Chapter 6:

Now considered an indispensable member of the Heavenly Emperor's court, Juying's attendance at all official gatherings in the Great Hall was mandatory, unless instructed otherwise. It just so happened that a meeting would be hosted that day.

The Light Immortal rose long before dawn to arrange the skies. After setting the sun along its proper course, she hurried over to the steps leading up to the Great Hall and prepared herself for the ascend.

As she passed the guards at the foot of the steps, Juying made a big show of striding normally up the first few steps. 10 down, only 878 steps to go...

Something was wrong. Could the Heavenly Emperor have mistakenly told her an incorrect number of steps that first day? Unless Juying had miscounted, which she was certain that she hadn't, it was impossible for there to only be 888 steps.

So far, Juying had climbed 956 steps. Yet, the summit was still nowhere in sight. The Light Immortal began to grow anxious.

Although she had set off early, the set meeting time at Chenshi* was steadily approaching. She dreaded the idea of being late and leaving a bad impression on the Heavenly Court's officials again.

100 steps later, frustration and suspicion began to gnaw at Juying. She was sure by then that she had walked for a far greater duration than she had on the first day. Still, the steps stretched on unceasingly above her. Thinking for a moment, she decided to drop a little red perfume sachet of hers on one of the steps, then continued walking.

When counted about 42 steps before spotting the top of a little red lump sitting on the 50th one. She rubbed her eyes as she approached, trying to ensure that they weren't playing tricks on her. Sure enough, there in the centre of the 50th jade step laid her perfume sachet in the same orientation that she had left it.

Chongfu* Spell! Juying realized with a surge of fury that someone had played a cruel trick on her. Muttering an incantation and performing a series of arm movements, Juying pointed at the space in front of her with two fingers. A burst of pink light shot out and struck an invisible surface, shattering the illusion and breaking the spell.

As it became undone, traces of the spellcaster's magic floated outwards before dissipating. It was a bright blue colour and undoubtedly water magic.

Releasing a humorless laugh, the Light Immortal noticed that the summit was only another 10 steps away. She was atrociously late and brimming with rage. She couldn't even bring herself to race up them to arrive at the Great Hall as soon as possible. A million questions raced through her head as she climbed.

Why hadn't she realized earlier? Why would someone play such a nasty trick on her? Who hated her enough to do such a thing? She was loved by everyone and had no enemies in the Heavenly Realm. Perhaps it was the Matchmaker pulling a prank? But he wouldn't do such a thing. He knew when to be serious, especially when it came to official matters. Who else? Who would want to make Juying look bad?

She stopped short as the answer hit her like a ton of bricks. It had to be none other than the Heavenly Emperor!

Juying clenched her fist, trying to keep her temper. Simmering with resentment, she didn't even realize that she had arrived at the doors of the Great Hall until the guards announced her arrival. "The Light Immortal has arrived!"

As she walked past the doors, all eyes turned on her and the whispers began. Juying didn't care to listen. Her wrath was focused on the immortal who sat on the golden throne, gleaming in all his brilliance, conceited and cruel towards her without ever providing a reason why.

"Light Immortal Juying greets his majesty," she said through gritted teeth, internally debating on how to address the situation.

"Rise." There was a hint of a smirk on the Heavenly Emperor's face. "Did the Light Immortal know that the meeting time was set at Chenshi? It is almost Sishi* now. Speak, what is your reason for being so late?"

Glowering, Juying said, "Replying to your majesty, I started climbing the steps to the Great Hall at the start of Maoshi.* The guards at the foot of the steps can vouch for me. However, someone cast a Chongfu Spell on the 828th step, which caused me to keep climbing unknowingly and be late for the meeting. May the Heavenly Emperor investigate the matter thoroughly and prove my innocence!"

"A Chongfu Spell? Who had the audacity to bully my Ying'er?" The Matchmaker questioned in a perplexed tone. "Do you have any idea who would do such a thing?"

Juying met the Heavenly Emperor's frosty stare, a challenging look flashing in her own eyes. "Juying only knows that the spellcaster practices water magic and that his magical essence is light blue in colour."

"Who here practices water magic?" The Matchmaker asked.

An official stepped out and bowed to his folded hands. "Replying to the Matchmaker, half of us practice water magic. Myself and official Liangzhou have magical essences that are blue in colour. However, we would never dare to play such a trick on the Light Immortal. Furthermore, we arrived at the Great Hall together with officials Minghao and Kangxu. They can vouch for both of us."

"Ah? But then that just leaves..." The Matchmaker trailed off and stared at his nephew with hesitancy.

"Chongfu Spell is a simple one that can be cast by any novice practicing magic," Runyu voiced out cooly. "Say the Light Immortal is telling the truth. Perhaps she unknowingly offended someone and they decided to take their anger out on her today?" He stared at her through condescending eyes. "On that note, however, one would think that a student of Master Doumu wouldn't be fooled by such a basic trick."

All rational thought flew out of Juying's head as her anger reached its boiling point. "Yes, Chongfu Spell is easily cast, but who else in all the Heavenly Realm has the power to cast it on such a large scale and sustain it for a long duration? Who else would dare to play a trick on Juying without fear of the consequences? Who else has been prejudiced against Juying since day one?" Her voice grew louder and colder with each question. "Who else in the Great Hall practices water magic and has bright blue magical essence?"

Runyu shot the Light Immortal a look that could have frozen hell over. "Are you accusing the Heavenly Emperor? Where is your evidence?"

"Juying has no evidence. But the conclusion can clearly be deduced through the theory of plausible reasoning. Even a child would be able to tell that your majesty had a hand in all of this," she snapped. The officials began exchanging uneasy whispers at Juying's brazenness. There was no way that the Heavenly Emperor was going to let her off.

After a silence that felt like an eternity, the Heavenly Emperor got up from the golden throne and stood before a kneeling Juying. "Light Immortal Juying is impudent and irresponsible. She behaved wildly in the Great Hall today, causing a commotion and interrupting an official meeting. She also accused the Heavenly Emperor without evidence, which is a big sin," Runyu announced to the entire hall.

"For these reasons, she shall be punished by having her title stripped for three days. She will be demoted to a servant for this duration, or at least until I find that she has learnt sufficient humility."

Learn some humility? Juying bristled. No, he was just doing this to humiliate her.

Some officials looked at each other with uncertainty. "Your majesty, after all, the Light Immortal is still Master Doumu's student, and the beloved daughter of the fire qilin clan's leaders. If they hear about this, wouldn't they be very displeased and offended?"

"Both Master Doumu and the fire qilin clan place a heavy emphasis on teaching young immortals the importance of deferring to those of higher rank," the Heavenly Emperor replied without hesitation. "If they received word of Light Immortal Juying's poor conduct today, do you think they'll let her off? In their books, such a punishment would already be considered lenient. Who knows, they might even write in to tell me to punish her more severely." He shot a subtle, smug look at Juying, who returned his gaze with one of insurmountable hatred.

"But Yu'er... who would she serve? At the end of the day, Ying'er is still an immortal of high rank. What's more, she's a lady. You better not send her off to serve just any old official," the Matchmaker voiced out with worry. In a quieter tone, he added "Furthermore, if he turns out to be a pervert and does something unthinkable to Ying'er, not even you will be able to account to her clan and her master."

The Heavenly Emperor smiled and said nothing. Juying felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She already knew that she wasn't going to like his answer. "Who is your majesty assigning me to serve?"

Runyu raked his gaze over her frightened, vulnerable expression, savouring the rare moment when she wasn't on her high horse, challenging him through her microaggressions. He could also tell that she was holding her breath.

When he decided that she had waited long enough for his answer, he leaned back on the golden throne and lazily rested his cheek against his knuckles.

"Me," he smiled.

Glossary:
Chenshi: 辰时 (chén shí), 7:00 am - 8:59 am
Chongfu: 重复 (chóng fù), repeat
Sishi: 巳时 (sì shí), 9:00 am - 10:59 am
Maoshi: 卯时 (mǎo shí), 5:00 am - 6:59 am