Fanfiction: Mo Yuan and Shao Wan - Chapter 94b (Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms 三生三世十里桃花)
Chapter 94b
written by kakashiedited by Panda
“In the year 262,000 after Father Immortal’s death, on the twenty third day of the 2nd Demon War, the God of War, Supreme Commander of the Celestial forces, won a decisive battle against the Demon Armies. Using a new tactical formation and a feint involving the Xì Mǎ Yú cavalry, he launched a rear attack on the enemy center. By personally leading his fastest, most elite warriors into the thick of the enemy forces, he struck right at their heart, bringing greatest devastation to the Demon army from within. Yet, he had the Celestial armies retreat when High God Cheng Yin surprisingly brought in masses of new demon soldiers from out of nowhere and threatened to…"
“Here we go again,” Yi Mei Niang said, looking over Si Ming’s shoulder as he busily put words on a bamboo scroll, exhaling small puffs of breath in utter concentration.
Si Ming gasped and reflexively covered the writing with his arm before he recognized her. “Purple Queen! I told you before you have to make your presence known before entering a tent!”
“I did, Star Lord. I stood outside in the cold and huffed and puffed, but I think you were too engrossed in writing pompous war records to hear me.”
“Ah,” Si Ming frowned, “I did hear something but I thought it was a horse heaving up its dinner."
“Horses are in good favor these days indeed, even their poop is considered holy by those people,” Yi Mei Niang snorted in disdain. It was rather doubtful she would ever take a liking to those creatures, so for the time being, she hated them with all the energy she had left. Them and that blasted Horse Tribe with their eerie magic - it made her skin crawl. There was nothing in the least Celestial-like about that tribe, they had just had enough foresight to join the right side when it mattered. Even for a Demon like her, their magic was too raw and untamed. She was actually glad most of them had left.
“I am grateful the Crown Prince did not manage to chase all of them away yesterday,” the Star Lord said as if he had guessed her thoughts and carefully put his scroll into a chest he opened and then locked with a key he carried around his neck, “that maneuver the God of War did with them was absolutely spectacular. Did you see how the air shimmered around them? What beautiful magic!”
“Reckless. It was absolutely reckless,” Yi Mei Niang observed. “He has a death wish, right?”
Si Ming furrowed his brow and dropped his beautiful voice to a whisper, which had quite an effect on her. “If you are referring to the God of War, I beg you to keep your voice down.”
“He is even more frightening now than before,” the Purple Queen whispered back, “so damn scary.”
“Is it true then that he did not tell you about his plan to use you as a diversion when you were captured by the Demon Ancestor?”
“Yes!” the Purple Queen felt hot anger boil up in her again and she gnashed her teeth, “he only told me to wait for him, but he gambled with my life! He couldn’t have told me, he said later instead of apologizing, since I would have given everything away instantly upon facing the Ancestor.”
“Oh,” Si Ming looked sorry.
“Not everyone enjoys pain as much as he does!”
“Without a doubt, without a doubt,” the Star Lord murmured.
“Yesterday, before the craziness, he told me to enjoy camp life in his absence because he would most certainly not want to see me ride into battle with my complete lack of warrior skills, jeopardizing everyone!”
“Oh,” Si Ming pulled a face. “He was never known for politeness.”
“Politeness! For that, he would need manners, and he has none at all, the arrogant bastard. I could…”
“Psssssst,” Si Ming cautioned her again. “Do not test your luck.”
“He is at least 50 tents over,” Yi Mei Niang said angrily and shouted as loudly as she could, “he cannot hear me!”
Si Ming had turned quite white. “He hears very well, Queen, I implore you. Please do not anger him…”
“Anger? I wish he could be angered in his current state,” Purple hissed. “It would be so much better than this...this....”
“So you believe the rumors?” Si Ming wanted to know eagerly.
“Yes, have you not seen him?”
“He has always been very detached,” Si Ming said slowly.
“Detached? He isn’t detached. He has gotten rid of all emotions and he won’t care if all of us die as long as it ensures his victory.” She shuddered. A god with that much power but no morality to guide it was about the scariest thing she could imagine. If she weren’t too afraid of the consequences, she’d have deserted already and run as far away as possible.
“Well, he needs me,” Si Ming puffed up, “I am the Celestial record keeper. Only what I record will be remembered.”
“Yes, he needs you until he calculates that sacrificing you tomorrow is beneficial for him ten days from now. Ever time he looks at me with his dead eyes, I feel like he is already planning my demise. I don’t understand what happened! I have it on very good authority that he and the Demon Ancestor…,” Si Ming’s ears visibly moved forward at the mention of Shao Wan and his face took on an almost hungry expression, “...reunited a week ago. But then, all went to hell again.”
“Reunited!”
“Oh yes. There were flashes of light!”
“Flashes of light!”
“I am guessing that their energies would kill any lesser lifeform were it caught somewhere near them when they do the thing.”
“One could get jealous.”
Yi Mei Niang smiled fondly at the Star Lord and his excitement. This grin of his was so contagious. “You are into men only?”
“Excuse me?” he squealed, turning deeply red.
“I asked around and I heard you like men. That one soldier, the one in the 7th division? It is a shame, because I have taken an interest in you.“
“Oh,” he just said and clamped his mouth shut, his eyes growing as round as the full moon.
“You are welcome in my tent anytime,” she declared magnanimously, “even if it’s just to drink some of my liquor and chat. I still have some left of the second batch, but I do hope he wins this war soon because I’m down to four bottles.”
“I...I thank you, I feel honored,” Si Ming stammered and bowed deeply, his face still on fire.
“No matter,” the Purple Queen shrugged with slight regret. “Let’s go!”
“Where to?” Si Ming asked with a puzzled frown.
“Ah, to the Command tent, of course. We’re summoned to a war council by the God of War. Urgently.”
“Could you not have said this sooner?” Si Ming squealed in terror and Yi Mei Niang laughed.
“Here is your chicken coat, Star Lord,” she grinned and handed him his thick, funny looking fur coat. “It’s very cold outside, you better dress warmly.”
They made their way through the camp in companionable silence. All things considered, she had gotten to know a few Celestials she would like to see frequently once this horrible war was over. Maybe, she thought, maybe it was worth it after all. Maybe they were moving towards a better future indeed, one where Demons had a place again in Realm politics, as equals, not as a despised, subjugated tribe deemed to have no value.
The Command Tent was brightly lit from the inside and two big lanterns illuminated the path to the entrance, which was guarded by two of the God of War’s handsome disciples in their armor tonight. They nodded as they passed, looking quite grim.
Si Ming opened the tent flap for her, holding it up politely. Bracing herself, she entered ahead of him with a deep breath.
Everybody was gathered around the big wooden table in the middle of the tent. As usual, maps of the terrain were spread on it, with markers for Celestial and Demon troops. Yi Mei Niang bowed and murmured her greetings to everyone. Now that the tide had turned, the Celestials did not mind having a few Demons among them - as long as they were not forced to interact too much. Besides, they had heard the Ghost Tribe would soon join them and they all knew, that meant victory was a real possibility. The God of War, wearing his battle armor, looked in her direction impassively, yet his unnerving eyes felt like daggers of ice in her head.
“You have wasted enough of people’s time, you are no longer invited to my councils,” he said in a flat and monotonous voice.
“It was...my fault,” the silly Star Lord stammered and moved in front of her protectively.
“It was?” the God of War echoed, “then you are no longer invited either.”
“But…,” Si Ming squealed and looked around, pleadingly. Everybody looked down, including the Crown Prince, though he took a deep breath as if to say something before he did. Realizing nobody was going to come to his help, Si Ming shut his mouth and bowed, looking sad and deject. Feeling quite sorry for him, Yi Mei Niang took him by the waist and led him towards two free seats in the second row. As she scanned the present faces, she noticed the absence of the Blue Demon King with a pang. He was severely injured. Some physician said he might not survive.
Renewed anger made her lift her head high, eyes ablaze. The God of War had lost interest in them though and was focusing his attention on the maps, but she wished him to feel her ire, to feel...anything. But alas, he did not. Tomorrow, he would use another division as diversion, without caring about who would live and who would die. As she stared at this image of godly perfection in front of her, hating him for his decision with all the passion she had inside of her, eerie blue eyes met hers across the table...Tian Gu, the Horse Princess, sitting demurely and very pale next to her Shifu, fixating her suspiciously. She talked little, but Yi Mei Niang knew she had been there, that night when everything had changed. And by the Gods, she would get her to talk, the little witch.
***
“Sh...Shifu!” Tian Gu stammered and fell to her knees to bow as required when she saw who stood outside her tent.
The God of War was dressed entirely in white, the color of mourning. His face was stern, yet much too pale. She felt a sudden urge to reach out to him, to tell him that things would be alright, but it was not her place, and she did not know whether things would be alright. She had not even known her sixteenth senior, but his death had shaken her badly, as a result of the earth-shattering grief she had felt from all the other Kunlun disciples and the God of War himself.
“I...I made the corrections,” she stammered, “I am so very sorry for the stupid mistake, it could have ended in such a horrible defeat!”
“It is not why I am here,” he said, his voice deliberately soft and gentle.
Of course he wasn’t.
At his behest, she went and looked for the Shaman, who was asleep nestled between the bodies of her four horses.
“Wuwu,” Tian Gu called out softly in her tribe’s language, “the God of War wishes to speak to you.”
The old woman always said people her age all had very light sleep and it was apparently true, for she came awake instantly, blinked her eyes twice and nodded knowingly in Tian Gu’s direction. The shaman’s legs were a bit unsteady at times, so Tian Gu took her arm and helped her along to her tent.
The God of War waited for them calmly, his back straight, his hair in a tight, orderly topknot. He was an awe-inspiring figure, but ever since Tian Gu had seen him with his hair open, she had a hard time forgetting how incredibly handsome he was. Not that she would ever allow herself to feel that way about him. To someone as old and venerated as him, she was a mere babe… plus, she had heard the talk. The God of War had recently gotten married to the Demon Ancestor, even though nobody knew why they were on opposing sides of the war now. The Demon Ancestor was frightening to behold, even when naked in her bathtub, extremely powerful and breathtakingly beautiful, shining with an energy that almost physically hurt Tian Gu. These two Ancient Gods were well matched, Tian Gu had thought. Just like her father and her mother, they seemed to be very different in many ways, yet perfectly complementary.
The God of War dipped his head to their Wuwu and she greeted him in turn. She didn’t seem surprised to see him. Once inside the tent, the God of War sat down in lotus position and addressed Tian Gu. “Eighteenth,” he said, “please translate.”
“Of course, Shifu,” Tian Gu said.
“I must not tell you to keep everything that happens tonight a secret, must I. I do not want the other disciples or my brother to worry.”
“Of course, Shifu,” Tian Gu said again, “I never talk to anyone anyway.”
The God of War nodded briefly. “Very well. Your Shaman talked to me about that curse before. I am here for her to perform it.”
Tian Gu gasped. “But it’s…”
His eyes were scary. “I do not wish to hear ‘but’ from my students, Eighteenth.”
“Yes, Shifu, I am sorry, Shifu,” she whispered and turned to the Shaman.
“Wuwu,” she began, “the God of War has come about the curse.”
“Of course,” the old woman said and looked the God of War up and down, “tell him to undress.”
“Undr…?”
“Just the top part of the robe. Don’t blush like a virgin,” the old woman scolded her.
“Sh...Shifu, she asked you to...take off the top part of your robe.”
The God of War lifted his eyebrows just a tiny bit.
“Wuwu, what...how does it work?” Tian Gu asked for him.
“I will tattoo the curse onto his back with Chìbǎng poison. The pain will be greater than anything he has ever felt.”
“I doubt that,” the God of War said with an almost imperceptible smile when a trembling Tian Gu was done translating. He loosened his belt and shrugged out of his several layers of clothes swiftly. Tian Gu swallowed hard and averted her eyes. Like a sculpture. His muscles rippled underneath his skin that shone golden in the light of the candles. It was completely smooth, beckoning her to reach out her hand and touch it, to check whether it felt like she imagined it would. The only scar he had was a cut above his heart - a red, obviously recent wound. Her Wuwu smacked her lips at the sight and Tian Gu blushed even more violently.
“Will I retain my memories?” he asked, paying them no heed.
“Yes. But they will be tainted,” the Shaman answered. She had Tian Gu light a fire in a shallow bowl from a reddish bark she took from a leather bag. The fumes made her eyes sting and her head swim.
“And it will simply end after one hundred years?” he asked further.
“Only if you will it so,” the Shaman answered. “I know many who choose to revel in the comfort it affords much longer. But you know that there is a price.”
“There always is,” the God of War nodded. “I understand the laws.”
“What is the price?” Tian Gu blurted out, before clamping her mouth shut when both her elders frowned at her in great displeasure.
“Prepare the ink,” her Wuwu ordered and took out another bowl and some black paste wrapped in paper from her sleeve, “but do not under any circumstance touch it.”
While Tian Gu carefully added small amounts of water until the paste had sufficiently dissolved, the Wuwu put a long pomelo thorn into the bowl with the bark and began a chant in that ancient tongue Tian Gu did not know herself. It was only for the initiated. The shaman then fastened the thorn onto a bamboo stick. The God of War turned around, facing the tent wall, so that the old woman could easily reach his back. Tian Gu felt very uneasy, but she dared not speak up again.
When the Wuwu hit the God of War’s skin with the thorn for the first time, he sucked in air - and to Tian Gu’s utter horror, his skin transformed into golden scales.
“Hold him!” the Shaman shouted in horror as he groaned, “bind him!”
“Wuwu, what is happening?” Tian Gu stammered and rushed forward, putting her hands onto her Shifu’s arm, feeling an immense energy trying to break out of him. Instinctively, she drew power from the earth underneath her feet, throwing invisible fetters over him to hold it down.
“More! More!” the Wuwu gasped, “do not let the Dragon win or we will be dead!”
Tian Gu dug deep and drew more power, reaching out to the hundreds of horses around them, borrowing from them to keep the Dragon down. The God of War himself struggled to establish control, but the beast in him thrashed and howled and cried: “My Fenghuang, my beautiful Fenghuang, I don’t want to forget what she means to me, I want to see her! Don’t do this! Don’t do this!”
Great sorrow hit Tian Gu and she burst into tears as she hugged the God of War very close, whispering to the Dragon that she would make sure he would see his love again, personally paying any price that was necessary. Even if she was not sure she could keep her promise, it was enough to quiet him down for a few moments, during which the God of War was able to establish control over his true form with a deep, shuddering breath. Tian Gu quickly released him and staggered backwards, tears still streaming down her face, her hands and nails of the deepest black.
“You did well, child,” the Wuwu said with a nod, “your powers are strong, just like your mother’s. Now rest.”
Quickly, she proceeded to tap the thorn onto the God of War’s skin, muttering under her breath about how the dragonborn always were the most difficult. Tian Gu could not move, she felt drained of energy completely. She would pay dearly for the magic she had performed, she already felt the pain come on. So she just watched, trying to still her tears, watching her Shifu’s face, his closed eyes, the slight tension around the lips the only thing that spoke of the pain he must be feeling, his breast and how it rose and fell in a steady rhythm. She breathed in the fumes from the smoldering fire and she began to see figures in the shadow, little devils dancing to the rapid tap-tap-tap of the needle in her Wuwu’s hands, grinning as sweat began to drip from the old woman’s face, howling in triumph when, after what felt like an eternity, she exhaled a long breath and collapsed behind him.
The God of War opened his eyes and looked at Tian Gu. They were dark and deep... and entirely empty.
The curse...in the Horse Tribe Language, it was called Souldestroyer Curse. Until this day, she had not known it was a not a title but a description.
***
“I will lead another charge against the Demon Army tomorrow. But this time, I will let myself be taken captive,” the God of War declared.
Pandemonium erupted as everybody jumped up at once and started shouting at him to reconsider.
Well, Yi Mei Niang thought as she started laughing at the horror in people’s faces and the rather annoyed look on Mo Yuan’s, this version of the God of War might be extremely scary, but at least, he was not dull at all.
Chapter 95