Chapter 11

                                    

                                          
I have a gift for all of you. Many of you had suggested to merge some of the options offered for this chanter so I have decided to pick up the challange and put all three of them in this one. Enjoy :)

                          


                          


                          
Cangse Sanren was sitting by her husband's side and they were catching up with their friends they had not seen in a very long time. They were talking over tea and the atmosphere was very easy and merry. Despite both Lin Cui and Lan Gongmin being members of the Gusu Lan sect, they still knew how to have a leisurely conversation with their friends and how to laugh with them.
                          
They were at first talking about their families and some more memorable night hunts they had had in the past. Then the conversation steered towards the topic of the cultivation world and the politics. Lan Gongmin explained why he had taken up the position of the Gusu Lan sect leader and that the cultivation world was slowly but surely changing for the worse with Wen Ruohan trying to usurp power and become the next Chief cultivator. That was what he wanted to prevent. He feared that there would be a war sometime soon if nothing was done against him now.
                          
In the end, they had run out of the lighter topics of conversation and fell into a heavy silence. It was true that the cultivation world was no longer the same as during their time of youth. They worried for their children.
                          
After a while, Lin Cui cleared her throat and addressed the pair of rogue cultivators: "Well, leaving the heavy topics aside, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?"
                          
Cangse Sanren immediately became even more serious as she replied in a low key voice, she did not want anyone to overhear her by accident: "Lin Cui, Lan Gongmin, we came to seek help for A-Ying today. Actually, hard to believe as it is, we have run into a spiritual animal during our last night hunt."
                          
Hearing this information, Lin Cui straightened her back and leaned a little closer to her friend, she seemed intrigued. Lan Gongmin did not let his expression slip and he remained calm on the exterior, but his eyes betrayed his emotions. He too was alarmed and perhaps slightly worried. Though, the most prominent was interest, their friends wanted to know more about the topic.
                          
Cangse Sanren indulged them, whispering the whole time: "It was actually A-Ying who had found a small bunny and before we knew it, they had formed a bond. At first, we did not think much of it, we were happy that if something was to happen to us, A-Ying would still have someone left who could protect him. But it became clear in the last days that not everything is good. A-Ying is behaving oddly. He talks to himself or goes silent all of a sudden, which we can only assume is his conversation with his spiritual animal, and he is tired all of the time. We are worried about him. That is why we have decided to come here since the Gusu Lan sect has a vast knowledge of many fields including legends. We hoped to be able to find a way to help A-Ying here."
                          
Lan Gongmin and Lin Cui looked at each other and for once, Cangse Sanren could not decrypt what they wanted to communicate between themselves.
                          
"A-Hu, do you think..." started Lin Cui but Cangse Sanren had never gotten to hear the rest of that sentence.
                          
It was at that exact moment that A-Ying stirred in his makeshift bed and sat up, his eyes darting around the room, still dazed over with sleep. When he realized he was somewhere he did not recognize and that he was all alone – he was looking in the other direction than the table was situated so he did not see his parents – he started sniffling, calling for them: "Mummy, daddy, where are you?"
                          
Cangse Sanren immediately got up and went to sooth her son: "A-Ying, we are here, there is nothing to fear sweetheart."
                          
She gathered the child into her arms and patted his back. A-Ying looked up at her and immediately smiled, reassured that he was not all alone. She stood up and carried him to the table to be able to continue the previous conversation with Lin Cui and Lan Gongmin.