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Hweiru knew that she was different since she was two. Her parents moved from one mission to another as she grew up. She never really had a stable home or a regular routine. She never went to school like the other young Lan Clan children and was taught by her father how to read and fight. She never had friends her own age and always had a hard time fitting in.
When Grandmaster Qiren suggested to Wuxian that he send Hweiru to join the school in Cloud Recesses, he initially thought it was a good idea. After a week of attending, the teachers there complained that the little girl was too advanced for her age and was having a hard time fitting with the other children. The master who's managing the study groups suggested that they continue to teach the child at home. Wuxian was somewhat disappointed. He wanted his daughter to have friends and mingle with her clan peers.
Grandmaster Qiren offered to teach the girl for the time being and she's been attending learning lessons with him every other day. Qiren enjoyed spending time with his granddaughter and Hweiru loved the advanced material Qiren was willing to teach her.
Hweiru was listening to her grandfather recite a passage about the virtue of temperance when a thought occurred to her. She waited until he was done with the passage and asked: "Grandfather, if a cultivator kills while fulfilling a mission, is he or she considered a murderer?"
Qiren thinks of it for a second then says: "There are acceptable reasons to take another's life."
Hweiru: "Can you tell me?"
Qiren moves to sit near her and says: "As cultivators, our goal is to achieve control. The more power we harness the better we get at containing it with meditation and practice. Cultivation is not for the faint of heart. We use it to contain and restrain the evil in this world and to tame the wild. Sometimes things get out of hand and we resort to terminate rather than restrain. That's why we teach you ethics and morals so you can grow up and choose the right way to solve problems."
Hweiru nods, so he continues: "With that said, a cultivator resorts to killing righteously in three acceptable manner: Self defence, protecting the frail and as a last resort."
Hweiru frowns: "What is considered a last resort?"
Qiren: "Imagine a night hunt where none of your techniques and talismans work in containing a possessed man. Would you walk away since you have exhausted all your defensive moves or stay and switch to offence."
Hweiru: "Stay."
Qiren: "Once you decide to go on the offence, drastic measures might lead to death. It is argued that the death of a few is justifiable only to save the many. We call that: the last resort."
Hweiru ponders on his words for a few seconds and asks timidly: "Grandfather, have you ever killed anyone?"
Qiren smiles sadly at her: "Unfortunately, I have."
When he catches a passing look of shame in her eyes, he remembers the state she arrived in at Cloud Recesses. He gently takes her small hand in his and asks: "Have you?"
Hweiru hesitates for a few seconds then nods.
Qiren tried his best not to show his shock and said: "Would you like to tell me about it?"
Hweiru shakes her head. He tries again: "Was it for one of the reasons I mentioned were acceptable?"
Hweiru nods. He smiles warmly at her: "Then you have nothing to worry or be ashamed of. You are a cultivator in the making after all."
Hweiru whispers: "Then why do I feel so guilty?"
Qiren pats her shoulder in comfort: "Because you are an amazing person with morals. Only those who kill and forget can be considered murderers."
Hweiru: "Does the guilt go away?"
Qiren shakes his head: "It lessens with time. As long as you know what you did was for the best then it shouldn't weigh you down."
Wangji made his way in to retrieve his daughter. He bowed to his uncle and extended his hand: "Hweiru."
She hastily made her way towards him and took his hand. They both bowed to Qiren and made their way to the Treasure Room where Wuxian was preparing for today's lesson. Hweiru ran towards Wuxian the moment he was in sight and hugged him fiercely. He chuckled at her affection and showered her with small kisses until she was giggling uncontrollably. Wangji stood for a few minutes, enjoying the scene. He clears his throat to get Wuxian's attention.
Wuxian smiles at him and lets go of his daughter. He moved towards his soul-bond and placed his arms around his neck: "Lan Zhan, you feel left out?"
Wangji nods. Wuxian places small tender kisses on his cheeks until Wangji possessively pulls him closer by the waist and captures his lips in a brief deep kiss. Wuxian smiles when they separate: "You do know that people are watching?"
Wangji smirks: "Let them. I have needs."
Wuxian sighs over his soul-bond's lack of shame and pulls away: "We're almost ready. Would you like to stay and watch?"
Wangji shakes his head: "I have matters to attend to. The clan leaders will be here soon."
Wuxian places one last kiss on his lips and whispers: "Go make me proud."
Wangji steals one last sniff from his neck and whispers back: "Don't burn down our home or kill anyone."
Wuxian huffs at his soul-bond's retreating back: "I'M NOT AS ECCENTRIC AS EVERYONE SEEMS TO THINK I AM!"
He received a head shake as a response from the taller man as he made his way back to work.
Mianmian shouts from outside: "Everything is ready!"
Wuxian looks at his little girl: "Hweiru, go fetch my disciples please."
She hastily made her way out, followed by Wen Ning, to get the disciples.
A few minutes later, the participants were standing at attention in a line. Jingyi glared at the little girl standing next to her father while she glared back.
Wuxian clapped his hands in excitement and spoke to his students: "Today we will have a practice lesson that will cover three topics: stealth, problem solving and adapting. When on a mission, we seldom follow a set plan without adapting it to fit new information on the go. You need to be vigilant over what's surrounding you to change your tactics to fit the end goal. Things are rarely what they seem and people are never as reliable as we want them to be. Being stealth is one of the key factors that can guarantee your victory, especially when your enemy surpasses you in numbers."
Wuxian got distracted by the heated look between his little girl and Jingyi. He looks between them then asks: "What is happening here?"
Jingyi and Hweiru said at the same time: "Nothing!"
Wuxian narrows his eyes suspiciously: "Then why are you glaring daggers at each other?"
Hweiru turns to look at him with determination: "Mama, do you mind if I join the lesson?"
Wuxian was shocked by her request: "You're too young for this type of intense training.."
Hweiru shakes her head: "I promise I will try my best."
Wuxian turns to look at the two women who helped him set up the training exercise and they both shrugged, not voicing any objections. Wuxian pushes his daughter to join the disciples: "I will not go easy on you because you're my daughter, alright?"
She nods enthusiastically.
He folds his hands behind his back and looks at the young people before him: "Your training session today will be simple." He pulls one hand before them and opens it to reveal a colorful stone: "This is a spirit stone. There are 6 of you here and only 4 stones. We hid the stones in different locations around Cloud Recesses for each of you to find. Don't waste your time looking in my rooms because it's not here. The ones who return without a stone will be punished."
Jingyi frowns: "This sounds too simple. What's the catch?"
Wuxian smiles mischievously: "I have a swarm on birds in the sky carrying pouches of colored ink. If they see you, they will drop them on you. The one with the most amount of colors on their robes will be punished too."
Wuxian hears a choir of sighs and groan coming from his students. The only one who looked like they would enjoy this was Yuxio. Her look of fascination made Wuxian shudder.
A golden eagle flies into the room and lands on Wuxian's shoulder. She whispers to him that the other birds are in flight and ready. Wuxian raises his hand, waving his hands to his students: "You have three hours. Go!"
They all scrambled out the door and the competition began.
On the outskirts of Gusu City, Jiang Cheng was happily riding his horse towards Cloud Recesses. He was traveling with his followers at a lazy pace. Cheng wanted to arrive early enough to surprise Wuxian and spend time with his brother but not too early to cause inconvenience to Hanguang Jun. Cheng's relationship with Wangji was still on thin ice and he didn't want to start another silent war with the tall man. For the life of him, he cannot see why someone as extroverted as his brother would settle with someone as emotionally constipated as Lan Wangji.
Nevertheless, the only person decent enough to keep constant contact with him with updates was Zewu Jun. Apparently, his brother almost died by a faceless man, uncovered a conspiracy pertaining to a new hidden cultivator clan while deciding to adopt a baby girl. All Jiang Cheng had going on during that time was training his disciples and filling out paperwork.
He sighs loudly as he enters Gusu city. His brother didn't bother sending more than one letter during their time apart. He is planning to share some colorful words with his brother about sharing.
Jiang Cheng made his way to Cloud Recesses's gate and found it heavily guarded. The gatekeepers recognized him and bowed with respect: "Jiang Clan Leader, we were not expecting you for another week."
Cheng: "I came early to surprise my brother."
The keepers exchanged worried looks then one of them bowed: "We are sorry, Clan Leader. Cloud Recesses is under lockdown."
Cheng frowns: "Lockdown? Why?"
The keeper scratches his head awkwardly: "We don't know. We were only informed that Treasure Wei is doing something and that we need to lock the gates in case it gets out of hand."
Cheng sighs loudly: "So.. you're telling me that Hanguang Jun thought it was a good idea to lock Lan Clan members with my brother while he freely does his experiments?"
The gatekeepers nod.
Cheng covered his face, trying to contain his fury over how stupid this all sounds: "Go.. fetch someone incharge."
One of the keepers took out a talisman and activated it. They stood waiting for a few minutes until Keeper Daozi showed up: "Jiang Clan Leader, you're early."
Cheng waves his hand dismissively: "Tell me what's going on? What is my brother up to?"
Daozi: "He's just teaching his students."
Cheng narrows his eyes: ".. and that requires a full lockdown on Cloud Recesses?"
Daozi: "He almost let loose a giant extinct type of elephant the last time he taught a class. It's the least we can do to make sure whatever he's planning to do in there doesn't affect the nearby city."
Cheng pinches his nose in annoyance: "May I come in? I don't care what he's doing.. I just want to see him."
Daozi shares a look with the gatekeepers and they lower the boundaries to let Cheng and his followers in. When he crosses the gate, Zidian lets out a spark that zapped him. He shakes his hand to stop the current and looks at his weapon in confusion. This never happened before. An omen that he hopes is just a figment of his wild imagination.
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