20,000 Years Ago
Racing into the hut at the Peach Tree Grove, having successfully avoided Zhe Yan and his questioning gaze, Bai Qian changed out of her dress and into a more comfortable dress, one that was much lighter. Her choice of clothing was a mix of lace and satin, that flowed gently about the body rather than figure hugging dresses and robes, that the other women her age wore, which she found to be too revealing, though she gathered that was the point, she thought snickering to herself.
But being one who preferred a more elegant yet less revealing style, she looked lovely in everything she wore. It was late afternoon by the time she returned and now dressed more comfortably, she flopped down on the little bed that was hers when she visited the Grove, and because it was hers, Zhe Yan had allowed her to decorate it so long as it was pleasant to the eye. Or rather pleasant to his eyes.
Not being overly girlish, the room kept its simplicity, but she did add a net canopy above the bed which added a feminine touch and the soft plush rug and soft candle light added warmth, a welcoming touch to anyone who entered. And with a hearth added to merely add a touch of homeliness, something the Fox Den had in every chamber, she had literally created a home away from home.
Flipping over onto her stomach, her feet began to paddle excitedly against the bed as she squealed into her pillow. Mo Yuan had been in her thoughts the entire way back, that the fluttering in her stomach had her flopping about all over the bed as she tried to put her thoughts into some kind of comprehensible order.
Dizzy with embarrassment, she could not fathom why on earth she had kissed the man. Squealing again, she flopped back over onto her back and stared wide eyed up at the ceiling. Cupping her red cheeks that were growing hotter by the second, she wondered if Mo Yuan was also just as giddy as she felt at that moment.
"Of course he isn't dummy. He's probably gone back to the boring party." she sighed softly as she then wondered what it was about him that had her squealing and flipping about on her bed like an awestruck school girl.
"Who's gone back to the boring party dummy?" Zhe Yans voice suddenly cut into her mid air spin as she flopped back over to her stomach again.
He had been standing in the doorway for sometime observing her. He knew the moment she entered the Grove that something was on her mind and it wasn't just the way she avoided eye contact, nor was it the way she fled into the hut as if a dragon was chasing her fox tails either.
It was the blush that had begun to spread from her cheeks to her neck, the way she was holding onto her stomach, the squealing and flopping about on her bed and even the goofy eyed look she was now giving him as she suddenly rose up onto the bed to gawk at him.
Walking into the room, his eyes also honed in on her aura which suddenly had him staring just as bug eyed at her. Not only could he see the High Goddess energy beginning to swirl about in her aura, he could also see the lingering aura of a man he knew very well, one who had just entered his Grove.
Not expecting her to answer his question, he was pleasantly surprised to see her move herself across the bed to make way for him to sit down. The expectant look on her face was also just as telling that she was feeling new emotions she could not make sense of, and that had him wondering if he was prepared for what was coming.
"Zhe Yan, do you remember the Water Sprite, the one I used to visit all the time when I was little?" she asked as he turned his body to look down at her.
"The one who lives in one of my Rock Pools? The Water Sprite I have yet to meet?" he asked with a small smirk and a twinkle in his eye.
"He is real Zhe Yan. He was my best friend." she replied annoyed at the light mockery in his tone.
"Alright Xiao Wu, don't get mad. Tell me what's bothering you, because I can see something is." he replied giving her a tender look to ease her temper, though more to hear the juicy gossip rather than to appease her temperamental mood.
Too excited to stay mad for more than a few seconds, she immediately began to tell Zhe Yan of a conversation they had had when she was little.
"When I was little, I overheard Mother and Father arguing over whether to send me to Kunlun Mountain or not, because of what I did to your wine." she said before a sudden rush of guilt hit her. It really was the most stupidest thing she had ever done, she thought as Zhe Yan listened.
"Back then Zhe Yan, I used to think Lord Mo Yuan was a mean spirited man who cared nothing for women because he not only refused to take me as a Disciple, but he also refused to take any girls." she continued, which had Zhe Yan jumping in a little stunned.
"You knew he had refused you?" he asked.
Nodding her head, she carried on as if he had said nothing of interest. "I told my Water Sprite how angry I was with father because he never listened to Mother when she had good ideas. In my mind, my father, Lord Mo Yuan and all men in general mistreated women. And this was because Lord Mo Yuan chose to allow only boys in his school. I was so mad that I told my Water Sprite. It was the very first time I had met him, but he listened to me and it was then, that he granted me a wish." she said becoming excited, something he had not seen since she was little.
"A wish?" he asked frowning at her. This didn't seem like Mo Yuan at all, he thought to himself, but he kept quiet as she grew even more excited.
"Back then, I asked for a man who would listen to my points of view, who would treat me as an equal and find me just as worthy as himself." she said which earned her a round of laughter.
"Xiao Wu, I remember that day. You ran all the way home in such a state that your parents came to me to ask what the hell I done to send you flying into your chamber and locking the door." he said laughing. "You were just a mere 30,000 years old, and you wished for that?" he asked barely containing his laughter as she glared at him.
She had forgotten what had happened when she had returned home. Not only did she lock the door to her chamber, she had spent the entire night dreaming of what kind of man he might be when she grew up.
"At the time, that was what I wanted. I was so tired of Father ruling over Mother all the time, and that Lord Mo Yuan had refused me, made me want my wish even more." she replied sulkily.
But it soon passed as Mo Yuan came back to mind, the man she did not know back then. "Zhe Yan, I think my Sprite has granted my wish." she said softly looking up at him questioningly, curiously and pleadingly as if she needed someone to explain the emotions she was feeling for the first time.
Wide eyed but not daring to utter a word or move a muscle, he held his breath as he waited for her to disclose the name of one who had her opening up to him in a way she had never done before, even though he had a very good idea who it was, he wanted to hear it from her own lips, though he had been right. She was not prepared to share it with him, she just needed someone to understand how she was feeling and perhaps explain it to her.
Not wanting to pressure her least she clam up completely or lose her temper, he looked at her tenderly. He understood what she was feeling, but how could he tell her without making the girl giddier than she already was, he his mind turned to Mo Yuan and what his intentions were.
Having known him since they were young, he knew the kind of man he was. He was no womanizer. The few women he had known intimately, he had cared about dearly, treated them respectfully and was openly honest with them in regards to a future with them. He had no interest in marriage, so they knew where they stood right from the beginning.
But the only one, who could give her the answers she needed was the man himself. And that worried him, because Mo Yuan was as honest as the day was long. If his interest was purely platonic or rather friendly with no hope of a future together, then she would be heart broken.
But then, she had never loved anyone, so therefore her heart had never been broken and this was an intrinsic part of growing up, they all had to go through it. And also knowing how quickly the girl jumped to conclusions being the kind of girl she was, it was quite possible she had seen his kindness as something more than it was. After all she was not young, most girls her age were already married with children.
But for it to be Mo Yuan of all men, he was not sure if he could sit by and allow the man to hurt her, even if it was unintentionally.
"I think I'll go for a walk to clear my head Zhe Yan." she said suddenly rising and taking the decision from him. It was obvious where she was going, so he said nothing, instead he walked her to he stone table where her brother was waiting with a goofy grin of his own.
"Zhe Yan, would it be alright if I stay the night, I don't want to go home yet." she said remembering her mother and the lecture that was no doubt waiting for her when she returned.
Flicking his eyes to towards the Grove, she took that to mean it was alright, so heading off onto the path that would take her into the Grove, they both watched her leave with a goofy grin of their own on their faces.
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Mo Yuan felt her energy the moment he entered the Grove. He also knew she was with Zhe Yan, so he did not bother to make his way to the hut, instead preferring the mediation cave and the chance to think over the events of the day in peace. He felt no guilt at having left his own party, in fact he doubted they even cared if he was there or not.
For a long time he dwelt on Bai Qian and how she felt about him. They had really only been in each others company twice, and only that day, he had given her a glimpse into how he felt about her. Not wanting to rush into it, he had hoped he had given her an idea of how he felt, and the kiss she had given him, had him wondering if the feelings were mutual or if she had merely given him what a child would give a father.
He was after all much older she was, old enough to be her father and that had him wondering if perhaps he was going through some kind of midlife crisis. Chuckling to himself, he knew he was over thinking things, because he clearly remembered the spark that hit the both them the first time they met in his chamber. These kinds of things were tangible evidence that there was something much more to their relationship than mere wistful thinking. He had known she was the one since the day her Sprite had let her go.
He loved women, but he had never been in love, and that he was sitting in a cave behind a waterfall hoping she would come, said he was indeed in love. This was his honest assessment of his feelings and he did not try to make excuses for them or even try to rationalize them, they just were.
And it was while he was lost in thought, that she suddenly appeared before him. Sitting on the ledge of the rock pool, he watched as she swung her feet around, hoisted her dress up to her thighs and let her feet fall into the water as she had done when she was little.
Only this time, the sight of her uncovered legs, put a deep blush on his own face as he watched her silently eyeing her Lotus which was now a beautiful full grown purple Lotus which would deepen when she ascended again.
"Zhong Hua, I met High God Mo Yuan again today." she smiled sweetly as she flapped her feet in the water.
"It is his 'Not' birthday today." she giggled as her Lotus swayed softly in the water.
She didn't say anything again for while, instead her gaze softened as she lost herself to her thoughts, and to Mo Yuan it looked as if she were trying to verbalize in her mind what she wanted to say. Watching on as another slow blush began to rise on her cheeks, he smiled softly as she stopped flapping her feet before looking back at the grove briefly before turning back to look directly at the cascade.
"Water Sprite, I really need you. I need to talk to someone. I can't talk to Zhe Yan because he'll go blabbing to Father and I can't tell Bai Zhen because he will probably laugh at me and call me a fool." she looked at him sadly.
He didn't know what possessed him to go back on his word, but Mo Yuan could not help himself. He had to know what she was feeling and where he stood with her, because he knew for certain that was exactly what she wanted to tell him.
"Since the day we met, you have come to me for all manner of things Bai Qian. This is the first time you have come without the tears." he said softly and then smiling as her eyes bulged from her sockets.
"Water Sprite?" She squealed before suddenly throwing herself into the water to make her way towards him.
Stunned, unprepared and a little fearful of what she was up to, he checked his barrier to ensure she would not see through it as she rushed into the cascade before throwing spell after spell at the rock wall.
"I am just passing through Bai Qian. What is it you wished to speak to me about?" he asked becoming nervous as she pressed her entire body up against the rock and giving him more of herself to look at than he thought he would ever see. Not only was her dress drenched through, but the lightness of the material left very little to the imagination. Her body was exquisite and the longer she tried to force her way into the rock or at least try to find him, the more he was seeing.
"Who are you. I saw you sitting in a cave the day I ascended to High Immortal. Are you really a Sprite or are you a man hiding in there." she asked becoming frustrated that she couldn't get to him.
Not daring to move, Mo Yuan tried to get her to move back without embarrassing her, while keeping the conversation going and without answering her question or lying.
"You called me here. I am here. If you do not have need of my assistance then I shall go." he said bluntly while desperately hoping she would not force him to leave which he would if she kept it up.
"NO!" she yelled out suddenly afraid that he would leave.
"Then move back to the ledge, you are interrupting the rhythm of the water." he said softy which instantly had her rushing back to quickly sit on the ledge with her feet in the water staring back at him curiously.
"Alright, I'm sorry I interrupted your rhythm." she said apologetically. "It's just that, it's been so long, I thought you would never come back." she added hoping he wouldn't leave her again.
"I am only here briefly, so why not say what is on your mind. It's not like you to hold back." he said teasingly, which had her laughing.
And though she wasn't certain about her Sprite anymore, she knew this might be the only chance she got to speak to him before he disappeared again.
"Water Sprite. Do you remember the first day we met? You gave me a wish and I told you what I wanted?" she asked suddenly feeling unsure and a little fearful now that she had begun to verbalize what was on her mind. To verbalize it, made it real, she thought to herself.
But she had no time to dwell on it, because the Water Sprite chuckled softly back at her. "Of course I remember, you even warned me that you would hold me to my word." he said chuckling again at the scowl she gave him.
"Well I am here to ask about that wish. I think it has come true." she whispered back at him.
And in that second, Mo Yuans heart skipped a beat. He knew what was coming, and he was no longer sure if he was prepared for it, especially seeing her soaking wet dress clinging to every dip and curve of her body. She looked so enchanting, so beautiful and so alluring he could barely breathe.
"Oh?" was all he managed to get out, not trusting himself to say anything else.
"I think I might have met the man I wished for." she said as her cheeks flushed wildly before dipping her head shyly at having admitted to him exactly how she felt.
"And do you think he feels the same way?" he asked lowering his gaze. Her answer would give him an idea of how much she had thought on him.
"I don't really know. I mean it's still new, we hardly know each other, but today, I felt his interest very clearly, I want him to feel the same way, but I don't know if he does." she said suddenly looking perplexed before she suddenly jumped excitedly.
"But he did ask if he could visit me. Does that mean he feels the same way I do?" she asked looking straight at him.
Keeping his eyes down Mo Yuan took a deep breath. Every emotion was raging through him at that moment, and he was so close to revealing himself, but because she was not in a presentable state for any man to be looking at so openly, he forced himself to remain seated.
"I think, you will get your answer when he visits you." he whispered before disappearing and leaving her splashing about in the cascade banging her fists on the rock wall demanding that he return, while he returned to Kunlun Mountain and his bed, with a deep desire that she would visit his dreams that night.