A Gift

Zhou Wei was in a good mood, an extremely good mood.

In fact many of the servants within his household couldn't help but notice how much he had been glowing lately.

And the reason for the inexplicable joy built within his body was not due to some good news. Quite the opposite in fact.

Thats right, he had no good news whatsoever. Rather, his day had been shockingly uneventful.

"There is nothing better than another day without a big issue being reported."

While having less work from the lack of problem reports was one thing, but best of all, the main source of Water Cloud City's problems had been quiet for another day in a row!

The Wang Family had been freakishly quiet for a while now. And while some suspected that they might have been plotting something in the background, but the spies the Xue family had within the family reported. otherwise.

No one knew what happened, but the Wang Family had calmed down for a change. And Zhou Wei certainly wasn't complaining.

Spending his days leisurely like this wasn't such a bad thing at all.

Suddenly a ringing childlike voice rang from the doorway.

"I'm heading out dad!" could be heard as a small figure quickly rushed out the door without waiting for a response.

A grunt of recognition escaped Zhou Wei's mouth as he stretched his back a little and stared at the closing door. Sighing to himself, Zhou Wei looked back down at the paperwork that was in front of him, he couldn't help but smile a bit to himself.

"Always the wild one that one."

________

It was the middle of the day in Water Cloud City. And as the busy streets lined with shopkeepers, shoppers, and those with various destinations; many couldn't help but notice the childish figure zooming through the street.

Many smiled in recognition, while others called out greetings. All of them seemed to recognize this figure one way or another.

And in response the figure waved to them happily, seemingly enjoying the attention.

A couple of minutes pass as the figure reached its own destination, a villa found in a empty section of the city. Almost completely cordoned off from the busy bustle everyday life of the citizens.

Approaching the front door sneakily, the person slowly snuck through the crack on the gate and entered into the villa's yard.

And what met them was the sight of two young looking men sparring on the grass.

Tian Hai whipped out his wooden sword as a faint glow began to appear on it.

"Have a taste of my sword intent!" thrusting his blade forward, Tian Hai broke through Tian Kai's wooden spear with ease.

Even while having his staff broken so easily, Tian Kai remained unflustered as his grip tightened around the two ends of his weapon.

Arching his back over, he pushed forward avoiding Tian Hai's thrust and using this chance to get closer.

Taking the broken spear tip, he pushed it forward and pressed it up against Tian Hai's neck.

"It's my win again." smirking to his older brother jovially, Tian Kai's eyes wandered and took note of the figure watching them from a short distance.

Letting out a surprised expression, Tian Kai quickly straightened his clothing as he said, "Welcome back young master!"

Tian Hai also noticed the figure and waved to them.

Looking at the contrasts of the two brothers' actions caused a slight giggle to escape the person's mouth.

"Hey Tian Hai, Hey Tian Kai. I'm back." and as if they were in a rush, the figure quickly strode into the villa without a care in the world.

Of course they had a goal in mind. It was always the same action every single time.

Stepping in front of a seemingly random wall, they knocked on it a few times. This in turn caused a secret passageway to suddenly open, leading into a hidden room.

Traveling with a confident gait, the figure quickly reached the end of the secret chamber where a single object rested on a stand with its sharp end facing up from the ground.

A beautiful dao saber with a body red like the evening sun. And on the ends of its blade, a green tint could be seen lining the outer edges.

The blade was so sharp that just looking at it felt like it was slicing your eye in half.

As if to prove this point, a single strand of hair suddenly fell off of the figure's head and slowly fell to the ground.

Gently swaying back and forth through the air, the strand fell right onto the saber's sharp edge and got vertically severed in half.

The figure wasn't frightened by this scene, in fact it was quite the opposite.

Their beautiful grey eyes sparkled as the saber attracted them forward. But before she could even get a chance at grabbing the hilt, a palm suddenly reached from behind and grabbed her by her shoulder.

Spinning her around, the figure saw a young man stand before her with a pleasant smile stretched across his face.

"Da ge!" Xue Ai gave a shout as if she was caught red handed doing something bad. Which wasn't that far off in the eyes of her big brother Xue Chang!

Xue Chang furrowed as he watched his little sister give off an adorable pout of anger and shame.

"How many times have I told you, that is not a toy."

"But how come you can use it! Why am I the only one not allowed to touch it." Xue Ai was extremely interested in Xue Chang's saber.

It had immediately enraptured her ever since she first laid eyes on it a few years ago.

Shaking his head lightly Xue Chang told her he was different from her.

"That is always your excuse, hmph!" Turning her head away as if she couldn't stand facing him, Xue Ai crossed her arms together in anger.

Xue Chang sighed to himself. He knew how dangerous that weapon was, and as such wanted to avoid any chance of his little sister hurting herself while playing with it.

Yet Xue Ai was too feisty and stubborn, refusing to listen to him and trying to sneak in every chance she got. Luckily Tian Hai had notified him of her appearance so he could stop her in time.

"Hey, cheer up already. Tian Kai will be making lunch soon. Want to stay and eat?"

Although he was annoyed by his sister at times, he couldn't help but hold a soft spot for her.

This probably didn't help bring down her rebellious nature, but Xue Chang rarely got to see his family. So it was alright to spoil his sister once in a while right?

Xue Ai's mouth watered slightly as she thought back to Tian Kai and his freakish talent in cooking.

"Alright, I'll stay a bit. But it's not because I haven't seen you in a while!" Xue Ai stomped off by herself as Xue Chang laughed at her silly actions.

Pulling a small box out of his robe, he called out to his sister softly.

"Xue Ai, come here for a second."

Although she acted a little bratty at times, Xue Ai could never truly be mad at her brother.

She got to spend one day with him a week.

At first, it was a little strange. She noticed many weird things about him like his never changing appearance or his incredible martial arts that he hid from their parents.

Everything he did fascinated her. She loved learning from him, she enjoyed spending time with him. If it could be said any other way, she was glad Xue Chang was her brother.

Unbeknownst to Xue Ai, this was identical to how Xue Hai felt about his older twin brother.

Xue Chang was a strange one. Nothing he did was normal, yet he had a strange charisma that attracted people even without them knowing.

And this charisma was especially strong with his siblings.

Of course for Xue Ai there was also the factor of how much he spoiled her.

Other than anything that might put her in serious danger or was impossible for him, Xue Chang generally fulfilled any of her wishes.

Looking over her shoulder, Xue Ai furrowed her brow as she stared at the box within Xue Chang's hands.

"What is it?"

Xue Chang didn't respond, instead just raising the box up higher as the gentle smile remained on his face.

Xue Ai glanced at it curiously while tiptoeing over. Picking up the box from his hands, she grabbed at the lid and slowly pried it open.

Within the box was a single book. A leather cover wrapped around dozens of pages of various shapes and sizes. Clearly this book was made by someone who didn't know how to make manuals.

Opening it, one would find a multitude of writing. Black ink, which had obviously dried recently, coated every page with words, pictures, and directions.

Xue Ai's already sparkling eyes now shined with a brilliant light. She couldn't stop a wide smile from growing on her lips as she took the manual into her arms and hugged it tightly.

Realizing that Xue Chang was still there, Xue Ai gave off a harumph as she wiped the smile off her face.

"Hmph, I'll accept this gift but that doesn't mean I'll forgive you. Da ge, you meanie!"

She excitedly ran off, completely unable to hide her exhilaration from Xue Chang's presenr.

Xue Chang chuckled to himself as he whispered, "Happy late seventh birthday, xiao mei."