The house was empty when Taohua woke up.
Taohua didn't seem too bothered, after all Hong Jin would be back home at night, in fact this gave Taohua the opportunity to visit the village without feeling guilty for leaving hong jin at home.
As usual there was hot water in the bath, but instead of the usual pink dress or yellow floral dress, it was a coarse peasant top and bottom which was more masculine.
Taohua quickly took a bath and put on the clothes.
He didn't have a mirror so he had no idea how the clothes looked on him , but he have never felt more comfortable in his life. The clothes fit smugly against his skin and the scent reminscent of fresh grass. He could smell a hint of Jasmine, that was Nick body scent.
He went to the kitchen and took breakfast out of the pot.
It was his favorite rice porridge and chunks of meat, he ate quickly before grabbing a head tie and making his hair into a bun.
He made sure that he secured the doors before running out of the house.
His footwork was fast, he reached the boundary of the village in just half an incense stick. He debated with himself about entering for a full minute before entering the boundary.
The first person he saw was the woman who tried to convince him to leave yesterday.
She seemed to have been coming back from picking mushrooms, her basket was carried on her back and she wore a wide strawhat.
She ahhed in suprise before walking to meet him.
"Young mistress, you finally change your mind? Or did the demon tried to eat you yesterday?"
Taohua shook his head "No , I just came to ask about the king of your village "
"We don't have a king, we just have a chief…"She looked up and down at him; a huge grin on her face "have you eaten breakfast?"
The young girl was really beautiful despite in farmers clothing and a simple bun. She reminded her of her younger days when she would be up to mischief and follow her brothers around.
Sadly, she didn't give to any daughters so seeing this young girl couldn't help but make her want to take care of her.
Taohua wasn't that aware of how disarming his face was , all he knew was that everyone liked to treat him well and even spoil him when he was around their vicinity.
Despite how nice the woman seemed , she was still part of the people who banished Hong Jin some years ago over misunderstandings, so he really wasn't in the mood to communicate cordially with her.
He shook his head and looked around.
"Do you guys have any trouble? Like in terms of security of the village?"
"Yes , we have periodic raids from the demon tribes" the woman sighed,she was supposed to be cautious around strangers but Taohua innocent face lowered her guard and she started to talk , her voice lowered "We have been having demon raids for over 27 years now , we told the region governor to help us but they never listen to us . We have no choice but to move during the winter months…"
Taohua listened carefully to the woman words.
His knowledge about demons were gathered mostly from his shifu and her friends in the god realm. Demons are a lot like mortals but with the lifespan of a god. Their troublemaking depend mostly on the king rulling them at the time.
Some kings dynasties are peaceful and they mind their business, rarely causing problems for the mortals or provoking the gods, due to this peaceful regimen, some of them will intermarry with mortals and have children without any problems.
Other dynasties were violent and caused problems. Many of these kings have hatred for the mortals so they would order their minions and citizens to frustrate them from time to time. They also caused chaos for minor gods of the mortal realm.
The demons troubling this village are minor demons headed by rank 1 generals. They would steal food, destroy properties and rape women. They always came before winter so the villagers have learned to vacate the place before the supposed day.
Demons aren't too much of a problem for him , so he can guarantee wiping them out in one battle. It was just that he didn't know how many battles he must undergo to finish the warrior tribulation.
"So when is the village leaving again?"
"We are leaving in three days time , around dawn …do you want to follow?"
Taohua shook his head.
The woman sighed helplessly , she had no idea how to convince such a young girl to stay with her.
"If you do change your mind, my home is open to you "
Taohua nodded before turning to leave , then as if he was tapped awake , he turned back to the woman and blinked.
"Do you have food supplies? Like rice ?"
The woman nodded "Yes…"
"What about dried skins and other foods?"
The woman shook her head.
Taohua smiled , his face lit up making the woman have no choice but to smile back at him.
"Can I trade some things for some food?"
The woman nod at once " When do you need them ?"
"Next week" He then turn to leave "Byeee"
The woman raised a hand despite he can't see her , she waved lightly "Bye"
He didn't go home , he still wanted to check around, so he played around the forest and hunting small animals and picking up fruits like peaches.
He didn't want to mess up the house with the smell of dead animals so he took the time to kill them and dry them under fire.
It was already dark by the time he got home. Seeing Nick sitting down quietly outside the house, he didn't look around and went to show him his "spoils of war".
Bei Shang already had the urge to flee as Taohua skipped closer to him; this was probably due to spending a long time with Nick in the demon realm so he could pick out when Nick was angry and he was trying to suppress it or whenever he was about to lock people up.
Taohua still didn't know he have entered trouble, he just sat down beside Nick and dumped everything in front of him.
"For you"
Nick blinked and looked at Taohua, he didn't seem to register the gifts at all.
"Where did you go?"
Nick voice was quiet, even soft but Bei Shang can already hear alarm bells. Nick can ask a lot of questions but not where did you go. If he finds out Taohua can travel long distances without informing him , he could go crazy and then start to follow Taohua around.
The past Nick although calm and quiet was still possessive and blackhearted. Breaking Taohua knees personally might not be in the agenda but employing someone's or an animal help to do it is not off his list.
The voice of the demon god rang softly in his ear " I can feel your soul going though a scare , do you want me to take you out ?"
Bei Shang wanted to shake his head but seeing that he was still in Taohua body , he just sighed inwardly.
"No need , I just got a minor scare"
"Your hungpo trembled then moved back and forth as if trying to run out of your body" the demon god let out a tsk "If not for your calm voice, I will drag you back "
"How many days have passed in the demon realm?"
"Do you really need to know?"
"How many , demon god?"
They tsked again, their voice went lower " It's been … half a year now "
"Half a year ?!!!"
Although Bei Shang have expected he will spend considerable time in the memory realm , he didn't know he would spend up to a year. Turns out 6 days in the memory realm was 6 months in the demon realm.
How was Nick holding on ? At this point, he was probably running mad.
"Taohua, calm down…"
Bei Shang whispered harshly "Don't Tell me to calm down, take me out of here immediately!!! The whole Storm palace must be in chaos by now …and Mitch ..oh no …"
"You can't go yet Taohua, I don't know when next I will be back to show you more of your memories…you have to at least get back a significant portion of it …"
"Isn't this significant?!"
"You haven't even recovered half "
"Urrrgghhh "
He can't continue this way , by the time he gets all his memories back , he will probably be a dead man by then.
He can't die without seeing Nick one last time.
The thought caught him off guard,his voice trailed off like a stream reaching it's destination.
"Taohua…what happened? Why did you suddenly became quiet?"
Bei Shang voice was calm , almost too calm.
"Nothing…I just realized something"
Familiarity was a very dangerous thing, One minute, you're fighting with someone for breaking your ankles and limiting your freedom , the next thing you preoccupy yourself with how he will throw a big tantrum if you don't get back on time.
In the past, he could have attributed it to enchantment magic and "fear" of Nick causing chaos, but spending some time alone comparing the demon nick to the hong jin nick had confirmed certain feelings that are best not thought about.
If he thinks about them , he would probably run mad.
"Taohua…"
"I am staying, but can you skip some of the memories for me … especially if you feel they're not important "
"I can't fast forward like it's a movie, It's your memory only you have the power to control it but I will see what I can do " the voice became softer "Is everything really okay?"
The demon god voice was tinged in confusion, they were probably worried about what he's thinking but they didn't want to pursue the matter to scare him. It suits him that way.
"Everything is okay" Bei Shang went back to staring at the scene. Nick seemed to be calm now, Bei Shang lowered his eyes. Taohua seemed to be touching him, a soft expression on his face.
He wondered what Taohua said to him , but it must have been something reassuring. Turns out the past Nick was much more agreeable than the demon Nick.
Somethings are better left unsaid and buried in the recesses of the mind.