A Trial by Halves

A Whisper in the Dark

Nodding, he continued to maintain the silence as she then dropped her terms on his head.

"Give me a marriage to Ye Hua and I will not only give you Cheng Yu, but I will also give you Si Yin and their child.  And not only will I lead them directly to you, but I will ensure that Ye Hua will not put up a fight for her life, he will absolutely let her go." she said with the softest of smiles, only to Haode, he had never seen a smile so terrifying. 

He was in no doubt now, that she had used the power source, her energy was far too high and her confidence was bordering on arrogance.

"What you have done is an abomination Su Jin.  There was no need to take the power source into yourself, if anything, you may well have caused immense harm to your system, it is not meant to hold dark energy, you will get sick." he warned her while hoping that she had a way of removing it.

"All I want is Ye Hua, I have no care for this energy, I am only borrowing it.  I will give you what you want, and I get what I want.  Then I will release it back to you." she said with conviction, and though she meant it, he did not think she really understood what she had done, but needing to deal with the fugitive and his Grandson who was far more important to him, he agreed to her terms, while deciding to deal with her once he was well enough to tackle what he knew would be a fight for that power.

_____

Southern Guangxi

Three more weeks passed since the kitten was thrown out of the cave, but Er Li had never seemed happier.  His laughter had begun to fill the cave having found Cheng Yu hilarious.  He loved the colourful gowns she wore, he loved the way she would sing to herself, and he loved to hear her laugh whenever she was with him.  Of course he also loved his mother and father, but Cheng Yu was a bright personality, full of funny stories and happy songs, that his little face would always light up the moment she walked into the room.

And always Lian Song would be there to watch the two play with a small smile of his own plastered to his face.  Unknown to him, Ye Hua would furtively watch his uncles eyes that would also light up whenever she was near but what he also began to notice, was a sadness behind the smiles.  He would watch his son play with Cheng Yu quite intently, and there were times when he noticed the regret in his eyes at having perhaps missed his chance at a family of own, so for a while, Ye Hua merely observed, while wondering what it was that had his uncle holding back.

He was a man with a very long history with women, so it wasn't as if he didn't know how to win her over, only the more he observed him and her interactions with his son, the more he began to realize, his uncles was afraid.  Cheng Yu was perhaps his only real true love in life, she wasn't a mere little fairy from deity mountain which he merely played with, or some nameless Mortal he used to relieve his urges.  Cheng Yu was his woman.  Even Di Jun referred to her as his woman, only his uncle couldn't seem to take that final step into something more permanent even though Ye Hua was positive he wanted to which only had him wondering why.

Putting aside the situation they were in, he tried to figure out what it was that Lian Song was afraid of.  They had all been living together under the one roof long enough, they'd had plenty of time to talk and perhaps move forward only it seemed as his Uncle was afraid of hurting her again, regardless of the genuine warmth and affection in his eyes.  Thinking hard, he wondered if perhaps, he should take Su Su away for a few days to give them space.   He was more than capable of looking after her and his son, and it would mean his uncle and Cheng Yu could remain safe in the cave, but in the end decided against it, only because Er Li was too young and his energy far too recognizable.

In the end it was taken out of his hands by Er Li who also noticed the shy way she would look towards that uncle.  For a small baby, Er Li was very attentive to his surroundings, and he may not have fully understood the little changes in her demeanor whenever he was near, but in his young mind, Er Li felt that she wanted him closer.  So holding his arms out towards Lian Song as Cheng Yu sang him funny songs, it didn't take too long for the two to join him in his happy little world he was creating for himself.

And as Ye Hua watched his son carefully, he saw something in the boy that perhaps not even his uncle had seen.  His energy was growing much stronger.  Ci Hang had suggested that Er Li had gained more cultivation from the power source, so it was possibly the reason why the child seemed so much older, and far more alert to his surrounds than even himself.  With Cheng Yu and his uncle, Er Li was using a far superior mind to bring the two together because he was able to read the atmosphere for the slightest change.

And it was one particular night that Er Li suddenly awoke crying.  It was the first time in months that he had woken in the night afraid.  Because no sooner did Ye Hua arrive to gather him up into his arms, then the trembling boy clung to him tightly.

"Did you have a bad dream?" he asked kissing his son on the top of his head to sooth him while carrying him back to his mother who was still breast feeding him.

"Bad....." he cried into his fathers chest who took that to mean he had.

"It's just a dream Er Li.  Papa is here." he cooed down at the flushed cheeks and red eyes that were scanning his surroundings with a fierce eye.

Not sure what to make of his sons sudden change in demeanor, Ye Hua pulled him closer, but he now knew that his son was highly intuitive to his surroundings, so he paid careful attention to what he was doing and where he was looking.

His little hands were grasping tightly to Ye Huas robes, while his head continuously delved to the side to look behind him, only he saw nothing at all when he looked back, but he did feel a distinct chill in the air.

Stopping in his tracks, he kept his back to the doorway while pulling his son closer to his chest.  He knew someone was there by the way Er Li was behaving and the longer he stood there focusing his energy behind him, he eventually sensed something or someone, but unable to see who it was, or even feel their energy, his lips firmly pursed tightly.  He may not have felt them directly, but his senses were telling him they were not alone.

"Who's there?" he called out softly while not moving an inch.

Su Su was still asleep and though he could see her, he knew whoever it was, had come for her.  No answer came, but after waiting several minutes for it to either leave or show itself, Er Li finally calmed down as the chill in the air left them.

Waking to the sound of door closing and a barrier going up around them, Su Su sleepily looked up at her husband and son in confusion.

"What happened?" she asked with her arms out to Er Li who was now struggling to reach his mother.

"Just a bad dream." he replied while keeping his suspicions to himself.  The last thing he wanted to do was scare her too.

"Bad ...... " Er Li reiterated being the only word he chose to say, even though he understood far more.

"My poor Er Li.  Come here.  Mama make it go away...." she cooed down at the soft cheeks that were now dimpled with smiles and as his eyes drooped over his mothers breast, Ye Hua left to make her a cup of tea which would help him to also calm his own nerves, because he was positive someone had been there.  Er Li had used that word for the kitten, and again now.  

He was not normally an overly suspicious man, but having observed Er Li for some time, he trusted his sons instincts.  If he said something was bad, then something was bad and the moment he passed through the door, his energy fully opened to scan the cave.

Watching him walk away, Su Su smiled down at her son with a smile that quickly disappeared the moment Ye Hua left.    Her son wasn't the only one who'd had a bad dream.  The whispering voice in the dark was still echoing in her mind.  A voice that was telling her things, showing her visions of people and places she didn't know, and all the while she had listened as that voice began to open her sealed mind to things she wasn't sure if she wanted to know or not.  Things about Ye Hua he had not told her.