Choices and Consequences

His Decision(Tā de juédìng他的决定 )

Mount Junji

Ye Hua dampened his immortal aura and dressed in simple, neutral coloured clothing favoured by the villagers before crossing the barrier between the immortal and mortal realms.  He was a few minutes early so he decided to take a walk towards the Taoist temple.   As he rounded a corner, he found himself in the middle of a raucous wedding party.  From the chatter around him, he learned that the bride and groom are from prominent families in the village.  The groom General Tang is a celebrated army general and the bride is the local governor's daughter.

Ye Hua stood at the side of the road to let the wedding party pass before moving on to the tea house where he is meeting Li Jing.  As he looked on, the curtain of the bride's sedan opened and the bride looked out.  Her eyes landed straight at Ye Hua.  A bolt of emotion jolted Ye Hua's heart at the sight.  The curtain closed and she was gone.

Ye Hua stood rooted at the pavement.  His gaze intently followed the sedan and the boisterous wedding party as they meandered the narrow lane to their destination.  His mind is in turmoil.  He instinctively started hurrying after the group intent on finding out the reason for his strong reaction to the woman.  Although very beautiful, she was a complete stranger to him.  Ye Hua has seen his fair share of stunningly beautiful women and none has elicited such reaction except for his Qian Qian.  An image of Bai Qian flashed through his mind which brought him to a complete stop and the reason for his presence in the mortal realm came back to the front of his mind. 

Ye Hua berated himself for getting distracted.  He is now late to his meeting with Li Jing.  The Ghost Prince is not known for waiting patiently for anyone.  He hurried to the tea house, putting the thoughts of the woman out of his mind.

A young woman dressed in a form fitting hanfu that hugged her generous bosom is determinedly making her way to the young man sitting on his own at the corner table that overlooks the stage where a play is in progress.  She has been studying him since he arrived at their tea house.  His tall, lithe figure clad in rich silk robes was the first thing that attracted her attention but it was his beauty that stole her breath and made her body shiver in a very delicious, sinful way.  A chiselled jaw, full pouty lips, straight nose and a piercing green eyes that shows a wicked, amused gleam as it sweeps through the place had her scrambling to stop one of their serving staff from approaching him.  She will have the pleasure of serving him and maybe if she gets lucky, it would not be just with tea.

Li Jing looked up as he heard a  discreet clearing of a throat.  At his right side stood a pretty young woman who was eyeing him flirtatiously.  "Welcome to Taihe Tea House.  May I take your order Sir?" the young woman asked.  "Please bring me a pot of tea and some snacks,'' Li Jing replied before turning his attention back to the play below.  The young woman left a little disappointed having failed to catch his attention.

Li Jing was aware of the woman's interest and he would have taken what was generously offered except that he was meeting Ye Hua.   His best friend is not known for his tolerance of his propensity of  dallying with mortal women.  Ye Hua is as stuck in the mud as they come when it comes to the rules of separation of the immortal and mortal realms.    Not that Ye Hua is a boring old fart like his grandfather. He has taken lovers as any young hot blooded man has done in countless millennia but he is very discreet and choosy of who he shares his bed with.  None of those women has taken his interest enough to marry despite the not too subtle encouragement of Tianjun.

As his thoughts turned to Ye Hua, he realised that his friend was very late.  It is unheard of for Ye Hua to be late for anything.  The man is always on time and will probably break out in hives if he is a minute late.  Li Jing sniggered at the thought.  His eyes gleaming with mirth.  His tea and snacks was served by the same woman who gave  him an eyeful of her creamy breast as she bent lower than necessary to place the items on his table.