Memories (10): The First Meeting with Light

Just like that, Yi Jiang and Yi Xuan became disciples of Yungui Mountain, studying swordsmanship and training with Yun Lan every day. Of course, the two little ones kept up with their schoolwork, too.

Everything was wonderful, until... Yun Lan went traveling again.

The two little ones were so upset they wanted to go with him, but they didn't dare say so out of respect for their master's authority. Come to think of it, did that old geezer even have any authority?

The first thing Yun Lan did after leaving the mountain was visit the orphanage run by the Yun Family. It had been a long time since he'd seen all those children.

They loved calling him "Big Brother Yun Lan," and he doted on them for it.

Especially because, when he was young, he'd met two pink-haired little girls at that orphanage.

They were always calling him "Big Brother Yun Lan," and they gave him a warm, comforting feeling.

The two of them hadn't had names back then, but Yun Lan had given each of them a book as a gift.

Then one day, the two girls came running over, beaming, to tell him they'd chosen names. One said she wanted to be called Elysia, and the other said she wanted to be called Xi Lian.

Yun Lan had been momentarily taken aback. The names were so beautiful, even a little unusual—not at all like names children from an orphanage would choose. Then it occurred to him: could Elysia and Xi Lian really be those two little girls?

But when he saw the pride and joy in their eyes as they claimed their new names, he swallowed his questions. He only smiled warmly and ruffled their soft hair. "Those are lovely names. Elysia, Xi Lian."

As he reminisced, the car arrived at the orphanage. I went inside and saw a familiar figure sighing by the entrance.

I walked over to greet her. "Xia Yu, you're helping out at the orphanage again? Why the long face? What happened?"

The girl named Xia Yu turned around and explained when she saw Yun Lan. "I help out at the orphanage because I like seeing the children smile. It's just that there's a Thiren child here, and the other children don't want to play with her." (Thirens are demi-humans. The government thought 'demi-human' implied they were inferior, so the term was changed to 'Thiren.')

I rubbed my chin and said, "Then could you take me to see this Thiren child, Xia Yu?"

Aponia led me to find the Thiren girl. When I saw what she looked like, I froze.

"Isn't she a mini Ye Shunguang?" I walked up to her and asked, "What's your name, little girl?"

The little girl answered timidly, "My name is Ye Shunguang."

"So her name matches, too. What about her brother?"

I asked, "Xia Yu, do you know if this girl has any family?"

Aponia replied, "No. She's all alone."

Seeing Ye Shunguang being excluded like this softened my heart. I asked her, "Can I call you Xiao Guang? Would you like to come with me?"

Ye Shunguang looked up at Yun Lan and said timidly, "Big Brother, you don't mind that I'm a Thiren?"

"Thirens are people, too. There's never been any difference between humans and Thirens, silly girl."

And so I took Ye Shunguang home. Since I was away from Yungui Mountain on my travels, there was no rush to return.

The most important thing for now was to teach Xiao Guang some basic life skills. I asked Mao Rabbit to find a tutor for her. She was taught not only practical skills but school subjects as well.

Ye Shunguang was clever and learned quickly—faster than I'd expected, in fact. But Xiao Guang was almost too well-behaved. It felt like she was bearing everything on her own.

She never let her negative emotions show, and she was a little clingy with me, though I didn't mind. Her attachment softened Yun Lan's heart, but it also felt like a tiny thorn in it. This child saw him as her only piece of driftwood, her only shore. But eventually, everyone had to venture into wider waters and find other islands.

But Xiao Guang only had me as a friend. If that went on for too long, she might become withdrawn. After thinking it over, I decided to send her to school.

Not so she could learn her lessons—she'd already mastered them—but so she could make more friends instead of living only for me.

After dinner, a maid lit some incense. She poured two cups of tea for Yun Lan and Ye Shunguang, then set one in front of the girl.

"Xiao Guang," Yun Lan began carefully, "would you like to... go to school?"

Ye Shunguang was warming her hands around her teacup. At his words, her fingers trembled and a few drops of tea spilled. She hurried to wipe them with her sleeve, but Yun Lan stopped her.

The girl lowered her head, her lashes casting deep shadows beneath her eyes. After a long while, she finally spoke, her voice a little hoarse. "Big Brother... are you trying to send me away?"

"That's not what I mean. I just think you must get lonely by yourself, and that you should meet more people."

"But I already have you, Big Brother. Sister Fu and the others are nice to me, too."

I shook my head. "I mean you should make some friends your own age."

At the word "friends," Ye Shunguang's shoulders trembled. She looked up, her eyes filled with confusion and panic, along with a trace of fear she was trying hard to hide. "I... I'm happy here." She spoke quickly. "I can learn faster. I can..."

I looked at the girl's red eyes and sighed softly.

Being ostracized at the orphanage really affected Xiao Guang deeply, I thought.

"If you don't want to go, then never mind," Yun Lan said to Ye Shunguang as he drank his tea.

And so, while Yun Lan appeared to be traveling, he was actually looking after a little girl. That counted as a different kind of "travel," didn't it?

A few months passed, and Xiao Guang had finished all the elementary school material. Meanwhile, Yi Jiang and Yi Xuan couldn't hold out any longer.

They messaged me every day, asking when I was coming back.

Yun Lan immediately took Ye Shunguang back to Yungui Mountain.

After returning to Yungui Mountain, he first took Xiao Guang to meet the old geezer. He'd originally planned to have her become the old geezer's disciple, but Xiao Guang refused and instead produced a disciple application she'd prepared in advance and handed it to me.

"You want me to be your master? I may have brought you home, but I'm only two years older than you."

I asked Ye Shunguang, puzzled.

Ye Shunguang lowered her head, not daring to look at me. But where Yun Lan and the old geezer couldn't see, a glimmer of excitement flashed in her eyes.

I looked at the disciple application. Something about it seemed strange, though I couldn't put my finger on what. It had an unusual smell.

I couldn't figure out what the smell was just then, so I said to Ye Shunguang, "I'll need to think about this. Is it okay if I give you an answer tomorrow?"