12 12. Hong Family Lord

They flew high above the clouds continuously for a day. Bai Gui was lead in the front and was seated on the bigger wolf Hui. Bai Cong and Bai Ying Yu followed behind him on the smaller wolf Wei.

"We're about a minute away," Bai Gui called out to them through the wind.

Bai Cong opened his eyes and got out of his meditation. He looked at the ground below and saw many building lined up on the streets. People were walking from stall to stall. The streets were quite crowded because it was mid-day.

In the distance, the silhouette of the imperial palace could be seen as the sun bathed it's golden rays on top of it. The palace looked like it was made out of the purest gold and the towers stretched high into the sky.

Although the impression it was supposed to give was grand, Bai Cong thought it gave off a gaudy feeling instead. It was as if the person who built it wanted to show off how rich they were with all the extravagant décor.

Bai Gui started to descend when he came within the perimeter of the castle walls. The gates leading up to the castle stood wide open and Bai Cong saw groups of people heading inside the wall. The people stopped and stared when Bai Cong and his family landed.

"Wow, to come in so extravagantly on flying beasts, who are they?" a green robed man asked his friend.

"I don't know, I don't recognize their insignia," the black robed man next to him shook his head, "but judging from their clothes and mode of transportation, they must be from a major group."

"Yes," the green robed man nodded in agreement, " They must be here to attend the competition."

"They must be, why else would they be here," The black robed man said.

Other people on the street also thought the same when they saw the Bai Family but the party in question paid no heed to their conversations.

They all jumped off the wolves Hui and Wei and landed on the ground. Bai Ying Yu felt that the ground was too dirty for her youngest son to walk on so she picked him up, against Bai Cong's adamant refusal, and decided to carry him.

Bai Cong hid his face in her bosom because of the embarrassment. How could a grown man like him stand to be carried by his mother in public. Because of this, he didn't notice that when they all got off, a bright light came out from Hui and Wei and what was left were two men. They both looked similar but there were still some noticeable differences. One man was a bit taller than the other and had looked more robust, but they both had gray hair and tanned skin.

Both men nodded at Bai Gui and walked away to the surprise of the people.

They all walked through the gates without being obstructed by the place guards. Along the path to the main palace, many people could be seen chatting and exchanging news. But when the Bai Cong and his family walked past, they all grew quiet and moved aside to make way for them to walk through.

Bai Cong, who had now accepted that his mother was really going to carry him the whole time, noticed everyone's reaction when they saw them. He started wondering how bad his family's reputation really was.

When they reached the main palace doors, the soldiers keeping guard bowed to them and opened the door. The room was large and had one long, banquette table in the middle. Most of the seats were unoccupied as the rest of the main guests weren't there at the moment. The biggest seat at the end of the table was also empty, meaning that the host of this event, the Guan Emperor, was not in attendance yet.

Bai Gui nodded his head in greeting to a few people and followed an attended that guided them to their seats. There was only four chairs reserved for their family. Apparently, no one knew that the Bai Family had welcomed another child into the family. So Bai Cong was seated on his mother's lap at the table.

Bai Gui quietly sipped some tea and patiently waited for the main event. Bai Cong treated the other people like air and just pretended they weren't there at all, opting to just quietly meditate.

"Oh, people actually turned up!" A gruff voice resounded throughout the hall.

Everyone turned their heads just in time to see a head full of bright, red hair strutting into the room with a powerful gait. He had a big smile on his face and wide, happy eyes while two people followed behind him.

One was a boy who looked to be a bit younger in age than Bai Chen and a little girl who looked to be the age of 10. The boy had red hair, just like the man while the girl had dark brown hair.

The boy was wearing a blue robe tied with a white belt. He had short, red hair and brown eyes. The girl was also wearing a blue robe tied with a white belt. Her long, dark brown hair was tied up with a white ribbon and her brown eyes were darting everywhere in the hall.

When her eyes fell on Bai Cong who was sitting on his mother's lap, her eyes shined with confusion. She nudged the boy next to her and whispered in his ears. The boy glanced at Bai Cong and shrugged his shoulder, expressing that he was just as confused as the girl.

The red haired man walked to each group and greeted them jovially. When he reached his seat, it happened to be right across the table from the Bai Family.

"This is a rare sight," the man's eyes brightened when he saw them, "Bai Gui, since you've decided to finally come out of hiding, it's time to repay that battle you owe me," he said.

Bai Gui grunted and secretly rolled his eyes at him.

The man chuckled and accepted a cup of tea that was served to him.

"I see you have another child," he said as he glanced at Bai Cong who was sitting on his mother's lap, "She's quite cute. She'll be quite a young lady when she grows up" he could complemented.

Bai Chang coughed up his tea when he heard that and tried not to laugh while Bai Chen closed his eyes in amusement.

"Yes, of course HE will grow up to be handsome. Who do you think his father is," Bai Gui attempted to save Bai Cong's pride while also bragging about himself.

The man blanked out for a moment before he burst out with laugher, "That was my mistake," he said as he looked at Bai Cong, "Don't take that to heart little one."

The boy and girl next to him were still in their shocked state. The girl leaned over to the bot, "I thought she was a really cute little sister," she whispered.

"Me too," the boy whispered back.

Bai Cong kept a stoic face. It was as if the man hadn't spoken at all.

Bai Ying Yu chuckled and patted Bai Cong´s head to comfort him.

¨You haven't met my kids yet, have you?¨ he asked.

¨No, Hong Bo,¨ Bai Gui said.

¨This is my son Hong Ling, he has just turned 16," he said as he patted his son´s shoulder, ¨and this is my daughter Hong Mian. She's 10 this year.¨

¨What do you say?¨ Hong Bo said looking down at his kids.

¨Hong Ling greets Bai Family leader,¨ Hong Ling bowed his head.

¨Hong Mian greets Bai Family leader,¨ Hong Mian also bowed her head.

Bai Gui nodded his head at the two kids and sipped a bit more of his tea.

¨What is your name?¨ a soft voice sounded out. You could tell that the question was being pointed at Bai Cong who had been quietly sitting on his mother's lap.

Everyone turned their heads and looked over at Hong Mian who had now realized that she had misspoken. She blushed and looked away.

¨Cong´er introduce yourself,¨ Bai Ying Yu pushed him.

Bai Cong glanced at his mother before facing the now, pink face of Hong Mian.

¨Bai Cong,¨ he said simply, not caring to put anything extra to it.