~*~ Morning Dew ~*~

Winky詩  –  虞美人 • 春花秋月何時了 
"When Is The Spring Flowers And Autumn Moon?"

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At the break of dawn, the Sun's first spark of divine light pierced the horizon with golden threads of warmth and hope for a new day—needling their way across a woven brocade of crystal clear skies in soft pink and baby blue hues.

As the air moistened, a scattering of glowing, sparse clouds laced with threaded silver linings magically appeared, coddling a flock of cranes flying in pairs as they made their way from East to West, spreading peace and longevity throughout the lands and realms.

Within Mo Yuan's gaze, a surge of wind filled with a feathering of heavenly blessings ripped through a dense canopy of ancient evergreen stretching across Kun Lun's majestic peaks—parting their dense ceiling and allowing the Sun's divine light to seep through and reflect off the morning dew resting peacefully on their tender needles and branches.

The Sun's divine light permeated the landscape and painted colorful rays across Kun Lun, dripping like silk threads in every shade, drying and swaying in a carefree way against the wind.

Mo Yuan sighed contently in witness of a new day dawning with peace and calm as he stood by the edge of the eternity pools of Kun Lun Xu overlooking the lower valleys.

Having just returned from Qing Qiu after a routine check on the Fox King's well-being and to assist him with realms and tribal matters, he reflected deeply on the years that had already folded themselves into the past.  He reflected on the heavy weight he shouldered alone in Di Jun's absence, governing and maintaining peace throughout the realms.

With the Fox Queen gone, his brother Bai Zhi Di Jun had become a recluse and shut himself off from the rest of the world.  Bai Qian had to step in to manage the day-to-day governing of Qing Qiu's lands and kingdom.  At the same time, Mo Yuan took it upon himself to keep the Fox King's company to make the days less long and more bearable.

It had been almost a thousand immortal years since Zhe Yan, Bai Zhen, the Fox Queen, and the two little fèng wás were sent away.  It had been just as long since Di Jun entered seclusion.  He missed his brother's company.  He missed his cold demeanor, calm temperament, and their daily banter over tea and weiqi. Mo Yuan missed Di Jun immensely.

He often thought of them throughout the years, during every anniversary since their parting, and every changing of the seasons.

Spring had come and gone over many cycles of new life sprouting into existence. 

The Autumn moon had seen plenty of bountiful harvests before the Winter solstice ushered in a cold cleansing and purging throughout their world and realms to prepare for another cycle of life and rebirth infinitum.

The aching of the past ground the bygone years into an emotional storm brewing with Mo Yuan's memories of those he cherished.  As rays of sunlight cut through the crisp air to soothe the cold sadness from his face, he gasped emotionally in remembrance of the past.

A bevy of emotions and memories flitted across his conscious mind, forcing him to long for their day of reunion.

He longed to savor Zhe Yan's famous peach blossom wine again at harvest over a game of weiqi and good conversation with his brother and Bai Zhen—in the serenity of their humble living quarters in the ten miles of peach blossoms nestled in the heart of Qing Qiu.

He missed Di Jun's guidance and words of encouragement, and his gentle but firm-handed approach to dealing with squabbling realm leaders, their demands, and keeping the peace.

And he especially missed the Fox Queen's batches of fresh chestnut cakes made especially for him to his taste and liking at every Autumn Moon celebration in Qing Qiu, which he never missed attending.

Mo Yuan reflected on the fact he didn't get to say goodbye to Zhe Yan and Bai Zhen and wish them a safe journey.  He thought deeply about the Fox Queen and her sūnnǚs, the two little fèng wás who saved his life, and how miserable his brother Bai Zhi Di Jun had become without their warmth and presence in his life.

He had such high hopes for the little ones, and he was looking forward to becoming Yue Hua's Shīfu; and she, his Eighteenth.

Mo Yuan often wondered how the little ones must have grown throughout the years under Zhe Yan's tutelage. Knowing how strictly his brother Zhe Yan adhered to the ancient principles of proper education and training with stringent discipline when it came to cultivation, filial piety, proper etiquette, and upstanding mannerism, Mo Yuan believed Zhe Yan would be teaching, training, and disciplining the two little fèng wás in line with his own rigid standards to become the best version of themselves.

As he remained lost in thought, a bright golden line of energy moved delicately across his line of sight before shooting up toward the sky.  He turned his eyes toward the heavens and witnessed the spirit of a pearlescent and crimson-gold-flaming phoenix. He immediately thought of his brother Zhe Yan and the two little fèng wás—the last known phoenixes of the great Red Phoenix Tribe.  He instinctively knew he had witnessed an auspicious moment and a good omen of things to come.

Mo Yuan smiled tenderly with his hands clasped behind his back while gazing at the pearly and golden phoenix soar and dip rapturously across the skyline until it dispersed its brilliance beyond the horizon in shimmering white, gold, and peach-blossom-colored bursts of energy.

Somewhere in the cosmos, he subconsciously knew they were all living well. 

He felt at peace.

Even if that peace came at a price of never seeing his brother Zhe Yan, Bai Zhen, the Fox Queen, and the little fèng wás again.

As long as they were living a peaceful and carefree life, Mo Yuan was also at peace.

~*~ Tiān Yīng Guān  (天鹰官) ~*~
"Aquila Constellation"

Shallow Shadow  (浅影阿) –  戏说因果
"Joking About Cause And Effect"

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Meanwhile in another timeline and quadrant of an unbounded and endless universe where time moved at a much slower pace...

"One, two, three, four, five..." Zhe Yan counted aloud as two tiny voices and the pitter-patter of feet scurried clumsily across the glossy finish of hardwood floors.

He heard a bump and a thump, followed by yelps and furious bickering in tiny before a trail of giggles and whispers captured his attention, coming from the floor-to-ceiling windows in their living chambers.

"Xiao Jiu? Xiao Hua? Ready or not, Yeye is coming to find you," Zhe Yan said aloud as he turned and peeped between his fingers. 

He spied two sets of tiny bare feet peeking out from behind the window curtain skirts.

Soft fits of giggles and hushed chatter echoed from behind the curtain's subtle swaying movements and trailed delicately across to where Zhe Yan stood, warming his heart.  He chuckled, thinking how oblivious Feng Jiu and Yue Hua were to the concept of silence when engaged in a high-stakes game of hide-and-seek.

"Oh, where could Yeye's little fèng wás be hiding?" Zhe Yan asked in a chirpy voice as he flapped about the room like a mother bird looking for her hatchlings.

"Yeye can't find us!"  Feng Jiu whispered at the top of her voice while covering her mouth with her tiny paws and giggling.

"Cover your eyes, Jiu Jiu!  Yeye can't find us!" Yue Hua insisted with a soft giggle while placing her tiny paws over her big doe eyes.

"Shhh..." Feng Jiu insisted as she heard Zhe Yan's approaching footsteps and nudged Yue Hua roughly in the side with her elbow while her tiny paws remained firmly over her eyes.

From Feng Jiu's side nudge, Yue Hua tumbled onto the hardwood floor, landing on her bottom with a loud thud.  She stood back up in a hissy fit, rustling the curtains back and forth, followed by shoving and pushing, tender baby fox yelps and growls, and the heavy stomping of two sets of tiny precious feet.

"Jiu Jiu! Stop it!"  Yue Hua yelped at Feng Jiu with a whimpering fox growl before nudging her back.

"Hua Hua! Not nice!" Feng Jiu quipped as she shoved Yue Hua right back.

Suddenly, the curtains magically parted, and Zhe Yan appeared before two cherub and noisy toddlers still covering their big doe eyes with tiny paws to hide from him.

Zhe Yan chuckled and magicked two osmanthus candy sticks into his hands before sitting cross-legged in front of his little fèng wás.

"Oh, where could Yeye's little Princesses be hiding?" Zhe Yan exclaimed while chuckling at their constant bickering and adorableness.

With their tiny hands still covering their eyes, Feng Jiu and Yue Hua gasped in surprise at the closeness of Zhe Yan's voice and giggled with delight.

"Yeye! He found us!" The two little fèng wás exclaimed excitedly before jumping with glee into Zhe Yan's arms.

With one on each side of him, they settled slobbery kisses across his cheeks and hugged him to bits and pieces.

"Yeye found us!" Feng Jiu shouted proudly as she pulled away from Zhe Yan and hopped about excitedly before doing a little wobbly chicken dance and twerking, shaking her hips clumsily and flailing her arms elegantly.

Yue Hua followed suit, and the two little fèng wás danced in dizzying circles around their Yeye and the living chambers, filling every corner of their home with love and warmth.

Zhe Yan let out a boisterous laugh at his two little Princesses' feistiness and mischievous antics.  Before he could catch his breath, they charged at him and wrapped their tiny arms firmly around his neck.

Zhe Yan cuddled them, one in each arm, and held two osmanthus candy sticks up to their faces.

"Don't tell Nǎinai and Shūshu that Yeye gave you sweets, alright?"

"Okay, Yeye!" The two little fèng wás replied while energetically nodding and munching on their candy sweets.

"Who loves Jiu Jiu and Hua Hua best?" Zhe Yan asked with a broad smile, already knowing the answer every time.

"Yeye!" They both exclaimed boisterously with sticky candy mouths and hands flailing in the air.

"Jiu Jiu love Yeye!"  Feng Jiu said aloud while pulling strands of his long black tresses and attempting to braid them with her sticky candy hands.

"Hua Hua love Yeye the bestest!" Yue Hua exclaimed as she shoved Feng Jiu out of the way with both hands and monopolized Zhe Yan's lap.

Feng Jiu went stumbling onto the ground and landed on her back.  She picked herself off the ground and glared at Yue Hua with two tiny tight fists down her side.  She huffed and puffed as her little head blew off steam, and her face turned bright red while Yue Hua grinned at her.

"Hey!  Not funny!"  She shouted with all her might in her tiny voice before leaping at Yue Hua and wrestling her to the ground. 

They wrestled and pulled on each other's pigtails while yelping in their baby fox tongue, demanding the other let go first.

The moment their tiny bodies tumbled and rolled several times before hitting the east wall of the living chambers, their tussle magically transformed them into two cherub nine-tailed fox cubs with a beautiful, sparkling crimson-gold and pearly white coat, and hazel eyes the size of teacups. 

Their nine tails glimmered and billowed in brilliant gold, layering subtle hints of nine-tailed fox magic throughout the living chambers with potted plants and flowers glistening and blooming.

Feng Jiu and Yue Hua mewled and yelped at each other as they clawed and chewed each other's necks and heads with their soft paws and baby teeth. They may have believed themselves fierce and scary, but from where Zhe Yan stood, they were the most precious and adorable creatures he had ever seen.

As they continued wrestling and rolling around furiously across the hardwood floor, Zhe Yan stood and swiftly grabbed them by the scruff of their necks the moment they tumbled past him.

He held them both up to his face and shook his head in disagreement as they squirmed and continued stretching their tiny paws toward each other aggressively.

Realizing their efforts futile, they turned their watery doe eyes toward Zhe Yan and howled heartbreakingly to be let loose.

Feng Jiu yelped and barked her grievances to Zhe Yan while Yue Hua continued to paw intently at Feng Jiu with all fours.

Zhe Yan laughed and shook his head. He gave them a sturdy shake, and immediately they shifted back to human form.

"Now apologize to each other," Zhe Yan insisted while still holding them up by the scruff of their necks.

"Jiu Jiu first!" Yue Hua shouted angrily in her tiny voice.

"Hua Hua push Jiu Jiu!"  Feng Jiu wailed and yelped in her aggrieved voice.

"Yeye is leaving to collect fish down by the lake. If you don't apologize to each other, you will have to stay with Nǎinai," Zhe Yan said with surety.

"Yeye!" They both shouted with pearl-sized tears cascading down their rosy cheeks.

"No apologies, no go," Zhe Yan insisted in finality.

"Yeye, Hua Hua go too.  Please, Yeye?"

"Please, Yeye? Jiu Jiu go too."

"Apologize to each other first," Zhe Yan quipped.

"Sorry, Jiu Jiu," Yue Hua mumbled with her head lowered.

"Your turn Xiao Jiu," Zhe Yan insisted.

Feng Jiu folded her tiny arms across her chest and huffed and puffed, refusing to apologize.

"Yeye, Jiu Jiu not sorry!" Yue Hua insisted with her tiny finger pointed at Feng Jiu.

"You both have to apologize, or you don't get to come with Yeye."

"Jiu Jiu?" Yue Hua pleaded sincerely in tiny but from a place of self-interest in wanting to play with the fishies and catch butterflies.

"Xiao Jiu?  Do you have something to say to jiejie?"  Zhe Yan questioned while looking her straight in the eyes.

Feng Jiu shook her head vigorously with a stern "hmph" before swinging her tiny body forward and grabbing hold of Yue Hua's pigtails. Yue Hua swiftly grabbed hold of Feng Jiu's pigtails in return, and the two little fèng wás went into full-blown brawl again to Zhe Yan's bemusement. He pulled them apart magically and sat them on the floor, locked in place and unable to move.

"Now apologize to each other," Zhe Yan demanded in a calm but firm tone.

"Sorry, Jiu Jiu."

"Sorry, Hua Hua."

"Now, how easy was that?" Zhe Yan asked with a calm smile.

The two cherub Xiao Húlís nodded their heads in shame and whimpered with a tender fox yelp here and there.

Zhe Yan magically wiped their sticky paws and faces before fitting them with a pair of peach-blossom-colored booties.  He released them to stand on their feet and directed them with a motioning of his hand toward the door as he led the way.

As they made their way, Zhe Yan magically lifted the locks and flung the door wide open. He stepped out with Yue Hua and Feng Jiu following closely behind.

"No!  Jiu Jiu want open it!"  Feng Jiu scolded a few feet out the door while falling to the ground tragically and kicking, crying, and throwing a tantrum.

Zhe Yan sighed and grabbed Yue Hua by the hand. They turned and walked past a devastated Feng Jiu still wailing on the ground and stepped back through the front door.  They turned to stand silently, staring and shaking their heads at Feng Jiu being tragic.

"Xiao Jiu? Are you done?"

Feng Jiu whimpered and rubbed her teary eyes with loose fists before wobbling upright. She sulked and dragged her tiny feet tragically back through the front door before throwing herself on the floor again and whining her heart out. Zhe Yan shut the door with a wave of his right hand and insisted calmly that she open it for them.

Feng Jiu sat up, shook her head, and wailed while smearing strings of snot all over her cheeks.

Zhe Yan and Yue Hua both sighed and subtly rolled their eyes.

"Why does everything have to be so tragic with you, Xiao Jiu? Look at yourself. You're not pretty anymore, smearing snot all over your face like that," Zhe Yan said while chuckling at her.

Feng Jiu whimpered loudly and threw herself onto the ground again while burying her face into the floor, hiccuping and gasping devastatingly, thrashing her arms and legs about, and pleading her grievances with Zhe Yan.

"Yeye mean," she wailed.

Zhe Yan stood silently, unamused.

"Yeye..." Feng Jiu pouted and mewled with big watery doe eyes and arms outstretched for Zhe Yan to comfort her.

"Alright, alright. Come here," Zhe Yan replied calmly as he lowered himself and squatted with arms outstretched.

Feng Jiu rolled onto all fours and crawled toward Zhe Yan while whimpering heartbreakingly. Zhe Yan cradled her in his arms and gently petted her head with comfort before placing a gentle kiss atop her head.

"Are you happy now?"

"Jiu Jiu happy!" Feng Jiu exclaimed as she nodded excitedly and grabbed hold of Zhe Yan's left hand, and cuddled her cheeks into it.

"May we go now?" Zhe Yan asked with a slight chuckle over her adorable and tragic stunts.

She nodded happily and leaped out of his arms before hop-scotching toward the door giggling. With two tiny paws, she turned the knob several times clumsily with no success until Zhe Yan scuttled two fingers in a dismissing fashion, and the door magically unlatched and swung wide open.

"Yeye!  Jiu Jiu did it!" 

Feng Jiu ran back toward Zhe Yan and grabbed his left hand with her tiny paw. She dragged him along and ran ahead to lead the way, followed by Zhe Yan pulling Yue Hua with his right hand as they made their way to the lake.

Zhe Yan let out a heavy sigh and smiled.

"What is Yeye to do with the two of you?" Zhe Yan asked while looking at the little fèng wás staring at him with sparkles in their eyes.

"We go, Yeye!"  Feng Jiu and Yue Hua chirped and smiled adorably at Zhe Yan before holding hands and skipping and hopping happily ahead.

Since their arrival into Tiān Yīng Guān, time had aged nearly five hundred years. Zhe Yan was there for the little fèng wás first steps, first teeth, first words, first birthday, and their first transition to stabilize their nine-tailed fox primordial spirits and lessen their unstable and untamed transformations into adorable furballs of fox hair with the most heart-melting big round eyes.

Their first word was "Yeye."  The memory would always be precious to Zhe Yan as it was a testament to their bond and love for him.

As soon as they learned to take their first steps, he could no longer leave home without the two little fèng wás clamoring to follow him.  Zhe Yan couldn't aura-shift anywhere without Feng Jiu and Yue Hua capturing his energy trail with their sharp fox senses and screaming and wailing for him to wait for them to find their shoes so they could go too.

Every departure became a tragic scene from a mortal play with Xiao Jiu and Xiao Hua, each clinging off one side of his legs and crying their little eyes out until he caved and carried them with him wherever he went.

Their every action warmed Zhe Yan's heart, and he could never say no to them.

The two little fèng wás gave Zhe Yan renewed hope as they became his reason to live. They adored Zhe Yan and clung to him like white on rice.  They followed him everywhere around their home, the garden, the chicken coop, and every space and place in between.

They even learned to properly kowtow and plead their cases with Zhe Yan to get their way, curry a favor, protect them from Naina's punishments, or simply play with his heartstrings.

On one memorable occasion, which Zhe Yan would never forget and tell stories about for years to come, the little fèng wás taught him never to allow younglings near his workshop again.

"Yeye! Yeye! Chicken owie Jiu Jiu!"  Yue Hua squealed in her tiny voice as she tripped over herself with her clumsy left foot, trying to find help for her mèimei.

"Yeye! Help Jiu Jiu!" Feng Jiu squealed in fear as she stormed into Zhe Yan's workshop and ran tiny circles around him while his rooster chased her intently. It wanted the sack of sunflower seeds tied loosely around her waist.

"Chicken! Stop!" Feng Jiu scolded the rooster in her tiny voice, with one hand on her hip and the other in a palm-facing forward motion to halt the rooster from further advancing on her.

"Hua Hua!  Jiu Jiu did it!  Chicken stop!"  Feng Jiu exclaimed with a smile before squealing and running toward Zhe Yan to climb up his legs and torso until she felt safe.

"Chicken! Go away!" Yue Hua shouted at the rooster as it flew at her instead and sent her running in circles around Zhe Yan, wreaking havoc, breaking things, and disarraying everything she came in contact with.

Zhe Yan shook his head and laughed at his little fèng wás adorable and troublesome antics as they turned his workshop upside down. And before connecting his next thought, Yue Hua ran into one of his cabinets housing newly glazed wine jars while fighting off his rooster.

Zhe Yan stood frazzled with his hair, robes, and workshop in disarray. Delicate pieces of ceramic lay littered across the workshop floor. Feng Jiu clung off his left shoulder while Yue Hua stood on his toes with her arms wrapped firmly around his knees.

"Xiao Hua, as if standing on my toes will keep the rooster away?" Zhe Yan chuckled.

"Yeye, help! Chicken owie Hua Hua," She pleaded with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Yeye!  Help Hua Hua!"  Feng Jiu demanded.

Before Zhe Yan could adequately react to the chaos and destruction in his workshop, the Fox Queen magically appeared and grabbed hold of Feng Jiu and Yue Hua firmly by their tiny arms before they could run from her.

"Yeye!  Help!"  They both cried out in fear of Nǎinai's impending punishment.

"Nǎinai would like a word with her sūnnǚs in private.  Nǎinai is well aware of their episodes before and after your little trip down to the sweets shop.  Hua'er and Jiu'er, let's go," the Fox Queen demanded calmly and firmly before glancing squarely at Zhe Yan while pulling the two little ones away with their tiny bare feet dragging heavily against the ground to halt the inevitable.

Their tiny voices whimpered and wailed out the workshop entrance and clear across the hallways leading to their bed chambers.  In between every cry for help, Zhe Yan heard his name being called heartbreakingly.

He knew better than to intervene when the Fox Queen stepped in to demand disciplining her sūnnǚs away from him.  Forcefully.

"Yan'er?"  Bai Zhen called out as he arrived home from town.

"Xiao Zhen, you're home."

"What happened?  I heard Xiao Jiu and Xiao Hua wailing."

"Your mùqīn is disciplining them," Zhe Yan replied like a wounded old bird.

Bai Zhen chuckled.

"Leave them be with mùqīn.  Her disciplining style is not as bad as you think.  Certainly not as lax as yours.  You spoil them too much.  It's not good for them to always have their way."

Zhe Yan nodded and sighed.

"I'll have a word with Xiao Jiu and Xiao Hua later when mùqīn is done.  Come, my love.  I have something to show you from the shops," Bai Zhen insisted as he gently grasped Zhe Yan's hand and pecked him on the lips.

Their mischievousness and strong personalities were resultant of him being too soft-hearted and incapable of saying no or allowing his little fèng wás to be emotionally wounded by even the slightest, which in turn sabotaged the Fox Queen's efforts to discipline the little fèng wás her way to become proper, well-behaved, and well-mannered little young ladies who would one day become the Twin Queens of Qing Qiu.

Zhe Yan nurtured and protected Feng Jiu and Yue Hua fiercely, and they loved and adored him more than any other soul.

To them, he was their hero and fearless General in shining armor. 

To him, they were his pride and joy.

Yue Hua's place of comfort and refuge was the tiny space at Zhe Yan's feet in his study, where she always curled beside him and drifted off to sleep surrounded by his warmth and energy. 

Feng Jiu's place was snuggling beside Yue Hua and settling her head into her jiejie's protective arms.

As mischievous and troublesome Feng Jiu and Yue Hua were together, and as frequently as they clashed and tore apart the manor with their tiny fights and bickering, they loved each other and were each other's protectors and best friends.

They couldn't do anything without the other just as equally as they couldn't stop quarreling.

Zhe Yan once attempted a play date with other children as a means to spread out their abundant energy, teach them how to play nicely with others, and make new friends their age.

The local magistrate had four sons around the same years as Fengjiu and Yue Hua. Zhe Yan felt confident they were a good match. The much older eldest son, however, decided to insult and bully Feng Jiu for fun throughout their playtime, and he soon lived to regret it courtesy of Yue Hua in the form of a swollen black eye, wads of plucked hair, a purple bruise across his left jaw, and numerous bite marks across his arms.

"Get off me! Somebody help me!" The young boy screamed as he covered his face with his arms while lying wounded on his back.

"Say sorry Jiu Jiu!" Yue Hua shouted in tiny while jumping up and down on the young boy with clumps of hair in her little hands.

The other three sons remained shocked in place, watching in awe an angry toddler square off with their bully eldest brother who terrorized them. Their admiration and infatuation with Yue Hua began from this moment in time.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry, Jiu Jiu!" The eldest son whimpered frightfully.

Yue Hua threw two handfuls of hair on the ground and smiled. She immediately felt her Yeye's aura and hands grab her underarms and lift her off the boy.

"Yeye! Boy hit Jiu Jiu!" She pleaded her case while pointing her tiny finger at the boy.

Feeling brave, the young boy stood and lunged at her with a missed punch into the air.

Zhe Yan immediately pulled Yue Hua away while one of the servants restrained the eldest son.

"Children. Sometimes they play well, and at other times, well, they play like our little ones," Zhe Yan said politely with a subtle smile while struggling to restrain a furious Yue Hua.

"She's still a baby. How could you be so cruel? I did not raise such a son," the magistrate's wife scolded her eldest with disappointment as she arrived at the scene.

Knowing full well how much he terrorized his siblings, the magistrate's wife was unrelenting in hearing her eldest son's pleas.

"Mùqīn, bu– but she hit me first!"

"Are you telling mùqīn that she, a toddler, did this to you?"

The young boy nodded tearfully.

"Preposterous!" The magistrate's wife shouted at her son.

"Bullying and hitting are unacceptable," Zhe Yan interjected as he disciplined Yue Hua and the young boy collectively.

The young boy whimpered while Yue Hua remained silent and innocent-looking as a baby lamb.

"Now apologize to each other," the magistrate's wife gently demanded before nudging her eldest son forward.

"Hua Hua, I'm sorry."

When it came to Yue Hua's turn, she turned her tiny face up to Zhe Yan.

"Yeye..." she pouted with big watery doe eyes.

Zhe Yan looked at her sternly.

"Hua Hua sorry," she replied sheepishly.

"Kindly pardon my abruptness, but I shall need to discipline my son privately. Let's try a playdate another day," the magistrate's wife insisted as she motioned with her hand firmly for the eldest to follow.

"Certainly. We will not impede you any further and see ourselves out," Zhe Yan replied while directing Yue Hua and Feng Jiu with his eyes to walk in front of him as he gently nudged them along behind one of the servants leading the way.

"Jiu Jiu okay?" Yue Hua asked with her tiny arm wrapped around her mèimei's shoulder.

Feng Jiu nodded sadly and wrapped her tiny arm around her jiejie. They hugged and walked toward the front gates together. They looked up and saw their Shūshu standing outside waiting for them.

"A-Shū!" They both squealed excitedly as they charged and leaped into his arms.

"How are Shūshu's darling Xiao Húlís?"

"Jiu Jiu miss A-Shū!"

"Hua Hua miss A-Shū!"

"Yan'er, what happened, my love?" Bai Zhen asked through their mind connection.

"I'll let you discipline.  Let's go, shall we?" Zhe Yan insisted sternly as he ushered them away.

Playdates became fewer and far between as a result.

Contrary to what the God of War contemplated and hoped for, Zhe Yan raised the two little fèng wás under his tutelage to be adventurous, fearless, carefree, strong-willed, always hungry for knowledge, and to live every day of their lives with kindness to themselves and others. 

But more importantly, he raised them always to protect and have each other's backs.

~*~ Awakening ~*~

Eliott Tordo Erhu
"Imminence"

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"What if your heart no longer misses me?"

"What if you forget me and us?"

"Promise me..."

"You will remember us when it matters most..."

She uttered with sheer desperation as her eyes darted across his face in every which direction taking in the essence, heart, and soul of the man who held her heart and affections in the palm of his hands.

"I promise. I will find a way back to you," he replied with a trembling voice.

She nodded tearfully as he cradled her face in his palm and smoothed the wet sadness from her cheek with his thumb.

"I have lived and walked an incredibly lonely existence. You are my light through the darkness on this exhausting path of immortality," he spoke softly as he caressed her face and jawline while pouring his heart and soul into her.

She folded herself into his chest and gasped emotionally before replying.

"If there is a chance for us..."

"No matter the consequences..."

"I will choose you again..."

"I will always choose you..."

She spoke brokenheartedly across his face as she studied his cold, delicate features with her eyes and fingertips. 

She loved him so much in that fleeting moment.

"Let me come with you," he pleaded with heavy grief and sadness bursting from his core.

She shook her head in reply.

"You will live well for us," she whispered with a broken smile.

He gazed at her with a cold composure on the outside, but on the inside, the pressure of tremendous hurt and affection he had for her crushed his heart to pieces.  He folded loose strands of hair behind her ear to relieve some of the pressure and felt his heart come undone.

"For the love we cannot have..."

"I am willing to defy Fate and walk through every level of Hell to alter the course for us..."

"It will always be you for me..."

She confessed with a heavy heart as her tears fell endlessly, with all her affections and devotion for him glistening down her cheeks.

"And I, you.  I will remember for us," he uttered with his hand firmly pressed against her chest, unwilling to let go.

"Dong Hua..."

"You are the Sun to my Moon..."

"Remember us..."

"Remember me..."

She whispered with her lips a mere inch from his, while her eyes gazed into his with immense grief and longing.

With her heart breaking all over again, she trailed her fingers down his cheek to his jawline and rested her hand against his heart before her trembling voice settled into the turbulent currents of their hearts breaking together.

"Let's rewrite the stars," she whispered in finality, never taking her eyes away from his.

"No!"  He roared devastatingly as their spirits were ripped apart by an unknown force with heavy lightning and explosions of colorful vibrating energy all around them.

He fought desperately to grab hold of the fuzzy outline of her spiritual form as he gave chase after her, free-falling through an endless system of burning novas fading rapidly behind him.

"If there is a chance for us.  No matter the consequences.  I will choose you again.  I will always choose you..."

Her trembling voice echoed in resonating waves against his broken heart and mind as she fell further and further away from his light.

The thin veil separating the different multidimensional planes of existence dissipated and a silver cord extending from it retracted into an endless black hole, pulling his spirit violently with it as if the cord were an invisible extension of him.

An endless black hole of nothingness pulsating with sharp, static energy perforated his spirit in soul-destroying waves.

He fought hard against Fate and the greater forces at work and aura-shifted through never-ending layers of an unbounded universe to catch her falling star.

"Stay with me," he pleaded as he focused on a single point in time, a single memory, a single emotion, and it all led back to her. 

Di Jun's heart raced violently as he stretched his arm out to capture her waning spirit moving away from him at the speed of light.

He felt her essence and spirit flow through him, seeping into his hands and chest, and falling through the cracks of his heavily broken heart in sparkling strands of energy and fine stardust.

Feelings and emotions he once believed were a burden and mortal curse collected at his core until they reached critical mass and shattered into brilliant strings of light and luminous particles, swirling and spiraling through the cosmos—carrying the last remnants of his broken heart and affections on a one-way journey into oblivion.

Starbursts and shooting stars darted across the universe's canvas of a timeless and non-linear existence as she shimmered further away from his light, taking his heart and soul with her.

At the same time, against his will, the powers that be compelled him to become one with an open portal swirling with immense power and energy in cool, calming fluorescent colors.

His spirit expanded and contracted as he continued to freefall unrestrained through a portal filled with dying stars exhaling their last sparks of light.

He felt every part of her being painfully stripped away from his root and core.

Her energy, her essence, her affections, and her very existence.

Di Jun held onto a fleeting wisp of her as he moved through the chaos and melded it into his soul before his mind gradually became empty and his heart devoid of any feelings.

"I will remember for us," Di Jun whispered before ceasing resistance and finally letting go.

Mo Yuan stood nervously at the foot of Di Jun's jadeite bed, waiting for him to awaken. 

While meeting with leaders from the Western Seas and Qing Qiu to discuss trade and security matters, he felt the painful scores of Di Jun's awakening strumming the rusty chords of his heart and soul.  Mo Yuan knew Di Jun was returning home with heavy emotional baggage in tow.  From where and what, Mo Yuan could only fathom.

Without properly excusing himself, Mo Yuan vanished mid-way into giving an official statement of declaration to increase security and military protection for both kingdoms.

From where he stood in the present timeline, Mo Yuan smiled tearfully as Di Jun took his first breath of consciousness.

Di Jun struggled to lift the heavy weight of his eyelids as his spirit fought against Fate to hold onto a fleeting wisp of her spirit embedded within his soul, refusing to surrender her and awaken from his transient state. 

As he resisted and fought against a powerful unknown force driving a sledgehammer through his heart and soul intent on ridding him of her, Di Jun felt a comforting warmth vibrating from her spark, which had become a part of him, slowly pulling him back to the familiarity of her.  He became conscious again of energies and emotions from specific instances within the fabric of time and space where he vaguely remembered having lived many lifetimes with her.

Before connecting his next thought, a blinding light pierced his core and forced his eyes open to reality.

"Welcome home," Mo Yuan greeted him.

Without a single physical movement, Di Jun turned his eyes in all different directions to gather awareness and understanding of his surroundings and center himself. He consciously registered his seclusion cave in Bihai Cangling.  Then his eyes fixed on an emotional Mo Yuan weeping quietly at the foot of his bed.

He had returned home.

"How long have I been away?"  Di Jun asked in a whispered tone.

"Almost a thousand years."

Di Jun stared at Mo Yuan, unblinking, as his breath hitched at the back of his throat. A chaotic storm of dissipating feelings and emotions for having lost someone or something dear to him ripped apart his spirit as she faded out of his heart and mind against his will on the conscious plane.

"Breathe, Dong Hua," Mo Yuan insisted as he rushed to Di Jun's bedside, having felt his unstable aura and cultivation expanding dangerously.

"I must get back," Di Jun uttered in a daze as he lifted himself onto his elbows before slumping back down lifelessly.

Mo Yuan quickly stabilized his primordial spirit and placed him under a light sedation spell before scanning his meridians and cultivation.

"You're in no condition to be going anywhere.  You need rest and meditation to recuperate.  You've never come back from seclusion with this high amount of cultivation.  This is a first, Dong Hua.  What happened to you?"

Di Jun remained still and lifeless, unable to utter a single word as his mind fought relentlessly to hold on to the concept of her, with everything else withering away at the speed of gravity.

"Love," Di Jun whispered with trembling lips.

"Love?  What do you mean?"

"Love happened," he uttered emotionless as a single tear glistened from the corner of his right eye and trickled down toward his ear.

He struggled to comprehend his broken heart from losing her while frantically trying to preserve his shattered memories, which were being violently wiped out of existence by the same unknown force.  Every aspect of her filed out of his conscious mind in an organized and controlled way until his thoughts became empty and hollow with subtle lingering traces of an unfamiliar voice and touch.

"Who or what are you speaking of?"  Mo Yuan asked as he gazed at Di Jun in utter shock, watching his eyes redden and tears glisten down his ice-cold cheeks, staining his complexion with immense grief.

"A young woman..."

Mo Yuan looked confused and puzzled as he struggled to understand who or what Di Jun was referring to. He believed Di Jun was behaving unusually as he must still be straddling the narrow space between subconsciousness and reality. It had been almost a thousand years.

"I can't remember her name or face. Someone or something has taken every instance of her away," Di Jun uttered confusedly as he stared off into the void, trying to piece together the damaged and disappearing pieces of his memories, of her.

Mo Yuan stood silently observing Di Jun's emotional and erratic state of mind and quickly placed him under a more potent sedation spell.

"Don't. I must remember," Di Jun pleaded breathlessly as he slipped back into unconsciousness, with the last spark of her existence flickering in and out of his conscious mind and folding itself back into oblivion until no trace of her remained.

All that remained was a mere wisp of her spirit embedded deep within his soul. 

And hope.

"Rest. Conserve your energy," Mo Yuan replied with worry while studying the residual emotions on Di Jun's tear-stained face.

– – –

08/09/22