Between two lifetimes

[Epilogue] Family

Ye Hua opened his eyes and looked into eyes that were so similar yet different. "Welcome back, Ye Hua." Mo Yuan said, offering a hand to help him sit up.

Ye Hua looked at his twin with confusion and fear. He didn't know how long he'd been gone, he hadn't expected to be back and he remembered asking Qian Qian to move on with her life by accepting his brother's love for her.

"You've kept seventeen waiting for 3 years" Mo Yuan continued, answering both of his unspoken questions.

"Thank you, brother" Ye Hua replied

Ye Hua looked up at the faces that stared at him, all in excitement. The faces he wanted to see most were not there, he swallowed his disappointment, as long as they were together and doing well, he could wait a few more moments to see them.  He bowed to the group and started down the ledge to go find his love.

"You chose a good time to wake up, Ye Hua. Bai Qian is having your baby in Qing Qiu. You have to hurry if you want to get there on time" Lian Song said

Ye Hua turned back to his brother who nodded in confirmation

Ye Hua quickly cleaned up and rushed out of the nine heavens. He wasn't sure if he was imagining things or maybe his brain was still fragmented but his family seemed a lot more open to Qian Qian. When he got to the fox den, heavenly lord, his father, his uncle and Qian Qian's male family members were waiting outside. The screams were the first thing he heard and he ran straight in following them only to stop short at the door. A baby's cry rang out as soon as Qian Qian's gaze fell on him.

"Qian Qian" He said in half whisper

"Ye Hua, we have another baby" she started then realized the room had gone silent leaving only the baby's cries.

"You can see him? You can see Ye Hua? I'm not imagining him?" She asked Le Xu, holding tightly to the other woman's hand.

"You're not imagining it, my son is standing at the door" She replied in tears. She'd been at the palace when the news from Wuwang sea was brought in but it was moments before news had arrived that bai Qian had gone into labor and she'd chosen not to tell her as no one was sure what was happening yet.

His mother met him at the door and stopped him from going in while the women cleaned Bai Qian up. Although he hugged his mother and she said a lot of things, he didn't hear any of the words, his eyes and attention were on Bai Qian the whole time. She also kept her gaze on him as if scared that he'd disappear if she blinked.

When he was finally allowed, he walked into the room. She pulled back the blanket and he slid in beside her then wrapped her in a hug while she sobbed.

"You're here, I'm not dreaming. You're really here" She said

"I'm here, you're not dreaming" He replied.

"I dreamed of you so much, I could not tell the difference between reality and dreams. When I saw you at the door now, I thought I was dreaming"

"This is not a dream." he said and she nodded. He looked at her "Qian Qian, we met for the first time in Mount Junji when you were undergoing your mortal trial for your goddess ascension. You thought I was a black snake at first, you fed me raw meat. Then I came back pretending to be injured and you nursed me. You asked me to marry you and we got married in the fog. That was the first time I was truly happy but it was short lived as you were forced to heaven and ended up jumping off Zhuxian terrace. If I didn't have A-Li, I wouldn't have survived the heartbreak. 300 years later, I met you again and even though you didn't remember me, your mannerisms and the hellfire scar on your hand convinced me you were the same person. I knew then that whether Su Su or Qian Qian, it was you, my love." He paused "I remember it all clearly, can the 'me' in your dream do that?"

She shook her head "I've missed you, Ye Hua"

"Qian Qian, I love you"

Thanks for reading!