Shang Gu has always loved the mortal realm, she had always found the mortal love stories to be so interesting yet she has never felt that feeling that the mortals called love. Shang Gu has always wanted to know what it would be like to fall in love with a mortal or a god or even a demon, she just wanted to know how love feels.
But Shang Gu was also interested in items from the mortal realm such as weapons, food, clothing, utensil, jewelry and gems but most of all, it was their way of living; since they don't live as long as the gods and goddesses yet it seems like the mortals were the one living it to their fullest.
It was another day at the four season palace, Shang Gu was working on some papers when a thought crossed her mind and with a smile she said to her spirit.
"Zhu Zi, should we go down to the mortal realm?" Shang Gu asked her bond as spring was coming to an end in the mortal realm and Zhu Zi looked at her a little shock, but the spirit knew that her mistress was not asking her so she reluctantly agreed since she knew that there was no stopping her mistress once she has decided.
"I will go wherever you go, mistress." Zhu Zi said to her and Shang Gu smiled
"Then I'll go report it to Qing Mu tomorrow and we can go down to the mortal realm." Shang gu said to Zhu Zi without even glancing up from her paperwork
The following day Shang Gu finished the morning tasks, she headed out of the Four Seasons Palace with Zhu Zi and they headed to the true god palace to find Qing Mu.
Once Shang Gu reached the true god's palace, she asked for Zhu Zi to leave her be with Qing Mu and once Zhu Zi left, she held onto Qing Mu's shirt sleeve, already pleading with her eyes.
"The mortal realm?" Qing Mu asked her and Shang Gu nodded excitedly
"I know that you've always been interested in the mortal realm but to go down? I don't know." Qing Mu said to her but Shang Gu only looked at him with her big blue eyes; begging him.
"I will have all the work done and be back in just a few days, a year is just a day here in heaven. You won't even notice that I'm gone." Shang Gu pleaded with him and Qing Mu chuckled as he patted her head, she had became like a little sister to him
"Fine, make sure to be back within a week. Since our work is piling up." Qing Mu said to her and she nodded.
Shang Gu was known to be a cheerful person in the nine heaven realm, easy-going and carefree; like a teenager in the mortal realm who is curious about everything even though she does her part well. Getting permission to go down to the mortal realm made her so happy that she rushed back to the four-season palace without letting Zhu Zi know.
But before she left the nine-heaven realm, she gathered some people for a meeting. She called for the fire god, the water goddess, and the frost fairy.
"I will leave the Four-Season palace to you all while I am gone." Shang Gu said to them with a smile
"Feng Hai, shall do my best for the Four-Season palace while you are gone." the fire god said to her with a bow and she nodded
"You will bring summer to the mortal realm in just a few hours, I will leave it to you." Shang Gu said and he nodded
"Shui Er, will handle the paperwork for the Spring Palace while you are gone." The water goddess was the second in power after Zhu Zi in handling the papers, Shang Gu smiled at her and nodded.
"I will leave it to you than Shui." Shang Gu has worked with the group since they have been assigned to help her out in the four-season palace for the past 20 hundred years. Shang Gu turned to the snow fairy with a soft smile as well.
"You must've been busy, Dong Mei." Shang Gu said to the snow fairy who nodded, Dong Mei as her name was once a winter plum spirit that ascended into the nine heavens and became a winter fairy and was assigned to help assist Shang Gu in the Four season palace.
The three of them have been helping her maintain the four-season palace along with Zhu Zi, with the five of them in charge, with the help of the other element immortals and other immortal attendants, they were able to maintain the four-season. Which helps lessen the workload of Qing Mu.
The four of them bring the four seasons to the mortal realm in just one day in heaven since a year in the mortal realm is just a day in the nine heaven realm, in the morning it is spring, the afternoon is summer, the evening is fall and at night it is winter; that was how they maintained their work.
After the meeting they all returned for the night while everyone else slept, Shang Gu was packing things, the following day they set out.
Qing Mu was the one to send them off in the morning, as Shang Gu and Zhu Zi stood at the gate to descend down to the mortal realm.
"I will seal some of your power, but enough for you to return and protect yourself you will be like a cultivator in the mortal realm. Zhu Zi, as for you, your immortal power is not that high so I will not seal yours. Shang Gu, I will change the color of your hair and eyes, since the mortals will find your eye and hair color to be a demon and it could bring you trouble." Qing Mu said to the two of them as he sealed Shang Gu's power and changed her hair and eye color.
"You can go now, descending from here you can arrive in the mortal realm safely." Qing Mu said to them, Shang Gu smiled as she took hold of Zhu Zi's hands and the two walked quickly towards the gates. The light was so bright that they closed their eyes for a moment but when they opened their eyes again, they were in the mountains with wildflowers covering the whole plain and many trees were in full bloom with their flowers. Birds were singing and butterflies fluttering everywhere, it was almost as if they have yet to leave the spring palace.
"This is the mortal realm?" Shang Gu asked and Zhu Zi nodded
"Mistress! We are finally here!" Zhu Zi said to her mistress and the two of them ran to town, people were everywhere and selling all sorts of different things. Things that smelled, things that feels soft to the touch, and things that looked pretty, the two goddesses were overjoyed.
"Oh, Miss we should go exchange what the mortal used to pay in the mortal realm. In the nine heaven realm, we use magical pearls made from the North and West sea but here the mortal use a different currency." Zhu Zi reminded her and she nodded, she had collected many things from the mortal realm from the mortal immortals and other immortals that travel to and from the mortal realm.
Shang Gu took out the magic purse that she always have with her and took out a few items, the first one was a big pearl from the East sea, four jade bracelets, three gold hair pins with different jade colors on them, and seven jade ring with gold and other stone that decorated it. The two of them headed to the pawn shop and pawn her things.
"How long will we be here, mistress?" Zhu Zi asked her and Shang Gu was emersed in her thoughts then she remembered what Qing Mu had said to her about how she could be here for a week and a mischievous smile played on her lip.
"About three days of heaven so maybe around 3 years here in the mortal realm." Shang Gu said to her and Zhu Zi nodded
"Then that means that we can't stay at an inn but we should buy a house to live in." Zhu Zi said to her and she nodded
"But I don't want to buy a house because we won't be in this town all the time but we will be traveling the mortal realm." Shang Gu reminded her and she nodded
"Then let's just stay at an inn for now." Zhu Zi said and the two of them went to find an inn to stay for the night, the two looked around and eventually found an inn and went inside.
"Welcome." The waiter greeted them and the two smiled at him
"Please give us a room." Zhu Zi said and the waiter nodded with a smile and took them to a room.
The room was not as big as Shang Gu's room back in the nine heaven but it was clean, tidy, and neatly decorated. Zhu Zi looked at her mistress's face and knew that this room was okay. Zhu Zi turned to the waiter and paid him a silver.
"Please bring us the recommended dishes for dinner and a few good wines." Zhu Zi said and the waiter bowed with energetically to her as he nodded and headed out of their room to bring the food to them.
"Mistress, do you want a bath?" Zhu Zi asked her and she chuckled
"A Zi, while in the mortal realm call me sister." Shang Gu said to her and she shook her head
"You are my mistress, I dare not to-" Zhu Zi said and Shang Gu chuckled
"Then call me young miss." Shang Gu said and Zhu Zi nodded as she looked at Shang Gu as if she with a relief look and nodded frantically
"Yes, young miss!" Zhu Zi said to her
"But us goddesses don't sweat or smell, in fact, we smell better than anyone, and especially me who is a lotus goddess, so do I still need to take a bath?" Shang Gu asked Zhu Zi and the two of them chuckled
"But young miss, didn't you want to live like a mortal? Mortals take baths, eat meals together, drink wine, and sleep." Zhu Zi said to her and she think it over and agreed
"Then let us take a bath together!" Shang Gu said and Zhu Zi nodded at the same time a knock came at their door
"I brought the food and wine you've asked for over!" the waiter said to them from behind the closed door and Zhu Zi went to open the door for the waiter, he placed the food on the table, and as he moved for the others to put the wine on the table.
"Is there anything else that we can help you with?" the two waiters asked them before they left and Zhu Zi nodded
"We would like to take a bath, please bring two tubs and enough water for it. We will have our meal while we wait for the water." Zhu Zi said and the waiters nodded as they headed out. The two of them tried out the food and looked at each other in bewilderment, the both of them ate energetically.
"Why does the nine-heaven realm not eat this?! We only eat fruits and drink tea." Zhu Zi asked as Shang Gu sip on her third cup of wine
"Ahh...This is so good. It is not that we don't have any wine in the nine-heaven realm, but all of the wine in the nine-heaven realm is stored and under the care of the wine god; the true god yuan feng. He isn't in the nine-heaven realm, no one dares to bring out the wine. Also, I heard that the other true gods and other gods will only get to drink when he takes out the wine." Shang Gu said and Zhu Zi chuckled
"We should greet him and get some wine from him." Zhu Zi said and Shang Gu look at her with a smile full of food
"Let's wait for the true god to return and I'll ask Qing Mu to ask him." Shang Gu said as the two continue to eat and drank happily
When they finished all the food and wine, the water came, the waiters looked at the two who had finished about 6 jars of wine but still look sober in amazement
"T-The water is ready." The waiters said to them and they thanked the waiters, Zhu Zi paid him another silver. After the waiter left the two of them were once more, alone in their room. The two stepped into the bath and looked at each other as they slowly sink into their own tub
"This feels so warm and comforting." Shang Gu said and Zhu Zi nodded, in the nine-heaven realm even though Shang Gu is a blue lotus, she has never soaked in hot water but always swam in her little lake-like pound that she grew up in.
"Should we take some culture from the mortal realm back to the nine-heaven realm?" Zhu Zi asked her and Shang Gu looked at her with a smile
"That's a great idea!" Shang Gu said and the two of them giggled as they soaked in their tub of hot water for the first time they sweat but because they are goddesses, it makes their essence refined and even stronger. The two of them brush it off as it came from the flowers when they were finished and the waiter came to empty the tub water.
The next morning the two of them ordered food and some wine for breakfast and headed out of the inn for some sight-seeing and had told the waiter that they would be back in the evening and for the waiter to prepare some food for when they get back.