The adored child of the Song family has returned home

On the other hand, the situation of the young Song is not much different: during his absence, his shijies and shixiongs also felt depressed. They missed their little shidi so much that they feel like they will die at any moment!

Life in a temple is stark and too quiet; one where most of the days are spent between prayers and meditations, studies and cultivation. Sometimes they practiced some art or played with their swords, but it was not enough. They needed their motivation back now, and that is the presence of the youngest of all the students of the immortal Song Baihua: Song Yewan.

Ah! They want their expressionless-faced xiao shidi back at their side! Immediately!

The arrival of the minor in their lives made that they improve remarkably since he became their reason for improving themselves every day. From daring to learn incredible overly complicated spells to trying to cook wonderful and intricate meals to perfection ... it was all for him! In order to be able to display him with total security all the new things that they have learned, and thus be able to see those big eyes put its quietude aside to shine with pure admiration or delight.

Even ... who knows? Maybe get a congratulation from their teacher for progress along with an adorable tug on the sleeve from their precious shidi, who asks them —he looking a bit shy— if they can help him learn what they showed.

Ahh~ A little sweet that they have worked hard to get since the youngest of the Song came to the sect.

While they wait seated on the benches that mark the entrance to the retreat forest of their sect, they melancholy recall that day more than ten years ago. At that time, the oldest of them was turning eighteen, while the youngest expected to be eleven in two months. Their shifu had gone down from the mountain a few days ago and they had fun during those with calligraphy competitions and painting the landscapes of a winter soon to end.

The young people were not scandalous, so in the place, the only sound that was heard was their mellifluous songs along with the serene sweetness of nature around. The soft lullabies of the foliage swayed by the wind and the chirping of small birds in the distance were their inspiration to begin that fifth morning with a competition of poems to beauty.

After agreeing on the rules of the game, the first participant took a step forward, enveloped by his thick cloak and his intellectual aura. He settled on a rock and, taking a pipa from his sleeve, began to lightly pluck its strings. His voice waved pleasantly as an introduction to his song. Next, he raised his eyes to the clear sky looking for the correct words to start the verse and ...

Suddenly, a sword pierced the sky in his sight. The sword flew slower than usual, so he could see who its driver was: it was shifu!

Drawn by the surprise in the look of their shixiong, the others searched for the reason for it, thus finding the descent of their shifu towards the path that led to where they were. Quickly, they caught up with him. They were worried, was not supposed to he will be back in two more days? Has there been a problem?

Like a bunch of restless chicks, they surrounded their shifu, who was carrying a small black bundle clinging to his chest. This one was quiet. Extremely quiet. So still that he did not even seem to be alive. This aroused the curiosity of all, who did not take long to ask what that was.

In response, they got a nervous little tremble from whatever was under the thick black fur blanket.

A new pet? Another spirit fox? Now they were more curious! But they did not add a word; they just watched him pull his tiny hand from inside —oh, it was not an animal— to hug closer the neck of who was holding him.

They clearly remember the gentle laugh of their teacher and the way he stroked the head of what he was holding in his arms; saying soft words to him, he persuaded him to show himself to the others. The bundle, doubtful, only poked his big eyes out to see his new brothers.

From before, the older disciples already suspected that it was a new child that their shifu brought, but they were a bit confused about this one because, despite being wrapped in a very thick coat, he still looked very small.

And it definitely he was.

His new shidi was someone so young! He was just an infant! All of them were picked up between their eight and ten years; however, that child... he could not be more than four years old at that time!

His gaze, bright and golden as the most glittering gold, was attentively studying them one by one; little by little he was uncovering his face to try to see the ones not so big from where he was. His face was clean, without a trace of having been a neglected street child as others were at his age. That was strange.

Oh, and he was so adorable: his indifferent, cold, and serious expression did not fit well in such words but, accompanied by his pink cheeks for the warmth of the coat, the image was completely changed, showing him as someone serenely shy. And that was adorable.

Snow began to fall at that moment, and it was as white as the skin of that cute child. As black as ebony, his badly cut shoulder-length hair framed his small face; most likely he did it on his own.

Still, it was so lovely! All the disciples were captivated by their new little brother. So small and pretty; quiet and shy... Although they did not show it on the outside, on the inside they were impatient: the older ones wanted to dress him in the robes of the sect and feed him between games, while the younger ones wanted to try to carry him to amuse and make him learn their names.

His teacher laughed knowing the untold feelings and handed him to them over instructing them to take proper care of him while he cooked something warm for everyone.

Talking about it today, they laugh.

Their xiao shidi as a child was so clingy… They do not forget the little silent tantrum he made when shifu wanted to transfer him into the arms of his oldest girl disciple.

The infant did not speak, but demonstrated with actions what he wanted or not: as soon as he felt that the older was drawing him away from his body, the expression of the kid changed to a slightly alarmed one. He frowned adorably and clung with all his strength to the arms of the immortal, who could not help but laugh out loud, even as the little one bit into his red robe to hold on better.

Ah, there it. He was, after all, a street kid. His good looks made them believe that he was some lost young master.

The efforts of the four-year-old Yewan to stay by the side of the shifu touched his now companions, who had to say soothing words to him, caressing his head, so that he would trust to go with them. The minor only looked at them and then to who was carrying him. Finally, he understood that they were not abandoning him again and allowed them to take him away.

—Do not forget the best moment of that day —says with her characteristic serene voice the oldest of the group: Song Meiling. Dressed in black robes with embroidered silver threads, the beautiful young woman stops petting the soft fur of the white fox on her lap to bring her delicate hand to her chest and sigh. She cannot help smile when she remembers that moment—. Ah~ My heart feels bathed in honey when I think of his first words.

The rest also smile and some even laugh discreetly.

—Hm? I thought da shijie would not be so happy, —says one of the junior disciples: an adorable laughing boy with a high bun—. After all, back then, shijie wanted the first word of what didi said was her name...

Another boy identical to him, but combed in a ponytail, continued his sentence—: Mei-jie was the first in many moments: to carry him, to feed him, to comb his hair... she just had to be the first to be called!

—However, the first one he called was shifu. —the youngest of the triplets ends, smilingly tying his hair into a low braid.

Everyone sighs with emotion at the memory.

After taking a bath on his own (disappointing those who wished to help him), being dressed in the characteristic dark robes of the temple, and being neatly brushed by gathering half his hair into a high bun, the new xiao didi waited patiently in the dining room surrounded by the others, who tried to make him speak by asking him about his life before being brought in by shifu. They were not loud nor did they speak loudly; rather, they were very orderly in taking turns and very patient in not being bothered by not getting answers from the child other than their silent nods or denials.

Because they were so calm, little Yewan became comfortable with his new siblings and began to cling to them or play with their hands silently while listening to them.

Noticing that he was slowly gaining confidence, they decided to stop pushing him and go slower with him. Then, the older ones also fell silent, imagining that in this way it would be more comfortable for the younger one and help him better adapt to the new environment.

They turned out to be correct.

Song Yewan felt freer to go with whoever he wanted, so he walked among the olders, inspecting curiously each one of them from head to toe and touching what most caught the attention of the chosen person: to some shijies, he stroked their hair amazed by how soft it was, and some shixiongs, his arms to entertain himself when they held him up.

When he finished recognizing everyone, they saw him still looking for someone else. The boy walked from here to there, surveying the place as if he knew who was missing; meanwhile, his elders followed him with their eyes.

A minute passed.

From observation to observation, the disciples noticed a small sadness blooming in him along with a discouragement; it was not very noticeable with the naked eye, but they learned that they must pay close attention to the small changes in the expression of his eyes to recognize his feeling.

They asked him many times who he was looking for, but he did not answer. He just pursed his lips a little like he was not sure what to say. Finally, he found the oldest shijie and ran to her. Song Meiling was sitting there watching too when suddenly found her little boy gently tugging at her sleeve as he laid his chin and his little hand on her lap.

It was very fast. Her heart raced at the thought that he was looking for her.

—"Here I am", you said.

Little Yewan looked at her face with those big golden eyes and opened his mouth after thinking a lot... He spoke slowly:

—Dad... where is dad?

Direct heart attack.

Since then everyone addresses their teacher on countless occasions as "dad", and he, by amusing and softening for it, began to call them "sons."

—Nor today? —With this question, the eldest of the shixiongs announces his arrival at the site. Song Weiyu brings with him a delicate white jade tea set on a flower-embossed wooden tray. Warm steam still escapes from the teapot, spreading over the elegant face of the young man. He is very tall and handsome, he wears black robes with silver threads, similar to those of the oldest girl student because they share a place in power after the teacher—. Shidis, shimeis, please have a drink and go to rest. They have spent many hours here, they cannot put their training aside.

The discouraged minors hang their heads at the command; they still want to wait a little longer, as they maintain their faith that this day their xiao didi will return from his closed-door cultivation. They look at the forest next to them and then their hands: some had brought rice cakes prepared by themselves for breakfast, others a jug of water in case he is thirsty or wants to wash his face, and a certain shijie a thick coat to wrap him up and protect him from the cold.

Song Meiling, who was the one who brought the last, remembers her first time in isolated cultivation and how exhausted she felt when she finished… so much so that she fell asleep in the middle of the forest on her way back. Her shifu had come to look for her and was the one who picked her up and took her to the infirmary for her slow recovery. This time, she had inadvertently overextended herself and suffered for it; she fears the same thing happened to her dear didi. If necessary —or not— she is determined to carry him in her arms as when he was little and he asked her with his eyes to cradle him. So now he refuses, it doesn't matter. She missed him a lot! She wants to carry his little brother yes or yes!

This martial older sister, in the middle of her reverie, casually glances to the side and finds her da shixiong approaching the seat next to her. He looks back at her and they both read the thoughts of the other, silently. Song Weiyu smiles challengingly at her and discreetly adjusts his thick fur coat while distracting his eyes with the blanket of Song Meiling.

Oh, now understand. He is here for the same purpose as this shijie.

They both smile at each other, sit together and do not lose sight of each other. They argue fiercely with their eyes although outwardly they look as calm and kind as ever. The shidis and shimeis of both when they see them, only sigh when thinking that these charming older brothers of theirs are so close that they missed each other during these few hours away, so now they cannot help but stare for so long to contrary one.

The group of minors admire this and watch them smiling while they drink the sweet tea that shixiong brought.

Not long after, one of the young triplets, Song Erxing, the one with the high bun, feels bored and is distracted by glancing at a pair of beautiful black and white butterflies that flutter around a small bamboo shoot in the distance.

«Ah, winter is ending ...»

Such a scene is appreciated under the artist's eyes and they fill him with inspiration. How much does he want to immortalize it with ink at this moment! Carried away by the invigorating feeling, he decides to retire immediately to go to the art pavilion and begin his new work; he escapes without problems from the distracted group thanks to his stealth and takes advantage of this to get closer to the pair of butterflies that still remain in the place.

«They seem to be in love», he thinks, seeing them so close and comfortable with each other.

Song Erxing smiles even more and is touched; with such a romantic thought running through his mind, he finds the beautiful scene even more beautiful and even- comes up with a poem about it!

In short, he must write it on the fan where he will also paint the butterflies.

More enthusiastic about the idea, he crouches at a prudent distance to appreciate the design of their wings properly and to engrave them well in his memory before it is too late. Being absorbed in it, he is only returned to the real world by a shadow that slips away near where he was.

—...

Without further delay, he approaches where he saw the silhouette disappear and heightens his senses to the maximum. He hides his presence cleanly: his steps cannot be heard, nor his breathing, even with great skill he slows his heartbeat.

This is how he manages to see the alleged invader a few steps ahead. He laughs to himself.

«Ah, didi, why are you hiding?»

Song Yewan is there, though at no point did the forest seclusion spell lift. The young teenager is watching the group at the entrance and smiles a little embarrassed, but it does not take long for him to return to his serious and boring expression by default. Follow a path that leads to the main buildings, careful not to cause any noise.

He shivers a bit from the icy wind that still tortures the mornings of this winter. Internally, he regrets that he had not gifted Qingchen some thick cloak earlier, that way, at least he would have something to bundle up with now. A day ago, Song Yewan discovered that they accidentally mistook a pair of qiankun bags with his friend and took the other's, and the one with his outer robes and coats was precisely the one he lost! Currently, he has nothing to protect himself from the cold!

But that ceases to be your main concern when you suddenly feel hot:

—Didi. —Someone near him murmurs for a second before feeling how this person embraces him from behind and, moving him half a meter from the ground, forces him to go back beyond where he was before.

Straight to the group of shixiongs and shijies!

Try to escape, but it is useless.

—Ahh... —Someone sighs—. So much time cultivating fasting there... Will our A-Wan be alright? He is so young and still developing... I know he is already very tall for his age, but... he will not keep growing if he keeps up like this!

—No, no, no. It is fine as he is. If he were even higher, I would no longer be able to charge it this way.

They all turned when they heard Song Erxing speak not from where they had last noticed him, but the first thing they all found was...

—¡¿Didi?!

Song Yewan, seeing his plan to go directly to his shifu frustrated, makes a small pout, and his cheeks turn pink with embarrassment.