It wasn't long until it was time for sleep again. However, Yao Yue couldn't sleep at all. Even after all this time, Gui Meng still hadn't responded to her spirit message, and it was making her worry. What was taking her so long to respond? Was something going on that they didn't tell her?
Much to her delight, Yao Yue saw a Mo Sect spirit message arrive through the ceiling. But then, the sudden feeling of distraught fell over her as she remembered that this message would contain how long her brother would live. How much more time she could have to find what she needed and to head home.
With a shaking hand, Yao Yue touched the spirit message to see what Gui Meng had written to her. "At most, a month."
"Miss Yao." came the tired voice of Tian Ying. "You're crying."
Yao Yue touched her now wet cheek to find that indeed, she was unconsciously crying. After all, her brother had less than a month to live. And if something happens while she's still at Yun Tian Di or on her way back to Hei Mo Dong, she might not be able to see her brother in his last moments at all.
Tian Ying watched as Yao Yue curled herself up into a ball, still crying. He didn't know what he should do, as he wasn't the most comforting person. That title went to his sister. But alas Tian Ya wasn't here, and he was. Tian Ying awkwardly got up from his inner-garment bed and sat down next to Yao Yue. She glanced over at him as he got even closer and placed an arm over her, pulling her close to him.
They stayed in that position for a little while, with Yao Yue still crying and Tian Ying awkwardly attempting to comfort her with the awkward hug.
"Thank you, Tian Ying." she whispered, dropping the title she had always put before his name. "Thank you, so much. Even though you're not the best at comforting, I still appreciate it."
Tian Ying hummed in response before grabbing the outer coat that Yao Yue had been using as a blanket. He had it cover the two of them as Yao Yue slowly began to fall asleep, leaning against his chest.
*****
A weird feeling overcame Yao Yue as she slept. It seemed as if she was still awake but at the same time, she was still sleeping.
"Daughter of the Mo Sect," came the voice of a young man. "Open your eyes."
She slowly opened her eyes to find that she was in a familiar room of Hei Mo Dong. She glanced around in confusion, as although it looked familiar, it wasn't the same practice room as the one back home. There were some minor changes, with some decorations that seemed to be older and some weapons on the room were different. And standing in the middle of the room, was a young man who was wearing an outer coat that contained an older pattern of the Mo Sect.
He turned around with a bright smile on his face. "Hey, how are you?"
"Who are you...?" Yao Yue asked cautiously.
"Me?" the man laughed. "I'm Mo QianGui, the first Sect Leader of the Mo Sect and your ancestor."
"You're 'Mo QianGui'?" Yao Yue immediately bowed down. "Greetings Sect Leader QianGui, my apologies for being so disrespectful."
Mo QianGui let out another laugh as he helped her back onto her feet. "There's no need for you to apologize, you haven't seen me before. Also, you don't have to be so polite. Hasn't the Mo Sect been teaching you younglings about me and my history? I hate it when people are so formal with me. Just call me QianGui."
"But..."
"Even though I've been dead for a few thousand years, in this state I look just about the same age as you, do I not?" he gave her another smile. "Go on, say it. Call me QianGui."
"Qian...qianGui..."
Yao Yue had heard from back at Hei Mo Dong that Mo QianGui was described to be a fast talking, easy going person. No one seemed to be able to beat his silver tongue, and she was finally able to witness it for herself.
"See, isn't that much easier to say than 'Sect Leader QianGui'?" he then patted her head as he was taller than her, before walking a few steps away from her. "Now, you're probably wondering why I'm here, right?"
"Ye..."
"Well I'll tell you!" he interrupted as he summoned Yao Yue's sword from her side. "I'm here to help you with the Mo Wu Swordplay!"
At lightning speed, Mo QianGui began to swing his sword and perform the swordplay. His movements were elegant and graceful, as if he were performing a fast paced dance. It was so beautiful that it was actually a bit hard for Yao Yue to watch.
When he finally finished, Mo QianGui pointed the sword's handle towards her. "Your turn."
Yao Yue grabbed the handle and glanced over at him, who just gestured at her to go ahead. Taking a deep breath, she began to perform what she knew of the Mo Wu Swordplay.
But almost immediately Mo QianGui yelled, "Stop!" Yao Yue looked back at him in confusion as he walked over. "You're doing it wrong, who taught you this?" he shook his head before grabbing the hand that was holding the sword. "Your moves are way too rough, you need to be more gentle. This is the Mo Wu Swordplay, not any of that silly rubbish that the Tian Sect teaches." He guided Yao Yue's hand in a more gentle and graceful manner. "If you do it this way, the swordplay also allows you to follow the number one rule of the Mo Sect."
Mo QianGui walked Yao Yue through the whole swordplay with the new movements. For some reason, it indeed did feel much more natural to Yao Yue than when Tian Ying taught her. This felt more like the Mo Sect style of fighting.
"Alright, that's the whole swordplay," Mo QianGui said, finally releasing her and taking a step to the side. "Let's see how well you do."