8. Welcome To The Lei Household

"Where's the sword?" Seiji asked as they left the building. Seiji still felt a little weak, but at least he was doing better than he was before. Yongliang was supporting him as they walked.

"What sword?" Sora asked, following behind them with a frown.

"The demon sword," Seiji said, glancing at him. "The one I told you to pick up."

"Oh, I left it in your car" Sora said, causing Seiji to narrow his eyes. "Sorry..."

"How are we getting to… where you're taking us?" Seiji asked, tilting his head to the side in curiosity after shaking his head at his brother. "I don't know if I can really walk too far. I still need some rest."

"Why would we walk?" Yongliang asked in confusion. "It's the 21st century. Of course we're driving. It's not like we're going off to battle or anything. It would take like 3 days to walk to and up a mountain."

"Oh thank god," Seiji said with a sigh of relief. Yongliang laughed and shook his head. "You can already drive? You've definitely grown up since I've last seen you. How old are you now?"

"I'm a year younger than you," Yongliang said with a smirk. "I'm sixteen."

"Oh, right," Seiji said with an embarrassed laugh. "For some reason I thought you were much younger. Like Sora's age."

"Isn't he 15?" Yongliang asked.

"Yeah, a baby," Seiji said, nodding his head and reaching out for a sword he saw sticking out of Sora's backpack he had with him. "Let me see that."

"Maybe we shouldn't be brandishing a sword out in the middle of the city," Yongliang said, glancing around. He took off his outer robe and placed it over the sword, quickly hiding it from sight as a group of drunk men walked past them.

"You actually wear street clothes under your robes?" Seiji asked, noticing the jeans and graphic tshirt Yongliang had on.

"It's not like we live in the historical days," Yongliang said, leading him towards his car. "Are you forgetting that I'm a normal teenager, just like yourself? Just because my mother is a very traditional cultivator doesn't mean I can't act like a kid my age."

"Ge, I think you're the only one I know that would go around in public in robes and a sword at your waist," Sora added, causing Yongliang to let out a soft laugh. "He probably only wore the robe cause his mother told him to. Am I right?"

"Wow! You actually acknowledge him now?" Seiji asked, ignoring the slow burn his brother gave him as the other two started laughing. "If you get the chance to tease me, you forget all about your hatred towards someone."

"Since when did I hate him?" Sora asked as the three of them piled into the car, Sora immediately taking the passenger's seat. "I never said I hated him. I just didn't trust him. But you told me to trust him."

"Hmm," Seiji said softly, resting against the door after getting settled into his seat.

"I want my phone," Sora said with a groan as Yongliang got in and started the car. Yongliang looked at him with raised eyebrows, glancing back at Seiji.

"We had to leave them behind so we wouldn't get tracked," Seiji told him, causing Yongliang to snort and shake his head.

"You do know it's a demon tracking you, right? Why would he track your phone? He can just track you himself without technology," Yongliang asked as he started driving. "My mom will get you something, Sora." The car went silent as they made their way towards the mountains. Seiji closed his eyes, leaning his head on the window.

After an hour of driving, they arrived in a hidden forest high up in the mountains. There was a large lodge that was hidden by trees. In the front yard two boys were sword fighting, one stumbling over his feet while the other was calm and smooth with their movements. They both stopped when they saw the car coming up.

"Ge, we're here," Sora said, leaning over the seat and flicking Seiji's forehead. Seiji groaned and opened his eyes, realizing he had fallen asleep during the drive. He glanced around, spotting the two outside, his eyes falling on the more awkward boy. He smiled softly, remembering the small boy from two years ago. He forgot what he looked like, but this boy gave the same vibes.

"Who's that?" Seiji asked, causing Yongliang to look back at him.

"Lu Xiaosi," he told him. He then nodded at the other boy who was already making his way to the car. Seiji nodded his head. That sounded familiar. "And that's Liu Shaoqing. They're two of the boys we've recruited. It's only us right now."

"Why are they up at 4 in the morning?" Sora asked, opening the door and stepping out.

"Cause that's the time we get up to train," Yongliang told him, causing Sora to stop and stare at him with a deadpan look on his face.

"We. Have. To. Get. Up. At. 4. AM?" he asked, causing the boy outside the car to laugh and shake his head.

"You'll get used to it. I didn't like it either," he told him.

"It's not that bad," Yongliang said, getting out of the car and helping Seiji out as well. "Right, Shixiong?"

"Sure," Seiji said, staring at Xiaosi in curiosity. He was standing off to the side just staring at them, his hair in a bit of a mess. He was wearing a pair of red basketball shorts and a white tshirt.

"Are you enticed by our gege?" Yongliang asked him. Seiji looked at him with a frown, shaking his head. He didn't notice Shaoqing staring at him with wide eyes, also staying quiet

"What are you talking about?" he asked, letting Yongliang help him inside. He nodded his head at Xiaosi in greeting, who in turn bowed his head shyly and turned away.

"He's a shy one at first," Yongliang told him, bringing him inside where his mother was bustling around. "Mom! We're here."

"Xueji! Long time no see!" the woman cried in greeting, rushing over to help him onto the couch. She then turned to greet Sora with her arms out for a hug. "And you must be Xiejie! I've heard so much about you!"

"Sora," Sora corrected her awkwardly as the woman hugged him, standing stiffly in his spot. Seiji chuckled and shook his head.

"Sorry, my brother doesn't like hugs," Seiji said softly. "But you can call us Seiji and Sora. That's what we go by at home."

"Only our mother called us by our Chinese names," Sora added, causing the woman to sigh and nod her head in understanding.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, boys," she said softly, letting go of Sora. Sora bowed his head, going silent. He hasn't really been able to process anything since leaving their training field.

"Shaoqing, why don't you lead him up to your room? He can be your roommate," Yongliang said, causing Shaoqing to nod his head. He seemed a little disappointed at the assignment.

"Come on, I'll show you around," he said, leading the boy up the stairs. Sora followed after him, while Seiji just sighed and leaned back against the cushions.

"Thank you for helping us out," Seiji said softly as Yongliang moved to the kitchen to grab something.

"Anything for Qiu Le's boys," the woman said softly. "Why don't you rest a little bit. Yongliang said you had a fever. Once you're feeling better, we'll give you a rundown on how everything works around here and what we're doing."

"Thank you," Seiji said with a soft smile. The woman smiled and left the room, letting Seiji have some space as she went back to cleaning their home.