Past and Present

Chapter 26- Cloud Recesses

They all arrived at Cloud Recesses and showed their invitation to the man. "Come with me," he said, and walked away.
Xue Yang walked behind him and his sons walked next to him, with their disciples behind them.
They were led to a big room and the door was opened to Wei Ying. Xue Yang swallowed but bowed, "Young Master Wei."
"Xue Yang?" Wei Ying asked?"
"Clan Leader Xue, actually," Xue Yang smiled, standing up straight, "I am the leader of the Xue Clan of Kaihua."
"Oh! Um, Clan Leader Xue," Wei Ying bowed awkwardly and gestured towards the room, "please."
"Please," Xue Yang said. He walked in with everyone else and they all went to an area to sit. The disciples sat down and began to chat while Xue Yang and his sons walked around to meet everyone else. "That is Hanguang Jun," he said.
"The one in white?" Yue asked.
"Yes," Xue Yang said, "do you want to go talk to him?"
"Yes, please," the brothers said. They were led to Wangji who was talking to Wei Ying near a table.
"Hanguang Jun," Xue Yang greeted with a bow, his sons following his lead.
Wangji looked at Wei Ying who nodded before standing up and bowing back. Wei Ying saw the young men and smiled, "Who are they?"
"My sons, this is Xue Yue and this is Xue Chenxing," Xue Yang introduced, "also known as Black Swan and Dove."
"They're your sons?" Wei Ying asked.
"Yes," Xue Yang smiled.
"I heard a lot about the Twin Birds," Wei Ying said smiling, he bowed, "it is a pleasure meeting them in person. I just never expected them to be so young.
"It is a pleasure meeting you too," Chenxing said bowing back.
Wei Ying saw his face and gasped, "Wait! You look like Brother Xiao!"
Xue Yang winced and Yue stepped in front of his father, "Don't speak of him."
"What? Why?" Wei Ying asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"Baba is still not comfortable," Yue explained, "please do not speak of him."
"What did you say your names were again?" Wei Ying whispered.
"Xue Yue and Xue Chenxing," Chenxing said.
"Yue," Wei Ying whispered, "YueHua. And Chenxing is Xingchen backwards."
"What did I say?" Yue said in a deep voice. He stepped close to the older man and drew his sword an inch, but was held back by Chenxing.
"Wait, he knows him," Chenxing said softly.
"Xiao Xingchen is my uncle," Wei Ying said softly.
"You're Wei Wuxian?" Yue asked.
"Yes," Wei Ying looked at the young man and smiled.
"A-Yue, back off," Xue Yang said, "it's alright. I'm fine."
"Are you sure Baba?" Yue asked.
"Yes," Xue Yang assured him, he smiled and pulled Yue back by the arm. "I apologize for my son, he is just a little protective of his family."
"Do you mind talking about Brother Xiao?" Wei Ying asked.
"I don't mind," Xue Yang said.
"Are these his children as well?"
"Yes, he was meant to be born a woman but suddenly changed to man. He still had the possibility of getting pregnant so..." Xue Yang trailed off.
"Alright. And what happened to him? Why isn't he here?" Wei Ying asked.
"He died giving birth," Xue Yang whispered, his gaze flickering to the ground.
"I'm sorry," Wei Ying said, "that must have been hard."
"It's fine," Xue Yang forced a smile, "I have them now."
"They look like good children," Wei Ying complimented.
"They are," Xue Yang said, "very good."
"He has Brother Xiao's eyes," Wei Ying said pointing at Yue, "and he just looks like him in general."
"I know," Xue Yang chuckled, "Chenxing also acts like YueHua. Like a mini copy of him."
"Yes," Wei Ying nodded. "Well, I should go greet Jiang Cheng now. He might not be happy seeing you so stay away from him for a while."
"Alright," Xue Yang said.
"I'll see you later Clan Leader Xue," Wei Ying bowed and walked away.
"Hanguang Jun, I heard you had a son," Chenxing said, "Lan Sizhui right?"
"Mn," the man in white replied.
"How old is he?" Yue asked.
"17," Wangji said.
"A year younger than us," Yue commented, "where is he? I'd like to meet him, if you don't mind."
"Over there," Wangji nodded to the side and they all turned around. They saw Sizhui talking with a couple of more people his age.
"Chenxing, let's go!" Yue grabbed Chenxing's hand and pulled him away, Xue Yang following them after bowing to Wangji.
Yue stopped in front to the group and they all turned to the brothers, "Hello, I'm Xue Yue."
"And I'm Xue Chenxing," Chenxing said bowing with his younger brother.
Sizhui smiled, "You're the sons of Clan Leader Xue."
"Yes," Chenxing said, fanning himself with his white fan. He saw a young boy staring at him and smiled softly.
"What are your names?" Yue asked.
"I'm Lan Sizhui, this is Lan Jingyi, he's Jin Ling, he's Ouyang Zizhen, that's Lan Changming, and that's Jin Shanghai," Sizhui introduced. They all bowed and Chenxing saw Jin Shanghai still staring at him.
"How old are you all?" Yue asked.
"Jin Ling is 16 and the rest of us are 17," Jingyi said.
"Me and Chenxing are 18," Yue said, "Chenxing's older than me by a couple of seconds."
"I can tell," Jingyi teased.
Yue chuckled, "That's not how you treat your elders is it?"
"Oh I'm sorry," Jingyi bowed playfully, "Brother Xue."
Chenxing smiled softly at the interaction, he stepped away slightly and continued fanning himself. Shanghai walked towards him, "Chenxing, right?"
   "Yes," Chenxing nodded, "do you need anything?"
   "No, I just wanted to know if you wanted to go outside and play a little," the boy said playfully, "I heard you're a good fighter."
   "He is," Yue pipped in, "me and him tie all the time."
   "Then you must be good as well," Changming commented sweetly.
   Yue puffed out his chest, "I am, nobody but him can beat me."
  "Can we fight then?" Shanghai asked, "I want to see how good you are."
   Chenxing sighed and closed his fan, "Fine, let me ask Baba first."