A place of safety

Fan Tao had been paying very close attention to the child beside Bai Mei Li. Like Chai Ying one of the first things he noticed about Jin Hong Hui was that he could not sense the child at all. Fan Tao's brows almost imperceptibly furrowed. With his level of cultivation how was it possible that he couldn't sense a child? Obviously this child had a artifact on him. Fan Tao didn't even entertain the idea of the child having some kind of innate ability.

In his opinion even though there were abilities that allowed a person to erase their presence, a child this young who had probably Just barely activated his inner force. Because of this he wouldn't even play the idea that this kid could just naturally use such a high level ability.

That of course meant that this child had an extremely valuable artifact on him. What kind was it? And what kind of family had the ability to pass something like this to a child.

Could it be a artifact from those people? He almost immediately wanted to dismiss that idea. Those ancient people were supposed to be long gone. Fan Tao wasn't one to put too much faith in rumor but if those people were still around; based on what he knew, this world should look very different. Those people were just too talented. There was simply no way this world still have this ancient China feel to it. Those people would of dominated this world.

"Jin Yuan Jun. My name is Fan Yao. Do you mind telling me about the city you live in? Is it far from here?" He said finally.

Xiao Jun maintained his unpleasant look. He honestly didn't want to answer any of this guys questions. If it weren't for his sister Mei he wouldn't even look at this person. His brother had told him that no one was allowed to bully him and he could do as he pleased because he had his elder brother to back him. Since when was he forced to talk to someone he didn't like?

He couldn't stop himself from looking at his elder sister Mei. Sure enough she was smiling encouragingly at him. He was sure that this some was form of bully that his brother had been talking about… but how could he get angry at her. His elder sister took such good care of him. She even taught him new games to play.

"Xiao Jun doesn't know. Xiao Jun was always with mommy." A look of agitation appeared on his face. He missed his mother, father, and brother. Since he was born he'd never been away from the mansion so long… and he'd never been away from his mother for more then a few hours.

Because Bai Mei Li was always playing with him and distracting him, he never really had time to think about it, but he really missed his family. He wanted to go home with his new sister.

He turned his head to look at Bai Mei Li with a pitiful look that he wasn't aware that he had.

"It's alright. Let elder sister get stronger… If its at all possible, I'll definitely take you back to your home town." Bai Mei li sighed. It was still too fresh. He didn't need to come to terms this fast. Even though she'd said that she would take him back, she wasn't sure that she would be able to keep this promise. He was so young and it didn't seem as though he'd ever left the mansion. Thinking about it this would be normal. He was only four, what business would a four year old child have in the outside world?

This wasn't earth. It was a cold blooded dog eat dog society here. Accidents happened to the strongest of individuals here, let alone children. So of course the smartest thing to do was to keep them protected behind the walls of their homes.

So it wasn't surprising at all that he wasn't able to give directions.

Bai Mei Li pulled him into her arms and whispered some comforting words in his ear. She stroked his hair and kissed his cheeks until a small smile curved his lips once more.

Fan Tao was silent throughout all this. He wasn't surprised at Bai Mei Li's gentleness towards this child that wasn't blood kin to her. She wasn't a native of this world so when it came to children she would naturally let her guard down and consider his wellbeing before her own.

Of course he also noticed the wyvern demon beast wrapped around her arm. Since this beast was obviously bonded to her he wasn't concerned. He'd ask Chai Ying about the specifics later, as it was unusual for such a powerful beast to bond with a human so much weaker then itself.

They came from a society that was… at least on the surface… a community driven by 'morality.'

"It's alright if you don't know. Let's talk about something else." He changed the subject. If he were alone with the child he would have probably pushed a little harder. Anything that he remembered could help them understand where he was from, but he could tell that Bai Mei Li absolutely wouldn't allow it. She was extremely protective of the child and was clearly unwilling to allow him any mental stress that she deemed unnecessary. For now at least it was clear that him wanting a clearer understanding of the boy's origins would have to wait.

"How did you leave home? How did you meet your elder sister?"

"Mommy gave a kiss to Xiao Jun and Xiao Jun got sleepy. Big brother said that i didn't have to be afraid because he would find me no matter where I was. Big brother said that I only had to stay alive. When Xiao Jun woke up big sister was there." He Spoke sadly. He was now in Bai Mei Li's arms. She'd picked him up and was cradling him once more. This gave him a strong sense of security and made it easier for him to be able to talk about all this.

"I see." Fan Tao said considering the boys words. "Did your brother say how long it would take to find you?"

Xiao Jun was silent while he thought about it, then he shook his head. "Big brother didn't say, but big brother is the strongest. Xiao Jun heard daddy say that it never takes big brother long to find the things he's after…" He paused and looked up to Bai Mei Li. "Elder sister do you think big brother is lost?"

Bai Mei li smiled gently and nodded. "Yes, after all this world is big. Jun'er must be patient and wait like a good boy for your brother."

While she said this both she and Fan Tao were thinking the same thing. Xiao Jun obviously didn't come from a normal family. There must be some kind of tracking artifact on him… other wise his brother wouldn't said that he could find him anywhere no matter what.

If that's the case then it shouldn't take this long. It's been two weeks. Perhaps the brother might be tied up but what about the rest of the family. It was impossible that only one member of them would have the ability to track a member of their clan.

Even if the brother couldn't come shouldn't his parents, and elder, or even a servant come for him? Xiao Jun was only a four year old child. He was far too young to survive in the outside would alone.

Even Chai Ying who had been silently listening and observing this entire time had come up with the same conclusion.

This child was probably alone now.

Fan Tao was silent. His dark eyes remained on the child in Bai Mei Li's arms. His considerations were deep and many.

Bai Mei Li was watching him. She didn't interrupt and simply remained where she was rocking the saddened Xiao Jun in her arms while allowing Fan Tao to observe all he liked. She wasn't anxious in the least. If they thought it was too risky to let him stay here because of the possible emergence of his brother then she would leave without any hard feelings.

"Did your mommy and daddy give you something important to keep you safe?"

"Xiao Jun just has my toys."

"May I see your toys?"

"… Xiao Jun gave it some thought first and then nodded. He asked his sister Mei to put him down and then he took his toys out so that Fan Tao could see.

Fan Tao was a little shocked to see that he had a spacial ring of his own and knew how to use it so well, but he didn't say anything all. All this did was further cement his suspicions. He walked over to and bent down to look and touch each toy. He used his strong Qi with laser like precision to examine each toy.

"You have a lot of great toys here. When I was a child I didn't have so many wonderful things. Your parents really dote on you don't they?" There was finally some warmth in his voice. His childhood in both lives had been rough so he really liked it when he saw children in warm households. Children shouldn't be forced to enter into the world of adults.

He'd touched and thoroughly examined each toy and while they were all very expensive or novel he found nothing that could be considered an artifact.

"Are these all your toys? And besides your ring do you have anything else on you that your parents gave you." He asked as he watched the child's facial expression closely.

"Mommy and daddy only gave Xiao Jun this ring. Mommy gave Xiao Jun lots of food and snacks and water but Xiao Jun already ate those things."

"Alright." He said then rubbed Jin Yuan Jun's little head and stood back up. "You can put your toys away." He didn't bother try to examine the ring himself because he could clearly tell the quality of the ring. Even if this boy was killed it would take decades for the ownership bond with this ring to weaken enough to break it.

"Alright. You both can stay. There is temporary lodging. You will have a house built to your needs made later." He said after standing up. Fan Tao was a decisive type of person. Once he made a decision he simply moved forward without hesitation. After all once everything was fully considered was there a need to hesitate? "We all have to cultivate and we quickly learned that some of our cultivation methods can be destructive so it's just best that we all have our own cultivation room tailored to our individual needs." He answered the question that was usually on everyone's mind without needing to be asked. "The stronger we are individually the stronger we will be collectively."

"I understand. Thank you… This means a lot to the two of us."

"Chai Ying show them to the temporary living quarters."

"You got it boss." Chai Ying said in a carefree manner. He looked to Bai Mei Li and Xiao Jun with a smile. "Lets get going."

She looked at Fan Tao one last time then turned and walked away from Chai Ying. This could be considered mission complete.

(Edited)