In the midst of absolute silence. During tranquility, peace and lack of movement similar to meditation was Mo Yuan, however, he wasn’t alone in his seclusion cave on Kunlun Mountain. He was playing chess with Donghua Dijun at Tai Chen Palace. In the time waiting for his old friend to make his move, Rome could have been built and fallen at least four or five times. Undoubtedly.
With great difficulties because he suddenly felt sleepy, Mo Yuan held back the urge to yawn. Where was Zhe Yan when he needed him the most?
Zhe Yan was supposed to have accompanied Mo Yuan to Tai Chen Palace. But instead, he started gossiping with Prince Lian Song directly after the assembly, and Mo Yuan hadn’t seen his ridiculous brother for three hours. He concluded Zhe Yan and Third Prince were probably drinking wine while swapping gossip like two women.
After much deliberation, Donghua Dijun finally made his move so it was now Mo Yuan’s turn. He examined the chessboard. As always, Donghua Dijun’s move was shrewd and Mo Yuan focused on his next play. The servants served them tea and he heard them lightly giggling in the distance. Undesired, unwanted female attention was a common occurrence and nothing new for himself or Donghua Dijun.
“Donghua Dijun?” A familiar male voice called out and Mo Yuan glanced up for a moment, curiously to see Star Lord Si Ming before returning his gaze to the chessboard.
Mo Yuan didn’t have an antagonistic relationship with the writer of mortal fates. He merely felt Si Ming was a bit too loose lipped and babbled excessively for his role in Celestial Heaven. One with such a significant task as mapping human lives, Mo Yuan considered should be more reserved and private.
“High God Mo Yuan.” Si Ming greeted and Mo Yuan replied with a subtle nod of his head, without taking his sight of the game board before him.
Si Ming excitedly slapped the scroll against his free palm repeatedly and said somewhat proudly, “Donghua Dijun, I’ve finished writing the story for Bai Qian of Qingqiu’s heavenly trial.”
Suddenly Si Ming had Mo Yuan’s piqued interest even though he never raised his gaze.
“Oh, so I guess you and Bai Zhi will be at each other’s throats again.” Donghua Dijun sighed and said impassively.
Si Ming swiftly defended his actions and declared, “Heavenly trials are meant to be challenging and test one’s endurance for the six hardships. Ascension to High God is something one should earn, suffer and pay their proper dues. I simply did what I felt was right. My convictions remain strong, unwavering because I would do the same thing again regardless of the Fox Emperor’s wrath and anger.”
It was a well-known fact the Fox Emperor Bai Zhi, and Star Lord Si Ming were not on friendly terms but they were cordial. However, their relationship became extremely more hostile after Bai Zhi’s second son’s heavenly trial. The Fox Emperor was furious to hear about his son, Bai Yi’s mortal life and didn’t make any qualms about his rage.
For his heavenly trial, the Fox Emperor’s second son, High God Bai Yi was born to mortal royalty, the well-loved Crown Prince distinguished for his compassion, bravery and courage. Regrettably, at the youthful age of twenty-five, after several successful battle campaigns, he went into combat and ultimately lost complete use of bottom part of his body from the waist down.
His paralysis was due to one of his most trusted generals who was also his jealous older brother, and his selfish desire to become the Crown Prince and heir to the throne. The more aged prince was born to a concubine, so he was deemed inappropriate for the role of Crown Prince. Bai Yi’s horse accidentally kicked him off during a fight, and the cause of the mishap was due to his older brother’s arrow that shot directly into the animal’s flank.
Mortal Bai Yi’s wife, Crown Princess Consort had a lifelong affair with her husband’s brother and birthed several of his children. All this while he silently watched and was often verbally ridiculed that he wasn’t a man, because he was unable to perform his husbandry obligations due to his injury.
Still, regardless of the tragic circumstances, mortal Bai Yi cared for and loved his brother’s children conceived in adultery like his own. He was a kind and gentle nurtured man, but his demise came when his older brother framed him for the use of shamanism. Black magic.
Bai Yi’s mortal father, the King was a rigid, religious man who’d outlawed the use of shamanism which he considered to be evil witchcraft. For a frightening discovery of hideous voodoo dolls, that resembled the members of the royal family made with their hair, and fingernails were found in Crown Prince’s chamber. He was stripped of his title and sentenced to death.
His undeserved punishment came when the King, his father sealed him in a wooden chest for seven days straight without a drop of water. Mortal Bai Yi ultimately died a slow, painful, dreadful death of dehydration while his young son, fathered before the injury cried and begged his grandfather to show mercy in the background. The young prince even tried to sneak his father water, which he refused so not to implicate his young son in the tragic situation.
There were unconfirmed rumors that after he returned from his heavenly trial, he suffered severe depression and couldn’t endure being in closed areas. Suffered panic attacks and stopped having sexual relations with his wife, due to his mental anguish from his ordeal. His wife finally became pregnant almost 5,000 years post his heavenly trial, only after High God Bai Yi drank Zhe Yan’s amnesia potion.
So it was expected, his protective Fox father, Bai Zhi heard of his son’s calamity and immediately blamed Si Ming, for purposely making his son suffer more than necessary. Due to an old disagreement between the two men that either man would disclose, Bai Zhi and Si Ming hadn’t uttered a single word to each other for over a hundred thousand years. They still actively avoided each other.
“Bai Qian’s heavenly trial isn’t terrible compared to others. I’ve written much worse. She’ll experience the sweetness of first love, and marry the young man who saves her life when she’s sixteen years old. I made it somewhat romantic. He’ll save her from drowning in a lake by her father’s peach farm.” Si Ming casually announced as if he were discussing something trivial like the weather.
Donghua Dijun sipped his tea and replied indifferently, “Are you giving her an easy test to appease Bai Zhi?”
Star Lord Si Ming loudly snorted haughtily and explained further, “No, that’s where her life changes. Drastically. Bai Qian’s husband will die shortly after their wedding, but her husband’s brother will have his way with the widow in mourning by violating her. She’ll become with child and considered a sinful, shameful unvirtuous widow since her husband is dead.”
“After the birth of her child, Bai Qian’s in-laws will keep her son but sell her to a brothel. She will work as a prostitute until she is too old to be a courtesan and then privately sell herself. She’s fated to suffer from an illness. Syphilis. Then die from starvation and her illness in the streets.” Si Ming articulated boastfully.
Donghua Dijun’s blank expression remained when he advised, “Bai Zhi is going to go crazy and lose his mind. I wouldn’t share any details of Bai Qian’s heavenly trial with anyone else if I were you.”
“It’s only you, myself and High God Mo Yuan. I know for a fact this conversation is safe in present company.” Si Ming boldly declared in full confidence.
Casually Donghua Dijun waved his hand to Star Lord Si Ming that he could leave and continue with his work. He politely gave his parting greetings before leaving Tai Chen Palace.
Throughout the entire conversation, Mo Yuan never raised his gaze afraid his eyes would betray him. He knew everyone needed to go through their paths and tests, but couldn’t help but feel concerned about Bai Qian.
He knew she had her journey and would become the only High Goddess in the world afterward, but there was a part of Mo Yuan profoundly worried for her mental state, after enduring such terrible and harrowing ordeal. Born an innocent farm girl who’s raped, sold into a brothel to sell her body, suffer illness and then die starving on the streets was an incredibly bitter, twisted, cruel fate.
After making his move, placing his piece down, Mo Yuan finally met Donghua Dijun’s disinterested gaze, and heard him say casually from across the chess table, “Bai Zhi is too excessively and overly protective when it comes to his children. We’ve all gone through our heavenly trials, sufferings and calamities. I might go into seclusion after Bai Qian returns to avoid the clamorous aftermath.”
“Donghua, you don’t understand because you don’t have children.” Mo Yuan calmly replied in his soft voice.
Donghua Dijun humored by his comment instantly charged, “And you understand, Mo Yuan? Where are your children? Do you have some hidden that nobody knows about?”
“My disciples are my children.” Mo Yuan said with a tiny smile on his face and finally noticed Bai Qian’s perfect, pink, lipstick print transference on his palm from when he’d pushed her away earlier.
“So, what fun have I missed!?” Zhe Yan yelled out from the entrance and Donghua Dijun subtly rolled his eyes at the lively old Phoenix.
Zhe Yan casually laid down on his side beside the two men and informally held his head with one arm. Mo Yuan looked over to see a cheesy grin on Zhe Yan’s face and he was also rosy cheeked. Mo Yuan was right, Zhe Yan was drinking wine and by the looks of him, quite a massive measure.
Zhe Yan blatantly yawned to show his total lack of interest and asked sleepily, “Who’s winning and how many games have you played?”
“We’re even and one game.” Donghua Dijun replied apathetically.
Zhe Yan yelled, “Only one game! How boring! Let me sing a diddle of a tune to entertain everyone.”
It was then when drunken Zhe Yan boisterously broke out into a perverted rhyme that failed to rhyme, or make sense. He repeated it over and over but to the tune of ‘Mary Had A Little Lamb’. It was a mischievous, sexual verse about the kind of unique undergarments, a Nine-tailed Fox would need to accommodate all their nine tails, and something about their tails being ticklish in certain parts of one’s body. At that very moment, Donghua Dijun stood from his seated position and asked them to leave. Instantly!
To be continued…..