Smoke and Fire [GL] - Chapter 7

“I will now answer your second question: the relationship between Luo Yao, Lingshuang, and the Demon Lord is actually very simple.”

Si Yin moved past her previous statement and grabbed a dry flower vase from the bar counter, plucking three petals.

“What I’m about to tell you might sound a bit absurd, but many, many years ago, Luo Yao was once the First High God of our Heavenly Realm, ranking above all others. She was the most revered divine bird after the fall of the Phoenix.”

She pushed one of the petals forward.

“And the Demon Lord, at the time, was not higher in rank than her. Theoretically, she had to kneel when she saw Luo Yao… Of course, back then, everyone had to kneel when they saw Luo Yao, so let’s put that aside,” she pointed at the second petal, placing it next to the first.

“Anyway, you just need to know that the Demon Lord was a minor goddess at the time. After seeing the most formidable Luo Yao, it was love at first sight. Things happened in between; the two were forced to separate for a period, and Luo Yao was arranged by our Holiness to marry someone else.”

Yi An: “Male or female?”

“Male,” Si Yin drawled. “And here’s the kicker: this man was the Demon Lord’s biological older brother.”

Yi An: “…That is spicy.”

“Then, the moment she found out, she exploded. Oh, they were in a long-distance relationship at the time. She immediately shed the bl00d of the Demon Realm and led the demons straight to the Heavenly Realm. No one dared to stop her—the Gods in the Heavenly Realm now avoid mentioning this incident for no other reason than it’s too embarrassing, too shameful!”

Si Yin chuckled twice, continuing: “Ahem, I was saying she directly attacked the Heavenly Realm. Wow, that was a battle between Gods and Demons that plunged the world into darkness, but the actual instigator wasn’t even on the battlefield. She was busy crashing the wedding.”

“Holy cow, seriously?!” Yi An spat out a mouthful of juice.

“Absolutely! Skipping the details, you just need to know she successfully crashed the wedding, and then achieved the blissful life of having two babies in three years with the First High God of the Heavenly Realm.”

Afterward, she thoughtfully gave Yi An a moment to gather her shattered worldview.

“Okay, but,” a few dozen seconds later, Yi An had finished reconstructing her worldview, genuinely asking in confusion, “How do you know all this so clearly? Are you a paparazzi?”

“Pfft—!”

Tan Tan finally burst into laughter, having been ungracefully holding it in the entire time.

Si Yin’s face was almost numb with exasperation: “My dear, I love you to death.”

“I politely decline,” Yi An said sincerely. “Even though Luo Yao has a wife and kids, I only love her.”

Tan Tan laughed even more maniacally. It took her a long time to catch her breath, and she temporarily took over Si Yin’s part, saying, “Don’t doubt it. The reason Si Yin isn’t a paparazzi is that the two main parties never avoided her… well, her true form is a kitten.”

“I’ll kitten your mother!!” Si Yin’s voice cracked. “I am a being that no one in the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands would dare—”

“Ahem, ahem!”

Tan Tan quickly clamped her down, chuckling apologetically to the surroundings, “Haha, too much drinking, too much drinking. Please excuse us.”

Seeing the stormy look on Si Yin’s face, Yi An quickly changed the subject: “Tan Tan, what is your identity?”

“Oh, I’m trash, kind of like a half-healer,” Tan Tan looked around, pulled over the dry vase Si Yin had plucked bare, and touched it with her finger. The dry flowers instantly became tender, as if they had just bloomed.

“There, like that.”

Having weathered the storm of the previous night, Yi An wasn’t too surprised now. She mused, “Then you chose the wrong major! If you were in landscape architecture, rich people would be fighting over you! Oh, oh, or magic—anything is better than some folklore major where you’re guaranteed unemployment after graduation.”

Tan Tan: “…Wait, then why did you study folklore?”

“I was assigned the major, alright?!” Yi An slapped the table. “No, this topic makes me so angry. Not only did I miss my first choice, but I ended up in some random major at a completely bogus university! Let me tell you…”

“Are you here to complain about your major?!”

Two seconds later, Si Yin finally lost her patience: “We won’t be staying here for long anyway. We’ll naturally return to the Heavenly Realm after the mission is complete in two years! There’s no question of unemployment when we won’t even graduate?!”

This time it was Yi An’s turn to be stunned: “…You guys are leaving?”

“Yes, to avoid being driven to a brain hemorrhage by you here?”

“Then is Luo Yao leaving too?!”

“Is there anyone else in your head besides Luo Yao?!” Si Yin took a deep breath. “…Of course she has to go back. Whether we can return depends entirely on her.”

“Why??”

Si Yin looked away: “You just asked me why we had no reaction when Luo Yao was taken away… because, Lingshuang fell into damnation suddenly during her coronation ceremony as a High God, influenced by her Mistress. Luo Yao, as a God, not only didn’t destroy her but helped her complete the final step of her fall.”

“That day, the Buddha brought down ninety thousand bolts of supreme execution heavenly thunder, each one striking Luo Yao’s true body. As a result, her true body was utterly destroyed, and she fell from grace.”

“Then, the Buddha personally appeared and issued a decree.”

She said, word by word: “The Buddha said that her only purpose for descending to the mortal world this time is to personally kill the Demon Lord.”

🌙 The Nightmare and the Decree

Luo Yao was trapped in a nightmare from a long time ago.

In the dream, she lay on the cold ground of the Glass Terrace, her snow-white robes soaked in crimson fluid. A bl00d-stained dagger lay quietly by her hand.

In front of her was the Sea of Glass Flowers of the Heavenly Realm, where the sky returned with spring and lotus blossoms stretched for ten thousand miles. At this moment, however, they were scorched and withered by the ninety thousand thunderbolts, utterly lifeless, just like her own vitality.

“You can save all sentient beings. Can you save these flowers?”

A quiet, peaceful voice sounded beside her ear.

She heard herself laugh briefly, though more bl00d gushed out because of it.

“A’Tan can,” she said.

Then that person walked to her side, their ink-black hair trailing to the ground, with every step seeming to grow a lotus.

“The Flower God has already been demoted,” that person looked down at her, their eyes neither sad nor joyful. “Qingluan, do you also need to be demoted?”

The person’s voice was gentle and compassionate, like the faint sandalwood smoke curling beneath the Bodhi tree, subtly layered with harmony, sounding extremely sacred and serene.

A silent fallen petal floated in her pool of bl00d.

“Holiness, if my demotion can undo this, I would rather jump down right now.”

The person sighed softly, looking somewhat helpless: “Qingluan, you truly never change…”

“You are the embodiment of the Buddha’s will, governing causality and reincarnation. Did you not foresee today’s outcome?” she said flatly.

“…”

After a moment, the person bowed their head, gently stroking the Bodhi seeds in their embrace, and said, “The fate of the Dark Bird is a thousand twists and turns, extremely arduous. She is your eldest daughter, and in some ways, she resembles you, such as her clear distinction between love and hatred.”

Hearing the Dark Bird mentioned, Luo Yao’s already severely bl00d-drained face grew paler.

“She should hate me,” she said with difficulty, as if murmuring to herself. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Danque does not hold the rank of a True God. Fearing she might be implicated as your second daughter, I have commanded her to guard Qingzang, which can be considered penance.”

“…”

Petals had gently settled all over her, enveloping her in a blanket of indigo, as if burying her.

“Why such suffering?” The person leaned down slightly and brushed away the fallen petals near her face.

“What is it you wish to say?”

“Previously, it was because of you that the balance between the Divine and Demonic Realms was maintained. Now, she has shattered your true body and caused your eldest daughter to fall into damnation. This has incurred the wrath of both Gods and mortals,” the person said slowly. “Unless Shang Mian repents her sins and converts to Buddhism, otherwise…”

Luo Yao struggled to prop up her upper body, gazing up at this supreme being with scattered eyes.

“Otherwise what?”

“Otherwise, the Heavenly Realm will definitely flatten the Demon Palace.” The person gently stroked Luo Yao’s bl00d-soaked long hair. “Qingluan, without her, you would have healthy children. But because of her, you have fallen into a karmic tribulation without a solution.”

“Stop running away. You must kill her with your own hands to sever this disastrous bond.”

The person’s figure gradually faded, and their voice became increasingly ethereal and resonant, like the ceaseless chanting of the Formless Heaven.

“High God Si Yin and the Flower God are old acquaintances of yours. The three of you will descend to the mortal realm together.”

“In two years, what is destined to appear will appear naturally.”

Luo Yao suddenly opened her eyes on an unfamiliar bed.

Everything around her was incredibly luxurious. Even the bed curtains were intricately embroidered with complex patterns, the main colours being dark red and black, possessing a beautiful blend of solemnity and slight strangeness.

She looked at the calming incense gently floating by the bedside, noticing it was her favourite scent. She regulated her rapid breathing and sat up, realizing her clothes had been changed at some point to a soft, white gauze.

Seemingly noticing she was awake, several women dressed in black gauze silently knelt by her bedside.

The woman leading them respectfully said:

“Your subordinates, including Buye, respectfully welcome High God Qingluan back to the Palace.”