Somewhere in the Mortal Realm.
Far from locking himself away in mourning, Haode gathered with three of his most closest advisers. These were men who were never seen, but they played a very important role in the governing of the Celestial Heavens including any intrigues that they were made aware of. They were known only as The Silent Three.
And they were chosen for their ability to move unseen among their peers, because each was given a simple lifestyle to lead outside of the Palace, one that was so mundane and normal, that no one would have guessed that they were The Skylords chosen men.
However, to deflect attention away from themselves, all meetings were held in secret in the Mortal Realm. This way, no one saw their faces and no one knew their names, only that they existed. There was much gossip about these three men, their fame was just as renown as Haodes, only this particular meeting saw them gathering in a Mortal Realm Brothel, behind closed doors.
Normally they would meet in a private suit of a Hotel room, but because the discussion was so sensitive, they could not risk being seen entering together seeing as they would be sharing the one room. Instead they entered the brothel one at a time, and each man joined a group of Mortals to enter with. It took two hours from the time they left the Immortal Realm before each man was gathered in a private room which they rented at a very high price.
The brothel was High End and frequented by the exceptionally wealthy. The women were all High Class Hosts so arriving in his finest of silks and simple gold head piece, Haode too went unnoticed. He was the brothels most favoured client, because not only did he bring gifts for all the girls, he paid in solid gold pieces of which he had an endless supply. And as long as they left him in peace to conduct business without interruption, that particular establishment was paid handsomely for the privilege.
Now gathered around a small table in a dimly lit room the four discussed Mount Junji.
"From what we have been able to ascertain, the house itself is in good condition, however, the furnishings are very sparse and it does not look as if the home has been touched for some time, the spiders have already begun to take over." One adviser stated having investigated the house himself before getting to one important finding he had come across.
"Well Ye Hua has always been rather frugal with his wealth, so it's no surprise there is little furnishings. Even his own chamber in the Nine Heavens, is understated." Haode said, though none raised their eyes to look at him, they couldn't help but compare the Grandfather to his Grandson. He most certainly would not want to live in a house like that one.
But keeping to the agenda of their meeting, the adviser continued with his findings. "Though there is no one there now, there was definitely a female presence in the home." he stated matter of fact which had all eyes rising up at him.
"A woman?" Haode asked with rising brows.
"Yes. But her lingering energy is very weak, so a Mortal woman." he said before getting to the main issue he had to raise. "I also found a male wedding outfit, which carries the Crown Princes essence which I destroyed immediately" he said which instantly had Haode on his feet.
"So you are saying he married a Mortal woman?" he asked incredulously.
"I am only giving you my findings My Lord." the man replied as the others sat quietly and listened.
This was definitely a development he was not prepared for, but it did seem to explain a few things that he had been mulling over since the boys death.
"That's good. It's good" Haode whispered. The last thing they needed was for the wedding robe to be found by others. Ye Huas essence was well known, if it fell into the wrong hands, black mail would soon follow.
"Well that might explain why he rushed into a war with the Mermaids. However as you know, over one hundred people witnessed his death, and from what you've just told me, the house has been untouched since he died and seeing as many months have passed, we can only assume the Mortal died not long after." he said after some thought, but if there was one thing that Haode never outgrew and that was suspicion and scepticism. Something about his Grandsons death, did not ring true.
"There is one more thing My Lord." the same man said, and like Haode, he too was not entirely convinced of his death, none of them were. And that was only because Haodes instincts had never been proven wrong in all the years they had known him.
"What is it?" he asked as his eyes honed in sharply on him.
Reaching into his inner robe, the adviser placed what looked to be the beginnings of a childs slipper that had not been completed onto the table before him. One look on Haodes face was enough to know he saw the same significance that he had when he found it.
"A child...." he whispered softly which also had the other two leaning in towards the unfinished baby slipper.
"A marriage to a Mortal who is pregnant, would certainly give him reason to leave without a trace." one of the other advisers said. But to hear his own thoughts verbalized, had the blood in his ears roaring.
They could hear the soft sounds of a flute drifting though the closed window and as lovely as it was, it suddenly gave him a headache. Laughter from the outer corridors could be heard intermittently and now and then whispers from adjoining rooms would reach them, but it all seemed too close and too loud and suddenly he needed to leave.
Lurching out of his seat, he stormed from the room. His face was red with anger, because he now knew for fact that the boy had not died and there was only one man who had the knowledge to pull off a death like that. "Ci Hang." he whispered as his form instantly disappeared from view.
________
"Lian Song, don't you think it's time we headed back?" Cheng Yu asked having sat and watched over him for an hour staring at his feet. They had been in the Mortal Realm since Ye Huas burial which had been over two years ago, yet he didn't look as if was ever going back. Even though it was only two days in their own world, it was long enough to be missed, especially considering Lian Song rarely left the Heavens.
The first year had been lost to excessive drinking and partying with her Mortal friends. But as the second year began to roll by, she watched on helplessly as Lian Song seemed to have given up all thoughts of going home, which saw her completely abstaining from alcohol in order to watch over him. He had cried endless tears and several times she had been forced to use magic to keep him from starting bar brawls with the other patrons, but after a harsh talking to, he finally stopped drinking and with her to help him, she got him sobered up. Only they had been there too long, which for her wasn't an issue, but he looked even more distant than what he did when they first arrived.
Everyone knew he was the closest friend that Ye Hua had, so it was understandable that he would grieve deeply for him, but there was something about the grief. She may have been a social butterfly and rather flighty of mind to those who knew her, but deep down she was highly intelligent, highly intuitive and exceptionally sensitive to the changes in aura. And his was far from grieving. If anything, as the days passed, his aura seemed to be growing much brighter even though he looked to be in distress.
So far he had not said anything to her about Ye Huas passing. She merely took it as a given that he did not wish to share his grief verbally with her, and though he seemed happy enough for her to remain at his side, he spoke barely a handful of words to her the entire time except to mumble drunken garbage.
But now she was anxious to return. If only to save him from an interrogation from his father who was not notified of their departure. But the longer she waited for him to answer her, the more she realized that he was not going to move and seeing as she had things of her own to do, she now felt torn.
"Lian Song......." she tried again to get his attention. He hadn't moved the entire time.
Suddenly looking up, his eyes were unusually bright with unshed tears but there was something else. A gleam of excitement.
"Cheng Yu. I need to tell you something. Something of great importance, but I need your word that you will not tell anyone else." he said lowering his voice even more and sending chills up her spine. "I need to tell someone, it's driving me insane and you're the only one I trust." he whispered up at her.
Cheng Yu hesitated. Lian Song was just as much a gossip as she was, but there was something in his tone that had her wondering if she should decline. There was a definite edginess to his tone and going by the look in his eyes it was perhaps something that may give bring her trouble in the end. His eyes were pleading with her, but that wasn't what had her lowering herself to her knees to take his hand, but the fact that he never involved himself in anything that was dangerous, and suddenly a fierce desire to protect him washed over her.
"Tell me. I won't breath a word." she whispered back as his hand lifted slowly to wipe away a stray hair from her eyes, something he had not done in years.
______
The Celestial Heavens
Di Jun sat stunned as he listened to Ci Hang explain the appearance of a new star in an area of the Celestial Sky that should not have a star in it.
"As I explained, the only reason why a star is born in that area of the sky, is the arrival of a new Heavenly child, one that is born to the Heavenly line and therefore an heir to the throne." he said softly both sets of eyes grazed over the star charts laid out across the desk.
"But Ye Hua is dead and we both know that Yang Cuo and Lian Song are not fit for the Throne and nor would any child of theirs see their star rise in that patch of sky. So whose child does he belong to?" he asked.
"He is Ye Huas child." Ci Hang said with a spark of excitement.
"I beg your pardon?" Di Jun asked. His face never really showed anything but the widening of his eyes and the thinning of his lips had him leaning closer to inspect the small marking that Ci Hang had placed on the chart.
But he said nothing, instead Ci Hang drew another marking which saw the return of Ye Huas star in its rightful place and directly beside the childs. Also saying nothing, Di Jun then watched as he drew a threw marking and this time, he got the reaction he was hoping for.
"Hong Luan?" he asked as the characters for the stars name were placed firmly on the chart and putting the childs star between Ye Huas and the star of Marriage.
"Indeed. Though Ye Huas star remains hidden from view, it is still there, only I am the only one who can see it." Ci Hang said before leaning back to allow this information to settle in the old Gods mind.
It took Di Jun less than a few seconds to figure out the implications of what this meant. If he was suggesting that Ye Hua had run off and eloped while also turning his back on his duties as the Crown Prince, then the repercussions were enormous.
"Does Haode know?" he asked being the first question that needed to be cleared.
"That I am not sure of, but you know the man as well as I do, he is naturally suspicious, so I would not be surprised if he is undertaking secret investigations of his own. Hong Luan cannot be hidden and nor can the childs star be hidden except with a very powerful spell." he said which immediately gave Di Jun the answer to how Ye Hua had hidden his own star and that also meant that only Ci Hang would have the knowledge to do that. Not even he knew.
"And...?" Di Jun asked suddenly leaning in towards him.
"So I hid them too." he replied with a small smile.
"You what?" he asked snapping back into his seat to glare at him. "Why would you do that?"
And it was then that Ci Hang, moved forward to draw yet one more star into the sky. One that had not been there for centuries. Having thought his mind had received all the surprises it could manage, the return of this star had him on his feet.
Both men had been aware of the Golden Lotus, and they had also kept the knowledge of its existence to themselves and though they both had an idea of what it contained, they were not entirely certain of its creation, history or who exactly the soul was that they had seen within it's petals and nor had Mo Yuan shared that knowledge with either of them.
But after the birth of Ye Hua and his uncanny likeness to the War God, both men had not only observed the similarities between their energies and even their souls, but they both knew that Ye Hua and Mo Yuan were related to each other, though neither had yet to come to a final decision as to how.
"You are correct in your deductions Di Jun." Ci Hang said with a small smile. "Mo Yuan, is indeed coming back. Unfortunately, if Haode finds Ye Hua before then, Im afraid we could be facing serious consequences for the entire Celestial Heavens. We need to find him first and I need your help." he said softly.