Present Time.
"MEI LIHUA" Mo Yuans voice boomed across the courtyard as he flew out the door in a rage with Bai Qian running behind him in a panic yet again.
Whenever Mo Yuan used the girls full name, everyone knew she was in trouble again. Normally they called her Mei, or sometimes Lihua, yet all too often, Mo Yuan had taken to calling her by her full name. It seemed to Bai Qian, that their daughter was in trouble more often that not, only this time, she did not think she would be able to prevent Mo Yuan from punishing her harshly, but she had to take a few seconds to admire her daughters bravery, not even she had thought of doing what her daughter just did.
"Mo Yuan, please calm down." She called out as he ran furiously towards their daughters chamber with her hot on his heels.
"I swear that girl is going to be the death of me." he raged as he threw the doors to her chamber open, only to find it empty.
Quickly jumping in front of him, Bai Qian grabbed hold of his arms to bring him to a standstill.
"Mo Yuan. She's just a child. A mere ten thousand years old. She doesn't understand what she did was wrong." she tried to mollify him, while forcing him to look at her.
"All the more reason why she needs to learn." he snapped angrily down at her as the sound of running feet in the corridors drew closer along with yelling and shouting.
"Heavenly Father, Heavenly Father...." his guards yelled out as they flew into the courtyard to his daughters chamber.
"What is it!" he snapped as Bai Qian let go of his arm.
But the moment they pointed towards the Grand Hall which they could see in the distance, both he and Bai Qian were already cloud jumping ahead of them.
Screeching and roaring, an enormous Phoenix battered itself against the dome of the Grand Hall which had his maids running in fear for their lives. Screaming in terror, the maids only agitated it more that it then turned to attack them.
It took both Mo Yuan and Bai Qians enormous effort and energy to bring the beast under control before it killed someone. And by the time Lord Pua arrived to assist, the animal was hyperventilating in fear. Taking the beast back to his own Palace to tend to its wounds and to ascertain where it had come from, Mo Yuan and Bai Qian did not need to know. They already did, and this time Bai Qian knew with absolute certainty that she would no longer be able to save her daughter from Mo Yuans anger this time.
"Find her now!" he roared at the guards who did not need to be told who, they also knew.
"Mo Yuan please calm yourself, she didn't mean to." she defended her but even to her ears it was weak.
"Qian Qian. Every time that girl puts a foot wrong, you are not far behind protecting her. This time, you will stand back, because I will punish her." he snapped harshly as he rose up the steps to the Grand Hall to await the arrival of his daughter.
Sitting down heavily, Mo Yuan was not looking forward to punishing her, but enough was enough. Not only had she stolen his personal seal from his study, she had used it to demand all manner of things from the worlds leaders including clothing, accessories, make up, jewelry, and even specially catered sweet treats.
All morning, thousands of parcels had begun to arrive. There were gold and gem encrusted hair pieces, gowns in silk and satin, even a diamond encrusted pair of slippers. Leaders sent his daughter gifts all the time, because she was the ultimate marriage alliance, but when horses, dragon eggs and a snow leopard arrived, he knew then that something was not right. And of course with the arrival of a fully grown Phoenix, it was the last straw.
It took his guards an hour to find her. Sleeping in his own bed, the little girl was gently picked up and carried up the stairs to the Grand Hall where she was placed on the floor in a rolled up ball of fur having taken on her fox form, something she always did when she knew she was in trouble.
And normally the sight of her pure white fur and swishing fluffy tails would be enough to soften Mo Yuans heart, but not this time. Ordering the guards out along with Bai Qian, who did not dare to argue, Mo Yuan threw a bolt of energy at the sleeping fur to wake her up and force her back into human form.
Watching as she sleepily yawned and stretched her arms out wide on the floor below him, it took her quite some time to realize where she was exactly, but the moment her eyes fell on her father who was glaring down at her from his throne, and seeing that the hall was completely empty, she quickly raised herself to knees and bowed low.
"Father." she said softly before waiting having no idea why she was facing him alone and why he looked angry.
"Mei Lihua. Did you take my seal and use it to send requests to the worlds leaders for gifts?" he asked keeping his voice low and calm while also keeping his eye on her the entire time.
Shaking her head slowly, she soon turned it around to a nod when her fathers eyes flared out angrily at her.
"Yes father, but I just wanted....."
"You just wanted what? Pretty dresses, nice jewelry, pets?" he asked furious that she would even try to make excuses for herself.
"But papa..." she whinned pitifully. She always used the term Papa when it her out of trouble when her mother couldn't.
"Explain to me, why I am angry with what you did." he said ignoring the tearful doe eyes she was purposely creating.
"Because I stole your seal without permission." she sulked sullenly up at him, now realizing she really was in trouble and had no way out.
But the answer was nowhere near what he wanted to hear, and it was her lack of conscience that stripped the last of his patience from him. With a burst of magic, she flew through the air towards him. Landing face down across his lap, he spanked her furiously.
Losing himself completely to the anger, not only did he spank her, he yelled out the exact reason why he was angry.
"The gifts you received came from clans and tribes that cannot afford to give them. They do not have the means to replace the cost of those gifts, and nor can I send them back now. To do so, would bring disgrace on us all." he roared as he spanked her bottom over and over again.
But it was the arrival of her mother that put an end to it. Not only had he spanked her until she could no longer feel her legs, but her daughters mind had closed down to protect herself from the humiliation and the raging anger of her father.
Leaving the girl in her mothers care, Mo Yuan stumbled from the Grand Hall in a daze. It was the first time in a very long time that he had ever lost his temper to that extent, and he knew he had to calm down, because they could all feel his Dragon fire pouring off him.
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It took several days of healing to get the girl to open her mind again. To Bai Qian, Mo Yuans loss of temper was an eye opener for her. She knew how naughty their daughter was and how mischievous her heart could be, but to actually spank her was going to take some time to get over.
Of course her mind dwelt on her own father and the many spankings she herself had received, but it was a different story because their daughter was not her. This time she was in her mothers place, doing her best to prevent her father from seriously injuring her, the way her mother had always done.
Sighing, she left the little girl asleep in their bed while she went in search of Mo Yuan. Though by the time she found him, he was unreachable. Having returned to their rock pool to meditate and bring himself back under control, she had no choice but to leave him alone. Di Jun had told her, when he reaches that state of anger, he is unapproachable, and it is best to leave him be, which in the end is what she did.
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It was two weeks later when Mo Yuan was pulled from his deep state of meditation by the sound of crying. Opening his eyes, he searched the clearing through the cascade for the source only to see his own daughter stumbling into the clearing and heading towards the rock pool.
Keeping quiet, he watched as she flopped down against the wall to lay her face on the cold stone while her hand gently swayed the Lotus back and forth. With tears streaming down her face and the sound of light sobbing being filtered back to him, he then watched as she suddenly lifted her hand to throw a rock at the cascade.
Hitting him in the head, a thousand memories flew through his mind of another little girl who had once done the same thing.
And like that time, he picked up the rock and threw it at the water to force up a wave which drenched her from head to toe.
Watching as she fell over spluttering and gasping, he almost laughed when her fear filled eyes peaked over the stone wall towards him.
"Throwing rocks at moving water disrupts the natural flow of it's rhythm." his soft voice said, but the look of utter shock on her face when he spoke and the way she rose up to place both hands on the rock wall to stare back at him, had him chuckling softly.
"Father?" she asked suddenly taking on a sullen look.
Well this is interesting, he thought to himself. He had almost thought they would repeat the past, but his voice gave him away, and now not knowing what to do or say to her, he remained quiet to see what she would do next.
Watching as she sat back down on the ledge before spinning her entire body around to lower her feet into the water, he smiled broadly when she then began flapping her feet just like her mother used to.
"You can't be Papa." she said after staring at the cascade for some time.
"Oh, why not?" he asked wondering who she thought he was.
"This is a Sprites Rock Pool. Uncle Bai Zhen told me. So that means you are a Water Sprite" she said almost arrogantly.
"Is that so." he said.
"Yes. And he also told me, you have four heads and eight arms." she suddenly giggled at him.
Almost laughing out loud, Mo Yuan sat and listened as his daughter talked to him in a way she had never spoken to him in his true form. But seeing as she had calmed down from crying, he began to wonder what had brought her to the Rock Pool in tears in the first place.
"Why were you crying?" he asked gently.
Suddenly the laughter in her eyes died before hardening the same way her mothers would after being punished.
"Uncle Di Jun growled me." she said pouting her bottom lip at him.
Looking wide eyed back at her, he couldn't help but wonder what on earth she had done to upset the Great God enough to have him growling a child. It was not something he could imagine him doing, that Mo Yuan had to ask what it was that warranted the growling.
"I took his stupid map of the world. I mean I didn't know it was a map of the world, but I just wanted to play with it." she said sulking.
His eyes grew even wider at that statement. If it was the map he was thinking of, then it would explain why Di Jun had growled her. There was only one map of the world that would have angered him enough to growl if she took it, and that was the Ancient Map of The Realms. A very rare artifact.
"How exactly did you play with it?" he asked next, even though he didn't want to hear it.
It took a few minutes before she answered him, but when it came he almost exploded all over again.
"I used it to ride down the steps of the Grand Hall." she said flapping her feet furiously at the water.
Saying nothing, but taking several deep breaths, Mo Yuan brought his anger under control. It was the first time he had heard his daughter open up so candidly, that he did not want to lose the connection to her.
"Well, I can see why he was angry. The map is a very sacred item." he said softly.
Looking up at him, her eyes widened again. "How do you know that? You're just a Water Sprite!" she said arrogantly, the same way her mother had.
"I know a lot of things." he said as he then watched her eyes trying to seek him out.
"Are you sure you're not my father?" she asked again. He sounded so much like him, that she was almost certain of it.
But then a small sad tearful look began to gather on her face before he could answer her.
"Of course you're not my father. He only cares about boys and his dumb school for boys and my dumb boy brothers." she said making herself angry all over again.
Sighing, Mo Yuan knew where this conversation was headed. He had lived it before and it seemed as if it was to repeat itself. The reason why he had not taken her to Kunlun Mountain as a Disciple, was because she was not ready for it. She was just too naughty, too mischievous and had no inclination to learn anything.
But as his mind went back to Bai Qian, he wondered if he had it in him to once again become the Water Sprite for his daughter. To teach her the same way he had taught her mother. But after reflecting on it for a few minutes, he knew he couldn't.
Instead he left the cave and flew towards her almost sending her reeling off the stone wall in a daze.
"Papa, it is you!" she squealed before throwing herself into his open arms.
"Yes it is me." he said softly as he bundled her up onto his lap in the middle of the clearing. With her small body tucked in tightly against him, Mo Yuan told her a very long story of another little girl that had once visited his rock pool a long time ago.
It took a few hours for him to finish, but when he had, he looked down at the sleeping child in his lap with a soft smile.
"Tomorrow, you will begin a Discipleship alongside the boys. You will be my first and only female student of Kunlun Mountain." he said gently lowering himself to kiss the top of her head.
The End
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Thank You for following this story. I had a lot of fun writing it, but do follow me for more stories to come, including a new one which I have just released titled 'The Dagger of Kunlun'
There is also another ff in the background for MY and Bai Qian which I will release in the coming days.
Go gently in the world folks.
Moosesforgooses (aka Suzie)