Italic text = Personal POV

:: Qing Qiu 300 years later::

Bai Qian woke up feeling lethargic and sore all over. Trying to sit up properly became a real challenge.

Ouch. Should not move too fast.

She vaguely recalled defeating all Ghost combatants that wretched Xuan Nu staged for her. Before leaving, she even took away Zhe Yan's concealing magics from the woman. The Goddess reveled in that most satisfying outcome. It was revolting watching the vile woman parading around wearing her face for years. Had she not concern about her mentor's safety, Bai Qian would definitely go a few more rounds at that pretentious snake.

How dare she lay her rotten finger on her him!

It was a quite considerable feat she managed to made it back to Qing Qiu at all. She blacked out once or twice on her way here; fortunately neither of them fell from the cloud and injured themselves further. Her last vision was seeing the Fox Den's opening just ahead of her. Mi Gu must have brought her back inside and treated her injuries.

For once, Bai Qian was glad that Ye Hua and Ali had departed since yesterday to attend the Peach Blossom Gathering in the Ninth Heaven. It would be more than nuisance and inconvenience to try to explain why she 'who apparently had no connection to Kunlun Mountain' had kept missing High God Mo Yuan's body in Qing Qiu since the last Ghost War ended. Some Celestials still hunted for him, she knew that much. There was no telling Ye Hua would do, had he found out.

Although Ye Hua had treated her well from the beginning, she was still uncertain of his real motives. He surprised her with his gentle handlings of Ali. The Goddess never expected that from him who was rumored to be as frigid as an ice pole. She was not ready for him or anyone outside of her immediate family to discover the bond between her and her mentor.

Seventy thousand years already passed, High God Mo Yuan's name was slowly forgotten and passed into legends among Celestial's younger generation of immortals and deities. Still he was without any doubts their much revered God of War. If someone learned his body resided here; they are going to take him away from her. Would that mean her long and hard works were all for nothing?

Her trains of thought were cut short when Bi Fang came in bearing her a cup of freshly brew medicine. It turned out he had been in love with her for her whole life and she had absolutely no idea of his less-than-virtuous affection. It was not her fault for failing to recognize his feelings if he never gathered enough courage to confess to her.

The man was delusional, Bai Qian thought. He said if she was willing, he would gladly brave the wrath of the Celestial Clan and be with her. Bai Qian rolled her eyes at that boastful claim. Son of the Head of Bifang's Clan or not, he was unlikely enough to stay Celestial Army's advance; if that ever happened to begin with.

Bai Qian bemoaned her tragic fate. Today was definitely not her day. With the seriousness of her injuries and left-over fatigue from riding cloud, with her mentor's coffin, all the way back from Ghost's border. She was overdued a decent rest. She was barely lucid enough to function, much less dealing with an amorous bird and his pent-up confession of love.

Seriously, the man had no tact.

She had been fooled all along thinking Bi Fang held some kind of grudges against her. He usually jumped out as soon as she stepped into a room. His unwilling to be in her presence for any extended time befuddled her. Until today.

Truthfully, she was touched with his sincerity; yet romance was definitely not going to work between the two of them. So she tune down her boredom a notch. She was not a rude person despite her current grouchiness fueled by pain and sleep deprivation. She gave him her honest and sincere appreciation before sending him away.

After drinking that vile, bitter medicine bottom up, she was more than ready to crawl back to her sleep. Bai Qian almost slapped her forehead with frustration when she suddenly remembered her mentor. Although she was certain Mi Gu, who was always attentive to his tasks, already placed him back at his resting place. She felt compelled to visit him and make sure he was comfortable there.

Bai Qian yelped when a sudden wave of pain raked her body. She move too fast and the muscles pull at the way up to her slash wound. The trauma-induced pain forced Bai Qian to put her back against the wall for full support and caught her breathing. She waited until the tremor in her muscles subsided; then gingerly made her way to the Yanhua Cave.

Bai Qian sighed in relief when she saw her mentor laying properly on his usual place upon the stone slab. It seemed Mi Gu had outdone himself. Her mentor's form looked prestine, as he should be, once again. His hair was combed; he also bore new, clean attire. Bai Qian spent another moment observed her mentor before lowering herself to sit beside him.

She grabbed his cold, limp hand and placed it between her palms.

"Master, Seventeenth is truly sorry for not coming back in time. Xuan Nu was able to abduct you right from under my nose. She almost desecrated your body with her dark magics. This is my own fault. I hope Master could find it in your heart to forgive me from allowing this transgression to happen."

"Master, at least Seventeenth had avenged your honor sufficiently. Did you know, yesterday your Jade Purity Fan of Kunlun drunk so much blood. Who would have thought one day I would make good of my words back then. This will serve them right of trying to use you for their own sinister gain."

Feeling somewhat drained, she laid her chin down on the stone slab, close to his face.

"Master, Seventeenth have been waiting for you for over seventy thousand years already. When will you come back? Zhe Yan said you will be back soon but I see nothing has changed. How soon is that? Another ten thousand years?"

"Master, Seventeenth miss you. Will there be a day when we return to Kunlun Mountain together? Seventeenth will volunteer to sit in your every doctrines lecture, if that mean you will be back sooner."

"Recently Celestial's Crown Prince keep coming to Qing Qiu. He claimed that since we are already engaged, it is only right for him to be here, getting to know me and vice versa. He is not a bad person, better than his wishy-washy uncle Sang Ji. Still, Seventeenth would rather stay with you. But mother insisted me to consider this alliance seriously and played no tricks on him. Seventeenth would rather shut the door in his face the first time he dropped here without 'a by your leave.'" She snorted rudely. This was still her land, not his to trespass as he pleased.

"He seems to like it here though. I think the Ninth Heaven is too suffocating for him. Who wouldn't? They are so stiff and boring. He even cooked for us. You should taste some, Master, his dishes are really good. I might keep him around just for that. Mi Gu is useless in kitchen and Xiao Jiu did not come to visit anymore. I bet she's wrecking havoc somewhere else. The rascal." Bai Qian smiled fondly at the thought of her only niece.

"Oh, I forget to tell you about his son. I call him 'Riceball'. Cute, isn't it? His riceball is so adorable. He keeps calling me 'mother this, mother that.' I have no heart to correct him. I guess a step-mother or a mother is not that much different anyway. It's truly pity. That boy lost his mother so early, I must remind him greatly of her."

"Come to think of it, Ye Hua mistook me for her many times now. He even called me by her name. I should have felt insulted. Seventeenth grows up a lot, don't you see, Master? The old-me would just insult him back. But it's really heartbreaking that he is unable to move on from his wife's death even hundred years had passed." She mused.

"Master, you don't mind if Seventeenth keep your company for a while, do you?

She tiredly asked despite no one would deign to answer her. Her heavy eyelids dropped lower and lower.

"Seventeenth just want to take a nap here."