Xuan's POV

Finally, after hiding the truth: the secret of Xian's conception, close to my heart, I had confessed to my father in front of YiJun gege.
YiJun gege, the one I had trusted to take care of my son, had fallen for him.

No, I hadn't heard him say that, but I could tell by the look in his eyes every time my son's name was mentioned. It was the same look I had seen in Zhen's eyes for me multiple times. It was love. I am sure father had seen it too.

Was it to protect Xian that Gege had pledged to abandon him, or was it to save himself?

As soon as the thought comes to me, I reprimand myself. Gege would never put himself before the safety of my son, I was sure of it. Hadn't he pledged to protect him when he had held him for the first time? Hadn't he done just that when he had drawn his sword on father to shield my son?

No, I could never repay the kindness he had shown, not only to me but my son as well, but still, it did not make sense for him to fall in love with him.

I wanted to ask him so many things...things I had thought impossible for him. Love was just one of them.

I am transported back to the fateful day when Xian had entered my life. I can still remember the look on Gege's face as he had held him.

Was he in love even then...in love with my son?

A plethora of emotions ranging from doubt, fear, disgust, anger, and apprehension flood my heart, all of them simmering under the blanket of gratitude.

Gratitude...irreplacable gratitude is what I feel most intensely towards my brother.

Gege was the most loyal being I had ever come across, wasn't he? If that was true, then there was no way that he would ever misuse his power and take undue advantage of Xian.

As soon as I think of my son, I start to wonder where Gege could have left him. The one thing he had done right was that he had thought about how our father might react. Gege had probably hidden him somewhere safe before returning.

Where are you, son?

My mind starts to buzz. It's a feeling that had eluded me for almost two decades.

"Jiejie!" I hear someone call me. "I am afraid father will end Xiōngdì!" The panicking voice adds, but the words lose their meaning before reaching me.

I look around, wiping my brow as sweat trickles down my temple. I can tell that it's hot, incredibly so, but the heat doesn't touch me. The wall is painted in a sickening shade of scarlet, and the stench that permeates the air makes bile rise to my throat.

I close my senses like I had been taught by Gege all those centuries ago, and instantly, my mind clears up. My eyes drift to the only item in the room situated at the far end: a mammoth throne.

Realizing where my vision had brought me, my mouth goes dry.

This was the underworld.

But why!?

I had never thought it possible to look beyond the mortal realm. In fact, even when my father had asked me to try and spy for him, I had failed. Then why was I here now? How had the shields that protected the realm allowed my mind to enter their sacred space?

"Who is there? Reveal yourself!" A sharp, commanding male voice demands.

He is speaking to me!

I turn around and come face to face with Phoenix-eyes, dark and intense. A need to hide from the demon, for I knew he was one, rises in me.

The demon advances, and I close my eyes, forgetting that it was only my mind that had wandered to the underworld.

His primordial body passes through me and moves towards the throne. Turning, his keen eyes scan the room and narrow when they come to a stop on me for a split second before looking past me.

I let go of the breath I had been holding unknowingly. I have barely taken a step towards the man when the door behind me creeks open, and a boy, barely of age, steps inside.

The first thing that catche my attention are his beautiful almond eyes. They are the same shape and color as Zhen's.

The boy looks straight at me. Our eyes lock for a moment before looking past me just like the Phoenix-eyed man had done.

"Hei Chi," the boy addresses the man who was now seated on the throne and approaches him, taking long confident strides.

Hei Chi! The king of the underworld! Heaven's sworn enemy!

I try to shrink back. I can't let him notice me. I, with all my powers, was no match for him. I was created to spread love, bring peace, hear prayers, and grant wishes, and if we were to cross swords, I was sure that I would fail to protect myself.

"Son, why do you still address me so?" The king's tone is fond; nonetheless, the steel in the boy's eyes stays as he takes his place next to the latter. "I am not your son. Now, tell me where he is."

Hei Chi smirks and leans into the boy's space. Anger coils inside me. A need to protect the boy I had never laid eyes on before today fills me, and without realizing it, I step closer to them.

"You want to know where your angel is, do you?" He questions, and the boy nods. "Yes, where is he?"

"After what he pulled, he deserves to die. Don't you think?"

The boy's eyes blaze; he mimics the king of the underworld, leaning towards him just like the older had done, challenging.

"No. I think you deserve to die for what you did to my mother, to Jun...to your brother!" The accusation in the boy's words is tangible.

"I did not kill your father; heaven did!" Hei Chi retorts.

"He died because he looked up to you, stood up for you, he followed you. He sacrificed himself to protect me. He didn't matter to you, and neither do I. I am just a pawn to you like my father was. Do you really expect me to believe that you fell from heaven? You can't be Heavenly father's first creation. You are lying, Hei Chi. You can't fool me again."

"It's not a lie."

"I will believe it when I have heard it from Jun."

"YiJun does not know. It was before his time. Only the elders remember."

"Then I will believe it when Heavenly father confirms it." The boy argues back.

"He will never admit it. He doesn't have the guts to do it."

"Show me your wings then!" The boy demands, and I watch as Hei Chi's fists ball at his sides, "He took them from me before banishing me. And now he has taken your Jun's wings too."

"No..." The boy's eyes widen. Fear and anguish replace anger. He shakes his head,  "He can't. He won't. HeavenlyFatherr is kind. He loves Jun." In a swift move, he grabs Hei Chi's collar. "Hei Chi, if you touch Jun, I will burn this place down and myself with it."

Hei Chi throws his head back and laughs. It sounds misplaced. "Your Jun strode into the underworld as if he owns it. He doesn't. I rule here. My word is the law here. If YiJun thinks my attachment to you can protect him, he is wrong."

'Your Jun? YiJun. Are they talking about Gege? Who is this boy?' I wonder, and a second later, I receive my answer.

"He has killed hundreds...no, thousands of my people, why should I spare him, Xian?"

Xian, my son!

Why are you here?

My son is at Hei Chi's mercy!

Fear engulfs me.

No. It can't be. It can't be!

My vision blurs.

No. I need to know more.

Knowing full well that I couldn't stay longer even if I wanted, I call my son's name, "Xian..."

Though my son doesn't seem to have heard me, what he says next, seems to be directed at me, "Jun should have killed you when you were possessing Hua. I wish I could warn him not to come to visit you in his weakened condition! I wish I wouldn't have believed you when you told me that you wanted to reconcile with your creator!"

"You still don't get it, Xian." Hei Chi fumes, "My Father is the cruel one. He made me what I am today. He doesn't understand love. He is too set in his ways. He will never let you be with his favorite son. In his eyes, you are nothing but an abomination!"

He is not an abomination! Xian is not...

"Xuan...Xuan...wake up, my child!" I can hear the Heavenly Father's voice. He sounds scared; I wonder why?

As soon as my eyes flutter open, I see him crouching next to me. "Father," I mutter and throw my arms around him. "Please save them. Please don't let them die." I beg, feeling his arms wrap around me.

"Calm down." He pats my back, "What did you see, my child?" He enquires, like always, and turns, "Jian, I need to have a few words with her. Leave."

My youngest brother bows, "How should we deal with Xiōngdì?"

"That happened to Gege?" I ask, recalling my son's words. Father holds his peace.

No, it can't be; he can't have hurt Gege, could he?

I search his eyes for answers, but he avoids looking at me, confirming my worst fears.

"Xuan..." He starts, but I interrupt him, "Father, Gege is your only chance to win against Hei Chi. Please tell me you haven't done anything that can't be undone."

Father sighs, "He is alive," He closes his eyes and adds, "barely."

"Father, no. Please, help him." I lift myself up, and try to distance myself from him,  but he doesn't let go of my arm; he demands, "What did you see?"

He waves his hand, dismissing Jian, who leaves without protest.

'In his eyes, you are nothing but an abomination.' Hei Chi's words pierce my resolve...my hope, but it doesn't stop me from trying.

There was a reason I was shown this vision, I was sure of it and instantly, more of what Hei Chi had said comes to mind.

Why had Hei Chi referred to the Heavenly Father as 'his father'?

I look father square in his eyes, "I was taken to the underworld. I saw Hei Chi."

The Jade Emperor's eyes widen. He gives me a once over, "Did he see you? Did he hurt..."

"Xian was there too." I press on as if he hadn't spoken at all.

Father's grip on me tightens to the extent that it hurts, "I knew it!" He bites out as if he had proved a point. "And what was he doing?"

"Defying Hei Chi. Fighting for Gege's life. Blaming him for our deaths."

"Your death?"

I nod, "Hei Chi addressed you as 'father'; he didn't know I was there, so he wasn't lying. Why did he address you like that?"

"Xuan," His hand falls to his side, "You are tired..."

I shake my head, disappointed. "You expect our loyalty. You expect our devotion, but you shy away from giving us the truth. Fine. Hei Chi was right. I was wrong to hope for love and compassion. No wonder the humans are cruel; you built them in your image."

Slap.

I don't see it coming; I fall to the floor and wipe my lips, catching the blood on my fingers.

I can hear my father gasp before seeing him approaching me. I put my palm out, signaling him to stop and run towards my quarters with only one thing on my mind, I needed to save Gege, and warn him not to fall for Hei Chi's lies.

Halfway to my chamber, I take a detour and go to Jian's instead. To my surprise, it's empty. I ask around and am told that he had taken Gege to his old quarters. Taking Gege to his chamber made sense.

When I arrive in Gege's old chamber, I find Jian with his head buried in his hands, sitting at the foot of his bed with Gege lying on the bed, badly injured. His inky black robes are drenched in blood...his blood.

I make up my mind deciding that it was time I stood up for Gege, just like he had done to protect my son.

That decision...that promise was the reason he was in this condition now, was it not?

From what I had seen in the underworld, I could sense that Gege meant a lot to Xian. He was willing to stand up to Hei Chi for Gege.

Yes, I owed it to Gege to take care of him now that he needed me most.

"Ah-Jian," I knock before entering, and his head snaps up. His eyes settle on the side of my face. He approaches me, and gesturing me to come inside, closes the door. "Jiejie, did father do this to you?" He asks, upset, then states, "He did... I shouldn't have asked."

When we were informed about the commotion in the underworld, I had come clean to Jian. I had told him how Gege was innocent, how after coming to know about my condition, he had taken it upon himself to protect me and how Jian had misunderstood us.

That day, he had confessed to me how he had felt jealous of Gege's closeness to me and had lost his cool. The truth was that both of us missed YiJun Gege.

After what I had told him, he had promised that he would make up for how he had treated us.

The truth was that behest unknown to him, Jian had softened after Gege's departure. So, when he had heard that there was a chance that his Xiōngdì could be alive, he had promised to protect him, even if it meant standing against his father.

I take his hands in mine, "Ah-Jian, the time has come for you to fulfill your promise. I am afraid that if you go back on your word now, there will be no one left for you to protect or serve."

{Note:- What will Jian choose? What will Xuan do to help her Gege?

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