The Queen In Red

The Queen In Red 35

Zhong Lin moved out of the way to allow Dong Hua through.

Dong Hua wore no expression on his face. Instead, he moved with hastened steps. Zhong Lin, too, rushed to keep up, knowing he was about to be tasked with something to do.

When they finally stopped, it was in front of the sleeping chambers Dong Hua had given Feng Jiu.

A moment of sadness flicked past his eyes. This was a look Zhong Lin had seen regularly. It was still just as foreign as the first time he saw his master emotionally hurt.

"Come to me in two days. I will be going to spend some time in my mind palace. Under no circumstances are you to disturb me unless it has to do with the Queen of Qing Qiu."

"But will you spend the whole time there? You have not slept. How can your mind cope..?"

Dong Hua did not answer. He only turned to Zhong Lin; his eyes showed a look of disapproval towards his steward.

Clearing his throat, Zhong Lin bowed and walked away, hoping that his master would rest when he could.

---

With a flick of the wrist, Dong Hua closed the door behind him but left the blinds and the door that led to a small path behind his palace open to allow fresh air to cross through the room.

He walked to his desk and conjured the memory instrument they had made at Kun Lun, a stack of papers, ink and brush and laid everything out in front of him.

On a cushion, he sat in the lotus position and closed his eyes.

By breathing through his diaphragm, he was able to slow down his heartbeat until he was almost in a deep sleep.

This would be the state Dong Hua would need to remain in for two days. He could not allow his heartbeat to quicken, or else it would force his body out of the calmness and awaken him.

Now, Inside of his mind, Dong Hua walked down a long hallway.

The walls were a cream white with the delicate pattern of branches woven over the top.

The colour of the branches mimicked whatever mood Dong Hua was in.

Ever since he was able to master his mind palace, it would only show one colour, purple. It represented wisdom, spirituality, royalty and vision.

But as he continued to walk the long hallway, the branches had variations of colour everywhere.

Red, showing anger but passionate love.
Green represented envy and growth.
The colour yellow showed caution yet enduring energy.

And so forth the colours went, he realised how many colours his little fox brought into his life.

Thousands of years ago, he would have considered this chaotic and inconvenient, but now, he would not replace it for anything else.

Reaching the wooden door to his library, he continued walking forward, making the doors open independently.

The library's design was elegant; the floor was shaped as an octagon while steps circled the shelves to allow Dong Hua to travel between books easier.

Due to his age and the number of events he kept to memory, he had categorised everything in chronological order; it allowed him to bring to remembrance information or assign information easily without taking himself to his mind palace.

This would be the longest time he would spend in his mind palace. Any time over a few hours would drain his energy significantly and cause his cultivation to deplete, but with Feng Jiu in danger and realms in jeopardy, he had no other choice.

---

"Fox Emperor." Zhong Lin greeted Bai Zhi, who had walked into Tai Chen Palace heading towards Dong Hua's study.

"Zhong Lin, where is he? He was supposed to meet with us at the peach grove to prepare for the realm leaders meeting this morning."

"Apologies, Fox Emperor, I haven't been able to get him out of his mind palace. Either he's stuck, or he doesn't want to get out."

"Take me to him."

Zhong Lin guided him outside to a path that led to Dong Hua's chambers.

Zhong Lin could see Bai Zhi was happy to continue without him and left Bai Zhi and Dong Hua alone.

Dong Hua had managed to write while in that state which surprised Bai Zhi. There were papers everywhere. He had written spells and magic he had never heard of, but what caught his attention was a painting he had never seen before spread out in front of him, freshly painted.

A picture of his granddaughter in a red wedding gown with a stunning gold embroidery overtop, wearing a large gold crown, with gold hair clips holding her hair up.

The final piece was the red lip and her beautiful red phoenix birthmark.

Bai Zhi wanted to leave, feeling as though he was intruding in on Dong Hua's privacy, but because of Feng Jiu, he just as quickly disregarded that concern and moved towards the instrument he could feel near Dong Hua's desk.

The instrument laid beneath the mountain of papers Dong Hua had written on. Fortunately, it was not a fragile instrument; breaking it would be impossible without significant force.

Bai Zhi knew that Dong Hua had prepared the instrument if he wasn't able to leave, but Zhong Lin was right. Dong Hua could remain in that state and unable to escape.

It was fortunate that they had created an instrument that allowed safe passage into one's dreams and memories. Bai Zhi would have to look for his brother and bring him out quickly; he hoped he didn't stumble on anything he didn't want to see.

He sat next to Dong Hua on another mat he conjured and opened the instrument. Placing his hand on Dong Hua's forehead, he allowed the instrument to pull him into the memories direction.

Bai Zhi walked down the white hallway and came across the colourful branches that stretched across the top of it. He knew what it represented and was slightly surprised by the number of colours he was seeing. Dong Hua conveyed an air of order that nobody could decipher. However, he seemed as though he concealed his emotions well.

Approaching the door, he took a breathe and pushed it open.

The library was soo much more significant than he ever thought. It smelt of ink peach blossoms and sandalwood. Considering the amount of time Dong Hua had spent there and the mess he left in his bed chambers, Bai Zhi was surprised at how tidy everything was.

He could hear shuffling sounds echoing around him and decided to follow the path that circled the library walls. The trail seemed endless while the scrolls that recorded events were vast, but he continued to walk.

He could hear the sound of papers flicking until, eventually, he saw his brother standing in front of a giant corkboard. From what Bai Zhi could see, Dong Hua had mapped out a sequence of events, from the time he came to be until the time he removed Feng Jiu's name from the rock.

Each event he peeked at, Bai Zhi was able to see what happened. It was a memory within a memory, beautifully complex, but every bit Dong Hua.

Dong Hua's voice interrupted his intrusion.

"Took you long enough. I thought I would get stuck here for good." Dong Hua's eyes remained fixed on the pages before him.

"How was I to know you would resort to doing this for so long?" Bai Zhi sarcastically replied as he brushed his fingers through random papers, instantly seeing memories Dong Hua had experienced in wars long before foxes existed.

"If you continue touching my books, you will see things you don't want to see Bai Zhi." Dong Hua's eyes purposely moved to the opened books that surrounded him, each page dedicated to the only person Dong Hua could love.

Bai Zhi's face contorted in disgust. He pulled his arm back in and immediately moved away from the books.

"I can see you have collected much information; what have you found."

"I will explain everything when we return. I'm sure there are papers everywhere; once I'm out, we can make sense of it then."

"We need to leave now. We will be late for the first of many realm leaders meetings."

Dong Hua put everything back into its place and took Bai Zhi's arm; his cultivation was back to being at a low fifteen per cent, while he was feeling the fatigue kick in. he lost track of how many hours of sleep he missed.

When they arrived back, Dong Hua collapsed, his body completely overwhelmed by exhaustion, while Bai Zhi only watched as Dong Hua fell backwards from his seating position.

Bai Zhi decided it was best to allow Dong Hua time to rest. Even if he needed answers, Dong Hua must be at least coherent enough to know what was going on.

"I will return this evening, do not rush your sleep Dong Hua; you need the rest." Bai Zhi chuckled as he walked out, closing the door behind him.

Zhong Lin rushed out to him as he walked down the path towards the exit. "Fox Emperor, Fox Emperor," he called out, hoping he would stop.

"Mmm?" he stopped walking and waited for Zhong Lin to catch up.

"Dijun, he's not going with you?"

"He was stuck in the Demon Realm for days, or weeks from what Zhe Yan told me, because of Miao Luo's spell. He got stuck in his Mind Palace for three days, causing him to lose 75% of his cultivation. Would you not want to sleep?"

"Of course, I will return to him. Thank you, Fox Emperor."

"Zhong Lin?"

"Yes, Fox Emperor?"

"Take good care of my brother, have food prepared for him when he wakes. He might still think he's in a dream or memory, be patient with him and make sure no one else sees or serves him; he's vulnerable and weak."

"Yes, Fox Emperor."

Bai Zhi left quickly and headed back to Qing Qiu, without Dong Hua, but with a bit of hope. If Dong Hua found a way to get rid of Ziqi, it could mean he might save their realms.

The Fox Den was buzzing with raucous noise. All his children were under one roof while all his grandchildren stayed with Ali, Cheng Yu and a few of the Kun Lun disciples at Feng Jiu's home. After Miao Luo's intrusion, they didn't want to risk leaving anyone alone.

Cheng Yu had woken up the same night Feng Jiu left. Lian Song's dedication towards her care and Zhe Yan's medicinal elixir's aided her in waking up without drowsiness or discomfort.

Bai Zhi asked Cheng Yu to remain in Qing Qiu, but Cheng Yu, without hesitation, offered to help Ali and the disciples take care of the children.

He didn't know why, but he felt Ali knew more than he let on. Unfortunately, much like his father and uncle, Ali gave nothing away, only it was certain things he seemed to know regarding what happened that night that was too obvious to Bai Zhi.

Reaching the entrance to the den, he took a deep breath and let out a sigh. 'It's going to be a long week.' he thought to himself, walking into the den.