The Queen In Red

The Queen In Red 19

Walking down the dark stone corridor, Mo Yuan and Bai Zhi headed towards the direction of the infirmary with Mingmei in Mo Yuan's arms. Her arms were tightly wrapped around his neck, afraid the darkness would eat her up.

"What are you afraid of Xiao Mei?" Asked Mo Yuan

"It's dark, Xu Ling from school told me that the Xiangliu beast loves to eat fox brains and can only find them in the dark."

Bai Zhi chuckled while Mo Yuan lit up the corridor.

"Xiao Mei." Mo Yuan placed her on the ground while clasping her waist; he bent down on one knee. "You are a nine-tailed fox and a dragon, who dares try and hurt you?"

With her hands on Mo Yuan's shoulders, she looked down pouting.

Bai Zhi caught her attention and said. "Mingmei, Uncle Mo Yuan killed the Xiangliu beast hundreds of thousands of years ago, and who would dare hurt a nine-tailed fox?" Bai Zhi asked, shaking his head with feigned disapproval.

Mingmei looked back to Mo Yuan, "Did you?"

Mo Yuan felt proud for looking tough in front of her, he grinned back and nodded. "I did."

"Wow, was it scary?" She asked, holding his hand while waiting for him to stand.

"It took no effort at all." Mo Yuan said matter of fact.

"You are the best Uncle."

"What about me?" Bai Zhi poked his head around Mo Yuan to stare down at his granddaughter.

"Well, what have you done?"

Mo Yuan smiled at her innocence and continued walking whereas Bai Zhi was laughing while shaking his head. "You know what Mingmei, your Uncle is the best; he will have fun chasing away your suitors."

"My what?" Mingmei asked which earned Bai Zhi a glare from Mo Yuan.

"Nothing Xiao Mei, your grandfather is old and worn out."

"Ohh." Mingmei peeked at her grandfather. She thought he was a little haggard; maybe it was because he was getting old. Mingmei let go of Mo Yuan's hand, to his dismay and ran to her grandfather. "I will take care of you, grandfather." She placed her hands in his and gave it a light squeeze. "Are we going to see Feng Jiu Jie Jie?"

"Yes, you must stay quiet, just like when we were in her bamboo home. Ali and Dijun are with her and your grandfather Lian Song is with Aunt Cheng Yu."

When they reached the entrance, Bai Zhi picked her up to hold her while walking in. The smell of medicinal herbs made Mingmei's eyes water. Bai Zhi wrapped a protective bubble around her to allow her to breathe comfortably. Dong Hua was sitting leisurely at the foot of Feng Jiu's bed reading while Ali sat on the ground near the top of her bed meditating. Mingmei looked down at Feng Jiu; she looked to be in the same condition she had been at her bamboo home after the arena.

"Grandfather, why is she hurt again?"

"Feng Jiu saved Yan Chiwu."

"Uncle Chiwu? Is he here too? Where?"

"Uncle?" Mo Yuan asked, confused and noticed Dong Hua lifting his eyes from the scroll.

"Yes, sometimes when I stay with Feng Jiu Jie Jie, Uncle comes to stay too. But he has his chambers, just like Aunt Cheng Yu and me."

"Does he stay often?" Mo Yuan asked

"Only when she wants to drink, but sometimes..." She looked down at Bai Zhi's chin. "Sometimes she cries for a long time, and Uncle makes her laugh, or Aunt Cheng Yu takes her out. But most of the time Uncle likes to make sure she doesn't feel sad. Grandfather, why does Feng Jiu Jie Jie get sad? Did a boy do it to her?"

Mo Yuan and Bai Zhi both looked towards Dong Hua who was frowning. It was apparent how angry he was at himself.

"Mingmei, your sister has a lot to do as Queen, sometimes it can be hard to bear." Bai Zhi replied while stroking her back.

"Can you put me down please, grandfather?"

"Don't run about Mingmei."

Rolling her eyes, she placed her hands on her hips and looked up to Bai Zhi. "I do not need to be reminded grandfather. I know how to behave."

Bai Zhi chuckled while lifting his arms in surrender, "I'm sorry, I forget you are a big girl now."

"I am two hundred years old," Mingmei stated, earning another small chuckle from Bai Zhi and Mo Yuan while walking towards Ali.

Ali was still meditating but kept his eyes closed while smiling. He sensed his sister coming towards him, but she stopped to stand next to him and leaned on the bed.

It was quite a tall bed; it stood up to her chin. she turned her head to look at the sleeping Feng Jiu and sighed. "Why do you always end up like this?"

She looked over at Dong Hua who was overseeing her, she didn't mind him much, he was nice enough, and he looked after Feng Jiu the most. She used Ali's seated position to help prop her up on the bed, her feet dug into his thighs and crunched his neck, he just giggled and turned to her.

"Mingmei, if you wanted to go up on the bed you should've asked me."

"I'm okay now; you carry on." She said, patting him on the head. She crawled to the end of the bed and sat next to Dong Hua which surprised Mo Yuan and Bai Zhi. "What are you reading?" She asked.

"Demon wars inventory." Dong Hua looked at the little fox girl next to him and wondered if Feng Jiu was just like that growing up. The thought bought a smile to his face.

"That's not very interesting. Do you want to see my painting instead?" She pulled it out from her sleeve before he could answer. "The first disciple helped me paint it. It's for Feng Jiu Jie Jie." She shoved it in his face making Bai Zhi chuckle as he sat next to a table.

"It's interesting." Dong Hua stated.

She glared at him, "Are you saying it's ugly?"

"No, I'm saying it's interesting."

"Interesting is what people say when they believe something is ugly. Like...."

Dong Hua looked at her to continue.

"Like when you think a baby is weird looking and say they look interesting."

Dong Hua smiled again, "I mean what I said. It is an interesting picture."

"How?" She stared into his eyes, incredulously.

"The colours you've used are from her home, pink, purple, white and gold and the picture you've drawn are Qing Qiu, she will love it, it will remind her of home."

"Not bad." She said, pointing her chin at him. "I'm sorry I doubted you Dijun, you are pretty observant." She looked towards Feng Jiu. "I'm going to make her warm okay." She then turned to crawl to Feng Jiu

"Be careful around her Mingmei." Dong Hua warned

"I know, I know." she waved at him to leave her be. Mingmei turned into her fox form and laid next to Feng Jiu. She had seven tails draped over Feng Jiu and two around herself. She allowed for the gentle rise and fall of Feng Jiu's chest to soothe her to sleep.

When Ali felt her sleeping, he sensed the High Gods had wanted to talk, but without someone listening in, so he placed a privacy barrier over Feng Jiu, Mingmei and himself to allow the three to speak freely. Dong Hua strengthened it just to make sure.

Dong Hua had not known that she cried often, but he knew that it could only be because of the pain he inflicted upon her. She carried with her, deep wounds that were repeatedly made by his actions. 'I could never deserve you Jiu'er.' He thought to himself.

"How long will it be before they wake up?" Bai Zhi asked.

"Feng Jiu will wake in a few days, and Cheng Yu will be about a week." He moved his eyes to the wall he created the night before. "The demon boy will need to remain asleep for at least a year." Dong Hua's jaw tightened. "She intended for him to be in Qing Qiu with her."

"We know, in his chambers." Bai Zhi smirked.

"Why did you not turn him away when she first brought him to her home?" Dong Hua asked Bai Zhi.

"Bai Feng Jiu is a good judge of character; she will not make friends with just anybody, and, she allowed those two to be around him. Our family all know him, Dong Hua. He's unrefined and uncivil, but loyal and protective of her." Bai Zhi lifted his chin to Feng Jiu. "You also showed me his memories; it is clear that he holds no romantic feeling towards Feng Jiu; he merely wants to protect a friendship he has never had before."

Dong Hua let out a grunt.

Chuckling to himself, Bai Zhi knew the reason why he hated Yan Chiwu, but he would never force him to admit it.

Dong Hua turned back to Feng Jiu. His face warmed, seeing the little ball curled up next to her, he wanted this future with her. He also knew they would have had many children by now had he not taken his name off that damned rock. She was perfection in his eyes.

"Miao Luo will not rest until she gets her hands on Feng Jiu, Miao Luo will try to draw her out." Mo Yuan said taking the spot next to Bai Zhi.

"Watching her is impossible," Bai Zhi started, "But with Yan Chiwu with her, she shouldn't have any other reason to leave Qing Qiu or Nine Heavens. There is a transit seal I can give her that will allow her the ability to go from one place to another regardless of the distance."

"It will only allow the person to travel between two locations." Mo Yuan stated

"Yes, she only needs Qing Qiu and The Nine Heavens, everywhere else she visits is within Qing Qiu, The friends she has outside of Qing Qiu will need to visit her instead."

Dong Hua wanted to know what friends he was referring to but decided against asking.

"We've started working on the instrument; it is a little more complicated because each of our essences is fighting to master the other. You need to be with us as we pour into it, so we prevent it from shattering."

"Dong Hua? You will need to leave her for at least a day while we finish making the instrument." Mo Yuan stated while watching his reactions

Dong Hua looked at her sleeping figure, he had already considered this when he first began work on the instrument, but that was before she was hurt. He had no reason to worry, but he wanted to be sure that she was safe, and the only way to guarantee this would be for him to be with her.

Mo Yuan had conjured the copper mirror and had it appear in Dong Hua's lap. "Use this to watch her Dong Hua; we need you to be with us."

"Where is Bai Ren? She needs to be here with Feng Jiu." Dong Hua asked still looking at her sleeping face

"My children will be with her. She will be fine, brother. You need not worry." Bai Zhi said, looking towards his granddaughter with tenderness. "She is very blessed to have the affection of the previous Heavenly Lord. It's a pity she will never know this."

"It would be best if we leave now, Haode will be coming back this evening." Mo Yuan hurried, "We need to get this done as soon as we can as we have much more to discuss."

Dong Hua lifted the privacy shield that surrounded Ali, Mingmei and Feng Jiu. He stood in front of Ali, "Leave me alone with her."

Ali opened his eyes slowly and stood up. He picked Mingmei up and walked towards the door. "Dijun, please let me know when you leave her, I will return with Mingmei and stay with her until someone else comes." Ali left with Bai Zhi and Mo Yuan following behind.

---

Dong Hua cast a spell over and around her body. The magic allowed her blood to flow through her body to prevent pressure ulcers from occurring while she rests; that way, nobody would need to move her. He was glad he was alone with her, but he knew his time would be limited.

He readjusted the blanket around her and pulled it over her bust. With his comb, he took his time brushing through her hair, placing it to each side. 'Beautiful.' he smiled to himself.

He had not spent so much time alone with her, even after the battle she fought at the arena, he would only watch on in the presence of others.

That was before he knew how much his actions at the rock, cost her.

Sitting next to Feng Jiu, he caressed her cheek and moved his hand to her forehead to move a stray hair fluttering against her face.

Rubbing Feng Jiu's birthmark with his thumb softly. Dong Hua leaned into her, careful not to crush her. His long white hair slid over his shoulders and hung on the side of his face, bunching into two piles on each side of her face, she looked like she was in a cloud, Dong Hua thought Feng Jiu looked even more beautiful. He placed his nose and forehead onto hers and breathed in deeply to transfer the damage she had received from Miao Luo.

The purple marks and wounds made to her throat began to fade from her neck while the purple marks appeared on his neck, he could feel the lesions inside his throat appear causing blood to fill his mouth. He swallowed it and ignored the pain.

Dong Hua had never had an issue dealing with pain in all his immortal life, but, to know that she felt pain or discomfort at all.

He had to fight the urge to leave for the Demon Realm to torture Miao Luo.

Instead, he did the very thing he fought weeks or even thousands of years not to do. He pushed his lips firmly against hers and breathed in again. He then pulled away and placed his forehead back on to hers and whispered, "I will not let anything happen to you Jiu'er. I promise to protect you, I, I, I lo." He sighed and pulled away. He moved his hair, so it didn't tickle her face and sat down next to her. He had one leg securely tucked into himself while the other hung over the bed and laid flat on the ground.

Looking back at her, he knew he had no right to say those words. But it was becoming harder to remain indifferent and even harder to stay away from her.

Dong Hua lifted Feng Jiu's hand to his lips and placed a kiss to each of her knuckles while stroking her fingers lightly. He put her hand on her stomach and stood to leave. He took one last look at Feng Jiu and walked to the door.

When he opened it, Ali was standing, waiting patiently with his back towards the door still meditating while Mingmei was still in his arms with her tails wrapped securely around Ali's waist. Dong Hua smiled and ushered them into the room.

---

"Dong Hua, She will be fine you don't have to keep checking the mirror." Bai Zhi said, frustrated at his brothers constant shuffling.

"It's distracting Dong Hua; you need to pay attention. The making of a magic instrument allows no carelessness." Mo Yuan said looking at Dong Hua pointedly.

"Bai Zhi, tell your wife to check on Jiu'er. Your granddaughter is painting Jiu'er's face. Do it quickly, or else I will do it myself." Dong Hua said flatly causing Bai Zhi to rush out after Bai Ren and Mingmei.

With Dong Hua's base, Mo Yuan had been able to complete his part by transferring a small amount of his ability to walk into memories to the core of the instrument.

The last step relied on Bai Zhi for the protective shield to surround the instrument.

Once he did it, they would need to release an even amount of their essence into it to bind it together.

When Bai Zhi returned, Mo Yuan and Dong Hua were sitting around the furnace drinking tea while Zhe Yan was busying himself behind them preparing a medicinal elixir.

"Should you not be sleeping Phoenix? why are you taking medicine?" Bai Zhi asked, taking a spot in front of the furnace.

"I would be sleeping if Mingmei's crying hadn't screeched through my poor phoenix ears. As for the elixir." He moved his eyes to Dong Hua sitting in front of the furnace. "It seems our brother decided to heal Xiao Jiu in the most forbidden way."

Bai Zhi looked over to Dong Hua and couldn't find anything unusual. He turned his gaze to Mo Yuan, who seemed to be annoyed.

Zhe Yan waved his hands to reveal the purple marks on Dong Hua's neck and grumbled to himself.

Realising what he had done, Bai Zhi flew towards Dong Hua fist first but was held back by Mo Yuan. "You fool, you could have killed her by doing such a foolish thing. Are you insane?"

Dong Hua did not flinch or move; he sat watching Bai Zhi fly towards him as he expected the reaction. "I have lived for many years Bai Zhi. I know how to control my essence and balance hers at the same time."

Dong Hua smirked 'It's not like I haven't done it before.' he thought back to when she had been attacked by the Phoenix of The Lord of Numinous treasures when she was a maid for Tai Chen Palace.

"This may not have killed her Dong Hua, but we all know the consequences of taking on someone else's ailments, interference in someone else's healing, like that, could have had you sleeping for thousands of years. To risk it so casually during a time like now was the stupidest thing you have done." Mo Yuan said looking at him disappointed.

"It is done." Dong Hua said flatly while looking at his tea. "I did what I did because I owe her a life debt."

"Don't be so patronising Dong Hua, are you trying to unravel calamity quicker?" Bai Zhi asked while still being held back by Mo Yuan.

"I would never place her in any danger, nor would I jeopardize the realms."

"Okay, okay, calm down." Zhe Yan said, walking towards them. "Bai Zhi, relax, Xiao Jiu is fine and thanks to our brother she will recover much quicker. Dong Hua's body can withstand most of the damage Miao Luo has done. In terms of consequences, we will have to wait and see for now."

"If your so confident in just waiting to see what might happen, show me how this all started Dong Hua. show me from the beginning." Bai Zhi demanded which made Mo Yuan and Zhe Yan look at Dong Hua expectantly.

"Why?" Dong Hua asked

"Because my granddaughter had no choices in decisions you forced on her. I want to know why Miao Luo has such a sway over Bai Feng Jiu."

"You cannot win this war by yourself, nor are you required to bear the burden alone. Let us see so we know how to help" urged Zhe Yan.

As much as he wanted to deny Bai Zhi, Dong Hua could not. Feng Jiu had indeed suffered since they met, and she was to suffer more unless Dong Hua allowed the help of others.

"Finish the instrument, and I will show you everything." Dong Hua replied looking towards the furnace

Bai Zhi dusted himself while pushing Mo Yuan away. "I will finish before nightfall."