My Little Shifu

Bedazzled

There was not much that Die Feng could do to coax Mo Yuan out of his meditation cave when the man had completely closed himself down like he had.  All morning he had been trying to gain his attention, several of his juniors had begun to misbehave, seeing as his Shifu was too preoccupied with whatever was happening in the Peach Grove, which he knew he had been disappearing to.

He might have spent the majority of his time on kunlun Mountain, but even they were not exempt from the rumours that were swirling about the realms and being the only one trusted enough to gather their needs from the outside, it was inevitable that he would not only hear the gossip, but he would also learn about the young lady of the Peach Tree Grove that had upset the Queen of the South.

Only Mo Yuan was completely oblivious to his problems, mainly because he just didn't care.  He had raised Die Feng since a child, and through the long years, he had prepared him for a day when Mo Yuan could leave the maintenance of the school to him for short periods at a time.  So he felt no guilt at the constant pressure on his barrier.  If his second in charge could not maintain order of mere children, then he failed to graduate and the only way to learn, was to throw him in the deep end.

Which had his mind once again dwelling on his little Shifu.  For three weeks he had been meeting with her every day, and each time saw a little of himself dragged out of the deepest recesses of his mind, a place that he had firmly placed every single one of his emotions until he no longer had to think about it.  Of course, he could drag them out if he felt it was necessary, but he had reached a stage in his life, where he no longer needed them to gain the peace that others did.

Only this little girl had him thinking about her constantly.  But what had him so perplexed that morning, was why she was in his mind at all.  Centuries of rigid training in maintaining his thought processes, should have seen him viewing his lessons as just that.  After all, a good teacher wisely admitted that there was always something new to learn, and his lessons, though fun in an odd kind of way, were still just lessons which he was learning from.

Only the image of her smiling eyes beneath the brim of her ridiculously large floppy hat, seemed to have been permanently imprinted on his mind.  Yet the thought of not being able to see that mischievous face once his lessons ended, which he knew would eventually, had him seriously considering the enormous changes he would undergo to rid her completely from his mind.

Which then had him wondering if he really could say goodbye to her.  He could only spare her seven more days, before he would have to return to work, which meant constant trips back and forth to the Celestial Heavens.  Meeting with his generals, world leaders and those with grievances that he would have to assist with.

Only he wondered who in the Nine Heavens would possibly have an answer for the grievances of his heart, which he just couldn't seem to solve himself.  In fact, being very honest with himself, Mo Yuan already knew what the problem was exactly, only he had no real idea what to do about, especially when his eyes were now focused on a small wren perched on the ledge of his window pecking at what must have been  spider hiding in the small crevice of the wood and looking very much like a naughty little tree sprite.  

Not to mention the blue sky for confidence and the green robed tree tops in the distance.   Even the sun shade over the lotus pond that Die feng had raised to protect them from the fierce heat reminded him of her silly hat.  In fact, there was absolutely nothing he could look at that didn't remind him of her.

The scent of the peach blossoms from his nearby trees wafting though the window would forever remind him of her, even if the skies darkened to a dull grey, or the trees disappeared or the sun shade or even curtains ruffling in a breeze were brought to a halt if the wind died.  He could see her smiling eyes in the candlelight, the way she held his hand from the warmth of the sun that had just reached his dais, the infectious laughter from the windchime hanging in the window and even the rapping of her knuckles against his forehead when Die Feng yet again pressed in on his barrier.