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

Chapter 43

"Donghua..."

"Ah, but he is the God of War, he is always one step ahead, ready to sacrifice all for the good of the realms. He stands as an example to all," Zhe Yan smirked.

"Zhe Yan..."

"Indeed, I thought I had lost the ability to be surprised by anything after living so long. But Shao Wan staying here for so long is a surprise," Zhe Yan stated.

"Or not," Dijun added.

"True," Zhe Yan agreed, "she is your first love after all."

"What do you mean?" Mo Yuan asked sharply.

"We used to bet back at school too," Zhe Yan explained. "I used to think you would at least sleep with her. But Dijun always said: 'Mo Yuan is the only true ascetic we know. He lives and breathes Taoist virtues. He will resist'. It pains me to admit it, but he seems to know you much better than I do!"

"He did get tired of resisting though," Dijun interjected.

Mo Yuan cleared his throat. "Initially, I brought Shao Wan here because she had been ambushed by the Yellow Demon King and was severely hurt and highly unstable. I had to ... she, erm... lost her powers. When I sealed them. She then stayed to benefit from Kunlun's restorative aura. And after -" he broke off.

"And after?" Zhe Yan said to encourage Mo Yuan to continue.

"After... the time for her departure bears down on us very quickly. She's now fully healed and has regained her full strength. We have been working on the control of her sky-link power and she has mastered it. I will have to ... I will unseal her powers soon and she will leave," Mo Yuan finished with a sigh.

A glance passed between the two guests. They had come to Kunlun with two questions that had now been answered. First, they were glad to find Shao Wan was well and would soon have her full powers back - there had been rumors of her losing them forever, they had been quite worried - and second, their friend was quite obviously enamoured with her and in denial about it.

"I see," Dijun finally said into the silence that had fallen after Mo Yuan's speech. "Kunlun is definitely more interesting than I remember. There are more females?"

"I am sure you know exactly who all these females are, Donghua, your spies never fail you."

"Of course I know who they are but I am more intrigued as to why they are here. The Mo Yuan I knew thought they were a distraction in his school."

"Call it fate, if you want. They all came here for refuge and I granted it. Their presence may be causing some unrest in here and outside, but it is to our fullest strategic advantage. We will need the goodwill of the Ghost Tribe in the War to come."

Dijun nodded. "Are you informed that there has been lots of turmoil in the Ghost realm? The kingdom is extremely unsettled. Most of the Ghost Lords are at odds with each other with no clear leader and I'm sure our favorite Demon King is busy stirring up more trouble. The majority of the Demon realm is still firmly under Cheng Yin's rule. The only allies we might have are the Purple and the Blue Demon Lords. I have sent out feelers to them and I'm waiting to hear back."

Mo Yuan nodded. "Our information matches. It causes me great concern that the Demons are quite clearly ready for a military strike and we are not. Also ... when I went to get Shao Wan out of the Demon Realm, I had the opportunity to assess their skill level. Cheng Yin's men were no match for me, though well trained. But their Lord ... I had to retreat. He was almost my equal in combat."

Mo Yuan observed the slight shock on his friends' faces. It was the same shock that he had felt when he had battled Cheng Yin and had realized he couldn't defeat him.