43

Yu Long stretched her arm out after Yu Wu's retreating back like she was desperately trying to grasp grains of sand that kept slipping through her fingers. Onari let Yu Wu go. Through the bond, he could feel that she needed a couple of minutes to herself before he would need to go after her.

Crystal tears beaded in the corners of Yu Long's eyes. The flame of hope in her bosom flickered and waned. Something malicious inside her clawed at her heart.

'She doesn't want anything to do with me,' Intrusive thoughts invaded her mind. 'She's the only real family I have and I've driven her away.'

"She'll be back. This is all a lot for her to process. Just give her some time…" Onari said, sitting next to Yu Long and laying a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Yu Long let out a choking laugh, "You're too kind to an old woman like me, Onari. But I know my actions have driven her away. First my decision to abandon her with that leech… Then my constant cowardice once she was free of him… And finally, the short-sighted way I went about reuniting with her. It's all my fault…"

Onari kept quiet. It wasn't his place to share what Yu Wu was projecting over their bond. Yu Wu's were mostly dominated by confusion. In less than half an hour, her mother had suddenly showed up, she found out that Xiao Li worked for her mother, and heard the real reason she was left with Da Shuizhi. To say she was processing things was an understatement.

Onari could feel Yu Long's Qi beside him. It was starting to twist in on itself in a disturbingly familiar manner. The emotional stress of her reunion with Yu Wu was pushing something inside her to the breaking point. Onari discreetly began to use Senjutsu to cycle the local Qi.

With Senjutsu giving him a clearer picture of Yu Long's being, Onari could see the darkness in her heart. It wasn't a part of her. It was aimed at her. It was gnawing away at her heart, and after the tribulation that came with his breakthrough to the Fourth Stage, Onari recognized a Heart Demon when he saw one.

Onari sent a hurried message through his bond with Yu Wu. He could feel her shock and worry respond almost instantly. Any grievances she had about her mother were shoved to the side as she hurried back into the room.

Yu Long was hyperventilating at this point. Fueled by her distressed emotions, her internal Qi was trying its best to run wild through her body. A battle was being fought within Yu Long's heart.

For more than a decade, a shaky balance had existed in Yu Long's mind. A balance between her desire to see her daughter and the cowardice that kept her from acting. A balance between being content to watch her daughter from afar and worry about what Da Shuizhi was doing to her.

When Onari had stepped into Yu Wu's life and shaken everything up, that balance was another casualty. Her daughter now had a savior: one straight out of a storybook. But she was still so far from Yu Long. She was happy for her daughter for finding her fated partner, but at the same time, she resented Onari for being able to be with Yu Wu.

It was irrational, but it still made perfect sense to Yu Long's deeply hurt mind. She hated herself just as much as she longed to see her daughter. As the years went on, she began to feel more and more that she wasn't even worthy of her daughter's time.

After all, who would want a mother that abandoned them? Who would accept a coward as their mother? She had often cried herself to sleep, looking at the reports that the watchers she had assigned had sent about Yu Wu. She was so happy that Yu Wu was happy. But… she wanted to be a part of that happiness.

A looming shadow appeared in Yu Long's vision. A shadow of her past. A shadow of the past that she had inflicted on her only daughter. She saw the similarities there and she cried. Just as Yu Long had been orphaned when she came into this world, she had essentially orphaned Yu Wu, leaving only a leech to 'care' for her.

Outside of Yu Long's mind, Onari was pushing his abilities with Senjutsu to their very limits in an effort to keep Yu Long's Qi from violently exploding from her body. Yu Wu knelt in front of her catatonic, yet still crying, mother. She held Yu Long's hands, trying to get through to her mother.

"Stay with me! Y-You're not allowed to die now. Not when you finally came into my life. T-This young mistress commands it!"

There were flashes of comprehension on Yu Long's face as Yu Wu's words fought through the Heart Demon's dark trance. Yu Long's face froze in a smile.

"Yu… Wu…" Yu Long spoke haltingly with tears streaming down her face. "Please… don't hate… your… coward… of a mother…"

"You… You don't get to decide how I feel about you," Yu Wu said, surprised to find herself blinking back her own tears. "I get to decide that. I get to decide how I feel about you… after we get to know each other. You're not allowed to die yet… Not before I know you well enough to call you mom…"

The word 'mom' sent a surge of energy rushing into Yu Long's heart. It wasn't enough to kill the Heart Demon, but it was enough for Yu Long to resist. She would not go gently into this goodnight. She would fight, fight to be a part of her daughter's life.

Something clicked. Yu Long separated from the Heart Demon that had held her heart hostage for years. No longer was she being eaten from the inside. Now, she was directly faced with her Demon, and she stood strong. Her love for Yu Wu came surging to the forefront.

Even then, it… wasn't enough. This Heart Demon had been allowed to fester and gain strength for more than a decade. It had put down roots in Yu Long's heart and mind. It would not stop until it claimed her soul.

There was only silence as Yu Long's eyes closed. Her Qi slowly settled into a stable equilibrium. Within Yu Long's mind, she was still waging war against the Heart Demon. But to the outside world, she had been cast into eternal sleep.

Onari exhaled, sweaty and exhausted from channeling so much Senjutsu. Yu Wu felt her mother's hands go limp in her grip. Both of them could still feel Yu Long's lifeforce. It was weak, but steady and determined to live. For now though, Yu Long was lost to both of them.

A gasping sob escaped Yu Wu's lips as Onari wrapped his arms around her, "I was so close… so close…"

Onari hummed, stroking Yu Wu's hair, "I know, love. I know. She's not gone though. We just have to get her back so you can finally get to know your mother… And maybe slap her and hug her as well."