Ten Miles of Red Sakura Blossoms

Chapter Fifteen

"Shifu!" "Seventeenth!" His seniors chorused, as he, Mo Yuan, Zhen-er and Zhe Yan landed outside the entrance to their Kunlun mountain lair.

Si Yin had dreamed of the day they could finally return home, and of the warm homecoming they would receive by their Kunlun family—yet that wasn't what happened.

"Shifu! Stay behind us!" His seniors said, as they hurriedly barricaded the distance between us and Dong Hua Dijun, who brough a small troop of armed guards with him.

Mo Yuan lifted his hand—ordering his disciples to clear the way for him, but Si Yin held his ground in front of his shifu.

"Look at you. Mo Yuan is one of the strongest gods alive, yet here you are shielding him like a mother hen!" Zhe Yan laughed, and casually walked right past the guards. Zhen-er chuckled and smirked as he followed Zhe Yan through the imposing crowd.

"You—!" Si Yin tried to bite back, but the eerie feeling of being closely observed by Dong Hua Dijun made him swallow his words. His shifu placed his hand on Si Yin's shoulder, and lightly squeezed it before he moved aside and walked forward too. Si Yin's lips thinned and his brow furrowed in concern as he watched his shifu's back. Most of his seniors were just as anxious.

"We have guests; someone should bring us refreshments," Mo Yuan said softly, "we will have plenty of time later, to make ourselves at home."

Even though Mo Yuan was speaking to them all, Si Yin knew that this was his shifu's own way of trying to put his mind at ease without singling him out—after all, all of them were worried.

Mo Yuan sat down on his old podium and closed his eyes. He took a long, deep breath.

Si Yin shared the tense relief his shifu felt. It wasn't perfect—but they were finally home. His shifu looked at him and smiled.

"Seventeenth, why don't you catch up with your seniors while we discuss matters here?" His shifu said. His heart panged. It was like a bucket of icy water had just been thrown at him.

All this time—over seventy thousand years, he had been so close to Mo Yuan that in his mind...they were a lot closer than they were in reality. For the first time since before his shifu died, he had to remind himself that he was only Mo Yuan's seventeenth disciple—nothing more. Not his friend, not his lover...not his anything. Ninety thousand years of his love...was still one sided, and that would never change.

Si Yin felt tears prick his eyes. He forced himself to smile and bow, but he couldn't look Mo Yuan in the eye.

"Wait. That won't be necessary." Dong Hua said. Guards blocked Si Yin at the front and at the back. He swallowed thickly and reluctantly turned back toward them.

Zhen-er stood up quickly, but they all knew that on Kunlun mountain Bai Qian was Si Yin—they had no relation to him. At least not enough to save him without an explanation.

Zhe Yan who was usually calm under pressure finally dropped his façade, as he stood too and looked down at Dong Hua.

"Dong Hua, is this really necessary? Isn't this supposed to be a happy occasion? I know as well as Si Yin, how Mo Yuan came to be part of our world again; you can let him off because I won't spare any detail." Zhe Yan bribed. He left little room to negotiate, but he was still perfectly polite.

"Oh? Do you know exactly every detail on where Mo Yuan and his seventeenth disciple, Si Yin, have been for the last seventy thousand years?" Dong Hua asked. He smirked knowingly as he blew the top of his hot tea. Zhe Yan was still smiling kindly—its not as if Dong Hua or even the heavens could punish Zhe Yan, but they wouldn't forget this matter.