A Trial by Halves

Four for All

"I said Fall Back!" he continued to roar until eventually a few seemed to lose the glazed look and pay heed and slowly a gap was created for him as he eventually made it to their side before turning and throwing out an enormous bolt of his energy at the throng of guards still struggling to get at Ye Hua.  And it was only then that he realized they were under a spell.

"Grandfather get back." Ye Huas soft voice rasped tiredly while quickly placing himself in front of him to take on any more attacks because it looked as if a few were yet to free themselves of the spell he knew they were under.

"Ye Hua, what the hell is going on?" he asked as a few more shook themselves free of the spell and quickly fell back.  "And where the hell have you been?" he asked.

"Haode, this needs to wait.  We have a far ugent issue to deal with." Mo Yuans equally soft voice intervened and drawing his attention to himself as Ye Hua continued to throw counter spells at his men.  

Su Jin had remained in the Celestial Heavens after she disappeard from Zhutian Tearrace, he was possitive of it, because the guards would not have attacked unless she was there.  Only now as he watched the spell gradually lift from even more of his men, he realized she had now left and the urgency to get her was growing stronger by the second because he knew exactly where she would be heading to.

"Grandfather, I promise, I will answer all questions and take full punishment, but right now Su Jin has full control of Qing Cangs Power Source.  He also has full control of her." he grunted in a rush of breath as he threw away a sword strike from a guard who was still under her spell.

Looking at Mo Yuan as if he was still seeing a ghost and wondering what the tolling of the bell in the background could mean, while wondering what Ye Hua was doing fighting off his guards and all the while wondering where the hell Su Jin was, Haode began to sway unsteadily on his feet.  It was all too much and the moment he thought it would be better if he returned to bed having thought he was losing his mind, then Cheng Yu suddenly emerged from behind Mo Yuan having taken refuge when the guards arrived.

"You......." his voice rasped before taking one big step towards her with a hand out as if to grasp at her neck.

"Grandfather......"

"Haode....."

"Your Majesty......" Cheng Yus soft voice overrode the brothers before throwing herself at his feet.

"Please have mercy on me.  It was an accident.  I didn't know it was you." she quivered and trembled uncontrallably at his feet which had both Mo Yuan and Ye Hua quickly moving to place themselves between the two.

"Haode.  This can wait.  We need to find Su Jin." Mo Yuans voice became a little more firmer before a sudden flare of lightning struck overhead and forcing them all to jump at the suddenness.

The Celestial Heavens never saw lightning, or any other weather related events so the arrival only seemed to add stronger credence to Mo Yuans warning, which Haode finally focused on.

He may have been very angry with his Grandson and Cheng Yu in particular, but after Su Jins last visit to his sick bed he had already concluded that the girl had lost control of herself, and he did not need to be told that she had taken the Power Source, he had felt it for himself.

With a quick glance back at his guards who were now out from under the spell and slowly weaving under the huge toll it had taken on their minds while also losing themselves to the skies which were fast darkening overhead, something they had never seen in the Celestial Heavens, Haode finally gave the order to move out.

Not before snatching at the arms of two guards who he ordered to escort Cheng Yu back to her own chamber where she was to be put under house arrest seeing as Mo Yuan was about to intervene.

If the guards were horrified to see their Crown Prince standing before them alive and well, they did not show it, instead they helped Cheng Yu to her feet before escorting her from the Lotus area with a sten warning from Ye Hua.

"You do not hurt her." he ordered with a look at his Grandfather that suggested that whatever else he ordered, he would absolutely fight it if it meant saving her life.

For a short moment, Grandson and Grandfather stared warily at each other.  There was no animosity, only uncertainty.  To Haodes mind, Ye Hua was not the same boy he was when he disappeared.  Whatever had happened to him in that time, he had grown.  And to Ye Huas mind, he could see his Grandfathers uncertainty, his anger and confusion all rolled into one and for a moment longer Ye Huas heart reached out to him.

His Grandfather may have been a hard task master, but he loved him and it was never more evident than at that moment when Haode found himself caught between wanting to embrace the boy which he had never done in his life, and throwing him onto the punishment rock which was more in line with his disposition when it came to discipline and all for a woman he had loved and just lost.  

His mind was still reeling from what he had seen Su Jin do, and needing to grieve, to cry and just be with his son in silence, he was forced to put it to the back of his mind while he dealt with an issue far more urgent.  His son was safe on Kunlun Mountain, Di Jun too was safe where he was, and though he knew Mo Yuan would follow him, he could not allow him to sacrifice himself a second time.

To Mo Yuans mind however, he could see that Haode had nothing to do with that girl and the threat she now posed but seeing how very weak he was, Mo Yuan suggested that he return to his bed.  The swelling in his neck looked raw and painful and he was certain it was, but if there was one thing Haode was not, and that was coward.  He might be weak, but when it came to the safety of the Realms and his Grandson,  nothing was going to keep him from what he had vowed to do.  

Though to Ye Huas mind, he knew his Grandfather only wanted to accompany them to keep him in his sights this time.  There would be no second chances to disappear on him again and so with the order to move out, they followed the guards and soldiers who were already armed and prepared for war seeing as they had thought that Ye Hua was of the dark realms having returned from the dead to cause mischief.

And under a burst of his own energy, Ye Hua, Mo Yuan and Haode took off at great speed for the flash of hellfire lighting up the horizon.

______

Arriving at the Celestial Heavens not long after they departed, Bai Qians eyes were glowing with anger that Su Jin would dare to not only force her way into her marriage, but to throw what she had assumed was a mere Immortal into the bowels of Zhutian Terrace was unforgiveable and regardless of her high standing among the Celestials, her own titles and privilege out ranked her along with her own love for a husband who had perhaps allowed the girl to believe she had a chance.

In fact she could well imagine Ye Huas reaction to the girls affections.  If he loved, he loved deeply, if he didn't, his mind switched off and he ignored them.  Only in Su Jins case she could see clearly that she was not one to take the cold shoulder to heart.  If Ye Hua had made it clearer that he was not interested in her while also informing his Grandfather of the girls unhealthy interest in him, then perhaps something could have been done about her much earlier.

But at that moment, any compassion she may have had was quickly thrown from her mind the moment a remaining guard informed her that The Heavenly Lord, his Grandson and another had fled with their army to Ruoshui River bank.

She should have known Su in would flee there, but for Ye Huas sake she had come to the Celestial Heavens in the hope of finding him and making it known that she was still alive,only the sudden crackle of lightning overhead, soon brought her mind back to what mattered.  And that was Su Jin.

If she was heading there, then it meant only one thing.  Qing Cang was calling for his Power Source and going by the flashes of hell fire in the distance, it seemed as if that girl and that man were now together.