Wuji: A Promise Kept

73

Being so young, it would bring out curiosity. Haishi was a young four your old child who was curious about many things. She was especially curious about the two people who recently joined the group. They helped save her too, so she has taken a liking to them. She was especially curios about the person in red. He was very tall, a bit taller than the person next to him. Dressed in maple red clothing with exquisite, silver vambraces. Noticing eyes on him, he looked at little Haishi who was currently being carried by her brother Sizhui.

"Is something the matter?" Hua Cheng asked her, "Do I scare you?"

"No, why would you be scary?" Haishi asked and saw the silver scimitar at his waist. She noticed the bright red eye's was curved into a crescent as it looked her way, "is that sword a live?"

Hua Cheng smiled, "this is E-Ming, and has a spirit. It's very dangerous so please be mindful of it."

"Okay," Haishi said, "what do I call you?"

"How about Hua-Ge," he replied.

"Okay," Haishi said, "who is the person beside you? I never got to thank you both for saving me."

Xie Lian smiled at hearing her, "I am Xie Lian, but you can just call me Xie-Ge. Also, no need to thank us, we are just glad that you are safe. I do apologize that my cousin caused such trouble."

"That green guy is your cousin?" Haishi asked, "he is so mean."

Hua Cheng chuckled, "he will not harm you again little one."

"Okay," Haishi said. She then noticed the silver chains on the leather boots on Hua Cheng. They had intricate little butterflies. She remembered seeing butterflies before, "are the butterflies yours?"

Hua Cheng smiled and flicked his finger. A little silver butterfly flew from him over to Haishi, landing on her hand, "they are, they are very magical. That one likes you specifically. If you ever find yourself in trouble again, just ask it to help you."

"I can have it?" Haishi asked. Hua Cheng nodded. Haishi smiled, "thank you. It's really pretty."

The little butterfly then turned into a little silver bracelet that was now on Haishi's wrist. Haishi realized that it really was something to help her later. She will definitely remember to keep it safe. Wuxian watched their interaction smiled. Haishi was just so cute and had such curiosities for the world. She would be someone Baoshan might take interest in.

The group traveled for the next few days until they reached Taicang Mountain. It was late at night by the time they arrived their destination, which was one of Xie Lian's divine temples. Not only was it late, it also began to rain, so they took shelter inside the temple.

"Since we are here, can't we just head through the portal to Baoshan's?" Lan Rong asked.

"No," Iroh replied, "the portal has instructions in order to open. It has to be on a sunny day and the sun is at its highest in the sky. So it cannot be raining, and it cannot be at night. The portal also can only open two ways as well. One, you have to have a key to open it during the time it will allow you to pass through. If you do not have a key, you have to be of kin, or blood related to the creator of the portal," Iroh looked at Wuxian, "so I have a key, and Wuxian is of blood. So the two of us will be able to open the portal. One of us has to wait outside the portal until the others pass through so it does not close on anyone. If it closes before everyone enters, you have to wait until the next day to gather the rest."

"Though I do not know the way after entering the portal, I can at least enter first to make sure everyone is in safely. Or I can enter last and let others enter before me," Wuxian said.

"There will be someone waiting for us at the other side but they will wait for us all either way," Iroh said, "but you will have to continue on without me. My goal was to escort you here, and get you through the portal. I am needed back in the spirit world soon. But we will see each other again."

"Very well," Wuxian said, "we can rest here for tonight and then get moving in tomorrow when the time comes."

"As long as it's not raining. If it's raining, the portal will not open," Iroh said.

Wuxian nodded. He noticed Xie Lian at the alter table gathering some food from the offering, "What are you doing?"

"Getting food for everyone," Xie Lian said, "this is my temple, so it is alright to take. Plus, it's better than trying to cook something at the moment. There is a good amount of steamed buns here for everyone to have a couple. They might be a bit stale but they are still edible."

"Alright," Wuxian agreed. He let his disciples and daughter get their fill first. He has gone days, even months without food. Sometimes he would have just a couple pieces of fruit every few days. That was when he lived in the Burial Mounds back then, but he was no stranger to hunger. Wangji on the other hand, made sure that Wuxian ate at least one. Wuxian would refuse if Wangji didn't eat so they both ate one eventually.

"I guess Wuxian has hungry before?" Xie Lian questioned.

Wuxian nodded, "it's complicated."

"You do not have to talk about it if you do not want to," Xie Lian reminded him.

Wuxian looked at him, "it's not that I don't want talk about it, it's just that every time I do, it gets me worked up," Wuxian said.

Xie Lian nodded, "I understand," he said.

Haishi moved to sit on Wuxian's lap, "Baba lost his parents too," she said hugging him.

Wuxian smiled down at her, "I did, but I know they are still there for me. I just cannot see them."

"Then how do you know?" Haishi asked.

"I just do," Wuxian replied.

Wangji placed his hand on Wuxian's back. Wuxian looked at him and smiled. The two were both lost in each other for a moment. They had each other. That was also what mattered most.