As Xiao Wu approached the open seating area of the fox den, her family and Zhe Yan quietly waited for her to open up the conversation.
"Where's A Li now?" She asked.
"Migu took him to the mushroom market to buy some loquats." Her mother replied.
"Mother, do you know that he's my real son? I gave birth to him when I was still undergoing my mortal trial at the Nine Heavens. And I chose to forget him! What kind of mother have I been?!" Her lips quivered as she said those heartbreaking words to her family.
Her mother rushed to take her in her arms as her only daughter sobbed her heart out. "Let it all out Qian, Qian. You can cry here with us. Nobody here in this room judges you for your past actions. You did what you thought was best at that time." Her mother rubbed her daughter's back in comfort.
"Xiao Wu, now that you know A Li is your true son, what do you want to do?" Her brother Zhen Zhen asked
"I'll claim him of course! He's mine! Well, ours, Mo Yuan and I." She scoffed
"And there lies the different reaction now that you know the truth and not under any influence of alcohol," Zhe Yan quipped.
"Xiao Wu, you already love that boy even when you though he was only Ye Hua's son. You have nothing to fear from knowing now that you are indeed his real mother. After all, A Li always thought you were his biological mother so for him nothing changes with his relationship with you. It is actually with his father that he has some coming to terms to now that Ye Hua is Mo Yuan made whole." Her father added.
They wait for her sobbing to ease into small hiccups before Zhe Yan asked, "Xiao Wu, now that you know everything, how do you want to move forward? We're all behind you whatever you decide, of course."
"Well, first I want A Li. I may have decided to forget my mortal trial but now that I have been reminded and my story told back to me, I want to officially claim him as Qing Qiu's son."
Her father stepped forward and said, "I've already done that, Xiao Wu. I was with Zhe Yan at Yan Hua cave when Mo Yuan woke up. He already shared with us his story which I'm sure was contained in your letter. Yesterday, I went to Nine Heavens and told Haode that Qing Qiu and Kunlun will claim A Li." However, he left the part of Mo Yuan committing to Haode that A Li will take Ye Hua's Crown Prince title when he come of age, thinking that his grandson's future was for Mo Yuan and his daughter to discuss. Xiao Wu will lose focus and get riled up if he told her.
"Thank you, Father."
Just then, A Li entered the fox den with Mi Gu and Nai Nai in tow. "Mother, you're finally awake! Guess what? We brought you loquats, your favorite!" As he rushed forward with arms wide open to hug his mother who knelt down and reached for her son.
"A Li! Mother is sorry for not being there when you were growing up, but I promise, after I talk with your father, you will always be with me." She vowed to her son.
"Where is father by the way?" A Li asked as he pulled from his mother's too tight embrace. The question he asked in general to his fox family who seemed to always have a ready smile whenever he looked their way. How he loved it at the fox den!
Bai Qian looked up to her family for the answer to A Li's question. "Your father is at Kunlun mountain to attend to some affairs but will reunite with you soon," was the answer that came from her Fourth Brother who then added, "how about you stay with grandmother, grandfather, grandfather Zhen Yan and I here at the fox den while your mother fetches your father?"
A Li jumped up and down, "may I, Mother, please?" Hugging his mother extra tight to convince her.
Ruffling her son's head, Bai Qian answered, "how can I say no to you, my rice ball? Of course you can stay with them while I go fetch your father. No run along to help Nai Nai and Mi Gu with loquats you bought from the market while I make plans with your grandparents and uncle." As she sent him off with a pat and a kiss.
Bai Qian looked on at her son's retreating form as she stood up. She then squared her shoulders and looked at her family. "That letter was a lot to take in. While I am sure about my future with A Li, I will need a bit more time with Shi...Ye...Mo Yuan. I want to give A Li the complete family he deserves but I also want to make sure my feelings are no longer confused with regards to his father."
Bai Zhen then suggested, "Xiao Wu, why don't you spend time at your Mount Junji home at the mortal realm to think things through? I already repaired the hut and brought the supplies and coins you need so you don't have to go down the mountain for a while to get stocks. I also added a hot spring so you can relax and think about what you really want for your future. One mortal year should be long enough for you to have thought things through even if it's just one day here. That way you won't be separated from A Li for too long."
"Xiao Wu, I also want you to keep this in mind before you go. You gave your heart's blood without thinking of the consequences of binding yourself to your master for the rest of your existence, just as you gave your love freely and unconditionally to your fiancé. Now that they are one and the same man, your heart should tell that what you felt before was separate should now be made whole and complete." Her mother quietly said.
As her father pushed her out of the fox den go into the mortal realm, he reassured her, "don't worry about rice ball. We'll take good care of him until after you settle things with Mo Yuan."
And with that she disappeared from the fox den to arrive at her hut at Mount Junji. Just as her brother said, the hut was in pristine condition and fully stocked with food and wine so she would not need to go to town for a few days. She then set up a protection barrier around the perimeter of the hut before going back inside. Her thoughtful brother also left notes on simple recipes that she can easily follow without burning the hut to the ground. Bai Qian decided on a salad recipe since it only required chopping vegetables and fruits. She also added some nuts before drizzling it with the condiments and spices to give it a flavourful zing. She ate her meal with some of Zhe Yan's wine stocked in the cellar of the hut and once she finished, she magically cleaned the dining table and kitchen and proceeded to check out the hot spring her brother added. Ensuring that the water was clean, she conjured her favourite peach blossom oils, heated the water and stripped herself naked and went int the water to relax her tired and weary self.
In her self reflection, Bai Qian knew that in the end she would still be accepting Mo Yuan's love and loving him in return. However, she needed time. Time to accept the fact that her master and fiancé were one and same person, and time to adjust her view of Mo Yuan from a Shifu to be revered to a man to be loved.
For now she would revel in her hot spring bath, sleep the rest of the day and night away, and just laze about in the mountain until her supplies run out. Then she would go down to town and watch her favourite mortal plays and try out the new restaurants that have since sprung up from her mortal trial days. She would procrastinate in the mortal realm where time moved faster compared to the immortal world. Her one year of procrastinating here will only be one day in her world so what Bai Zhen offered was exactly what she needed. One year should be enough for her to gather the courage she needed for her talk with Mo Yuan.
When her supplies finally ran out, Bai Qian disguised herself as a man and proceeded to walk down the mountain to the nearest town. She now remembers how she and her sixteenth disciple brother, Zi Lan, would use their Kunlun breaks to hold some fortune telling activities in that town and it was there that she offended the high goddess that imprisoned her in the water dungeon before she was rescued by Mo Yuan. As she walked further into the heart town's activities, she noticed a number of women and children begging the streets. Deciding to ask the nearest vendor, she found out that next town was ravaged and pillaged by a group of bandits. Everyone and everything was burned to the ground, and the women and children who were able to escape moved to their town to find a living for themselves only to end up begging the streets. The townspeople feared that the bandits would come for them and hurt those who try to help.
Since her mortal trial enabled her to experience the cruelties of life, especially for the powerless, their plight moved Bai Qian to take action. She reserved an entire restaurant for the day and night and called the ten women and twenty children inside so they can fill their hungry bellies. She then spoke with each of them for the entire day to learn about their lives before they were reduced to street begging. A lot of the women were skilled at cooking and weaving cloth while the some of the children had already started school before they were orphaned. In her male disguise, Bai Qian proceeded to speak with the local town leader to discuss the plight of the women and children she is now resolved to help. If they continue on, they will either perish on the streets or learn to steal and do misdeeds just to survive. If they are given support to live a new life in this town, they can contribute to the town's economy and the children will be better future citizens as well. With the leader's support, Bai Qian found a temporary shelter for the women and children until a more permanent home can be set up for them. She paid on the spot for the land on which a weaving workshop was going to be built as well as a shelter and school for the children. Her procrastinating year was turning out to be a productive one instead because not only did she pay for everything, she also got herself involved in the construction of the buildings, choosing the best materials for weaving workshop and home, as well as hiring the best teachers for the children. She even gave lessons from time to time, especially when it came to teaching kids combat skills since this was one of her favourite classes at Kunlun. Before she knew it, she only had one week till her procrastination year was over.
As she headed back to her hut, Bai Qian paused as she sensed that someone had broken her protection barrier. There was also smoke coming from the chimney so food was being prepared. When she opened her fox senses, a familiar and long forgotten scent rushed through her nostrils because it was now a combined scent of sandalwood, ink, and Kunlun Mountain breeze. And since she had a year to get ready, instead of running away, her gait increased with her heartbeat as she sped inside the hut to the start of her ever after.