Bu Kek Siansu (The Demigod) Chapter 17

Usually, maidens of "common" blood

are only taken as concubines by princes and kings. However, Prince Han Ti Ong refused to take concubines and only had one wife, who was the daughter of a fisherman who became a follower of the royal family—a simple maiden, yet one whose beauty truly surpassed that of the royal princesses! From this beloved wife, Prince Han Ti Ong had a daughter who was six years old at the time, a small, beautiful girl, stubborn like her father and cheerful like her mother.

This child was named Han Swat Hong (Snow Wind). Prince Han Ti Ong chose this name for his daughter because when she was born, Ice Island (Pulau Es) was struck by extremely strong wind and snow! That morning, Swat Hong, the girl slightly over six years old, sat blankly on the edge of

the beach of Ice Island. She deliberately chose this quiet, slightly elevated spot to look far to the south, her heart filled with longing for her father, who had been gone for three months.

"Hong-ji (Child Hong)..."

Swat Hong turned and saw that the one calling her was her mother. She immediately jumped up, ran toward her mother, leaped up, hugged her mother's neck, and cried. Her mother laughed.

"Aih-aihhh... why is my child, who is usually so cheerful and laughing, crying? Why has the bright, happy moon become dim? What black cloud is obstructing it?"

"Mother, you... you are cruel!"

"Hmph! Your mother is cruel? Perhaps when slaughtering fish or chicken. But your mother is not cruel to humans."

Indeed, the nature of Liu Bwee, the child's mother and wife of Prince Han Ti Ong, was lively and cheerful, a trait that had also passed down to Swat Hong.

"Mother is cruel, why are you not grieving? Don't you miss Father?"

Suddenly, the woman's face turned very red, and two more tears jumped down onto her cheeks.

Seeing this, Swat Hong slid down and clapped her hands,

"Heh-heh, Mother is crying! Mother misses Father too? Go on, deny it if you dare!"

Such is the nature of children; upon seeing others grieve, they forget their own sorrow and feel comforted! Her mother knelt, hugged and kissed her, but tears were still streaming down. Swat Hong, who had turned to tease her mother, believing she missed her father just as she did, now became surprised and worried.

"Mother, why are you sad? What happened? Have you secretly been missing Father so much and just hiding it?"

Liu Bwee forced a smile and wiped away her tears, nodding as an answer because it was still difficult for her to speak without sobbing. However, her daughter was an extremely clever child, so she certainly could not be fooled that easily.

"Mother, what is it? Please tell me, who is troubling your heart? I will beat them up!"

Swat Hong clenched her two small fists as if the person troubling her mother's heart was already there and she was about to strike them. Seeing her child's attitude, Liu Bwee was deeply moved and wanted to cry again, but she suppressed her emotional feelings and laughed.

"Aih, Hong-ji, if someone were rude to your mother, couldn't your mother beat them up herself?"

Swat Hong laughed.

"I know Mother's skill is also great, even if not as great as Father's, but I won't be satisfied unless I beat up the person who troubled Mother's heart with my own two hands."

"My good child...!"

To suppress her emotion, Liu Bwee lifted her child's body, hugged and kissed her, then she shouted,

"Fly!"

And threw the child's body upward. Swat Hong cheered happily. That was one of their games. She loved it when her mother threw her into the air, especially when her father did it, because her father's throw made her body "fly"

very high.

But now, her mother's throw was enough to cheer her heart because even though her mother was not as strong as her father, the throw was enough to make her body soar high past the top of a tree! As her body glided down, her mother was ready to catch her, but being a mischievous child, she used this opportunity to practice! She quickly flipped her body so her feet were above her head and swiftly used both hands to attack her mother, clawing toward the crown of the head. That was the last move her father had trained her in, which was supposed to be done with an upward leap to attack the opponent's crown, but now she did it while gliding down!

"Haaaiiiit...!!"

To warn her mother, Swat Hong shrieked before attacking. Of course, Liu Bwee did not need to be warned. Since becoming the wife of Prince Han Ti Ong, this fisherman's daughter—who, like all inhabitants of Ice Island, already possessed a high foundation in martial arts—had been trained by her husband in high-level secret techniques, making her as powerful as all the members of the royal family. Seeing her daughter's joy, she quickly dodged. From the side, she snatched both of her child's arms and, with a loud shout, threw her child's body upward again! The body soared high, and suddenly from above, Swat Hong cried out happily,

"Heii, Mother... Father is coming....!!"

Hearing this, Liu Bwee quickly ran to the edge of the high cliff and looked out at the sea. Her face lit up, her heart pounding, filled with longing for her husband.

It was true. A boat appeared, and she easily recognized her husband rowing the boat with tremendous strength, making the small vessel glide like an angry shark. However, the woman's eyebrows furrowed when she saw two other people in the boat. A beautiful young woman! She felt uneasy. She would not restrict her husband, and as the wife of a prince who was a future king, she understood that her husband had the right to take as many concubines as he wished. But somehow, her husband's arrival with those two people, especially a beautiful woman, brought a strange sense of anxiety to her heart.

"Motherrr... help me first...!"

Swat Hong's shout startled her heart. She looked and saw her child's body gliding down.

She was shocked and realized that the tension of hearing her husband was returning had made her forget her daughter. Although Swat Hong already possessed quite good Ginkang, gliding down from such a high place carried the danger of breaking bones or at least spraining a muscle. There was no time left to jump, so she quickly grabbed a wooden branch near her feet, accurately throwing the wood so it flew right beneath Swat Hong's feet. The child also did not waste her mother's help. She stepped on the wood, and the momentum of the flying wood managed to hold back and reduce the momentum of her own body gliding down from above, allowing her to leap down safely. As if she had never been in any danger, the child then ran toward her mother and shouted happily,

"Father is coming, Mother?"

Her mother only nodded without turning, but kept looking toward the boat that was getting closer to the shore.

"Heii, Father isn't coming alone! There is a woman and a boy with Father in the boat!"

Liu Bwee still did not answer but stared intently, full of scrutiny, toward the boat.

"Wow, don't tell me that's Father's concubine and son...!"

Swat Hong, who was indeed outspoken, grumbled. She already knew the custom of princes taking concubines, so she would not be surprised if her father also had concubines outside of Ice Island, even though her heart felt displeased and full of envy looking at the boy in the boat. Hearing the remark that, unintentionally by Swat Hong, felt like a sharp object piercing her heart, Liu Bwee replied,

"That woman is too young to be the mother of that boy. Although it is not impossible that she is your Father's concubine because she is indeed beautiful."

This answer came from the depths of Liu Bwee's heart and came out of her mouth as if she hadn't realized it. She was only startled when the sentence had been uttered. She quickly turned toward her daughter and regretted having spoken those jealous words. She immediately took her child's hand and, to erase her words from her daughter's heart, she said cheerfully,

"Eh, why are we just standing here? Come on, let's welcome your Father!"

They ran down the cliff to welcome the arrival of Prince Han Ti Ong on the sandy beach.

The woman's cheerful demeanor concealed all her feelings, so Swat Hong had already forgotten her mother's earlier sadness. In truth, Liu Bwee was extremely happy to see her husband return, although her joy would have been greater if her husband had returned alone. Since her husband left a few months ago, she had suffered severe inner turmoil. She knew that she was disliked by the royal family because she was considered a woman of low birth. The family's hatred intensified when they realized that Han Ti Ong refused to take concubines. They believed that Liu Bwee was using means to bind her husband! Especially since Liu Bwee did not have a son, their hatred grew even stronger. Of course, those who felt the most hatred were those who hoped that Han Ti Ong, the prince and future king, would marry their daughters!

At that time, the old king was suffering from illness, and it was generally suspected that his life would not last much longer. It seemed the king was only waiting for the return of his son, the crown prince, Prince Han Ti Ong, to pass the throne to him. However, due to Han Ti Ong's difference from other princes—he liked to wander, his wife was of low status and he only had one, he had no concubines, and no son—Liu Bwee knew that there was an alliance within the royal family opposing her husband's ascension as the future king!