Two hours later, when Kai Lan rose sleepily for dinner, he found the two individuals who had been offered to him by Fang Ze Ting sitting at his family’s dining table.

He approached the table on little legs and Wu Lan lifted him up onto his booster seat at the table before he eyes fell on the two new comers.

“Hei Hei-Ge and Xia Fei-Jie?”

The two smiled at the affectionate terms.

“Young Master Kai Lan,” Xia Fei greeted, “We come of our own accord to pledge our loyalty to you by our elements”.

“Pledge by your elements?” asked Kai Lan in confusion, looking to his father for an explanation.

“It is an ancient custom, dating back to the times of the Immortal God Emperor,” said Wu Lan, “It is a pledge of loyalty for life from servant to master, that if broken means severing one’s connection to the elements upon which they swore”.

Kai Lan turned back to Hei Hei and Xia Fei, “Why would you give that to me?”

“To earn your trust, and to ensure a bond between us,” said Hei Hei.

“A bond made on such terms is a sacred thing, it may only be made once in a Cultivator’s lifetime,” Xia Fei agreed.

“That still doesn’t explain why you would give such a thing to my son. If anything, it only confuses us more,” Ning Wei stated as she placed the soup down on the table between them.

Xia Fei looked at Kai Lan, “Cultivators all seek a higher power, to obtain, to revel in it, to bow to it and to serve it. That was why everyone so easily bowed to the Immortal God Emperor, because he was the height of everything they stood for. Shan Kai Lan’s birth caused a disturbance in the fabric of the worlds so profound that it drew the elders from all the Nine Clans, the powers behind the Twelve Great Sects, and every cultivator in the Immortal Realm and above to him”.

Hei Hei nodded in agreement, “It was Fang Ze Ting’s good fortune to be so close to the source when it happened. I guarantee that if he had not been in the hospital that day, he would not have known, but fate works in mysterious ways”.

“Hei Hei and I were brought up and trained among the Fang Groups’ subservient families, but our strength and aptitude rivalled that of the direct descendants. Ever since my own cultivation rose above that of Ze Ting’s sons, and then Ze Ting himself, I have been subtlety suppressed. I held no future there, and it was the same for Hei Hei. The Fang Group is quite clear that they revel in power, but only when it is under their control, and we have not owed them anything for some time,” said Xia Fei.

“Xia Fei’s prophetic dream led her to request that they accompany the main family on their expedition here today, Ze Ting agreed on the condition that we follow along with whatever he said,” said Hei Hei, “It was not outside of our expectations to be presented as gifts, but when we saw young master Kai Lan for the first time, we didn’t care”.

“He might have only just forged his golden core, but at his age, it should be indication enough of his potential, let alone the attention he drew when he was born,” said Xia Fei, “We wish to serve him because it is the natural of order of things. He may not be powerful now, but give him a decade, two at most, and he will rival the greatest Cultivators of the next generation, if not surpass them”.

Wu Lan sighed, then turned to Kai Lan, “It is your decision”.

Kai Lan appraised the two for a moment before he carefully climbed down from his chair and moved around the table to stand between them. Hei Hei and Xia Fei pushed out their chairs, then knelt on the ground before Kai Lan.

Kai Lan closed his eyes for a moment, searching for the right words, the right path, then it came to him easily. His eyes fluttered open.

“Do you, Xia Fei, and you, Hei Hei, swear to serve me in any capacity I formally bestow or require? To protect me and my Clan even at the expense of your own lives? To be servant, friend and Clansman for as long as you both shall live?”

“I swear upon my elements,” stated Xia Fei.

“I swear upon my elements,” Hei Hei followed.

Kai Lan pulled power from his golden core and pushed it towards his hands, letting them fill with wisps of energy as he spoke, “Then take my hands and let your allegiance be sealed”.

Both of them reached out and each grasped one of Kai Lan’s chubby little hands. They both sucked in a breath as the energy of Kai Lan’s golden core seemed to embody the pledge they had made. They then gently released Kai Lan, and Kai Lan felt himself grow weak. He stumbled, and Xia Fei moved forward to catch him.

“Kai Lan!” Ning Wei cried in concern, rounding them to her son.

“He’s okay, just weak,” said Xia Fei, “It takes a lot to use spiritual energy the way he just did, let alone in someone who has only just established his Golden Core. He just needs food and rest”.

Ning Wei sighed, picking her son up and depositing him back in his high chair before she served him some soup, “Drink, then back to bed with you”.

Kai Lan looked up at her with tired eyes, “Yes, Ma”.

Later, after Kai Lan had headed off to bed, Hei Hei informed Wu Lan that he would be headed out and wouldn’t be back until early morning.

“Oh?”

“Hei Hei and I have our own accounts separate from the Fang Family. He’s planning on retrieving our belongings. Also, he’ll likely want to use his Spirit Stones to construct a formation around the house,” said Xia Fei.

“A formation?” asked Wu Lan.

“With permission of course, but we figured you wouldn’t protest,” said Xia Fei, “He’ll likely do a cross between a concealing formation and a barrier formation, in order to hide Kai Lan’s aura as best as possible”.

Wu Lan nodded, “Well, if you are training him, it would no doubt be a good idea”.