Fanfiction: Mo Yuan and Shao Wan - Chapter 19 (Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms 三生三世十里桃花)
**Not a chapter you want to read with your husband or your parents breathing down your neck.**
Chapter 19
Written by kakashi & pandaEdited by JoAnne
On the fifth day of the peace talks, Mo Yuan felt like he had lost thousands of years of cultivation to diplomacy. His head constantly hummed from suppressed tension and his patience, usually one of his fortes, was running out. The Demons had easily filled two full days with empty, pointless assurances of good-will, likely to wear him down.
On day three, he had become more demanding and more threatening, pressuring the Demon kings and queen to commit to upholding the peace, telling them clearly what the consequences of disobedience would be.
On day four, Mo Yuan knew that while the Demons were afraid of him and the military power of the Celestial Tribe, they were also weighing their options.
Good, reliable information from the demon realm had gotten really scarce ever since Yan Chiwu had stopped providing it to Si Ming (likely because he did not want to be seen as traitor in case things turned sour between Demons and Celestials). They had to go by rumors, and if said rumors were true, Cheng Yin’s army was growing bigger by the day. Much bigger than could be mustered by the Celestials. It seemed the Yellow King had successfully instigated some of the leaderless Ghost Generals to join him.
The prospect of having to go up against a combined demon and ghost army was a source of worry for Mo Yuan. They might lack discipline and tactical knowledge, but sheer numbers were never a threat to take lightly. If he could control the time and place of the confrontation he could be relatively sure of victory even with a much smaller army, but the more Mo Yuan interacted with Cheng Yin, the more certain he became that the Yellow Demon King was too well-prepared. Lying low while all eyes were on the Ghosts, he had planned his revenge for millennia.
Cheng Yin played this game perfectly well. He was polite and soft-spoken in front of other immortals and magnanimous in front of other demons. He only betrayed his true feelings at strategically opportune times, barring a few unguarded moments. Whenever he could Cheng Yin would provoke Mo Yuan with masked insults, and his eyes were always ablaze with hatred when he looked at Mo Yuan. When he looked at Shao Wan, which he often did, the Yellow Demon King leered in ways that made Mo Yuan’s skin crawl.
From what had happened earlier, Mo Yuan already knew that Shao Wan and her sky-power ability played a role in Cheng Yin’s plan. He did not fully understand how the spell worked, but he knew that if Cheng Yin got his hands on Shao Wan, whether she followed him willingly or not Cheng Yin had a weapon at his disposal that would decisively change the odds in the Demons’ favor. The mere threat of activating the sky powers had weight in an upcoming confrontation. Mo Yuan had experienced the damage Shao Wan could bring even after he’d severed the sky-power link. He could only guess what would have happened had he not been able to deactivate it.
Undeniably, the fate of the realm depended on what Shao Wan would decide to do.
Mo Yuan knew with certainty that if she added her influence and power to the combined Ghost and Demon cause, he would not be able to guarantee a Celestial victory. On the other hand, if she was ready to accept Celestial help in the form of troops, that would likely sway the other Demon Kings to side with her against Cheng Yin, and then victory was possible.
He also knew that of all the immortals in the realms, Shao Wan was the one he was least equipped to handle. She made him lose his reason, his temper, and his control. She sat in these talks and confused him with the intoxicating scent of phoenix fire sage that weaved through the closeness of the room. In contrast to someone like Cheng Yin, who was an expert in hiding his true emotions, Shao Wan was like an open book. She never hid anything. She would always say what went through her head with brutal honesty, and she would always act on her whims.
Now, she made no secret of what went through her head when she looked at him.
There had been so many Celestial women vying for his attention back at school. It had always annoyed, but never distracted him. He had tolerated them out of a mixture of indifference and inbred politeness. He had even let the White Goddess move her estate to Kunlun in her pitiful attempts to get his attention. Shao Wan was different, though. The way she looked at him made him lose his train of thought. She made his breath quicken and his stomach flutter. The unhidden desire in her eyes was a demand for him to lose all reason and forget all duty.
It was a new sensation for Mo Yuan to feel so defenseless in front of a woman, and it disturbed him to realize that he felt thrilled by it.
It was also out of the question that he would give in, even with Dijun and Zhe Yan - the latter freshly arrived - baiting him with comments about how valuable it seemed his body was becoming, judging by the looks he was getting. He could not and would not put his personal interest before realm security. He could not get emotionally involved with someone who could very well be the one to topple Celestial hegemony.
Because he could no longer trust himself, Mo Yuan had made sure to ignore Shao Wan, not looking at her even once. Now that they were running out of time because of Demon stalling tactics, that strategy had become a problem. He needed to talk to her alone, as soon as possible. Only: the other Demons knew exactly how important she was to the Celestial agenda and did not leave Shao Wan alone even for a second. They fawned on her constantly, made sure she had wine and food and tea and sweets, escorted her from this room to the next, to the festivities, and back to the tents. She often chatted with the Purple Demon Queen and it looked amiable enough to be true friendship.
The demon goddess seemed to enjoy the attention she was getting, which was likely a combination of her feeling flattered and her knowing this was creating problems for him.
As the fifth day of peace talks was coming to an end with yet again no result, Mo Yuan made a decision to take action. Right before another speech about security guarantees by the Black Demon Lord, Mo Yuan got up abruptly and dismissed everybody for a tea break. Tea was served for them in an adjacent room with a patio overlooking the ocean. When everybody started to shuffle out, he signaled to Shao Wan to stay back - but she ignored him. Quickly, he hurried across the room and grabbed her sleeve.
“A word, Demon Goddess.”
Shao Wan smiled at him expectantly. From the corner of his eye, he saw how the Purple Queen had doubled back, likely to make sure Shao Wan did not have a chance to talk to him alone.
“In private, if you please.”
Shao Wan still smiled, raising her eyebrows a little. The Purple Queen was almost upon them and Mo Yuan knew she would engage them in pointless chitchat in a moment, robbing him yet again of an opportunity to find out how the demon goddess could be swayed to become his ally. He only saw one way out. Stepping right in front of Shao Wan, he grabbed her by the waist and transported her away to his tent.
Being so close to her made his heart race, but he remembered to jump back and take a protective stance in case she would take offense.
She did not, but just stared at him, surprised and wary.
“Would you care to enter, Demon Goddess.” Mo Yuan said cautiously and lifted the tent flap. She did and he followed, quickly erecting a protective barrier around them. His two disciples always made sure there was fresh water and tea leaves ready for him. Presently, they were out, likely at one of the festivities, so he heated the water with magic himself and prepared tea for his guest. The ancient Cha Dao ceremony of sharing tea calmed him down and he faced her without betraying any inner turmoil when handing her one of the simple brown cups.
She had taken a seat cross-legged on one of the cushions and looked around curiously.
“Did you not bring your sword?” she asked after the brief inspection, accepting the cup with a slight nod of her head. Their fingers briefly touched and made energy shoot through him, not unlike a thunderbolt.
“I did not,” he answered. "This is a festival of peace.”
“Ah, how could I forget,” she snorted.
Mo Yuan settled down on a cushion across from her. He did not know how much time he had with her alone, so he had to get to the point as quickly as possible without being rude. There was one thing he had been curious about for a while, and he suspected it might give him clues about her loyalties. “I have noticed that you are without your weapon too. I have wondered …”
Her face changed from curious to furious so quickly that he almost dropped his cup, expecting an attack.
“Cheng Yin has it,” she hissed, her anger not directed at him, “He took it from me.”
There were many things Mo Yuan wanted to know about Cheng Yin and Shao Wan, but propriety forbid him to ask. She offered no further information, which vexed him, but since they were not in the type of relationship where he could freely inquire about her and the Yellow Demon King, he sipped his tea in uncomfortable silence. The silence grew heavy and finally forced Mo Yuan to look up. Shao Wan was quietly looking at him, hands folded around the teacup in her lap. He felt his heart speed up when their eyes locked.
“What do you want?” she asked, lifting her chin defiantly.
“To go back to Kunlun knowing the realms are at peace, to teach my students, and to cultivate.” He answered expecting her usual taunts, but none followed.
“You want me to accept Celestial help, don’t you,” she asked. "You’d rather have me as the strongest Demon instead of Cheng Yin. But you cannot be sure whether you can trust me.”
He nodded slowly, since there was no point in denying it.
“You also thought I would not notice the magic you put up all around my tent? Maybe it’s time you stop underestimating me, Celestial.”
“I did not-”
“It is to alert you in case Cheng Yin comes near me, isn’t it? This could be reason enough to have you expelled from the festival. Imagine the scandal! You sneaking around and acting like a jealous lover.”
“I am not-”
“Because my well-being and the well-being of your beloved Empire are closely connected, you thought that putting invisible seals around my tent was something you could do without asking for my permission. It is actions like these, Celestial, that make me distrust you and your Tribe.”
He should have offered apologies at this point for overstepping, but he did not feel sorry at all. He actually regretted that the protection shield wasn’t his idea, but Dijun’s. He could not allow her to fall into the hands of Cheng Yin. Neither wittingly nor unwittingly.
“Tell me what you want,” he said bluntly, cutting this discussion short.
“You know exactly what I want,” she answered, narrowing her eyes.
He swallowed hard as he looked at her. As sorely tempted as he was, as much as her presence in his tent made him think about it…
“I cannot give it to you.”
“You cannot give me what? I was speaking about my palace, my soldiers and my possessions, of course.” She laughed at his embarrassment, clearly guessing what he had thought she was asking for. Probably knowing what he would think she was asking for. Probably asking to test him. He already regretted his answer.
“Listen, Celestial. You learned a lot of nice things at your school, but you know nothing about us Demons. The Heavenly Tribe always claims to act in the name of peace when you simply crush everyone who does not follow your rule. We are more honest - we fight to cultivate. Your peace is no incentive. Stop talking about it.”
She got up. He got up too, barring her way.
“Don’t leave yet.”
“Of course I will leave. You just said yourself you cannot give me what I want. Tea break is over.”
“Will you accept troops from us?”
She laughed. “You didn’t listen, did you. You are such an arrogant bastard. Do you really think I would stay Demon Overlord for long if I accepted Celestial help to get my power back? It would be my downfall. It is simple, God of War: You stay out of our business and let us handle Cheng Yin by ourselves. I told you: to settle my debt to you, I will take care of this.”
“I cannot do that.”
“And why not? Because you do not trust me? Without me, Cheng Yin will not go to war, because he is afraid of you. As much as I can assure you that I will not jump you again, despite you tempting me badly, I can assure you that Cheng Yin will not get me. You can relax, Celestial.”
Reluctantly, he let her leave the tent. It felt like a missed opportunity and yet, seeing how they had not fought, it was also a success.
She waited for him outside.
“May I?” he whispered as he stepped close enough to put his hands around her waist again. He looked into her eyes then and for a moment, before he remembered he could not give in, he wanted nothing more than to lean in and kiss her. The cloud jumping only took a blink of an eye, but for that very brief span of time, she put her hands around his waist too.
***
As it so happened, when Mo Yuan arrived back at the palace together with Shao Wan, his hands around her waist and her hands around his, they bumped right into the Lord of Numinous Treasure with his niece and a sizeable group of other people who had come to get the latest news about the peace talks. Seeing them gave Mo Yuan a little start - how was it possible he had forgotten about his bride and the need to re-negotiate wedding arrangements? And how come not even his nagging friends had reminded him?
“God of War Mo Yuan, Demon Ancestor Shao Wan”, the Lord of Numinous Treasures greeted them as the pretty young female at his side bowed reverently to Mo Yuan and then to Shao Wan, eyes properly downcast, expertly ignoring hands and waists. She was of delicate beauty, with white, almost translucent skin, dressed in a soft, flowing pink dress. Her name, he knew, was Jie (洁) Jing (晶), a name that suited her well. She radiated nervousness and Mo Yuan felt immediately sorry for her. And for himself.
That sentiment did not last long, however, because Shao Wan immediately picked up on the awkwardness and would not let this opportunity to humiliate him pass.
“Can I assume you are Mo Yuan’s brrrride, little sister,” she purred, all friendliness and at the same time rudeness, because they had not been introduced at all.
Mo Yuan felt an urge to drag her away, but he knew better than to try and fail.
“It is my honor,” Jie Jing whispered, bowing deeply again.
“You can call me Jie Jie,” Shao Wan beamed and inclined her head graciously. Turning towards to Lord of Numinous Treasures she exclaimed, “I must apologize for causing you and your family grief. What a shock it must have been to see the way to the God of War barred! What an auspicious day, turned inauspicious by my return.”
“No need to apologize,” said the Lord of Numinous Treasures. "We are all honored to have you back, Demon Ancestor. Finding another auspicious date will be no matter at all.”
“I heard the next date is in 700 years? Will the bride and groom be able to wait that long?”
Jie Jing gasped and blushed deeply.
“Make sure you come talk to me before the wedding,” Shao Wan told the shy beauty. “I know a lot of very useful things about the God of War. Never believe what they say about him! He may look stern and intimidating, but treat him the right way and he will serve you tea and promise you the world.”
Glaring at Mo Yuan like she wanted to rip his head off, Shao Wan stalked away, heading toward a group of demons. Mo Yuan wished himself far away from this place, in his meditation cave. With Shao Wan, whose obvious jealousy made him smile despite fate’s obvious reminder that there could be nothing more between them than what already was.
***
That night, Mo Yuan woke up with a start. He was drenched in sweat and briefly massaged his aching forehead before he sat up. He had been very uneasy before he slept and he was uneasy still. Despite her assurances, the danger to Shao Wan left him worried.
Sighing because he needed all the rest he could get to continue with the peace talks tomorrow, he decided to go for a short walk to clear his head and find his inner focus before attempting to go back to sleep.
The air was cool but humid, and Mo Yuan found himself strolling towards the famous secluded coves of the the Western Seas, a place with great spiritual power. Maybe, he thought, he should attempt to meditate there, away from the presence of the many tents and mostly resting people. As he neared the natural wonder, he could feel an energy force that grew stronger as he got closer. It felt very familiar and yet jarring, and his step quickened involuntarily as he neared the source.
It was Shao Wan.
She was submerged in the water with her eyes closed, looking more relaxed than he had ever seen her. Mo Yuan was transfixed by her beauty as his eyes greedily drank in the sight of her.
Feeling his gaze, she opened her eyes and smiled broadly. He had never seen her look at him with this much affection and he could feel his heartbeat quicken.
“Celestial,” she drawled out, “what did you come here for? To talk about peace again?”
Mo Yuan couldn’t find words to answer.
She stood up from the water and sauntered towards him. Naked. Beautiful. Her body was perfection: her breasts with the small dark nipples, her well proportioned belly button, the shape of her hips and waist, the triangle between her legs, her slender but strong thighs, her feet, her toes.
“Aren’t you going to run away again, Celestial?” she asked in a teasing tone as she stepped in front of him.
“Help me,” he heard himself say. “I cannot stop myself from wanting you…”
“Then don’t,” she said, grabbing both sides of his head. She kissed him demandingly, her wet body moulding perfectly to his. The hot fire of desire started to burn deep in his abdomen and he grabbed her waist to pull her closer, touching her smooth skin, tracing the shape of her womanly form with his hands.
She broke off their kiss and looked him up and down.
“Take off your clothes, God of War.” she told him, laughter dancing in her eyes “You are way too overdressed for this.”
Mo Yuan drew a shaky breath. His fingers trembled as he fumbled with his overcoat, the second layer, the third...
“You are so goddamn slow,” she said as she slid her fingers down his pants and wrapped her hands around his arousal. He froze and felt himself get even harder for her. She swiftly and expertly undressed him and then continued her attentions on his manhood.
Mo Yuan rested his sweat-soaked forehead against hers, closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths to try to calm down, to gain some fraction of self-control - but it was futile. Her hands gave him no respite. She held him, one hand stroking his length, while the other roamed his chest, tracing his bunched up muscles.
"Tell me now if you don't want this..." Mo Yuan managed to press out. "If we continue this, I won't stop like the last time..."
“You damn idiot, of course I want this,” Shao Wan said in a strong, slightly shaky voice. “You’ve seen me looking at you, haven’t you?”
He did not need to hear more. Urgently, Mo Yuan pressed her down on her back, no longer caring about control or duty or reason, kissing her hard and desperately. She swiftly rolled herself from under him, reversing their positions and kissing him back even harder.
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly against him. He nipped at her lips, at her tongue. He ran his hands up to her shoulders and laced his fingers through her hair, tugging her head back and nipping at her collar bones. She shuddered as he dragged his teeth over her throat. He growled possessively when she arched above him.
"Yes, bite me!” she moaned.
He licked up her neck once more, making her shiver and wrap her legs around his hips tightly. She grabbed his shaft again and resumed her strokes, all the while biting his earlobes and panting into his ear. He gently bit her neck and then deepened his bite before sucking on the flesh. Shao Wan started to whine in the back of her throat and rub herself on him. He was so ready, but not yet done: he pushed her up a little to take one of her nipples into his mouth, gently scraping his teeth against it before licking, then sucking forcefully, and finally biting on it. She cried out and pushed herself even further into his mouth.
Her responsiveness to his touch was maddening and he wanted her more than he had ever wanted any female. He could feel her her wetness rubbing his hardness and he grabbed her perfect bottom, kneading and pulling her luscious curves. He wanted to bury himself in her - and yet he held back, trying to pace himself, trying to give her pleasure first.
It was she who suddenly lifted up and impaled herself on him, fully, deeply and swiftly. Both of them cried out in unison.
He felt her tight inner walls wrap around him, gripping him perfectly, and he held still, waiting for her cues. When she flashed an encouraging smile at him, he rolled her over and started to move. Slowly. She gripped his shoulders, trying to urge him to speed up his thrusts, but he wouldn’t. She moved one hand up into his hair, moving his head to the side so that she could suck and bite his neck just under his ear, causing him to growl deep in his chest. He started thrusting more firmly but without speeding up. Shao Wan groaned, letting go of his hair and sliding her hands down his back to grab his buttocks.
"So you do like this,” she whispered in gasps, her fingernails now starting to draw blood on his back.
Mo Yuan couldn't answer, couldn't think. His every focus was on his movements within her. He tensed his stomach muscles as he thrust along with her, holding back, drawing out her pleasure, looking at her flushed, beautiful face underneath him, thinking that he should not have lost so much time with this woman, that he should have claimed her a long time ago.
Shao Wan tipped her head back and started to move more urgently. Mo Yuan could feel her tighten around him, so close to attaining her pleasure. He reached down and started to rub her at their joining.
“Mo Yuan…”
“Let go, Shao Wan.”
She began to vibrate and he sped up his thrusts within her while stroking her most sensitive spot firmly until she climaxed, screaming. The sound was coming from a distance because his pleasure was also upon him. He felt the blood roar in his head as he, too, attained his release, yelling her name, as she clenched around him, heightening his own satisfaction.
With a gasp, Mo Yuan woke up. He was drenched in sweat… and all alone in his tent. Inhaling and exhaling deeply, he tried to get his emotions and his body under control, but he knew very well - he had lost this battle.
Chapter 20