Nie XiongMeng looks a lot better, Lan Qiren thinks, with great satisfaction. He may not believe in the power of music and the healing effects of sound waves, but the proof is in the results. He has returned to his jovial self, laughing boisterously as they climb up the many steps to the Cloud Recesses.
The children, Lan Zhan, Wei Ying and Wen Qing, are further up ahead, eagerly racing against each other to see who will reach the top first.
Wen Tang Changpu entertains them all with stories from her youth, most of them involving her pulling pranks on her brother. One such story is about her diligently searching for as many frogs as she could find and then stuffing his boots full of them. Her unsuspecting Ge had shrieked worse than a maiden when his bare toes had come into contact with the slimy creatures.
"Should've worn socks, if you ask me," she sniffs with self-assured confidence.
"Do you miss him?" Lan Qiren can't help asking. But he regrets it as soon as the words fall from his lips; they were siblings, so of course she misses him.
Her eyes are that much brighter, and her lips tighten and then she nods quietly.
"I miss my brother, too." Lan Qiren admits, feeling safe enough to say it.
"But things will change, surely?" She asks him, in disbelief. "Isn't he out of seclusion now? You'll get to spend more time with him."
"Not by choice, the out of seclusion part," Lan Qiren sighs. "But you know it's never going to be the same as it was. Like when we were children," he explains at her raised brow.
"Well, that's the double sided coin of family, isn't it? There comes a time when you have to pick sides, and old loyalties must be let go of with the introduction of new members. Change is inevitable there," she sympathises. "I did want to ask you something, though."
"Go ahead," he nods curiously.
"Well, I get that we're going to be busy in the next few days, but do you have a rough timeline? I'm not in any hurry, it's just that the Harvest festival usually takes place in about a week's time, and I was wondering if I'd be back in Qishan by then. The local farmers get together and bring offerings of their crops, and then we hold street parties and such. This is the first time they'll be allowed to do it again, after...well, you know."
Lan Qiren thinks about it seriously. "The actual process should be completed in a day, but the expenditure of spiritual energy will need proper preparation. That's the only time-consuming element. The healers have been requested to check everyone's capabilities before we start, because there will be no way to stop once it begins. Everyone who has volunteered to help must pass a health check and be well rested beforehand. I also have to check on the prisoner and my brother, and bring myself up to date with Sect business...so I would say we can begin after the third full day in Cloud Recesses. As long as we spend the majority of time meditating and resting, you should be back home within five or six days."
"I suppose that also depends on our conditions after the event, too," she muses. "But it'll be a weight off your mind once it's done! I confess, I'm looking forward to it. And meeting the new babies!" She sounds gleefully happy about that. "I bet you can relate, having raised both of your nephews?"
"Hmm." Lan Qiren can understand that feeling.
"There's something so precious about babies, especially the newborn ones, and that feeling lasts until they go off to classes. There's this warmth that erupts straight out of your heart that you're powerless to control, and it's as if you're wrapped up in a bubble of happiness that is just infinite, like, nothing can touch that."
"I like the way they have a clean, comforting smell." Lan Qiren is NOT blushing. His ears are always that colour.
"Oh, yeah! And their skin? So warm and soft, and the way they look at you, as if you are their whole world, and you don't know it but you're doing the exact same thing right back at them! Gosh! You're making me want another one!"
