Fanfic: Mo Yuan and Shao Wan 2.0 - Chapter 47 (Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms 三生三世十里桃花)

Chapter 47

written by kakashi
edited by Panda & LigayaCroft

“Like a very long thread, your life stretches from the moment you are born to the moment you are in. Every decision you ever took, every thought you ever had, it’s but one line when looking back. This thread is stronger than the hardest steel because it cannot be broken, it cannot be changed. You can only embrace what you have become or regret it. If you regret, you can wail in self-pity. Or you can walk into the future determined to choose your path more carefully, more deliberately. This is how you stop leaving your life to fate. The natural order of the Universe, it cannot be changed. But where we step, how we weave the life thread, it is our choice to make.”

At the time those words had been spoken to her, Shao Wan had regarded them as typical, self-pitying thoughts of a mortal. The woman’s hard life was edged deeply into her face. Her back was bent from the burdens she had to carry. The joints of her fingers were swollen painfully.

But surprisingly, the woman was not bitter. At the time, Shao Wan had not understood. Now she did. That woman, she had walked her life deliberately and when it was about to end, she could look back at it with appreciation and pride.

But did Shao Wan really understand? How easy it was to say “I want to remember.” How hard it was to come to terms with it.

What if one knew that the life thread would be woven further, but choice would be taken away completely? What to do then?

***

“Who did you call for help? Xiao Yu?” Zhe Yan’s face was taking on an unusual reddish hue, Shao Wan noticed.

“Yes,” Mo Yuan confirmed.

“Why him?”

“I lost my coin to contact you with.”

“He lost his coin,” Zhe Yan repeated the words slowly, looking over to Donghua for a reaction that did not come. “Well. How unfortunate.”

Since drinking one of Zhe Yan's elixirs, Shao Wan’s dizziness was under control. But she badly craved the wine the men were sharing. Only, Zhe Yan could not be bargained with at the moment, he was hysterical like an old village woman.

“You got stuck on a mortal world? Extraordinary, I’ve never heard of that before,” Donghua said. “If this news should ever spread...”

“It’s because they had almost bled him to death,” Shao Wan explained, since they did not have the full picture and Mo Yuan certainly wouldn't be the one volunteering any information, he never did anything to defend himself. He didn’t care about his honor.

Zhe Yan said nothing, he just shook his head with vehemence, looking upset.

“He ate meat to get his strength back,” Shao Wan added. “They took his blood, not his cultivation.”

They had never been a real threat to somebody like Mo Yuan and had only been able to apprehend him because he had gone there willingly. She had once thought that Cult might be useful beyond helping her with transferring the souls of her babies into a magical object, but then she saw that they lacked discipline and skill when under pressure. It was bad leadership: Yu Fen was a crazy fanatic and Ling Dao’s big weakness was a man. Pathetically, she had never gotten over Qing Quan’s death.

She would never allow any man to come between herself and her goals, Shao Wan vowed. But as she thought this, her eyes sought Mo Yuan even without her explicit bidding. This man, he was in so many recovered memories. Even during that time when she had believed she hated him, he had been in her mind all the time. If he were taken from her, if he were to perish a brutal death like the Demon Engineer, how would that affect her?

With an effort, she pulled her eyes away and looked at Zhe Yan instead. A Phoenix like her, but very different. She had once asked him whether he would not consider joining the Demon Clan too, seeing how they were the only two Phoenixes around and their fiery nature suited the Demon nature well. Quite atypically, he had not answered with a joke but had thought about an answer carefully.

“Mei Mei,” it had finally come, “I cannot do it. if I joined you and the Demon Clan, Mo Yuan would be even more alone. Plus, the Celestial elegance appeals to me more than the fierce bravery of the Demons.”

It had never occurred to him that she could be feeling alone too, but that was alright. She had no illusions, if it came down to a hard choice between saving her life or saving Mo Yuan’s life, Zhe Yan would choose Mo Yuan without a second thought. She wasn’t angry or bitter about it. That they had opened up their circle to let her join them for a while in school, she appreciated it. But she had never been able to be friends with them exactly the same way the men were friends with each other

“What did your friend Xiao Yu give you?” Zhe Yan continued quizzing Mo Yuan.

“An elixir pill.”

Exasperated, Zhe Yan threw his hands in the air. “Do I have to pull every word out of your nose?”

“I ate the pill, it helped. I cannot tell you more about it,” said Mo Yuan, “because I do not know what was in it.”

“One would think a 360,000 year old High God would know better than to just eat a pill he receives from someone he hasn’t seen in… how long has it been? 200,000 years?”

“Mo Yuan gained his strength really fast,” Shao Wan came to his defense, “quite unlike me. Can’t have been bad, that thing Green Eyes gave him.”

Hearing her speak about her continuing weakness brought worry back into Mo Yuan’s face. “How are you feeling?” he asked her and took her hand. He had looked almost panicked in that other cave when she had blacked out, even after she had assured him everything was fine. Shao Wan knew him well. He was blaming himself for everything. Driven by guilt, he would continue to make bad choices for her sake. That needed to stop.

“She is fine,” Zhe Yan snapped at him.

Yes, she was fine - for the moment. To make sure they stopped worrying, she smiled at them. She remembered clearly who she was now. In fact, she remembered every single detail of her long life. She remembered every thought, every pain, every stupid decision, every word she had ever spoken, every word ever spoken to her. She remembered dying, twice. She remembered Mo Yuan’s face when she had, the first and the second time. She remembered the pain of burning to ash and the pain from being stabbed through the heart.

And she remembered what lay hidden at the edges of the Demon Realm.

It was like her head was so full, it was about to burst. The memory token had created a wave that swept through her head, uprooting old beliefs, cleaning out old follies. Even though the black hole had eaten up her memories of the time after Mo Yuan had used the forbidden spell, the wave had unearthed those too. Now, the black hole was gone, but she knew it was just gathering strength again. She had read all the records about Mo Fēngkuáng during her stay at the Demon Tower.

Strangely, it all left her rather cold.

“You on the other hand…” Zhe Yan made a dramatic pause.

“I am fine,” Mo Yuan stubbornly retorted.

“You,” Zhe Yan said, “messed up big time, Mo Yuan and I really do not know how to fix this.”

Shao Wan’s hand sneaked forward towards the wine. Before she could reach it, she noticed some movement from the corner of her eyes and turned her head to see what it was. White hair, big eyes… Gun Gun, Donghua’s well-mannered son. He came forward, took the bottle off the table and went away without saying a word.

“That boy needs siblings,” Shao Wan murmured, “this cannot be normal behavior for his age.”

Noticing Fengjiu who was approaching with a tray full of snacks, Zhe Yan waved to her. “Fengjiu, can I ask you to go to the Heavens to fetch Xiaowu? I think it’s urgent. Make sure Ye Hua doesn’t follow.”

“What? Now?” Fengjiu asked and looked over to her husband who shrugged. “It’s quite late.”

“It’s always bright up there anyway,” Shao Wan said, “who cares what time you arrive, it makes no difference.”

Fengjiu giggled. “They say you get used to it, but Ancestor, I never did. I had to put a heavy cloth in front of my eyes when I slept in the servants’ quarters!”

“Because I couldn’t sleep, I was so tired I kept falling asleep while wiping endless stairs,” Shao Wan said, but then shut her mouth when Mo Yuan looked at her with his pained eyes. She took his hand to pat it.

“Mo Yuan,” she told him, “did you make the laws of this creation? No, you did not. It’s not your fault people become Celestials once they ascend. I also don’t think you chose the eternal light on that level your family lives.”

“But it’s my doing that you had so much hardship,” he whispered.

“I will start punishing you every time you say this,” she told him and took her hand away.

Fengjiu kissed her husband and her son, bid all of them farewell and left to do what Zhe Yan had told her.

As soon as she was away, Zhe Yan turned to Mo Yuan again. “You’re not asking, Mo Yuan, because you are much too preoccupied pondering what foolish move you should do next, but I will tell you why we need to fetch your Seventeenth disciple.”

Ah, the other Fox Woman. Shao Wan was confused about her: Her memories told her she was a threat and had pawed this man of hers, but it didn’t feel like it in her heart like she was. She remembered dreaming about her. Maybe that bond Zhe Yan had mentioned?

“Blood bond,” she said, though she did not really understand what it meant.

“Exactly,” Zhe Yan nodded. “Remember who kept your body intact for 70,000 years, Mo Yuan? Remember that fox blood has magical qualities? What do you think happened when you kept feeding Shao Wan your blood for months while you two hid in the mortal realm?”

Mo Yuan frowned.

“Let me explain something about fox blood to you,” Zhe Yan continued, “the magical properties mirror their nature. Once a fox chooses a mate, it stays. Same with the blood. Once a fox gives her blood to someone, it stays. Don’t tell me you did not know this?”

Zhe Yan didn’t even expect Mo Yuan to answer, apparently, because he continued straight away.

“Back when Mei Mei was poisoned by Cheng Yin, I let you bleed for her once. Once. How frequently have you given her blood this time? Many, many times. Like with every magic, and you know this, effects don’t just accumulate with frequency.”

“I’m full of fox essence?” Shao Wan asked at this point.

“Yes, you are,” Zhe Yan answered. “But he isn’t anymore. If he doesn’t get the heartblood of that one Fox who saved him very soon, his body will probably start disintegrating.”

“No,” Mo Yuan said resolutely, “I cannot take her blood again.”

“You should have thought of the consequences before starting this,” Zhe Yan said bitterly. “And this is not all. You know what else was still in your blood?”

Mo Yuan became a few shades paler.

“Oh yes. Chìbǎng poison. That Horse Tribe witch’s venom never quite left your body because your Horse Tribe disciple didn’t have the time to fully remove it. And now, you gave it to Mei Mei.”

The 100 year curse. No emotions? Shao Wan squinted at the Phoenix. She was feeling many things though. Maybe not strongly, but she hadn’t noticed anything too badly amiss.

“I still feel things,” she informed the physician.

“Mei Mei,” he said, “I am fairly ignorant when it comes to this substance. If we’re lucky, it was too weak or it won’t harm you. But…”

“But?”

“Without your demon powers, you are defenseless against it and I fear...”

“What do you mean?” Mo Yuan interjected.

“I’m thinking you should go back to school,” Zhe Yan snapped at him, “or get your head checked, because have you forgotten? Newly ascended immortals are Celestials. Shao Wan is a Celestial.”

“This is getting better and better,” Donghua said and leaned back to examine the cup in his hand, “I will just keep sitting here quietly and watch this unfold.”

For the first time since touching the memory token, Shao Wan felt something like desperation rise inside of her. That had not been a joke? It explained things. Why she felt no power suppression here. While she felt so much at ease. Fox essence, Celestial powers.

“When can I go back to the Demon Realm to change back into a Demon?” she pressed out.

“That may be a while, Mei Mei,” Zhe Yan said grimly, “it’s too dangerous in your condition, you cannot do the ritual.”

Shao Wan cursed extensively, earning her raised eyebrows from all three men in the room and a red face from the youngling.

“I need to go back,” she told them, “or something very bad will happen.”

“You cannot,” Mo Yuan said. “Please don’t be stubborn about it.”

She had not wanted to tell him. She still did not want to. But now she had to.

“The reason why I lost my memories before,” she said to them, “it has nothing to do with…,” she remembered that Mo Yuan would not likely want her to share what he had done to their memories, “nothing to do with the shock of going back to my own body. It’s Mo Fēngkuáng, the Great Demon Madness. My soul got tarnished when I saved my babies. It will gradually get worse until I will become so dangerous you have to lock me away.”

“Mei Mei,” Zhe Yan said, now very pale himself, “what are you speaking of?”

“All that awaits her is the Great Madness of her kind. Her life will slowly bleed out, her essence will seep into the Nothingness drop for drop, more pieces of her soul will go missing one by one. She is hanging onto what she still has for you, but it is a lost battle. The Horse Tribe Shaman told me,” Mo Yuan pressed out.

“I’m no longer amused,” Donghua said and slammed down his cup. “let this be the last adventure you two go through, alright? Enough.”

“Just let me go,” Shao Wan said, “you really cannot help me this time. I’m going to the Lost Demon Tower. Even if it is in ruins.”

Something pulled at her wrist. She looked down. It as glowing faintly: The tether Mo Yuan had thrown around their wrists.

“You,” he said, “will not go anywhere without me. Ever again.”

“You,” she snapped at him, “do not have my permission to keep me bound to you.”

“I do not need your permission,” he said with a grim expression, “but I might have a solution.”

Mo Yuan shook back his sleeve and revealed a thin, bright blue bracelet around his wrist. “I happen to have access to somebody who knows a lot about Diushi Mogui Ta.”

***

~ 3 days ago in the Heavens ~

“High God, my brother Lord Xinhu agreed to meet with you,” The Lord of Numinous Treasures informed Mo Yuan after the latter had finished taking his bath. He still had to control his limbs from shaking - Lord Puhua’s Lightning Torment affected him a great deal more than the last time.

There was no lasting harm to the body. But the pain was much, much worse this round and it wasn’t his soul that was suffering, it was the body. Seldom had he felt so weak.

“High God, please take care of yourself,” Lord of Numinous Treasures added sympathetically. Obviously, it showed that he was not at his strongest right now. But that wasn’t a bad thing for meeting the father of his former bride.

The meeting was to take place in Numinous’ Palace. Lord Xinhu obviously wasn’t ready to receive Mo Yuan at his, but this suited Mo Yuan as well. If the levelheaded Numinous was present, his chances of getting what he wanted were much higher.

Lord of Numinous Treasures asked Mo Yuan his opinion about a passage in the Book of Formless Matter as they walked there and as always, Mo Yuan greatly enjoyed the conversation. This Lord was someone Mo Yuan could almost call a friend, but for the distance they had almost maintained between them.

“High God, may I ask you something else,” Numinous asked him when they were at the gate to his palace.

“Anything, please speak,” Mo Yuan replied.

“Please forgive my impertinence, but my Brother… he has expectations that you will save his daughter.”

“Save her? From what.”

“Dishonor.”

So it was like Mo Yuan had feared. Lord Xinhu would not give him what he needed unless he promised to do the impossible.

“I’m afraid that I am, heart and soul, pledged to only one woman.”

“This is no secret, High God. Yet, it is also common knowledge that there is no binding promise between you and her and in addition… it is uncommon to be like your brother, the Crown Prince.”

“Speak no more, please,” Mo Yuan interrupted him. So the Celestials were thinking to use the fact that he had not properly wed Shao Wan to twist his arm? Laughable.

“I am sorry to have offended you,” Luminous said dejectedly, “it is not my place to have an opinion at all.”

“I take no offense,” Mo Yuan said grimly. But he would take the words as a warning.

And indeed, Lord Xinhu would not budge one inch.

“I know you need to Sea Cloud bracelet,” he said, “God of War, all that is mine could have been yours. However, things did take a different turn.”

“I am very sorry for your grief,” Mo Yuan said, “and I am sorry I was not able to uphold my promise to you and your family.”

“Yes, very unfortunate events,” Lord Xinhu said viciously, “I must say, I’ve always had a very bad opinion of the Demon Tribe, but all their actions made my impression even worse.”

“It is never wise to condemn an entire people based on the action of just one individual,” Mo Yuan said sharply, “I have had a chance to live amongst them and was impressed by their bravery.”

“... of course you would be willing to see only their good side,” Lord Xinhu said, “it was a wise decision to make you Demon Ambassador and not me. I would have looked for a reason to slaughter them all and be done with their impudence once and for all.”

The fact that Mo Yuan was feeling woozy and weak helped him stay calm at this deliberate insult. But he missed Shao Wan with an intensity that hurt in his chest. He wanted to be with her and his unborn children, he wanted to hold her and comfort her like he had done in the mortal world.

“You want your daughter back, don’t you?” he asked Lord Xinhu, taking him by surprise.

“I want my daughter back and I want her married,” Lord Xinhu pressed out.

“I will get her back and I will get her married,” Mo Yuan answered, “if you lend me the bracelet.”

How he would do that, he did not know. But he would most certainly not break his promise again.

Chapter 48