Mo Yuan and Shao Wan (三生三世十里桃花) - Vol. 1 [COMPLETED]

Chapter 18

written by kakashi & panda
edited by JoAnne

Shao Wan was extremely proud of herself: she had gone through two days of what they called "diplomatic meetings" without losing her temper, without further angering the God of War (though she was sorely tempted, more than usual after the beach encounter) and without gutting Cheng Yin alive. Yes, she was on her best behavior, and she occasionally looked at Fong Hung over her shoulder seeking his nod of approval for it.

Her mount had always been her staunchest critic and when she had returned to her tent after the incident in the garden the other night and had told him what had happened between her, Cheng Yin and the God of War, Fong Hung had almost shouted at her. She did have to admit that this was a very bad situation and that she had completely mishandled it. Cheng Yin had power over her and that was about the worst thing she could imagine. Angering her most natural ally was undoubtedly stupid and she cursed herself for once again losing her temper with Mo Yuan. Getting on Mo Yuan's good side was the primary goal now - getting her palace and everything else back was secondary.

Cheng Yin was all false niceties and hateful smoothness. It gave her some satisfaction to see in Mo Yuan's posture and minuscule reactions to his shameless lies that he, too, abhorred the man. The Yellow Demon King had tried to have her banned from the festival for ruining the garden, but the God of War had calmly argued that damage to trees and walls did not break any rules, since the rules explicitly mentioned the drawing of blood, and trees and walls did not bleed. His word carried weight and the matter of the ruined garden was quickly put to rest by having a group of volunteers remodel it - someone, probably Si Ming, even had the brilliant idea to turn it into a side event at the festival.

So far, the "peace talks" had consisted of endless posturing by the Demon Kings about their prowess and good will towards the Celestial Tribe. It was completely useless and a waste of everybody's time, because the real issue was plainly Cheng Yin. They all knew he had amassed a huge army and they all knew he was just waiting for the right opportunity to go to war. However, since she was on her best behavior, Shao Wan did not curse Mo Yuan for listening calmly to everyone's lies. Rather, she was impressed by his patience. Maybe, she thought, looking at his impassive face, she should have learned something beyond fighting from him.

Cheng Yin lied that he was ready to yield her palace to her now that she had returned, but claimed that this could not happen from one day to the next since he had no other place to go. The vile scumbag knew well enough that she herself had to dwell in caves hiding from his soldiers, denied access to all her possessions including her sacred weapon - unless she submitted herself to him. She would rather kill herself than ever have him touch her again. Sadly, cave-dwelling did not agree with her; her energy level and her spirits remained low. She had eaten raw sea-snails the other night, not quite 4 baskets, but she did not gain the strength she had hoped she would.

She realized the situation was less than optimal. Like his father before him, Cheng Yin knew a spell to activate her sky-powers. Obviously, her body did not just switch off by itself like she had believed – at least not when manipulated by this spell. She knew Mo Yuan had severed the sky-link during the war but she had burned nonetheless, laying great waste to the surrounding lands. Probably, as Fong Hung had suggested, Mo Yuan had been able to fully deactivate it this time with no further damage to himself or herself because he had been standing right next to her and could react within seconds after the spell. What if the link had remained open, then and now? Would she have burned up the whole world?

The truth was, Fong Hung's words had made her realize that she owed Mo Yuan yet another debt. She couldn't fool herself; she had not been in control and she had been far from regaining it. Not that she liked it, but in addition to owing him for saving her again she also owed him for keeping quiet about her attack at the beach. He was neither tree nor wall and he had most certainly bled. She had seen that the sand was red, after he left. Something for which to be grateful: neither the festival rules nor the injury to his person were more important to him than having her present at the meeting.