Three Wars and a Goddess

A Gathering Cloud

It took Mo Yuan over an hour to finally calm Deishi down enough to talk to him.  If there was one thing he would not abide by, and that was betrayal. He had allowed the girl refuge, overseen her healing and had begun to like her.  She was rather flighty for his taste, somewhat childish, but she was pleasant enough, though as the days rolled by, he had begun to worry, because even he could see the effect she was having on the Disciples, and as they were in a time of war, he was going to suggest escorting her back to her people.

"I began to notice things were not right with her in the first few days and you know my hunches are never wrong." he said sighing because he had ignored it, thinking she was just a harmless young girl who was taking advantage of her circumstances.  Mo Yuans Disciples were all good looking young men, and being a Dragonfly spirit, in was in her nature to bed many men.  Not even marriage would guarantee a faithful wife.

"It's not your fault.  No one could have known that man would stoop so low.  Either one of us would have taken her in." Mo Yuan shaking his head in understanding.  "You took her in because you saw she was in need, that she turned out to be something else, is not your fault." he reiterated. 

"Still.  The damage is done.  Bai Qian is injured, and she may not be in a position to assist.  In fact, she may refuse all assistance, she thinks you betrayed her." he said before releasing a scoff, though it was aimed at himself for allowing that Dragonfly in to cause so much damage.

"Don't worry about Bai Qian, I will clear things up with her myself.  But I must ask that you move on from the Dragonfly.  We have a much bigger issue to deal with." Mo Yuan said now moving their conversation towards where he needed it to be and away from a woman he was not yet ready to discuss.

He was more than aware of what he was referring to.  The Scorpion army would not make a move on Kunlun Mountain, but they would definitely attack the innocent that bordered its lands.

"Do you think our planning has been in vain?  It seems as if we may have to battle much sooner and with less assistance.  Leaving the Mountain to gather our armies is too risky." Deishi said now fully in the present.

"We have our bronze mirrors, and Donghua also has one, so that is not a problem.  But we won't be able to do anything until morning.  In the meantime, we get the Disciples ready and I will deal with Bai Qian." Mo Yuan said watching his face closely.

"You're actually going to let the Dragonfly walk away?" he asked becoming angry again.

"Bai Qian did not die, in fact she is will heal quickly enough, Lijuan on the other hand will not be so lucky.  Allowing herself to be caught and then whipped is a failure as far as Tengfei is concerned, and you know as well as I do, he does not forgive failure.  I would rather her soul be on his hands than yours." Mo Yuan said looking at him with a soft smile, one he reserved for so few, and Deishi was one of them.

Giving him a wry smile, Deishi shook his head before rising to his feet.  "You always were a sentimental fool." he scoffed.

Chuckling, Mo Yuan couldn't help but think the same of him, only they dealt with it differently.  

And it was that sentimentality that had him rising to his feet.  Placing a hand on his arm to still him, Mo Yuan forced him back around to look at him.  They were in his chamber, the hearth had been lit and empty wine bottles covered the table, but as cozy as it was, there was still one more issue that needed to be dealt with before any movements were made.

"What are your true intentions regarding Bai Qian?" he asked outright.  There could be no more misunderstandings, and nor would Deishi lie to him.  With a second war pending, he needed to know for certain that he still had Deishis trust.