100,000 Years ago
Unknown to Bai Qian, her lessons began the day she agreed to take care of the Lotus flower. It was just a new bud, which she learned was a symbol of Potential. If she was to learn under Mo Yuan, then she along with her Lotus, otherwise known as Bell Flower, would both reach their full potential together and through the Lotus, not only would she grow under Mo Yuan, her full state of mind, body and spirit would be reflected through the Lotus. It was the perfect representation of the human condition, she would be able to determine her own growth, by the growth of her very own Lotus.
"When will it change color?" she asked as she gave the little white bud a bit of her energy, something she would have to do daily in order to keep it alive until it had grown enough to manage on weekly energy boosts.
"Well, that will depend on you." Mo Yuan said from behind the cascade.
Watching her play happily with the flower, Mo Yuan smiled. Not only was she much happier and settled, she seemed to have taken to the flower as an extension of herself, which was the purpose of gifting it to her. She needed to focus her energy and mind on something other than herself.
"Me?" she asked stumped, then thinking it might have something to do with the energy she was feeding it, she immediately began pouring as much as she could into it.
"If you continue to eat after you are full, what happens?" Mo Yuan asked gently but holding back on stopping her.
Stopping what she was doing, she thought about it. She loved food more than anything, and would continue to eat even after she was full but Mi Gu would always stop her.
Shrugging her shoulders, she continued to feed her Lotus her energy. "Mi Gu never gives me too much, so I don't know." she said suddenly frowning at the flower.
"And why does he not give you too much?" Mo Yuan asked beginning to smile at the frown.
"Because he said I will get sick." she said before gasping in horror. Not only had her little Lotus begun to wither, but it had sunk lower in the water.
Bursting into tears before throwing herself into the water to rescue her Bell Flower, Mo Yuan chuckled softly. Throwing out a gentle stream of energy to lift her out of the water and back onto the ledge, he then instantly stilled the water in order to give the flower a chance rest peacefully from all the excitement.
"Child, what will splashing about in the water and crying do to help your Lotus, other than upsetting the flower and drowning yourself ?" he asked as she coughed and spluttered the mouthful of water she had taken in, having sunk the moment she entered the water because it was too deep for her.
"Nothing." she whimpered in a small voice, before gaping at the cascade. "Water Sprite, did you use magic to lift me out of the water?" she asked. It was known they were not very strong magically, though they could manipulate water to do interesting things, like make whirlpools and even water spouts, they were not normally able to manipulate anything else. In fact they were known more for their ability lure the unsuspecting into the water rather than saving them from it.
Ignoring the question, he watched as she dried her eyes. They had been together for an hour already and as yet, no real teaching had taken place.
"What brought you crying to my rock pool this time child?" he asked. Of course he knew, but he wanted her to verbalize it herself. How she worded the events of the night before would give him a deeper understanding of how her mind worked.
"Papa spanked me." she said dropping her bottom lip before flopping down onto the grass behind the rocky ledge to peak back at the cascade. "Bai Yi did too." she whimpered. "Bai Zhen would have too, but I ran away." she said sulkily before throwing her harmless spark spells at the rocks ledge.
Saying nothing Mo Yuan waited. He could see she was contemplating on whether to tell him or not, but after a short moment, she merely shrugged her small shoulders and began to tell him of the events from the night before.
"All I wanted to do was tell that Mo Yuan High God he was wrong to only choose boys for his school. Boys have everything Water Sprite,. They rule the realms, they rule education, they even rule their own families. They even get to decide who girls will marry, without a care to whether she likes her husband or not. Girls just do as they're told." she said suddenly becoming animated as the excitement to make the Water Sprite understand her point of view increased.
"So, anyway, I went up to that big Mountain to tell that High God exactly what I thought of his choices, and while I was there, I met a Disciple. I didn't know what they would look like, but he wasn't how I imagined him to be." she said suddenly tilting her head and scrunching up her face as the memory of the boy came back to her.
"Oh, how did you imagine them to be?" Mo Yuan asked interested in her assessment of most junior Disciple while at the same time impressed with her bravery considering it was night time, and she thought he was a monster with four heads and eight arms.
"Well, his clothes for one thing. That mountain is such a mystery, I thought it would like a mystical place where all the people wore fine silks in pretty pastel shades or even heavily adorned robes like the Celestials wear, but this one wore a plain white robe. It barely had any shape to it, and it was boring white. I mean, he was such a kindly looking Disciple with such nice soft eyes. And he spoke to me nicely too, so why would that High God give him such ugly clothes to wear? And his appearance wasn't helped by the way he wore his hair. Pulled up so tightly hides his lovely features, it makes him look stern, even though he is not. That High God is so mean." she said bunching up her little fists angrily.
Thinking to address her first concern, he did not get a word in because in the next breath she kept right on talking.
"So after picking me up, he took me to the top of the Mountain. Did you know there are big swimming pools up there Water Sprite. And because the moon was shining so brightly, I got to see the whole area. Those Disciples are so lucky to have nice pools to swim in. They can see the whole surrounding valleys from those pools even the huge mountain ranges in the distance, and there's even a training ground next to it, so when they're finished with their sword fights, they can just jump in the water to cool down!" she smiled at the memory, before frowning again., while he too frowned when he realized she was talking about the Grand Causeway.
"But there were no flowers or trees, except for a few along a back wall in pots. I mean who puts trees in pots? In fact the only other plants I saw were the vines growing up the walls. I guess they might flower in the spring, but it just makes the whole school look scary and dim and does nothing to enhance the swimming pools or even the Disciples. I mean their robes are so ugly, but if the school had pretty flowers then it might not be so bad. That High God should take note of the surrounding valleys, under the moonlight they looked to be rich in flowers and trees." she continued as if she were now talking to herself.
"Anyway, after he put me down, I began to follow him up the large staircase, and as I was looking around I saw so many interesting things. But one thing I don't understand is all the rock formations. They are everywhere, I wonder what he uses them for?" she pondered as her elbows rose to lean on the edge of the rock pool before laying her head on her hands.
"But I did get to see inside, and that's when I saw some of the other Disciples in the ugly robes. But what was more interesting was the platform. I guess that's where the High God sits." she said before her head suddenly shot up to look back at the cascade.
"That High God is such a vain man!" she blurted out before instantly giving Mo Yuan her first impressions of himself based solely on his platform which he listened to in stunned silence.
"My father and Zhe Yan both said we should revere him because he is a humble man who serves the people, one who should be respected and admired for his righteousness and commitment to the safety and prosperity of the Realms, But not only has he surrounded the platform with theater curtains as if he alone is the center of his own world, but to have the Crane Painting directly behind him to showcase his Royal bloodline and superiority over everyone that enters is just so conceited."
"But even more telling, is the way his candles are positioned. The shadows fall either side of his platform while the light falls directly on his seating area, which only highlights his immense love for his own position. The mans ego is as big as his whole mountain!" she said so bluntly that he was not only left speechless but if she were to learn who she was really talking to at that moment, no doubt she would first burst into tears, before shaking in fear of lightening bolt punishment for blasphemy. But he never got to defend himself let alone ponder on her assessment because she then got to part he wanted to hear.
"And as I was looking at his platform, that's when I noticed the shining light above me, you could hardly miss it because the moon was shining so brightly that it lit up a big golden bell!" she whispered almost reverently. "It was so big and so pretty I just had to hear what it sounded like." she said jumping up and holding her arms wide to show him how big it was.
"So thinking I could talk to the High God later, I ran away. I just had to hear the bell ring. I ran past the Buddha statue, the incense table, the marble platform with stars all over it, the three rock pools with dirty water and then the big sleeping birds, before I found an open door. From there I passed through so many rooms to find the Bells stairway. Did you know they make those ugly robes on that mountain?" she asked as Mo Yuan sat listening in amazement as she told him of how she not only entered the main building, but also each of the individual rooms she passed through while describing each one in detail as she ran helter skelter in search of the bells staircase.
"Eventually , I found the staircase, and the rope that held the bell in place, so I loosened it and that made the bell work." she said before her voice dropped low and tears began to develop on her lashes.
"It was so loud, that it frightened me. Why would the High God make such a pretty bell that sounded so nasty. It was so loud that the whole building shook, and because it scared me, I ran away. I couldn't find my way out again, and with the bell ringing loudly and the Disciples yelling and screaming I got even more scared, that I just ran through every door I could find to leave. That was until I found the wine cellar." she said widening her large tearful eyes.
"Father said the High God doesn't drink, so why would he have so much wine?" she asked tearfully before continuing with her version of events and going by the fearful yet amazed look in her tearful eyes, Mo Yuan knew she was telling her story exactly how she saw things. Honestly and candidly.
"In fact, he has so much wine, and because I was so scared, I didn't think he would mind if I had a little drink to calm down. After all, it was the least he could give me considering his bell scared me out of my mind and made me get lost." she said suddenly puffing out her chest in indignation at having been treated so unkindly.
In awe and stunned speechless, Mo Yuan sat behind the cascade gaping back at her. And though there were many points he needed to address with her, he also needed time to think how best to approach each issue that he saw from his own point of view though he did have one question to ask before he sent her on her way.
"Your parents, did they explain what ringing the bell meant?" he asked softly.
Nodding her head, she suddenly lowered it sadly. "Yes, Mama, told me many people were scared by it too." she whispered begrudgingly, but still set on the belief that it wasn't entirely her fault.
"I think it would be best to offer some kind of reparation for what you did. Your parents should not be the only ones to repay the War God for the damage." he explained gently, which had her once again gawking at him in horror.
"A payment? What kind of payment? I'm too young for lightening bolts." she almost screamed with her hands on her hips before bursting into tears.
"Well, yes lightening bolts would be appropriate because of the enormous amount of harm you caused." he said before quickly moving on at the way she gaped at him in shock. "But since you are, as you say, too young, then perhaps a letter of apology." he suggested which she merely looked dumbfounded at. And it was then that he realized it was one more thing he would have to teach her, she couldn't write.
"But it wasn't just my fault Water Sprite, he made the bell to be rung, that is what a bell if for." she said adamantly and insolently back at him.
"But wouldn't being the first one to offer peace, be more advantageous to you? He might see your ability to make the first move to healing the situation as responsible and being accountable for the part you played will also give him a reason to withdraw any punishments he might have planned for you." he said to not only instil enough fear to make her stop to consider the consequences of her actions, but at the same time giving her the option to correct the mistake she made while also instilling an ability to heal from it.
And though her lips were pursed tightly as she pondered his suggestion, she merely nodded her head, before informing him she didn't know how to write, but if the Water Sprite helped her, she would do it.
So agreeing and then calling an end to the visit, he suggested she allow her flower to rest from all the energy she had given it and to return the next day with writing material she could get from Zhe Yan, having already decided to spend as much time as he could with her since he had no pressing matters to keep him away.
Happy she thanked the Water Sprite for being her friend and listening to her. "I feel so much better talking to you, even though you don't say much." she said smiling at the cascade before running off and leaving him with his thoughts.
Pinpointing the exact issues he would deal with Mo Yuan began to plan out a learning regime specifically for her though he did sit to ponder on the girls mind.
She was definitely bright, but what amazed him more, was her keen observation of her immediate surroundings, in the short time she had been on his mountain, she had actually noticed many of its features including the details of each one.
And it was the amount of detail she had noticed rather than the content of her story or even her rather harsh assessment of him, that had him planning his lessons for her. This was one little girl he was looking forward to teaching, because not only had she given him a full dressing down without even realizing it, he too would ensure she got a full assessment of herself via his lessons.
In fact, Mo Yuan had not been this excited about anything for such a long time, he was just as excited for the following day, as she was.