Chapter 184: The Dispute Over Status
Ereshkigal's arrival was not within Rowe's expectations.
In his memory, she was not the type to wander. Even when she accidentally ended up in Northern Europe, she had simply slept, waiting for him to appear.
Yet now she had descended from the Highest Heaven and stepped into here, into the Divine Land.
Worse, her first move was not subtle. It was a direct strike at the throat.
She had taken the seat of Mount Li's Goddess, the position paired with Qin's Azure Heaven.
The strange part was that the old powers of this land showed no rejection at all. If anything, they felt… welcoming.
Rowe could not shake the suspicion that certain ancient ancestors were doing this on purpose.
Of course, suspicion did not reduce the headache.
If Ereshkigal had arrived a little earlier or a little later, things would have been easier. Earlier, and his status with Consort Yu had not been formalized. Later, and he could have explained everything to Consort Yu cleanly.
Rowe had never intended to hide his past from those close to him.
Honesty was the only way to earn something real. Naive, perhaps, but he remained greedy about love while still wanting to preserve a sliver of human purity.
Unfortunately, reality did not wait for his preferred timing.
Ereshkigal had come. After becoming Mount Li's Goddess, she sensed him. Then she moved, immediately.
Guanzhong, the former Qin heartland and now the core of the unified empire, lay far away. Mount Li rose there, vast and solemn, and faint dark starlight shimmered over it.
Rowe had reached Penglai at sunset.
Now the last thread of twilight had fully died.
Night fell.
Night was when an underworld goddess walked.
Ereshkigal arrived.
Across the sea, a cool presence spread. Life and death intertwined in it, leaving the mind strangely clear.
Three feet above the head, the gods are watching.
"Sister of Mount Li!" The Stone Monkey girl was shocked, then delighted.
At the same time, Consort Yu tightened her grip on Rowe's hand. Her crimson eyes shifted, and she pressed her body as close as possible, like she was drawing a line no one could cross.
"No matter who she is," she said, voice low and fierce, "you are mine now."
Rowe was already thinking about how to break the deadlock.
Not to escape.
And certainly not to conceal.
Escape was shameful. Concealment solved nothing. Rowe was not afraid of a hatchet, and he did not want one to fall later because he had pretended it did not exist.
What he wanted was a buffer.
A short stretch of time to let everyone breathe.
"Oh? It is you, little monkey."
Ereshkigal's steps rippled across the sea as if she were walking on solid ground. Under moonlight, her bare feet looked pale and delicate, touching the surface like curved jade.
Her red cloak swayed. Black fabric wrapped her figure cleanly, outlining grace without needing to show anything.
She glanced at the Stone Monkey girl and smiled. Then she reached out and stroked her head, gentle and familiar.
The Stone Monkey girl beamed.
Then Ereshkigal looked at Rowe.
"Sister of Mount Li, it is these two!" Before Ereshkigal could speak, the Stone Monkey girl started complaining. "They did not believe you existed. They even wanted me to take them to see you."
She planted her hands on her hips, dress swaying, face triumphant.
"How about it? Do you still doubt me? Hehehe."
Wuzhiqi shrank back, trying to erase herself from the scene.
The Stone Monkey girl kept going, pointing as if she were presenting criminals.
"I am telling you, Sister, they are…"
"Rowe. My beloved."
Ereshkigal's gaze slid to the hand Consort Yu was gripping so tightly. A smile appeared, quiet and dangerous in its calm.
"We finally meet."
Stone Monkey: "?"
The young girl froze, utterly bewildered.
Ereshkigal's expression did not change.
Back in the Highest Heaven, Rowe had told her about his experiences. She had prepared herself, mentally, for what she might find. The man she loved was outstanding. It was only natural that others would be drawn to him.
She could understand it.
She could not accept it.
Ereshkigal inhaled slowly. Then she walked forward.
Consort Yu kept holding Rowe's hand, as if squeezing a claim into reality.
"As the legends say," Consort Yu said with a smile that tried very hard to remain elegant, "the grace of Mount Li's Goddess is indeed extraordinary."
As Heavenly Empress, she forced her posture into dignity.
She wanted to look confident.
She wanted her opponent to hesitate.
Take this, Mount Li Goddess.
Consort Yu watched Ereshkigal approach. Watched her stop in front of Rowe. Watched her extend a hand.
Then Ereshkigal stepped in from the side opposite Consort Yu, wrapped an arm around Rowe, and kissed him.
No greeting.
No pause.
Just straight to the point.
Wuzhiqi choked. Her breathing went jagged like she had swallowed sea water wrong.
The Stone Monkey girl went silent, mouth slightly open.
Rowe was not surprised. He only sighed.
For Ereshkigal, nothing mattered more than Rowe being in front of her, right now. As long as he was here, everything else became secondary.
"You… rude, rude, rude!"
Consort Yu snapped. Her long black hair flared like a living thing. Fangs showed. The composed mask shattered completely.
What was the point of composure?
Just take him back.
Her instinct screamed to act.
For her, acting meant only one thing.
Self destruction as art.
Rowe reacted instantly.
Without yanking her away, without forcing a confrontation, he guided the hand she was gripping. Consort Yu stumbled forward from the sudden shift in leverage and slammed into him.
She fell straight into his other arm.
"Hm?" She blinked, stunned.
She realized Rowe's hand had slipped free and was now behind her back.
His palm brushed down, warm and deliberate.
A sensation ran through her from top to bottom. Consort Yu's face turned crimson. Her body went soft on reflex.
The self destruct mechanism disengaged like a switch being turned off.
She collapsed into Rowe's embrace, pliant and heated, black clad legs dangling and swaying. Her hips arched, rubbing against him without meaning to.
Rowe glanced sideways, faintly exasperated even now.
If anyone asked, he could call this timing "you arrived at just the right moment."
Consort Yu loosened her hold on Rowe's mouth and pulled back, expression triumphant, as if she had won a war.
Ereshkigal also retreated slightly, cheeks faintly flushed. Her golden hair fell forward. Her lashes trembled, but she held her chin up anyway.
"Rowe," she said softly, "we meet again, do we not?"
Not "it has been a long time."
Rowe had entered this land only a year ago. The time that passed in the Highest Heaven was even shorter. Yet Ereshkigal looked as if she had been starving for him.
She tidied her hair by her ear, then licked her lips lightly, and let a small victorious smile bloom. It was not subtle. It was aimed directly at Consort Yu.
Rowe was her most important person.
And immediately after that came the right to dominate the space around him.
Ereshkigal understood he would attract others. She had accepted that reality as fact.
She still believed she must stand above the rest.
Consort Yu, still pressed close to Rowe, opened her eyes again. The haze faded a little. She wriggled once, then forced herself upright.
In any case, the atmosphere had eased.
Rowe exhaled, relieved despite himself.
"How dare you," Consort Yu hissed. Her face was still flushed, fangs still visible, but the raw fury had dulled.
She took a breath and shifted tactics. Softer, but still sharp.
"I am the Heavenly Empress of this Divine Land, the consort of the Heavenly Emperor of the Nine Provinces. Who are you to not bow when you see me?"
She refused to admit defeat.
She wanted Ereshkigal to bow first.
Ereshkigal blinked. She looked at Rowe, then at Consort Yu.
"I… hmm."
She inhaled again as if gathering courage.
"I am the Mountain God of Mount Li," she said, voice firming, "and the wife of Qin's Azure Heaven."
Heavenly Empress was the queen of Heaven.
Mount Li's Mountain God was the orthodox deity revered by Great Qin, an equal seat paired with Heaven itself.
One was Heaven.
One was Human Order.
Their statuses lined up in a way that was infuriatingly symmetrical.
They stared at each other, both uncertain who should bow first.
Then the argument became simpler.
"I am Rowe's lover," Ereshkigal said.
"I am too," Consort Yu snapped.
"No, you are not. Even if you are, you stand behind me. I knew Rowe earlier than you."
"Hmph. So what? I have lived longer than you, and I am stronger than you now."
"Eh? How long?"
"At least… tens of thousands of years."
Ereshkigal hesitated. She was still not used to competing like this.
Then she landed the blow anyway.
"Then… old hag?"
Consort Yu froze.
The critical hit landed cleanly.
Of course, while they argued, neither moved far from Rowe. Ereshkigal stayed close enough to reach him. Consort Yu tightened her grip on his hand again.
They did not forget the real goal.
Dominance.
Who stood beside him first. Who stood above the other.
Who would become the one who moved with Rowe as a unit.
Fighting was useless, so Ereshkigal leaned in to kiss Rowe again.
Consort Yu beat her to it.
Their lips pressed together. Consort Yu clung to him, soft body swaying in a deliberate, possessive rhythm.
Ereshkigal made a frustrated sound.
Rowe looked to the side.
Wuzhiqi had already sunk into the sea, but she still peeked out with one pale head and a single exposed eye, watching like someone eavesdropping on a catastrophe.
The Stone Monkey girl stood there, stunned, then finally murmured in confusion.
Consort Yu pulled back again, wearing a triumphant expression.
Ereshkigal looked even more distressed.
Then both of them felt it.
The nesting of a heavenly position.
Rowe spoke at last, voice calm.
"I forgot to tell you. I do not need a spouse god right now."
He paused, choosing words that would not lie.
"I am Taiyi of Chaos. Chaos is nameless. Yin and Yang are one."
His gaze stayed steady.
"So I am both Heavenly Emperor and Heavenly Empress. Both Heaven and Emperor."
For a moment, silence.
Had they argued for nothing?
"No. That is not right." Consort Yu reacted first, eyes sharpening. "You are Yin and Yang, yes. But Yin and Yang are divided into Greater Yin and Greater Yang. You are only Greater Yang's Yang and Greater Yang's Yin."
She leaned forward as if she had found the crack in the wall.
"As long as someone becomes the Yin and Yang of Greater Yin, there is still a chance."
What she said was correct.
Rowe could command all Yin and Yang, but he was ultimately male. He manifested as Greater Yang because it aligned with his consciousness. That was a choice.
Consort Yu's breath quickened.
"In other words, as long as I step ahead, I can formally take dominance."
She looked at him, fierce and bright.
"Even if this is your scheme, I will take this opportunity."
It was an open scheme, and she still walked into it, because it offered what she wanted.
Not a temporary win.
A position at Rowe's side, long term.
"One step," she whispered near his ear. "Just one step."
Her lips curved.
"I will reach you properly soon. Wait for me."
Then she vanished.
Though she could not fly, her nature as Golden Mother was sharp enough to pierce space itself. She departed in an instant.
Rowe's sight followed, briefly, to the land of Qin Pass, to the East Flower Palace. Doors slammed shut. Consort Yu, excited and determined, rushed deep within to cultivate.
She would digest the White Emperor spirit base completely.
Wuzhiqi surfaced again, confused.
"Huh? Why did she leave?"
"She went into seclusion," Rowe said, finally letting out the breath he had been holding.
Ereshkigal did not understand the Greater Yin and Greater Yang discussion. She did not understand the technical shape of the loophole.
But she understood the feeling behind it.
The urge not to lose.
The refusal to let go of Rowe.
So she stepped closer.
"Then I will also go digest the power of this spirit base, Rowe."
This time, she did not kiss him first.
Rowe leaned down and kissed her.
Their lips met, and for a moment, everything else became distant.
When they separated, Ereshkigal lowered her head, face flushed, shy and resolute all at once. Rowe ruffled her golden hair gently.
"I will explain everything to you," he said.
"You already explained." Ereshkigal nodded firmly. "I know what you mean."
Her red eyes lifted.
"So I will not lose."
No. You do not understand.
Rowe wanted to say it.
But Ereshkigal was already gone, returning to the newly opened Underworld of Mount Li, cheeks still pink, expression filled with shy determination.
Even now, she still could not fully hide her bashfulness.
Rowe watched her go, then did not stop her.
Next, he would explain in order.
No concealment.
No hiding.
Just honest words.
Emotions did not tolerate pretense. And although he could manipulate hearts, he refused to insult human nature by doing it.
The East Sea remained vast beneath the moon.
Mist rose in waves.
Wuzhiqi slipped away entirely. As a clone, her consciousness returned to her main body in an instant.
The Stone Monkey girl finally snapped back to herself.
"Eh? Where did they go?"
She looked around and found only Rowe left, standing alone on the sea.
Rowe smiled at her.
"Stone Monkey."
He tilted his head slightly.
"Do you have a name?"
The Stone Monkey girl widened her eyes.
.....
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