Soul bonds

Prologue

"Wei Ying, come back! ... Come back!... Wei Ying! WEI YING..."

Darkness engulfs me. I can't move, I'm being torn, I try to open my eyes to see who is calling my name - I can't see anything, I feel dizzy, everything is spinning around me, I see only darkness through my bloodied eyes... I can't see who is calling me, I can't see any face, I don't remember him, or his face; but his voice - this voice, full of despair and agony, giving me more pain than the torturous darkness around me. It claws my heart. I don't know why it makes me want to cry. I feel the wetness on my cheeks.

Wei Ying opened his eyes. He was drenched in cold sweats! It was the same nightmare again and again for the past three years, since the day he turned thirteen years old. He rushed outside. It was not possible to sleep again. He looked at the lake in front of him, so serene and beautiful, bathed in the loveliness of the rays of the full moon. He breathed in deeply, filling his lungs with the warm air. Somehow, it soothed him - Lotus Pier of Yunmeng, his anchor since Uncle Jiang Feng Mian, the Sect Leader took him off the streets and brought him to his home and made him, Wei Ying, a son of his household. Wei Ying was blessed with an elder sister, Jiang Yanli and a younger brother, Jiang Cheng.

He received so much love, unconditionally, from all the members of the Jiang family, well, except for Madame Yu, Uncle Jiang's wife, the mistress of Lotus Pier. She was a formidable lady, dressed in her purple robe! Everyone was scared of her stern demeanour, even Uncle Jiang! And her Zidian! The ring that turned into a purple electric whip - a perfect spiritual tool!

Wei Ying wished he could find a way to melt her heart towards him but she spent most of her time finding ways to punish him, always complaining about him 'unruly' behaviour to Uncle Jiang Feng Mian and how he was 'bad influence' to Jiang Cheng. When Wei Ying was growing up, her behaviour hurt him a lot. She always treated him as if he was an enemy while she did her best to be soft to ShiJie and Jiang Cheng. He was often made to kneel in punishment in the Yunmeng Jiang Sect Ancestral Hall.

The air was suddenly too chilly for Wei Ying who was still restless after his nightmare and lost in his thoughts. Why my parents had to die and leave me alone? Why does Madame Yu always scold me? Am am really that unlikable?

Silent tears flowed. I need to stop crying. Uncle, ShiJie and Jiang Cheng - they love me. And Madame Yu... well, I don't know - she didn't kick me out yet. But she is so mean to me. No, no, no - I can't be unfilial. She did care for me that time when I almost was sick and almost died. Wei Ying had an accident and almost lost his life. Uncle Jiang was not in Yunmeng, and had it not been for Madame Yu, he would have died. For days, he swayed between consciousness and unconsciousness, but what he remembered was that Madame Yu was always there by his side, constantly feeding him with her spiritual energy. She would not stop screaming what a brat Wei Ying was and that she could not wait for him to recover to punish him. But when she nursed him, he felt the maternal love he always craved for and he then realised how much she cared... Why I am thinking about Madame Yu so much today? Mom... I am missing you, Mom... I don't know where you and Dad are! Hope that your souls rest in peace!

Instinctively, his feet carried him to the ancestral hall. He felt so peaceful there. He could open his heart to the Jiang Ancestors - yes, they were his confidantes. They knew all his secrets, even those secrets that he did not share with ShiJie and Jiang Cheng. They knew him deeply, his fears, his yearnings, his dreams, his laughter, his tears. Actually, he could talk to their spirit form. He did not know that this was forbidden for cultivators. The spirit form of Grandma Jiang told him that it was an absolute taboo. She strictly asked him to keep it a secret and not to say anything about it to anyone.

Wei Ying entered the ancestral hall and knelt. Taking three of the incense sticks from the container, he lit them and held them for a while in prayer. Then he stuck them on the bronze incense holder in front of the tablets and prostrated three times in front of the tablets. He heard Grandma Jiang "You had that nightmare again Wei Ying?"

"Hmm... I could not sleep afterwards, so I came here. Am sorry if I am disturbing you."

Grandma Jiang chuckled. "Not at all my boy, not at all! Sleep now, I am watching" "Grandma is the best!" said Wei Ying and laid his head on the cushion. He fell asleep within seconds, under the watchful eyes of the spirit of Grandma Jiang.