WangXian Forever Book 8

Chapter 58 Scared

Li XiWang woke up in the late afternoon.

There was a warm body right next to her, curled up as close as possible, and she blinked in surprise at the black and white scaled baby sucking his thumb and still asleep. Rumi had bought his blanket and covered them both.

Li XiWang was reminded why she loved him so much. He was such a sweet child, so caring and warm. He always looked after her in the smallest, sweetest ways and those were the ones that counted.

She sat up, careful not to jostle him, disoriented.

Why was she sleeping on her fathers' bed?

As the memories of the early morning time flooded into her mind, she thought about what she could do to keep Rumi safe.

Her parents were not here, otherwise they would have known what to do...or at least contest the Sect Leader and his stupid decisions. She wondered how he could be so cruel, and give up the child in his protection. And worse, what would her fathers think about such a betrayal?

She did not want to be the one to tell them.

"Think, Little Rabbit, think!" She told herself sternly, willing her tears away.

Crying wasn't going to help her in this situation.

No...she had to make a plan, and quickly. If XiChen had promised five days, then that was her time limit.

Her first choice was to call on Hui Gai. That seemed like a solid plan. If he did not help her...if he didn't, then she would have to rethink whatever she was planning...because there was no one else she could trust...except maybe Uncle Ning.

So she concentrated hard and Hui Gai appeared in a puff of red smoke, with Zago.

"What do you think of that?" He said loudly, beaming at her. He was referring to his grand entrance.

But then he saw she had been crying and he went to her immediately.

"Little Rabbit...what's wrong?" He asked her gently, gathering her into his arms.

Li XiWang really let herself cry then, unable to keep her hurt inside.

"This morning...I woke up. It wasn’t that dark outside and I thought, if I could find something in the library about my fathers...maybe...maybe I might be able to find a cure. But when I got to the library, there was another disciple walking really fast to talk to Uncle XiChen and then it was too late for me to just come back." She was trying to get the words out so fast that she was forgetting the tears, choking on each unsuspecting breath.

"And then?" Hui Gai stroked her hair, soothing the child. He wondered if they were both thinking about the same disciple, the one who had come to tell them about the Demon waiting for them at the gates.

"I followed after them because I was worried about them. That was such a waste!" She cried. "Do you know what they want to do to Rumi?"

"Hush now...you can tell me." He soothed.

Zago held her open, empty palm out, waiting for her payment.

Hui Gai scowled at her, and produced one out of thin air.

"The Demon asked for Rumi and they gave him up, just like that! Rumi has five days! Hui Gai...we have five days!" She burst into tears again.

This time Rumi did wake up.

He rubbed his beautiful purple eyes and then when he saw his older sister crying so much, he put his arms around her body so he was hugging her from behind.

Hui Gai got a warm cloth and some hot water in a bowl and rinsed the cloth out before wiping her little face.

"Okay...let's backtrack. Tell me again exactly what they said."

Li XiWang was much calmer now and she told him word for word everything that had been discussed between her uncles and the Demon. "He was really big, too." She told him. "Bigger than you..."

Hui Gai snorted.

"Size isn't everything, you know."

"So what are we going to do then?" Li XiWang asked him, still looking worried. "I have to keep him safe." She wrapped her arms around the little Demon.

"Well the first thing would be to call them out on what you think they meant, when they met the "big demon"." Hui Gai even did the speech marks with both his hands in mockery.

"You want me to talk to them? Ask Uncle XiChen if he's really going to do that?" Li XiWang's face was a mask of disbelief. "Why? We know what he said. Our only option is to get Rumi away from here."

"We can do that as well, but let's see." Hui Gai reassured her. He too, could not believe the Sect Leader would do something like that. "You know your fathers...both of them would be really upset if this is true, right? They're not here but they are coming back and if they learn that in their absence, their own family betrayed them...well, I hate to think what would happen. So it's our duty to find out the truth, right?"

Li XiWang nodded.

"Remember when you decided to be a big girl and make your way into the Nether World? Do you remember what happened? How worried they were? Even your Uncle Cheng had shouted at you for leaving without telling them, right?" He asked her.

Li XiWang nodded again and looked down.

"You think we should go see them then?"

Hui Gai nodded.

"I think I have a plan, too...but let's see what they say. Remember, a good leader always checks their facts before making hasty decisions, alright?" Hui Gai stood up and held out his hand, one for each child. "Come on. Let's make them answer some questions and then, I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise?" She echoed.

"Yes, it's a bit of a mystery...I don't even know what it is yet."

Together they left the Jingshi.