It's a beautiful day. Green grasses dominate the ground and the blue skies look as majestic as ever. The spring breeze carries the faint floral fragrance. Truly a scenery worth remembering.
Xu Zhengming finds himself in a familiar and nostalgic place. He can't even remember the last time he came in here. The field doesn't look like it changed a thing or two from the last time his eyes saw its beauty. Though this place is admirable, he doesn't feel at ease at all. In fact, he feels sadness instead.
In the middle of the meadow, he sees a lady with a solemn expression on her face. Her pair of almond-shaped eyes are quite similar to Xu Zhengming's. The longer he stares at her, the more he sees their resemblance. His heart starts to pound faster. He's so happy just by seeing her, so happy that his happiness turns into sadness and hopelessness.
"Mother..." He whispers in the thin air. He can't bring himself to call out louder. He's afraid that if she glances in his direction, he'll lose himself. But on the second thought, if he doesn't call her now, he might not be able to do so later.
He then smiles weakly, "This must be a dream."
Xu Zhengming only confirmed it after seeing a child who was about six years old. The lad looks just like him, except for the fact that this child still has chubby cheeks and is much cuter than Eunuch Xu. The child is holding his mother's hand tightly. He only stares at her mother who is looking at the horizon. This child clearly doesn't understand why his mother looks so sad but he thinks that she'd look prettier if she smiles. He wants to ask her what makes her feel upset but he's too afraid of making her sad even more. In the past, when his mother was acting like this, he asked her. However, instead of answering him, she only turns her back on him and didn't say anything but he can hear her suppressed sobs. Thus, the little man didn't say a word and waited for the next thing to happen.
The child didn't wait for long and the 'next thing' he expected happened.
"Ming'er." The mother calls. "Please don't enter a cultivation sect when you grow up. The cultivation world is chaotic and dangerous. You can become a scholar like mother instead. I earn enough money from selling my books and literary works. Live a peaceful life, my child. Don't leave mother's side, can you do that?"
"Mn!" Without thinking about it twice, he nods. Xu Zhengming always looks highly at his father as a cultivator. He even once thought about becoming one when he comes to the right age. But seeing his mother like this, how can he push through it? And besides, he thinks that becoming a scholar is not that bad. He always liked his mother's stories and poems. He admires her imaginative mind and wants to be a creative writer like her one day.
Eunuch Xu heard a series of approaching footsteps from behind. It's a man wearing plain white robes and is carrying a bag on his back. He tried calling him but it seems this man can't hear nor see him. Mingming is certain that the lady hears the footsteps as well yet she doesn't bother to turn her head to look.
"Father!" The little man cheerfully calls out to the approaching man.
"Ming'er." A man in white robes walks towards them with a wide smile on his face.
He extends his arms to his child. The lad lets go of his mother's hand and run towards his father. He then lifts the child and held him into his arms. The father and son smiled widely.
Noticing that the lady won't be looking their way any time sooner, he called out,
"Ah-Mei..."
The wind blows and her long black hair sways. She slowly turns around and smiles weakly. She finally comes closer to them.
"I don't want to see you off so I came here." She pats the head of the six-year-old Xu Zhengming. She continues, "But you came here to see us before you go. Do you really want me to feel sad?"
"Sorry, I know I'm being selfish but it would take me a long time before I could see you two again." He smiles. "I want to see you before I go. Please don't be sad, Ah Mei." Xu Lin looks at his son in his arms and said, "And besides, our son is here. He won't make you feel lonely, right Ming'er?"
"Mn!" The child nods. He looks at his mother with puppy eyes, "Mother, please don't be sad."
The lady laughs softly, "Who told you I'm sad? Mothers are strong, we don't feel sad at all." She leans until their foreheads touched.
The little Xu Zhengming turns his head to face his father. "Father, please come back quickly. Don't make us wait too long."
His father laughs and said, "Ming'er, my Ming'er. Have I told you before that you're so adorable? You're so cute."
The child pouts his pink lips. "Father, I'm not cute. I'm good-looking! A handsome man!"
Watching how the scene goes, Eunuch Xu can't help but laugh softly. Even at such a young age, he's most likely to say something like that.
"But father, please tell me that you'll be back soon. You always go faraway and comes home rarely." He pleaded.
He looks at his child straight in the eyes. "Ming'er, I can't promise that I'd be back anytime soon but I promise, when I finally come back home, I won't be going anywhere anymore."
"Ah-Lin?" His wife has a puzzled look on her face.
Xu Lin smiles at her. "I'm not getting any younger, I will retire from the cultivation world after our Wan MoliHua Palace settles the score with Fenghuang Sect."
After hearing his reason, she still can't believe it. "But all your life, you've always wanted to be a cultivator."
"You're right." He averted his gaze and smiles weakly. But when he looks at her again, his eyes are full of eagerness. "But Ah Mei, I realized that I want to be a good father and a loving husband more than a dignified cultivator."
She can't help but smile. She feels guilty for being happy now that his husband is willing to let go of his dream and live a simple life with his family. However, she feels sad for him. It was his dream ever since he's young after all.
It was a hard decision for Taoist Xu Lin, of course, but now that he made up his mind, he doesn't think something would make him change his mind.
She grabs something underneath her sleeves. It's a light blue-colored tassel with a small spherical bell on it. She hands it to Xu Lin and couldn't look at him in the eyes.
"Ah-Lin, I personally made this pendant. I was planning to give it to you when you come back home but I don't think it would make a difference if I give this to you now. I know this is not as well-crafted as the ones that you can buy in the town square but I still hope you like it."
Xu Lin took it from the woman's hand. He looks at every small detail on it intently. He smiles and said to his wife, "It's beautiful. I won't give this away even if someone offers me fifteen gold coins in exchange for this."
She laughs softly and said, "If someone is really willing to exchange it with fifteen gold coins, please accept the offer."
"I'll be the one who'll trade it with fifteen gold coins!" The child Xu Zhengming exclaims in high spirits. "When I grow up and have enough money, I'll buy that pendant from father!"
"You talk big, young man." Xu Lin laughs. "Grow up quickly, I'll keep this pendant until you're able to pay me fifteen gold coins."
Watching this scene from his own memory, mixed emotions filled Xu Zhengming's heart. He murmured, "Fifteen gold coins... the emperor already gave me thirty, excluding my salary." He puffs a laugh and ironically, his tears start to form in his eyes. "I am willing to exchange even my short life with it, will father still want to trade with me?
Xu Zhengming's vision suddenly becomes blurry then the next thing he knew, he's already in a different place. Unlike the first scene, it's a rainy afternoon.
He found himself standing in a narrow alley. The first thing that captured his attention is the three children who are trying to shelter themselves from the rain underneath the roof eves of a restaurant. The children are about ten years old. Their clothing is shabby and dirty. In just a glance, one can tell that they are street children.
"Can't we go back now? It's getting darker." The only girl of the three asks. She talked in a slow manner and her tone is similar to that of someone who's pleading.  It is quite pitiful to hear.
"But we only got one copper coin." The most mature one opens his small palm. He's been holding a single dirty copper coin for some time now. "Boss will surely beat us again if we go back like this."
The other boy stamps his foot. The tiredness they got for the whole day made his temper go bad. The situation they bear is too much for their young age to bear after all. He exclaims, "But it's hard for us to ask alms in this weather. Not much people passing by."
The mature one let out a deep sigh and remained calm. He lowers his head and said in a low voice, "You know him. He won't accept that reason."
Despite the hardship they face every single day, his voice is as gentle as ever. He noticed someone else's presence and immediately raises his head. His sad face instantly turns into a smiling one.
He excitedly approaches Xu Zhengming's direction.
"Gege! Gege!"
Xu Zhengming is surprised. "Me?"
Aren't they suppose not to notice him?
"Ge, please spare us your mercy." The child approaches past him. He turns his body to see where the little boy is going. There's actually someone else behind him. Despite the heavy rain, his white robes remained tidy. He carries a bag on his back and an umbrella in his hand. It's his father, Xu Lin.
The child extends his small hand to the cultivator, hoping that this big brother will help them. The other two hurried over to their direction but remained behind the mature child.
Xu Lin smiles at the three small humans. "It's so cold out here. Why don't you go home?"
"We don't have a home." The child answers.
Xu Lin was taken aback, "What? Where do you sleep then? Where are your parents?"
"We..." Being reminded of their parents who they never met, the child wears a sad face once again. "We don't have parents. After our foster-mother died, the boss found us in the streets and took us in."
The little boy behind him answered the other question that the big brother asks. "We sleep in a woodshed together with other children who don't have parents."
Xu Lin can't help but wonder. "Who's this boss you are talking about?"
The little girl is the one who speaks this time. "Boss is the one who collects the alms and gives us a share of food depending on the money we gathered from other people."
Xu Lin's heart filled with pity. These children already know how cruel the world is. He looks at the three and smiles, "Have you eaten yet?"
The children shake their heads in unison.
His smile widens and pats their heads one by one. "Alright. Come with me."
Xu Lin took the three with him and entered the restaurant. He ordered four bowls of wonton noodle soup, four steamed buns, and three bottles of fresh cow milk.
The children look so hungry and pleased to finally eat after a long day of asking for other people's mercy. The truth is, these three children never got a meal this 'fancy' in their entire life. In their eyes, this is already a feast.
Seeing how happy these kids are, Xu Lin smiles and can't help but ask, "What's your name?"
The mature kid immediately swallows the noodles inside his mouth and responds, "I'm Yin Wenyan. My brother's name is Yin Renshu. While my sister is Yin Xiulan." He reaches for the bottle of milk as he added, "That's the only thing we got from our real family. The silk that covered us as infants has our names embroidered on it."
Xu Zhengming didn't see this coming. Yin Renshu... Yin Xiulan... the royal twins? Now that he learns their names, he looks at them intently. They indeed look like the emperor and the first princess of the eighth generation of the current dynasty. He thinks, "Is this what they've been through after the imperial palace lost them? And father... father met them. They indeed know father!"
But what confuses him is that... why is there another kid emperor? Yin Wenyan, was it? He didn't make it back to the imperial palace? Did he die?
Yin Wenyan drinks on the bottle before throwing the question back to the man, "Ge, may I ask for your name?"
"Hm?" He didn't expect the child to ask for his name but since he asked, what else can he say? He answers, "My name is Xu Lin."
"Lin-dage..." The ten years old Yin Renshu called. "Can we call you Lin-dage?"
Before Xu Lin could even decide whether he'll agree or refuse, the little girl already calls him that way.
"Lin-dage, are you an immortal cultivator?"
Xu Lin answers, "Well, I don't cultivate to immortality but I am a Daoist cultivator."
Yin Renshu exclaims, "When I grow up, I want to be a cultivator like Lin-dage too!"
"Me too!" Yin Xiulan cheerfully raised her hand.
Yin Wenyan formally asks Xu Lin for a favor. A favor that could change their fate and grant their freedom if ever. "Lin=dage, we want to become cultivators. Cultivators that can protect ourselves and the ones we want to be safe. Can we come with you, please? Boss is so mean to us. He won't let us eat if we can't gather a lot of money."
Hearing his plea, Xu Lin's heart aches for the siblings. That very moment, he decided to do everything he can to save these children who are desperately clinging to a cruel thing called life.
His face becomes solemn, "This boss, you're talking about... he must be a child trafficker."
"Child trafficker?" The triplets tilt their head in unison. Their faces show how confused they are. It's the first time they heard that term. They don't even know what it means.
Xu Zhengming on the other hand can't help but smile at the cuteness overload he sees. His reaction isn't too far from his father but Xu Lin managed to keep his cool. He keeps telling one thing to himself in his mind: "Ming'er is the cutest, think about Ming'er."
After finally attaining inner peace, Xu Lin said to the triplets, "Don't worry. I'll help you get away from him. I can't take you to our sect yet since our sect won't accept disciples under twelve years old. In the meantime, I'll bring you to an orphanage. After two years, come to Wan MoliHua Palace in Penglai and ask any of the sect elders to take you in as disciples. Is that okay?"
His words work like an enchantment to the three. They're too delighted to say anything. Three pairs of phoenix eyes filled with hope and relief.
"You see, I can't do anything about that rule in our sect. Think of it this way: seconds become a minute, minutes become an hour, hours become a day, days become a week, weeks become a month, and a month becomes a year. Time flies, it will pass before you realize it."
"That's not it, Lin-dage. We're really happy." Yin Wenyan's eyes are starting to form tears but he tries his best not to let a single drop escape. "I really don't know what to do for us to get away from this situation. If we run away from our boss and got caught, later on, he might do something brutal to us. And if not, where should we go? Will we even last a week in the streets without food? Some copper coins can't get us going. No one will hire ten years old children to become workers. I can't think of a better way"
Xu Zhengming can't help but be amazed. How come a mere ten-year-old boy can say things like this? He talks like a grown-up man!
Yin Wenyan breathes deeply to calm the surge of emotions in his little heart. "Two years of waiting doesn't even count as enduring. I think my siblings and I will feel safe in an orphanage. We won't be hungered and beaten harshly there, right, Lin-dage?"
"You've been strong for a long time." Xu Lin gives them a gentle smile. He pats them on the head one by one. "Don't worry, you'll be safe there."