Hui Gai appears and immediately hugs Wei Ying.
"PengYou! I missed you!" He grins, his white pointed teeth even brighter against his red lips.
There's a puff of purple smoke and Zago appears, with only the white stick of the lollipop visible from her mouth. She waves casually, watching Hui Gai hug Lan Zhan as well.
They settle at the table comfortably like the old friends they are.
"So, what's going on in the Nether World?" Wei Ying asks, shedding the blanket now that the room is warmer.
"Haitch and Yezi send their regards. They're so busy now, I've lost count of their kids. Lor is working out great, keeping an eye on things when I'm not there, and as you know, Manu is in charge of the children. Things are...better than they have been in a long time." Hui Gai is watching him intently. "But you didn't call this humble one here just to catch up. What's going on, PengYou?"
Wei Ying grins, happy that Hui Gai's sharpness is still there. He quickly fills him in on the latest happenings with himself and Lan Zhan.
"So, the old goat is cranky, and that dodgy friend of yours is still up to his old tricks, have I got that right?"
Wei Ying nods, finishing his tea. Lan Zhan fills his cup again immediately and then pretends he hasn't done anything.
"Want me to kill him?" Hui Gai says as casually as can be, with a wink.
"No! He's still a friend!" Wei Ying insists, never quite sure how far Hui Gai is willing to go.
There's a knock on the door as anyone who lives in Cloud Recesses knows, an imperative action always when coming here.
"Enter," Lan Zhan calls out.
Their dinner and the children arrive, escorted by Jiang Cheng and Little LiLi, who makes grabby hands at Lan Zhan immediately. Li XiWang runs towards Hui Gai and hugs him hard before sitting next to him and keeping his hand in hers, her smile so wide and bright.
Thing rolls in behind Rumi who goes to sit in Wei Ying's lap, while Xiao Mao and DaErduo settle in the corner, one eye open each on their little mistress. She's telling Hui Gai all about her morning lessons and how excited she is about going on her first night hunt after she's mastered flying.
"Join us?" Wei Ying offers it to his brother about eating dinner together.
"It's a bit crowded. Besides, you owe me babysitting duties, and I miss my husband. We'll be back after dinner to get her back," Jiang Cheng says, kissing the top of LiLi's head. "She's had her dinner, and do NOT get her dirty!"
He leaves with a wave.
Lan Zhan still feeds her bits of tofu, but on the whole, it's a quiet meal.
Wei Ying waits until everyone has finished and the dishes are left outside to be collected.
"So, we have some news," he says cautiously, not wanting to say it without warning.
Li XiWang grabs Hui Gai's tail straight away, sitting up and paying attention. Hui Gai is so proud of her, he puts an arm around her shoulders and squeezes. Rumi stares at Wei Ying without blinking, and the two familiars in the corner open both their eyes.
Wei Ying puts the coin on the table in front of Li XiWang.
"What's that?" She asks with big burgundy eyes.
"We're not quite sure," Wei Ying tells her. "But your Uncle Nie says it belongs to his Highness, our Emperor Han. And he says we have to go and give it back, just in case it's important."
"Where does our Emperor Han live?" Li XiWang asks, reaching out to pick up the coin before remembering herself. "Can I?" She beams at Wei Ying when he nods.
"The capital city is far away to the west," Lan Zhan explains. "It is always busy there. The Emperor lives in a grand house called the Tiantang Chengbao* (*heavenly castle), that lies in the Forbidden Courtyard. We will be visiting Uncle Nie's grandmother first."
"Are they nice people?" Her eyes flicker towards them briefly.
"We don't know, but probably."
"Can we come with you?"
"No, Little Rabbit, not this time. We don't know what we're going to find there, plus I'm not sure a stuffy royal court is a good place to take kids," Wei Ying explains in a gentle voice. Privately, he thought that taking the kids with them might prove disastrous because they could be used against them. "But it's not going to take long at all, only one or two days for sure."
Li XiWang's face stays the same, and if her bottom lip hadn't wobbled, Wei Ying would have thought she wouldn't mind their absence. His hand snakes over to the back of her head and he gently pulls her forward to kiss her forehead.
"I promise you, in and out." He holds three fingers tightly, saluting the side of his head.
Li XiWang looks at him carefully, blinking away tears with the strength of a true fighter.
"While we're away, both of your Uncles will be here. You can sleep with them if you prefer, or your dormitory."
"You will also be busy studying," Lan Zhan reminds her.
"We'll be lucky if our Little Rabbit even remembers us when we come back," Wei Ying says dramatically, holding the back of his hand up against his forehead.
That makes Li XiWang giggle and she wipes at her eyes.
"We're gonna be just fine, aren't we Rumi?" She pats the top of his head.
"He can stay with Klem and Jez, if he wants to. If Little Rabbit is going to be busy with her friends and school, what do you think?" Hui Gai offers, grinning when Rumi nods enthusiastically.
"Really?" Wei Ying asks him seriously. "You want to stay with your cousins?"
Rumi nods vigorously.
"Okay, that's great." Wei Ying beams at his friend. "Thanks for that."
Hui Gai's face breaks out into a wide grin, licking his lips. "My pleasure, PengYou, my pleasure."
Zago silently hands out three lollipops to the three kids, ignoring the shocked faces of the other adults.
"What?" She demands, not looking back at any of them. "Haven't you heard of sharing?"
"That's very nice of you to comfort them like that," Wei Ying insists.
If anyone knows how much Zago loves her lollipops, it's him and Hui Gai. Given her withdrawal symptoms when she couldn't get any, it's even more surprising that she would want to share.
She huffs and disappears in a flash.
Hui Gai laughs. "I never thought I'd see the day she went soft."
"Children have that effect." Lan Zhan says quietly.
Yes, they do, Wei Ying thinks, looking around at his family. Yes, they do.
YOU ARE READING
WangXian Forever Book 10
RomanceWei Ying and Lan Zhan must step up to the new challenge that awaits them when they find something that was given to them in secret. What is it, and why is it so dangerous? They embark on a new adventure to find out.
