The mother of the twins gave each of them a slap to the back and held them in her arms as though she didn"t want anyone to steal them from her, the boys swallowed the sting of pain that came from the beating, not shedding a single tear. To them they saw it as their due punishment for running away from home. Their father, Mou Yaxin took turns to hold them in his arms, as he too couldn"t contain the tears of joy that was streaming from his eyes. Soon after the parents separated from their children and turned to face Yan Xuequi and Lin Cheng, who were still looking at each other."Xuequi! Who is the man with you?!"
"Ma! He was the one that found us!"
"Be quiet Yidan! I wasn"t talking to you!"
The boy stiffen on hearing the sharp chastis.e.m.e.nt of his mother, he had to stay still, since he just got out of trouble not too long ago. The voice of Mou Hairong broke the two from the spell they were under, quickly turning to face the mother of the twins.
"Greetings, I am Lin Cheng from the BaoXu sect. I"m sorry for intruding into your home unannounced."
Mou Hairong stared at the cultivator with a guarded look in her eyes, seeing the archenemy of her people in her home.
"Why did you bring a cultivator with you?! Don"t you know who they are?! Why Xuequi?! Why?!"
"Aunt Hairong, he was the one that brought them back! Do you even know where he found them?! At Xuekejiu town! They flew to a town thirty minutes from us! What if he wasn"t in that town? It would have taken all night if not days to finally find them and by then who knows what would have happened to them! I know grandfather says that cultivators are bad people, but are they really all bad?! Can"t you look away just this once and be thankful towards him for finding your children for you?!"
Mou Hairong had a stubborn look on her face while looking at her niece whose face held frustration and anger. Mou Yaxin held the hands of his children while looking at the man that was the cause of the fight between his wife and in-law. He felt at ease while looking at the man, nothing about him struck him as someone that could be dangerous, he had a solid built and carriage that held self-a.s.surance.
Mou Yaxin left the side of his wife and walked with his children to where Lin Cheng and Yan Xiequi stood, "Yidan and Zimu, I want you both to show your grat.i.tude to Lin Cheng of the BaoXu sect."
The twins looked at their father and nodded in unison, right there the three gave a deep bow to Lin Cheng who also gave a salute back in respect.
"Thank you for rescuing my sons and bringing them home. My family and I will always be in your debt."
After this, the twins and their father raised their head up and walked back to where Mou Hairong stood bristling with anger.
"Mou Yaxin! How dare you shame me in front of my children!"
"Hairong, let"s not do this. I don"t know the feud that your family has with him, but you cannot because of that not show his any appreciation for bringing us our children. What if we never saw them again?! I"m not trying to disrespect you, but you need to show grat.i.tude where it is due."
Mou Yaxin tried not to let his voice show the anger that he felt within, but to him, his wife was being unreasonable. He wanted her to set aside whatever past differences that her family may have had with the man and be thankful what what he did for them despite the ongoing feud.
"I"m not going to stay and listen to this!"
Mou Hairong stormed into the house, leaving her husband and children staring after her in aghast.
"I will be taking my leave."
Lin Cheng bowed once again to the Mou family before taking to the air, the twins and their father were still dumbfounded by what Mou Hairong did. Although, Yan Xuequi was also shocked by her Aunt"s behavior, she didn"t let it tie her down from running after Lin Cheng.
Taking to the air, Yan Xuequi pursued Lin Cheng, and soon caught up with him.
"I"m sorry for the way my Aunt spoke to you."
"It"s alright, I"m sure she has her reasons."
The two flew side by side under the starlit skies, which s.h.i.+ned brightly through the dark skies.
"Where would you be lodging for the night?"
"I"ll return to Xuekejiu town and get a room at an inn."
"I wish you didn"t have to spend money at an inn when we could easily have given you a room at the house."
"That wouldn"t be necessary, I would only inconvenience the Mou family."
"I"m sorry you had to be treated so poorly by my Aunt."
"You don"t need to apologize, I"m really okay."
Although she heard him say that he wasn"t offended by the way her Aunt behaved towards him, but Yan Xuequi didn"t feel at peace at all.
"I"ll be returning to the fox clan the next day. To return to my duties."
Lin Cheng heard the tranquil voice of the fox princess whose face had returned to their usual serenity. They both flew to the entrance of the town, before landing to walk the rest of the way.
"You can head back now, I"ll be fine from here."
"Let me at least see that you are boarded at an inn."
"Princess Yan Xuequi, you are a maiden, you shouldn"t be walking into an inn with a man. Please return to your family who are waiting for you."
"I..I only want to know that you have a place to sleep for the night!"
Lin Cheng gave a stiff bow to the fox princess while remaining where he was, not wanting her to go any further than that.
Yan Xuequi weaved an hand sign, producing a bracelet made from her fox fire. Placing them on the wrist of Lin Cheng.
"This would keep you safe."
Lin Cheng looked at the glowing red bracelet whose presence could not be seen by anyone other than those that had spirit energy.
"Farewell Princess Yan Xuequi."
"Farewell Lin Cheng of the BaoXu sect."
With that said, the fox princess took off while leaving Lin Cheng to stare after her until he could no longer she a trace of her in the morning sky, which was filled with white spotless clouds.
"If fate permits, we would both see each other again."
Lin Cheng began his walk to where he would lodge for the night and probably many days or months ahead.
---------
"Goodbye Aunt Xuequi!"
The twins waved at their cousins, who was about to set out on a journey to the fox clan.
"Xuequi, make sure to visit us sometime soon!"
"Princess Xuequi take care of your health, we hope to see you at our home when next you come to Yiting town."
Mou Yaxin had a somber look on his face, he saw how much his wife was already missing his niece, he knew that were it not because his body could not cross over to their world, he and his family would be living in the fox clan. This was a burden that the man had to bear from his marriage to an immortal being. He didn"t want to think of the time when he would grow old and die, he could already see his face starting to show signs of aging, while those of his wife had not change a bit since the time he first met her. He dread the time when they would have to part because of death, but he refused to let that show on his face.
"Uncle Mou, I promise to visit often. Aunt Hairong, be good to Uncle Mou and the twins. Yidan, look after your brother well, you know he follows everything you say!"
"What do you mean by "be good" to my husband?! Am I not trying enough already?!"
"Aunt Hairong, Uncle Mou loves you unconditionally! Don"t let inconsequential things drive a wedge between the two of you."
"What now? Are you now pointing out that I"m petty and I don"t love him enough?!"
"Aunt Hairong! Please! Open your eyes! You and uncle don"t have much time with each other, treasure him and your children. I don"t want you to live the rest of your life in regret for not giving the best that you could in your marriage."
Mou Yaxin didn"t say anything, but his eyes misted over when he heard the words of his in-law, which was as though it came directly from his heart. Although he loved his wife so much and also still did, but there were times that she tried his love so much that he felt bereft, as though he was lacking too much and there was no way he could fill the s.p.a.ce between them.
Yan Xuequi due to her bloodline could take on the shape that he wanted, whether as a little girl or as a grown woman, since she knew that she was in the home of a married couple she maintained the form of a young girl, while outside the home she would take on her true form without her fox attributes. What Mou Yaxin saw was that of a little girl and not her true form, which made him wonder how someone as young as Yan Xueqi could speak and act so wisely. Although, she didn"t mean to shout at her aunt, it was the only way she could think of to get her to appreciate what she has in her life.
"I"m sorry Aunt Hairong, please just take what I say to mean that I care about you."
Yan Xuequi bowed to the Mou family, before flying off, unseen to the human eyes. The Mou family walked back inside, but no matter how much Mou Hairong had lived in the mortal realm, she was still at tune with the emotion of her husband, she knew the exact moment when he cried, the image of it sent a pang of pain straight to her heart. Everything her niece said was true, she could no longer hide from what was happening, her husband was aging just like every human and she was wasting her time fighting with him over something that wasn"t really any concern of hers since she was no longer living in the fox clan, but now in the mortal realm with her earthly family.
"Mou Yaxin, I"m sorry."
The twins had already ran inside to play with their toys, when Mou Hairong openly apologized to her husband.
"I know you are, I"m also sorry for not taking your side and causing you to lose face."
In a marriage, no matter how wrong an husband or wife was, it was the duty of their spouse to take their side in public no matter what, but privately chastise them if they were in the wrong. Mou Yaxin understood that part of what it means to be married and which was why he willing owned up and begged his wife for forgiveness. The act of humility often makes the party that was in the wrong to own up quickly than pa.s.sing judgement on them without giving them a chance to realize that they were wrong.
"I promise to cherish our time together. You know how hard it is for me to accept when I"m wrong, I never meant to put you down in front of my niece and the cultivator. I"m sorry Mou Yaxin."
They both gazed at each other with love in their eyes, before eventually giving in to a warm embrace, Mou Yaxin stroked the hair of his wife loving, while hers was resting squarely against his chest.
"I love you Mou Yaxin!"
"I love you, Hairong!"
They both declared the love they had for each other, while staring at the distance with contentment on their face.