"Good boy." He runs his hand lightly down the crown of Kano's head. He's grateful to hear the child has a brother to watch out for him. He wonders just where that brother is now, but it's still early in the morning.
"Hmm, well Grandpa's kingdom is lucky to have you." He'd like to ask more questions about this kingdom, but he decides the boy might not know. He doesn't want to risk the child getting frustrated or embarrassed if he doesn't know an answer. Something about the boy's sweet disposition makes Baiyi predict this in his behavior- either that or the old man is projecting from what he knew of the last boy who sat in his lap like this.
It feels like a lifetime ago.
"A close friend of mine had a son who was not that much younger than you when I first met him, Rong Xu. I accepted Xu'er later as a disciple when he was old enough. He was a smart boy like you are and a warm heart. He had a dream of building a sect of warriors who would share their love of martial arts and their knowledge of the world." If only Xu's dream had ended there- to what others were willing to share and not being forced to give their secrets. That lust for knowledge had stimulated another man's greed.. and his beloved disciple's fate was sealed.
"He was the very best among the mortals and was able to enjoy his dream for a while. Which is much more than many get to have in this world. When he was still young like you, he also liked getting up before the sun. We would go outside in the snow-covered mountain we lived in and watched as the world seemed to catch fire with the sunrise. The colors would be so bright against those tiny shards of ice, one couldn't gaze directly at it for long." Those mornings didn't last long. All too soon, Rong Xu had other things that held his interest.
TL: DR whoops
"Hmm, well Grandpa's kingdom is lucky to have you." He'd like to ask more questions about this kingdom, but he decides the boy might not know. He doesn't want to risk the child getting frustrated or embarrassed if he doesn't know an answer. Something about the boy's sweet disposition makes Baiyi predict this in his behavior- either that or the old man is projecting from what he knew of the last boy who sat in his lap like this.
It feels like a lifetime ago.
"A close friend of mine had a son who was not that much younger than you when I first met him, Rong Xu. I accepted Xu'er later as a disciple when he was old enough. He was a smart boy like you are and a warm heart. He had a dream of building a sect of warriors who would share their love of martial arts and their knowledge of the world." If only Xu's dream had ended there- to what others were willing to share and not being forced to give their secrets. That lust for knowledge had stimulated another man's greed.. and his beloved disciple's fate was sealed.
"He was the very best among the mortals and was able to enjoy his dream for a while. Which is much more than many get to have in this world. When he was still young like you, he also liked getting up before the sun. We would go outside in the snow-covered mountain we lived in and watched as the world seemed to catch fire with the sunrise. The colors would be so bright against those tiny shards of ice, one couldn't gaze directly at it for long." Those mornings didn't last long. All too soon, Rong Xu had other things that held his interest.