WoH: 17 Years Ago

Help was Found

Bi Changfeng took a really long time to find his tongue.

And who could blame him? The 8-year-old Jiuxiao was sitting next to the bed in his inn room, a girl no older than 2 sitting on his lap. They were both watching the 2 boys on the bed anxiously- a 15-year-old Zhou Zishu and another boy of the same age that Changfeng didn't recognize, but felt like he should know.

And that was nothing compared to his shock from earlier.

~○●○~

"Jiuxiao!" Changfeng greeted. He'd been told the young boy had burst into the inn looking for anyone affiliated with the Siji Manor or its allies, so he'd left his room. "You little ras-"

"Uncle Bi!!"

Changfeng stopped in his tracks when he noticed the little girl Jiuxiao was dragging along. He also noticed how beaten up and worn out Jiuxiao looked- as if he'd been traveling without a second's rest for ages.

"...Jiuxiao?" he questioned. "What happened? Why do you-"

"I'll explain later- Shixiong's at the Ghost Valley!" Jiuxiao cried. "He's really hurt he's been stabbed- and he and Zhen Shixiong are all alone!! You gotta help us- follow me!"

He dashed off without waiting for a reply, the girl stumbling after.

Changfeng's eyes widened as Jiuxiao's words sunk in, his heart coming to a screeching halt and his blood turning to ice. Zishu was at the Ghost Valley- the eldest disciple of the Manor was at the fucking Ghost Valley. He and Jiuxiao had gone to the Ghost Valley without any of the Siji Manor knowing, without any help and now he was hurt-

He followed Jiuxiao at once. He knew where the Ghost Valley entrance was, it'd take them a day and a half to get there even if they didn't stop to rest at all and it must've taken Jiuxiao even longer than that to get here at all.

They had no more time to spare.

By the time they got there, a young boy was by the entrance pillars, kneeling next to another boy Changfeng easily recognized as Zhou Zishu. He seemed to be cleaning some blood from Zishu's mouth with his sleeve, even though he looked pretty beaten up too...

"SHIXIONG! SHIXIONG!"

"MASTER!!"

The boy looked up.

He smiled and murmured, "Thank god... you... came back..."

Then he passed into a dead faint on the stone floor.

~○●○~

"...should I let your old man know the good news or the bad news first?"

"Neither!!" Jiuxiao yelped, turning to look at him. "Just tell him you found Shixiong and I and we're on our way back. Nothing else."

Changfeng sucked in his breath. This was... really bad.

All Huaizhang knew at the moment was Zishu had taken Jiuxiao on a trip without notice- that was all Zishu had left on the note in his room. He was a teeny bit ticked off, but not super mad or worried. Changfeng tried to imagine how Huaizhang was feeling currently. Then he tried to imagine how Huaizhang would feel when 1 of the disciples he thought was taking a vacation- his son- turned up at his doorstep with a teenage boy and a baby girl and frantically explained that as a result of the pair sneaking into the deathly dangerous Ghost Valley alone, Zishu was now hanging on the brink of life and death.