Fanfic: Mo Yuan and Shao Wan 2.0 - Chapter 49 (Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms 三生三世十里桃花)
Chapter 49
written by kakashiedited by Panda & LigayaCroft
The plains stretch as far as the eye can see. There are a thousand shades of green in the world, most of them unnamed. The scent of wet grass after the gracious rain tickles his nostrils and his legs want to run, run, run right to the edge of the world and beyond, but…
“Feel powerless,” the old woman says, “feel useless. Feel like the thousands upon thousands you have killed.”
His limbs are so heavy. Black mist is forming around him. He puffs it away, but it returns. It pulls at him, pulls him down. Earth magic, strong and dangerous, tethers anchored deep in the ancient land.
And then he hears the Dragon approach. The Sky opens its mouth and screams. It’s the sound of death.
***
“Where is Mo Yuan?” Shao Wan shot up and craned her neck both ways as soon as Zhe Yan appeared at the door, but only the black-clad Crown Prince with his sour face, supporting his wife by the arm, came out behind him.
“I knocked him out with a sleeping potion,” Zhe Yan said gruffly, “did you know the fool hasn’t slept in what could be weeks, maybe months? He has some major catching up to do.”
No, she had not known. But she could have suspected, if only she had paid more attention. When they had spent time together in the mortal realm before coming to Qing Qiu, he had always told her not to wait up for him at night, that he would join her in a moment. Since she was so incredibly tired, waiting had never worked anyway, her eyes had shut themselves on their own. When she woke up again, he would smile at her from across the room, wishing her a good morning. In recollection, his smiles seemed a little strained.
But why had he not slept, she wondered now? To guard her? Or… could it be because he was afraid of slipping into her dreams again?
She had come to suspect it was his time in her Dreamscape that had changed him, but he did not talk about it.
“How could I be, Shao Wan,” he had once said after she had tearfully asked him whether he was angry with her because of something she had done in her dreams, “just rest and get better. Don’t worry too much.”
She had slept a lot during their time in the mortal world. He had meditated next to her, constantly gaining strength to be able to get them back home, while she had just… slept. Eaten. Thrown up.
Shao Wan sighed. When had she become this useless?
“He is going to be much better when he wakes up in a week or two,” Zhe Yan told her, putting a hand on her shoulder for comfort, “do not worry. Giving him new Foxblood worked. And I am sorry for snapping at you, I was… a little tense.”
Shao Wan nodded her forgiveness as relief flooded her heart. Zhe Yan cared a lot for what he considered his “little brother”. And by the Old Ones, she understood his anger. She’d be angry too if she had the energy.
“I am in your debt,” she said to the Crown Princess who approached slowly, looking a little pale and shaken, and she bowed properly to both her and her husband, though her belly made it a bit of an effort to get back up gracefully. “Please let me know upon your earliest convenience how I can pay you back.”
The Crown Prince still just looked somber, but a little something awakened in his eyes when she looked at him more closely - anger?
I dreamt of him! Shao Wan remembered with a start. Several times. Hmmm…
A small shudder sneaked down her spine. Not the kind of dreams she should mention in front of his wife, unless she wanted to be massacred by a rabid fox.
That said, the Fox Woman was in many of her dreams too. Once she got a chance… were they close enough for this though? Shao Wan wanted to confirm her hunch that the Crown Princess came there not just as a figment of her imagination but in spirit flesh too, almost like Mo Yuan.
He had told her about the missing pieces of her soul and that he suspected one was with the Crown Princess. The big question he was still working on was how to get it back. The Demon Mirror of Souls, Mo Yuan had said, do you know who has it? She had an inkling, but she’d rather go get it herself than have Mo Yuan plunge himself into the next danger headlong.
“How are you, Demon Queen,” the Crown Princess asked politely, “I hear from my niece your pregnancy is going well?”
“If throwing up often is considered ‘well’, then yes,” Shao Wan replied just as politely.
“It should pass soon,” Bai Qian smiled, “the second year is much better.”
“I’m awaiting it with great eagerness.”
Shao Wan glanced at the Crown Prince again, to see that his lips were pressed into a thin line. She couldn't believe she had once mistaken him for his brother, their auras were so different. The disapproving air though… that the two brothers had in common.
“Shao Wan greets the Crown Prince of the Thirty Six Heavens,” she curtsied, “since I am without lands and title and have learned I am stuck with being a Celestial for the time being, I owe you special reverence.”
“Excuse me?” he said and frowned at her, probably thinking she was trying to play a bad prank on him.
“What can I say, Crown Prince,” Shao Wan smiled, “your… I mean our tribe has the great luck of welcoming each and every newly ascended immortal. It snatched me up quite unexpectedly.”
“You are a Celestial?” he repeated again. Was he a bit slow? Maybe Mo Yuan had gotten all the intelligence.
“She is,” Zhe Yan confirmed, “not a sliver of Demon essence left in her… oh.”
“Since when?” Bai Qian asked, looking like this discovery was quite mind boggling.
“It’s not so bad,” Shao Wan quickly told her, “it makes me feel horribly off, but at least I’m not feeling any power suppression here or…”
“It’s not hers,” Bai Qian said to her husband, not even letting her finish, “Ye Hua, it cannot be hers.”
“Xiaowu has some Demon essence inside of her,” Zhe Yan explained to Shao Wan in a low voice, “it caused some rather big displeasure upon discovery. But indeed, somebody else must have put it into her.”
“I am not sure it makes a difference,” Shao Wan whispered to him, “I did possess her after all, Demon essence or not. Mo Yuan told me his brother would have no mercy.”
“Mo Yuan took the punishment for you upon himself,” Zhe Yan said with a sigh and when she pulled back surprised, he added: “No, he didn’t mean to tell you. Ever. But it helps the Heavens to keep face while tarnishing only his reputation once again. But he doesn’t care to be called Demon Lover behind his back.”
“What gives him the right to…”
“Mei Mei,” Zhe Yan sighed, patting her arm, “just come to terms with him trying to save the world and everybody in it all by himself. He will never change his ways. It’s who he is.”
***
After a lovely dinner, the men retired to one of the low tables to discuss realm politics. Shao Wan was sitting too far away to understand anything and to her own surprise, didn’t care in the least. Never before in her life had she sat comfortably with other women like this. Her belly was full, she felt no nausea, the tea Gun Gun kept serving her spread its pleasant warmth into her entire body. She was so drowsy. Would Zhe Yan let her sleep in Mo Yuan’s bed?
“... sometimes, I feel like throwing him out, Gu Gu, he can be so insufferable! But then, I feel bad shortly after for even having such a thought.”
Shao Wan nodded to herself, listening to the amiably chatter between Bai Fengjiu and Bai Qian with only half an ear. Men were like this. Insufferable often, but also quite useful some other time.
“That’s why having your own Palace can be a blessing,” the Fox Woman replied, “sometimes, I just want to be alone. Ye Hua can be… a bit too much for my old bones.”
Shao Wan perked up. “Do you feel old, Crown Princess?” She asked curiously. Actually, she much rather wanted to ask how much “too much” was… several times a day? But she did know that this kind of question was considered shocking to most other tribes and she’d rather continue to experience this novel feeling of companionship that came from talking about men and not to men.
Bai Qian looked at her with surprise. “Well… not really,” she then confessed, “but my husband has the enthusiasm and passion of a youth sometimes. I am then reminded of the large age gap between us, though it changes nothing about the affection we share.”
“Ah,” Shao Wan nodded. Mo Yuan was only a bit younger than herself. Even though he claimed that didn’t count because she had been dead for so long, putting him firmly in the more senior position. But lately…
“He has not touched me in more than two weeks!” she blurted out, “it’s possible he does not like me… like this.” Shao Wan pointed at her rounded belly. “Or it might be about yin and yang preservation,” she corrected herself, because she recalled the adoring way he looked at her belly when she was naked, “I hate everything about it and curse whoever had this idea to the deepest circle of hell!”
“Oh,” Fengjiu giggled, “Ancestor, don’t you think it might be because he’s completely exerted himself? I’m surprised he didn’t just keel over after getting back here.”
“Hmpf,” she said, but yes. It was possible.
“Gu Gu thinks of him like a father,” Fengjiu whispered to her, still giggling, “I don’t think she wants to believe he is… you know, active in the bedroom at all.”
“Ah,” Shao Wan said and looked at the Crown Princess’ red face, “I guess one does not want their father to be anything else but a father. I will not mention such things to you again.”
“It’s alright,” Bai Qian said, clearing her throat, “I am no child anymore.”
“Even the very old can be childish,” Fengjiu observed with a glance towards Donghua, “he for example can sulk for months if something doesn’t go his way.”
“Ha,” Shao Wan remarked, “he’s always been like this. He pretends to be a rock that doesn’t care about anything, but he’s a very soft rock if you know his weaknesses.”
“Oh, please tell me more!” Fengjiu said with great enthusiasm, “Ancestor, you’ve known him since he was an adolescent, is that right?”
“Even longer!” Shao Wan smiled, recalling their first meeting.
“Please tell us,” Fengjiu begged with shining eyes, “Oh, he never shares anything about his youth with me!”
***
Year 70,000 after the Creation of the Realms
(Shao Wan has just recently celebrated her 30’000 egg-escape day)
“Mylady, somebody is outside,” Fong Hung whispered into her ear.
“What does the somebody want?” she yawned and stretched, feeling refreshed after her blissful afternoon nap.
“He is looking at the creek, unmoving.”
“At the creek?” Shao Wan sat up. “That is strange behavior.”
“Maybe he is after our fish?”
“Nobody gets our fish without asking!” Shao Wan exclaimed and got up lithely. “Let’s teach this someone a lesson.”
She grabbed the thickest branch from the pile of firewood in the corner and strode outside.
“Hey, you!” Shao Wan addressed the someone staring into her creek and swirled the wood in her hand so quickly that it made a dangerous, whooshing sound. Not many strangers strayed into these parts of the mountains and none ever came back after she had dealt with them.
The intruder looked up and let his well-shaped eyes glide over her and Fong Hung with an air of indifference.
He had the strangest hair, silver, almost white, wearing it open but for a little clip on top of his head. Yet, he was not much older than her, judging from his height and his beardless face.
“Get lost,” Shao Wan said viciously, “there’s nothing to see here.”
But he just turned his head away and went back to watching the creek, like she didn’t exist.
“Can you not hear?” Shao Wan bristled, “this is my creek. I do not tolerate trespassers.”
“He’s neither Celestial nor Demon,” Fong Hung who had been sniffing the air said surprised. “And not from any other tribe we know.”
“Oh? Maybe that’s why he cannot speak. He is defective.”
A few quick steps and she was right behind the boy. That hair… how fascinating. She reached up with her hand and… yanked it forcefully. Still, not a sound from the intruder, but a quick gesture, a forceful impact and she was sprawling in the dirt face down.
What the…
“Mylady, watch out!” Fong Hung cried and Shao Wan swiveled to the side and sprang up just in time before that brat could jump on her back to finish her for good. So he had excellent fighting skills. They would not go to waste. Grabbing her branch more firmly, she approached him with more caution and soon was embroiled in a glorious little scuffle.
Neither of them won that day, but Donghua would claim later he had gone easy on the wild looking girl with the horrible hair that had appeared out of thin air in the Zhang Mei Mountains and besides, he had been really hungry.
“Let him have some of our fish,” Shao Wan declared after they had both unanimously decided to call it quits. She wiped some blood from her face with her sleeve that she had soaked with water from the creek and mustered the strange boy once more.
“You’re ugly,” she declared with contempt, though he was decidedly the opposite.
“You’re not,” he answered, “but you’re rude and have a bad temper.”
***
“After that, we became friends,” Shao Wan smiled. “Donghua was the one who told me about the wars between the Clans and about how there were many despicable Demon bosses in my realm. I guess it was because of him that I left my Mountain to see that for myself.”
“The world was still young back then,” Fengjiu said dreamily. “I wish I could have seen it.”
Shao Wan sighed. “Too much of a hassle, I assure you, Fox Queen. Everything is much more peaceful and settled now.”
“If you have more stories to tell and will let Gun Gun hear them…”
“Oh, I have plenty! Sometimes I think I know Donghua much better than I know Mo Yuan,” Shao Wan remarked. She noticed the strange look on the Crown Princess’ face upon her statement. Like she wanted to say something but had come to the conclusion it was smarter to keep her mouth shut.
“Any… insights you can share with me about the God of War, Crown Princess?” Shao Wan managed to say daringly, “you lived under his tutelage for so long.”
“Most of the time he lay soulless and dead in Yanhua cave though,” Fengjiu added a bit sharply.
“Yanhua cave…,” Shao Wan echoed. That’s why being there the night before had triggered some strange memories. Not hers, but Bai Qian’s. Him, lying in a cave, white, lifeless, soulless. So much grief. So much pain…
“Thank you for saving him,” she whispered and bowed her head to hide her tears, “thank you for helping me return. Thank you…”
“Please,” Bai Qian said softly and put her warm hand on Shao Wan’s arm, “please, older sister-in-law. I would do it again without hesitation. All I want… is for him to be happy.”
Impulsively, Shao Wan reached up to grab the other woman’s hand. Upon contact of their skin, pain laced up her arm and both women gasped in surprise at the strange sensation.
Just two trapped pieces of souls wanting to return to their rightful owners. And some Demon essence trying to hide.
But Shao Wan had recognized it immediately. It belonged to someone who should be dead. And she did not like at all what it meant.
***
“You are leaving so soon?” Donghua pushed himself away from the wall he had been leaning against.
Shao Wan nodded.
“Let me accompany you.”
“No.”
“Even if I do it for Mo Yuan, not for you?”
“I said goodbye to him. He’ll understand.”
“He’s asleep! Zhe Yan gave him a dose that would tranquilize a mystic beast. He’ll rip his and my head off when he wakes up and finds you gone, so I’d rather leave with you.”
Shao Wan looked at her oldest friend grimly, but clearly, there was little use arguing. He was carrying a knapsack over his travel cloak and had his sword slung to his back.
“I know everything there is to know about Demons,” he boasted a little, “plus, I am an excellent fighter. Most likely better than Mo Yuan even, though I’m a little rusty. I’ll be your bodyguard.”
“You have your family here.”
“They said to enjoy myself and come back soon, so that’s what I plan to do.”
“It’s not safe where I’m going.”
“Exactly, that’s why you need me.”
“Fine,” she agreed, “but only until I recover my Feather.”
“Is that all?” Donghua asked, “maybe I shouldn’t have said goodbye to Fengjiu and Gun Gun at all.”
It wasn’t all.
But somehow she had a feeling that winning over Yu Zong’s son was going to be very easy.
***
Mo Yuan dreams.
He cannot stop dreaming even though he is trying to wake up all the time. He fears he is lost again, lost in the darkness between worlds, lost in the place beyond time.
He is powerless. He is fearful.
“You thought you could escape me?” Wuwu hisses, “everyone has to sleep occasionally, even a High God like you. But now, I’ve got you.”
He is tiny and she put a collar around his neck, with a strong magical chain attached. It hurts him and she drags him along so that it cuts deeply into his flesh.
He hears Shao Wan’s voice. She is telling him she is leaving, but he should not worry, she’ll be safe.
Do not go! He wants to tell her, please, do not go!
“You’ll have nothing, nothing at all in the end,” Wuwu laughs, “why do you even keep resisting?”
No.
No!
The dragon rips the chain apart and takes flight. He will protect his loved ones.
“Do you really think you have power over me?” he shouts at Wuwu.
Her chuckling shakes the world, but when he flies high enough, he can no longer feel it.