for the discussion downstairs to bear its fruit.