In Darkness

Lost in Stone

AN: Oh, Bai Qian... Oh, Bai Qian, you misguided fox... I love how she completely 'forgets' that Mo Yuan had only just taken up the throne of the Celestial Palace.

Over the past two weeks, Mo Yuan had made a trip to the Nine Heavens for a formal court session. While scrolls and missives could be sent to Kunlun mountain, part of the benefit of the Celestial palace was that it was at the midway point for most realms. It wasn't logical to have many deities making journeys that would last several days when Mo Yuan was an efficient cloud jumper.

Having announced that he's chosen a Heavenly Consort, Yang Cuo and Hao De were forced to bite back their own words about attempting to marry Su Jin off to her previous husband's elder brother.

When Hao De brought up her fetus to the court, Mo Yuan stated (to Hao De's disliking) that his soon-to-be-wife would look after Su Jin as she was carrying one of the previous Heavenly Lord's children.

If he wanted to bring up the fact that they didn't get along (for obvious reasons), he wasn't able to. The reason Si Yin lost her eyes had been hidden to all outsiders, after all.

As per custom, when the court session ended Mo Yuan made his way over to the medicine king, scheduling an appointment for her to be looked over to make sure she wasn't suffering from any surprise ailments. Since she wasn't a virgin, Mo Yuan had made it clear that they'd be skipping the most intimate examinations despite common protocol.

After making his way out of the Celestial Palace, he went to leave the Nine Heaven's only for his ears to ring at the sound of four of the eldest court officials gossiping amongst one another.

"--I heard her beauty surpasses all others!"

"How do you know that? From what I've heard, no one but the royal family has seen her..."

"She is indeed beautiful. I once had the pleasure of meeting the late Heavenly Lord inside of his private residence. He was so in love with that one... He even painted a portrait of her to keep inside of his study so he could look upon her at all times! It's a shame, though, that her eyes were covered by a piece of silk."

"I heard from my nephew that she's a young peach blossom spirit from High God Zhe Yan's orchard. If I'm not mistaken, I once saw her dancing in his orchard for the late Heavenly Lord before she lost her eyes. She truly was deserving of being called one of the world's top beauties...."

"I heard Hao De Dijun was so jealous of her beauty that they took her eyes to give to Ye Hua Dijun's second wife."

"Ai-ya, it must have been an agonizing loss for the young lass. He truly is too cruel..."

"Watch your tongue!" One of the men whispers hoarsely to the other, "Just because he's no longer the Heavenly Lord doesn't mean he won't take your head!"

Shaking his head in, Mo Yuan cloud jumps and starts his trip back to Kunlun Mountain. The eve of his wedding had been an interesting one so far, to say the least.

With the God of War holding the throne of the Nine Heavens, skirmishes finally seemed to be settling down. Perhaps his reign would be a peaceful one, after all.

o~O~o

Bai Qian hesitates as she watches Shao Xing, Yan Zhi, Nai Nai, and Bai Feng Jiu as they continue perusing one of the most popular clothing stores in the lower immortal realms. Never one to indulge in girlishness to their extent, her hand absentmindedly runs over the rough texture of the scroll Qing Cang had sent.

She was stalling, this much she knew. 

Finally deciding to stop chickening out of whatever he had planned for her, she opens it, scanning the contents as quickly as she can. In seconds, the letter is crumbling into ash in her hands. She uses a spell to clean up the mess before joining Yan Zhi's side.