Diamond Hearts, Frozen Souls

⋘4⋙ The Winter God

This was normal in the Celestial Realms though. It would be difficult to find someone who is not beautiful in their own way and magic helped others mask some uglier features. However, everyone knows that personalities cannot be masked as easily. Even facades crack and crumble - just like Master Bai today. Heartbroken after accepting her father has tossed her to the god she was to meet, she could only distract herself by feeling Qi Pian's hair. It was a strange thing to feel.

At first, the immortal had refused to be touched but after they left the dark forest, he relented and led her hand to his head. He also warned her to not do the same with anyone else to which she replied with a rain of questions. After lifting her off the marble plains, he set her on her feet. Qi Pian caught the ghost of a smile and pointed at her face. Finally, he too broke into a true smile - not the smirk or grin he always wore. His hands clapped together. "You smiled, didn't you? You know, women look prettier when they smile more."

A snowy eyebrow rose and Xue Hua leaned to the left, taking a moment to inspect the grinning immortal. They were now standing near a fully frozen waterfall. It was not long before the sun would fall completely below the horizon but Qi Pian was not rushing her. "You do not seem like a man who knows about women or smiles but I have to say, you look better with a smile. One should not frown or smirk too often. It will drive others away."

Qi Pian shrugged, grabbing her wrist to lead her over a bamboo bridge built above what looked like a dangerous river but its large bumps indicating a strong current were frozen in time. The immortal saw his companion was skeptical and he was ordered to be patient with her so the man released her wrist to cross first. Biting his tongue, he attempted to refrain from teasing her about being afraid of bamboo bridges.

Xue Hua's scarlet lips curled and she jutted her chin in his direction, stomping across the makeshift bridge. Seeing a look of pure puzzlement on his face, the goddess slapped his shoulder. "Remember, we are immortals. I just used the Feather Feet method. I just felt it was strange because although the bridge is simple, quite a lot of care was taken to create it. Was it Winter God's doing?"

A grin broke across her travelling companion's face and black eyes glimmered. He shrugged, tapping his chin while taking exaggerated steps across mounds of snow. For a long while, his nose ran parallel with the darkening skies. A flash of fear crossed Qi Pian's face but as quickly as it came, the look slipped away instantly and he slid closer to the oblivious goddess. He muttered incoherent words, pushing himself and the woman to walk faster until the shadowy man broke into a light jog, slowly building speed. Tendrils of black fabric fluttered behind him, leading Xue Hua through a dark forest.

The man's clothes truly did absorb darkness for when Xue Hua looked up, the moon was dancing with millions of twinkling eyes watching. Tiantang always had veiled nights a hundred times darker than an eclipse mortals would see. This forest felt familiar, filled with an equally familiar magic that was both negative and light. Like the man whose steps do not tell, this place was a contradiction - or a clash between light and dark? Whichever case it was, he was the beacon of light leading the visitor through the forest.

Twisting and turning down slippery paths, the man seemed unaffected by the cold just as she was. Xue Hua had so much on her mind that her foot was snagged by a large boulder and as she fell, her head became light. The goddess shrieked, feeling as if she was plunging towards nothing but her vision clouded over. After what seemed to be ages, a blinding flash of white burst in her eyes, possibly damaging them in the process. However, everything was a haze of colours that suits Light Deities.

Wherever she was, it was not Winter God's temple. After standing as still as one of the iced trees, the hazy image shattered to become crystal clear except for a certain feature. It did not take the goddess long to see what she was standing in a white palace, under a golden lantern that sprinkled amber flakes that landed on a marble floor only to rest for a moment before dissolving. Looking down at her feet, Xue Hua studied veins of liquid gold flowing through the alabaster stone and it puzzled her how the substance did not have an effect on her shoes.