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Heaven was empty.
True, it was still destroyed, but it was arguably livelier than before. The broken down streets were bustling with different deities, all either repairing the broken palaces or tending to the wounded. The normally pomp and dignified atmosphere that filled the air was replaced with energetic chatter mixed with the sound of construction.
It was full of life and vigor, yet it seemed barren for Pei Ming.
Taking the medicine left on his bedside table, he undid the stained bandages on his broken body and began to apply the salve. He was so lost in thought he didn't hear his deputy walk in until the boy cleared his throat.
“Sir, there's someone here to see you.”
Pei Ming blinked in disbelief. Who would be seeing him at this moment? Certainly not Ling Wen – she was in a cell. The emperor was imprisoned, and he had made it very clear admirers were NOT permitted into his palace unless he asked. Could it be his highness?
Either way, it was rude to keep guests waiting. Hastily putting on his outer robes, he followed the deputy outside, only to be met with an all too familiar figure waiting by the door. A figure in verdant robes and a straw hat strapped to her back, sword at her hip.
Well, shit.
“L-Lord Rain Master!” He greeted, trying to look presentable, “I didn't expect you to be here!”
Yushi Huang looked unbothered as he scrambled to tie his robes tightly, her hands holding a basket of pristine white radishes.
“I came to deliver these for you,” she said calmly, setting the produce down on a nearby table. She looked at him quizzically, and in a single stride, came up to him and held his arm. Electric currents went up his arm, and his immortal heart felt like it was about to burst.
"Your injuries need attending to,” she stated matter-of-factly. Pei Ming tried to loosen her grasp, but to no avail.
“I can handle it myself, Lord Rain Master,” he said, his voice raised slightly. Bad enough she saved him back there, and now she had to see him like this? It was too much!
“Let me help,” she asserted, her face neutral. If she was as awkward as he was right now, she was certainly hiding it very well. He tried to form a protest, but she had already pulled at his robes to assess the damage.
“Lord Rain Master, it’s unbecoming for a woman to forcibly remove a man’s robes, you know,” he sputtered out. What was wrong with him? He had no shame about showing off his body to countless other women before, what made this one different? Yet Yushi Huang looked as calm as ever as she traced over the scars littering his spine.
“I trained with the male disciples back in Yushi, it's nothing new,” she said calmly. Then, her lips pursed into a frown. “Are you lacking in medicine? They aren't healing as fast as they should be.”
Pei Ming had to control himself from jumping out the window and living out the rest of his days in shame. Forget his battle scars—she just called him ordinary!
“I'm not lacking in resources, my lady,” he replied. “It seems that I haven't applied enough. I'll get to it.”
He tried to pull away from her, but her grip was stronger than he thought. Knowing what she wanted to do, he took the little container of salve from his sleeves and handed it to her.
They stood in awkward silence as she worked the medicine over his back, blissfully unaware of how her every move was driving him to madness. Every touch seemed to awaken something in him and after she helped him into his robes, she gave him a quiet nod before leaving to help the other gods.
Watching as her figure disappeared into the winding halls of heaven, it was like a bolt of lightning struck him, and he realized three fundamental things.
One, he was definitely in love with her.
Two, he was determined to win her affections.
And three, he was absolutely terrified that he would fail.
As soon as he was a lot more presentable, the first thing he did was pay a visit to the fields of Yushi.
Step one of any courtship — know the girl. He had done it many times before, and this time was no different. Yet, despite the literal centuries of experience, Pei Ming found himself absolutely tongue-tied as he approached the fields where she worked.
“What brings the general here?” She asked, still serene as ever. Her hand was on her black ox's head, who was glaring at him with contempt. He already knew what it was like being tossed from that ox's back, and he was not eager to find out what those sharp horns can do.
“I-I wanted to personally thank you, Lord Rain Master. For your assistance.”
The ox gave him a nudge. Not hard enough to pierce through his insides, but hard enough for it to hurt.
“And…and for coming to the rescue. I am truly grateful,” he said, his voice sputtering. What was it about her that rendered him nearly speechless?
Yushi Huang smiled and gave a nod.
“It was what needed to be done,” she said simply, holding her ox back from ramming his horns into him. “Do you want to come inside? It'll be a long journey back, it's best to rest.”
Pei Ming’s first response was to hide and collect himself, but he swallowed it down and nodded. He came here to know her better, and he wasn't the type of man to back down from a challenge.
Taking him by the hand, she led him into her little hut, a far cry from the luxurious palaces of heaven. She seated him on a worn chair by the window and produced some cut fruit, humming all the way.
“The villagers were kind enough to offer me some today,” she said, pushing the plate to him. “It’s good.”
He took a slice of watermelon and bit into the red flesh, the sweet juices bursting into his mouth with an explosion of flavor. It was the sweetest watermelon he’d had in a while.
“You can move into your heavenly palace now, you know,” he blurted out. “We fixed up most of heaven already, you deserve to be amongst the other gods.”
Yushi Huang sat silent for a moment, her fingers brushing against the sword strapped at her hip. That made Pei Ming uneasy. Had he offended her somehow?
“Your offer is much appreciated,” she said finally, her gaze averted. “But heaven does not feel like home.”
“You can make it feel like home,” he said solemnly. “My own palace was created to look like my old home in my mortal life, surely you can recreate what your home looked like.”
Her lips curved into a gentle smile as she shook her head.
“No, no. I never truly felt at ease with the finery of palaces, even back then. It’s much better to be here, amongst the people who descended from Yushi.” she gestured to the farmers tending the fields outside, the rolling clouds and mountain peaks making the whole thing look like a moving painting.
“Besides, there’s not much room to grow vegetables in heaven, I fear.”
Pei Ming stood up suddenly, startling her.
“General?”
“I-I have to go, duty calls,” he said, bowing before practically running out the door. The ox didn’t even have time to glare at him as he left, only looking at his mistress with utter confusion as he marched back to heaven.
Not much room to grow vegetables? Well, she was going to get a real surprise on her next visit.
Step two of courting—get her what she likes.
Her words rang in his ears as he approached the silent palace, its halls as fresh as the day it was made, albeit a bit beat up after the battle. He had a lot to do, so he got to cleaning the entire thing before taking on the most daunting task of all-planting radishes.
In truth, he had no idea what he was doing. He just heard that you can grow radishes out of radish stumps, and that was it. He didn't know if he was supposed to submerge it in water or plant it directly on the ground, and frankly he didn't know who to ask.
Actually, he did, but then it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore. In his experience, girls really liked surprises, and he was NOT going to spoil this one.
Taking the radish stumps he saved from her, he picked up a few and began to plant them in the ground. He heard from mortals that talking to plants helps them grow, so he began to whisper.
“Alright, radish. Grow well and good, alright? You’ll be more beautiful than any flower out there.”
Seeing as the radish stubs hadn't begun to rot at his touch, he was quite proud of himself until he heard a familiar voice let out a quiet laugh behind him.
“L…Lord Rain Master!” he stammered, nearly falling backwards as he turned to face her. Had she been there this whole time?
“I…I didn't mean to intrude- just thought I'd clean up since you're surely tired of going back and forth between heaven-”
She let out another laugh, her voice like raindrops falling gently on a straw roof as she watched him brush the dirt off his robes.
“It's no problem, General, I don’t come to visit often, only when I have fresh vegetables to offer,” she then turned her attention to the radish leaves poking out of the dirt behind him.
Oh great, she was definitely gonna tell him he did the wrong thing, and that he should have never gone inside her unused palace. Instead, she surprised him by gently caressing the tops of the radishes and giving a nod.
“Well done. Give them a few weeks and they'll grow seeds in no time,”
Wait, what?
“Seeds?”
She bobbed her head in agreement.
“Yes, radish stumps grow flowers and seeds, and then the seeds grow into radishes. But of course,” she tapped the surrounding soil with her finger. “They need to be watered first,”
He gave a nervous chuckle. What was it about her that made his brain act stupid?
“Of course, water,” he said, acting as if she wasn't standing right next to him, her scent of fresh grass on a rainy day filling his senses. “How can I forget?”
As the weeks rolled by and the radish stumps began to sprout into little plants, Pei Ming decided it was time. Ever since she caught him planting radishes, she was coming back a lot more often to check on the radishes and offering him advice on how to grow them. She wasn't as chatty as he had hoped, but it just felt right to do it now.
Now the question was, how was he going to do it?
A night out wasn’t gonna work out. Given what he already knew about her so far, he was pretty sure she wasn't that type of woman. That meant something small and intimate was ideal. But now he was faced with the problem of it being too plain. He had to make it grand somehow, and fortunately for him, preparations were being made just outside his window.
Now comes the final step in courting—confession.
He went over a list of things in his head as he fixed up his robes.
The food? Pickling and ready to be served.
The flowers? Freshly picked and in a pot with some water to keep it fresh.
What he wanted to say?
Well.
He forced himself to stay calm. He had dated countless women, he knew exactly what to do.
“Do you?” he thought to himself, as if his own mind was taunting him. “ She’s not just another girl you can date and discard. Are you really up to it?”
“Shut up,” he told himself. “It’s different now,”
He looked up to the sky as the sun began to set, and the chatter of heavenly officials filled the air as they got ready for the annual Mid-Autumn Festival. Normally, he’d already be at the table, joking, possibly laughing at whatever snarky commentary Shi Wudu or Ling Wen would share with him.
But those days were far behind him now.
Behind him, he heard delicate footsteps enter the empty courtyard of the Rain Master palace, indicating that it was time.
“Lord Rain Master.” He greeted, turning around to face her. She was dressed in her usual verdant robes, the Rain Master hat perched on top of her long ebony locks like a halo. Under the fading sunlight, she seemed to glow like the sun as she approached him.
“Shouldn’t you be at the banquet?” she asked, her voice tinged with confusion. Pei Ming shook his head.
“It's all formalities, and besides it's nothing new. So I thought I'd accompany you this year instead.”
He laid out his feast- pickled radishes in a pot, along with an array of cut fruit and little cakes on a battered little table. Two cushions came next, placed neatly on the grass, flanking the table. Yushi Huang looked stunned.
“How did you-”
With his hand, he helped her sit down before taking a cushion for himself. The sun had just set, leaving them in almost complete darkness.
Good.
“You helped grow these radishes, Lord Rain Master, you need to take the first bite,”
Still skeptical, she took her chopsticks and reached in, taking a slice of radish and putting it in her mouth. The brine seemed to explode in flavor as she bit into it, a dance of sweet and salty playing on her tongue as she chewed.
“Did you make this yourself?” she asked, reaching in for more. Pei Ming nodded.
“I learned a few… tricks in the army,” he said, trying to sound calm. “Is everything else alright?”
She nodded.
“It’s wonderful, thank you. Although,” her voice hung in the air for a moment, her expression unreadable. “I was just wondering what prompted you to go through such lengths,”
Well, this was it. Pei Ming took a deep breath and began to speak.
“I wanted to show my appreciation to you, not just for helping with the radishes, not just for caring for Xiao Pei, but—,” he sighed in exasperation, his words turning into a mess of incomprehensible thoughts in his mind. Fortunately, he was saved by the appearance of two glowing lights in the sky as a voice rang out: “Two blessing lanterns for the Palace of the Rain Master,”
She blinked in disbelief, her features bathed in the golden glow of the lanterns as Pei Ming cleared his throat, presenting her with a bouquet of tiny flowers— radish flowers, the exact same ones they grew in the garden not too far from where they sat. Their delicate purple coloring seemed to illuminate under the moonlight as he spoke.
“You once said heaven did not feel like home,” he began, his words finally clicking into place like a puzzle. “If you'd have me, I hope that you will allow me to change that,”
She took the delicate buds into her hands, touching their petals with her fingers. Strange, they were just normal radish plants, but the care they both put in them made them a whole lot more special.
Setting down the flowers, she let her hands inch forward, meeting his for the first time. These were the hands of a hardened army general, capable of destroying entire cities, yet as he showed her, they were also capable of doing something more. They were capable of becoming something more.
“Let's plant a whole garden together,” She said calmly, her eyes meeting his own.
“And make this palace a home for the two of us.”