Verse I: Story of the Cursed Flower
©️HiImFebby

During the ancient times, when the gods and immortals existed together with the mortals, the Huili Clan lived in glory as the Peacekeepers for the world above and below.

Peace was promised as long as one of its kind existed.

Living as the Celestial King's royal guard and the Immortal of Justice, Xiang Hu, the clan leader, is a very wise and rightful man. Huang Liu, the goddess of harvest and fertility, and his wife is kind and passionate toward all living beings.

Life was perfect from the world above, however, Heaven has not yet blessed them an offspring, which they always yearned for.

                                     ༊ *

"Huang Shénnǚ, this way," Bingbing the Huang family's nymph maid said in a low voice, guiding the Goddess as they travel to Hei Hua Jin Lin, the forbidden forest of the witches.

The goddess followed Bingbing as the maid cleared the pathway for her.

Huang lived for almost 10, 000 years, in which she blessed the world of mortals with good crops and harvests over the years also, granting the fortune of continuing their family line with an heir.

But contrary to her title, she cannot bear a child of their own, leaving her a laughingstock and topic of gossip among other goddesses. Also, being the third princess of the Divine clan puts more pressure on her.

This concern is becoming a hindrance to the Divine family. Rumors about her being the infertile Goddess of Fertility spread in all realms, however, none dared to come forward to gossip in front of her because the Heavenly God dotes so much on his younger sister.

                                     ༊ *

"Are you really sure about this, my lady?" Bingbing asked, still worried about her Master's decision.

"It's too late to turn back now, my dear, " the Goddess said and lifted her skirt to take a step on a large pile of vines in front of her. "If we go back, we will just waste a week of our journey and all those excuses we came up with will be gone to trash."

Bingbing nodded and silently followed her master, as they travel closer to the heart of the Black Flower Forest.

                                     ༊ *

Years were spent trying to produce offspring of their own but none of the Divine ways succeeded. The void in their hearts goes deeper as the two deities spent the changing seasons, looking at their fellow gods and goddesses having their own children.

One season after another, they watched the young deities grow. From being born to obtaining their human form and reaching their teenage years.

Huang Shénnǚ felt an emotion that she should not have... jealousy.

                                     ༊ *

On a cold, winter night, while she prunes her crystal flowers in the Huang Pavilion, she heard an unusual voice.

"Hei Hua Jin Lin"

The faint voice repeated a couple of times and stopped until Xiang Hu's voice echoed from behind.

"Qīzi." Her husband's call woke Huang Liu from the temporary trance.

"Ah," she was startled by the god's sudden appearance causing the blade of the pruning scissor to scrape her finger.

With such worry, Xiang Hu hurriedly knelt to check his wife's wound. Blood was dripping from her index finger, bathing the leaves of her precious crystal flowers.

                                     ༊ *

Days passed after the incident and her curiosity has gotten stronger.

"Hei Hua Jin Lin," the goddess Liu uttered in low voice after sipping her tea.

As a high goddess, she already heard thousands of stories related to that restricted forest. The Black Flower Forest was a home; more like a prison to the condemned people of the underworld; the sinners, the witches, and the demons.

Goosebumps crept into her arms. Huang Liu closed her eyes to calm herself but...

"Hei Hua Jin Lin," she heard the same peculiar voice again that made her open her eyes.

A cold breeze filled the air, enticing her to follow.

"Hei Hua Jin Lin," the voice said once again. The voice made her stand up and head outside Zhao Lu's Palace.

She decided to stand in the middle of the Ruyang Pavillion which is the garden of Gods that are full of immortals around, but no one paid attention or acted unusually. That is when she realized that she is the only one who can hear it

Her feet seemed to have a mind of their own and began to walk in the direction of the cold breeze.

A little while after, it led her to the Celestial Library.

Huang Liu opened the door and the immortal attendant welcomed her presence, "Huang Shénnǚ," greeted the immortal and curtsied.

The goddess was so occupied that she continued on her way without sparing a glance. Looking around, she found nothing suspicious in the Celestial Library.

The goddess was about to leave but she heard the voice again, "Hei Hua Jin Lin."

Faint energy passed by and she immediately picked up. Without the attendant noticing, she quietly followed it and eventually led her to the library's ancient records. Huang Liu heard the same words again, but louder, which made her turn her head in the opposite way she is heading.

A few steps away, a book without a label emitted the same frequency of energy that the goddess followed and let out blue light. Huang Liu, with such caution, walked toward the book and held it tight as soon as she reach it.

To her surprise, the letters suddenly appeared on the front cover. The brushstrokes formed the words "Hei Hua Jin Lin".

Curious as she is, she quickly flipped through the pages but she found nothing written on it. The goddess felt a little dumbfounded and disappointed due to the anticipation she felt that no clue was found related to the Black Flower Forest.

Only a mere book, and nothing more.

After a little while, she became totally aware of her surroundings. The place that she stood at that moment was the Forbidden Section of the library. Good thing that the Celestial Attendant hasn't noticed her whereabouts.

The goddess returned the wordless book to its shelf. She found no reason why she should keep it but some kind of weird force is urging her to hold onto the book.

There must be something else within its pages that she must discover, and why fate or maybe some coincidence has led her here.

Huang Liu picked it up once again and hurriedly tried to exit the library.

However, the Celestial Attendant caught her, "Your Highness, you must not leave the Celestial Library without going through the proper procedure of borrowing any books." said the attendant and seized her hand causing the book to slip up from Huang Liu's sleeves.

The Celestial attendant knelt to grab the book but, Huang Liu was quick enough to snatch it from her hand.

"Keep this a secret if you want to stay alive," she said and immediately vanished into thin air and went straight to her Palace.

The attendant was left there, shocked and unable to stand up. Although she was not hurt by the goddess, a cold chill spread through her body when she recall Huang Shénnǚ's words, as if they were said by another person.

After reaching Zhaolu Palace, the goddess shut her residence and told her maids not to let anyone that day.

She sat down on the chair near her bed and fished out the wordless book from her sleeves.

The book glowed once again and she started flipping the pages. Untucked pages landed on her lap and she picked them from one page after another.

"Nǚwū zhī shū," she read the words that were written in faded ink on the front cover. "It is the forbidden Book of Witches?!"

To her shock, she distanced herself from the book.

It should not be in her possession, not at all.

Stealing restricted artifacts and possessions by the Celestial Palace without the Celestial King's knowledge is a huge crime punishable by death.

"You won't get punished by simply stealing an old book," whispered someone, and then a cold breeze came to touch her nape.

"Who's there?" The goddess nervously glanced around the room.

"The King treasures you so much," and then the voice was heard once again. "You want to conceive a child, am I right? My dear goddess Huang."

She was already terrified and anxious. In a blink of an eye, a figure of a shadow emerged from the book and slowly approached her.

Distance became shorter and the goddess' view became clearer. A white-haired man appeared right before her eyes. "Greetings to you, High Goddess of Heaven. I am your humble servant." said the man.

"Who are you?" asked Huang Liu to the man and he gave her a smirk in response.

"I am Zan Siwang, your highness," he bowed once again to Huang Liu, however, still terrified, the goddess tried to put more distance between them.

Siwang attempted to approach her but high volts of thunder fire enveloped his body, causing him to stumble to the ground.

"Apologies," he tried to get up even with wobbly legs. "I am bound with the book and I forgot I can't walk more than ten steps away from it."

'Siwang', her Highness thought. No scroll in the ancient texts ever mentioned his name before, however, his name itself is inauspicious.

"What happened to you?" said the goddess and scanned him from head to toe. Siwang gave a sophisticated vibe and from what it seemed, he is a High God too.

"It is a very long story, your Highness," he let out a small laugh. "And it's been a while since I saw the outside world," he paused, looking into Huang Shénnǚ's eyes. "Come closer, let me take a closer look at my savior."

The goddess closed the distance by taking a few steps and measured exactly eleven steps away from Siwang.

Siwang smirked but the goddess did not catch it. He knew that the goddess was taking precautions and a mistake that he blurted something about the binding curse earlier.

He looked at the goddess' eyes once again, and a cold wind entered the room. After that, he can only let out a sigh. "You want a child, am I right?" he asked the goddess once again.

She nodded. That was her deepest desire at the moment. Giving an heir to Xiang Hu is all that she wants.

"Well, I can help you with that." he sat in the empty seat near him and tucked his long white hair behind his ears.

"But.. but how?" Huang Liu stuttered on her words. "You are bound by the book and cannot help yourself. How can you even help me?"

This time, the goddess caught his smirk, "That was harsh, your Highness. I can truly help you, but I can only advise you due to my current situation as you can see." He glanced at the golden shackles on his arms and feet.

"Can I really trust you?" she asked, her eyes looking so desperate.

Siwang bowed in front of the Goddess. "I am your servant, your Highness. I also want what is best for you." He rose up from the bow and saw Huang Liu so close to him.

"Then tell me," she paused for a while and a tear escaped her eyes. "I am willing to do, whatever it takes."

"Hmm." he nudged his head, referring to the direction of the Book. "That is your solution."

"The forbidden forest of Witches," she whispered to herself. No wonder why there are too many occurrences between her and the Book. Seems that the Book of Witches is the solution itself.

"What do I need to do?" she distanced herself once again from Siwang to let him further explain the details.

"On the day of the Red Moon, when the mighty Fox clan's power is at its peak. You need to consume the Seed of Immortality," he paused to look at the Goddess' face and he found her serious expression.

He continued his words after caressing the shackles that bound him. "There is a plant named Phoenix Tears, you can immediately recognize it because of its intense red aura. The plant will give off a seed at its top and it is formed only every 10,000 years and you need to carefully pick it."

"Seems like an easy task for me." with her words, Siwang slightly laughed.

"It is not easy, your Highness. One simple mistake can easily take your life." Then the hopes on the Goddess' face also immediately faded. "Be careful to cleanse your thoughts before touching any part of the plant. Once it sensed any danger and any impure thoughts, it will cut off your soul and suck your immortality."

"The Seed of Immortality absorbing one's immortality," she whispered.

"Yes," he slightly nodded. "For you to give birth to an immortal, you need to consume the Seed of Immortality. Although, other gods don't need this," he glanced at Huang Liu. "But I think, you do, your Highness."

"That is all?" she asked was about to gather her things for her journey.

"Of course not," by his words, she suddenly halted.

"On the night of your consummate with the God of the Fox Clan, you need to mix your blood with the power of the seed and absorb it all into your body."

"That is all?" she asked once again.

"That is all. And wait for your offspring to be born and see the world." The corners of his mouth formed a menacing smirk and went back to the book.

Siwang's laugh filled the room and faded until the book shut by itself.

                                     ༊ *

The sharp vine sliced Huang Liu's sleeves and Bingbing immediately went to her side to fix the cloth, "Let it be. Let us continue with our journey." The goddess said and kept walking on the muddy path of the forest.

A day in the human world is equivalent to an hour in the Heaven Realm.

They were gone for a week which was already seven hours. Huang Liu used the duration of her sleep as an excuse for recuperating from a minor injury to sneak away from the eyes of the Jade Palace.

"Will His Highness notice your absence?," asked Bingbing.

"Probably not. If something goes array with half of my primordial spirit in the palace, he probably will suspect and flip the whole place to find me." the goddess nervously joked and she stumbled to the ground once again because of a vine.

The goddess left half of her spiritual aura on a doll she and Bingbing made. In that way, it will not alert the gods, as well as Xiang Hu while she sneaks out of the Palace to look for the Seed of Immortality.

The sound of her fall echoed within the quiet place.

"Who dares to trespass on my lawn?" Huang Liu sensed a monstrous aura that caused her to lift her head and take a look around their surroundings.

"It's the heart," she mumbled to herself and Bingbing helped her to stand up.

"What do you mean, your Highness?" Confused by the goddess' words, Bingbing stepped closer.

"We are here. At the heart of the Black Flower Forest." The goddess told her maid.

A faint light escaped from the clouds above revealing an old cottage in the middle of a gigantic flower, with vines scattered on the ground and spread everywhere around them.

A slim figure slowly began to approach them.

From afar, Huang Liu can already see her hideous features. Long pointed nose, warts everywhere on her face, big eyes, and a crouched body. She was stunned by this sight but she tried her best to hide the fear she felt at that time.

Before the moonlight hits the woman's face, her hideous features began to disappear, and suddenly, she turned into a beautiful maiden, "Apologies, my dear visitors. I didn't mean to frighten you." the woman spoke in a soft voice.

"Who are you?" Huang Liu asked.

"I should be the one asking you that," She had a puzzled look on her face.

"I am here to look for the Phoenix Tears," the goddess told her. The woman's eyebrows twitched after hearing those last two words.

"Phoenix Tears," she mouthed and silence enveloped them.

After a few moments, the woman began to walk back to the small cottage. "Come," she said urging them to follow her and took the lead. "I can help you find the seed."

Huang Liu and Bingbing decided to follow the woman to her home but Huang Liu halted halfway, "Wait," she became suspicious of the woman. "I never said I came for the seed."

The woman smiled, a scary one. "Well, everyone tries to find the Phoenix Tears for its seed." she suddenly turned to face them. All of her disguises melted like wax, once again revealing her true hideous form. "But none of them ever succeeded."

With the wave of her wooden cane, the ground split into two and vines appeared entangling the goddess' body and Bingbing's.

"Let us go or you will pay the price of hurting a royal descendant of Heaven!" shouted Bingbing while struggling to break from the strong grip of the vine.

"Oh, so you are from the Jade Palace." the woman curtsied in front of the goddess. Another vine appeared and immediately attacked Huang Liu's neck. "Still whoever you are, you cannot come out of this forest alive with the Seed of Immortality."

"Let... me... go..." Huang Liu reached for the vine on her neck and her fingers ignited a bright yellow flame that burned the vines that are wrapping her body.

After freeing herself, she immediately went to Bingbing's side and did the same. Bingbing fell from such a height and became unconscious. The goddess wrapped her inside the barrier to keep her safe from the monstrous vines around them.

The goddess waved her hand in the air and her Peach Blossom Fan appeared. Blades in the ribs of the fan appeared and she pointed it toward the hideous woman. "Why did you attack us?" she asked in an authoritative voice.

"It is my duty to protect one of the treasures of this forest. I, Yueliang the Grand Witch of Hei Hua Jin Lin!" the ground shook once again at her words. Behind her, the giant flower devoured Yueliang's cottage and shut itself like some sort of defense mechanism.

"And now..." she paused to unsheathe the sword in her old cane. "You must die!"

Without further ado, Yueliang Nǚwū charged for an attack. She swung her sword that tore Huang Liu's robe revealing the goddess' wounded flesh.

Luckily, Huang Niu shielded herself from the Peach Blossom fan. An artifact that was made from Xiang Hu's tail itself.

Without pause, Yueliang kept throwing her attacks and vines appeared everywhere trying to strangle the weak goddess.

"You? You wanted to get the Seed of Immortality? With that strength of yours? Dream on, goddess. It will never be yours," she shouted and spears of red thunder appeared behind the dark clouds.

Yueliang raised her blade to gather the energy of the thunder and in a blink of an eye, the red lightning strikes the goddess' body.

"N...no," said Huang Liu while grasping her fan. Every inch of her body got paralyzed by the shock and her grip began to loosen.

Yueliang Nǚwū's laugh echoed all over the place. The lightning keeps on piercing Huang Niu's body while Bingbing is safe on the other side of the battlefield.

"Look at how poor you are. You chose to protect a lowly maid rather than yourself. How foolish."

"Bingbing is not just my maid! She is just like a real sister to me and I cannot let you hurt her!" Huang Niu said and she can feel the anger within. While her energy slowly starts to drain, she tried to stand up on her own and chanted an ancient spell, "Jing ru yun. Mei ruhua. Qing ru zhaolu. Jinghua xinling, rang yiqie xie'e xiaoshi."

The dark clouds disappeared in an instant and peach blossom petals surrounded the wicked witch, "What are you doing? Stop!" Yueliang said as if she is in agony.

"Stop!" she exclaimed in pain.

"It is my flower spell," the goddess said, she composed herself and walked towards the witch that is struggling in the mid-air. "The flower spell attacks your core. The more you try to break free from the petals, the more they disperse and destroy your spirit."

Huang Liu waved her hand with the fan to apply more pressure to the energy of the blossom petals, "Where is the Seed of Immortality?" she asked. Of course, she cannot kill the witch instantly without obtaining intel on the seed's whereabouts.

"Over my dead body!" Yueliang spat on the goddess's face. Huang Liu went closer and placed her hand on the witch's neck.

"As you wish," the goddess said and more petals went straight to the witch's body.

However, little did Huang Liu know that Yueliang planted something on Bingbing.

Bingbing rose from her unconscious state and threw her body as a shield. Huang Liu almost pierced Bingbing with the Peach Blossom Fan's blade when she is trying to stab Yueliang.

"Bingbing," the goddess dropped her weapon and Yueliang also fell to the ground. With swift hands, Bingbing was snatched from the goddess' arms and was taken hostage by the witch.

"Bingbing, come here!" Huang Niu called and Yueliang flashed a grim smile.

"Only my death can make her come to you," and Bingbing hugged the witch as if making her body a shield to protect her master.

"Fight me fairly, you vile woman!" tears formed in Huang Niu's eyes as she watches Bingbing lose her youth.

The witch is absorbing her energy. Yueliang's horrid face became youthful again while Bingbing turned into an old lady.

"Not bad for a Divine clan's maid. She's kinda useful," Yueliang giggled. "Makes me wanna thank her for restoring my look."

"How dare you," Huang Niu's anger turned her fan into a bigger one and its ribs became sharp blades. The fan floated behind Huang Niu, like waiting for her master to give a go signal when to launch an attack.

"How dare you hurt Bingbing?" the goddess took a step toward Yueliang. "Bring her back," she said, and tears flowed from her cheeks down to the ground. "Bring back her youth!"

The gigantic fan attacked Yueliang and she immediately shielded herself with the vines around them. The Peach Blossom Fan continued to attack fiercely, trying to find an opening.

"What do I do? What do I do?" whispered Yueliang to herself. She underestimated the goddess earlier because she does not possess a strong aura, but how come to her power doubled... no, tripled over time?

Yueliang absorbed Bingbing's last particle of energy. Bingbing fell to the ground, old and tired. The witch began to gather her force to launch a counterattack, "You are dead, my dear Highness." She said and the vines around her disappeared, however, it was a mistake that she made.

The Peach Blossom Fan never stopped attacking the enclosed vine.

This signaled an opening and the blades immediately pierced the witch's body. The guard sticks of the fan pierced the witch's head down to her limbs.

"No..." she said while struggling for air to breathe. The goddess walked closed and reached for her ear to whisper.

"How foolish," the witch's words from earlier quickly backfired on her. Yueliang's core was heavily damaged along with her body. Due to the purifying ability of the fan artifact, she died and her spirit disappeared into thin air like ashes being thrown.

"Bingbing!" Huang Liu quickly ran to Bingbing's side and her youth that was absorbed by the witch went back to her body once again. Her gray hair became black again and her wrinkled face returned to her youthful one.

"My dear one," Huang Niu hugged her tight, and a little after, she heard the rumbles from behind.

The huge flower that engulfed the witch's cottage opened and the whole place was surrounded by bits of pollen. The pollen fell from the sky that seemed like tears from losing its master.

The cottage's door opened and in the entrance, glowed a red walnut-like stone.

"The Seed of Immortality?" Huang Niu said and she laid Bingbing carefully on the ground to take a closer look at the seed that is steps away from them.

Bingbing regained consciousness and soon followed the goddess to the entrance of the cottage.

Huang Niu cautiously approached the glowing seed and stretched her hand to reach it. It glowed very brightly before landing on her hand, "Finally." she uttered in a low voice and Bingbing bowed in front of her.

"Congratulations, Huang Shénnǚ," the maid said cheerfully.

"Let us go back." And they both smiled at each other, cheered by their success.

                                     ༊ *

They immediately went back to Heaven's Palace, as their time in the Mortal World is almost up.

Once again, the two used Huang Niu's secret passage, which the two of them only knew. This is the passage that the goddess used to travel back and forth between realms to avoid her brother's strict requirements on hopping from one realm to another.

Her responsibility as the goddess of Harvest requires her to ensure the crops of the lands, however, her brother, the Heavenly God still insists on asking for permission and performing rituals before coming down.

With the help of an old spirit deity, she came across this passage.

                                     ༊ *

Bingbing and Huang Liu reached Zhaolu Palace with ease.

They immediately healed their injuries and acted as if nothing happened in the past hours... or days they spent during their stay in the Mortal World.

[DOP: September 1, 2022]
Happy BER months! :D

- Lol, this took me months to complete Chapter 1 XD. I'm not good with fighting scenes so bear with me. And--- the ending came earlier btw hahaha. Please guide me, to whoever is going to read this story.

Vocabs:

** Jing ru yun. Mei ruhua. Qing ru zhaolu. Jinghua xinling, rang yiqie xie'e xiaoshi - Tranquil like clouds. Beautiful like the blossom. Pure like the morning dew. Purify the spirit and let all evil be gone.
* Nǚwū' /nyu-wu/ - Witch
* Shénnǚ /shen-yue/ - Goddess
* Qīzi - Wife
* Nǚwū zhī shū - Book of Witches
* Hei Hua Jin Lin - Black Flower Forest