Live Again, Love Anew

Chapter 16- An Immortal

Summary

Wei Ying: im in trouble. again. and Another Uncle is here too

Grandmother joins the chat

Beginning Note

Longer chapter. New perspectives today. Enjoy

Xiao Xingchen

Xiao Xingchen watches as the smallest Lan child hesitates in leaving, throwing glances back as his brows furrow before finally exiting the room.

Xiao Xingchen turns to the Lan Sect Leader as they all sit and watch the woman, who introduced herself as Healer He, do some more in depth testing before asking for input from the group.

"Sect Leader Lan," Xiao Xingchen starts quietly. The man turns towards him and politely urges him to continue. "I saw how worried the youngest Lan child was. Are he and my nephew friends? I have heard that you were the one to take my nephew off the streets, and am thankful for that."

Sect Leader Lan nods with a hand stroking his goatee. "The two boys are my nephews. The oldest is Lan Huan, courtesy Lan Xichen. The youngest is Lan Zhan, and yes, I have heard they are inseparable, on top of sharing Lan Zhan's living quarters."

Xiao Xingchen blinks. "Sect Leader Lan," Something must change in his tone, because Sect Leader Jiang, who has minded his own business up to this point, takes a step closer to the conversation. "Respectfully, and please correct me if I am wrong, but are you telling me that you are letting my nephew and your nephew, two five year old children, live alone?"

Sect Leader Lan blinks, taking in the disbelieving stares of the other two men. "I... Yes?"

Sect Leader Jiang recoils back with whispered disbelief while Xiao Xingchen's stare turns to fury. "Sect Leader Lan," Sect Leader Lan actually recoils back. "I am not a Sect Leader, so I hope you will forgive me for speaking so informally to people above my station." Xiao Xingchen takes a steadying breath to keep from yelling when his unconscious nephew is only a few feet away. "In what world do you think it's okay for two five year old children to live alone?" His voice comes out a hiss, but it's not a yell. He continues. "And don't give me some flimsy excuses about absent or deceased parents, because as a living relative, it would then be your job to care for them in place of their parents. I may be naïve, but I am not stupid. I know that there is probably some good reason that their uncle is taking care of them instead of their parents, but then their uncle needs to act like a parent. Just because they don't have a parent to care for them doesn't mean they don't need parental affection. Children won't grow right without it."

Sect Leader Lan stays silent, but Xiao Xingchen can see the gears turning in his head. "What do you think the difference is between Immortal Baoshan's personal students and her disciples?"

Sect Leader Lan strokes his goatee and doesn't meet Xiao Xingchen's eyes. "She... adopts her personal students but not her disciples?"

Xiao Xingchen shakes his head. "I do think of Immortal Baoshan as a mother figure, but her only adopted child is Cangse Sanren. The difference between her students and her disciples is that all of her students have no living relatives. Immortal Baoshan has wards around her mountain, that if you are pure of heart and need help, will let you through. If you are not both of these, you will never find her home no matter how hard you look. Some people come with parents, or cousins, or brothers, and they are taken on as disciples and given food, and a home, and as long as they contribute somehow, are left to stay in the community until they die. Sometimes, even common people will come, and even though they aren't taken as disciples, they are still given a home. But Yanling Daoren, Cangse Sanren, and I were abandoned as young children at the foot of the mountain. Now, we are not the only children to ever be left, but we are the only ones, after a year of searching, where no living relatives have turned up. And know that if an immortal wants to find someone, there will be no place on earth where you could stay hidden.