The body might have been big, but the mind inside it was young. It was more of a feeling, intuition rather than fact, but Wei Ying was feeling terribly compassionate about the boy in his arms.

The Prince had stopped crying, but Wei Ying was sitting on a pile of pearls, and it wasn't that comfortable, plus they were only interrupted by occasional pings rather than a steady stream, and it was all good. However, he still had to figure out a way to convince the boy to leave his shelter.

"Do you feel better now?" Wei Ying asked him, gently.

The boy leaned back, his silvery tail thudding on the pearls like a regular beat. This close, Wei Ying could see his eyes were of a vivid blue, another difference that perhaps marked his individuality from the others of his race. Wei Ying watched moisture gather at the corner of his eye, and then as it suddenly hardened and fell with a plop.

"Does that hurt?" He asked, suddenly. It just occurred to him that the phenomenon would be mind blowing anyway, but he would have bet that nobody thought of this.

Sniffling, the boy nodded.

Wei Ying's heart constricted. This child was suffering because he was suffering. He lifted his hand and the boy flinched, terrified.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Wei Ying kept his tone calm, even and friendly, until the boy relaxed.

Then he placed his hand on top of his head. The boy closed his eyes. When Wei Ying began to pat his head gently, a beautiful smile bloomed on his face, and he began to purr, snuggling closer into his chest.

He made the mistake of looking at Kedou, whose tail was also thumping rather aggressively on the pearls, scattering them in all directions, while the boy was thumbing towards their entrance and the broken pieces of wood scattered about.

"We can't just leave him, Kedou. What will he do?"

The look on Kedou's face suggested he didn't care, but Wei Ying turned back to the boy in his arms. He didn't question the paternal feelings coursing through him now, thinking of this boy like he would about SiZhui, and Jin Ling, and JingYi. He smiled affectionately, remembering them.

"Do you have a name?" He asked.

"Don't remember...Shui." He started looking distressed again.

"It's alright, don't worry," Wei Ying soothed him quickly. "I can call you Shui, it's fine."

This seemed to make him feel better, and the sniffling stopped.

"Shui?" Wei kept his hand on the other's head. It made him calmer, and Wei Ying was glad for it. "How about we leave here?"

That was the wrong thing to say. Fear bloomed upon his face and he screeched, wrapping his arms and tail all around Wei Ying.

Kedou rolled his eyes.

*****

Lan Zhan stared at the silver haired woman, who stared back at him unflinchingly, still holding his daughter.

"Who are you?" She asked, her eyes changing colours, even as he looked into them.

"She is my daughter, and I am not a patient man."

Bichen drew closer to her neck, but movement followed next to them. The black shadow spoke.

"Master Zhan, she is family to your daughter. She did not cause this." Hui Gai tested the waters with his tail.

He had never been in water before and the experience was...refreshing.

"Explain."

His red eyes gleamed, but when he spoke, Lan Zhan detected no lie.

"Your daughter is the bearer of powers she cannot control yet. When her abilities were examined, this is what happened. Daden Yaonu is not at fault." Hui Gai bowed to them both before disappearing.

"I am Daden Yaonu. Your daughter is my niece and daughter of our seventh Sea Dragon-"

Explosions rocked the seabed far away, disturbing the ground they stood on, and causing Daden Yaonu to turn fearfully around.

"What is happening?" Lan Zhan asked, withdrawing Bichen.

"I fear our realm may be under attack. I passed hundreds of Jiaoren on my way here, and I only managed it undetected by hiding among the reeds. Please," desperation dripped from her words, "take her away from here. Keep her safe, she...she is precious to me."

Gently, she gave Li XiWang into his arms. Lan Zhan gazed at her face, so beloved, her long lashes resting on pink cheeks still round from youth. His beautiful baby. The relief that she was safe, grew as her eyes fluttered open.

"Father?"

"How do you feel, little rabbit?" It was the first time Lan Zhan had used her nickname that Wei Ying had given her.

She giggled, and he could not help but smile at her.

"Really tired," she admitted, and then tried to look around. "Where is father Wei?"

"He came to look for you. He was going to find the Jiaoren."

"The Jiaoren?" Daden Yaonu asked, sharply. "Then where is he?"

"I don't know." Lan Zhan admitted. "May I return with you? I need to take her to safety first, but I will return."

"But I don't want to leave you!" Li XiWang said, moisture from her eyes merging with seawater.

"SiZhui is waiting for you on the shore. I need you to be safe when I go to get your father. Please, Li XiWang?" Lan Zhan hoped she would understand.

She was still weak from whatever had happened to her, and he knew Wei Ying would ask how she was.

"O-okay." She sniffed. "Please take me to Ge-ge. I can wait with him."

Lan Zhan hugged her to his body. "Hold on to me." To Daden Yaonu, "I'll be back."

He shot off at her answering nod. Protecting her head, they broke the surface of the water, and Lan Zhan was so glad SiZhui hadn't listened to him. The boat was still there, bobbing gently.

"SiZhui!" Lan Zhan called, swimming to him.

SiZhui helped take Li XiWang onto the boat, and wrapped her in Lan Zhan's robes.

"I'm going back to get your father. Take her to shore now, don't stay here." Lan Zhan warned.

"Wait! Father!" Li Xiwang held out the coin that Shui Rouchong had given her. "Take this! The lady at the water fountain had given it to us!"

Lan Zhan took it from her hand.
Another explosion blew fountains of water up into the sky not far from them.

"What is happening over there?" SiZhui asked, eyes wide.

"Fighting. I must get back." Lan Zhan gave his boat a meaningful shove towards the shore and dived again.

*****

Wei Ying patted Shui trying to calm him down. They had made such progress, but now they were back to the beginning. He knew he couldn't leave the boy here, he had said he was hurt for one thing, and secondly, he could be the key to stopping whatever madness was going on outside.

Distant rumblings were periodically echoing around them, water muffling the sound, but the waves caused by the explosions were rocking this vessel dangerously. They had to leave it.

Wei Ying stood up to a high pitched keening. He kept his arms tight around the boy.

"You're safe, I am here. I will keep you safe," he continued to speak in soft, comforting voice, hoping to soothe the boy's fears.

Shui kept trembling in his arms, considerably heavier than while he was sitting down, but Wei Ying could now lift him easily because he was much stronger than before.

"Lead the way, Kedou." He told the other boy.

"We wanted to get to the Dragon Realm before the Jiaoren, but I think that's not possible now." He looked worried.

"I know." Wei Ying replied, navigating his way from the rocking ship.

It was hard to keep his balance on an unstable surface, especially when it was littered with pearls.

"I want you to take me to Shiyong Fei. We have to show him that he's wrong."

Understanding grew on Kedou's face, as he looked to where the sea was now a gravelly mess, cloudy with the debris of fighting.

He pointed to the middle of that. "He's over there, somewhere. Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Take me there."