The Water Sprite

A High Immortal

Then suddenly turning on him, Zhe Yans eyes sparkled with mischief of his own.

"Unless you already know of a man who might want her?" he asked smirking at him. 

Mo Yuan may have thought Zhe Yan did not know of his feelings for Bai Qian, but he had been like a brother to him since they were children.  If anyone knew Mo Yuan, it was him, and he clearly felt the mans interest no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

For the longest moment, Mo Yuan held his gaze.  He said nothing, but then he didn't need to.  In the seconds that passed, Zhe Yan got the answer to his question, it was written all over his face.

Suddenly the laughter erupted.  Doubled over and looking as if he were in pain, Bai Zhens eyes shot up to stare at them.  Curiously he watched them.  Zhe Yan did not normally laugh that hard unless he was up to no good, and seeing the look in his eyes, and the look on  Mo Yuans face, it was obvious the two were in some kind of verbal battle, one that Zhe Yan no doubt started.   Shrugging his shoulders, he lowered his head and left them to it.  

"Ahhh Mo Yuan, you had me fooled for a while.  But I saw the way you held her, that was no fatherly embrace.  You're in love with her aren't you" he choked out between his roaring laughter.

Sighing, Mo Yuan turned his head away to gather his thoughts, only to have Zhe Yan throw his face back into his line of vision.  "Admit it Mo Yuan.  You are in love with her.  Just say it, and I will lead her in your direction." he said with a wide grin.

"She is still a child Zhe Yan!" he snapped angrily.  He did not like the fact that he had read him so easily.

"A child who is old enough for marriage Mo Yuan!" he countered though the laughter was dying.  He could see Mo Yuan was struggling with his feelings though why he had no idea.  The girl was beautiful, honest and loving, she was also the challenge that he needed.  He had remained stagnant for far too long, and if Bai Qian interested him, then he would do whatever he had to do to get them together.

"She is not ready for marriage, and nor am I willing to take a woman who is still rebellious to the idea." he said just as forcefully and as always, once his mind was made up, there was no going back.

Disappointed, but not willing to give up entirely, Zhe Yan conceded for the moment.  Instead he suggested that she attend the Festival of Peaches anyway.

"Whatever fate has in store for her, it will unfold as it is meant to." he said, meaning that if she was not destined for any of the young men attending the festival then her presence would not be a complete loss.  She will at least become known, and hopefully make a few friends outside of his Peach Tree Grove besides the Water Sprite.

"Though I do wish the Water Sprite would revisit the friendship.  She rarely talks to anyone these days.  She spends far too much time alone and other than Bai Zhen, she shares her problems with no one else.  She really does need you Mo Yuan." he said as the frown once again creased his brow.

And he was right.  It wasn't that she was anti social, she just did not have the inclination to mingle with others, and that was because the Water Sprite had been the only one she had ever shared her secrets and thoughts with.  When he left, she felt no one was worth sharing her inner most mind with because in a way, she feared that they would only leave her too.  Instead she had decided to keep to herself, her own company was more than enough.

Sighing Mo Yuan continued towards the hut.  He wanted to check on her one last time before he left.  "If I do come back as her Water Sprite, it will be when I feel she really needs it." he said softly, which instantly put a smile on Zhe Yans face.  Mo Yuan never back tracked on his decisions, if he did come back to her, it would be the first time he would have broken his own word and it only increased his belief that the man was in love with her.

Entering the dimly lit hut, Mo Yuan approached the bed she was resting on.  With a raised hand, he scanned her energy.  As yet, it had not settled, it was still swirling about her body, but the intensity of its strength had him delving a little deeper.

He could clearly feel the High Goddess seed which was still buried deep in her core.  It was a long way off from ascension, maybe another fifty thousand years if not more, but it was definitely there.  And that thought once again took him back to his earlier thoughts.

She would be the only High Goddess gifted to her generation, and also to himself.  It was because of him that brought her to his attention in the first place.  In fact, almost all of their earlier discussions had involved him and his school for boys.  Even today, she had once again raised issues that involved him, his past and what she might mean to his future.  Whether she realized it or not, she had in fact seen him as the foundation to her own deeper thoughts as well as her future.

Standing at the doorway, Zhe Yan watched him as he sat beside her and scanned her body.  He saw the soft eyes and the gentle way he treated her energy.  He also saw a myriad of emotions fly across his face as he lost himself to his thoughts.

But when his hand raised to her face to gently stroke her cheek, it was the final nail in the coffin.  Mo Yuan could lie to himself all he liked, but Zhe Yan knew then that the man had finally fallen in love again, and this time, he knew for certain that if they did get together, it would be eternal.  There would be no war or vast divide to keep them apart, and this time he would have the full support of the Fox Clan behind them.

But he said nothing as he watched him take her hand in his and hold it for a brief few minutes. Instead he backed away to leave him in peace.  He understood his need to touch her.  For fifty thousand years he had only ever looked at her, so to be able to touch her, to feel the softness of her skin and to physically validate her realness was a necessity, as necessary as breathing.

Returning the Bai Zhen who had fallen asleep with the fishing rod in his hands, all the talk of mischief suddenly had his eyes flaring as it swept through his mind.

Quietly he made his way to the side of the Jade lake to look into the water.  He had been fishing all day, but had yet to catch anything, so throwing a magic spell at his line, he quickly disappeared to his own room.  Messing up his hair and robes so he looked to have been asleep himself, he then waited.

It took a minute, but eventually the air erupted as Bai Zhens normally quiet and gentle voice roared through the grove.  Almost screaming by the time he rushed out dragging his robe closed and pretending to be half asleep, he almost collided with Mo Yuan who had also come rushing out.

Taking one look at the water and a drenched Bai Zhen who was struggling to get himself out of the lake, along with the enormous shark that was attached to the end of his line, Mo Yuan chuckled low.

This was a prank Zhe Yan had pulled on him when he was young, and not only did he also end up in the Jade Lake, but it took several minutes to realize the shark was an illusion.

Throwing out a magical lure, Zhe Yan lifted the boy out of the water who by that stage had also come to the conclusion that the shark was not real.  And not only was he looking as if he could kill, his eyes were darting about the Grove for Bai Qian, who he immediately blamed for his miserable appearance.

It was also at that exact moment, that Mo Yuan lost all sympathy for Zhe Yan.  He would no longer take any more moaning about her behaviour, not when the man was as impish as she was.