Choices

9 - Rediscovery

A/N: a.k.a. the pseudo-son weighs in.

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When Donghua Dijun sent an urgent missive directing him to go to Fanyin Valley, Liansong's first thought was that something universally cataclysmic was about to occur. Not a farfetched thought, considering that the valley is where the Miaoyi Huiming Realm was located, that separate world created by Dijun to trap excess toxins brought by the wordly sins of greed, ignorance, and discontent. In addition, he had learned from Zhonglin that Donghua entered the valley two months ahead of schedule, very suddenly and without prior notice.

So when he arrived at Donghua's Fanyin Valley residence and found him lounging in bed, a very familiar, scarlet nine-tailed fox curled sleeping on his lap, Liansong almost collapsed a lung in both disbelief and shock.

Dijun shot him that look, so Liansong bit his tongue in obedience to the wordless order to stay quiet. He restrained himself and watched as Donghua laid the slumbering fox princess down on the bed with extreme care, conjured a protective barrier around her, and motioned for Liansong to follow him outside.

As soon as the doors to the residence were closed, leaving the two of them standing in the moonlit courtyard, Liansong blurted out in horrified disbelief, "the Qingqiu princess was with you all along?"

Donghua did not deign to reply, merely raised an unimpressed eyebrow at Liansong's powers of deduction.

"But, Demon Lord Xu Yang said..."

"Xu Yang told the truth," Donghua cut off. "He searched, and he did not find her anywhere in the demon realm."

Because she was in your domain all along, Liansong thought, and raised a hand to his forehead where a headache was swelling fast. "I know you were missing that pet fox you lost, but to take a princess for a replacement, isn't that a bit too much?"

The look that Donghua gave him made Liansong feel as if he was the one who lost his marbles. "To be clear, she is that fox. Nie Chuyin cheated her out of her original fur and gave her the skin of a spirit fox to wear for the three years that she stayed with me."

"What? How?"

"I caught him attempting to cheat her out of her fur again in Fu Yu mountain, and admitted everything because he thought I would be merciful if he told the truth."

Huh. Liansong had heard about this Nie Chuyin, and never thought that he'd be this dumb. "So he's dead?"

Donghua shrugged, as if saying, who cares?

"Okay, so Fengjiu is that fox. That doesn't explain why you are keeping her here, instead of returning her to Qingqiu like you ought to."

Those dark, unfathomable eyes glinted, as Donghua tilted his face up to the moon in quiet contemplation. "She is also the fairy maid I have been searching for the past one thousand years."

If Liansong's jaw could drop any further, it would have. As it is, he raised a hand to ask for a respite from all the shocking information he was being bombarded with. "Wait --"