Dijun has always valued the people who fought alongside him during prehistoric times. - Pillowbook 1

------------------------------------------------Zhe Yan------------------------------------------------------------

Zhe Yan had known, even as he was speaking, that what he was asking was a desperate, futile endeavour. Even so, Mo Yuan had unhesitatingly agreed and Zhe Yan was grateful.

This had to be done silently, without letting any of the Bai family know; was there anything more cruel to give everyone hope, only to take it away in the next breath?

And so while Zhe Yan had stayed in the Fox Den and put his full effort into healing, Mo Yuan had travelled swiftly to Fanyin Valley, to a particular tree inside the grounds of Qinan Palace. This tree still cradled the essences of what used to be Fengjiu and Dong Hua's shadows, Aranya and Shen Ye.

An hour later Mo Yuan returned silent and stone faced, and the final flicker of hope Zhe Yan had been harbouring faded.

Mo Yuan had appeared just as Zhe Yan had started to grind various herbs and powders into a paste. When hot water was added it would suffuse a room with some of the medicinal effects; this was kinder on the lungs than incense.

So while he ground the herbs, Mo Yuan explained the details of his findings in Fanyin valley.

And so Zhe Yan learned that Dong Hua had not made a single error when he'd severed both his and Fengjius' shadows from their intended fate. Whatever method Dong Hua had used had worked perfectly, it was likely he was the only one who could do whatever he did. One day those two potential-nascent souls might one day enjoy a kinder fate in another lifetime. After separating their shadows, Dong Hua had placed them in a tree sapling, as an anchor, a sort of living womb. This was the same method Fushen had used when he Ye Huas primordial soul in the golden lotus to one day be born.

What Zhe Yan had hoped for was not possible, there was no way to use Aranya's spirit as an anchor to resurrect Fengjiu. The Aranya in the tree existed was only a hypothetical possibility, a potential existence. A million years in the future, maybe it was possible for 'Aranya' and 'Shen Ye' to enter the six paths of reincarnation as fully realised, living beings. Even that hypothetical, million years in the future existence was an entity that was completely and utterly separate from Fengjiu.

Him asking Mo Yuan to look into the possibility of Fengjiu' soul being recoverable had been unfair. If Zhe Yan were being honest with himself, he'd known what the outcome was going to be. It had been cruel and cowardly to make Mo Yuan be the final bearer of that news. Mo Yuan had left soon after explaining the details.

In the ten hours since Fengjius death there had been a lot of movement in the fox den. Zhe Yan finished placing the thin paste in a wide bowl, then went to the room Fengjius' mother was currently lying in an unconscious state.

The shock of seeing her daughter dead had been too much, both mind and spirit had refused to accept it and she had collapsed into unconsciousness. One more patient and Zhe Yan might as well declare the Fox Den to be a healing ward.

His first action after entering the room was to check Fengjiu's mothers' spirit, then her pulse, both stable, good. As he placed the medicinal bowl on a side table and added water to it, there was only one thought in his mind, 'There would be a reckoning'.

The fact that none of them knew who had killed Fengjiu was the only reason he and the Bai family were not currently tearing the world apart as retribution. Zhe Yan supposed there was also the fact that most were still feeling the effects of his calming tea. Even that would wear off soon, and then there would be little to stop them from enacting vengeance on whoever had caused Fengjiu's death.

The Fox Emperor Bai Zhi might have been well known as lackadaisical and easy-going, but when needed he could be decisive and determined. His beloved granddaughter lay dead by way of someone's poisoned blade, a reckoning was certain.

Bai Zhi had not yet returned to the Dox Den. Bai Xuan as the eldest child had tasked himself with retrieving his parents. They'd been exploring the billions of mortal worlds that made up the Trichiliocosm. Once they were found, the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan of Qing Qiu would show their teeth and claws to the world in vengeance for the murder of their own.

Qing Qiu did not have an army; they did not need one. Many seemed to forget that the Fox Emperor Bai Zhi had served under Dong Hua in ages past. Bai Zhi was no master tactician or healer, nor did he have exemplary skills in diplomacy or organisation. Some might have wondered what had qualified Bai Zhi to fight under Dong Hua's banner in the ancient wars. Those that had fought alongside Bai Zhi did not wonder, those that had fought against him were no longer alive to wonder.

The current Tianjun Hao De was inept, but even he understood that upsetting Qing Qiu was unwise. There was a reason Dong Hua had chosen Bai Zhi to protect and rule the area that later became Qing Qiu. It had been a good choice; Qing Qiu had never been invaded despite sharing borders with the Demons and Ghosts because of Bai Zhi and later on his children. There were less than ten High Deities currently active in the world, and seven were members of the Bai family.

Thinking of Bai family members, he did a final check on Fengjiu's mother's spirit and was relieved; she would recover and wake up within a day with no ill effects.

Pushed open the door, and resisted the urge to wince as his only partially healed internal injuries twinged in protest. Who had decided making the doors of the Fox Den out of solid oak slabs was a good idea. He exited the room with the intent to check that Gungun, Bai Chen and little Xueyu were alright. He had just finished closing the door when he heard Bai Zhen's footsteps approaching down the corridor.

"How is she?" Bai Zhen asked quietly, in consideration of Fengjiu's mother in the other room.

"She will be fine, she is asleep." He replied, looking pointedly at Bai Zhen as he emphasised the final word. His unspoken 'Like you should be' was immediately understood by Bai Zhen.

There was no need to worry about anyone standing guard. Mi Gu had raised the strongest divine shield he could around the fox den. No one Mi Gu had not met previously would be getting through the barrier, and only those of High God rank or above would be able to break it.

Mi Gu had used almost every drop of magic power, and even some of his cultivation toward this effort. As a result he could not maintain his human form, and was currently recuperating in his original form of a fragrant maple tree.

"You haven't slept either, and I'm not the one injured.", Bai Zhen retorted.

In an attempt to keep some sense of normalcy Zhe Yan's reply was slightly indignant, "You think me so delicate? What am I, a Biyi bird?"

A tiny smile flicked on Bai Zhen's face, but even that moment of levity was lost, consumed by grief a millisecond later. The reply when it came was flat, devoid of the usual fire, "I suppose not."

Bai Zhen's concern was touching, but Zhe Yan would rest when Bai Xuan returned with his parents in tow. Only then could he be assured that Fengjiu's father Bai Yi would not slip onto darker paths while Zhe Yan recuperated.

Bai Yi had said nothing in the ten hours since he'd come to the fox den. The man had simply sat by Fengjiu's body, gently held her hand and stared blankly at a beloved face that would never be animated in laughter again.

When a child lost a parent, it was a deeply pitiful event. But when a parent lost a child...such a thing was beyond cruel. Zhe Yan was concerned about Bai Yi the most, he had seen such reactions a million times over. It would be far too easy for Bai Yi to slip onto the demonic path, to give in to despair and rage and end up a mindless beast in the end.

Zhe Yan almost sighed. He loved the Bai family dearly; he had not known any family to love as deeply as the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan. Their unity and utter devotion to each other was their greatest strength, but also their greatest weakness. Never was that more clearly seen than when one of their own had died.

If there was any family he would count on to get their own through such a period of grief, it was the Bai family. Fengjiu had died in the late evening of the day before, it was now midday and the fox den was in varying states of chaos. Which only got more chaotic when Bai Zhen's newest mount Yingzhao came to tell them there was a messenger waiting outside the barrier.

This new mount was more flighty and less competent than its predecessors Jingwei and Bifang. Those two had been very competent, but rarely did divine beasts have lifespans of more than 10,000 years and Jingwei too had passed on a while ago.

"Ah, but I think perhaps Dijun sent them?" Yingzhao wrought their hands in flustered confusion, "But they are, well...he's a demon, so I think I am mistaken and Dijun did not send them? They used a strange title? Shao...or maybe shang? Yin? Yao, ah! I think it was yang? I thi-" Yingzhaos' voice died off as Bai Zhen moved swiftly past them toward the fox den entrance.

Bai Zhen's mount was swiftly approaching an apex of panic, his apologies, explanations, and questions tumbled together in a mass of unintelligible words. "I'm very sorry I can't remember-", Taking pity on them Zhe Yan cut off Yingzhaos' rambling by ordering him to boil water for tea. Then he clasped his hands behind him and followed Bai Zhen at a more sedate pace.

'Lord Shaoyang', that title caused him to frown slightly in worry. If Dong Hua had reverted to using that title, then he could only be cautious and hope the Bai family would be spared the coming storm.

The fox den and its surroundings was often humid due to lake Wansheng nearby, but it seemed abnormally so today.

A little over twelve hours ago Dong Hua had left to find out what had happened to Fengjiu. And now he was sending demon messengers to the door of the fox den. Was the Demon Clan involved in Fengjiu's death somehow? Bai Zhen seemed to have similar thoughts, Zhe Yan arrived just in time to see him summon his sword. Bai Zhen did not point the sword at the messenger. The tip of the blade was facing the ground, where a few unlucky pieces of grass were sliced. Although he wasn't using it to actively threaten the demon, it was clear that such action was not out of the question.

The demon was holding a marble cylinder used to carry messages in one hand, but was not wearing or holding a weapon, and made no move to defend himself. The demoned looked neither young nor old, but cultivation was quite high. If Zhe Yans estimate was correct this demon was around the same as as Bai Zhen.

Any demon approaching the age of 200,000 was considered ancient by demon standards. They were a fractious race, only the strongest survived any significant length of time. Depending on this demon's mastery of magic and swordplay, they could likely beat the Green Demon Lord Yan Chiwu, currently regarded as the strongest demon. But that was the interesting thing, just where had this powerful demon come from? And why were they playing messenger on behalf of Dong Hua? If they even were one of Dong Hua's people.

"I don't remember inviting any demons to the Fox Den, who are you and why are you here, trespassing.", Bai Zhen ordered to demon to answer.

"My commander ordered me to deliver a message on behalf of the Revered Sovereign to the Fox Emperor of Qing Qiu."

Revered Sovereign, 'Dizun', had been one of Dong Hua's many titles from when he had ruled the Six Realms. That this demon was using such an old title was worrying. Either they were a terrible spy with information hundreds of thousands of years out of date, or more worryingly, Dong Hua had called upon ancient subordinates for some reason that was not clear to him.

Bai Zhen raised his sword slightly in preparation to fight or block a blow if needed, "So you don't serve Dong Hua Dijun.", Bai Zhens specific use of Dong Hua's name, made the demon messenger grimace. At this distance Zhe Yan could not pick out if it was a grimace of disgust, fear or disapproval, probably a mix of all three.

"Not directly, no.", the messenger spoke, "It is my commander that has the honour of serving the Revered Sovereign, I am merely a subordinate of the Revered Sovereigns' subordinate.", The messenger replied, using another ancient title of Dong Huas, to avoid having to use 'Dong Hua Dijun' or even 'Lord Shaoyang'. It was unfailingly, reverentially polite.

The messenger moved in a deliberate, slow fashion as he used the hand not carrying messages to summon something the size of their palm. Zhe Yan could not see the design clearly, so he moved a few steps forward. He was almost stepping out of the shade of the fox den, but he was still unnoticed by the messenger.

Now he was closer,he could see the detail on the item the demon had summoned. It was a token, composed of obsidian and slate that depicted five black bats on a grey background. Five bats symbolised the five blessings of long life, riches, health, love of virtue and a natural death.

It was clear from the blank look on Bai Zhen's face that he had no idea what it was, or why it was somehow significant. It took even Zhe Yan a few moments to recall whose sigil this was, and blinked in surprise when he placed the memory.

Zhe Yan honestly thought all the ancient generals would have just quietly died off by now. Zhe Yan knew he would have done so,had he not somehow gained a family of nine-tailed foxes. The token bore the heraldry of the ghost Xiang Xu. Xiang Xu had been third ranked among the seventy-two Generals that had served Doing Hua in ancient times, second only next to Meng Hao and Xin Ho.

Xiang Xu had also never hidden his disdain for Zhe Yan after he'd broken his promise to Dong Hua and left the battlefields for the healing tents. Whoever had chosen to send this demon as a messenger had been wise, a meeting between him and Xiang Xu would never be amicable. Zhe Yan still remembered Xiang Xu's promise to kill him if they saw each other again. Dong Hua had forbidden Xiang Xu from doing so, 'Now you have both broken promises, we can focus on the matter at hand'. The rare times they met since that day had been unpleasantly tense.

While Dong Hua had allowed and respected Zhe Yan's wish to remove himself from the front lines, most of the other generals had never forgiven what they saw as a betrayal. Zhe Yan still remembered Dong Hua's words to him, before they'd set off to Qing Qiu as part of Bai Qian's wedding procession, 'Since I have promised, then I won't go back on my word'. It had been an uncharacteristically unsubtle reminder from Dong Hua about how Zhe Yan had gone back on his oath all those years before.

A good number of Dong Hua's generals had not been deities or immortals, but demons, ghosts and other races now extinct. So hearing that this demon served a ghost was not as bizarre to him as it would be to the younger generation. It also explained why this strong demon could be sent as a mere messenger, Xiang Xu had never tolerated weakness.

"I serve General Xiang Xu, who serves the Revered Sovereign.", the messenger said.

"You have a message from Djiun then?" Bai Zhen was obviously not in the mood for courtesy.

"I do, I am to deliver these Fox Emperor Bai Zhi.", as the messenger spoke, they produced a marble cylinder from where it had been stored with magic. But then the messenger made no further movement, and simply stood at perfect straight backed attention.

Dong Hua had left a little over twelve hours ago, it was likely that the messages in that marble cylinder were related to Fengjiu, Bai Zhen's impatience was understandable.

"I am his son, High God Bai Zhen, whatever it is I'll take it and pass on the message.", Bai Zhen replied, holding out his free hand to receive the message.

"I know who you are, High God. I apologise, but my orders were to deliver these to the Fox Emperor and no other.", was the demon messenger's immediate response, though he still did not move backwards, even though he was now in range of Bai Zhens sword.

Zhe Yan did not personally know any servant that would deny a ruling monarch's request while standing in the kingdom that monarch ruled. Still he supposed if any would be resolute enough to do it would be those that served Dong Hua and those under him.

"You are refusing me?", Bai Zhens patience had clearly worn out, and he pointed his sword at the demon's throat.

The demon soldier's response was as placid as a lake made of glass, "I have my orders, High God."

Zhe Yan was ready to intervene should Bai Zhen decide to throw away his dignity and Qing Qiu's reputation to murder an unarmed messenger.

But then the air suddenly filled with the scent of rain, though there were no clouds.

A formidable magic shield had formed in front of the demon. It looked like a sheet of rain frozen in time, and it blocked Bai Zhen's sword from moving forward. That was no paltry feat. The barrier did not come from the demon, it had the air of divinity. Half a second later the rain barrier coalesced into the shape of a man, their aura was clear, sharp and unmistakably a High God. That explained why this messenger had been so unconcerned about Bai Zhen's unwelcoming and threatening attitude and actions.

Zhe Yan unfolded his fan, ready to attack at a moment's notice. If either of these two unwelcome guests had any thought of attacking Bai Zhen, their lives would be forfeit.

"When an old companion called in a debt I had thought it a simple undertaking. 'twas simply to make sure his newest commander was not skewered while playing messenger, more fool I.", the newcomer lamented.

As the newcomer spoke the droplets that had blocked Bai Zhen's sword sped toward their hand, coalescing into a sword Zhe Yan did not recognise. It's blue-grey wrappings reminded Zhe Yan of a rainstorm in winter; pleasant to watch, unpleasant if you were the one caught in it.

"That the Fox General would hold fast to the old hatreds did not occur to me.", the newcomer continued, to speak, their coalesced sword now firmly blocking Bai Zhens own from advancing any closer to the messenger.

The only people he knew that held the title of General as the highest title and honour one could have were those that followed Dong Hua in the prehistoric era. That explained why they sounded like an actor in those plays Bai Qian liked most. This newcomer's manner of speech was ancient, as if they'd not interacted with the world since that era ended.

Zhe Yan supposed that he'd likely kept the same speech patterns if his attempt at complete seclusion from the world hadn't been thoroughly ruined by Bai Zhi and his offspring.

Bai Zhens' slightly furrowed brows betrayed his confusion as he tried to parse what the newcomer had said. Even befuddled confusion was a welcome relief from the shocked grief that had not lifted from Bai Zhens' face for even a moment since yesterday.

"What horrors have occurred during my seclusion to turn the kind fox's heart cold? So that even his foxling descendants deem it fit to bare their blade at the throat of unarmed messengers?", the unknown High God spoke.

Zhe Yan watched the scene from the shadow of the fox den until he saw Bai Zhen bristle at the 'foxling' epithet. It was too easy for this to blossom into a fight. If a real fight broke out at the steps of the Fox Den it would quickly spiral out of control.

The Bai family were at this very moment only a hair's breadth away from unleashing their fury on whatever target happened to present itself. Dong Huas' subordinates would not have a pleasant time, that wasn't what Zhe Yan was concerned about. The current Dong Huas' response to one of his subordinates being attacked was not likely to spare any thoughts for familial ties.It could very well swiftly devolve into a skirmish or even a war. That was how deeply Fengjiu's death had affected things, it was truly a situation Zhe Yan had never considered possible.

With these thoughts in mind Zhe Yan swiftly walked into the warmth of a sun that was shining too brightly for such a grim day.

It seemed the newcomer had been aware of him; they made no new movements or gave any indication they were startled. As the newcomer seemed to only be on the defensive, Zhe Yan felt comfortable to keep walking at his normal, sedate pace. As he approached the rather odd collection of two High Gods and a demon, the newcomer spoke.

"General Zhe Yan?" The newcomer smiled, it gave them a boyish look. Which was utterly strange on a face Zhe Yan knew was of the same generation as Mo Yuan.

Zhe Yan ignored the strange look Bai Zhen was giving him, the deep bow of the demon messenger and the inclined head of this High God. Zhe Yan first corrected the High God,"I have not led a host in over five ages, you mis-title me." Zhe Yan slipped back into the older mode of speaking. There had been changes to speech since ancient times, and it seemed this High God would not know them.

"Forgive me, I knew thee only by your titles of Healer and General, I beseech you inform me what titles you bear now in this later age, that I might address you correctly?",

Zhe Yan had been the only dedicated healer in the prehistoric era. While most of the Elder generals used the epithet of 'healer' in scorn; the younger generations of generals had mostly generally used it as a title of respect equal to general; he was the healer after all. Either way, he did not like to be reminded of dark days filled with blood and ash.

"High God would be the title used now.", Zhe Yan informed the High God.

"Truly?" Came the incredulous response from the High God whose name Zhe Yan still did not remember, if he'd ever known it that is.

Zhe Yan understood their confusion, there had been near countless High Gods in the prehistoric era. What was once a simple descriptor like 'demon' or 'mortal' was in this age a title of reverence.

As bizarre as the last minute of conversation was, he could sense Bai Zhen becoming impatient again, but was clearly reigning in his well hidden bad temper for Zhe Yan's sake.

"You seem to know me, but I do not know you." Zhe Yan stated flatly.

"Ah,", and they did seem quite embarrassed, "I plead forgiveness for my ill manners. I am Yu Shi, the sixty fourth being to have the honour of serving Lord Shaoyang as one of his Generals."

He was about to say he had no idea who this High God was when Bai Zhen spoke, "Yu Shi -The Rain General, The Cascading Calamity and Herald of Endless Tears?". Bai Zhen recited the unpleasantly flowery titles with perfect cadence and enunciation.

Zhe Yan had been on the receiving end of this particular brand of petty vengeance a thousand times, and so had some pity for Yu Shi; they looked particularly pained at the last two titles. As far as Zhe Yan was aware the history books had been kind to him, only giving him the epithet 'First Phoenix' and 'Healer'. While most of the other general's given names, epithets and titles had been lost to history. Leaving chroniclers to come up with whatever flowery titles and names they wished to fill the blanks.

"Perhaps General Yu Shi is agreeable if formalities must be adhered to? Or simply Yu Shi? For the moment 'High God' as a title sounds strange to my ears.", Yu Shi spoke, clearly embarrassed at the epithets history had given him.

Even little Bai Chen was less open with his emotions than this High God was. It was the sheepish look that allowed Zhe Yan to place the memory of where he'd met this man before. "You were that idiot," he spoke, finally remembering the circumstances of where he had met Yu Shi, though the man was only a High Immortal in his memory.

Zhe Yan continued, "The one stupid enough to suffer near-complete disembowelment, but smart enough to cast a barrier to keep your innards mostly intact." Zhe Yan only remembered that because most people could not focus enough with such an injury to cast and maintain even a small barrier long enough to retreat to the healing tents.

It was also clear that bullying this old General of Dong Hua's was helping to vent Bai Zhen's anger at the messenger they were protecting, and Zhe Yan was quite content to continue.

"I am ashamed to be remembered thusly by one such as yourself. That twas I.", Yu Shi admitted, "At that time I was serving under Xiang Xus' command."

Inwardly Zhe Yan reevaluated this High God Yu Shi. Zhe Yan hadn't completely written him off of course, Dong Hua had been meticulous in selecting every General. But it was strange to be interacting with someone whose emotions were so open and candid.

"Why are you here, now?", Zhe Yan asked.

"I am merely here to ensure this one", Yi Shu gestured to the messenger standing a step behind him, "was not felled before they had fulfilled their task."

Before either he or Bai Zhen could reply, three flares of spiritual energy landed nearby.

—----------------Mini Glossary—-------------

帝君 (Dijun) 帝 - Imperial, Emperor. 君 - Lord, Ruler, Monarch, Sovereign.

Ways to translate into english: Emperor Sovereign, Emperor Lord, Emperor Monarch, Imperial Lord, Imperial Ruler, Imperial Monarch, Imperial Sovereign.

An example of why i'm not translating Dijun, Dihou, Tianjun and Tianhou into english, the variations are just too many, and characters use these titles when speaking to the person (out of politeness/respect) so often that it gets clunky if I translated 'Dijun' into Emperor Sovereign ect every time.

Some of Dong Huas other titles we might be hearing more of:

天地共主 (Tiandi gongzhu) - Master of: the Universe/The World/Heaven and Earth.

帝尊 (Dizun) Revered Sovereign. Supreme Sovereign. Revered Emperor.

尊神 (Zunshen) - Revered Deity/God, Chen Ye refers to Dong Hua as this in Pillowbook.

万物之主 - Ruler of All.

少陽君 - Lord Shaoyang. Shaoyang Sovereign.

紫府少陽帝君 (Zifu Shaoyang Dijun). Imperial Sovereign, Lesser Yang Sovereign of the Purple Manor.

—-----------------------------------

I will soon be creating a 'miscellaneous collection' section to this 'Scion' series. I will link this in the end of the upcoming chapter. At the moment it is planned to be a mix of 'in story' information and documents, poems ect, and 'out of story' information. like a glossary of all the titles, terms ect i'll be using in the story (and the future stories!), a timeline that will be updated as I write, and other hopefully interesting tidbits that I can't fit into the story, but will hopefully be interesting, amusing or helpful to you readers!