章 22: Family Bonding

"Jiejie! Jiejie, wake up!"

Yang Qinghui blinked, her vision clearing. Yang Ming's face was inches from hers, terrified. Her small hands clutched Yang Qinghui's shoulders. Gongyi Feng knelt beside her, tugging his beard anxiously. Both sighed in relief as Yang Qinghui looked around, and Yang Ming released her shoulders.

"Jiejie, are you alright?" she asked, studying Yang Qinghui's face.

"Erm… Yes, sorry. I'm fine." Yang Qinghui rubbed her forehead. So it was me in that memory all along. Who was the other person, then? And what exactly happened?

Yang Ming reached over and squeezed Gongyi Feng's hand. "Dear, could you fetch some hot and sour soup from the kitchens?"

Gongyi Feng nodded and scrambled to his feet. "Right away, dear!"

As he hurried from the room, Yang Ming addressed Yang Qinghui again. "Jiejie… if there's anything wrong, we can go see Father." Her eyes flicked to Yang Qinghui's forehead, then back to her eyes. "He'll be able to help."

"Father?" Yang Qinghui was wary. Her relationship with her own father had always been… strained. On the other hand, this is a good opportunity to uncover my backstory. "Actually, that might be a good idea."

Yang Ming nodded, still concerned. "I'll have a carriage prepared. We'll leave immediately."

"Right now?" I kind of wanted that hot and sour soup.

"This is important, jiejie," Yang Ming reminded her, standing and opening the door. The other sitting room was empty. Yang Ming crossed the floor to the other doorway. "I'll make up an excuse for A-Feng."

"I have to let my disciples know," Yang Qinghui said, also standing. "I'll meet you in the courtyard."

"Alright." As Yang Qinghui reached the doorway, Yang Ming placed a gentle hand on her arm. "It'll be okay," she promised. "Father will help."

Whoever their father was, Yang Ming clearly had faith in him. Yang Qinghui felt a little more reassured.

---

She found Gongyi Xiao and Luo Binghe talking together on a balcony a couple doors down. They both leapt to their feet as Yang Qinghui stepped out beside them.

"Something's come up," she said apologetically. "I have to go to Jinlan City with your mother, Xiao'er. I'm not sure how long we'll be. Binghe, find the others and tell Zhuang Hao to bring everyone back to Zui Xian Peak."

"Yes, shigu!"

"I'll take you to the training grounds," Gongyi Xiao offered to Luo Binghe.

Yang Qinghui left them and tried to find her way back to the courtyard. As she hurried down another identical hallway, she heard a sound.

"Psst!"

Stopping in her tracks, Yang Qinghui peered around in confusion. The hallway was empty except for her.

"Psst! Shizun!"

"Lu Ying?" Yang Qinghui looked down and spotted her disciple's face through a vent at the bottom of the wall. She crouched. "Are you alright?"

Lu Ying nodded. Her dark eyes were wide, and dirt was smudged on her nose. "I found something, shizun."

"What is it?"

"There's this room – it's super hidden, I almost went right past it – it's got lots of incense and a memorial tablet for someone called Su Xiyan."

"Su Xiyan," Yang Qinghui repeated, frowning. The name rang a faint bell.

"I only found it 'cause I heard someone speaking, and the door was open just a bit," Lu Ying continued in a hushed but excited voice. "Guess who it was?"

"Who?"

"Old Palace Master!"

"The Huan Hua Palace Sect Leader? What was he saying? Was there someone else in the room?"

Lu Ying shook her head. "He was alone. Talking to the memorial tablet." She scrunched up her nose. "He said something about… blaming himself for their death, I think. Sorry, shizun, he was muttering. But he seemed angry."

Interesting… "But he didn't see you?"

"Nope!"

"Hmm…" Yang Qinghui smiled. "Was there anything else?"

"Yes, actually – a guard came down the hallway when I was listening in, so I had to hide. But the guard told Old Palace Master someone had been poking around Bailu Mountain."

Yang Qinghui tensed. "Did they know who?"

"No, they'd just heard voices and seen a couple people from a distance."

Well, that's a relief.

"But Old Palace Master got really angry when he heard that."

"Did he, now?" Yang Qinghui muttered. If he tightens security around the mountain, it might make it difficult for me to get answers about Tianlang-Jun. She pushed those concerns out of her mind and smiled. "Well done, Lu Ying. You're an excellent spy. Can you find your way back to the courtyard?"

"Lu Ying affection level increased! +5 points. Current affection level: 365 points."

Grinning at the praise, Lu Ying nodded.

"Good. Go back and find Zhuang Hao. You're heading back to the Peak."

"Aww, already?" Lu Ying pouted.

Chuckling, Yang Qinghui stood. "You can have Chef Xiong make you some red bean paste buns for dessert, as a reward."

Lu Ying perked up at that, and hurried off with a whisper-shouted, "Okay! Goodbye, shizun!"

When the young disciple had disappeared, Yang Qinghui continued down the hall, pondering the new information. Su Xiyan, Su Xiyan… where the hell had she heard that name before?

Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky had left countless loose-end characters, hinting at cool backstories only to never mention them again, or write them out without any payoff. That might be the case with this Su Xiyan, but Yang Qinghui had a feeling they'd been more important than that. Old Palace Master apparently felt guilty and angry about their death – that had to be significant. If only she could remember…

Lost in thought, she barely realized when she arrived in the courtyard again.

"Jiejie!" Yang Ming called, waving from a carriage. The horses kicked at the dirt and snorted, eager to hit the road.

Yang Qinghui raised a hand, then looked to her own carriage, across the courtyard, where Guoliang and Mingli were standing at attention, watching her in confusion.

"It's alright!" she called. "The others will catch you up."

Guoliang's shoulders relaxed. He bowed, and Mingli, still looking nervous, copied him.

Yang Qinghui climbed into Yang Ming's carriage, settling onto the cushioned floor. Yang Ming, flicking a fan over her face, watched her anxiously.

"Madam, are you ready to leave?" the carriage driver called.

"Yes, please," Yang Ming replied, not taking her eyes off Yang Qinghui even as the carriage began rattling out of the courtyard and onto the road.

"A-Ming," Yang Qinghui said gently. "I know you're worried, but I promise I'm alright."

Yang Ming sighed, her painted mouth a tight line. She dropped her eyes. "Forgive me. After everything, I feel like I can't… like I can't do anything to protect you or Father."

Yang Qinghui hummed sympathetically, but said nothing. Maybe Yang Ming would drop some more clues about their shared past.

"For all those years," Yang Ming continued, "when you were gone, it was just me and Father. I was so scared. I thought old enemies would kick down our door and drag Father away. Or cultivators would kill him."

Yang Qinghui sat forward, frowning. Why would that be a possibility? she wondered.

"We thought that was what happened to you," Yang Ming added, glancing up, then back at her lap. "That someone had discovered…" She broke off with a stifled sob.

Yang Qinghui barely held back from demanding to know what she was going to say.

"I barely remember you from back then," Yang Ming admitted, tears beginning to pool in her eyes.

"You were so young," Yang Qinghui murmured, half-reflexively. She somehow felt it was true.

Yang Ming nodded. "I remember the idea of you, I suppose. Father always spoke of you, and I could picture you, foggily." A smile tugged at her lips. "Then, when you came back, I knew it was you, right away. And I knew I didn't want you gone again."

Wincing, Yang Qinghui searched for something to say. "I'm sorry. I didn't…"

"It's alright." Yang Ming shook her head. "You were already head disciple by then. You couldn't just leave your sect behind."

"I could've visited," Yang Qinghui spat, irritation with the original Yang Qinghui rising up.

Yang Ming opened her mouth, seemingly trying to argue, but closed it again. There was no argument she could make.

"But I promise I'll do better from now on," Yang Qinghui assured her. "It won't be like back then."

Some of the tension bled out of Yang Ming's shoulders. Her hand closed over Yang Qinghui's. "Thank you, jiejie. And I promise that Father and I will protect you this time."