Taoist Master

A Personal Escort

"You are High Goddess Queen Bai Qian?" he asked incredulously, being unable to keep the disbelief from his tone while also goggling at her suspiciously as if she had just lied to him.  And that was because the woman he knew only by name was far older than what she looked to be.  To his mind she looked half her age.   Then again her parents did hold their ages well, as did he and being of the first clans he saw no reason why she shouldn't also, only she had completely floored him.

"I am she." Bai Qian replied blinking up at him with a small smile on her face at the way he inadvertently took a step towards her.

"Forgive my manners, but I did not realize ....." his voice trailed off unsure how to verbalise his astonishment without offending her because he was unaware that the Queen of Qing Qiu had been so well educated in a topic so few females had an interest in, much less highly schooled in.

  In fact, he was wondering which elite school she had attended and who her tutors were, because back then, her father had shown no interest in the topic while her mother, though exceptionally sharp, was far more domesticated and less inclined to worry herself over anything that was not in her immediate circle.  And that had him wondering if perhaps there was yet another Taoist Master he had yet to learn of, after all, one did not just take the title of Grand Taoist Master unless they had studied under a Master for centuries and being the Queen of Qing Qiu, he knew of no one who would have been able to keep this highly revered woman secret, especially seeing as she was also the worlds only High Goddess.

Watching him closely, she had no idea how to even answer that because she knew what he was thinking.  The one time she had tried to instigate a casual debate with a visitor to the grove who had stopped to meditate for a while, he had all but scoffed at the childlike woman  sitting beside him before sending her back to Zhe Yan with a handful of candy and a polite request to leave the serious topics for those who knew better.  So she understood this mans confusion, but it still irked her even now, that she was being placed in some kind of special box, when really, the only curiosity was that she found Taoism interesting and she loved to debate it.  That was all there was to it.

But the longer she stood there staring at him as he waited for her to say something, the more she could feel the pull of his gaze drawing her in deeper and deeper as if seeking to overwhelm her in the intensity of it.

She never realized how many expressions the eyes could convey while the rest of his face remained calm and unaffected.  He wasn't of course, because the very depths of his pupils, gave away the disbelief, the astonishment and even recognition because she had her mothers eyes, but under all of that was a strong hint of mirth, though she couldn't see a reason for it, not when she was now ready to leave his energy bubble to make a mad dash for the nearest exit which she noticed was the same door the judges entered and left by.

"Well.... I ... uh.... it is a pleasure making your acquaintance High God Mo Yuan, and I wish to thank you most generously for the competition.... but ....." her voice trailed off as her eyes lifted to take in the strength of his barrier.

"You are really going to leave?" he asked incredulously having thought she was jesting while desperately hoping she wasn't.

"Of course I am, I thought you understood." her eyes suddenly flashed daggers, because he looked close to preventing it.

"You have just won the most prestigious title this world has to offer.  Every single one of those people have not only followed your journey to this point, they will now be looking to you for inspiration and guidance, it comes with the title." he reminded her and bringing her attention back to the reason what she had just become to him and the world.

 "I gave you my name, you gave your word." she replied with a look of steely determination to leave even if she had to break his barrier to flee.  "And besides, I have no intention of throwing myself to the wolves, I am sure they will manage just fine without me in their lives." she scoffed before suddenly throwing a burst of energy at his barrier and dismantling it before he could even blink.