4 Chapter 4 Storytelling as a lesson in cultivation and life

When they returned, they found only his father standing in the middle of the room. When he saw Yunchen and his mother coming in, he smiled and approached them, but to Yunchen, his father's movements seemed stiff. When his mother hugged him, he saw father flinching while hissing through the teeth.

Yunfei touched his cheek, caressing him.

"Does it hurt bad?"

His father smiled and waved his hand in dismissal.

"It hurts a bit, but not as it used to when I was younger. Remember those times?"

Both of them started grinning at their shared memories and soon Yunchen lost interest in watching his parents mumble to each other. Seeing them lost in their own world, he slid out the door unseen. Grinning he walked on the path leading back to his grandparents courtyard.

He started running when he saw his grandpa standing at the entrance, face raised to the sky, basking in the last rays of the setting sun.

He smiled hearing the little feet running along the path. He was happy the carefree little boy was back and seemingly letting go of his earlier fear of him. Smiling still, he lowered his face towards the child running towards him.

"Chen'er, what are you doing here this late? Where are your parents? Why haven't they come with you?"

"They're at home and I got bored seeing them and I wanted to come here to listen to one of your stories."

"One of my stories? Hmm, let me think about it for a moment."

He caressed his beard, enjoying the moment at the fullest. Seeing Yunchen starting to lose his patience, he finally relented.

"Very well, but first let's go inside. It's getting colder outside. The winter grows near."

Yunchen nodded in earnest and grabbed his grandpa's hand, dragging him after him inside the courtyard and then in the room where they usually spent time during the storytelling. He made his grandpa sit in the chair and taking a pillow, he put it his grandpa's feet and sat on it with his face uplifted towards his grandfather. His eyes were wide in expectation of the story he was about to hear.

His Grandma walked inside and smiled looking at the pair. She approached them smiling, kissing his grandpa on the cheek while ruffling Yunchen's hair.

"Old man, what lies are you going to spout next to this poor child?"

His Grandpa smiled while caressing the place where she kissed him on the cheek.

"That's up to him, my dear. And mind you, they're not lies. At most they're stretching some of the truth. All I've said so far I lived myself or read while being under my master's tutelage."

Zhao Shuqin laughed at her husband's antics. He knew how to act both under pressure and in leisure time. The way he acted today reinforced her feelings for him and made her feel good for making the right choice in picking him all that time ago. They were nearing their twilight years, yet he still managed to surprise her even after such a long time.

"Than I hope you don't mind me joining you during this story."

Without waiting for their replies, she dragged herself a chair and sat beside her husband. Reaching her hand, she grasped one of his and hold it while entwining their fingers. He looked at her, surprised for a moment, then smiled and turned his attention back to the little boy that was starting to lose his patience.

"So, what story do you wish to hear tonight? Should I tell you about the Dragon-king's son in law? Or about the Flame Emperor? Or maybe you'd prefer the story about the Martial Ancestor? Or about how I started on my way into cultivation?"

Yunchen pondered for a while, considering his options. Everything he heard was attracting him. But having to choose, he settled on one of his choices.

"Tell me about the Flame Emperor. And not like you did last time! You just wasted my time last week. I don't want to hear how weak he was at first and how he was mocked by everyone because of it. That was boring. Tell me about the fun stuff, when he starts getting stronger."

Both grandparents started laughing at his imposing demand of storytelling. His grandfather pursed his lips while caressing his beard.

"Chen'er, you're old enough to realize some things by now. You've no doubt tried to build some sandcastles in the backyard didn't you?"

Yunchen nodded, confused about what him constructing sandcastles had to do with him listening to the Flame Emperor story.

"Then tell me what would happen if the lower part of the castle isn't large enough while you keep piling sand only on the top of your castle?"

Yunchen started thinking about his grandfather's question. When he finally reached a conclusion, he raised his head, but lost his nerve thinking it might not be the right answer.

"Well?" his grandfather's soft voice goaded him to reveal his conclusion.

"The castle would fall." he said finally.

He was proud seeing his grandfather's nod of approval.

"Yes, that's right my dear boy. That's because your castle lacked a proper foundation. So, no matter what you are going to do in the future, you should always start with the basics and slowly work your way upwards, only after making sure the basics are sturdy enough to support your future plans. Do you understand?"

Seeing his grandson nodding in earnest, he sighed. He doubted he really understood what he meant by that. Most likely he was only interested in hearing the story. But what else could he expect? He was a child of merely six years old. He saw his patience was starting to fade away as he was looking at him expecting to finally hear the story so he started telling it. Luckily, he didn't complain when he started the story from the beginning. Maybe he did understand something, after all. When he reached the part where he was humiliated by his former fiancee and ended up issuing a challenge to a fight between the two of them after three years time, he saw Yunchen starting to furrow his brows. He stopped the story narrative and turned his attention towards his grandson.

"Well? What's on your mind? Why are you wrinkling your forehead like that?"

Yunchen lifted his head, touching the forehead to find out if his forehead really wrinkled. Finding no wrinkles, he turned his attention back to his problem.

"Grandpa, you said she disregarded him, humiliating him and his family by the way she acted in breaking the engagement. Then why would she accept his challenge to the fight? After all, he was too weak to fight her. Did she want to humiliate him even more?"

Wei Yunliang stopped to think for a moment. He shook his head.

" Chen'er, it's a bit more complicated than it appears. You have to realize her family decided her marriage without taking into account what she might think or feel. She acted on impulse and did what she thought was best for her at the time. Although I don't think she did it the right way, her actions were justified at the time considering the facts she knew at the time. She accepted his challenge in order to prove herself as being the master of her own fate. He ended up being humiliated, but that humiliation was what finally drove him to ever higher grounds than he could imagine at first. Sometimes a little hate goes a long way in fueling your drive in achieving your goals. But don't forget. During his humiliation back then, he wasn't facing it alone. There was still someone that still believed in him."

"Yes, that Xun'er girl."

"Indeed. Some support coming at the right time also is precious. Only when you are struggling you can find out who truly will be at your side when the vast majority of people would turn their back on you. If you're lucky enough to find that kind of persons in the future, you should act accordingly and repay their actions in the same way."

He looked at his grandson and saw his head starting to fall while his eyes were drooping. He smiled at his wife and nodded. She smiled and took the child in her arms, carrying him out of the room, half asleep.

Wei Yunliang remained in his chair staring at the empty pillow that remained on the floor. When his wife returned she found him still looking into empty space.

"What are you thinking about. That was quite a deep moral story you had tonight. Why the sudden gloomy face?"

"Qin'er, I'm worried."

His wife stared at him caught off-guard.

"Worried? About what?"

"I'm worried about my grandson and the life he would have in without me there to protect him." He lifted his hand, stopping her coming protests. "We're reaching our final years. You know it and I know it. There's no need to lie to ourselves. We're both too old to pass another tribulation for me to reach the Saint realm and you to reach the Venerable realm. I'm happy for the many years we've been together and I'm happy you chose me a long time ago among all the others that were interested in you. Even though I was much older than you at the time, you still chose me. I thank you for the happiness you gave me along the way. But what I'm unhappy about though is the way our son failed his son today."

Both grandparents stood in silence side by side thinking about their options.