Uncle Qiren listens to the men as they describe what could only be a strange and terrifying chimaera, an abomination of a creature that has mutated into a powerful foe. So far, according to these three people, the Beast of Yiling has taken countless lives, forcing the local Magistrate to set up a curfew at night, to prevent more innocent people being killed.

Certainly, this night hunt is too dangerous for just a couple of rogue Cultivators, even if they're exceptionally talented.

Lan Zhan holds his breath as Uncle Qiren takes far too long to decide what to do. Ants are crawling along his skin as Lan Zhan waits, hoping and praying that it's not too late for them to intervene because, what is the point of coming back to the past and missing what could be a golden opportunity to save lives? In particular, these two lives which would change the trajectory of Wei Ying’s life.

If Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze die, that means the Jiangs can still turn up and cause problems for Lan Zhan, but he's going to do his best to make sure that doesn't happen.

“XiChen, summon Shouyue. Go back to Cloud Recesses and gather reinforcements. Tell them to come immediately here, and the Magistrate will bring them to where we are going. Go now.”

XiChen glances at Lan Zhan for a split second, obviously torn between wanting to fetch aid, and leaving him behind. Fortunately, Uncle Qiren is not oblivious to this.

“Do not worry about WangJi. He has his own mission,” Uncle Qiren says, taking Lan Zhan by the hand. They watch as XiChen does as he's told.

Uncle Qiren turns to the three strangers. “You mentioned a child. Where is he staying? The Rogue Cultivators would not have taken him with them.”

“We heard they left the boy at the inn,” one of them stammers, still in awe of this tall warrior dressed in white, with a matching little person next to him mirroring his frown.

There are only two inns in Yiling at the moment.

Lan Zhan is regretting leaving their inn now. Could it be that he was already in the right place earlier? But as a child, stuck in this little body, he knows he would have floundered looking for another child, or even getting any information about Wei Ying's whereabouts. At least this way, he has Uncle Qiren on his side.

Uncle Qiren picks Lan Zhan up, carrying him as he strides towards the inn they left earlier. While he appreciates the speed, Lan Zhan absolutely hates being carried, his independence vanishing like the early morning fog up in the mountains of his home. He tries hard not to squirm, telling himself that this is normal, and it's perfectly acceptable for a six year old child to be carried.

They reach the inn in record time, and only after Uncle Qiren hands over a piece of silver, does the innkeeper’s wife tell them what they want to hear: yes, two rogue cultivators are staying here, and yes, they've left their child in one of the rooms upstairs.

Uncle Qiren makes her show them which one. The door is unlocked, and both Uncle Qiren and Lan Zhan wear matching glares of disapproval at her carelessness. She bustles away quickly, knowing she has erred.

Uncle Qiren sets Lan Zhan down and to his surprise, crouches in front of him.

“WangJi, I am going to leave you here with the most important job of all. Inside this room, there is a child who may be scared to see strangers, but you must look after him and do not tell him anything about his parents yet, or the danger they might be in. I know that is the reason you brought those men to see me, and that was very brave of you. But now, you must be even more brave and stay here. Wait for either myself or your brother to come and fetch you. Do not leave. In case we are late, then take this money to pay the innkeeper so you may stay here longer.” Uncle Qiren gives Lan Zhan some pieces of silver in a pouch.

Then, in an even rarer move, Uncle Qiren pulls him into a hug.

Lan Zhan is so shocked, he forgets to actually experience it, because it's never, ever happened before. Then, it's over just as soon as it had begun, and Uncle Qiren is standing up and guiding him inside.

The room is a total mess, a chaos of robes and personal items strewn about the place as if it has experienced robbers. It's one shock after another for Lan Zhan, who hasn't ever seen such disarray in his life, not even in his first one.

Uncle Qiren moves towards the bed where an undignified heap of clothes and blankets are a nest containing a covered lump that is definitely snoring, and Lan Zhan bats Uncle Qiren's hands away when he goes to touch him.

“The child is sleeping,” he says, sounding as stern as an adult, but he does not care.

“Hmm. You are correct, WangJi. Then, do not wake him. I leave him in your care.” Uncle Qiren squeezes his shoulder and goes towards the door. He pulls out the key and gives it to Lan Zhan. “Lock the door behind me, and do not open for anyone except for myself and XiChen.”

“Mn, Shifu.” Lan Zhan bows as he has been taught, and again, he sees a softness in Uncle Qiren's face before he leaves. It's only when he's gone that Lan Zhan realises why he was hugged; there is a chance that Uncle Qiren thinks he won't be coming back.

But this Uncle Qiren is already behaving differently to the one he is familiar with, the one from his first life. And seeing that, Lan Zhan must ask himself if he has been hasty in judging his family.

True that in his first life, these people failed to do the right thing and sided with the loudest voices, but how could he condemn them before they've actually done anything wrong? Coming back to this time means saving Wei Ying from his pain and suffering, but isn't it also a second chance for those that chose the wrong path in that first life? For all of them, this IS their first life. It would not be wrong to hope that if things can change for Wei Ying, then things can also likely change for XiChen and Uncle Qiren, too.

If the situation and certain events made people behave in a certain way, then this is his chance to change things forever.

Lan Zhan has been too fast to condemn those that hurt his Wei Ying in the first life - in this one, they have not made the same choices, nor have they actually committed the crimes that Lan Zhan hates them for. He has to do better, otherwise his premature judgement on (as yet) innocent people could change things again, and not in a good way.

So he decides to give them a chance. He will help them make the right choices, and if they still appear to pick wrong, then he will simply deal with that according to the situation at hand.

He diligently locks the door and then the realisation hits him: Wei Ying is here.

Wei Ying is safe and sound, away from the dogs that he developed a fear towards, fully justified in his first life. The compulsion to go closer pulls him towards the bed and all Lan Zhan can see is a cute little button nose snuffling under the covers, peeking out because he has to breathe. Wei Ying’s face is otherwise obscured and Lan Zhan will not, under any circumstances, be waking him up.

He turns to the disaster of a room and begins to clean up, as much as his frustratingly small hands can manage. Wei Ying’s parents are simple people, with thick cotton robes that are rough to the touch hanging off the bed and there's a children's book placed on a little table. Wei Ying’s parents have clearly thought about their absence because they've left covered dishes with heating talismans keeping them warm on the same table - the adults might be unintentionally careless with their own lives, but they have put the book next to the food on purpose, in the hopes of securing their child's attention before he thinks about where they might be. After all, children's needs are pretty basic and the younger they are, the faster they will want those needs to be addressed.

They have correctly anticipated Wei Ying being hungry when he wakes up, and the book is placed in a prime position to catch his attention. There's a flare of pride in Lan Zhan’s heart when he sees that the book is actually suitable for slightly older kids, but then Wei Ying has always surpassed his peers.

Once the room is tidy, Lan Zhan climbs onto the bed and begins to meditate. In this new, second life, not a single second of his time is going to be wasted. If he has to wait, then he might as well cultivate. His core is not as powerful as the one in his previous body, but now Lan Zhan has the experience to bring it up to speed faster than back then, when he was learning how to do it.

He WILL Succeed, and this Golden Core is going to be his most powerful ally in restoring justice to this world, and for Wei Ying.

**************

When Lan Zhan opens his eyes, there's a warmth in his lap and he finds Wei Ying has curled into it, making himself into a ball of chubby legs and pudgy arms, sucking on his own thumb. He's dragged the blanket over both of them, making sure Lan Zhan isn't cold, either.

Just seeing how trusting Wei Ying is with him, even at this age, it makes flowers bloom in the sunshine of his heart, and Lan Zhan is comforted by the warmth in his chest.

He hopes his uncle and the other Lan Cultivators manage to help Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze fight the Beast of Yiling, and even if they don't win, he hopes they can save Wei Ying’s parents.

But already things are changing.

Last time, it was just the two Cultivators on their own and so of course, that night hunt ended badly. This time, reinforcements from Gusu are going to help, and Uncle Qiren is a strong and powerful cultivator on his own merits, so maybe that's the weight they need on their side to tip the balance in their favour.

Lan Zhan is well aware that Wei Changze and Cangse Sanren could still die - if that is their fate, then nothing can change that. But even if that happens, he is confident now that Uncle Qiren would agree to bring Wei Ying to Cloud Recesses, and that one small change is the break in the link to diverting destiny's path.

Thanks to Wei Ying’s genius, they've set the ball rolling. Now they just need to see what happens next.