New Hope Orphanage [1]

The next morning, Dong Yi came to pick them up by the specified time. Ling Hong and Li Xin then set off to the orphanage after grabbing the presents they had bought earlier. The orphanage was quite far from the Qing Shui Residential area. On the way, he reminisced about his early days.

New Hope Orphanage was located towards the south of Yanjing. It was not big by any means, but was one filled with warmth. As long as he could remember, his life started from there when he was brought up by Mother Ma when he was still a baby. Until a few days ago, he had no knowledge of how he was brought to the orphanage, and Mother Ma had never told him either. But now, after the integration of his soul, he had seen the memories in it and saw how Mother Ma picked him up from beside a trash can. It was enough to know that he was purposely abandoned and that he may not have been an orphan at all.

The thing that intrigued him was the jade ring that he found a while back. Not having any knowledge in the path of cultivation, the previous Ling Hong would have no idea on the value of the ring. To him, it may only be a costly ring. But the present Ling Hong had knowledge of several years of cultivation and had easily noticed the irregularity of the ring. Before he had turned it into a space ring, he had noticed that there was a small formation on the ring that acted as a defensive measure. Alas, since he did not know that, the previous Ling Hong did not bother carrying the ring with him. Else he may nor have been involved in that accident.

Upon seeing the formation, Ling Hing knew for sure that there were some form of cultivators on Earth and that his past somehow had few ties to them. All of a sudden, he had felt a desire to find out more about his origin. Would he still have a family somewhere? This was also his reason for visiting the orphanage - to talk to Mother Ma.

It took them close to an hour when they reached their destination. As Ling Hong exited the car, his eyes fell upon the once familiar area. The orphanage was still the same as that in his memories - a white colored building with a small garden. He could hear children's laughter coming from the garden. However, the surrounding areas had undergone a huge change. In the past, the area was filled with a few small food stalls and such. But now gigantic buildings were on all sides. He suddenly remembered Li Xin's mentioning that Azure Dragon Gang attacked the orphanage. He guessed that they wanted to drive the orphanage away to snatch the piece of land.

He decided to ask about it later as he and Li Xin walked into the building. However, just as he entered, Ling Hong frowned. The inside walls were quite dirty and the barely any paint was left. There were a few broken chairs and a shattered flower vase at one corner of the room, indicating that someone had roughed the place up. His aura unknowingly began to rise as he noticed how the place he one called home was in a state of near ruin.

Li Xin felt his change and hurriedly grabbed his arm, saying "Brother Ling, calm down. Please don't act recklessly."

Ling Hong calmed himself upon hearing her, but was still burning with rage inside. Nevertheless, he followed Li Xin and walked to the office room which was just behind the hall. On their way, they saw some kids gazing at them curiously. Li Xin was someone familiar to them but Ling Hong wasn't. They were wondering who he was and why he was with their sister Xinxin.

One of the girls, who looked around 5-7 years old slowly ran up to them and pulled on Ling Hong's clothes, asking "Big Brother, who are you? Why haven't seen you before?"

Ling Hong stopped and looked at the girl. She was quite cute, even though she was dressed in a little worn out yellow frock. She had beautiful deep blue eyes and a lovely little face. He lowered himself to her height and smiled. He tucked away a loose strand of hair on her face and said "I grew up here a long time ago but because of something, I had left. Now I have come back again."

He paused for a bit and said "Little Sister, how about you? What's your name?"

Hearing that he was someone from the orphanage, the little girl became excited. She quickly hugged his arm and spoke in a cheerful tone "Big Brother, my name is Xiao Li and I'm eh...let's see.."

She then began counting with her fingers to check her age. After a few seconds, she grinned triumphantly and continued "...ah, my name is Xiao Li and I'm 5 and a half months old. Big Brother, what about you?"

Seeing her eagerness, he did not hesitate and smiled as he replied "Xiao Li, my name is Ling Hong."

The little girl was happy with the answer and said "Big Brother Ling, who do you want to see? I know everyone and where they are. I'll take you there immediately."

"I cam to see Mother Ma, is she here?" he patted her head and asked.

Xiao Li nodded and said "Yes Big Brother Ling, Mother Ma is in the office with Sister Fei. I'll take you there!"

Xiao Li then skipped while humming a tone as she led them to the office. Ling Hong already knew the way, but seeing the little girl being so happy, he decided to follow her. Soon, they reached a room at the edge of the hall with a plaque reading 'OFFICE' above it. Xiao Li turned around and waved, saying "Big Brother Ling, Sister Xinxin, come to see me again. Xiao Li is going to play now!"

She then ran away, leaving them in front of the office. Ling Hong then sighed and said "It's good that the kids are still happy."

Li Xin upon hearing that smiled and said "That girl was only here since a year ago. Her house had burned down and she was the only survivor. Since the family was poor, her relatives made no move to help her and so she was sent here. Xiao Fei said that she used to cry a lot in the beginning, but now that she has all these brothers and sisters to play with, she slowly became livelier."

Ling Hong was silent. He knew that most of the kids had some sort of accident in their life that made them end up here. A case like his where the child was abandoned with no news was quite rare. He could only sigh and hope to do something for them now that he had some money. Suddenly, the door opened and a teenage girl walked out, mumbling "Is that Xiao Li? Did she bring someone?"

She then caught sight of Ling Hong and Li Xin standing outside. Her eyes lit up as she shouted "Sister Xinxin, you're here! And....Brother Ling?"

The girl's name was Yan Fei, who was also someone who had grown up with Ling Hong as well as Li Xin. She was not much surprised that Li Xin was there, as she had called yesterday. But she was shocked to see Ling Hong. 4 Years ago, he had gone missing without any news and the orphanage had not heard any news till now. She suddenly thought back to her conversation with Li Xin yesterday and remembered the 'surprise' she had mentioned and understood it all.

She then grabbed him and started questioning "Brother Ling, where were you all this time? We were all worried, and there was no news at all. What happened?"

Ling Hong just smiled and said "It's a long story. But let's not talk about it. Am I not here now? Isn't it enough?"

Yan Fei nodded in reply. True, as he had said, nothing mattered as long as he was back. Li Xin then turned to her and asked "Xiao Fei, take us to Mother Ma. She would be very happy to see Brother Ling."

Upon hearing her, Yan Fei opened up the office door some more and let the two of them in. Inside the office, there was only a wooden table and chair along with a small cupboard, exactly the same as Ling Hong's memory. There was also a door that led to a bedroom. Yan Fei knocked on the door once before opening the door and ushering them inside.