The Fate of my Soul.

Part 35

The little Earth Deity looked out towards the bell of the East Emperor that lay firmly rooted in place upon the River Ruoshui, where it had laid for 70,000 years untouched and almost forgotten by most of the world.  Only those who knew of its true power and its weaknesses kept it firmly in the backs of their minds, never once forgetting the pain it had caused.  Nor the man who had wrecked such destruction on their world all those years ago.

This day was no different to any other day.  Leaving his Earthen dwelling to check on the Bell, his heavily lined face squinted straight ahead, while his dimming eyes forced themselves to widen to better determine whether the water had indeed changed color.  Unsure, he moved closer until he was almost touching the water itself, and those dimming eyes needed no more assistance, they widened of their own accord.

And not only had the water changed color, but so too had the bell itself.  Di Jun had given him strict instructions to notify him immediately of any changes in or around the Bell, but the Little Earth Deity wasn't overly confident that a slight change in color would warrant a visit to Di Juns abode, after all the change wasn't overly dramatic, and nor was there any activity from the Bell itself.  

Deciding to leave it for now, and return later in the day to see if there was any more progress in the activity, he returned back to where he came from, completely oblivious to the arrival of several Ghost Clan warriors who were beginning to gather on the other side.

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Qi , immediately fled to the Ice Lands in the mountainous regions of the far south, a place he knew he could hide his fathers body until the time came to remove him.  Knowing the perfect place, he made his way quickly ensuring he covered his tracks with a magic spell as he went.  

Reaching a small outcrop of frail vegetation amid an splattering of ice covered rocks, he arrived at the entrance to a cave, so deep in the Mountain ranges crevices,  only a handful of people knew of it, and the others that did know, gave up the knowledge of it's existence thousands of years ago.

The trip had taken 3 days over some of the most rugged terrain he had ever traveled, and unused to such harsh travel, and unable to cloud jump least he was seen, his feet were blistered and sore though with a little magic, he had avoided hurting himself any more than he had.  

The cave was one he had  played in when he was a child.  He had visited the southern valleys with his mother after she brought him to a nearby clan to visit her sister.  Disappearing with his young cousins, they had led him to the cave to play, and being so isolated and unknown to anyone else, to a young boy with a grand imagination, the cave offered the perfect opportunity to allow his mind to run freely.  Some days it was a Palace and he was King, other days it was a dungeon and his cousins were his prisoners.  But this time, it would be a temporary tomb.

Carrying his father Li Yuans body inside, he lay him down on the flat stone tablet that sat in the center, that had long ago been his throne.   Slowly he began to cover the body in a 7 layer coffin of ice.  Once done, he exited the cave, and covered the entrance with a thick and impenetrable barrier, that would not only hide the entrance completely but any lasting remnants of energy that his fathers body may still be harboring from escaping.

The first part of his plan, was complete.

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Never had I been so furious as I was then.  There was no mistaking the boys actions, he had turned on us all, and I would not be holding back when I got my hands on him.  Returning to the Hall, I immediately informed all my Disciples that Qi was now the enemy and had thoroughly cut his ties to us all.  The shock and disbelief on their faces, along with Shengs tear streaked face truly hurt.