Dance with you

Chapter 31

"Look, I know you don't like Sects, Yang-er. But could you please at least get yourself examined by trained healers? For me?"

Finally Xue Yang sighed, "Fine, shijie. But only because you want it so badly." He rolled his eyes, closing them to return to meditation. Liu Xin couldn't help but smile at his dramatics. She noticed how Li Yan's and Gao Fen's shoulders shook with silent laughter at their brother's attitude. Xue Yang had managed to somewhat warm up to Lan Xichen so she was optimistic when it came to him behaving himself on Sect ground. But she would never force him to stay longer than he felt comfortable with. The older woman on the front of the cart gave a good natured laugh. "Ah, children. Don't make things too hard on your sister, boy." Her tone was very casual and the dialect she spoke in was so rural, they sometimes didn't understand everything she said. But all in all she had been a very nice travel companion. They had been on the road with her for about a week and their journey would come to an end soon.

Once Lan Xichen had finished his letter, he had told Meng Yao and Liu Xin of his plans. She had wanted to accompany him at first, but the more she thought about it, the clearer it became that she should probably stay away from Qinghe for the time being. Meng Yao however agreed to travel with Xichen until they reached the border of the city. Another question had been, how Xichen's letter, that did contain private and sensitive information, would get to Gusu safely. That was something Liu Xin could do, so she didn't hesitate to offer her help. The children looked very excited to return to their traveling lifestyle after quite some time in this town. They still had to wait some days, in which Xichen gathered some strength, before they said goodbye to one another. Xichen had been bombarded with reminders to take care of himself and rest enough, not only by Liu Xin but also Li Yan and Gao Fen. Li Yan sounded almost like a mother as she said goodbye to him, which was a pretty ridiculous sight for anyone present. Xichen was very patient and assured her he would be careful and that he would get help from his friend to make sure he'd stay healthy. Xue Yang stayed in the background, but he gave Xichen a nod in farewell.

When it came to Meng Yao, the goodbyes were more sentimental. Gao Fen and Fang Lei had attached themselves tightly to his legs and buried their faces in his robes. Even Li Yan went in for a hug. It was very obvious all three had become attached to their 'Yao-gege' and were reluctant to part. It took a lot of assurance and soothing promises from Meng Yao to separate himself from them. After he had managed that however, Xue Yang approached him. The formal bow Xue Yang executed surprised his siblings and Liu Xin. This was just not how Xue Yang normally acted. Meng Yao had also apparently picked up on that fact in the last few days, which meant he was a little flustered and lost. But Xue Yang wasn't done.

When he stood straight again, he smirked, showing his canines, "Don't you dare make shijie sad. We'll see each other again, Yao-ge."

Now Meng Yao really didn't know how to react. Warmth filled Liu Xin's chest as she watched that exchange. When she gave Meng Yao a last hug, she whispered in his ear, "He has accepted you, Yaoyao. You are now officially part of this family."

As she backed away, Meng Yao couldn't hold back his smile and a subtle blush spread across his cheeks.

The walk to the first village took them about half a day. Gao Fen and Xue Yang were constantly jumping and running around, climbing trees and play-fighting. Fang Lei had finally become too big to constantly be carried, so he made due with walking on his own, one hand holding Liu Xin's hand and the other holding Li Yan's hand. Rushui had abandoned her place inside a qiankun pouch and was proudly humming, being strapped to Liu Xin's back. Each time they sat down or took a break, Liu Xin took Rushui into her hands and ran some practice drills. It had occurred to her that over time she hadn't used Rushui to fight for quite some time. One mistake in a fight could decide over life and death. And not only her death, but also the death of her siblings. She couldn't let that happen. Each time, her fear fought its way to the front of her mind, it seemed as if Rushui felt it. The humming of her guandao soothed her motions and it executed all commands with precise accuracy.