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It is not unusual for Yanqing to be absent from the Seat of Divine Foresight.
Although he may be Jing Yuan's lieutenant and retainer, Yanqing is still a Cloud Knight with missions of his own to carry out. In particular, he's been recently tasked with cleaning up the rest of the remnants of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus; ergo, tracking down anyone who managed to slip away during the initial flood of arrests. Due to this, his presence at Jing Yuan's side has been scarce for a number of days now.
It is also not unusual for Master Diviner Fu Xuan to make her way into Jing Yuan's office. She tends to come in every now and then to ask his opinion on various matters, which Jing Yuan would always be happy to give if she didn't seem to always spend so much time on the finer details before getting to the meat of things. Regardless, to be woken from his dozing by her entrance is not an out-of-place occurrence either.
What is unusual is for Jing Yuan to be woken by the sound of Fu Xuan's hurried footsteps, and her voice crying, “General! Someone get me the general!”
He stands from his seat and descends the steps as that familiar pink hair comes into sight, followed closely by a handful of Cloud Knights. Fu Xuan's eyes lock on him as she comes, finally, to a stop, chest heaving from exertion.
Jing Yuan sweeps his gaze over her, then the Cloud Knights accompanying her. “Lady Fu, is something the matter?”
“Yes,” she snaps. “Do you happen to know the last whereabouts of your retainer?”
“Yanqing?” Jing Yuan shifts his weight, turning his eyes upwards in thought. Concern slinks into his chest, though he keeps it well hidden. “I believe he went to the Alchemy Commission to fulfill his mission of tracking down the last of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. Why?”
“It has to be him, then. That confirms things.” Fu Xuan gives a sharp nod, more to herself than him, yet she doesn't look relieved in the slightest. When she looks up at him, her expression is conflicted. “General, there's… been an incident.”
“Lady Fu,” he says curtly, “if something has happened to Yanqing, I'd appreciate it if you simply got to the point. Is he hurt? Where is he?”
She visibly grimaces, and that is certainly out of character for someone as normally composed as her.
“Well, he's not… hurt, per se,” she says hesitantly. Turning to the Cloud Knights at her back, she makes a gesture, and one steps forth with a small, blue bundle held in their arms.
He is not quite sure as to what it is supposed to be at first, his eyebrows knitting together as he stares the Cloud Knight down. Then, they shift their hold, turning the bundle out to him, and…
The face of a child—no, a baby peers out from between the folds of the thick, blue blanket.
Jing Yuan blinks slowly.
Yanqing's honey gold eyes blink back.
“...”
“...”
He turns to Fu Xuan. “Are you meaning to tell me that this boy is Yanqing?”
“Presumably.” She crosses her arms. “There was a commotion and a few Cloud Knights stumbled across this child sitting alone in a pile of the lieutenant's clothes, with some of his swords scattered around. We assume that the disciples he was fighting must've struck him with some sort of… concoction… and fled.”
Jing Yuan is silent. He looks back to the Cloud Knight still holding the baby, and after a moment, tentatively reaches out his arms.
“General…”
“Hand him to me.”
The Cloud Knight obeys, and Yanqing is passed into his arms seamlessly. He's very quiet, looking around with wonder in his eyes. He can't be much older than a year, soft, gold baby hair wisping along the top of his head, not nearly long enough to be tied up yet—but not exactly scarce, either.
When Jing Yuan settles him in his arms very slowly and carefully, Yanqing looks up at him, tilting his head slightly. Then, he reaches a hand up and places it against Jing Yuan's cheek, patting around his face as if he's trying to map it out.
“Buh,” says Yanqing.
And Jing Yuan melts. A warm, fuzzy feeling swells up in his chest. He has to bite down the urge to smile as he looks back at Fu Xuan and her possé, clearing his throat. “Well, judging by his looks alone, it seems to me that this boy is indeed Yanqing. Albeit… a bit younger than I remember him.”
Fu Xuan narrows her eyes, as if she knows the exact thoughts running through his brain. “Indeed.”
“As admittedly adorable as I find this—” Fu Xuan's eyes narrow even more. “—I'd like for you all to investigate as to what exactly may have caused this, and if there are ways to reverse the effects.” Because as much as he likes babies—well, baby Yanqings in specific—Jing Yuan fully acknowledges the disadvantages of his lieutenant remaining as one for the foreseeable future.
“Of course.” Fu Xuan taps her foot impatiently. “Then I assume we shall simply leave him with you?”
Jing Yuan gives her a smile. “Worry not, Diviner Fu. I shall take him to Lady Bailu personally to make sure his health is alright and assess the danger.”
She looks unimpressed. But she nods regardless, deciding against arguing with him for the time being. Jing Yuan smiles at her even as Yanqing, who has moved to exploring his armor instead, tugs forcefully on the lion pauldron attached to his shoulder. He's strong for a child.
“Then I'll leave it to you, General.” Fu Xuan gives a short bow. “We will update you on any progress. Farewell.”
“Many thanks,” Jing Yuan calls after her as she strolls away.
The second the doors shut and he's left in silence, Jing Yuan finds everyone else in the room staring at him. Well, him and Yanqing, whose curiosity is still preoccupied with the lion pauldron. At the feel of another sharp tug, Jing Yuan looks down and sighs softly, shifting Yanqing into one arm so he can gently remove tiny fingers from around the brass ring.
“That's not a plaything, xiao yanzi,” he chides softly. “Now, first order of business… let us find you some clothes, hm? Qingzu?”
“Of course, General.”
“Buh,” says Yanqing, as if he's agreeing. This time, Jing Yuan does not attempt to hide his smile.
Qingzu manages to acquire fitting clothes for Yanqing swiftly, efficient as she is. With that problem out of the way, Jing Yuan wastes no time in sweeping Yanqing away towards Bailu's office.
Lady Bailu is occupied when they arrive, so one of her assistants shows them into a spare room where Jing Yuan can let Yanqing down. The boy seems restless from being held for so long. And though it looks as if he's not yet at the age of walking, he seems content to toddle unsteadily around the room, using the bed to hold himself up.
Jing Yuan takes a seat on said bed in the meanwhile, watching him with great amusement.
“General, is this really a problem, or are you just here to sit around again?” The door opens loudly and in comes Bailu, her tail waving behind her in anticipation of annoyance. “I'm way too busy to entertain your—antics…”
“I am afraid that this is nothing of the sort, Lady Bailu,” Jing Yuan says lightly. Making his way through the room with the bed as his support, Yanqing stumbles over and places a little hand on his knee.
“Pah,” he babbles. “Puh. Pah buh boo.”
Bailu stares at them, unmoving. The door swings shut behind her, and the sound of it clicking seems to start her back into action again. She comes further in. “General, what—”
Yanqing turns to look at her—and it's actually quite funny how similar they now are in size. Jing Yuan wisely does not voice these thoughts, not wishing to incur the Healer Lady's wrath.
Bailu gawks. “Qing-ge?”
Agreeably: “Bah.”
“Indeed,” says Jing Yuan, smiling. With the hand not clinging to his knee, Yanqing reaches out and makes a grab for Bailu's anxiously waving tail. Jing Yuan sweeps him away before he can succeed, settling the boy into his lap. “No, Yanqing. That's rude.”
Yanqing struggles, whining, upset at his loss of a potential toy. But Jing Yuan shifts him to sit on his right thigh, and he becomes quickly preoccupied once more by the lion pauldron and the ring clutched in its jaws. For Bailu's sake, he subjects himself to being yanked by the shoulder every now and then.
With the child distracted, he turns his attention fully onto the still staring Vidyadhara. “As you can see, Lady Bailu, there are no antics going on here. Yanqing has gotten himself into a small predicament.”
“Small—small!?” Bailu exclaims, flabbergasted. “General, what is the meaning of this!? Qing-ge—he's—he's—he's a baby!”
“Indeed,” says Jing Yuan. “An unfortunate run in with the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. I've come to make sure that his slight age regression is the only effect of whatever concoction he was struck with.”
Bailu composes herself immediately at the mention of the group, snapping into action. She comes towards the bed, concern twisting her young face into a frown. “The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus?”
Jing Yuan gently shifts Yanqing to face her. “Qing-er, be good for Lady Bailu.” To her, he says, “Yes.”
She rubs her forehead, heaving a great sigh. “Well, I can't visibly see anything wrong aside from… the obvious.” She places her hands on his knee and leans onto the tips of her toes, sniffing Yanqing, who coos and makes a grab for her horns that she narrowly avoids. “Looks to be about… a little over a year old. I’d assume around thirteen to fourteen months. No suspicious smells… he hasn't grown any younger since he was found, has he?”
“Not at all.”
Bailu leans back and places her hands on her hips, frowning. “I can’t deduce much just based on a physical examination. For a more accurate diagnosis, I'll need the recipe of whatever made him this way.”
Jing Yuan nods. “Lady Fu might be able to acquire one, provided her investigation goes well.”
“Then we should wait for that,” says Bailu. “However… the concoctions of the disciples tend to result in the acceleration of mara. So monitor him closely, and if he starts to display any symptoms, come see me immediately. Got it?”
“Of course.”
“Hmph.” She crosses her arms. She looks as if she wants to stay, but shakes her head like she's dispelling the thought. “Then if that's all, I have to be going now. Lots of patients to see today. Don't do anything rash, General!”
“Thank you for your insight, Lady Bailu.” Jing Yuan dips his head. “We will leave you to your work, then.”
Bailu nods, and with one last look at Yanqing, she turns on her heel and exits. Jing Yuan waits until the door has clicked shut to hum, looking down at the boy in his lap.
Yanqing cranes his neck all the way back to look back at him. Then, he seems quite amused by Jing Yuan's hair, reaching up to grab at his bangs. “Baah.”
“Very good, xiao yanzi.” Small hands pat around his face, smushing his cheeks and grabbing his nose. Jing Yuan can't resist the urge to laugh, pressing a kiss to the top of Yanqing's head as he stands, shifting to let the child rest against his hip. “It seems that you've passed your physical examination. Now, let us return to the Seat of Divine Foresight.”
And pray that this de-aging business is truly just that, with no other side effects. Jing Yuan is having far too much fun for it to be anything but.
It takes much longer than Jing Yuan had initially anticipated to return to the Seat of Divine Foresight, mainly because somewhere along the line Yanqing becomes distracted by the street vendors selling food, and upon realizing that the boy's last meal was most likely before the incident, Jing Yuan immediately set about buying some food.
… Although he isn't quite certain as to what kind of food a thirteen month old is capable of consuming. It is only thanks to the helpful advice of one of the vendors that he acquires some soft tofu for Yanqing to eat. From there, it is just a matter of cutting the tofu up and feeding the boy—which takes a while, considering Yanqing's penchant for getting distracted by all the passersby.
Furthermore, the food seems to energize him right up again, and he resists Jing Yuan's attempts to carry him by squirming off his lap and out of his arms. One look from those big, golden eyes has Jing Yuan crumbling to his will, letting Yanqing attempt to walk on his own. And by the time Yanqing decides he no longer wants to walk by himself—which really isn't by himself, considering he had clutched onto Jing Yuan's comparatively large fingers the whole time as they made very slow progress down the street, one tiny step after another—afternoon has already shifted into evening.
Once they finally, finally make it back to the Seat of Divine Foresight, Qingzu is waiting for him with a message from Fu Xuan. Thankfully, she looks only a little exasperated by the length of his absence.
“The Master Diviner asked me to inform you that she indeed was able to find the recipe for what they now have deduced to be a potion, which was likely thrown upon Yanqing during the altercation,” his assistant reports. “They've sent a copy to Lady Bailu, who determined that the lieutenant should not de-age any further than he already has. She is working on creating an antidote, but there is also the small possibility that the effects will wear off on their own time.”
“Thank you, Qingzu.” Yanqing’s cheek presses against his shoulder. The child is dozing, tired out from an eventful day. Jing Yuan sways side to side gently, a makeshift way of rocking him to sleep. “Anything else?”
“Yes, one more thing.” Qingzu produces a sizable bag. “I've acquired some more clothes for the lieutenant as well as other things that will be necessary to care for him in this state. Seeing as this situation may proceed into the next few days, I thought it might be helpful. And, some advice, if I may…?”
“I'm all ears.”
Qingzu's smile is kind as she looks at the boy in his arms. “I think that all of us here can agree that it may be for the best that you head home early. The lieutenant deserves the most attention possible to ensure he remains safe and healthy.”
“Ah.”
The idea of leaving work is always appealing, but more so now due to the rather unique circumstances of today. Jing Yuan supposes that not even Fu Xuan can reprimand him for dodging his paperwork this time; after all, this is indeed a perfectly good reason to clock out early.
He gives it a moment of thought. Then, taking the bag of baby clothes from her, he smiles. “Thank you for the suggestion, Qingzu. I believe I will follow your advice and head home.”
“Of course.” She bows. “Do not hesitate to reach out if you find yourself in need of assistance. I hear that babies can be quite the challenge.”
Jing Yuan laughs. “Is that so? I find Yanqing to be easy enough so far.”
“Don't jinx it now, General.”
The sun has yet to fully set by the time Jing Yuan and Yanqing arrive at their estate. Thankfully, the little boy had slept the entire way—and while it's not terribly far from the Seat of Divine Foresight, it is far enough that Jing Yuan would have been a bit exasperated if Yanqing wanted to insist on walking there ‘by himself.’
Mimi comes out to greet them at the door, seemingly bewildered by the appearance of a new, small child.
“It's a long story,” Jing Yuan tells her, patting her on the head affectionately as he slips his shoes off and heads further inside, flicking on lights as he goes. Mimi follows at his heels, nearly silent if not for the slight creak of the wooden floorboards.
As if roused by her presence, Yanqing begins to stir. Once Jing Yuan finally manages to strip out of his armor and change into more comfortable clothes—keeping one eye on the child all the while—Yanqing is fully awake and peering curiously at the lion, who lowers her great head to look at him.
Mimi sniffs Yanqing's face a couple of times, tail flicking. Recognition seems to fill her eyes, and a small rumble leaves her as she rubs the side of her face against Yanqing's and drags her large tongue along his cheek. Yanqing giggles, fisting small hands into the lion's mane.
Jing Yuan smiles at the sight. Mimi is large for even a lion, and she is ginormous compared to little Yanqing; even just her head is bigger than his entire body. But she seems aware of this, careful with the way she plops her face onto his legs and nuzzles into his stomach, making the child squeal with laughter.
It is only the rumbling of his own stomach that draws Jing Yuan's attention away. He realizes then that he hasn't eaten since morning, not even when he stopped to get Yanqing some food, and so it is with great effort that Jing Yuan wrestles his child away from Mimi's playful attention. She makes an annoyed moan, rolling to her paws to follow him into the kitchen, sniffing at Yanqing's feet as Yanqing coos down at her.
Jing Yuan lets Yanqing back down once in the kitchen. Mimi flops down onto her side, letting the child crawl over to her and even on her. Trusting her to keep Yanqing from hurting himself by accident, Jing Yuan sets about making some food for himself—a task that proves rather daunting at first, given the relative bare state of his cupboards. He'll need to go shopping soon.
The sun soon sets, and the night continues on in a mundane sort of way. Jing Yuan eats his food in peace, watching his lion and his child play together, and then he washes the dishes and picks up a book to read and settles himself down on the sofa with Mimi at his feet, Yanqing chasing after her waving tail.
After a bit, Jing Yuan decides to head to bed. He sets his book down and picks Yanqing up despite his protests.
“There'll always be time to play with Mimi later, Qing-er,” he says. “She's following us now, see?”
And it's true indeed that Mimi is following; she always likes to do that no matter if it's him or a normally aged Yanqing. All of a sudden Jing Yuan is reminded of the trouble that she and Yanqing would stir up together when he first took the boy in. When Yanqing would run away from his lessons, clinging to her mane and riding on her back as if she were some sort of steed—and Jing Yuan would have to ask the Cloud Knights to help capture the two of them should they pass by.
Then, startlingly, Jing Yuan realizes that he's never had the chance to hold a Yanqing this small.
Jing Yuan is Yanqing's parent in everything but blood, and it's true that he had been a child when Jing Yuan first took him in, but not in any way this young. At six years old, his disciple had already long since been able to walk and talk and swing a wooden sword with all the energy of a hummingbird.
To see him as he is now, with chubby cheeks that have not yet begun to lose their fat, tiny hands not yet capable of curling around the hilt of a blade, and soft golden hair that has not yet begun to really grow…
… is this what every parent gets to experience?
Jing Yuan stops in the middle of the hallway. Hardly paying mind to the way Mimi knocks against his knees, he shifts his hands under Yanqing's arms and brings the boy in front of him, feet dangling in the air.
Yanqing stares, squirming a bit. He grabs at him with his hands. “Bah.”
Jing Yuan stares back. “Are you…”
“Bah,” Yanqing says again. Then, more firmly, “Baba.”
… Ah.
Something swells up in Jing Yuan’s throat. He blinks rapidly, caught off guard by the sudden way his chest squeezes. “Is that what you’ve been trying to say all this time?” he asks faintly, and Yanqing just squirms some more, making some indiscernible noises of discontent.
Followed by another, more insistent, “Baba.”
Jing Yuan lets out a breath, bringing Yanqing close to him once more. He nuzzles into the top of Yanqing’s head, soft baby hair tickling his nose, trying not to smile at the feeling of baby small hands grabbing at his ponytail, chasing the red ribbon keeping it together.
“Forgive me for enjoying this so much, xiao yanzi,” Jing Yuan murmurs. The correctly aged Yanqing would probably be mortified if he knew.
But it is nice to get to be a parent, once in a while.
Yanqing is staring at him.
Jing Yuan is staring back.
He holds the diaper up with grim contemplation, trying to figure out exactly how to put it on. Taking the soiled one off was easy enough, but trying to put on a new one is proving… difficult. It wasn't even Jing Yuan who had put Yanqing in the diaper the first time—that had been one of his assistants, who whisked Yanqing away to put him in fitting clothes.
Yanqing is starting to squirm, unhappy with being made to lie on his back for so long and perhaps a little uncomfortable with his bottom half exposed. Jing Yuan grimaces, reaching around for his phone blindly before locating it somewhere on the bed. Grabbing it, he swipes towards his contacts.
After a few rings, there's a click of the call being answered. Fu Xuan's voice filters through. “What is it, General?”
Jing Yuan shifts his weight. “Fu Xuan, I have run into a slight problem.”
There's some rustling as if she's sitting up straighter, now alert. “Does it have something to do with the lieutenant?”
Jing Yuan glances back towards the baby, who has begun to crane his neck to look around. Mimi comes by to sniff at his face curiously. “Yes—well, no, not what you might be thinking.” At that, she sighs in relief. “It's just…”
“Well? Out with it, then.”
“I have no idea how to change a diaper.”
There is silence.
Then: “General.”
He gets the feeling that she's pinching the bridge of her nose right now. “Yes?”
“What makes you think I would know anything about that?”
“... Do you?”
Fu Xuan groans.
Once Jing Yuan finally does manage to get the diaper on (not without a frankly unhealthy amount of struggling with Fu Xuan on the other side of the phone, and eventually the help of a video tutorial she manages to acquire off the space web) both he and Yanqing—and Fu Xuan, for that matter—are more than a little exhausted. Jing Yuan bids her goodbye with a thousand thanks, to which she simply sighs and hangs up. He makes the mental note that he should probably acquire some sort of gift for her.
And thus he comes to a second problem: he has no crib for Yanqing to sleep.
Jing Yuan may not be all too knowledgeable when it comes to the topic of handling babies, but he knows easy enough that it would not be smart to let Yanqing sleep in the same bed that a normally aged Yanqing sleeps, if only for the fact that babies are prone to rolling around and he might end up falling off and therefore hurting himself.
Luckily, this problem is solved more easily than the first. Yanqing can simply sleep with him, and if Yanqing is here, it is very likely that Mimi will also decide to sleep in the room. Despite his penchant for dozing off in the midst of work, Jing Yuan is a light sleeper. He’d undoubtedly awaken if some issue were to arise. And if not him, then Mimi.
With that, they settle in for the night. Jing Yuan’s bed is predictably large, full of soft pillows and silky blankets. Mimi doesn’t jump onto it, but she does settle on the floor near the foot of the bed, the tips of her ears visible over the edge until she eventually lowers her head to rest on her paws.
Yanqing, despite his tiredness, seems awed by the new scenery and spends a lengthy amount of time crawling around the mattress, grabbing at the pillows and tugging at the sheets experimentally. Jing Yuan lays on his side, cheek propped up on his hand, watching with half-lidded eyes and a smile. A yawn escapes him, which seems to catch Yanqing's attention.
He comes crawling over, nudging into Jing Yuan's chest until he sighs and rolls onto his back to accommodate him. He lets out an ‘oof’ when a chubby knee knocks into his ribs, trying to stabilize the child who has decided to spontaneously climb atop of him.
This is where Yanqing decides to settle: right on top of Jing Yuan's chest, letting out a small yawn of his own. It makes Jing Yuan chuckle, resting his hand on the child's back, trying his best to stave off the flurry of suffocating emotions rolling around in his stomach.
Yanqing isn't heavy. He's light and warm and not nearly large enough to make Jing Yuan uncomfortable. He's also yawning again, pressing a soft cheek against Jing Yuan's collarbone, head tucked beneath his chin.
Jing Yuan hums quietly, stroking Yanqing's head gently, feeling quite tired himself. Mimi's snores have already begun to fill the air.
“Goodnight, A-Qing.”
The days progress with a strange sense of normalcy, except for the fact that Jing Yuan now takes Yanqing to and from work with him. He's hard-pressed to find a sitter, mainly because there are few who both have the time to do so and hold enough of Jing Yuan's trust to be saddled with watching over his disciple in such a vulnerable state.
Luckily, Yanqing is entertained enough by the many things in the Seat of Divine Foresight. He spends his time either crawling around the floor with startling energy or practicing his walking with Mimi, who Jing Yuan has also begun to bring to and from work with him if only for the fact that she serves as an excellent distraction for the young child.
And when Yanqing is tired out from playing with the lion or the few assistants that stop by to entertain him for a bit, it's not uncommon for him to fall asleep against Mimi's side, and if not there then to simply whine until Jing Yuan comes to pick him up and let him snooze upon his lap as he sifts through paperwork. It’s surprisingly peaceful considering everything, and Jing Yuan would even say that he enjoys it more than he probably should—a sentiment that most definitely would earn him no shortage of eye rolls from Fu Xuan, if she knew.
It is a surprise—though a nice one—when Qingzu strolls up to his desk one day, leaning down slightly to tell him, “The Astral Express has arrived on the Luofu and wishes to pay you a visit, General.”
“Have they?” Jing Yuan blinks in surprise. He’d exchanged messages with Stelle earlier in the week when she had sent him a few pictures of two adorable, yet strange cat-like creatures that seemed to resemble him and Yanqing, but she hadn’t informed him of any intent to drop by the Luofu. “They’re welcome to enter.”
Qingzu gives a nod, and gestures to the Cloud Knights guarding the doors. With that, the great doors open and in comes March 7th, Stelle, and Dan Heng, inseparable as always and bubbling with energy judging by the way March all but skips up to his desk, dragging Stelle along with her. “Hey, Jing Yuan! It’s been a while!”
Jing Yuan stands, offering them a warm smile. “Greetings, Nameless. It has indeed been some time—I wasn’t expecting such an abrupt visit.”
“Well, we heard from Stelle that there was a situation with Yanqing,” March explains. “So we thought we’d come check in to make sure everything was alright, and maybe babysit for a few hours if you needed it.”
“And to make sure you haven’t been overworking,” Stelle pipes up cheerfully. “Maybe we could go out for lunch or something.”
“Is it that time already?” Jing Yuan muses, glancing out the window. “Well, I’m not opposed to taking a break—it is not every day that the Astral Express visits, after all.” Yanqing should also be getting hungry around this time. Despite his small stature, he is very nearly as voracious as Mimi. “Shall we find something to eat, then?”
“Great!” March beams. “Speaking of Yanqing, though, uh—where is he?”
With that, Jing Yuan just laughs and motions to his right. “Being amused by Mimi, at the moment.”
Sure enough, a glance in the direction he’d gestured to reveals his lion and Yanqing, sitting in one of the less busy corners. In his hand, Yanqing has a feather attached to a long string and stick, and is taking great amusement in waving around the toy to watch Mimi bat at it with her giant paws.
March gasps out ‘oh!’ as Stelle lets out a small ‘aww,’ and Dan Heng gives a short hum. Jing Yuan turns away from them to approach the duo, calling, “A-Qing, are you hungry? Want to go out for a little?”
Yanqing’s attention turns towards him easily, and he smiles wide, opening his arms to let himself be picked up. “Baba!”
Jing Yuan swoops him up into his arms with a smile. “Yes, xiao yanzi?”
Yanqing points down towards Mimi, who is rolling to her feet with a big yawn. “Cat.”
“In a manner of speaking, yes.” He’s been learning more and more words with every passing day; aside from ‘Baba’ and ‘cat,’ there’s also ‘yes,’ and ‘no,’ and even ‘poo,’ which is very helpful to let everyone know when his diaper needs to be changed. Even as a baby, Yanqing is quick to learn.
The boy now settled comfortably in his arms, Jing Yuan turns to the other three, who have been watching the whole ordeal. “Now then, shall we be off?”
The five of them probably make quite a sight. Three passengers of the Astral Express accompanied by the Luofu’s general, the de-aged lieutenant, and a snow white lion strolling through the streets is certainly not a common occurrence, and Jing Yuan is not nearly oblivious to the amount of stares they are getting. Knowing the general trend of the Luofu, he’s certain that more than a few people are taking pictures that will likely surface in the markets sooner rather than later.
“When you said he was young, I didn’t think you meant that young,” Stelle says to him as they take a seat at a table in the Exalting Sanctum. Mimi slides down to lie at his feet, yawning, probably grateful for the short break she’s managed to acquire. “I mean, he’s like—a whole baby.”
“The disciples’ concoctions are dangerous,” Dan Heng mutters. “Are you sure he isn’t in any danger?”
Jing Yuan shakes his head, settling Yanqing on his lap, who preoccupies himself with looking at all the passersby. “Lady Bailu confirmed that there shouldn’t be any particularly dangerous side-effects. She’s in the process of making an antidote, but she mentioned the possibility of it wearing off on its own.”
“Hey, what do you guys want to eat?” March 7th asks, popping up at Stelle’s side. “Me and Stelle can go grab food.”
“Whatever,” Dan Heng says as Jing Yuan replies, “I don’t mind anything.”
Stelle blinks at being volunteered to go retrieve food, but she shrugs and stands nonetheless, letting March loop their arms together. “Do they sell anything for babies around here?”
“There should be a few vendors selling tofu,” he answers. “Just a bit is fine—I’ll be sure to compensate you all.”
March waves him off. “Don’t be silly, we invited you out! Leave it to us, alright?”
She and Stelle disappear into the crowds without any further preamble, leaving him and Dan Heng alone together, sitting across from each other.
The moment both of his companions have disappeared, Dan Heng says to him, “You look like you're enjoying this.”
It's not meant to be accusatory, Jing Yuan knows. His lips curl into an unbidden smile. “I won't try to say otherwise, but can you blame me? He's adorable like this, is he not?”
Dan Heng looks down at Yanqing briefly when Jing Yuan gestures towards him. He sighs. “I suppose.”
“Maybe if you ever get a disciple of your own, you'll understand.”
Dan Heng makes a face. “Unlikely,” he mutters, before adding on a little louder, “but I think you two are an unusual case either way.”
Jing Yuan laughs. “And what do you mean by that?”
“Most master-student duos aren't also father-and-son,” Dan Heng points out.
That makes Jing Yuan pause, and for a fleeting moment he's thrown back in time to the very first day Jingliu took him under her wing.
It's true in a way, he supposes. When he was training under Jingliu, he had two healthy parents of his own and certainly never thought of her as his mother, and vice versa. He was also far from the first student she trained, and none of the others he ever met seemed to think of her in that way either—but it's different with him and Yanqing.
When he took Yanqing in, Yanqing was a young orphan with no traceable family line and little to no memories of them. So it was natural for the boy to begin thinking of Jing Yuan as his father, and the same in reverse—after all, it was Jing Yuan who raised him, clothed him, fed him, and at the end of every day it was Jing Yuan whom he returned home with.
It had seemed obvious, at that point, for Jing Yuan to nurture the love of swordsmanship Yanqing had already held when he came into Jing Yuan's care. And as the Arbiter-General of the Luofu, who better to teach the boy in the art of war and blades than himself? Jing Yuan may not necessarily be known for his martial skill, but he's certainly not lacking in that department, and raw talent is not the only thing that constitutes a good swordsman.
“Not that it's a bad thing,” Dan Heng adds when the silence between them extends. He sits back in his seat, eyes already drifting away. “Of all the people here, you're probably the best one to teach him anyway.”
Before he can formulate a response to that, March's voice cuts through the air. “We're back!”
“And with lunch,” adds Stelle, the two of them appearing with arms full of various trays heaped with all sorts of foods, sliding them onto the table.
“Did you really have to get so much?” Dan Heng frowns. “What are we going to do with all this?”
“Eat it or die,” Stelle deadpans as she sits down beside him, March taking the seat beside Jing Yuan.
Jing Yuan laughs. “If it's any consolation, I'm certain that Mimi will be delighted to eat whatever we don't.”
As if in agreement, Mimi yawns.
Lunch proceeds nicely, with the trio of Nameless more than happy to share tales of their recent adventures. Yanqing, predictably, announces his fullness by trying to squirm off Jing Yuan's lap, which he resists. For one, he doesn't want Yanqing crawling around the dirty ground; for another, he has yet to finish his meal.
“Has he started walking yet?” March asks, leaning over to smile at Yanqing, who attempts to grab her chopsticks. “Hey! He's grabby, that's for sure.”
Jing Yuan chuckles. “Walking? Not yet, I'm afraid—though he certainly likes to practice.”
“He looks like he wants to start practicing now,” Stelle snorts.
Sure enough, Yanqing is back to squirming. Noticing this, March stands from her seat. “I can take him if you want to finish eating, Jing Yuan. I'm full anyway.”
“Are you sure?” Jing Yuan asks, but March just nods enthusiastically, already reaching out for Yanqing with both hands.
Yanqing lets himself be picked up happily, giggling at the way March swings him around with flourish before setting him down on his feet. She lets Yanqing grip onto her fingers, following close behind him as he takes an unsteady step forward, being assisted by her holding him up.
“March likes kids a lot,” Stelle tells him, drawing Jing Yuan’s attention away. “As you would’ve never guessed.”
He smiles at that, glancing briefly over at the two before turning back to his food, trusting March 7th to keep him both preoccupied and safe. “I’m quite fond of them myself.”
“Well, I’d hope so!” March calls. She’s letting Yanqing drag her over to look at some flowers, and the comment makes Jing Yuan laugh again, shaking his head fondly.
And although he loves Yanqing and loves taking care of him, it is nice for a moment to not have to worry about him. Stelle’s appetite, as it turns out, is nearly as large as Mimi’s—a fact that Jing Yuan comments on with amusement, which makes her snort and Dan Heng sigh.
“Mr. Yang says it’s probably the Stellaron,” he explains. “She needs more energy to function because of it, or… something like that.”
“You’re just jealous you never get to eat as much delicious food as I do,” Stelle says, nudging him.
Dan Heng turns a deadpan stare onto her. “I’m really not.”
The ease with which they seem to get along makes Jing Yuan smile even more, because although he’d already known how well Dan Heng meshes with the crew of the Express, it’s a nice reassurance—with them, he seems comfortable. The tension in his shoulders less present, his expressions (though still miniscule) more open.
The conversation is interrupted by March’s voice, cutting through the chatter of the crowds. “Jing Yuan, look!”
Jing Yuan turns his head in the direction of her shout. She’s not all too far away, hardly more than a few feet, her pink hair glossy beneath the sun as she waves and motions downwards.
When he drops his gaze lower, he sees Yanqing, eyes fixed on the ground, chubby face all scrunched up with concentration, taking a wobbly step forward.
Without March’s help.
And then he takes another. And another. And then—
And then he’s looking up with an expression which can only be described as unbridled triumph, and starts running.
Jing Yuan’s heart damn near leaps out of his throat, but before he can even think to move, Yanqing is barreling into his leg with a victorious laugh, tiny hands fisting into his pants.
Instead, he blinks down at Yanqing, and Yanqing blinks back up at him, eyes shining.
“So much for just practicing, huh?” says Stelle.
The emotion that swells up in his throat comes so fast he almost chokes on it. Jing Yuan lifts Yanqing up with a laugh that is a mixture of surprise and amusement and pride. “Qing-er, you continue to amaze me every single day!”
He brings the child close, pressing a kiss to his cheek—and that makes Yanqing laugh, squirming, but not really trying to get away. It’s just like him, Jing Yuan thinks, to do something with such conviction—Yanqing could never be settled for just walking; he had to run too, all at once. He always had to blow everyone's expectations away.
The Astral Express, it seems, continues to bring along nothing but pleasant surprises.
Jing Yuan wakes to a sharp bang and a crash like the sound of something falling.
His eyes snap open immediately, neck aching a little as he's met with the plain ceiling of his home—particularly the living room. He must've dozed off after dinner, which wouldn't typically be unusual, but for the past week or so he's been resisting the urge what with Yanqing's situation. He'd learned quickly that it's not a good idea to leave such a young child unsupervised, especially now that Yanqing seems to have gotten the hang of walking—albeit unsteadily, and sometimes still with the help of other objects.
Mimi is predictably missing when Jing Yuan sits up. She's been all but glued to Yanqing's side throughout this whole ordeal, and he can hear her chuffing in the kitchen, followed by—
“Ack—Mimi, no!”
Jing Yuan blinks. Then he's moving, heading in the direction of the sound. It doesn't take long for him to reach the doorway to the kitchen and, peeking inside…
Yanqing—a normally sized Yanqing, the one Jing Yuan knows— sits on the floor, almost fully obscured by Mimi's large body, two hands digging into her mane in a futile attempt to push her away so she'll stop licking at his face.
At the appearance of Jing Yuan, Yanqing squeaks and curls up even further under her, as bare as the day he was born and when the Cloud Knights first found him in the Alchemy Commission.
“General!” he squeaks. “I can explain! Well, I—not really, but—it's—”
“A long story,” Jing Yuan sighs, but a smile curls his lips all the same.
Mimi gives a happy, enthusiastic little growl, dragging her tongue up Yanqing's cheek once more, and the boy groans, making a face of disgust. “Mimi!”
Jing Yuan laughs, turning away to head towards Yanqing's room and fetch some clothes. Over his shoulder, he calls, “Welcome back, Yanqing.”
Yanqing insists on returning to work immediately despite Jing Yuan's concerns, so the morning after his return to normal, Jing Yuan whisks him away to Bailu once more so she can confirm that there are no unwanted side effects.
Bailu, predictably, is relieved upon seeing him back to his usual appearance—ponytail and blue robes and swords and all. She gives him a clean bill of health and a strong reprimand to never do anything similar again, because “It's weird seeing you smaller than me, Qing-ge!”
And thus Yanqing and Jing Yuan head to the Seat of Divine Foresight. The Cloud Knights they pass by all welcome Yanqing back with broad smiles and cheerful salutes.
As they stroll into the office, greeting Yutie and Qingzu (who both also express their relief at Yanqing's return), Yanqing says, “Um, General…?”
“Hm?”
“I didn't…” When he glances down, Yanqing is fiddling nervously with his belt. “I didn't do anything embarrassing, did I?”
Jing Yuan chuckles, patting his disciple on the head. “Nothing unusual for a baby, I can assure you.”
Yanqing seems soothed at that, letting out a small sigh of relief. They come up the stairs to Jing Yuan's desk.
Though Jing Yuan hardly pauses, Yanqing stops and blinks at the variety of picture frames now littering the surface, positioned between all the scrolls and papers Jing Yuan will need to look through later. “What's all this?”
Jing Yuan smiles. “Just some keepsakes,” he answers jovially, rounding the desk to take his seat. Yanqing remains standing on the other side, reaching out to grab one of the frames with a frown.
When he turns it over in his hand, he needs to only look at it for a second before his entire face flushes pink.
Panicked and mortified, Yanqing grabs at a few of the other frames, turning them over only to be met with photos of himself—well, the baby version of him—in a litany of different situations. Cuddling with Mimi, sound asleep on the sofa, being carried by Jing Yuan through the streets, sitting on Jing Yuan's lap with his mouth open to accept a small piece of soft tofu—
With every new discovery, Yanqing's face grows impossibly redder.
“General!”
Jing Yuan bursts into loud, hearty laughter. And despite Yanqing's embarrassment, his chuckles echo through the Seat of Divine Foresight for hours afterwards.