Having settled Ai back to sleep after a stream of tears and apologies, Jie and Chang Li headed for the little hill in the forest to talk without the possibility of Ai overhearing their conversation.
Settling themselves down, Jie looked up briefly. Winter was once more upon them, but the skies were crystal clear and brilliantly lit up with stars and a crescent moon that shimmered in the crisp air. Then looking at Chang Li he sighed deeply. It was one of exhaustion and emotional turmoil, but not allowing the young man to see much into it or to even allow him to offer pity, which he could clearly see written all over his face, Jie dove straight into the point of their clandestine meeting.
"Where is the child now?" he asked, already knowing the answer but needing confirmation.
"Zhe Yan has her." he said with a faint smile.
"Her?" he asked with widening eyes as a small shiver ran down his spine and a slow growing smile began to shimmer across his face.
"Yes. Her. A daughter Mo Yuan." he laughed softly at the older mans inability to grasp the sudden news that he was to be a father of a little girl.
"And the procedure? What form did he use for her?" he asked softly.
"He had to use a Qing Qiu Luminous Pearl. As you know, Xiao Wu could not carry her to full term, not in the form she's in now, it was becoming too dangerous and because of the amount of energy she was using to hide it, and being in this world, where her own energy was already low, she was becoming weaker. Her energy systems were severely unbalanced because of it, which as you know, would have had a flow on effect to the child." he explained.
"The procedure itself was a simple one, and now that her fetus and spirit are being incubated by the Pearl which Zhe Yan prepared well in advance, she will continue to grow as she should. There are no complications that he could foresee, though when Xiao Wu returns in two years, she will have to undergo a reverse procedure, so the child can be birthed naturally." he said as Mo Yuan listened intently, but the thought of her having to go through another procedure having already seen the effect the one she had already undergone had done to her, he was not happy.
"And yet, she is still insisting on a battle knowing a procedure and a birth will precede it almost immediately?" He asked stunned.
"We cannot prevent the battle Mo Yuan, it is something she is adamant that will go ahead, though we are insisting she move the date, but she is stubbornly sticking firmly to it." He said softly, unable to meet his eyes which he could feel boring into him.
"Then I refuse to accept it." he said, and he meant it. "Inform her, there will be no battle, I absolutely refuse." he stated firmly.
"I'm afraid you will have no choice Mo Yuan. Xiao Wu knew you would say that and what your reaction would be, so she has asked me to inform you, should you refuse, she will take the battle directly to Kunlun Mountain and your Disciples." he said softly knowing that her terms would set off his anger, but he said no more as he waited for the fury to hit.
But Mo Yuan already knew her temper having seen it when she took down the Golden Lion and then again for the past nine months. He knew too that in the end, he could not refuse the challenge, he was first and foremost The God of War, to decline would not only reflect negatively on himself, but the whole of Kunlun Mountain including the hundreds of thousands of years of righteous and noble history that it was founded on.
Then of course there were his Disciples who also knew the ramifications of declining. For himself he did not care, but they would bear the full brunt of his humiliation, he could not put them through that, and nor could he go easy on her, but he did ask for two conditions.
"I must insist that the reverse procedure and the birth be brought forward by at least two months. It will give her time to heal and it won't affect the child adversely, two months early is not uncommon." He said firmly, it was the only way, because he could not battle her while she was too weak to do so.
Nodding, Chang Li could see no reason why the request would be refused, because he too was not happy with her decision to battle directly after giving birth, though why Zhe Yan had not thought of it, had him wondering if had been waiting for Mo Yuan to make the decision for him, which seemed to be more than likely, knowing he would not want to interfere any more than he already had, though he would have eventually if Mo Yuan hadn't thought to ask.
"And your second condition?" he asked.
"I want my child to be transferred to Kunlun Mountain. The divine energy will aide her growth and protect her. I'm sure Zhe Yan and Bai Qian would agree that Kunlun Mountain is the best place for her and of course I will send ahead a missive to Die Feng to expect her arrival. Though he won't know of the Pearls significance, he will understand its importance." He said.
Chang Li could also see no problem with his request, in fact it was a perfect solution, because they all knew Kunlun Mountain would be a much better option than Qing Qiu or even The Peach Tree Woods. And as he thought about the plan to transfer the Pearl to Die Feng, he suddenly sucked in his breath.
Looking up sharply, Mo Yuan raised his eyebrows at him. "What is it?" he asked just as sharply.
"Even though it has only been a few days in our world, The Skylord has sent emissaries to Kunlun Mountain for a full report of your battle, having already been informed that an unknown Goddess had interrupted the fight. He wants to know who she is and why she was here in the Mortal Realm and why she interfered." He said suddenly feeling sheepish at having forgotten to tell him, but with everything else happening, it had completely slipped his mind.
"Don't worry about that. I will deal with it when I return." He said sighing, because the last thing he wanted to think about was The Skylord. The man held no sway over his actions and therefore he did not answer to him, let alone give full reports on anything he did.
Then throwing him completely out of his mind, it once again returned to his child. The awe of becoming a father to a daughter was still a little hard to take in, in fact he was overcome with emotion. Not only did he have a daughter, but he was about to battle the mother with no chance of mending their relationship. It was over before it had even begun, and all he was left with, was her Mortal self which would also soon come to an end and he had no one to blame but himself.
But for his child, he would move Heaven and Earth to at least retain some part of the mother, a child he would love and protect against the whole Universe, and one he knew he would bend at the knees for, because he already loved her.
"I want to visit my child." He said suddenly rising completely taking Chang Li by surprise.
"What? Now?" he asked standing just as abruptly to look at him stunned.
"Of course, she is my child and I wish to see her." He said as he prepared to cloud jump away before his arm was grasped and he felt himself being pulled back.
"And Xiao Wu?" he asked giving him a hard glare. She needed him too and going home would mean he would be gone for a least a day if not more.
"I just want to look at her, I will be back by tomorrow afternoon." He said before gently taking his hand off his arm and cloud jumping away, leaving Chang Li to once again tend to his sister in his stead, something he was fast becoming tired of.
______________________________________________________________
It was mid afternoon in the Immortal Realm, and Zhe Yan was exactly where he always was whenever he visited. At his low stone table, with his rod in the water and in deep thought, and though he immediately registered Mo Yuans arrival, he did not turn around to greet him as he would have normally done.
Sighing Mo Yuan sat himself down and faced his lifetime friend knowing in an instant that a long-prepared speech was coming. He expected it, and though he wasn't looking forward to it, he sat quietly and waited, and it was mere seconds before it came thick and fast.
"You bloody fool Mo Yuan. Do you have any idea what you have done?" he berated him harshly. "Not only did you grandly destroy your marriage arrangement with a woman that we hold in high regard, a woman who is just as prominent and powerful as you are, but you dare to force her into sole motherhood. How dare you Mo Yuan! What did she ever do to you, that you would destroy any chance she may have had of marrying. No one will take her now." He roared completely losing himself to his temper, and not even the crest fallen look of guilt was enough to ease it even a little.
"And what makes you think I will allow you anywhere near the child after what you have done?" he asked completely oblivious to Mo Yuans sad expression and feelings of helplessness, but as he uttered those words, something in him snapped. "Or what you forced me to do, what you forced me to do to Xiao Wu and the child!" he almost screamed as he rose up off his seat and glared at him.
The last time Mo Yuan had ever seen him lose his temper to this extent was the day he battled Bai Zhi for the Fox Empress's love, it was raw and raging. What he said from this moment on, would determine whether he would retain his friend's affections or whether he would lose him too.
"Zhe Yan, I may not be the brightest when it comes to the intricacies of the heart, but I love her and if there is a way for me to make it right, do you think I would be here in front of you? If I had a way or another chance to win her back I would move Heaven and Earth to do so. But I do not, all I can offer you is my sincere declaration that my child will be loved, protected and above all revered." He said with every ounce of emotion he possessed.
"As for Xiao Wu, I will be forever doomed to love her from afar and regardless of what comes of our battle, I will continue to love her with every hope that she will in time forgive me. And though I know I don't deserve it, it is all that I dare hope for." He said as his eyes lowered, and his shoulders slumped in defeat.
He didn't need to look up, to know his words had hit their mark, because the raw raging energy began to disperse around him, and he wasted no time in jumping on it.
"I want my child Zhe Yan, she belongs to me too." He said softly, leaving everything else he had to say unsaid, he knew there was no longer a need. Because immediately Zhe Yan rose before hesitating before him. An act that he immediately interpreted to mean, he was to follow.
The Pearl was a large one and having been hollowed out to allow the child to grow with ease, Mo Yuan looked down at the wonder of what Zhe Yan had accomplished. Placing his hands gently on its cold hard surface, Mo Yuan could feel the energy throbbing within. Smiling down at it, he gently lifted the Pearl into his hands and cradled it lovingly against his chest. "I love you." He whispered softly into it. While Zhe Yan watched on with deep sadness in his eyes, but saying nothing, he continued to watch as Mo Yuan talked softly to his daughter.
It was a brief visit, but one he would make every week he had left in the Mortal Realm before he would return for good.
Turning to his friend, he informed him, he wanted her to be transferred to Kunlun Mountain where she could soak up the divine energy that saturated it. "Being in this form of incubation is not ideal, but the energy there will negate any negative effects that growing in the Pearl might have on her." He said softly as he placed the Pearl back on its stand.
And with one last longing glance, he returned to Ai and what remained of his time by her side.