What If...I Remember?

Chapter 54

"Happy birthday Gufu!" Feng Jiu and A-Li were in the front, and Ye Hua blinked habitually as he was greeted by every single member of the direct Bai family, excepting Bai Xuan and Bai Qi, who were Bai Qian's Da Ge and San Ge respectively. Bai Yi, as always, looked like he had been unintentionally swirled into the jovial celebration, while Bai Zhen and Zhe Yan were, as always, leaning together with matching sly expressions, and Bai Zhi was busily trying to keep his wife from fussing over what seemed to be the food on the table.

"Happy birthday, Mei Fu." Bai Zhen and Bai Zhi chimed, in an odd unison that the brothers normally didn't have, and Zhe Yan followed after them, "Happy birthday, Ye Hua. I daresay this is your first one, isn't it?" "It is." Ye Hua affirmed softly, not quite used to the entire family's gaze trained on him, and Bai Qian frowned in confusion, "How did you know, Old Phoenix?" "Hao De has always gone for an extravagant style. Had he celebrated his grandson's birthday, he would have invited everyone from the four seas and eight lands." Bai Zhi answered for Zhe Yan, having had this conversation with his old friend the other day, and Bai Qian's mouth formed into an 'o' as she spoke meekly, "Oh. I didn't think about that."

"Father!" A-Li ran forward, diffusing Bai Qian's awkwardness rather timely as he held out a wrapped parcel, "This is for you!" "What's this, A-Li?" Ye Hua took the parcel over, conveniently scooping his son up into his arms as well, and Bai Qian grinned as she gestured for him to open it, "We made it for you, Ye Hua." "Did you do most of it?" Ye Hua sized the object briefly, guessing from its shape that it was a blade of some sort, and Bai Qian gave him a grin, "Well...the forming of it, yes. The design of it, not quite."

"You made me a dagger, didn't you?" Ye Hua lowered his voice so that only Bai Qian could hear him, "Are you hinting at me to assassinate someone?" "Well, I wouldn't mind you killing Su Jin and Xuan Nü with a blade I forged," Bai Qian replied nonchalantly, "Though since it's A-Li's gift as well, maybe you should think twice about getting it bloody."

"Xiao Wu, are you seriously still standing there?" Bai Zhen called, and Ye Hua realised that everyone had already seated themselves by the table, "There's some fine wine here that Zhe Yan dug out of the deepest parts of the cellar for the celebration!" "The deepest parts? I'm in!" Bai Qian slipped away from Ye Hua's embrace at once, and with a laugh, he joined his wife at the table.

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"You've been awfully quiet, Yan Zhi. Whatever are you thinking about?"

The Ghost Princess sat by the fire, staring at the horizon, where the sun had risen from. They were near the eastern areas, that much she knew, but Zi Lan probably knew more, for she had hardly left the Ghost Realm for most of her life, while he had been a Celestial before he had become a disciple of Kun Lun.

Mount Junji was not too far away, as far as Yan Zhi could recall. It was also in the eastern lands, and had been that one place that she had first discovered Su Su. Come to think of it, she should have pieced everything together. Pretty faces like Si Yin's weren't common all over the streets.

"I'm thinking, Sao Zi...maybe this isn't the right thing to do." Yan Zhi exhaled, watching as her breath came out as a puff of mist, the cold temperatures of the abandoned island causing the water vapour to condense at once, "Why must we free Father?"

If she couldn't deny the Crown Prince's order, couldn't spurn her brother's call to have her sister-in-law killed, then at least she would try, the very last time, to convince her Sao Zi to think again. "Because he hates Bai Qian too. Hates Mo Yuan with a burning vengeance. And because this world has shown me such cruelty, I shall do it a favour in return. I will give all of my suffering back. I want to watch as this world burns down, and perhaps all will ask for mercy, when they realised their mistake of turning their backs on me." Xuan Nü finished her sentence with a cold expression of fury and vengeance, her tone indifferent and firm, and all of Yan Zhi's persuasion was swallowed back down her throat as she gave an inward sigh; there was really no salvation for Xuan Nü.