This story is about the birth and development of the best friendship between Donghua Dijun and his little fox.
In my re-imagined story, I am attempting to give our beloved leads a genuine chance at love with their own thoughts, behaviors, and desir...
A/N: When this volume ends I'm going to take about a two-week break before I start the next one. But a next volume is a sure thing. Their story doesn't end. The last chunk of this volume focused on The Fox Den Chronicles. I wanted DH to get to know her family. The next volume focuses more on their Celestial life. She'll navigate her role as Dong Hua's Dihou, there'll be more love-play, YH weds BQ and all the hoopla that goes with that, DH goes to fox school, Scarface finds his footing in the Nine Heavens, Mogu learns to deal with emotions, more adventures with the toddlers/fetuses, plus special appearances by some beloved characters and a few other surprises! Ah shit, I've already said too much. We'll see how much of that I can fit in. Okay, so be ready for a volume III at some point ;)
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Dong Hua watched her carefully arrange the blue and white flowers in small clay vases.
She methodically put one on each side of the memorial placards. The strong smell of incense in the room made her nose twitch.
The almighty god felt a strange sense of detachment as he watched her wordlessly as if he wasn't supposed to be part of the scene. She lit and offered incense to each placard, with her palms brought together like a closed lotus in silent prayer.
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Besides Zhong Lin, no one had ever been allowed in this room before. Seeing her move quietly as if she belonged there, as if she knew the long-deceased, as if she did this every day, made it seem like he was looking back at a memory. Except in this memory, the room was brighter and filled with light.
"Dijun?" Her soft voice gently tugged at and unraveled the knots in the ribbons of his consciousness.
His vague expression met her small smile.
"These flowers I preserved from Qing Qiu look beautiful in these vases. You made them didn't you?"
Before she gently called out to him, he felt neither in the past nor fully grounded in the present. He stepped forward to wrap his long slender fingers around the short sepia-colored vase as if touching them could confirm that she and him were really there in the room — together, anchored in the same moment in time.
He nodded. "I made these," he replied quietly.
"I know that Zhong Lin is very busy, I can take care of the flowers here from now on." She watched as his gaze settled on the vase.
"I mean ... if that's okay with you. If not, that's fine. I can just help out whenever Zhong Lin needs me to."
He looked up at her, unable to hide his inquisitiveness. "Xiao Bai, he helps you. You are Dihou of Tai Chen Palace."
She nodded awkwardly. "Oh, yes. That's right."
Dong Hua noticed she was not her usual forthright and cheerful self and he knew why.
