By the time the young god reawakens it is late morning.
He sits up placing his hand to his forehead and mutters, “Where am I?”
“You are at my home,” comes a voice he instantly recognises.
The Soul Drinker emits a soft laugh and recalls, “Yes, I vaguely remember you saying you would bring me here. Thank you.”
“No problem at all. It is the least I could do after everything you have done for me,” answers the mountain god placing a hand to his chest
“Bless you. It just occurred to me we have not exchanged names all this time.”
The Mountain God emits a soft laugh and quickly responds, “Oh my, you are right.”
They both laugh.
“My name is Xiàtiān fēng (Summer wind)," informs they young god placing a hand to his cheat. "I know what you are going to say that is a very Dragon name. Yes, you are right. You can blame my father, he had a real thing for them, so all of my brothers were given one.”
“That’s interesting and way better than mine, which is, Shān huī (Mountain ash), all because my hair was once the same colour as the mountain ash you find around here.”
The Soul Drinker smiles and tells him, “I like it. It is different.”
The mountain god emits a soft laugh and remarks, “I could not agree with you more. So, how do you like your porridge?”
Xiàtiān fēng smiles and tells him, “I'm sure the way you prepare it will be fine.”
Shān huī smiles and carries on adding from honey to small pieces of red fruit which makes the young god ask:
“Gǒuqǐ (Goji berries)."
“Yes they are. Do you like them?”
“Yes, they are one of my favourite fruits,” replies Xiàtiān fēng, going on to run his fingers through his long fringe and yawns.
This is when the mountain god gets to see how large his fangs are compared to his other teeth. They also look very sharp, which they need to be in order to break through Yǒnghéng (Eternal) tough skin.
“Ooh it looks like you need a cup of tea,” he suggests, watching him have a bit of stretch.
The Soul Drinker’s eyebrows rise and questions, “Do I really look that sleepy?”
Shān huī looks at the young god’s handsome emotionless face. To him his little eyes look heavy like he could drop back off to sleep at any moment.
“Yes, I afraid you do appear quite tired. So, here drink up.”
Xiàtiān fēng watches a lovely decorative cup float over to him. It is appears to be filled with a deep yellow liquid, that has a sweet sent. He takes hold of it and has a sip.
“That is lovely. Even though it smells sweet it has a little bit of a bitter aftertaste.”
Shān huī grows a little concerned and quickly asks, “I hope it is not too bitter for you?”
The Soul Drinker has another sip and informs him, “No, it is quite all right. I have had worse and found myself adding lots of honey to make it taste...well like this.”
They both laugh.
The mountain agrees, “I know the teas you speak of. They smell great until you drink it and you go yuck.”
They laugh again then Shān huī goes on to scoops some of the porridge into a bowl and sends it to him.
“There is more honey if you need it," he tells him gesturing his hand to a small pot on the table.
“Ah, thanks,” replies Xiàtiān fēng going on to eat some off the spoon. “This is lovely, you are a great cook.”
"That is very kind of you to say."
They continue to eat and the mountain god uses his abilities to pour the Soul Drinker another cup of tea. Xiàtiān fēng performs a slight bow to thank him. Once they have both had enough to eat Shān huī takes the young god to a small hot spring so he can get washed and is amazed to see him produce fresh clothing out of thin air.
“Huh? H-how did you do that?”
The Soul Drinker winks his left eye and sings, “Secret, secret, secret.”
This only results in the mountain god pretending to sulk and he whines, “Please tell me.”
Xiàtiān fēng’s head tilts to one side and tells him, “The thing is, I am not really sure how to explain it. I just use this.”
Shān huī sees the young god is holding an unusual crystal, it is partially see-through with light green lines running through it with a pale blue point. The whole thing seems to shimmer in the sunlight.
The Mountain God points a hand at it and questions, “My that is stunning. So, it opens a mini portal?”
“Yes, to my Connecting Chest. I have two of them. One is at my house in north-west China. I fill it with everything I need before I leave. However, the linking chest is in a hidden library that lies miles from here near the east coast. So, a good friend of mind gave me this, so I access my chests no matter where am in the world."
“I see and also saves you having to travel with a horse or with a pack trapped to your back.”
“Precisely,” replies the Soul Drinker, going on to place the crystal back in the bag.
The mountain god watches him go on to use a lovely comb that has been carved from a single piece of dark red wood.
“I should ask, What would you like to do?”
Xiàtiān fēng has a think and answers a moment later, “I would like to see the Chief to inform her, nothing else is going to happen to you. I take it my hairpins are back at the hut?”
“Yes. Sorry I placed them on the table along with the ribbon.”
“That’s all right. I will collect them on the way.”
The mountain god gently carries him back to the hut and waits outside for him to return with all of his fringe fastened back. He watches with fascination the ribbon seems to take on a life of its own. It wraps itself around the bun so that the two long ends hang down on either side.
“Right, let’s g-” the Soul Drinker is unable to finish his sentience because he begins to cough quite badly.
Shān huī changes back to his human size form, to take him in to his arms and looks inside his bag for a herb bundle. He makes sure to give it a soft crush as he places it in front of his mouth and nose. But even this does not seem to ease the young god’s wheezing and it is clear it is becoming harder for him to breath.
Xiàtiān fēng uses his left hand to sign to his friend to pat him on the back. The mountain god quickly performs the task which helps Soul Drinker to cough up some phlegm, and spits out in to a piece of cloth.
Shān huī watches the young god flop back in to his arm. “Are you all right?”
Xiàtiān fēng takes a few breath and answers, “Do not worry, this perfectly normal for a Soul Drinker in the morning.”
The Mountain God tries to hide his concern when he can hear the young man is still sounding a little wheezy.
“I understand," he says with a worried smile. "Are you sure you can continue?”
Xiàtiān fēng pats the side of his friend's face. “Stop worrying. Trust me, I am fine. come."
They both walk out of the hut and continue down to the village where people stop to bow to them as they pass. One woman even offers them some nice rice cakes, which Xiàtiān fēng finds to be a little on the sweet side.
Shān huī can clearly see a small reaction within the young god's eyes. They squint a little and he even frowns as he quickly eats the piece within his mouth.
The Mountain God likes the way he forces a smile and tell the woman:
"Very nice, thank you."
They quickly carry on up the road and when the woman is out of sight Xiàtiān fēng chucks the remaining cake in to a nearby bush and slaps his hands together as he moans:
"Ooh that was way too sweet."
Shān huī emits a soft laugh as he responds, “I think I could tell, giving your reaction to it. Glad I did not take a piece, for I too am not keen on overly sweet things.”
Xiàtiān fēng uses the back of his hand to wipe any remaining crumbs from his lips.
"I think I have gathered that, giving how your breakfast was the perfect level of sweetness," remarks the young man winking his left eye at him.
They both laugh and continue on to the Chief's home which lies at the top of the village. When they are approaching the step, she comes out to greet them.
“Good morning,” she says, performing a shallow bow.
“Morning, my dear,” replies the mountain god, he goes on to inform her the young god was successful in lifting the curse.
Kāihuā is shocked and expresses, “It still baffles me why one of your kind did it in the first place.”
Xiàtiān fēng folds his arms and informs her, “You have to understand, during the Battles of the Paranoid Pixies, us gods were divided. What happened to, Shān huī, was mostly done by a Dark One to stop him helping the people of this village. Some of them wanted to eradicate all mortals, not realising if they did, they would be killing off a god, because Soul Drinkers can only be born from compatible mortal women.”
The Chief is shocked to hear this, it leaves her a moment unable to respond. Eventually she is able to somewhat express, "I... I am just pleased you were able to help him.”
The Soul Drinkers eyebrows rise and he declares, “It was nothing.”
The mountain god’s eyes open wide, even though there was no change in the young man's voice he playfully says:
“I like the way you said that with such calm. What if you had collapsed when those shadow beasts appeared? I hate to think what would have happened to me, as I do not have the capability to fight things that are not entirely in this realm.”
Xiàtiān fēng's lips form in to a soft smile and he states, whilst patting him on the arm, “I’m sure you would have come up with something to stop them.”
Shān huī shakes and responds, “More likely, I would have been dragged in to the Shadow Realm and you would have have had to dive in to save me.”
Xiàtiān fēng slightly raises his left hand so it is level with his chest
“Dive in? No, that is one place I would not go. I’m afraid, I would leave it to the Ancients and guardian of that world to throw you back out.”
The mountain god nods. “Fair point.”
They both laugh making the mortal give them an expression that can only be described as a mix of confusion and concern.
The Soul Drinker clears his throat and declares, “Anyway, now you know everything is fine, I bid thee good day.”
This makes both Shān huī and Kāihuā quickly ask with shock, “You are leaving?!”
Xiàtiān fēng eyes open blink and he frowns. “Y-yes, for there is no reason for me to remain. Also, and please do not take this the wrong way, my dear, I have had my fill of mortal minds.”
They hear him emit a soft sigh as he places the fingertips of his left hand to the side of his forehead and closes his eyes.
“Of course you are like the Dragons, they too can only put up with mortals for so long. In that case please allow me to take you some place quiet,” offers the mountain god, holding out his hand.
The Chief is expecting the Soul Drinker to take hold of Shān huī’s hand, but instead he folds his arms, and his stunning blue eyes look up at him.
“Some place quiet other than your beautiful home," he questions with a smile. "My you have all intrigued. Makes me wonder what you have in mind.”
Shān huī is quick to answer, “Well, I would very much like to show you the waterfall.”
“A waterfall? Ah, and what makes it so special, this particular waterfall?”
The mountain god again offers his hand. “Why not come with me and find out.”
Xiàtiān fēng looks to Kāihuā and asks, “Do you know of this waterfall he speaks of?”
The young lady smiles and responds, "I am not going to spoil the surprise."
“Hmm, all right Shān huī, please take me to this waterfall," answers the Soul Drinker taking hold of his hand.
This makes the Mountain God very happy. He gives the chief a nod and says, “See you later, my dear.”
Kāihuā performs a slight bow. “Yes, see you both again soon.”
Then they vanish to reappear on the far side of the forest where they can hear the roaring of a waterfall. Shān huī leads the young god down a narrow path that passes through some high hills and slowly they begin to see a rainbow.
“Now I understand why you call this, a place special,” remarks Xiàtiān fēn pointing his hand at it.
“Ah, the endless rainbow waterfall is not the only thing that is wonderful here, wait and see.”
The Soul Drinker looks back to the lake to see there is something large and as white as snow under the rippling crystal clear water.
“What is that?” he asks watching it swim around.
“Ah, wait and see,” insists Shān huī with a happy smile.
Just at that a moment one of the huge shapes comes leaping out of the water, it scales glisten in the sunlight from gold, to flecks of blue, green and red.
Xiàtiān fēng tries to sound shocked, “A Snow Fish! I... I am amazed, for I have only read about them. I have never seen one in the flesh.”
Shān huī points his hand at the creature as it flops back in to the water sending up a large wave.
“I think this is reason why I was trapped. You know what they can do?”
“Yes, their scales can be used to enhance abilities, offer protection and open doors to other realms... Oh, my... That means they could have used one to open the door to the Shadow Realm.”
The mountain god nods. "The question is how would child have known that?"
Xiàtiān fēng frowns and folds his arms. “Good point. Now, we should not reflect on such a dark time and enjoy the view.”
"Yes, because I wanted to show you this as my way of thanking you for everything," expresses Shān huī leaning down.
Then he takes the Soul Drinker in to his arms and gives him a passionate kiss and is pleased when the young man give him one in return.
They place their foreheads together and the Mountain God quickly apologises:
“I should not have done that, when we barely know each other.”
“It’s all right. To be honest I’m surprised you did not take me when we were at the hot spring. I knew you were watching me.”
Shān huī takes a step back, but keeps hold of the young god’s slender waist. “In my defence," he quickly tells him, "I was concerned when I began to hear you cough.”
“Oh that was bound to happen when there is steam, my poor lungs just cannot cope with damp air. I must say, you are very sweet and do not think in any way you are obligated to be with me, all because I rescued you.”
The Mountain God shakes his head and confesses, “No, it is not that at all. You are a very handsome man. The truth is I have never been with a god.”
Xiàtiān fēng half smiles and teases, “Oh, I see. So, that is why you are wanting to take me to bed, so you can find out what it is like, hmm?”
Shān huī is taken back by this, he puts up his hands and declares, "No, you have got me all wrong. I do not want to do that, unless you do too.”
The Soul Drinker turns his attention back to the waterfall just as the Snow Fish leaps out of the water.
“How can I say no, when you have brought me to this perfect romantic spot. Is enough to seal any man's heart. The answer is, yes, once we have gotten to know each other.”
Shān huī holds him close, resting the side of his face upon the top of the young god’s head and replies, “That is fine with me.”
They go on to return to the Mountain God's home where they proceed to talk for the rest of the day to get to know each other and after the evening meal Xiàtiān fēng portals home. The young god promises he will return on the next full moon, he never does. Shān huī begins to fear something must had happened to him and all he can do is hope one day he comes back to him.
✷✷✷
Summer turns to autumn and the once lush green forest changes to gold and red. There is still no sign of Xiàtiān fēng and Shān huī begins to wonder will he ever see him again. The poor man had no time to dwell for there was trouble brewing on the horizon. A neighbouring clan were preparing to attack. All he can do is block routes to the village and protect it as best he can. Then from out of nowhere, snow begins to fall as the large the army marches across the land. When it is around five miles from the village, the Mountain God sees a puff of smoke and there is a soft rumble of thunder and everything seems to go still for a moment.
The smoke transforms into a huge beast with long horns carrying a large hammer. Then the next thing two men on the front line see is a sword pointing at them, but there is no one holding it. They look at each other in fear and the entire line moves back. This brings the one in charge, who is seated on a dark horse, down to the front. The moment he sees the huge beast he pulls hard on the reins to stop his galloping horse causing it to slide to a holt.
His attention is drawn to the floating sword, its edge shimmering from blue to green in the sunlight.
This makes him ask with a voice full of fear, “What is going on?”
One of the men closest to him suggests, “We should turn back Sir, for it is looking like this place is protected by gods.”
The man gets down from his horse and asks, “Who is doing this? Show yourself?”
“You should listen to your man and turn back,” comes a young man’s voice stripped of emotions.
“Who are you?”
“I am your worst nightmare.”
The huge beast steps to one side to reveal a very handsome man and the floating sword shoots over to the leader.
“Answer me this why are you attacking this defenceless village? And do not say it is because a woman is in charge.”
The mortal officer tries to swallow the lump of fear in his throat and runs his right index finder along the chin strap of his helmet.
“W-well er... we were ordered to attack by Què yīng... He is Kāihuā’s brother,” he quickly informs as he takes a step back.
“Let me guess he believes he should take her land. You men never learn, greed, power is all you ever seem know. This is why the Dragons do not allow you to rule. I swear to you, none of you will get past me, or more importantly my beast, for he will not hesitate to crush you. Tell your leader to check your history, the god Xiàtiān fēng sometimes called Xiàtiān wéifēng is watching over this village along with that big guy."
When the mortals look to where the man is pointing, their faces grow pail when they see a huge creature on the mountain is watching them.
"That is Shān huī, guardian of the village, so I suggest you do what your men are doing turn around and leave."
The offers looks over his to see the entire army are running away in fear. He too quickly gets back on his horse turns it around and gets to gallop away.
The Mountain God claps his hands and calls, "Well done Xiàtiān fēng. It is wonderful to see you."
The Soul Drinker takes a bow and answers, "It is great to see you too."
Shān huī makes his way down to him as he turns into his smaller form. "That is some beat you have there."
"Do not be afraid, for I am no master in the art of summoning, unlike the Western Soul Drinkers, now they can summon."
"I will not argue with you. They were truly amazing."
Xiàtiān fēng gives him a hug and apologises, "Sorry I have been gone so long. It has been just one problem after another. I thought now things had settled down I would pay you a visit and come face to face with an approaching army. It is never a dull moment with mortals."
Shān huī gives him a kiss on the cheek and remarks, "Oh they like to keep us on our toes. Come."
They portal back to the hut where Mountain God goes on to make a pot of tea whilst his friend tells him what he has been doing since the last time he saw him. He is not surprised to hear it is has been mortals either in disputes over ground or wealth or power that prevented him to return. Now he had a new leader in charge who was better at keeping order and did not stand for any nonsense.
"Now, that is enough of my moaning, what has been happening here?"
"Everything has been fine, until today."
"You do realise me turning up the way I did, could be considered bad luck," implies Xiàtiān fēng patting his friend's arm.
Shān huī shakes his head and answers, "No not one bit. I would say you were a stroke of good luck, you turned up when you did. It kind of reminded me of the old days when your kind just appeared from nowhere."
The Soul Drinker nods and and agrees, "Yes, it sure was. I'm glad to hear it has been nice and quiet here. Let's hope it remains that way."
The Mountain God takes a seat next to him and they kiss, before they continue to talk and reminisce on simpler times, before mortals got greedy and started trouble.
Xiàtiān fēng rests his himself against this friend and tells him, "I want to stay with you forever. Would you be all right with that?"
Shān huī holds him in his arms and answers, "Yes, I would like that. It is clear we get along together. I have missed you."
The Soul Drinker gives him a passionate kiss and whispers, "I hope that told you I have missed you too."
"Yes, it certainly did," answers the Mountain God, returning the kiss.
They start to undo each others robes and continue to get intimate, until Xiàtiān fēng's fingers come into contact with Shān huī's private parts. It was so different from his, it was not just the size it was the texture, it felt bumpy as he ran his fingers down its surface, yet the head is the same as his. He starts to run his thumb around it which makes the Mountain God emit a soft moan.
Shān huī does the same to him and watches him place his hand on top.
"Wanting me to stop?"
Xiàtiān fēng shakes his head and whispers, "That feels nice."
They carry on playing with each other until they begin to feel hungry and the Mountain God does them both a nice meal of rice topped with mushrooms and vegetables. They go on to share a bowl of Gǒuqǐ as they continue to explore each others bodies to see what they like. This is when Shān huī starts to notice all the small rough line scars upon his neck, face, the top of his cheat and the back of his hands, tells him his lover has seen his fair share of Paranoid Pixie Battles. The nasty little creatures had serrated blades that ripped in to the flesh and needle pointed spears, that they would use to remove Dragon scales, preventing them from growing back.
They go to bed wrapped in each others arms and in the morning the Mountain God awakens early. He leaves Xiàtiān fēng to sleep and heads outside to start creating children. Fairy like creatures that are made from the very ash of the mountain.
The Soul Drinker soon awakes to the sound of tiny laughter and his lover speaking in the Lost Language. He seems to be telling someone to come to him, let him sort them out.
"What? He just said son," mutters Xiàtiān fēng sitting up and pushing open the shutter just as a little creature files past.
"Morning, I hope you like children?" Shān huī asks as he sends one to him.
The Soul Drinker puts out his hand so the fairy can take a seat. "Oh my goodness they are beautiful. Is this because of what we did, last night?"
The Mountain God emits a soft laugh and tells him, “You are welcome to think that way if you so wish. In truth it is just perfect weather, temperature, moisture to produce children. It is something I have been meaning to do since I have been awakened. It’s just all perfect.”
“I think I have gathered that,” reacts Xiàtiān fēng with a sight laugh. He gives the little creature a stroke. “They are lovely, I like the big blue eyes. How do you create them?”
Shān huī picks up a hand full of ash and whispers a spell under his breath. All the fine dust swirls around like a small twister and out of the top comes a fairy. This one has a slightly pointed head, speckles, two shades of grey skin and again sunning deep blue, sideways teardrop eyes.
“There we are, pretty easy really. I am glad you are all right with me just sprinting this on you.”
The Soul Drinker reaches out to gently stroke his lover’s abdomen. “Really it is fine, I am glad it is perfect conditions and I’m getting to see how you create them is just amazing. It makes me wish it was this way, it would make things a lot easier.”
“I agree, however, having fun to produce a child also sounds amazing and at least it would be more robust than one made from ash.”
“Yes it was fun to raise Soul Drinker children. It is nice though to have a change and besides we can still have fun, lots of fun. Then I get to watch you make a baby that is just as unique as you,” says Xiàtiān fēng running his hand down.
Shān huī places his hand on top and tells him, “I will be coming in soon to make breakfast.”
“No, it is all right, you carry on making our children and I will do the breakfast. Then you can have a nice rest,” suggests the Soul Drinker giving his lover’s abdomen another stroke. “Jin, jin sa lin.”
The little creature upon his hand flies back to the Mountain God who goes on to produce another fairy.
Xiàtiān fēng goes on to make porridge with honey and topped with autumn berries. He takes a bowl out to his lover to see he is in the middle of producing another fairy, this one has a slightly white head, and one greenish blue eye.
“What did you scoop up to make him?”
Shān huī’s eyes blink and he answers all baffled, “I have no idea.”
The Soul Drinker points his hand at the little creature. “I really like the diversity, it makes each one nice and unique.”
“Glad to hear it as I still have a lot to produce.”
“How many?”
The Mountain God is a little reluctant or answer and mutters something his lover was not able to hear.
“I’m sorry, what was that?”
“Around a hundred,” replies Shān huī waiting for his reaction.
Xiàtiān fēng’s spoon drops in to the bowl and his eyes open a little wider. “A hundred? Is that enough?”
The Mountain God has a think and replies, “I think so… Why do you think I should do more?”
"I was not expecting you to say such a low number. I thought you were going to say a thousand."
Shān huī's open wide and he responds with a puff, "Ooh I do not think I can produce that many in the time I have before the weather changes."
The Soul Drinker smiles, he gives his lover's abdomen a stroke. "In all seriousness, if you were able to have children with me, I would tell you it was up to you how meany we had. That still applies here, you produce what you can and see if you can make another one like him, he is just amazing."
"I cannot promise anything, even so I will try my best," replies the Mountain God.
They go on to eat their breakfasts and Xiàtiān fēng returns to the warm of the hut, where he goes on to watch his lover from a window, produce more children. In all he manages to create almost two hundred before the weather grows a little warmer.
By the evening all the little fairies have sorted themselves somewhere to live, either in little alcoves on the mountainside or in the surrounding trees.
Xiàtiān fēng enjoys his time with Shān huī and their relationship continues to grow. Then one day in the early hours of the morning the Soul Drinker is awakened by a strong vision in which he saw his eldest brother was trapped within a cave.
By the time Shān huī awakens, his lover is long gone. He notices upon the pillow is a flower made from a blush green stone and a note lies next to it.
Forgive me, my sweet love, for just leaving whilst you were still asleep. I had a vision, I cannot ignore. Do not worry it will not be long before I return, and when I do the flower will begin glow.
Yours always Xiàtiān.
Shān huī clutches the piece of paper and the flower to his chest for a moment before setting them down on the table. He hopes it all goes well and he is soon back with him. When a year turns into two, the Mountain God gets one of his children to inform Longwei of the Soul Drinkers disappearance. The Father of the Gods organises a search, but Xiàtiān fēng is no where to be found.
Centuries later a Soul Drinker by the name of Arthur Lucy Blackworth, is about to make an amazing discovery... This will be continuing in the up and coming short story, Lucy's unexpected discovery.
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