Wei Ying was lost in thought as they walked back from the tents. The last thing XiChen had shown them was a new type of string instrument made from Uncle Qiren's hair, the strings so strong that they could be compared to wire, pulled taut to make an amazing and unique sound.
"Father!"
The impatient call of his daughter made Wei Ying look up, and then he frowned because both Li XiWang and Rumi were being chased by an elder who was trying not to run after them.
"I found something!" Li XiWang said, holding an ancient text in her one hand and Rumi's hand in her other.
"There have been several rules broken," the elder joined in, sternly admonishing her.
Li XiWang made sure she wasn't seen when she rolled her eyes.
"I'm sure you're about to tell me, Senior." Wei Ying replied, bowing with the minimum of respect, because this particular elder loved putting people in their place.
"Indeed!" He huffed, glaring at the children and then straightening when XiChen and Jiang Cheng caught up with them. "Ah, Sect Leader, it is good you can also witness this travesty!"
XiChen winked at Li XiWang before turning to the elder with a gentle smile.
"What seems to be the problem, Senior?" He asked, pleasantly.
"There is no running in Cloud Recesses. No books may be taken from the library unless supervised, and children must stop and explain themselves when asked." The pompous Senior said, his glare intensifying.
"But I found the cure!" Li XiWang says, protesting and glaring back.
"Impudent child!" The Senior retorts, going to snatch the book out of her hands.
Li XiWang quickly darts behind Wei Ying, while Rumi has been constantly growling at him.
"If you don't mind, my husband, Hanguang-Jun, and I will talk to our children. XiChen-Ge, isn't this the book you wanted?" Wei Ying lies smoothly, and XiChen cannot say anything but agree, and he's saved in turn by Jiang Cheng stepping forward and claiming the book from his niece.
The Senior, realising that he's made a grave mistake, bows and leaves even faster, rather than risk upsetting the Yiling Laozu and two Sect Leaders.
If Wei Ying had let his eyes change colour a little bit, well, that was his business…
"What did you find, Little Rabbit?" Wei Ying asks her, taking back the book.
"JingYi-Ge told us what happened to Grumple, and I thought we could find something to help. And we did!" Li XiWang proudly points to a single line in the text.
Wei Ying goes over the cover; it looks like a book on night creatures and mythical beings.
And then he reads the characters she wants him to see.
His face lights up immediately.
"Little Rabbit, you're a genius!" Wei Ying picks her up and whirls her around, planting a big kiss on both her cheeks until she's giggling uncontrollably.
Rumi can still be thrown into the air and that's exactly what Wei Ying does to his baby, until Rumi hugs his neck, wrapping his tail around Wei Ying’s arm.
"Baba." He says happily, and it's enough to bring tears to Wei Ying’s eyes.
His son hardly speaks, but when he does? It's always something important.
"My sweet boy! Let's go show your father, shall we?" Wei Ying takes Li XiWang's hand and still carrying Rumi, they make their way to Uncle Qiren's quarters.
XiChen stops Jiang Cheng from following, with a hand on his arm.
"Thank you. I didn't have to speak an untruth," he says, his honey-coloured eyes bright with love.
"Oh, think nothing of it. Wei WuXian and I lied all the time, whenever we could get away with it. Especially when we were kids." Jiang Cheng smiles nostalgically.
"But it means much to me." XiChen says earnestly.
"Oh…really?" Jiang Cheng turns back to him, his amethyst eyes sparkling with danger. "Then, how shall you make amends?" His single finger traces XiChen's bottom lip, slightly fuller than his top one.
XiChen shivers, and it's immediately noted.
Jiang Cheng presses down with his thumb, and swoops in for a fiery kiss, because this is his wonderful husband, who sometimes forgets that thanks are not necessary in their marriage.
XiChen moans into his mouth and the kiss is really heating up when a shout breaks them apart.
"Come on, you guys! We may be able to cure Uncle Qiren!"
*************
"Father, I have a question." Li XiWang asked him, as the three of them walked away towards Uncle Qiren's home.
"What is it, Sweetie?" Wei Ying paused to kiss the top of her head.
His heart swelled with how much he loved all his children. Li XiWang, in particular, reminded him of the years he missed in his absence when SiZhui was growing up. Little, lovely A-Yuan, with his squishable cheeks and desire to make his Xian-Gege happy and pretending to fly…
Those memories were immortal too now, but in no way compensated him for the time that was stolen away.
Wei Ying blinks back the tears and forces himself to concentrate on the present. He knows he's lucky to have this, well, everything, really.
Ever since he woke up in Mo XuanYu's body.
"That Senior was being unfair…and you still bowed. Why do we have to listen to elders even when they're wrong?" Li XiWang is asking out of innocent curiosity rather than petulance.
"That's a tough question." Wei Ying tells her, buying himself time to answer properly. "Intentions come into every action we take. If I hadn't bowed, he could have said that I'm a bad parent for not raising you well, and your behaviour would then reflect on your parents. For example, when we travel and you see badly behaved kids, what do you think about them?"
"I think their mother or father should explain to them why they shouldn't do that." The light dawns in her eyes as she grasps what he's trying to convey.
"Exactly! And it's sort of a rule in society. Why should we upset that balance? When it's easy enough to make them see if we're right or not. Seniority does not automatically mean the person is right, but saying so would cause many other problems. It's better to respectfully prove our point if it's necessary."
Li XiWang nods seriously, soaking in his words like a natural sponge.
"Good child. Now, let's go tell Grumple what genius grandchildren he has!" Wei Ying says proudly, wanting to see Lan Zhan’s face when they told him what cure their precious Little Rabbit found.
************
A/N
Dear Beautiful Readers,
My apologies, I know I've been neglecting this book, and hopefully, that will change now. I know I don't need to give you a reason because this is free entertainment after all, but I like to.
Things are becoming crazy with work and I'm ending up totally shattered at night when we return home.
Mental fatigue is a thing, for real, hehe.
Anyway, onwards and upwards, I might be able to get another update up today.
Love you all, and let's be kind!
Charlie