42

(Fair warning: I think this chapter and the next one are kinda rushed. Please just bear with me. I think things get better pretty quickly.)

"I'm… I'm your mother…"

Yu Wu went rigid at the woman's words. Her world seemed to freeze on that moment. The woman's words… her mother's words echoed in Yu Wu's brain. With three words, the truth of something that Yu Wu thought she had known her entire life was brought into question.

The full spectrum of emotions flashed through Yu Wu's heart and showed on her face. Disbelief that this could be happening, that her mother could be alive. Anger and hate at her father for lying to her for years. A sliver of hope that she actually had blood-related family that loved her. Resentment for being left with that leech of a father for her whole life.

"Where…" Yu Wu said with a dry throat and a cracked voice. "Where were you?"

The woman was on the verge of hysterics. All she could say was "I'm sorry" over and over again as she held Yu Wu. They were starting to draw a crowd. People around them were whispering and murmuring, wondering what the hell was going on.

Suddenly, Onari swooped in to prevent the situation from getting even worse. He had left Lavinia in the care of his mother, something he knew he would soon come to regret. He didn't have much of a choice though. Feeling Yu Wu's chaotic heart through their bond had forced him to act without hesitation.

Upon seeing the woman holding his Dao Companion tightly and sobbing, Onari did what he could to take charge of the situation. He flexed his will, throwing up an illusion over the pair and himself to make the growing crowd ignore them. He ran up to the two women, placing a cautious hand on the shoulder of the woman he didn't know and a comforting hand on Yu Wu.

"Let's take this somewhere more private," he suggested, already leading the two of them out of the party.

Yu Wu was still a little shell-shocked when they reached an area where the three of them could talk in private, but over the short walk, her agitation at the woman's hysterics had begun to grow. The woman hadn't stopped sobbing for a single second to explain anything other than "I'm your mother".

Onari ushered the two women into the room and sat them down. He quickly layered a privacy spell over the room. Joining the two of them, he let out a sigh and grabbed Yu Wu's hand. He squeezed lightly, feeling Yu Wu's tension relax slightly through their bond.

"Alright, now that we have some privacy, what's going on?" Onari asked Yu Wu. The woman still hadn't stopped crying, but her tears had slowed down when she was physically separated from Yu Wu. She was now visibly trying to pull herself together.

"She said she's my mother… I… I believe her…" Yu Wu replied.

The woman's hiccuping sobs redoubled. They seemed more relieved after Yu Wu said she believed the woman was telling the truth. It took another minute for the woman to pull herself together enough to speak.

The woman took a shaky breath, "M-My apologies for how I acted. Such hysterics is unbecoming of a woman of my position. My name is Yu Long, and as I said before, I am Yu Wu's mother."

Onari tried his best to take the revelation in stride, "Nice to meet you, Yu Long. I am your son-in-law, Onari."

"I-I know who you are, Onari."

Both Onari and Yu Wu stiffened at that, "How do you know who my darling is?"

Yu Long hesitated, "... That brings me to yet another thing I must atone for… You may hate me for this, but all I ask is that you hear me out…"

That gave Onari an ominous feeling in his gut, "... We'll try."

"I must humbly apologize for the actions of my subordinate, Xiao Li… I understand that you have been wronged, and all I can do is ask for forgiveness. I assure you that Xiao Li's actions have not gone unpunished. If necessary, I am willing to turn her over to your hands so that you may enact justice yourselves."

Blood-red rage rushed through Yu Wu's veins. She tried shooting to her feet, but was stopped by Onari's hand on her shoulder. She was basically hissing at Yu Long now. Yu Long's reveal had instantly killed most of the hope and good will Yu Wu had for her 'mother'.

"Thank you for the apology. I don't know if we will be able to forgive you, but you've given us face by apologizing and offering to make amends," Onari said, forced to be the reasonable one out of the Dao Companions. "Yu Wu, sit. I promised that we will try to hear her out. Put aside your anger at Xiao Li for a moment. There are more important things for the two of you to talk about."

"She was the one who sent that… that bitch," Yu Wu hissed.

"I know this will not do much to make you feel better, but that meeting was not supposed to go that way. Xiao Li's actions are her own. Her attitude in no way reflects mine," Yu Long reassured.

Yu Wu calmed slightly, but was still subtly bristling with anger, "This is not over… Don't think I'm forgiving her for what happened that day. I'm only giving you a chance to explain yourself because you're my mother and Onari promised we'd hear you out."

Yu Long nodded, "That is all I ask."

Yu Wu took a couple breaths to center herself. The past 20 minutes had been an emotional rollercoaster. She had gone from shocked hope, to resentment, to rage, and they hadn't even gotten to the meat of this conversation yet. She still wanted to know where her mother had been.

"Now… Where have you been?"

The guilt and pain on Yu Long's face was obvious, "... As you might remember from your meeting with Xiao Li, I run a sect. This means I am almost constantly busy, either with cultivation or with the affairs of the sect. Still, years ago, I unfortunately managed to find the time to have an affair with Da Shuizhi.

"By the luck of the heavens, the affair resulted in a child. I… I was scared. No, I was terrified. I didn't think I was ready to have a child. I knew nothing of parenting, and I was worried I would end up ruining my child's life.

"So it was decided that Da Shuizhi would raise the child so that I could focus on my sect and prepare until I felt I was ready to be a mother… That was the single greatest mistake of my life. Da Shuizhi immediately cut contact with me. He blocked me from seeing you. I could only watch from afar as you grew up and Da Shuizhi became more and more twisted and corrupted…

"When Onari rescued you from that man's clutches, I could not have been happier. I thought I could finally have a chance to get to know my daughter, to atone for my mistake. But I was still scared. Something… deep inside me was preventing me from reaching for you like I wanted…"

"What changed?" Yu Wu asked quietly.

"Apparently not enough… I was still too scared to meet you in person. I sent one of my subordinates to do my dirty work. And only after her actions threatened to ruin any relationship I could potentially have with you did I take action myself."

Yu Wu's young mistress persona had long since been dropped in the face of Yu Long's bare emotions, "And what do you want from me now that you've suddenly come into my life? I don't know you… I literally thought you were dead for my entire life…"

"I want to atone for my many mistakes. I want a chance to have the family that my own decision robbed me of. I… I want to get to know my daughter and the life she now lives."

Yu Wu stood quickly and turned her back on her mother, "... I need to think."