His Love

Soup

Thinking back to his talk with his sister not long before she chose to accept the marriage between herself and Ye Hua, Bai Zhen couldn't help but laugh at how dense she was.  He had given everything of himself to that little speech, and he thought she had finally matured enough to actually understand her own heart.  Yet here he was again, racing across the Mortal Realm skies, about to preach again, and he wasn't feeling as patient as he had been back then.

Lowering himself to a small settlement at the edge of a dense forest, he quickly opened his magic to scan the neat row of small cottages for her own.  It was a small home with only the one bedroom and as simple as she was.   It was barely furnished with only her requirements.  A bed, a small lounge suit and a dining table with two chairs.  Her only luxuries were the hearth, a bookshelf and a well stocked wine cellar.  And going by the feel of her energy once he locked onto it, she was making use of the latter.

Though she had not reached a point where a discussion couldn't take place, so lowering himself while keeping behind a barrier seeing as it was still daylight and the mortals were in motion around him, he silently slipped inside to find her staring blankly at an unlit hearth.  It was obvious from his first impressions, that she had sunk so deeply into her thoughts,  she hadn't even noticed his arrival.

Her face was pale, her eyes sunken having obviously been crying for time and to his mind, she looked so small and lost, that he immediately closed the gap to sit down and instantly snapping her out of whatever morbid thoughts she had allowed herself to sink into.

"Si Ge.." she jolted in surprise.

"Sitting here drinking and worrying your family senseless is not the way to solving whatever issues you think you have." he sighed sadly at the seven empty bottles on the table and then to the one in her hand which she had yet to drink from.

"What issues I think I have....?" she glared at him incredulously.  "Si Ge.  You were there, you heard what he said.  What the hell am I supposed to be thinking then?" she asked as another wave of tears began to force the ones in front down her cheeks.

"You've had three months to come a decision.  Sitting here wallowing in wine is not going to make it go away Xiao Wu.  You need to make a final decision and once you've done that, don't look back." he replied a little more harsher than he intended, but it got the desired result, because she was ready to argue.  And from there, move forward.

"If wallowing is making a decision, then I am more than capable of doing it without your help!" she snapped back before lifting the eighth bottle and gulping back as much as she could before her brother snatched it off her.

And he did before magically removing it along with the empty bottles.  He was angry, and not just because of the circumstances his sister, Qing Qiu and the entire world had been thrust into, but because she had allowed herself to selfishly squander three months on what her heart was telling her, rather than the wine.

"If you didn't need my help, you wouldn't be here." He snapped back and once again making her jump

Once again she was that lost woman who had fallen in love with Ye Hua, yet wasn't aware of it.   Back then, she had allowed A Li to drink a little too much wine and when Ye Hua found out, he had scolded her.  Only, instead of remaining and talking to him, she had run to the West Seas to hide.  And it wasn't just because of their fight either, but his side consort had infected her with jealousy.  It was only after their talk that Bai Qian was made to realize, she was not only jealous of Su Jin, she was actually in love with Ye Hua all along.  Only now, Mo Yuan was back and with his was a missing part of his soul, the man she thought she loved, yet now wasn't so sure.

"Was I in love with him all along?" she asked in a voice so deeply rooted in sorrow, he couldn't help but feel the immense sense of confusion addling her mind.