Soul bonds

Mid autumn moon magic

"A-Huan"

Lan Xichen could not believe his eyes or his ears. Nie MeiLi was sitting on the bed couch next to him. She was dressed in white and wearing a hat and veil. His heart knew it was his beloved although he could not see her face.

"Jie, is this a dream?"

"What do you think?"

"How is it possible?"

"Did you forget Chang'e's gift to those who love sincerely?"

"Jie..."

Lan Xichen was frozen. He did not know whether he was dreaming or not. He wanted to hold her, hug her, but feared that she would vanish the moment he touched her.

Slowly he sat up and looked at her. He could not make out much of her features. For some reasons, she did not want to reveal herself to him; he was too overwhelmed to feel any disappointment. After years of playing Inquiry and searching and longing, she was here by his side. He could not stop the tears of joy from escaping his eyes.

"You found my JingYi..."

"Hmm"

"He is a sweet child, like MingJue..."

"I am taking him back to Gusu..."

"I know. It is for the best."

"I have not said anything to Da Ge yet..."

Nie MeiLi cut him short

"A-Huan, I don't have much time. I will disappear soon. I wanted to meet you several times before but it was not possible. I needed to be sure that you find JingYi before I could come to you. After today, I don't even know if we will be able to meet..."

"Jie, I can summon your spirit again and Wei Ying can even resurrect you..."

"A-Huan, promise me you will do no such thing. At least not now. War is imminent in this world. You need to prepare for that and protect the young ones... This is not the time to seek me; if I come to you, it has to be an act of free will and when the time is right, not because you summoned or resurrected me."

He tried to glimpse at her face as she continued.

"Your word, A-Huan..."

"You have my word Jie. I made a promise to you years ago. It still stands. I will wait for you Jie, please come to me at least once again before you leave the spirit world."

Nie MeiLi extended her hand and wiped away his tears. Shaking, Lan Xichen grasped her hand. He felt his heart would burst; the touch that he yearned for years; his Jie; she was with him.

"A-Huan, there are so many things I need to tell you and I don't know where to start... The war that is brewing now, it was conceived decades ago. The mastermind behind it is still unknown as of now... You need to be careful about JingYi, keep him safe... His existence must remain hidden to the world. No one knew about JingYi, other than Meng Shi, Jie-Li and the orphanage warden; and even they don't know about his Nie parentage as I sealed his Qi."

Lan Xichen drew in a deep breath, filling himself with the scent of the blue lotus blooms and the lilies. His Jie still smelled like lilies.

"Meng Shi's son, A-Yao; he saved many girls from the claws of Jin Guangshan... but he brought them to a worse hell... Most of the girls he saved have disappeared mysteriously. He said he had plans for them but Jie-Li and myself, we were too old for his plans. He needed the younger ones... He told Meng Shi that the girls were living well in far off cities. That is not true. A-Yao is not a person to be trusted... A-Huan, please find out what happened to those girls..."