Behind the shimmering ward that curtained them off from the rest of the world, Li XiWang led her fathers to a single solitary tree.
It didn't look like a normal tree, for it was not very big, and it was bare with hardly any leaves, and it looked almost dead.
But to Wei Ying, it seemed as if it was emitting waves of energy. Before he could examine it further, Li XiWang spoke in that deeper voice of hers.
"We must ready ourselves. Meditation is the key."
They sat down in a line facing the tree, Wei Ying feeling terribly disappointed but there was nothing he could do about it.
He closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing, allowing his core to take over. Peace pervaded all his senses as his energies united, culminating in the crown of his head. He felt a gentle touch upon his head and opened his eyes.
Li XiWang was touching both him and Lan Zhan there, on their heads where that special place was humming with pure energy.
Then, she turned to the tree, and with the finger that wore the special ring, she touched a single branch.
Light expanded in electric veins zigzagging out and encompassing their world. Across the black sky, as if another curtain was drawn aside, Li XiWang walked them into that land. They left the darkness and the bleak terrain behind them, entering a world full of colour and life.
Right in front of them was the Tree. The tree that they had seen in countless visions, the tree that had led them straight here.
It's trunk was broad and expansive, and now Wei Ying feared he had been wrong, for not only ten men, but twenty could not spread their hands to go around it. Perhaps it was thousands of years old, its branches growing wider rather than up. Its roots had upturned the earth around its base, knarled and knuckled, twisted and bumpy. The sun shone brightly upon emerald leaves, chestnuts still encased in their shells hanging in abundance from the many branches.
Under their feet, the soil was a rich reddish brown. The land was divided into fields for crops and a garden for flowers and herbs. Every plant looked well cared for, and not a single weed was in sight.
In the fields grew wheat and barley, corn and cotton, the plants nearly ripe for harvest. And in the distance, the blue waters of a lake glistened in the sunlight.
But Li XiWang was far more interested in the tree.
"What do you think she's doing, Lan Zhan?" Wei Ying whispered.
Lan Zhan shrugged, clearly out of his element.
Li XiWang was muttering something and then she placed a palm against the sixth root. An outline of a door appeared glowing first white and then red. She walked up to it and pushed it open.
"Come." She turned to them, and then went inside.
They crossed the threshold and Wei Ying saw a sign, the characters read "Heping*".
This was a huge round room, lined with bookshelves from top to bottom, even above the doorway that led off from this main chamber. In the centre of the room, piles of books lay haphazardly upon a round table, next to test tubes and jars of different coloured liquids. Scattered throughout the room, there were jars of different specimens, ingredients that looked otherworldly, brushes and inkstones randomly placed.
The whole area looked chaotic and messy and...Wei Ying fell in love with it immediately.
There was a green chair on one side, and he went straight to it, with an arm load of books. He was just about to sit down when he heard a growl.
"LAN ZHAN!" He yelled, terrified.
Bichen landed in front of him, followed by his husband. Wei Ying had dropped his books in fright, whimpering behind Lan Zhan's robes.
"Not a dog." Lan Zhan told him.
"B-but i-it g-growled!" He could stop shaking, his eyes already shut.
"Look. It is a desert fox."
Foxes. Wei Ying tried to think how he felt about them. They weren't actually dogs...
He opened one eye to see.
The fox had a small face, incredible blue eyes, the softest looking white fur...the biggest pair of ears, all fluffy and cuddly.
Xiao Mao bounded forward to stand in front of Lan Zhan. She hissed at it, and it cowered, whimpering.
Wei Ying felt terribly sad for it suddenly. He picked up Xiao Mao, stroking her head softly.
"We shouldn't scare others on our first meeting, Xiao Mao." He whispered close to her ears.
She blinked up at him and licked his fingers. He handed her over to Lan Zhan and then approached the trembling fox. He suddenly remembered he had saved some dried meat for Xiao Mao and took a few slivers out for the fox. It eyed them suspiciously before gulping them down.
Wei Ying held out his hand for it to sniff, waiting patiently for it to trust him. When it finally allowed him to stroke it's head, Wei Ying felt so happy. He looked around for his daughter but realised she was no longer with them.
"Where's Li XiWang, Lan Zhan?"
Just then, a plump woman with rosy cheeks came into the room and looked at them in surprise.
"How did you get in?" She asked.
"Who are you?" Wei Ying asked.
"My name is-"
"Hexie!" Li XiWang ran towards the woman and hugged her from behind.
"Shifu?" She turned and hugged her properly and then both of them were crying.
Wei Ying stared at Lan Zhan, all sorts of questions in his eyes, but Lan Zhan just shrugged again and went back to watching the two hugging.
Xiao Mao began to purr.
The fox somehow decided it couldn't stand that, and turned into a ferocious looking dog.
Wei Ying screamed.
Xiao Mao screamed.
Lan Zhan sighed.
*****
A/N
Dear lovely Readers,
Thank you for reading.
*Heping means Peace.
Charlie