Xiao Tu woke up early as usual. He felt most of his jealousy gone after sleeping. He wanted to ask his father about the feelings he had felt when he was in front of Shang Yang and Ye Xiu.

Remembering that he had to do his daily exercise, he got up and changed from the clothes that he had slept in. He saw that Ye Xiu and his father had already woken up and started their own training by sparring each other. He walked to them silently, starting his own daily stretches without uttering a noise.

Minutes later, the spar had finished and Ye Xiu had noticed Xiao Tu at the side watching them. Ye Xiu decided to call out to him so that he could join in the session. Xiao Tu stopped his stretches to go over to Ye Xiu.

"Hey glad you're up already. You fell asleep on one of the Alchemist Association's couches so Xiao San decided to bring you back to the residence without waking you up. By the way, I haven't informed your father about the little trip we are going to have in the Capital. I thought it would be best for you to inform him because you had the paper from Shang Yang's father."

Xiao Tu's eyes widened when Ye Xiu reminded him about the trip. "Oh crap, I totally forgot about that. I need to get the paper from my clothes later. Thanks for reminding me about it. I'll make sure to tell father about the trip, you don't have to worry about it."

Ye Xiu took out his practice sword and brandished it at Xiao Tu, "Spar?"

"Sure, I can tell father about the trip during breakfast so it'll be much more convenient then because everyone is freshened up."

The two began sparring for the next hour until the sun started to rise which meant that it was time for them to clean themselves up for breakfast.

- - -

They had once again gone out to eat because they had no ingredients to cook, but that was just an excuse since all three males had no interest in cooking anything by themselves for others to eat. Whilst they were enjoying their breakfast, Xiao Tu decided that this would be a good time to tell his father about the trip.

"Father, Ye Xiu and I made a friend at the Alchemist Association examination yesterday and we had planned to go on a trip together in the Capital. Will you let us go? We'll have a chaperone to take us so you don't have to worry about us being kidnapped again like last time."

"I'll let you both go on the trip but I'll have to go together with you guys as well. I don't really know many people in the Capital so I can't say that I'll trust anybody with taking care of the two of you right now. Can you tell me how I'll inform the parent of whoever your friend is?"

Xiao Tu took out the piece of paper that Shang Xian had given him. "Shang Yang's father, Shang Xian, told us to use this piece of paper to communicate with him when you've allowed us to go on the trip."

Xiao San took the paper examining it, before nodding. "Whoever gave you this is a rich man. The cost of this talisman would probably bankrupt a normal cultivating family."

Ye Xiu's eyes sparkled at the new knowledge. "What's this talisman you talk about?"

"This talisman is for communicating with others a long distance away from each other. Most message talismans would disintegrate after a single use however the one that your friend's father has given me is able to be used for as long as there is Qi inserted into the talisman."

"My father in law is someone who has been dabbling in talisman and formation making for a few decades and he's not able to make a message talisman of this rank. It tells you just how complicated and expensive this talisman would be. I'll talk to your friend's father now to inform him of when the trip can take place and my joining of the trip."

Xiao San finished his breakfast faster than the two kids so he decided to use the time to contact Shang Xian. "Hello, is this Shang Xian I'm speaking to? Yes, yes. I am the guardian of the two children you met yesterday. I have agreed to this little excursion out in the Capital that your child seems to have suggested. However, I'd like to be there when they do go out during the excursion to make sure they are safe. Not to mean that you are weak or anything it's just that I would feel more secure taking care of them."

"What days will you be free then? I'm free every day so it'll be your choice to pick the day which is the most suitable for you."

"There will be a break in my meetings in two days so that would be the best time for everyone to go out. Is that fine with you?"

"Yes, I'll just tell my daughter the good news, have a good day and I'll see you in two days."

The message talisman stopped working after he retracted his Qi. Xiao San looked at the two kids who were still eating and decided to inform them now before he had to go to his meeting. "The trip in the Capital will be in two days, I'll be coming with you because I want to spend some precious man time with you guys without your mothers here. My meeting will be on a break for that day so you don't have to worry about me having to leave in the middle of us having fun."

Xiao Tu looked extremely happy to hang out with his father. "That's great. What do you think we'll be doing with Shang Yang and her father? Father, I'd also like to talk to you alone when you have time."

"I don't actually know what we will be doing on the trip so we'll see what happens then. If you want to talk to me alone then we can talk when I get back tonight. Is that okay with you?"

"Thanks, father, let's go home now."

After bringing the boys home, Xiao San left to attend the meeting to sort out everything. The two boys at home were just doing their usual routine of reading, training and playing about. They had brought a huge amount of books for them to study by placing it into Xiao Tu's Inter-dimensional storage.

Xiao San returned home with food he had bought from the stalls that opened at night. He rushed home so that the food was still steaming hot so that they could enjoy the food when it was still fresh. He arrived home to see the sight of the two boys sitting at the table just reading books.

Clearing his throat he decided to disturb their peaceful atmosphere. "Boys, I'm back with some food. It's time to eat. I hope you have both washed up so that you don't stink up the table as we are eating."

Ye Xiu and Xiao Tu looked up before placing their books on the chairs beside them. Dinner was a very quick and quiet affair as usual. It was a quiet routine that had been formed between the families due to Mei Ling's ferocity about being quiet during meal times.

Xiao San beckoned his son to follow him to the office that had been provided in the residence whilst Ye Xiu walked over to his bedroom.

Xiao San sat on the chair whilst looking at his son. "Well? What did you need to talk to me about without Ye Xiu knowing? Could it be that both you and Ye Xiu like the same girl? That Shang Yang girl?"

Xiao Tu's face blushed scarlet. "O-of course not! Why would I like that vixen of a girl! Ye Xiu can't see it but she's constantly flirting with him. I don't understand why I feel so angry whenever I see her flirting with him. Could you tell me why father? I'm just friends with Ye Xiu so I shouldn't be feeling jealous of him being taken by someone else!"

Xiao San understood his son's thoughts and decided to not inform him of everything truthfully. 'He's already developed romantic feelings for Ye Xiu at such a young age? I guess that cultivation does speed up the process of maturity. I don't have anything against same-sex couples because it's common in the cultivation world.'

'He's similar to his mother in the way that when he becomes jealous of something, his anger starts to take over his rational thoughts. I think it'll be best for me to teach him how to control his emotions more tightly so that he doesn't hurt Ye Xiu in a blind rage. I'll just tell him about he's feeling protective over Ye Xiu and give some advice from there.'

Xiao San looked at his son with a grave face. "Xiao Tu, you shouldn't feel embarrassed about your emotions because everybody feels that way about someone. To you, Ye Xiu is like a younger brother that you have to protect from outside influences. Your experience from the kidnapping incident has reaffirmed your resolve to protect those that you love and it was the strongest for Ye Xiu. To feel these feelings should be normal for you."

Xiao San paused for a moment to let his son digest the information he told him. 'I'm sorry for lying to you now Xiao Tu but it's for the best. When you mature and have enough experience about romance and the world, you'll understand your own feelings for Ye Xiu. You may not realise it yet but you are similar to Mei Ling in the fact that once you start feeling romantic for a person, you'll be loyal to them forever. It'll be best for you to realise it for yourself. Just like Mei Ling did after she rejected me multiple times.'

"It'll be best for you to meditate on your feelings every time you feel it. It's best to reflect on experiences that you can learn from. By meditating on these feelings, you'll also be able to calm down and understand why you are feeling them. I'll teach you some exercises to calm yourself down whenever you feel those feelings and have no chance to meditate. That way you won't fly into a rage when your feeling goes past the melting point."

"Thanks for the advice father... talking about it really helps. It's like I've gotten this weight off me. I felt unsure what to do with these feelings because I didn't want to vent my anger on Ye Xiu since I had vowed to protect him instead of hurting him. Have a good night father." Xiao Tu left his father's temporary office before heading to his own room to meditate. He didn't bother Ye Xiu because he knew that it was best for him to reflect on himself for now.

Whilst Xiao Tu was busy talking with his father and starting his meditation, Ye Xiu was just inside the Locket Dimension reading books. Ye Xiu didn't have any trouble with his romantic feelings currently because he had no idea what they felt like. With no personal relationships in his previous life combined with his young age now meant that he would've had no chance to gain any experience in romantic affairs.

Ye Xiu was as clueless as a normal child about romantic feelings so he never noticed the things which were happening around him between Shang Yang and Xiao Tu.

His clueless behaviour remained with him, giving him a sense of peace in his heart whenever he was busy doing something else that he loved.

Xiao San was busy looking out the window of his office whilst sighing. 'Xiao Tu has grown up so quickly, it seems like only yesterday when I first introduced Ye Xiu to him. They've forged such a fantastic relationship with each other in such a short time just like I did with Ye Qiu. Hopefully, this means that they can rely on each other in the future.'

Xiao San extinguished the light sources before heading to bed.