WangXian Forever Book 10

Chapter 77: Dinner

Back at the Royal Palace, they find the massive courtyard set up in one long winding table, and lots of smaller ones joined together so all the kids are sitting down and eating together.

Another round table has been set up a little higher for Wei Ying and Lan Zhan to join Hui Gai and Zago, who is disinterestedly chomping on a red lollipop and watching them as they come to sit with her.

Once they're seated, Wei Ying looks out among the hundreds of children in front of him and looks for two in particular, one of whom is wearing the white robes of the Lan Clan, and therefore immediately visible.

Li XiWang sees them straight away and waves at them, pointing them out to Rumi, who smiles back shyly with a tiny wave of his own, before they turn back to their meal.

"We should come back more frequently," Wei Ying says wistfully, staring at their little boy. "I think although Rumi doesn't say anything, he misses this place."

Lan Zhan's hand reaches for his under the table, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"We can do that," he murmurs gently.

Hearty noodles and a plain but questionable salad are served to everyone, and they begin eating.

"Do you like your job, Hui Gai?" Wei Ying asks him distractedly.

"Yeah, why?" Hui Gai replies, his sharp eyes glancing all over Wei Ying's face.

"It's just, I'm only now realising the many aspects of it. Some of it is...unpleasant. And it's not as though you chose it. It was kind of foisted upon you." Wei Ying's chopsticks play around with the noodles, making shapes in the spicy water but not actually eating them.

"Like any other job, then?" Hui Gai beams at him, but then turns serious as Wei Ying continues ruminating on this subject. Maybe he's not ready for any kind of teasing yet. "The thing is, my parents took this job very seriously. Oge has been filling me in on bits and pieces, the things her parents had told her a long time ago. For myself, I'm proud and happy to do the same, but as you know, there is always room for improvement. As for punishing people, it has to be severe. Each sentence is tailor-made for the individual who committed a crime, and in a perverse sense of justice, whatever they made others feel is revisited upon them. With the First Prince, he's going to be a tough nut to crack."

"Why?"

"Down here in this place, the physical bodies become secondary. Thoughts and feelings become stronger almost, like colours surrounding the person they're coming from. An aura, if you will. Right now, the First Prince is a deep, dark red tinged with black, hatred mired with regret. He's blind to anything that will make him stop blaming his father, so it's going to be a long process trying to break him out of that vicious circle. I don't know where he'll go from there, but usually, it goes straight down to sorrow. That's a little easier to control, but no less tough to break through. Or if he swings between this and anger, then we're here for the long haul." Hui Gai places his hand on Wei Ying's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. "What's really bothering you, PengYou?"

Wei Ying thinks about it, how to form all his random thoughts into comprehensive words.

"I guess, most of all, I'm worried about you, about the long term impact of this will be, how it will affect you."

"Ah, PengYou, no need, no need!" Hui Gai laughs gently. "As brutal as it can be, it is also highly rewarding. To know that I had a hand in turning someone's aura from the deepest, darkest black to translucent, clear, full of understanding? That's priceless. I am full of a limitless patience to achieve this, no matter how long it takes. We are in a place that must excel in punishment as a means for reformation, not because it's fun. It must have a point, after all. As for how I cope with it, distractions are the key. As a good administrator, I have had to learn how to keep everything related to the job here, and keep it here when I go home to my family, or when I come and see you. I have people who are kind and caring to help me, and when I look over there, I know my efforts are not in vain. Where do you think all these children have come from?" Hui Gai gestures towards the kids happily eating and messing around.