The Celestial Heavens
Shackled to the cell wall and terrified, Cheng Yu tried her best to help the smaller woman beside her by sending out a little of her own energy to dull the pain, but the lashes fell heavily and excrutiatingly slow. These guards were obviously used to their jobs because they knew exactly where on the body to lash, in order to cause the most amount of pain. And no amount of begging from Cheng Yu would see them ease up.
"She is Ye Hua, the Crown Princes wife you fools. He is still alive, and he will be returning for her." she screamed at them only to watch on as they continued at their slow torturous pace.
"That Prince died. For lying you get double." They laughed in her face.
And no sooner were the words out of their mouths, then the tolling of that Bell reached even them.
"That Bell belongs to Kunlun Mountain, it is ringing in the return of High God Mo Yuan. She is his Seventeenth Disciple, do you really think you will live to see the end of this day if you don't stop hurting her?" Cheng Yu tried again to no avail. What was upsetting her more, was they had yet to touch her. They had both immediately taken to lashing out at Su Su and though she was positive Su Jin did not mean for them to be punished separately, they were enjoying themselves regardless.
They could see that the older woman that they knew was sending her a little of her energy to help her cope, but even so, it wasn't enough to take the pain entirely, not when they knew their lashes were causing the small woman immense agony. Only she made no noise, she didn't even look at them and if anyone was frightened at that moment it was them.
It was most unusual, because not only was the dot on her head lit up and throbbing in the middle of her head, but it seemed as if she were merely sleeping her way through it. Though of course she wasn't. Her mind had closed down briefly and with Cheng Yus energy to aide her, she soon found herself talking to Di Jun in her mind.
He had immediately risen from his bed the moment the Bell of Kunlun rang out and no sooner was he made aware of the fact that both Su Su and Cheng Yu were prisoners of the Celestial Palace he took it upon himself to make contact with her. Now that she was in their world, this was much easier for him to do and though he did not have a lot of energy to manage it for too long, it was enough to inform her that they were all aware of her plight and to remain strong.
Di Jun was now also aware that she really was Queen Bai Qian, so this was the added incentive for him to assist her until they could get to the Palace. In his own mind, he could feel her growing stronger, which meant that the seal was possibly breaking and that meant her bound powers were pushing through, and on a hunch, he gave her a small spell to repeat. If the seal wa close to breaking, then it meant her bound powers might be showing through enough for it to work.
"Just continue to repeat the spell. It will take much of the pain until we get there." he said softly into her mind though if her powers were visible yet, then she at least had something else to focus on.
"Please hurry....." she whispered back.
"Mo Yuan is now awake, we are on........." he almost got out before his head rocked violently from a blood curdling scream that erupted moments before the connection was lost.
____
Kunlun Mountain
Sitting beside his brother, Ye Huas eyes were drenched in tears and his face a mask of awe as Mo Yuan took his first breaths.
"Your brother?" Zhe Yan asked finding a little energy to lift his head and stare at him while Ci Hang quickly lowered himself to the body.
"I saw his entire life in my mind as I dragged his soul pieces into his body, I saw that we are Twins." he replied in a rush of breath and tears while watching as Ci Hang gently shook Mo Yuans shoulder.
"Mo Yuan, open your eyes." he called out.
For several seconds nothing happened. Only the uneven rising and falling of the mans chest gave away that he had indeed returned. It was a highly emotional moment for all of them and the tolling of the bell was so loud, that it took them all by surprise, but with a barrier now raised to block it out, they waited for the man of the moment to open his eyes.
Zhe Yans head was resting on his drawn up knees, he could barely keep his own eyes open, but with the last of his reserves, he held on, until those eyes finally flickered open before collapsing beside him. It was all he had waited for and having finally brought the man back to life, he gave into his own desperate need for sleep while the rest of the world began to gather outside the gates.
The first thing Mo Yuan saw was Ci Hangs concerned face hovering right over the top of him and for a moment the initial confusion turned to fear, because his face was the last one he expected to see. Fear, because he thought he had died again, because it seemed incredulous that the man was even still alive. He knew he had been gone for Seventy Thousand Years, because he overheard Zhe Yan mention it when he was still gathering inside his body. Only the moment his gaze shifted to the other man next to his old friend, then the overwhelming rush of elation surged through him and his body struggled to rise.
Placing a hand beneath his shoulders, Ye Hua helped him to sit up. Their eyes never left each others as they both sat staring at their reflections. Despite the desperate urgency for moment, Ye Hua suddenly lost himself briefly to the memories of this man sitting beside him at the Lortus pond playing that same tune that was churning about in his head. It seemed to him that this was the link between them and he knew this, because having pulled the mans soul from the lamp, he had seen visions of Mo Yuan trying to make contact with him via that melody.
His fist clenched over his heart as the tears rained down his face.
"You were always here, only I didn't realize it." he whispered at the single tear drop that coursed down the other mans face, though whether it was an emotional tear or from the bright light that his eyes were squinting against, he wasn't sure, only the sight of that single tear drop raised his own emotions. For himself, for his brother who had waited so long for their meeting, for the being the one to welcome him back and for Su Su, who was still at the back of his mind.
"I will always be there Ye Hua." Mo Yuan replied in that same soft whispery voice that Ci Hang remembered and the one that Ye Hua was now remembering from his days as a Lotus when Mo Yuan would sometimes sit and talk to him.
Nodding his head having no idea how to even answer it, they continued to stare at each other, until eventually Di Juns presence at the entrance had Ci Hang briefly lowering the barrier to allow him in while in the corridors the Disciples had gathered.
And it was only then that Ye Hua was finally brought back to the reason why he was there. And it was also then that Mo Yuan was made aware of the struggles his little Seventeenth had been enduring in his absence right up until she was taken.
"Both Bai Qian and Cheng Yu are being held prisoner in the dungeons. She has informed me that they are being whipped. If we do not move now, the seal will break completely because she is very close to erupting from Qing Cangs seal. We are positive that if she breaks it, she will die." Di Jun informed Mo Yuan who agreed, though there was something he knew regarding this kind of seal that perhaps not even Di Jun was aware of. But he said nothing as he took a final look at his brothers face.
He could see the many questions he had regarding his little Seventeenth and though he didn't sense any animosity from his brother, there was definitely curiosity. But then of course that was all he would have, because Mo Yuan was well aware that Ye Hua had been reading his soul pieces as he gathered them in, so he ensured that his brothers heart was put at ease regardless of the sadness he had felt at the loss of a young woman he had hoped would be there for him when he returned.
And so for a while, he had allowed himself to mourn his loss until he felt strong enough to let her go. If it was to his brother that her heart now lay, then he was happy for them both, because what he had seen of him while in crystalized form, his little Seventeenth was well loved by this man, and it was more than he could have hoped for. She would still be there in his life, albeit as his Disciple, and by the time Ye Hua had arrived to assist him, he had already accepted his loss, and had let her go.
Rising up off the dais, they quickly helped him to dress, while Ci Hang manouvered Zhe Yan into the middle where the Mountains energy was surging upwards through the centre. In just three months, his body would cultivate enough energy to manage most tasks and a full three years, he would regain what he had lost. There were of course other dais's about the mountain and it was decided that for now, they would leave Zhe Yan there, while Di Jun had enough to get himself home and onto his own dais once they had dealt with Su Jin.
"What of Haode?" Mo Yuan asked as the barrier to his chamber lowered and his Disciples came into view.
"That we do not know. We are not sure if he is responsible for Su Jins actions, we wont know until we get there." Ye Hua replied and though he loved his Grandfather, he knew he would would not hold back if he had hurt her.
_______
The Bell of East Emperor
His eyes were closed and his mind focused fully on one woman. For months he had been leading the Celestials only Princess on a journey, and unknown to everyone around her, he was able to see through her eyes, feel everything she felt and hear every conversation. Qing Cang had learned much from Su Jin, via the power source that connected them. His own soul piece was what created it, so he had full reign over her, and though there had been times when she had tried to fight back and throw the power source off herself, she was now too far gone to be able to do anything but follow his every command.
In the months that he had followed her, he had learned that Ye Hua was the Crown Prince and the spitting image of Mo Yuan. He also learned that this boy had left his titles and responsibilities to marry a Mortal who just so happened to be the very woman he himself had sealed.
For a very long time, he had laughed hysterically to himself. Of all the women in the world that the boy could have fallen for, it had to be her and for months more he had plotted well. Not only was Su Jin the perfect host for his power source but she was also the perfect eyes and ears he needed in order to learn the state of the world he had left behind seventy thousand years before.
Not much had changed, but what he did know, was Haode was down, Mo Yuan was resurrecting but would be too weak to do anything, Ye Huas position as the Crown Prince was precarious because he too was far too weak and untried against a man as powerful as himself, Di Jun had allowed himself to fall into a state of idleness while losing his mind over a girl young enough to be his granddaughter and the icing on the cake was the entire Celestial Heavens was at its weakest. And no sooner did he have Si Yin where he wanted him, then he not only gave Su Jin one final order, but he then began the process of breaking down the walls to his Seventy Thousand year prison.
_____
The Celestial Heavens
For a while, the lashes felt like sharp stings as if wet skin was being slapped. It amazed her that she was even able to withstand it, because she didn't flinch once, but what bothered her most was the seal. She could feel herself giving way. It was much different that before, because back then, she had no control over it or her mind. When Si Yin erupted, Su Su did not feel herself as the Mortal, she felt nothing. It was as if Si Yin and Su Su were two completely different people while one was more dominant than the other, in that she could not feel her Mortal self present when Si Yin erupted.
Only this time, she fully felt her Mortal self merging with the High Immortal Si Yin. In that state, she was fully present as both women and for a time, she had also been able to hold a conversation with Di Jun while remembering everything as both women. And the longer the two guards whipped her, the angrier and stronger she became.
Di Jun had told her to keep her anger under control, because if the seal broke she would die and so she had done her best to do just that while repeating the spell he had given her to take her mind off them. Only the one of the guards took exception to her silence.
With one strike, he hit the seal with the tip of his whip.
The pain was instant. Excrutiating, violent and unbelievable pain tortured every cell in her body as the seal suddenly split open in the middle of her head. The force from both the strike and the scream that tore through the cell, was terrifying for Cheng Yu who saw it all, but what the guards did not realize, was the girls energy had been unlocked. She was seconds away from breaking the seal completely and not only did Si Yin fully erupt from behind the Mortal, but so did the shackles.
In one moment of utter chaos, not only were they thrown wide, but the whip that dared to strike her again, was torn from the guards hands and turned on him. Si Yins rage was turbulent and out of control as she took vengeance on both men and being highly skilled in all manner of war tactics, martial arts and weapons training including whips, they didn't stand a chance against her.
Her small frame flew into the air in a swirl of bloodied lace while the seal on her head continued to fracture. Every martial arts move she knew, was unleashed on those two men, while the whip continued to flay at their cowering forms that were trying to gain the attention of the outer guards.
Every lash was aimed to cause the maximum amount of damage and though her own screaming was rocking the cell doors, theirs were drowning it out as she took the skin from their bodies and their eyes from their heads while Cheng Yu watched in horror and awe.
Eventually the guards on the outside heard the commotion and for a while, they ignored it, but longer the screaming continued followed by the sudden flare of energy coming from the dungeon doors, they were soon running and the moment they entered, not only was their cell completely surrounded, but both women were now outnumbered with nowhere to run and in amongst them was Su Jin.
Looking at the mess that Su Su had made of her guards, the anger in her rose substantially and it was then that Qing Cang gave her the final order before demanding she make her way to Ruoshui River to hand over the Power Source.
"Burn the cell down." she whispered softly before silently turning her back and walking out as the sound crackling broke out behind her.