A/N Really sorry for the inconsistent and late updates!!! I'll try my best to do at least an update every 2 days, but if it's slightly longer then please forgive me; I'm either caught up with studies or stuck with writer's block...anyway, please enjoy this chapter!
Gentle, warm lips...
Rough and masculine...
Brushing over hers lightly...
Bai Qian woke up with a start, only to realise two blackish red eyes were focused on her brown eyes, gleaming away with lust and hunger, and resisting a scream, Bai Qian lashed out a fist, striking the person hard in the nose, and the offender lost his balance at once, tumbling off Bai Qian and falling straight into the pile of dried leaves below.
"Who are you?" Bai Qian managed to make herself sound twice as awake as she actually was, and blinking, she squinted at the figure, "Ghost Lord Li Jing? What are you doing here?"
"A-Yin? You remember me?" Li Jing looked hopefully at Bai Qian, and desperate to keep her disguised identity a secret, she frowned at Li Jing in mock confusion, "Ghost Lord, I have already told you, I am Bai Qian of Qing Qiu. Who is this A-Yin you speak of?"
"It cannot be! You look just like her...just like A-Yin...you must be A-Yin!" Li Jing scrambled to his feet, gripping Bai Qian's shoulders and shaking her firmly, and Bai Qian had a face of blind confusion, "Ghost Lord, who is A-Yin? I am not A-Yin! I am Bai Qian!"
"It is you, A-Yin! I recognise your aura signature, A-Yin!" Li Jing forcefully drew her into a hug, and Bai Qian pushed him off furiously, giving up with her feigned ignorance, "So what if I am A-Yin, Li Jing? So what?!"
"A-Yin...I finally found you! I'm so sorry, it's all my fault, will you come back? " Li Jing pleaded, his eyes full of hope, but Bai Qian only spoke blankly, "Li Jing, we're over. If you chose Xuan Nü over me, it is surely because of her personality, and not because that face of hers looks like mine." "No! A-Yin, believe me, I really thought...I really thought she looked like you..." Li Jing held fast on her wrist, and Bai Qian raised her eyebrows, "That changes nothing about my statement, Ghost Lord. So, let go of me."
"A-Yin, please..." Li Jing pulled her close, his hot breath only driving Bai Qian's fury further, and when she didn't reply, Li Jing crashed his lips down on hers.
There was an explosion of light as Bai Qian's nine tails appeared, thrashing wildly into knots behind her as she struggled in Li Jing's grip. Her arms were pounding uselessly on his chest, held there much against her intentions, and Bai Qian did what she could only do; she bared her teeth, and bit hard on the lip of the Ghost Lord.
There was a metallic taste of blood, and a strangled shout of surprise from Li Jing, and he let her go at once, wiping his thumb against his lip and pulling it away, only to see it covered in sticky red liquid. "You...bit me?" Li Jing was struggling to hold back his hysterical laughter, and Bai Qian ignored him, taking the chance to flee back toward her fox den and away from all the unnecessary trouble of the peach blossom woods.
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"Father, can we go to Qing Qiu?"
"We are already in Qing Qiu, A-Li, where else do you want to go?"
"To find Mother."
A-Li was as headstrong as ever, Ye Hua sighed, just as his mother had been. "A-Li, how many times have I told you? Goddess Bai Qian isn't your mother. Even if we do marry, she still isn't your actual Mother."
"She is Mother! A-Li might not know how Mother sounds or behaves like, but she looks just like the portrait of Mother!" A-Li insisted, and Ye Hua gave up, tugging little A-Li along as he began striding toward the direction of Qing Qiu's Fox Den, "Fine, A-Li, I'm bringing you to the Goddess, and we'll see if she is or isn't your Mother, okay?"
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"Xiao Jiu, been drinking again?" Bai Qian raised her eyebrows in amusement of the pink heap that was Feng Jiu, and the pile of pink cloth sprang up at once, then sitting on the edge of the bed, "Gugu! You're back?" "I stayed over at Zhe Yan's last night. Li Jing hasn't come by any chance, has he?" Bai Qian ducked into Feng Jiu's room as though Li Jing might suddenly jump out and tackle her again, and Feng Jiu narrowed her eyes, "Why would the Ghost Lord come?"
"Long story. My identity might be blown." Bai Qian spoke tiredly, rubbing the space between her eyebrows, and Feng Jiu gasped, before hastily waving her hands before herself, "Gugu, it wasn't me! I really didn't expose anything! Trust me, Gugu! Xiao Jiu really didn't..." "It's not you...my veil fluttered at the banquet, and Li Jing saw my face. And when he confronted me in Zhe Yan's woods, I acknowledged it..." Bai Qian sighed, and Feng Jiu groaned, "Then what if he can't keep his mouth shut? Then Qing Qiu would be livelier than ever, alright..."
Before Bai Qian could reply, Mi Gu came running into the room, "Gugu! Little Highness! There's a visitor outside!" "Is he wearing black?" Bai Qian asked, ready to retreat into yet another tunnel, and Mi Gu nodded, "Yes, he's wearing pure black robes." "Is he from the Ghost Tribe?" Feng Jiu asked in Bai Qian's stead, and to their relief, Mi Gu shook his head, "Replying to Little Highness, it's the Crown Prince of the Nine Heavens."
The newfound relief was replaced with anxiety once more, and Bai Qian questioned, "What is the Crown Prince doing here?" "Gugu, the Crown Prince is here to apologise, or so he says..." Mi Gu looked equally confused, and taking a deep breath, Bai Qian gave a dismissive wave, before walking toward the cave entrance in trepidation.
…
"To what do I owe this visit, Crown Prince?"
Su Su?! Ye Hua's mouth went dry.
Bai Qian without her veil...looked exactly like Su Su. But her eyes...her eyes could see?? How could it be? Su Jin's eyes had been blind when they gave it to Su Su…and her voice...other than the air of confidence she spoke with, she sounded just like Su Su...and her wrist! He had seen something red upon her wrist! Was it really a scar?
"Ye Hua greets Goddess Bai Qian."
Bai Qian saw his eyes darting from her wrist to her face, and she gave him an uncertain smile, "Crown Prince, what are you doing? Does my wrist displease you?" "Not that, Goddess. Just...where did you get that scar on your wrist from?" Ye Hua bowed, and Bai Qian lifted her sleeve, wondering when she had ever received a scar. Much to her astonishment, there was indeed an angry red welt on her wrist, and she let out a gasp as a sudden memory flashed into her mind, flinging her off balance.
Everything swirled as Bai Qian stumbled where she was, her head throbbing painfully as the memory seared, struggling to present itself, yet being held back by invisible forces of shackles and chains. Random bubbles of words were thrown everywhere, and Bai Qian vaguely heard someone like the Crown Prince yelling a maiden's name that sounded something like "Su Su".
Her forehead seared as the memory still tried to push itself forth, and bits and pieces of conversations came back to her in whispers.
...
"Ye Hua..."
...
"Su Su...!"
...
"His name will be A-Li...Li as in the Li for separation..."
...
And then all things shuddered to a halt, darkness engulfing her in silence as she slumped across the entrance of her Fox Den.
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