What If...I Remember?

Chapter 50

"A-Li, come here."

The sun was setting, marking the fifth day that A-Li had been at Kun Lun, and Mo Yuan was surprised by A-Li's lack of impatience and temperament. But then again, the boy had been brought up by his father for most of his life so far, and Ye Hua was known for being impossibly obedient when he was but a child. Suppose A-Li did inherit his father's patience, did he also inherit his father's studiousness? "Did you not find the sutra boring?" Mo Yuan asked gently, and the little boy looked up at his uncle for a moment, before breaking into a sheepish grin, "I did find it boring, Uncle Mo Yuan."

That's Seventeenth there, Mo Yuan thought to himself as he laughed, "A-Li, has anyone ever told you that you're like your mother?" "No." A-Li answered honestly, "Though I wish I would be." "Why so?" Mo Yuan had never imagined that A-Li would have wanted to be like Bai Qian, but A-Li merely just tilted his head, "Father's childhood sounds so terrible, and Mother's childhood sounds fun. So of course I would like to be like Mother."

"Your mother was indeed notorious for being a prankster." Mo Yuan smiled, rising to his feet from the mat he had been sitting on, and A-Li followed beside his uncle, not quite understanding how "notorious prankster" was equivalent to having fun, but even as they continued towards the herons that Mo Yuan loved quite dearly, two figures alighted from a cloud, and Mo Yuan knew that A-Li had already recognised them, for the little boy began to run across the compound.

"Mother! Father!" A-Li leapt straight into Bai Qian's arms, and Mo Yuan made a note in his mind as Bai Qian seemingly made a small gasp as she lifted her son. Ye Hua reached over almost instantly, taking A-Li from Bai Qian, and Mo Yuan gave his brother a nod of greeting as he drew nearer. "Shifu." Bai Qian bowed, having freed her hands from A-Li, and Mo Yuan glanced at her briefly, his eyebrows shooting up after a while as he greeted her in return, "Long time no see, Seventeenth. How's it been without your son around?"

At that, Bai Qian gave a sheepish grin, one identical to her son's, before she answered, "Not as peaceful as we thought it would be. Have you heard about Li Jing yet, Shifu?" "Yes. Jia Yun's quite effective, isn't he, Ye Hua? He came by just now." Mo Yuan nodded, turning his eyes to his brother, and Ye Hua nodded, "He is an excellent assistant. I might promote his role once I become Heavenly Lord, however. His efficiency is not worth being limited to an assistant."

"So, about Li Jing." Mo Yuan steered the topic back to where it had started, and Ye Hua nodded, "I trust that you don't need me to inform you of how dangerous Xuan Nü is, Da Ge." "Indeed." Bai Qian muttered under her voice, "She first-handedly caused the fall of Kun Lun." "We should have seen through her guise, though." Mo Yuan interrupted Bai Qian before she could start a rant on Xuan Nü, "Besides, there is no point in focusing on that battle anymore, Seventeenth. The most important thing is preventing another one from happening. And for one, don't worry about the Ghost Princess. Sixteenth found her long ago when he went down for a round of fortune telling."

"Brother Zi Lan found her?" Bai Qian was surprised, and Mo Yuan nodded, "He sent a letter not long ago to say that he was pretending to be a constable." "Why would he stay, however?" Ye Hua asked, confused as to why Zi Lan might have found a need to stay by the Ghost Princess, and Mo Yuan only gave a mysterious smile, "He has his reasons, I believe."

"Will Mother and Father be staying?" A-Li chirped up, much to all of their surprise, and Bai Qian glanced at the last rays of the golden orb that began to sank beneath the horizon, then at her husband, who wore a rather casual look that pretty much said: "I don't mind staying, if you want to."

"You can take your old room, Seventeenth. Sixteenth isn't around, remember?" Mo Yuan added on gently, and Bai Qian made up her mind as she smiled at her son, "Yes, A-Li. We'll be staying for the night."