Xie Lian came back from the Heavenly Court after a while. Honger was silent since I asked him questions.
"San Long, Xie Mei Mei, and I need to leave briefly," he said as I gently lifted my son to lie beside Kohana on the futon.
"Heading to Crescent Pass?" Honger asked, and Kiyoshi nuzzled against Kohana's side. I turned to Xie Lian as Honger left his seat. "No problem, I'll join you."
"Honger," I spoke as Honger stood after I took my place by my brother's side. "I appreciate that you have an interest in what my brother and I do, but it may be a dangerous one. Which is why I am leaving Kiyoshi here for his safety."
"With that said," Xie Lian began as he picked up a broom to clean up the mess left behind by the puppet. "You should probably stay."
"Let me ask you," Honger began again. "Why meddle in this anyway?"
"Bluntly, I used to collect scraps over there; a part of me is curious. I liked the place."
"I see. Wanna know who the evil crescent daoist is?" He asked, raising his hand with a wave in a sort of shrug motion.
"You mean, you know something?" brother asked with a grin.
"I didn't know you had knowledge of the Crescent Pass," I spoke with a hidden smirk.
"Just a bit; like I said, I have time to kill." He shrugged at me; he clearly does if he's only been interested in finding Xie Lian for the last eight hundred years. "Two hundred years ago, the crescent pass still existed. The Cresentians were known to have large and aggressive warriors, often harassing civilians from the central plane. Their imperial preceptor was that Daoist."
A crash came from outside the Puqi Shrine. Upon instinct, I drew my sword and slid my mask over my face. Honger stoo up, Protective of my brother. Kohana got up quickly and covered a startled Kiyoshi with her tails, forming a ball, and covering herself with a void barrier. We rushed outside, right when we saw Nan Feng and Fu Yao stopping abruptly when we came out, they followed us behind the temple.
"Ow!" A teenage girl's voice could be heard, one I remember hearing during training a specific person in New Xianle.
"Mu Yoong Yoong? Feng Ling?" I asked, looking up to see a girl with light brown hair, bright copper eyes, black, red, and some gold on her outfit, lying over her fair skin. She was hanging by her feet, entangled by a tree's branches. Looking down, there in a crater was another: raven hair in a tight ponytail, dark eyes, and blue and white armour similar to what I used to wear back then.
"General Xie!" Yoong Yoong cheered from within the crater. While Feng Ling looked dazed for a moment before smiling. Giving a soft laugh, I put away my sword, snug in the sheath. And sliding my mask out of the way, I head to Feng Ling to tug her down first.
"How did you two find me?" I asked, untangling Feng Ling's legs from the pesky branches.
"We initially weren't, but this is a great bonus!" Feng Ling's bright smile a wonderful sight to see.