Immortal Mortals

Truth

No sooner did Jie take her lips, than Ai forcibly shoved him back.  "Jie!  What the hell's wrong with you?  Stop it." she cried, suddenly scared of him, and even more afraid of what she would do if he continued.

"Who are you Ai?" he sneered at her, pulling her roughly back into his arms before taking back her lips, ignoring her struggling body and cries as he forced his tongue into her mouth.

Crying Ai fought hard against him to free her face from his bruising kiss before biting down on his lower lip to release herself from his grasp.  Sobbing, she fell to her knees at his feet as her hands covered her face as if to hide from him.  "You're hurting me Jie." she cried softly as her whole body shook, desperately needing him to stop least she do something she didn't want to do.

Looking down at his wife, suddenly something in Jies mind snapped.  Falling heavily to his own knees in front of her, he slowly lowered his head onto hers as his strong arms enveloped her shaking shoulders tightly.  "Ai." he whispered shocked at what he had just done. 

"Jie, my brother taught me that routine so I could look after myself, he worried about my safety and he told me it was a routine for females only." she said between her tears and harsh sobbing.  "And I taught it to Meili for the same reason." she added reaching up to lightly touch his face.  "Please believe me Jie." she whispered between her choking sobs as he looked down at her.

Jie didn't know what to think.  The woman in front him right now, was definitely Ai, but the one he had faced just minutes ago was most definitely not.  Who is this woman, he thought to himself unable to make any sense of what he had just witnessed.  But the sobbing woman before him suddenly tore at his heart as he looked down at her bruised mouth that he had so violently taken.  

Pulling her tightly to him, he lightly brushed the hair back from her face as he lowered his lips to tenderly kiss away the pain he had caused her.  "I'M so sorry Ai." he told her over and over again, as she continued to weep against his chest.  And once he felt the release of the tension that had built up around her shoulders, he curled an arm under her knees and one around her shoulders.

Gently picking her small body up off the floor, he carried her tenderly to their bed and lay her down.  Stripping her back to her under garments, he tucked her in, before kissing her head lightly.  "Sleep my love." We can talk tomorrow." he said softly as he sat beside her and gently stroked her hair, while he told her how much he loved her and how very sorry he was for hurting her.  He sat with her for a long time, looking down at the woman he loved more than his own life, while she slept peacefully, her tears no longer streaming down her face, or her body shaking in fear.

Then, once he knew she was fully asleep, he quietly rose and with a final kiss to her soft cheek and another to the side of her mouth, he slipped quietly from the room.

Immediately he left the house, then calling his horse to him, he hoisted himself up onto its back and rode away into the night.  He had some thinking to do, and the cold night air was perfect for gathering his thoughts as he headed straight for their little hill in the middle of the forest to lay under the stars and lose himself.

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"Where is she, she's been missing for four days." The Fox Empress asked for the tenth time that morning.  No one had seen or heard from her since her meeting with Mo Yuan, in fact no one had seen or heard from him either.  

Zhe Yan had visited Kunlun Mountain  the next day, but was informed he was away for the week, but his senior Disciple had no idea where he had gone.  But that was nothing unusual, Mo Yuan was prone to disappearing on a whim, but he rarely left for more than a night before returning, so a whole week away was something unusual, and now Bai Qian had also disappeared.