| Final Chapter Part 1/2 |
This chapter originally contains highly graphic adult to FFdotnet, it's not allowed.
Any violation might up end with story being , please check out my profile page for uncut version of chapter 44 on AoS3's site.
:: Peach Tree Groove ::
When Zhe Yan announced that he was about to take Ali back to Qing Qiu, Bai Qian quickly intercepted him. "Can I talk to you, Zhe Yan?" She looked pointedly at a spot far enough from where Mo Yuan and Ali stood.
Zhe Yan smiled at her. "Of course."
"So, what this is about?" The Phoenix asked, after allowing her to drag him away for a good distance.
"When you see my parents, can you ... not telling them I am already awake? At least, not until I drop by." She quickly amended when his skepticism was obvious.
He tilted his head, studying her for a moment. "For what reason?" Then a leering, sly looks fell in place. "Hmmm, actually I think I can make a pretty good guess." His sidelong glance at Mo Yuan was very telling.
Bai Qian flicked with the tip of her earring at his knowing gestures. "Well, that …. is not all of it." It seemed her discomfort only added to his amusement.
"Oh? Then what is it?"
"I am not sure if you know. The last time Mother came to Kunlun Mountain, she and Mo Yuan were not exactly agreeable. So, since I will need a time-off for a quick meditation retreat, I figure it would be good for us to make a detour together before I get home." She faked a cough to cover up her embarrassment. "There is that, I guess we will be away for a while."
"So basically you want more smooching time with Mo Yuan and do not want your mother to give him anymore troubles. And it falls to me to cover up for you. Again."
"You do not have to made it sound so foul, you know?" She grumbled.
"Fine, I will do it but know this, Fifth Sister, your family really concern about you." Zhe Yan said matter-of-factly.
"I know that. It would not be long, I promise. We will just visit the mortal realms for a week or two. My parents would not even notice me missing for such a short time."
"All right, it is settled then." Zhe Yan nodded, ready to walk away when she seized the bottom of his sleeve.
"There is one more thing I wish to ask." Bai Qian hesitated. "What exactly happened that day at the Roushui River? And, no, I am not talking about Qing Cang or the Bell of Eastern Emperor. I am talking about Mo Yuan. Something definitely happened to him. Something monumental. And I know for certain you know what." There was a threatening edge in her voice.
Zhe Yan had long foreseen this line of questioning. His feature shifted with trepidation and uncertainty. "I can not, Fifth Sister." He raised his hand up, forestalling her on-coming drilling questions. "It is really not my place. There is only one person who has the rights to give you the answer."
"But there is one thing I can tell you." Zhe Yan told her. "Wait for him to open up to you. Do not push him with your usual aggravation, do you understand?" There was no traces of jovial mood left on his stern face.
Bai Qian realized then whatever Mo Yuan was keeping from her was no trifling matters. But what could affect the sensibility of the Great War God so much that old phoenix felt the needs to heed her a warning? She nodded at him absentmindedly.
Zhe Yan's voice called after her. "And check out the second shelf next to the door in my hut before you leave, I left something you may find useful there."
So lost in her thought, she barely pay attention to what he said.
Bai Qian smiled and waved her hand back a few times. With every few steps her son had taken, he would stop and turned to look at her and waved his goodbye. Zhe Yan by then would prompt him and they resumed their walk again. This unending farewell kept up for a good while; the mismatched duo did not get very far from where they started.
'Love you. Bye for now,' she mouthed the word to the child and watched his lips trembled slightly again; the stubborn tear was withheld though this time. Ali nodded his head vigorously; his right hand thumped on his chest lightly, in return. This time the young boy did not turned back again; he walked along the pathway with steady pace.
Bai Qian watched their back getting farther away until they completely disappeared from her sight. "Oh! I totally forgot." She exclaimed; just realized that she had yet to ask why Ali was here in the first place.
"Do you require something from Zhe Yan?" Mo Yuan turned his face sideways.
"Oh, no. It is just ... I meant to ask how he came to spent time here with Ali."
"Your father and mother is taking your niece to meet other clan's elders and leaders. Your Fourth Brother got back to his Mansion early. So, Zhe Yan promise them to look after him for a few days." Mo Yuan said, already asked that question.
"Why would my pa-...? Oooh..." It seemed Bai Qian finally caught on. "Her coronation date must have been set, that is why Father want to introduce her to everyone." Her tone softened, almost sad. "It should be me to prepare her for her new duties. I am such a bad aunt."
"I doubt she would fault you, Seventeenth, with your condition. Besides, I believe it is likely that the Empress will put her under her wing anyway."
The Goddess laughed merrily; her voice sounded like tinker bells. "You are absolutely right. Xiao Jiu is in a good hand, my mother is always through with her lessons."
Her eyebrows drew tight. "But why would Fourth Brother hurried back to his mansion at this time? I really hope those two are not in quarrel again." She leaned back against Mo Yuan's chest for a bit. He merely smiled down at her faintly.
"I do hope he will not drag Ali all the way up to the Northern Mansion just to pursue brother," her lips jutted out slightly. "It is so dizzy seeing one of them chasing after another all these years."
Then she suddenly spoke up. "Ah, well. I guess that leaves two of us now, all alone in this PeachTree Groove." Her smile became mischievous.
"What do you wish to do then?" Mo Yuan's hand tightened against her side.
"You promised to play the zither with me, did you already forget?" She pouted.
"Of course not. Out here?" He asked.
Bai Qian nodded happily. "I am going to fetch Zhe Yan's. I will be right back."
When Bai Qian walked back to their chosen spot with a borrowed-zither, Mo Yuan was already seated there with his own zither. There was also a bottle of wine ready by his side. She ogled the wine shamelessly and swallowed her dry throat. "This so unfair, you know that I cannot drink. Must you tempt me so?" She whined.
Mo Yuan shook his head at her obvious penchant for wine. "Perhaps a sip or two will not be harmful."
The Goddess's eyes glowed, giddy and pleased at the same time. "Oh, you are the best."
"So, what song do you wish to play?"
She smiled secretly and placed her hands on the strings. Her deft fingers began to create a familiar tune. This song she could remembered by heart; despite not knowing its name for a time. Mo Yuan raised his brow at her choice of song. Out of all songs she wanted them to play together, she chose this one. Nevertheless he was pleased. He matched her keynotes stroke for stoke. His eyes watched her intently. He needed not to look at the instrument to recreate this particular song. After all, he had played it countless of time for her for thousand years.
Bai Qian returned his gaze with her most dazzling smile. She allowed the song's notes to convey her heart desire, knowing he would not miss its underlying meaning. Now this was not the song he played for her anymore; but the song they would always play together for the rest of their life.
The ambiance in the Grooves became intimate, full of love and expectation for future. Peach blossom swayed in the gentle breezes as if being lured by the soft, hypnotized sound. Its leaves swirled in the air and slowly fluttered to the ground around them.
"That is beautiful." Bai Qian sighed in satisfaction when their song came to an end. She took the initiative to move to her lover's side and laid her head on his shoulder.
Mo Yuan sought to capture her eyes. "Why do you pick this song?"
She looking deep into his eyes. "So much has happened lately; we barely be together any more. In the future, I wish us to be more like this song: 'together we soar, forever harmonize our hearts.'"
Mo Yuan put his hand under her chin and angled her head. Slowly his head bend down, gliding his soft lips against her shell of ear and whispered. "We will."
Bai Qian shifted her face slightly. She sought his lips with her own and pressed against them intimately once found. Her lips parted, waiting for him to deepen that most basic and complex of contacts. He tasted like wine; Bai Qian noted in her haze. Her tongue went after the rich, burning sweetness he promised earlier; to gather more of the delicious treat.
She whimpered, bereft, when his lips broke away. Mo Yuan gathered her small body and seated her atop his lap, facing him. His burning lips glided over to her throbbing pulse point and molded themselves to her skin. He explored, kissed and nibbled along the column of her throat. Her hands hold his head against her neck and pressed it closer as she trembled with anticipation. She had missed this, the feeling of his mouth feasting upon her.
As if he sensed the urgency in her movement; his long, deft fingers traced along her side, slowly and sensually, to the underside of her breast, She shuddered in delight when they finally graze the pebble bud that peaked for his attention. Moan of ecstasy tore its way out of her throat when his thumb making slow, lazy circles around each dusty circle. Arousal began to cloud her mind; faint shortened gasps filled the silence. Her fingers slipped into his dark hair and tucked at it.
"Please." She almost failed to recognize that blatant, needy voice belonged to her.
** Graphic adult content was cut off here **
Strangled moans push past her lips as she gave in to the overwhelming sensation and tumbled over the edge. Her sharp claws dig deep into his shoulders and her back taut, liquid fire licking up her spine. The sheer suddenness of her orgasm took her breath away. Her spent, boneless body slumped against his hard chest, panting and ragging. His hands ran up and down her quivering body soothingly before he leaned over to give her a slow kiss. When they broke off, she gave him a lazy, satisfied smile only a well*sated woman could make.
Bai Qian buried her face in his nape, basking in the marvelous afterglow. Hot flush painted her face prettily when his bulging, pent-up desire for her finally making itself known. She shifted her body clumsily, allowing her languid legs to fall on either side of his waist and straddled him. Her hands fumbled with his cloth as she pressed closer to kiss him.
The heady fragrance of her sexual gratification still permeated the air around them. It was intoxicating. Her dainty lips trailed all over his shoulders. She sucked the flesh into her mouth, lapped the abused flesh and soothed the sting her claws must have left. Her fingers rack down his nipples to his taut abs at the same time.
She nibbled the underside of his ear and whispered. "Take me." Her hip undulated in its slow, deliberate motion, grinding down on his hard, obvious desire rhythmically. "I want it all. Our life together, our children." Her hand slipped past his cloth; seeking the warm, rigid prove of his arousal.
Never before Bai Qian foresaw the effect of her simple solicitation would be on him. But when his body stiffen and jerked out off her embrace; it gave her cause of alarm. She looked at his face, confused. Was it her imagination that his face turned a shade paler?
"What? What did I say?" She sat up straighter, using her weight to pin him down. She cupped his face between the palm of her hands. "Mo Yuan?"
"What exactly are you asking for, Bai Qian?" The way his face closed off made the uneasiness in her growing steady.
"What am I asking for?" She repeated slowly, haltingly. Her thoughts running around inside her mind at his strangeness. "I think it is obvious? I wish us to be family and I long to see a child of our union. Did I say something wrong?"
"But here? Now?" He swallowed thickly.
"What is wrong with here and now?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "Is it not normal to want to have a child with the one you love?"
"That is not what I meant. It is just that now might not be the right time."
"How is it that now is not the right time?" Her voice raised, partly hurt that he rejected her so readily. She began to suspect that he had another hidden reason for objection. Perhaps one that just showed up earlier that day. Her heart clenched at the mere thought.
"Your body is still weak, Seventeenth, your cultivation is low," His voice took on the more familiar, controlled mien. "Pregnancy will take a toll on your already strained body. Birthing process can also be dangerous for you. I never want to endanger you like that. I have lived this long, what is but a few more centuries of waiting?"
Her eyes grew soft at his genuine concern for her. Bai Qian's heart twinged with guilt for jumping to conclusion. "But you are not young anymore; we seriously need to catch up." She tried to lift the stifled mood that befell them. But he did not look amused at the least.
"Ali is ever growing. There is no child of his age around, so he must be lonely." Her head bent down slightly. "I completely missed watching him growing up. I just thought that if we start now. We could give him a playmate. And our child will have a big brother to watch over him or her. Would that not be nice?"
She laid her forehead against his and curled her fingers around his neck. "I know you are worrying. But I will have time to recover my strength, at least during the first stage. Women birth child everyday, while there is some risks, it is manageable. Zhe Yan will be there, you will be there. Between the two of you, you can manage anything."
"Do not you want to hold our child in your arm and watch him or her sleep, speaking the first word to you, calling you papa?" Her voice was pleading.
Mo Yuan struggled to rein in his emotions. He knew she strongly wished to pursue this course but he can not. Not after what happened the last time. It could happen again. How would he be certain the price for his sin for defying against the natural course of life and death had been paid in full? His jaws clamped tightly together as the thought of watching another life of his blood be taken away again while he was powerless to stop it.
"I am still saying we should just wait," he said with the most even voice he could muster.
Bai Qian pulled away from him, her shrill voice cut through the air. "That is not all, is it not?" She could not believe he still refused her. Her reasons bore truths and not flaw in the slightest. If Su Su can endure all the hardship thrown at her and still birthed Ali safely, why not her?
Tears blurred her vision. Those were just excuses he used to justify his unwillingness to sire a child with her. But why? What was his reason, the real motif, she needed to know. "There is something else you are not saying." Her tone was sharp and accusing. "Is it because of Ali?" She paused. "Or Ye Hua? You are bothered that I bore him a child after all. If you are that disgusted with me, why did you just not say so!"
"Say not what you do not meant to say, Bai Qian, You might regret it otherwise," he gripped at her forearm tightly. "You know I never fault you for your past. Not even if that was what you wanted.
Do you really think so little of me? That I will be so jealous of your former husband and Ali to punish you this way?" Her body was jolted suddenly to look up at him.
"If not that; then why? Tell me, talk to me!" She cried out, stunned and scared at his rare display of vehemence. She wanted him to say anything, give her something that she could work with. Anything was better than this.
"You do not know what you are asking of me." His voice was harsh and short with her.
For once, Mo Yuan was truly enraged. The feeling swell wildly inside him; so much he wanted to destroy something. He was furious at the undeserving fates that befell them, angry that she could think of him so petty. And most of all, he was infuriated with himself for his failure to protect her and their child. How could he, the son of mighty Heavenly Father, the renowned War God, could do nothing to save his blood? What this how his Honored Father felt when he lost his younger son back then.
The overwhelming regret, disappointment, resentful was too strong. "This is not how I want to tell you." He shook his head and pushed her away from him abruptly.
Bai Qian wrapped her arms around her waist and watched after his retreating back. Push her away; gotten so angry with her; he never did that before ever since they started this relationship. She just did not understand where they went wrong. They simply never fought like this. Her form crumbled to the ground. Their fleeting happiness and loving moment together just now was it an illusion? Tears dripped down her cheek, unchecked and unbidden.
That night she waited for him in their given hut. The neigh of night had come and gone; still he did not come back. Her tears fell freely, in rapid succession, so much it soaked wet her head rest. It felt as if the sun was setting on their relationship. She did not know how they are going to fix this. Bai Qian cried long into the night until exhaustion claimed her and she fell into fitful, restless sleep.
In the dead silence of the night, a silhouette crept toward the hut on silent footstep and went straight to the bed. He sat down on its edge, took note of the pinch expression on her face, her swollen eyes and the wetness of the bedding. Mo Yuan lightly touched her face with regret. He never wanted to see her cry; especially not because of his doing.
"I thought you will never come back," the one lying on the bed whispered. She hardly fell asleep. The barest hints of his presence alerted her to his arrival. "I did not meant to say all those mean things to you." She placed her head on his thigh and clung tightly to his waist. "I am sorry, so sorry," her hoarse voice begged for his forgiveness.
"You are not alone at fault," he rubbed her hair. "I was wrong too, for turning my back to you and walked away. You deserve an explanation. It just that…," he trailed off, distractedly, "This is harder than I thought. I thought if I kept it away, contained, just like how I always keep the lid on anything that went wrong in my life, it will be just another one of those past regrets."
"It was foolish of me." He let out a heavy sigh. "Seventeenth, there are certain thing you do not know yet. Thing that I barely have the heart to tell you."
"Tell me, make me understand," she pleaded with him. "There is nothing worse than what we had faced together."
"But there is," he said. "There is nothing more painful than watching the one we love perished and we can do nothing to change it."
Bai Qian said nothing, knowing his statement was too right. To these days, nothing was more haunting and distressing than watching him offered his spirit to the Bell of Eastern Emperor and died in her arms. Even if he already returned to her, the memories still taunted at her.
"And there is no greater regret than a parent watching their child die and is hapless to save it."
The way he worded it, full of grief and remorse, tucked at her heart. Had he ever lost a child before? She did not know that. In all twenty thousand of years she lived at Kunlun Mountain, she never saw a woman by his side, any woman, but her. But his life was long and enduring, there were things shrouded in his past that she would never learned of. He was not the type to share his thought freely either. Was that why he never spoke of children? Had she inflicted upon his old wound with her cluelessness? She thought of his obvious agitation and agreed that might be the case.
While Bai Qian was musing to herself, Mo Yuan was struggled with his indecision. A canned of worms once opened was hard to keep it contained. "Have you ever wondered why you survive that day, Seventeenth?"
She knew he was talking about that fateful day at the Roushui River. Zhe Yan confirmed her suspicion that something else really happened that day. The fact that he refused to delve into the details told her this was not something to be taken lightly. Her Phoenix may speak too much at time but when it came to what really matters; he would shut his mouth so fast and became elusive with his answers.
Bai Qian failed to grasp the connection between the reason of her survival and her desire to have a child with him. Yet her mind snapped back to the present at the prompt question. "Yan Zhi gave me the divine fungal grass and Zhe Yan fed me his Elixir."
"You know how the Bell functions."
"It will not stop until a strong spirit is sacrificed," she supplied dutifully. "You and Ye Hua arrived in time to intervene though, your destruction of the Bell saved my spirit that day." From the way his brows knitted tightly, she had somehow misjudged the situation. What did she miss?
"Listen to me well, Seventeenth." Mo Yuan wounds his arm around her and kept her close. "That day we did not arrive in time. The Bell was slowing down after consuming a powerful spirit. Ye Hua and I merely used the chance it was vulnerable to break it apart."
"I do not understand." Bai Qian was truly confused now. Her spirit did not scattered like his did back then. It was only damaged to certain degrees, hence the needs of the Soul Lamp, or so she was told. "Whose spirit was sacrificed then?"
Bai Qian winced. The way his arms tightened around her became too suffocating. She could hardly breathe. Before she had a chance to tell him to loosen them just a little, his next word stopped her cold. "You were pregnant then, Seventeenth."
She felt as if someone struck her with hundreds of heavenly blazes. "What did you just say?" A feeble voice that did not sound like hers at all asked. The blood in her chest churned violently. Its warm, metallic taste burst past her lips and dripped down her chin. Then her world tilted upside down and everything went dark.
"Seventeenth!"
Note:
*Feng Qiu Huang (鳳求凰) The full song and its meaning can be found in chapter 11, in case you forgot.
** Many thanks to loreinacadis0412 for your golden reviews/suggestions.