Fanfiction: Mo Yuan and Shao Wan - Chapter 2 (Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms 三生三世十里桃花)

Happy Easter, Squeeglets and Peaches! I hope you can spend this day with people you love and/or with lovely dramas. We are meeting Shao Wan today, who, as my editor JoAnne pointed out with glee, has a tendency to get hangry. 
The offer still stands - sign up below for collaborative fanfiction writing any time! Or suggest more fun stuff as you did before.

 

Chapter 2

written by kakashi 
edited by JoAnne

Shao Wan woke up with a bang. To say she was disoriented would be an understatement - she out-right panicked. For a moment, time and space rippled; energy surged. She was ablaze and she screamed until her voice cracked.

She did finally get a grip on herself by focusing on what she saw once she opened her eyes: a cave, dimly lit by a few candles. On what she felt: hot stone against her naked body. On what she smelled: something smoldered, and there was moss, mold, and stone. On what she heard: the dripping of water and a deep, deep rumbling in the mountain, an echo of the powers she had unleashed.

She took a few deep breaths and sat up. So far, so good.

She looked down at her body - she was naked, but only because her clothes had turned to ash. There were no wounds, only a red-gold shimmer that quickly dissipated. Carefully, she moved and touched each limb. All functional. She touched her face, her hair … all there.

What the hell had happened?

With a soft “plop”, Fong Hung materialized in front of her. Tears were streaming down her mount’s ugly toad face. The relief she felt to see him made her groan and her oldest companion jumped forward to embrace her.

“Shao Wan”, he croaked, “Shao Wan! You are back!”

She had so many questions, but the comfort of her servant's embrace was all she cared for right now.

The world around her finally stabilized. Embarrassed by her weakness, she pushed Fong Hung away and carefully tested the fabric of time. Nothing was like it had been. She must have been gone for a very long time.

“Fong Hung”, she whispered, “how long have I slept?”

“190’000 years”, said her mount and sobbed.

She would deal with this later, she decided. It was a bit overwhelming.

“Bring me clothes”, she said and got up from the slab of stone she had lain on. Her legs worked remarkably well after such a long time and she hopped up and down a bit just to test their strength. Her long, dark hair flowed around her like liquid midnight as she twirled and jumped.

Fong Hung still cried and he began to annoy her. She stopped moving.

“Clothes?” she repeated, raising her voice a little.

Fong Hung briefly disappeared to fetch them and when he returned, he had collected himself. She looked at him more attentively and saw that he had aged quite a bit. That mellowed her instantly and she even patted his arm when he handed her a yellow gown she immediately hated.

“We kept none of your clothes”, Fong Hung explained.

“Hm”, she commented. Still, she held out her hands and had him put the ugly dress on her. She truly abhorred bright colors ever since her school days. Was it possible that Demons wore them too now?

Suddenly, she felt angry.

“I’m starving”, she snapped, “bring me meat! Loads of it”. 

She had often eaten meat at school, bloody and raw, just to anger the pretty Celestials, who had looked disgusted and averted their eyes as they nibbled on their pure vegetables and fruits. Why that would matter to her in this moment was a mystery, but the thought of eating raw meat to spite them even if they were not looking pleased her.  

She sat down again and arranged the unpleasant fabric around her. Assuming all her maids were long dead, she briefly wondered whom to bestow with the honorable task of gown-making.

This time, Fong Hung dawdled and she had no choice but to reflect on her situation. She had no recollection whatsoever of what or who put her here. She was not wounded, her essence was intact and her powers were, too. In fact, she felt them surge within her and for a brief moment she flinched. It was possible she was mistaken, but it felt like she now channeled more powers than she had ever possessed. It was like the whole mountain responded, as if raw energy from the depth of the earth flowed through her.

She quickly put a lid on that source. Too dangerous when she was still a little confused. She knew all too well what happened when she lost control over her powers.

Fong Hung returned with a selection of dead animals and she wolfed them all down, gnawing every bone clean. She burped with pleasure (another thing they had hated, the pretty boys) and then downed the relatively decent wine her mount had brought along. It made her crave Zhe Yan's superior brew, but she did not mention that. Fong Hung was a good man. She shouldn’t have gotten angry at his joy at seeing her, but she knew he was used to her moods. In fact, he looked at her like his heart was about to burst. She graced him with a smile. They were known in all the realms to be deadly, but not when given with true affection.

His face lit up but he started crying again. Shao Wan sighed. She hated it when men cried. Unfortunately, they often cried in front of her. It never ceased to amaze her how weak they truly were.

She moved over and patted his hair, remembering their wild childhood together and smiled again, this time more warmly.

“Did you take care of me all these years?” she asked him gently.

He nodded, still overwhelmed.

The next, obvious question was already on her lips when suddenly, she froze. As was her habit as a warrior, she had started to casually probe the surroundings for potentially dangerous life-forms. There were other Demons drawing near, worshipers no doubt, called to the cave by her energy. All lesser deities and of no consequence. She had probed further and beyond - until her senses slammed against another power, one whose full attention was on her.

It was infuriatingly calm, unyielding, cold, and instantly familiar.

It belonged to the biggest bastard in all the realms; Father Immortal's precious, boring, stick in the mud son. Mo Yuan.

Until that moment, she had not known what had happened to her. But now, she knew with ice-cold certainty that Mo Yuan was the man who killed her.

Chapter 3