TORN

"So you mean you will allow Fengge to marry a demon?" The heavenly king asked.

"Why not? I am also part demon. Do you want to know why? Because you tampered with my cultivation almost making me corrupt. Luckily, the nature guardian arrived in time to save me" The ice god said.

"You are gambling with Fengge's future" The heavenly king said but instead the ice god started laughing.

Gritting his teeth in anger, the heavenly king watched as the ice god walked away laughing. Over his dead body. Only when his dead would he allow Fengge become powerful.

"Who's there? Servant! Call the crown prince immediately!" The heavenly king shouted.

It was almost like a dream. Or not. Tingzhe laid still as someone cold moved on top of him. Thinking he was deeply asleep, the person kissed him softly while running her hands over his bare chest. A part of him was mad thinking this must have been done by one of his demon brothers while another part of him was enjoying the whole attention.

"You look like an angel when you sleep. So peaceful. And tempting. I just can't..." Yingtai said kissing Tingzhe.

Suddenly a bright appeared in be room cashing Yingtai to stand up from Tingzhe. When the bright light disappeared, she finally recognized it was Fengge. After he had left, many of the demon brothers had asked about him constantly. It came as a surprise to everyone when they found out he was the crown prince of the heavenly realm.

"Crown prince!" Yingtai shouted kneeling down.

"Fengge! Is that you?" Tingzhe asked standing up from his bed.

Fengge turned around immediately upon seeing the scene that was before him. Obviously Tingzhe wasn't the one who invited Yingtai to his bedroom.

"I need to talk to you immediately" Fengge said finally turning around.

"Yingtai, what are you doing here?" Tingzhe asked suddenly remembering the dream he had. That means it was really not a dream.

"I came to bring brother Tingzhe some blankets. I shall get going right now" Yingtai said disappearing.

"What do you need to talk to me about?" Tingzhe asked.

"I have already asked my father for Jiayi's hand in marriage. My father said he would agree only if the dark king also agrees. I know he is your uncle. Do you have any secret you can tell me?" Fengge asked.

"All the three realms know about your great love for Jiayi. It has been written even the book of legends." Tingzhe said as they sat down by the table.

"I have loved her since we were children. Now, an opportunity has represented itself, I have to take advantage" Fengge said.

While Fengge reached out to grab a snack, Tingzhe shook his head. It was very obvious to him what Jiayi was up to. That girl seems to only understand force. Last time he had let her go but this time, he was going to kill her for sure. Right now, he had to deceive Fengge.

"Uncle? Don't worry. I have a way for you to win him over. Uncle likes tea and enjoys playing the zither. There is one tune in particular he always plays. I heard that in the god of fire's palace, there is a blazing phoenix zither." Tingzhe said knowing that zither was the only kind the dark king hated.

"Thank you Tingzhe. Without your help, I would be clueless on how to approach him" Fengge said.

Just as it had been described in the book of legends, the god of ice's palace was truly one of the most beautiful places in the three realms. Frost covered the whole place and the flowers were also made up of ice which was rarely seen. Tingzhe walked carefully admiring the beauty of the palace. Suddenly, the doors opened and he stepped in without a second thought. This was to save his friend.

But the hall was empty. All the walls were made up of ice and even the heavy chandelier hanging beautifully was made of ice. Wrapping his two hands together, he shivered as the place seemed to be getting even colder.

"Greeting god of ice!" Tingzhe said shouting into the air as he struggled with the freezing cold.

There was no reply. The sound of his voice echoed around but there was still no sign of the god of ice. Could it be that he wasn't in the hall? Just as he was about to turn back, a big wolf appeared from behind one of the chairs. The wolf was big and had icy blue fur. The color of its eyes were the same with his fur. Tingzhe took a step back as the wolf approached him coming down.

"God of ice! God of ice!" Tingzhe screamed as he continued to move backwards until he hit something cold.

Turning back, Tingzhe went still as he saw the god of ice. No wonder his body was very cold. The look in the god of ice's eyes made him shiver.

"What are you doing here?" The god of ice asked.

"Do you know who I am?" Tingzhe asked looking scared.

"Of course. You still have not told me your reason yet. Why are you here?" The god of ice asked again getting impatient.

"Your Highness, this is very important. I came here to beg you to discourage Fengge from marrying Jiayi. He must never marry her" Tingzhe said kneeling down.

"Did the heavenly king send you?" The god of ice asked coldly.

"I am aware. Fengge has the Orane flower in his demon core. I don't know how he got it but....."

Tingzhe was stopped in his sentence as he felt himself choking. All his blood felt like it had been stuck in his throat. Falling on both of his knees, Tingzhe coughed out a huge amount of blood.

"What exactly do you know about the Orane flower? And who have you told? Speak!" The god of ice said shouting.

"Fengge showed us petals of the flower. I haven't told anyone" Tingzhe said still coughing.

"Us? Who else?" The god of ice asked.

When the god of ice saw that Tingzhe continued coughing, he released him waiting for him to speak. Usually he wasn't so anxious about anyone or anything but Fengge had been so foolish as to expose himself all in the name of trusting people.

Tingzhe gasped for air as he cleaned the blood stain from his mouth. The god of ice was truly as powerful as he imagined. Its no wonder everyone in the three realms respected him.

"Fengge showed both me and Jiayi. Jiayi is greedy and evil. I am afraid that this marriage might be a setup. I beg you to stop this marriage" Tingzhe said.

"Why come to me? What does it mean to me if Fengge marries Jiayi or not? You should be telling this to the heavenly king" The god of ice said.

"Forgive me if I say too much but this matter was really urgent. Everyone in the three realms knows that you are the biological father of Fengge. The heavenly king's evil deeds towards you show that he can't be trusted with your son. This is why I dare not tell the heavenly king. Plus I don't know if the heavenly king knows about Fengge possessing the Orane flower" Tingzhe said.

"Aren't you a little bit tempted? This is about the Orane flower. The most desired flower in all the three realms. Having just a petal can so much power far beyond your imagination. Are you sure you are doing the right thing by telling me?" The god of ice asked.

"Please don't misunderstand me. I would never scheme against Fengge. We swore under the same sky. To be brothers even unto death. I am loyal to him just as he is loyal to me." Tingzhe said.

"Get out. Lemme think about this" The god of ice said turning his back to Tingzhe.

The heavenly king sat down thinking as he watched Jiayi walk into the hall. Jiayi was a very ambitious girl so there must be a reason why she was suddenly wanting to marry Fengge. Today, he had not sent for her. His best guess was that she was here to try and manipulate him again. Well, he wasn't going to fall for it.

Hiding one hand under the table, the heavenly king used his powers to write a message on thin air. After he was through, all the characters disappeared.

"Greetings Heavenly king" Jiayi said bowing down.

"Are you here for your fiancée?" The heavenly king asked.

"I have already gone to his palace to ask for him. He isn't around." Jiayi said.

"So? What are you doing here then? You can always wait for him in his palace. Right now, I am very busy. Go away." The heavenly king said pretending to be looking at his scrolls.

"Is there a problem? Your Majesty is behaving rather quite odd today" Jiayi said climbing the steps to meet him.

Unable to control himself, the heavenly king stood up angrily from his chair.

"What sort of game do you think you are playing? Do you think that the heavenly realm is some sort of playground or what? Or do you think that all the celestials in the heavenly realm are fools?" The heavenly king asked.

"Your Majesty, what do you mean?" Jiayi asked looking calm.

It was obvious to her that the heavenly king was being extremely jealous right now. Back then, she had discarded Fengge thinking he was a good for nothing. The heavenly king had seemed like the best option. But now, things had changed. There was no weapon or treasure that could beat the Orane flower. No matter what, she was going to find a way to collect it.

"Jiayi, don't run faster than your shadow or else, you might just end up running foolishly into danger. What are you up to? What made you suddenly change your mind and want Fengge to marry you? The both of you had been engaged for years and you kept on delaying it." The heavenly king said.

" I can see His Highness doesn't want the wedding to hold. Why? Out of jealousy or spite?" Jiayi asked.

"What do you mean?" The heavenly king asked.

"It is very obvious" Jiayi said looking at the heavenly king seductively.

Smiling widely, the heavenly king wrapped his hands round Jiayi's waist pulling her closer. When she was so close to him, the heavenly king kissed her. This was the only option. It was risky but if it could stop the wedding, he would gladly do anything.

Jiayi continued to kiss the heavenly king. There was no harm in doing it. Fengge was not in the heavenly realm and she had to make sure not to lose the heavenly king either. All these sacrifices would be worth it in time for her big goal. Becoming ruler of the dark realm. Her father would see just how capable she is and then her useless god brother would be dethroned.

A servant lead Fengge into the heavenly king's study. This was the first time his father had sent for someone to personally escort him back home. All these showed something was wrong. Entering into the hall, Fengge looked at his father's seat and found it empty.

"Please come with me" The servant said leading him to his father's inner room.

"The inner room? Are you sure my father asked me to wait here?" Fengge asked.

"Please go inside, Your Highness" The servant said.

Fengge sighed as he entered inside. Something was indeed wrong.