The Pods of Lotus Pier

"Here is to the reunion of The Pods of Lotus Pier!"

Three small wooden cups clack together before the three siblings carefully sipped the lukewarm water.  It had taken a few hours after the initial meet and greet before they could reunite in the nursery.  Jiang Yanli was suppose to be having lessons in etiquette, however Jiang Cheng created a temper tantrum that Madam Yu ordered her maids to escort all three children to the nursery.  Her little brother's infamy was such a nice advantage in her position as the sweet elder child.

Unfortunately, it meant that her mother's maids were watching over them and they had to speak in English instead of their native language.  While China had several dialects throughout the mainland, it would not do for anyone to eavesdrop upon their conversation.  Yanli could tell that these two maids were more than to serve her mother.

"Finally!  I'm so happy to be staying in a real home.  Those inns were nasty!" Wei Ying grumbled while fiddling with his cup.  The cups were an excuse for the children to play pretend in having tea.  "We got to convince my parents to stay."

"Of course, A-Ying.  A-Cheng and I have plenty of ideas to make them stay.  Some of them may include broken bones." Yanli replied with a sweet smile.  Most people would be wary of such an answer but Wei Ying just waved his chubby hand in nonchalance.

"As long as it's Dad, that's cool, jie. But seriously, didi, if you had just been a cute baby, it wouldn't have taken so long.  Dad was freaked out by those letters Uncle Jiang sent him."

Their younger brother only rolled his eyes while grumbling under his breath, however Jiang Yanli could hear the words 'weaklings' and 'not my fault.'  She smiled as the memories of all the terror her little brother caused in the Yunmeng Jiang Sect.  So many disciples had tried to help her new parents with A-Cheng but ultimately fail because of how loud he had screamed and cried.  Yanli had did a simple trick of using what little qi she could cultivate to block the more harmful sound waves to her ears.  She briefly wondered why no one else did that before concentrating on the present.

After all, she can now finally converse with her brothers after five years of waiting.

"A-Ying, what can you remember?"

The two almost three-year-old scrunched up his face to think before pouting in remembrance.  

"I remember A-Cheng and I beating the last of the demons before I sent Hundred Points to slice that SOB's head off - what up!" Wei Ying crowed and raised his fist for a victory bump which both Yanli and Jiang Cheng returned with similar grins. "Then we collapsed because of our wounds.  Shit, I really need to look into making healing talismans or something."

"Did you try to teleport us?" A-Cheng asked carefully.  Yanli smiled at her little brother speaking.  Without teeth, it was hard for him to speak as well as his siblings.

"I think I did.  It got sort of fuzzy after that."

It would explain why they have been reborn into a different world.  As the oldest of the three, Jiang Yanli had been working on regaining as much of her cultivation as she could without damaging the new body.  She could feel the seed of her spirit root growing slowly as well as her golden core.  In their old world, a child first forms a golden core and learns to master qi before cultivating their spirit root.  Here in this world, Yanli could only sense that these cultivators forming and growing golden cores.  It was difficult to tell if the cultivators of this world have actually mastered qi like those in their previous world. 

"Please tell me you set up wards and arrays for temperature and humidity." A-Ying begged.  A-Cheng gave a wet snort into his cup while Yanli gave a giggle.

"Only for the nursery and my room.  A-Cheng makes a good distraction for that."

Her baby brother was always good at making a scene and taking the attention from his siblings if they needed to do something sneaky.  Actually, both of her brothers were good at it.  Wei Ying always went with the honey pot scheme and Jiang Cheng went with the basic bitch attitude that guarantee a perfect distraction.  The only time she had to do the job was either with elderly men or women who loved her traditional personality, a hard-core straight man, or a hard-core lesbian. 

"Good, I'm sleeping with A-Cheng."

"Fool, you snore."

"Just for that, I won't give you your mobile back."

That perked both Jiang siblings' attention.

"A-Ying, does that mean..." Yanli inquired with excitement.  A-Ying stood from his seat and smirked down at them while placing his hands on his hips.  He probably thought that he would look impressive with that pose, but it only made him look adorable. 

"This great master can finally access his spatial pocket and can now pull out items as small as a smartphone!"

The Jiang siblings clapped in enthusiasm before A-Cheng scowled and glared over her shoulder.

"Not that we can use them here." the one and half year old grumbled.  Yanli watched A-Ying deflate in silent agreement and they all looked over at the maids watching them.  The maids, Jinzhu and Yinzhu, merely shifted but did nothing else as they watched the three children.

Jiang Yanli was eight when she lost her home and entire way of life, but she remembered the many servants and disciples who took care of her every need before tragedy forced her to learn about self reliance.  Growing up in a modern era, Yanli learned how to clean, cook, and work for her living - something she was sure her parents never thought would ever be necessary for their daughter.  Sometimes it was nice for her brothers to help with the cleaning and cooking - something they often did whenever they felt she needed a rest or staying at a four star hotel and allowing room service, but Yanli usually like to be in control of her surroundings.  

Now as the sect leader's daughter, she had a nanny and several maids following her and preventing her from being an independent individual.  Yanli could not even change clothes or do her hair on her own.  Although to be fair, her clothes were equivalent to elaborate costumes and having long hair styled in ancient hairstyles are the norm and difficult to attempt by oneself.  She had tried to convince her mother to be allowed to wear boys' clothing since it appeared to be easier to put on by herself only to suffer a scolding and being sent to a tutor who lectured about proper etiquette for young noble ladies for an hour.

She was going to have to design and make her own clothes - although she was going to have to see if A-Ying could bring out their mobile home and get her sewing machine.

"Tell me about it.  I have to share a room with my parents.  The only time I get to be alone is if they go on a night hunt and I can only stay awake for so long before this body needs sleep." A-Ying complained and sat back down with a sullen air.

"Being babies suck." A-Cheng replied with a nod.

Yanli smiled into her cup as she watched her little brother commiserate at the unfairness of being toddlers.  They were so cute and she wished she could use her mobile to take a photo.  However, there were more important subjects to discuss than their new youth.

"A-Ying, what about our weapons and emergency spatial rings?  Do you have them or are they lost?"

The grimace from her brother's face told her all she needed to know.

"Sorry, jie.  While I can't bring out anything too big, I can tell you that we definite lost them.  Shit, A-Cheng, your Nine Furies took forever to calibrate with that crazy spirit root."

"Shut up.  Your stupid Hundred Pricks took forever to make.  And it's a stupid name."

"It's a hilarious name!  You always laugh every time our enemies hear me say it."

"Still stupid."

"No, you're stupid."

"No! You're stupid!"

"Bring it baby!"

"Fine!"

Her two brothers both slammed the table and stood up to knock heads, something that Yanli was used to seeing, however the maids were beginning to look alarm with the sudden fight and she really did not want Uncle Wei to have an excuse to leave.

"Boys." she ordered sweetly and they both stop growling at each other before seating themselves back. 

"Sorry, jie." they chorused before giving each other one last stink eye.  She hummed in confirmation while carefully watching her mother's maids relax but still ever watchful.  Good, even if they report this to their mistress, Madam Yu would dismiss it as childish tiff.

"But everything else is safe?" she asked eagerly while remembering everything they had left to Wei Ying's powers.  A-Ying grinned and made a peace sign.

"Everything else is here!  But we're going to have to ration our food and snacks."

A-Cheng whined in disappointment and pouted in sadness.  Yanli felt his pain at the thought her own stash of gourmet German chocolates that would normally last a month would now be the last of her favorite foreign candy.  A-Chang had gotten addicted to an American candy called Jelly Belly and was willing to pay the high shipping fees to get them.  Poor A-Ying had his Ghost Pepper candy and was going to be deprive of the super spicy candy if he was going to eat it the way he usually does in under a week.   

"At least we stocked up before we went to war.  How is the cultivation of this world outside of this sect?" Yanli asked as she avoid bring up the topic of the amount of alcohol her brothers brought for celebration.  That would make them really depress since she was not going to let them drink until they raise their cultivation to Level One Full Moon.  At least she would be comforted that their bodies would detox the alcohol from the system in a matter of seconds.

"Poor, really poor.  I mean they're using swords to fly.  What if they have to do midair combat?  Seriously, so poor.  Not mention the lack of really useful day-to-day talismans or any variety of fighting forms.  It looks like every cultivator I've seen uses swords and then there are these qiankun pouches - they're like spatial rings only bulky and not as secure.  There's also another pouch called a spirit-trapping pouch but it's only for spirits.  Also too insecure."

That was troubling.  From what she learned from her tutors and disciples of the sect, Yanli could see that their cultivation and knowledge would be consider legendary for this world.  This new life would be easier if their spirit roots were the more common ones that could be explained but all three spirit roots were rare, extremely powerful, and (with the exception of hers) too flashy.

Luckily, they have a few years before they need to worry about stabilizing their spirit roots.

"We are going to have to be careful," she stated and both boys nodded, "We can concentrate on developing our Golden Cores before we need to cultivate our spirit roots, but A-Ying, try not to get caught."

All three knew that Wei Ying would try to push himself because he was always trying to push limits.  A-Cheng would do the same if his spirit root did not have such severe consequences for rushing.  Yanli would love to rush her cultivation except the surrounding qi had too much water elements to it for her spirit root to grow properly.  She was going to need to cultivate properly on a mountain or a deep forest inland to speed her cultivation.

"Don't worry, jie!  I still have one batch of A-Cheng's lightening and I can't accidentally let that out.  I'll just work on improving my reflexes for now."

They all shuddered at the though of that lightening being left loose.  It was really an ingenious idea that Yanli thought of during their early battles against evil.  While Wei Ying's cultivation was unique, its offensive power was only as good as what he could store or what he could throw back at the enemy.  With Jiang Cheng's cultivation, while it was the ultimate weapon, doing it too much was draining on her brother when he first managed to master it.  That was why Yanli suggested that A-Ying should store A-Cheng's Heavenly Lightening so it could be used in a pinch.  The boys loved the idea so much that they stored at least a hundred batches of Heavenly Lightening before they had died.  A-Ying had used most of it on the demon army and now there was only one left.

"A-Ying, we need to save that.  A-Cheng won' be able to access his Heavenly Lightening until he reaches Sun level cultivation and his body has been conditioned to handle it." Yanli warned.  Right now, it was their only guarantee trump card.  Who knew what sort of dangers could come up before they would be strong enough to handle them.

"Yes, jie."

Jinzhu and Yinzhu have been serving their madam for years.

They had been worried about their mistress and her marriage to Jiang Fengmian who had been in loved with another female cultivator.  It would have comforted them if the other woman was a nobody, but it was Cangse Sanren and if there was a female cultivator who could stand equally with their madam it would be the disciple of Baoshan Sanren.

However most of their fears were laid to rest once the marriage occur.  It was obvious that the married couple did not love but they respected each other enough to honor the marriage.  There was no concubine or mistress or even a bed slave.  This assured the maids that while their madam did not have romance, at least she did not have shameful husband like poor Madam Jin.

When the young lady was born, it looked like their madam was getting closer to Sect Leader Jiang and the sweet baby built a bridge between the two.  It made both maids happy and hopeful that their madam would finally get her happy ending.

Then the young master came and instead of romance it looked more like their madam and Sect Leader Jiang became comrade in arms.  In a way it was more appropriate for their madam to find love in battle than in a match making meeting.  The two maids could see that love was slowly growing between them, but it would probably grow faster if the young master was not such a 'little shit' like their madam always complained.

They had their trials in taking care of the young master, however it was difficult dealing with an angry baby that kept screaming and fighting.  He only stopped when he finally tired himself out, hungry, or when the young lady was near.  Honestly, it was a relief that after a little over year, the young master finally calmed down.  Except, the little shit was now determine to crawl and without him screaming, it was hard to keep track.  It did not help that the young lady encourage him.

Now, watching the three children, Jinzhu and Yinzhu could not help but wonder what sort of game they were playing while speaking in some sort of nonsense language.  They could recognize names being said but nothing else.  There was one point where the boys would have gotten into a fight (which is ridiculous since the young master had only just master being able to stand) but the young lady had calmed them down. 

Madam would be proud of her daughter.

Still, they could not help but find everything too odd with these children.

"You should take the mantle of head disciple again."

Wei Changze was expecting to hear this from his best friend, but it was his best friend's wife who made that comment.  This was bad.  He had thought for sure that Madam Yu would have little to no interest in being connected with someone of his origins or with his wife who was the subject of many rumors with Fengmian.  Even with when they visited Lotus Pier in the past, he was positive that the lady was being polite and trying to be a good wife.

Just how bad was the Jiang heir that made her desperate enough to accept the Wei family?

"Madam Yu, -"

"Being in sect would grant more opportunities for your son and it would do my husband some good to have someone he trusts by his side.  Besides, I am sure the resources would be easier to come by for you, Cangse Sanren." Madam Yu rushed on imperiously.  Such attitudes would annoy Wei Changze's wife except she looked amused.

"Oh?" his wife reply with a teasing lilt.

"I understand that you prefer to explore the world, but would it not be nice to have a home to come back to?  Our Yunmeng Jiang Sect could provide a wing for your family as well as workshop.  Fengmian mentioned how much you enjoy researching and creating.  Being a part of our sect would allow you funding as well as providing your own means of trade.  If you feel the need to travel, you can leave your son here in safety.  I believe he is already bonding quite well with our children."

He glared at the silent Sect Leader who was only sipping his tea and avoiding any eye contact.  Wei Changze knew his best friend was an excellent sect leader.  He just wished that Fengmian was making this pitch instead of Madam Yu.  If his friend made this offer, Cangse would just laugh it off thinking that their friend was being nice.  However, with Madam Yu making this offer, his wife was actually showing interest. 

While female cultivators were just as powerful as male ones, there were too many sects that still have the patriarchy mind set which tends to upset his wife.  Before they married, too many sects tried to reach out to Cangse for the connection with her immortal teacher as well as her womb to give birth to strong cultivators.  That is why Madam Yu's offer is more tempting to his wife because Fengmian's wife was directly appealing to her.

"How do you know they are bonding?" Wei Changze demanded with worry.  If his son is bonding with the children it was going to be a pain to leave.

Madam Yu gave him a look that made Wei Changze feel like a chastised little boy.  Strong women always had that effect on him.

"Because it has been over an hour since we left the children together and no one is screaming in terror."

He looked in horror at Jiang Fengmian who gave him a gentle smile.  He knew that look.  That was the look that Fengmian gave to any annoying asshole who gets their ass kicked verbally and sometimes physically.  Shit, Wei Changze has been betrayed by his best firend!

"Your son cannot be that bad.  He sounds quite lively," his wife said confidently, "I remember some of the little ones my shifu brought with her and they were complete terrors."

Judging from the bland smiles Jiang Fengmian shared with his wife, Wei Changze was positive that 'lively' was just a drop in the chaos that their son is.  He need to get his family from the crazy.  Except he under estimated just how desperate Madam Yu was.  The woman reached out to clasp his wife hands and gave her the most dazzling smile Wei Changze ever seen from the lady.  In fact, he had been absolutely sure that the Madam of Lotus Pier did not know how to smile.

"You should take your time to give an answer and stay until you do.  The disciples would love to catch up with your husband, and I can personally show you where we can build your workshop.  We can even add a stable for that mule of yours." Madam Yu crooned with a smooth velvety tone that caused goose bumps to rise on the ex-head disciple.

Was Madam Yu seducing his wife?!

"Um...yes?" Cangse mumbled dazed and unable to tear her eyes away from the woman before her.  In an instant, the lady of Lotus Pier dropped her hands with smirk and rose from her seat while her husband followed.

"Good.  Finish your tea and I shall have one of the disciples lead you to your rooms.  We shall have supper in two shi chen and afterwards we can discuss more about your plans for the future."

The Wei couple simple stare in shock as the Jiang couple walked out of the pavilion in complete victory.  Wei Changze did not even have the energy to shake a fist at the smile Fengmian gave over his shoulder.  Sighing, he sank into his seat as the only sign of rebellion he could afford while shoving a lotus pastry into his mouth.  Cangse was still dazed from everything before she slowly reached out to nibble on a pastry herself.

"Husband, did she-?"

"Yes."

"Huh."