A Trial by Halves

How Much More?

It wasn't known that she had actually succeeded in gaining the fungal grass until she was fully stripped down and only then was it found in among what was left of her robes.  To Die Fengs mind, she may have been a small woman, and at times giddy of mind more times than not , but she was damn brave.  Because not only did the Fungal Grass come into view but she had managed to take several pieces which to date no one had ever achieved, not even her father or Zhe Yan.

In fact, Zhe Yan had barely managed to gain the one piece before sprinting from the cave near naked having almost lost his entire outfit along with his life.  Had he stayed to fight any longer, he would died, so for her to not only gain several pieces which he planned on taking full possession of, but her injuries once he'd had a good look at them were not as bad as they first seemed.

The head wound was the severest injury while the rest took a mere few waves of his hand to heal.

"Will she be alright?" DiE Feng asked from the doorway and still in tears even though several hours had passed and she was looking a lot better than when he found her.

"She will be fine.  All the blood made it look far worse than it was.  But she will need to rest while her head wound heals." he replied without looking back at him.

"Good.....  That's good." he breathed a sigh of relief.  It would have been so unfair if she had died after having waited so long for Ye Huas return, especially after everything else she had been though, and though he was thankful that she was alive and would mend, he couldn't help but feel angry at the Heavens regardless and at that moment, he really didn't care if they struck him with lightening for that thought, he was furious.

"Has her mother been notified?" Zhe Yan asked having issued the order to fetch her hours ago.

"She is currently travelling the Mortal Realm with little Er Li.  I have sent their tree sprite to find her." he replied now exhausted and thankful that at least Zhe Yan was there seeing as Shifu was in a foul mood and not talking to anyone.  

Looking at the boy over his shoulder, Zhe Yan didn't need to ask where Mo Yuan had got to becasue Die Feng was not looking all that keen on fetching him again.  Mo Yuan had called in several times since his arrival and having satisfied himself that she would live, he had then left for his meditation cave to prepare his brother for resurrection while also commandeering the Fungal Grass with the express order that one else try any heroics or punishment would be swift while leaving them all with the very real threat of death should any of them disobey.

Of course he wouldn't really kill them, but his temper was bordering on fury at her actions and no doubt he would be having some very harsh words with her when she awoke, though Zhe Yan didn't think it would be that day at least.

And no sooner was Chang Shan there with refreshments and news from Mo Yuans chamber, then he was following him to the elixir chamber where Mo Yuan had already begun to create the elixir to bring his brother back.  It was pointless trying to stop him, after all, Mo Yuan had literally given up twnety thousands years to cultivate the energy needed.  Though not having to gain the Fungal Grass, meant he would have more than enough to spare for the any other healing his brother might need.

And the moment Zhe Yan entered, he immediately threw up a barrier behind him to keep the rest out seeing as Die Feng looked as if he might just stop him half way through, which would have not only destroyed the elixir but killed his Shifu all over again.  Nothing was going to stop Mo Yuan from bringing his brother back, not when he had waited one hundred thousand years for his birth and then to lose seventy thousand years struggling to return from the chaos.

His Disciples may not have understood what Ye Hua meant to him, but Zhe Yan did.  Back then, he had supected that the Golden Lotus had been more than what it seemed, after all, he had been there when Mo Yuan had placed it into the Lotus Pond with such reverence that he had immediately questioned him.

Why he had refused to explain it he had no idea, but then he could only guess that his father had perhaps felt ashamed at having lost his son while barely saving Mo Yuans life.  He was after all the Heavenly Father, a man far more powerful than anyone else, revered in name even now, so to lose his own son to the Chaos would not have gone down too well for a man whose pride was as enormous as Mo Yuans was for him.

Now assessing just how far into the elixir Mo Yuan was, he could see that he was almost done, and having cultivated heavily, he was also doing surprisingly well.  In fact, Ye Hua would only need a quarter of what he had managed to cultivate to come back, but from what he could see, Mo Yuan was giving him half of it to ensure his return went as smoothly as possible.  

And no sooner was the exlixer door thrown wide, then his own hand came up take hold of it, while Mo Yuan fell to his knees to catch his breath.

"I won't give it to him just yet, we are still waiting for Er Li to return." Zhe Yan said softly patting Mo Yuans shoulder to not only congratulate him on a successful transferal but to also read his energy which was as he suspected.  A little unsettled but he would be alright.

Waiting until the Disciples had assisted Mo Yuan back to his own chamber to rest, then he was back in the infirmary with Bai Qian and her mother who had only just arrived.

"What the hell was she thinking?" she cried down at her daughter who though looked nowhere near to how she was when she arrived, she was still very pale and her head was wrapped.

"You know what she's like.  When it comes to those she cares about, she will do whatever it takes even if it means risking her life." Zhe Yan sighed.

"But this is too much!" The Empress cried pitifully over the hand she was holding.  "First she almost died bringing Mo Yuan back, then she almost died resealing the bell, then she almost died again during her trial and now this.  How much more must she give?" she cried harder.

It was a question being echoed by everyone around her and one that not even Zhe Yan could answer because he too was asking the same question.  It seemed to him that she had earmarked for tragedy the day they had sent her to Kunlun Mountain and he couldn't help but blame himself seeing as he was the one who had pushed for it.

As if sensing his thoughts, The Empress slowly shook her head.  Zhe Yans face had always been easy enough to read, because unlike Mo Yuan or even Bai Zhi, he had never deemed it necessary to hide anything from anyone and at the moment he was an open book.

"Like you said, she does as she pleases..." she said softly before sitting up to take a much closer look at him.

"You're tired and there isn't much else you can do until Er Li wakes.  Why not go and rest, I'll send a Disciple to fetch you once hes ready?" she suggested which he decided was probably a good idea because once they started, there would be no rest for any of them, least of all for Xiao Wu who he expected to wake within the next couple of days and knowing that she would not rest once her eyes were open, he wanted to be fit when and well for when Mo Yuan thundered down on her, not to mention Ye Hua when he found out what she had done.