Bei Shang watched as the police took the woman away. She had called the police herself and confessed her deeds. There was no reason to be living now that her child was gone.. fully gone now.

There was a strange thought that popped in his head; if it was him not his mother who died; would his mom have done anything to keep him with her? Sometimes was it a kind of mercy if the mother died before the child?

"Bei Shang, what are you thinking about?"

"Nothing… " He coughed when Nick's eyes seem to be focusing entirely on him " Can you tell me a bit about Mitch ?"

At the mention of Mitch, his gaze wavered and he nodded his head. 

" We will talk about it when you wake up in the morning. Why don't you have a nice rest in the car?"

"Where are you going?" Bei Shang asked.

"I want to go get some supplies, don't worry, the only spirit around the area was the girl. I'll be back very soon"

Bei Shang nod and entered the car; Nick eyes flashed with a strange emotion but when Bei Shang tried to look closely to check what it was ; he already turn and left.

Nick didn't come back for a long time, Bei Shang tried to keep awake but his eyelids started to lower.

By the time he opened his eyes, It was already morning, Nick was driving and they seemed to be in a new environment.

There were no people for miles; only vegetation and trees. Bei Shang watched the greenery for a long while before looking at the driver.

"How come there's no one around here ?"

"It's because this place is hidden from mortal society ..... This is the boundary that separates the mortal and demon realm "

"Aha ... I thought you changed your mind and now planned to kill me "

Nick flinched and glanced at Bei Shang ".... are you being sarcastic?"

“Of course I am”

Nick swerved the car to the side of the road and put it in the park, then he looked at Bei Shang. Despite his soft voice, his eyes were almost insane.

"Are you being sarcastic?"

Bei shang couldn't help but shiver. "I was just joking "

Nick grabbed his hand much to his shock “What kind of joke was that? Why would you think I would hurt you ? What do you take me for?!“

"Nick storm park, you are scaring me ! "

Like he just turned off a switch, Nick blinked before letting go of his hand.

"I was joking about what I said, don't take me seriously" 

Then as nothing happened, he started the car and continued driving. Bei Shang was too shocked to ask questions again, he just kept quiet and start ruminating on what Nayima had said about Nick.

He's off ….

Nick at the first glance looked like a sweet and amicable guy, he doesn't talk much but he would listen carefully, He was thinking about how he needed to rest and dropped at the hotel, from what he saw during the fight at the hotel, he was also trusting and innovative in battle.

But now he was looking at it ,somethings just didn't add up.

Why did he choose that hotel? Was the hotel just a coincidence? Why did the demon mostly focus its attack on him rather than Nick? Also, Nick was a Huli Jing, were Huli Jing not stronger than most demons? Didn't he ward off a divine tiger when they first met? Why was the battle so difficult for him yesterday? Where did he go yesterday? 

Bei Shang felt the hair on the back of his neck rise and he looked to the side, Nick seemed to be driving peacefully like he was not the one earlier who almost went into a tantrum; he was even humming a popular rhyme.

"Nick … is there service around here ?"

"Yes, you want to call someone?"

" I want to call Nayima" 

"Okay" Nick took a phone out of the car safe box and then hand it to him " We are close to home already, only 30 mins away now "

He dialed Nayima's number and waited in apprehension as it buzzed, after a full minute; a familiar but tired voice spoke through the phone.

" Bei Shang, you already got home?"

"How did you know it's me?"

"I'm a shamaness remember? " There was a shuffle in the area " Is everything going okay?"

"Yeah, everything is okay, just wanted to hear your voice "

"No problem….ouch !" 

Bei Shang sat upright; his voice filled with concern " Anything the matter? "

"Nothing, My husband is pretty harsh with treatment… a stray fox injured me yesterday, and I got scratches all over my left hand"

"But there aren't foxes around Changsha…"

"There are …they only come out at night " There was another shuffle in the area "Call me when you arrive at your destination okay?"

"Okay"

Bei shang disconnect the call and placed the phone back into the car safe. He looked a bit relaxed.

Nick's voice was soft " How is she ?" 

"She's okay, Had some scratches from a stray fox and her husband is treating it for her …. Can I call her after we get to the house?"

"Of course, feel free "

Turns out he was worried for nothing, demons are entitled to their eccentricity.

He didn't notice Nick clenched fists on the steering wheel loosen.

At Changsha, Nayima dropped the phone and groaned in pain. Unlike the scratches she claimed, her left hand looked like it was clawed by a large animal; it was deep and it bleed through the bandages.

Her husband was trembling as he kept wrapping it.

"Why didn't you tell Bei Shang?!"

Nayima glared at her husband "That psychopath already did this to me for using a fingernail on him, not to talk of me exposing him… he would kill me in the most gruesome way possible !!!"

"Don't you think he will hurt Bei Shang?!"

Nayima thought for a second before shaking her head. " He won't hurt him "

"How can you be so sure?!"

"I'm pretty sure I can put my mangled arm as insurance…." She grabbed her phone and started to dial a new number "But if he thinks he's going to get away with hurting me, he's having an illusion…. I'm calling broody and telling him everything "

True to Nick's words, They drove for about 30 mins before a house appeared. It was a small bungalow with wire fences to keep wild animals out but allow the inhabitants of the house to feed the animals, it was painted Yellow, a cheery color that contrasted with the gloominess of the place; a young boy was sitting at the front of the house with a wolf beside him.

Nick stopped a distance from the house without alerting the boy.

"That's my son ... Mitch Storm Park"

Bei Shang studied the child; he looked a lot like Xingfu which meant he looked a lot like him; his hair was brown not white like his father, and his hair was also long framing his face and making him look androgynous.

There was a pang of pain in his heart. This was his nephew in real life; he looked soft and warm, not corrupted by the Realities of this world and beyond; Not eyed by the gods for cruel jokes, Innocence in its simplest form.

He could understand why Nick didn't want to hurt the child; once one has gone through life seeing hardships, innocence becomes something to be protected; this nephew of his should..no must be protected.

"I am going to do it " Bei Shang looked at the quiet Nick. "I am going to do it for Mitch's sake; nothing more in exchange you just have to promise me 3 things "

Nick went tense "What?"

"We will get married "Seeing no reluctance in his eyes, he continued "You will protect me no matter what, and when the time comes that I want to leave… you have to let me go "

"But what if I don't want to let you go? "

A strange atmosphere descended in the car and it was as if Bei Shang was taken to a time in the past. 

He had said this words before at the same time, at this same place.

The Deja Vu was so strong, he had to clench his fists to gain control of himself.

"Swear it"

Nick tightened his lips for a long while before nodding his head.

“I also have something to say”

“What?“

“Promise you will marry me “

“…What?“

Nick raised his chin as if trying to intimidate him “ Promise you'll marry me ; promise me that you will become my husband “

Bei Shang had the urge to laugh “With the way you are talking, I would think you had the most to benefit from the marriage “

“Promise me “

“Okay okay I promise.. happy now? “ He looked at the car mirror and start to arrange his hair “ I still have my feminine features so all I need is to act feminine"

"Act how you want to, Mitch has never met Xingfu "

Bei Shang climbed out of the car and walked to the house with Nick. Coming closer now; Bei Shang could feel his heart beating hard against his chest.

Anxiety? Excitement? Guilt? Maybe all 3?

His mind went to the mother and child spirit, and the same question went through his head.

Was it a kind of mercy if the mother died before the child? If one day, he comes to love this nephew as his own; will his death be more of a mercy than if the child discovers the truth and leaves him?

Mitch raised his eyes and stared at him. At that moment; everything in the world froze and he could only concentrate on the child in front of him.

What if the child doesn't recognize him? what if he thinks it's all folly and...

Slowly he broke into a smile and stood up

"Mom !!!!"

He ran towards him and Bei Shang squatted and opened his arms. He wrapped his arms around his slim body and buried his head in his shoulder; Mitch also wrapped an arm around his neck and his head buried his chest.

"Mom; what took you so long?"

"I am sorry… I am sorry..."

A strange emotion bloomed in his heart. All of a sudden he just wanted to hide this boy from every bad thing in the world. He didn't want him to know death or negativity.

The goddess of fate watched this in the mirror; there was a tight frown on her face.

A nine-tailed cat was watching her at the side; he looked a bit amused at her expression.

"I didn't know you still had a bit of mercy in you "

"This is his 100th reincarnation... And It still ends up this way; how could he make another promise with him ; He never listens !!! He keeps going back to him, despite he's the one that got him into this in the first place"

The cat rolled his eyes " It's his punishment; the pain will refine him into the god he's meant to become "

She let out a deep sigh and left the room.