In Darkness

On the Summit of Mount Junji

Over her brother's reasoning, she found herself visiting a nearby temple to pay respects to the woman who would have given birth to Ye Hua. In Bai Zhen's opinion, water of the womb needed to play no role in who Ye Hua's family was given the unique situation he had been in; if she viewed him as only Mo Yuan's twin, then raising A-li with due filial respect for his father would be easier in the long run.

They had just returned from visiting Nu Wa's temple when Bai Qian squeezes A-li's hand, kneeling down in front of him and carefully straightening out his clothes, "A-li, you are going to meet Jiujiu and Waipo today. They're very excited to meet you, but I need you to promise me something first. When you are around Waipo, don't mention your Father's family by name."

"Mother, are you ashamed of A-li and Father?"

"Of course not, my little riceball," Bai Qian smiles lovingly at him, smoothing his hair out of his face and straightening his cap after taking him back to their restaurant on horseback, "I love you and your father very much, but the family he was raised with hurt my clan very badly. It's okay to mention them around Uncle Zhen Zhen, but Grandmother might become upset if she hears about them."

"And who might this be?"

Looking behind A-li, Bai Qian smiles up at her fourth brother before standing, helping A-li up, and gesturing towards him, "A-li, this is your Uncle Zhen Zhen, he's the High King of our people."

"A-li greets High King, Uncle Zhen Zhen." Greeting him formally, A-li rises after only to catch mirth pooling in his Uncle's eyes. Turning to Bai Qian, he tugs on the white sleeve of her robes gently, "Mother, what is a High King? Is it similar to an emperor? I've never heard of such a title before."

"Who would have thought," Bai Zhen steps forward, keeping his hands behind his back, "Fifth, your son isn't even 300 years old and he's already more mature and well-spoken than most children his age."

"Our A-li is very bright, isn't he?" Bai Qian smiles down at A-li, letting her hands rest over his shoulders as she gently urges him forward, "Go to your Uncle, A-li. He has a gift to give you."

A-li looks back at her curiously before nodding, walking up to Bai Zhen.

"I heard on the wind that you recently lost your favorite dragonfly while traveling to Kunlun Mountain, so I searched everywhere to find a new one for you. Little would I have expected that I'd find this while looking for a good craftsman," Pulling out the lost dragonfly, Bai Zhen smiles as his nephew's eyes light up in delight, "Remember this. If there's anything you ever need, we will always have your back."

"Thank you, High King Uncle Zhen Zhen!"

"A-li, you only need to call him Uncle Zhen."

A-li nods agreeably before tilting his head slowly, "But, Mother, what is a High King?"

"It's a title given to nobility below our empress for those who have ascended to High God. Your mother is our High Queen, but our people prefer to call us both Gugu and Shifu."

"You're a mentor, like Uncle Mo Mo, too?"

"When your cousin Bai Feng Jiu was your age, I taught her and all of the children of our people how to read and write."

"It was quite the endeavor." Bi Fang finally speaks up from his perch near the door where he remained on duty, "Even though our numbers are indeed smaller these days, we still had quite a few children to look after."

"Am I the only child my age here, too?"

"There are plenty of children around that are your age." Bai Zhen holds out his hand to A-li, "Let's go meet your Grandmother. After, how about you allow Uncle Zhen to accompany you to find a few playmates for the next few weeks?"