Fanfiction3: A-Li's Three Lives, Three Worlds - Chapter 67 (Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms 三生三世十里桃花)
Chapter 67
written by LigayaCroftedited by kakashi
To say the party in Eight Heaven where the former Tianjun lived was in full swing was an understatement. The grounds of Dàxīng Palace (大興宮) were covered with tables and streamers. Dancers and musicians provided auditory and visual entertainment. All the guests were dressed in their attires of the finest and most colorful silks. Wine and food freely flowed from Celestial servants milling about, waiting on thousands upon thousands of clan heads, dignitaries and their immortal attendants each from the Celestial, Demon, Ghost and Fairy Clans.
Prior to joining the festivities, Lian Song had all of them make a stop at his palace to get changed into more appropriate wear. The Celestial silks that Lian Song’s servants had wrapped them in felt several grades more luxurious than the ones A-Li had bought and worn for his wedding. To think that he had been so used to his usual clothing made of hemp and lower-grade fabrics for so long that his wedding clothes at that time felt like the softest of clouds when he put them on.
But this — the quality of what used to be his usual clothing pre-Huicūn — this was different. Even the pads of his feet rejoiced when the servants slipped on his new boots. Had they always felt this luxurious?
It was startling how things he had been used to all his life now felt different, even undeserved. A look at Gun Gun and Mei Lin’s faces when he met them outside told A-Li he wasn't alone at feeling this way. Gun Gun’s right thumb and index finger kept on stroking the lapel of his gown while Mei Lin kept shaking her arms to set her voluminous sleeves to rights.
“It’s so noisy,” Gun Gun complained.
“So bright,” Mei Lin added.
Truth be told, A-Li’s head had been hurting since they set foot in Jiuchongtian. Everything was just… too much.
“Let us be quick,” he told the two. “We are short on time.”
On the way to the Jiuchongtian, the three of them had worked out that A-Li and Mei Lin would be leaving together as early as they could while Gun Gun would stay behind to finish up whatever still needed to be finished on their behalf.
As they climbed up the stairs to the Palace where the more exclusive crowd gathered, A-Li couldn't help but count the steps needed to get to the main doors. With each step, how many mortal hours had gone by for Huo Zheng and his baby?
“Oh gods, here they come,” he overheard Mei Lin mutter before she turned to face them and declared, “I will go pay my respects to my parents. If you're not yet ready by the time I am, I will be leaving for Huicūn without you.”
Then with a pointed look specifically directed at Gun Gun, she left in a trail of peach silk, revealing the women who were excitedly descending upon them.
Ex-lovers, admirers, and at least half of them used to be A-Li’s.
Like Gun Gun, he looked for an escape route.
And there was none.
***
“A Primordial is back?”
Shao Wan fought the urge to roll her eyes at Ye Hua’s stunned reaction upon Mo Yuan’s announcement. Why was it that Celestials managed to have the same constipated look when they were shocked?
Mo Yuan would have informed his brother earlier if not for the fact that said brother had gone to Qing Qiu to fetch his wife and children, and only came back just today. Because of this, Shao Wan had been on tenterhooks for several hours, so eager was she to finally get to the bottom of things.
“It is the same as I told you 5’000 years ago, Tianjun,” Dong Hua added, his gaze toward the scenery outside Ye Hua’s window. “That temple that your son went to in the mortal realms… it had the same core as the oldest element here in the Sky Realms.”
“No one could enter our—” Mo Yuan hesitated but shook his head. “Father’s mausoleum save for me and the Uncreated.”
“Which reminds me how you’ve deceived everyone for years,” Dong Hua remarked pointedly.
“But she could enter,” Zhe Yan raised, pointing toward Shao Wan. “How is that so?”
“It is a mystery that we are trying to solve,” Mo Yuan finished, maintaining a steady gaze on her.
Shao Wan turned her nose high and opposite from where Zhe Yan stood, still trying hard to hold her tongue because she had reluctantly agreed to Mo Yuan’s plan to keep her investigation tight and confined to be just between him, Dong Hua and her.
“What we need to focus on is that Father’s memories are now gone. This is not something one should take lightly, Ye Hua.”
Ye Hua arranged his dark robes and sat down. “I am not taking this lightly. It’s just—” in a move uncharacteristic of Ye Hua, he sighed, his shoulders falling deeper than they should be. “I have to find my son.”
“A-Li?” Zhe Yan asked. “I ran into Cheng Yu not too long ago. She said the children are back.”
The Children meant not just A-Li but Gun Gun and Mei Lin as well. Shao Wan’s mood brightened up a bit at the thought of seeing her daughter again.
“Just them? No… uninvited guests came along with them?”
Zhe Yan’s brows furrowed. “The whole thirty-nine heavens are on tight lockdown for the birthday party. It would be an insult to your guards if uninvited deities were able to slip through.”
Ye Hua just gave Zhe Yan a fathomless look before he shook his head and returned his attention on his brother.
“So if I understood this correctly, a Primordial has been around for at least 5’000 years but hasn't revealed himself yet.”
“Or herself,” Shao Wan couldn't help but interject, raising a brow at Mo Yuan when he shook his head at her. She turned to the rest of the men and explained, “As the only woman here, it is my duty to remind you to not forget about gods of my gender. Tianjun, your Mother was a Primordial too. Who is to say there aren't any more female goddesses of the Primordial kind?”
“You have a point,” Ye Hua conceded but to Shao Wan, the win felt too easy. The Heavenly Emperor looked distracted. If they were to find a day to tackle the theft of Fuxi’s memory, that day was not going to be today.
“Let’s not get sidetracked from the fact that several strange things have surrounded the First Prince lately,” Dong Hua, who had been sitting all the time, finally stood up in a swish of purple colored cloths. “I, never for one moment, believed that what happened at the Purple Demon Realm had nothing to do with him. And to be able to travel to Hùndùn— has Lian Song explained that to you yet?”
Ye Hua shook his head. “I had… have… bigger things in mind. Immortals and High Immortals have been suspiciously disappearing lately—”
“We have heard,” Zhe Yan nodded. “Do you think this is part of the underground movement to undermine your leadership, Tianjun?”
“There have been findings that they are Celestial supremacists but their families are worried.”
Shao Wan’s ears perked up at this information. This, she did not know.
“How long has this been going on?” she asked.
“For quite some time now,” replied Mo Yuan.
Disappearing snotty Celestials. Shao Wan almost wished her kind had something to do with it.
Since the Celestial Realms regularly received mortals who ascended to immortality through cultivation practice, there were too many of them. And the more they grew in population, the worse their social stratification got… because when your kind were so plenty, one would want to always stand out. And what better but to brag about how many generations of pure Celestial blood you have coursing through your veins?
“For somebody who regards themselves like a master race, your kin sure do act worse than animals. Celestials condemning racial mixtures? What do they call themselves again?”
“Chúnxùe.”
Shao Wan’s stomach churned at Zhe Yan’s mention of the name. These people— to them, technically her children were also impure.
“And so far, only pure Celestials have been missing?” When the men nodded at her question, she smirked. “Keep it that way. Because if anybody touches even a hair on my children’s heads, I will ensure the full wrath of the Demon Clans will descend upon the Celestials who dared do so.”
“Meimei, maybe you shouldn't say those words in front of Tianjun.”
“No,” Ye Hua told Zhe Yan off with a wave of his hand. “Let the Demon Queen freely speak her mind. It is the natural reaction of any parent to put the welfare of their offspring first and foremost. I don't believe any harm would ever befall your twins, Shao Wan. It's the ascended immortals and the half mortals that are vulnerable, like they have been prone to ridicule all this time.”
A-Li. Ye Hua didn't need to point out the obvious. “The First Prince is stronger than you realize he is,” she encouraged, and not because Ye Hua needed it. “The Demons don't respect him for his good looks but for his fighting skills.”
Ye Hua received the praise with a quiet nod.
“This topic on the Primordial can surely wait another day,” he concluded. “I suggest we keep the investigations to ourselves for now as we do not want to cause unnecessary panic. With that, there's a celebration outside which needs my presence to get started. Let us head on outside and join them, shall we?”
As they piled out of the hall and were met by immortal attendants, Shao Wan’s nose caught a familiar scent.
“Mo Yuan,” she asked, tugging at his sleeve, “do you smell that? Where do you reckon is it coming from?”
Mo Yuan paused, his head turning from left to right then back to her again.
“It must be coming from the lotus gardens at the back.”
“I must see it,” she requested then inwardly groaned when she saw that some important-looking Celestials that dressed like they came from one of the Sea Kingdoms were set toward Mo Yuan’s direction. Because who else better to talk politics with than the God of War? “I’ll catch up with you later.”
“Are you sure?” Mo Yuan asked, his brows furrowed.
She smiled and waved at him, her feet already set on the direction of the wonderful scent.
Intent on avoiding as many Celestials as possible, she ducked and stuck to the walls until she got outside.
The lotus garden was impressive. It had a beautiful walkway on top of the lotus ponds so guests could come closer and marvel at its floral beauty. Different colors of lotus flowers bloomed but interspersed all over were flowering lily pads too. Due to the celebrations in the Eighth Heaven, the garden was empty — a plus— and Shao Wan had the place all to herself. With a self-satisfied sigh, she sat on a bench to enjoy the smell and the view.
“Dǎodàn.”
Shao Wan’s eyelids fluttered open with a start. “Māma,” she whispered, bolting back up to her feet, turning in a full circle, her eyes scanning the entire periphery.
But the gardens were empty.
“I must be going crazy,” she muttered to herself, dropping without any level of grace back on top of the bench. She lacked proper amounts of sleep because as of late, they had come in bursts between vivid dreams and striking realizations that the dream were actually true. And now since finding out Fuxi’s memories were gone, she was being eaten alive by desperation — so much so that she started hearing her Mother's voice?
“Dǎodàn.”
A sharp intake of breath followed by her head frantically looking around… she couldn't have imagined that, could she? Above her thoughts but below a whisper— it was definitely her Mother's voice.
“Dǎodàn.”
The voice was stronger now and came from one direction.
With steady steps, Shao Wan headed toward the direction of the West.
Chapter 68