WangXian Forever 3

Chapter 47 Persuasion

Hui Gai was not a particularly emotional person. He had learned the hard way not to trust, that family did not mean loyalty and that it was best to remain...reserved, if anything.

He had a friend for the first time in his life. Two, if he counted the little girl. That was enough, so why should he have to start caring about strangers? So what if they were all children? He scanned their faces.

Some of them were babies, merely six or seven years old, he observed. He thought back to when he was a child himself. The memories were distant and a little hazy, yet he remembered the small things. Like the first time he saw a flower. It was a rose, it's petals red, deep with colour. The texture soft and velvety, and when he lifted it to his nose, the fragrance reminded him of purity. Something sacred and beyond his reach.

For a demon, he was still quite young, and definitely inexperienced. His first interaction with a human had been disastrous; the selfish man, full of greed and tyranny. But then, he had found Wei WuXian.

A person, no matter how old, no matter how young, always and without fail, came to a crossroads at least once in their lives. That fateful meeting had been it for him. And now, he was being asked to do something, the sheer magnitude of which already had him shaking his head.

There were a hundred beds in front of him, all them containing a body. He could walk away, he thought. Master Wei had told him he did not have to do anything.

But when he looked at the soothsayer, a question in his eyes, he discovered that he couldn't. He knew his friend could never leave them, and by association now, neither could he.

"Alright." He said at last. "Which one's first?"

*******

Hui Gai was exhausted. He had come across so many different personalities, like the colours in a rainbow and all the shades in between, every single soul shone in a different way.

The first few children came with his prompting easily enough, but it was around the twentieth child that he hit a block. This child was angry.

He entered his consciousness, a red haze of fury. It lashed out at him, brutal waves of aggressive hate.

"I'm here to help you!" He tried to call out, only to be smothered by another wave of loathing.

"Go away! You just want to hurt me! Well, I can hurt you first!" Followed by a battery of repelling energy.

"No! You are mistaken! I am not the same as those who hurt you." He tried again.

"I don't believe you. Leave me alone!"

Walls of fiery rage surrounded him, hot and desolate. He tried again and again, but the child did not want to listen. Hui Gai was well aware of his time constraints. The futility of saving this one person, at the cost of many weighed upon his mind. He was just about to give up, when he had an idea.

"Wait! I have a gift for you." He called out, for the last time.

Everything disappeared. He was standing in....nothingness. Only the sound of his breath and his heart beating could be heard, otherwise there was just a vacuum.

"What is it?" A small voice fluttered nearby.

Hui Gai tamped down on the feeling of jubilation at this tiny bit of progress.

"I'll show you if you come to me." He held out his fist.

"You could still hurt me." It whispered, full of pain.

"I won't. I don't have to be here. But I choose to be."

A child, perhaps no more than twelve, came slowly towards him. When he was no more than a foot away from him, Hui Gai opened his hand. A tiny yellow bud sat in his palm. As the child watched, it unfurled it's precious petals to reveal its centre, a lustrous green carpet, beads of pollen unclaimed. As they both watched in wonder, a tiny blue butterfly flew into his hand. It hovered uncertainly, deciding if it was worth the risk, but the temptations of sweet nectar proved too delightful. It swooped in, letting loose it's curling tongue, vibrating with a sugar rush.

Hui Gai focused on the child. His mouth was open, drinking in this natural sight. So he kept his voice hardly above a whisper.

"You are like this butterfly, masking your fear with rage. But if you place your trust in the right person, you can be happy again."

The boy lifted his pained eyes up to meet his.

"You have seen and felt bad things, but this world is made up of balance. It is time for you to heal." He watched, and slowly, courage began to replace his fear.

The flower and the butterfly vanished, leaving a faint perfume. Hui Gai held out his empty hand, palm out.

"Come with me. Open your eyes and find a different way to live."

The boy lifted his own hand and tentatively placed it in his.

*****

In the early hours of the morning, Hui Gai and the soothsayer were surrounded by a hundred and three children.

Hui Gai stared at the other man.

"So what's your plan for getting them out of here?"

The soothsayer grinned for the first time that night. He fished out another talisman.

"I can take twenty at a time."

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Hui Gai scowled at him.

"I'll be quick!" He looked at the kids. "All of you, hold hands, yes, like that." He disappeared with the first group.

Hui Gai was already worried. Transportation talismans took a lot of spiritual energy. If he could only take twenty, that meant another four trips at least, not counting himself. He sat down on the ground, body aching from his mental exertions.

The Soothsayer, true to his word, came back and forth another two times before displaying any fatigue. Hui Gai grabbed him as he appeared, nearly fainting from the depletion of his energy.

"Rest, old man." He pulled him to the ground.

The soothsayer immediately sat in the lotus position and began to meditate, channelling the energy from his golden core to replenish his spiritual life force.

They were all sitting in the long grasses a little way away from the barn. Wind rustled the swaying stalks, but Hui Gai picked up another sound through his sharp hearing.

The swishing of robes, fabric brushing against leaves, and he knew their time was up.