Kunlun Mountain Part 4 - The Return

Chapter 38 - Strangers

Enveloped in his arms, the ground beneath her feet gave way.  Instinctively, she released a little of her own energy to give him the strength he needed to take her away.  She automatically felt the weakness in his own, it was almost at base level, akin to a new Immortals energy, that her own infused his aura to give his a boost.

This was something she knew she would have to deal with and quickly.  Lai had explained to her what she had created, and because she had used her tails to create the Nine Pillar Energy Source her world now desperately needed, no one else had the ability to release its energy, and this became even more noticeable as Mo Yuans energy levels became apparent.

Thinking that perhaps he was taking her back to his chamber, she was pleasantly surprised to find herself at their sanctuary, a place she had not visited since the day she had removed his body for resurrection. And not only did she notice a few changes he had made in her absence, ones he had made since his return, but the hot pool had a small flower garden around it, though how he had managed it, she had no idea.

Though unknown to them both, not only had Gaogui been visiting the sanctuary for thousands of years to rest, he had also completed what his father had been working on before he sacrificed himself and that was how to grow natural flora on a moving asteroid that held no soil and nor did it have a sun to orbit.  

From his fathers scrolls that he had stumbled upon as a little boy, the dream of fulfilling his fathers dream was finally achieved not long before he resurrected.  And he left it as a gift for his father to find.

Standing beside the day bed that she had visited almost daily for centuries, her mind was barely comprehending it.  Her only thoughts were on him, his embrace and the beating of his heart she could feel against her cheek.  Life! she thought to herself smiling as her arms tightened around his waist.

He held her gently against him, unsure of what to say to her.  In his mind, he had dreamed of this day since Gaogui took her to the Orchid Valleys for healing.  He had long conversations with her in his mind and she would talk to him as if they were merely picking up where they left off.  Feeling her embrace tighten, he looked down.

Her lashes swept her soft flushed cheeks, yet his smile had yet to rise.  Looking down at her, he wondered what thoughts were going through her head as he tried to think of something to say.  It just seemed so surreal to have her in his arms that words escaped him at that moment. 

Then slowly, she turned her head upwards to look at him.  She smiled at him, her eyes softened and the glow on her soft cheeks flushed becomingly.  Yet there was something else he noticed.

Though she had aged,  she was more beautiful than he could ever have imagined, but she felt different, her body was not the same, the almost innocent look in the eyes he had held in his mind for centuries were not the same.  These were eyes that had seen far too much and knew even more, they felt distant.  He could literally see his own long absence in them, areas of her life he had not been a part of,  parts of her life he would never know.

Now suddenly he felt unsure of himself, of her, of them and where they stood with each other. In his heart, he loved her as much as the day he had left, but he could not help but feel as if a wall was dividing them.  He no longer knew her.

Letting her go, his soft eyes fell upon the remnants of her tears as she looked up at him with a soft smile.  She did not let him go immediately, instead she held onto the front of his robes and stared into his eyes.  She was searching them and he could feel it.

"It has been a long time Mo Yuan.  I know it will take a little more to find that space we once knew, but it is still here." she said gently as she took his hand and held it to her heart.