Wei Ying was worried about Jiang Cheng. And worse, he couldn't show it or go and visit, so Lan Zhan had to listen to all his terrible theories on what was happening in Lotus Pier.

Lan Zhan was also worried, because his brother was preoccupied in a task that seemed to be going nowhere, plus he wasn't here. This meant more duties for Lan Zhan, who was never lazy, but this was taking things to another level. At least he knew how to handle Wei Ying and such being the case, he had suggested Wei Ying make his promise come true to his daughter. That was why they were walking on the back passages of the mountains in Cloud Recesses, hand in hand and laughing together.

It was an excellent distraction. Wei Ying thought Lan Zhan was a genius.

He loved spending time with his children, especially with his little rabbit. She was so excited when she found out what he was planning. The smile hadn't left her face.

If there was anything Wei Ying regretted, other than leaving Lan Zhan, it was that he'd had to leave his son, SiZhui. The years he could have spent by his side, watching him grow up would never come back. SiZhui was a young man now, and naturally, the childish innocence was beginning to disappear.

But he had it in spades with the child by his side now, one whose curiosity matched his own. She was perfect.

They came to a clearing in the woods. Today was the first dry day; it had been raining constantly up till now. Pine trees scented the air and a warm breeze caressed their smiling faces. Wei Ying put down the sitting mats and gestured for Li XiWang to sit opposite him.

"Control is important." He said, watching her expression.

She nodded silently, bubbling with energy.

"Sometimes, it's the only difference between life and death. You have to make breathing in control, your gut reflex. So even if you have an emergency, your breathing will centre you. Once your mind is calm, you will know what to do." He demonstrated.

She copied him a few times, but now she looked concerned.

"What is it, little rabbit?"

"I have a question."

"Go on." Wei Ying smiled internally. At this point, he would have been surprised if she did not.

"You say I'll know what to do, if I'm in a difficult situation. But how?"

Wei Ying leaned forward and rubbed the crease on her forehead with his thumb, gently until she smiled.

"That's a difficult one. We cannot predict what kind of situations we will have to face, right?"

She nodded.

"Then it stands to reason, that we must train ourselves to do the right thing, so it becomes automatic. With me so far?"

"Yes."

"Doing the right thing...means saving people first, if we are looking at this from a Cultivation view. Preservation of life has to be a golden rule, because once it's gone, there aren't many ways to bring them back." Wei Ying smiled kindly. "Most situations make us stressed, and when that happens, it's hard to think clearly. We put pressure on ourselves and while it can help, maybe? I think it's not useful. But if we bring our attention back to our breath, calmness is inevitable. Nature has given us a way to cope, and you must make it second nature, so you will do it without thinking."

"Okay."

"Let's begin."

They sat in silent meditation for about half an hour. Whenever he checked, he saw Li XiWang obediently breathing in and out, as slowly as she could.

"Alright. Let's try something." Wei Ying opened his eyes. His daughter was watching him back.

"Think of a flower, but continue to concentrate on your breathing."

She nodded, closing her eyes again. Her palms touched the soft grasses in front of her, her chest rising and falling as she breathed.

Wei Ying gasped, because he was expecting a tiny patch of flowers, whichever one she must have thought of. Instead, all around them, a carpet of lustrous colours surrounded them; bluebells and daffodils, buttercups and pansies, honeysuckle and hyacinths. The air was perfumed by their sweetness, created by a matching sweet soul.

Wei Ying burst into tears, overwhelmed by the beauty. He leaned forward to catch his daughter in thanks, an expression of total love.

She patted his back, while she waited for him to calm down.

"You know, father..." she began, tentatively. "If you cry every time I do something, you might get tired. Do you think my other father would be better-"

"No, no!" Wei Ying hastily wiped his face. "I'll control myself. Promise."

"Really? Because I don't want to get in trouble with him. He hates when you cry." She sighed dramatically.

"He told you that?" Wei Ying watched her through puffy eyes.

"He doesn't have to. I've seen him with you. It's...distressing to him."

"Oh."

She smiled at him sympathetically. "I know you can't help it, but you have to try. Okay?"

He smiled back. "Okay."

They practised some more, with Wei Ying making requests and Li XiWang showing him what she could do. It was late, and twilight was just beginning to fall when they stood up.

"I think we should make a list," Wei Ying was saying enthusiastically, when they were interrupted by a body falling out of the air, right in front of them.

*****

Jin Ling had successfully managed to leave the chaos that was Lotus Pier, but he still had that awful weight on his chest.

There was only one person he knew who could help him.

Cloud Recesses was its usual quiet self, and he was pleased that it was comforting to him. As he was a semi constant visitor, and nearly a fully fledged clan leader, he was let in without much fuss.

There was no answer at the Jingshi. He sighed, wondering where his uncle could be. Inspiration came in the form of a stray rabbit sniffing at his ankles. He smiled and picked up the little cute ball of fluffiness and sat on the deck for a while, petting it and enjoying the tranquility it gave him.

After ten minutes or so, he thought his Uncle Wei might be with the rest of them, so he made his way there. At first, he happily speeded up when he saw the shadow of a person but he quickly realised it was not his Uncle but his friend, SiZhui.

He was holding out carrots and talking to the rabbits in a calm, non hurried way. SiZhui hadn't noticed him yet, so Jin Ling stayed back to listen to what he was saying.

"Hello, lovely, hello, sweetie, hello, bunny..." and so it went on. After he had called each one out by their names - Jin Ling wondered how he could tell them apart - he had a real conversation with them.

The rabbits crowded around him, twitching their pink noses and looking as if they really were listening to his every word, softly spoken with uttermost calm, exuding peaceful love.

Entranced, Jin Ling found himself approaching quietly, wanting to get closer to the picturesque scene. His heart was free and lighter, the magic of Cloud Recesses gently easing his inner turmoil.

SiZhui carried on speaking, even when he sat next to his friend, smiling in welcome. He picked up a few more bunnies and put them in his lap.

Jin Ling looked at him questioningly.

"You looked worried. Rabbits always help with that." SiZhui explained confidently.

"Are you speaking from experience or guessing?" Jin Ling smirked.

SiZhui looked at him for a good few minutes before answering.

"Experience. My father used to bring me here when I was a child. At any hour of the day or night, if he thought I was troubled, he would bring me here." He smiled gently, but it was genuine. "I don't think I've ever told him how much those moments meant to me. My father was struggling anyway, with missing my other father, but he made sure I was happy, and looked after. I didn't know who I was missing, but it turned out to be the same person."

Jin Ling thought about that. No one had it easy. Even SiZhui, whom he liked very much, but always envied the teeniest bit because he had, well, parents, but also one of them was his Uncle Wei, who turned out to be such a character.

And also SiZhui had spent time with his uncle way before he knew him, in the Burial Mounds. His Uncle Cheng had touched upon it very briefly, but it seemed to be a painful time for all concerned.

"Is something wrong?" SiZhui said it so softly, Jin Ling thought he imagined it, but he was still looking at him expectantly.

"I'm getting married."

SiZhui dropped the carrot in his hand; Jin Ling just caught the poor unsuspecting rabbit in his other.

Shock and disbelief reflected in his eyes. Jin Ling thought that's how he should be looking, but he was filled with a reluctant acceptance, as if it was happening to someone else.

"When?" SiZhui whispered.

"Two weeks."

"Who is it?"

"I'm not sure." Jin Ling admitted.

SiZhui got up and kicked the basket of carrots in a rare display of anger.

"Um...SiZhui?" Jin Ling stood up too, but he was not prepared for the rage blazing in the other's eyes.

"If you don't care so much, why should I?" SiZhui was trembling from the force of his emotions.

Jin Ling was about to ask him another question, but shouts from behind them had them both turning around.

Wei Ying was carrying a...body, running as fast as he could towards the infirmary. Li XiWang was following behind him, looking upset.

"SiZhui! Get your father! Now!" Wei Ying shouted, his words carried to them on the wind.

This conversation was dropped as both young men followed through.