One of the families that Sect Master Fei notified was the Hua family that Xin Lan was currently keeping an eye on.
Hua Ning Shun looked at the message that had been sent over and rubbed his forehead. Normally, he wouldn't hesitate for even a single moment to participate in something like this. After all, the matter that Sect Master Fei described in the letter was very serious. He naturally felt that their Hua family should take part in this. But then again …
He glanced at his youngest son that was currently clinging to his older brother and couldn't help but sigh again. Recently, they hadn't felt the presence that had lingered around Lin Yu anymore. It was as if whatever it was had vanished. Naturally, they were happy about that since they hadn't known just who or what that presence had been. But not knowing it had been there in the first place and why it had suddenly vanished left him with quite some worries.
Would it come back? Would it put his youngest son in danger? Or was it on their side and was actually keeping Lin Yu safe from something else out there?
There were too many questions and he couldn't even begin to fathom the answer to even a single one of them. It was driving him crazy. And now, he was supposed to leave their estate, making his son even more vulnerable since there would be one less person around him? He really couldn't bring himself to do so.
Hua Ning Shun finally went and patted his youngest son's head while he looked at his older brother. "I'll have to discuss this message with your grandfather. Take care of Xiao Yu for that time, yes?"
Hua Lin Rong smiled and turned to his younger brother. "Let's wait together for father to come back, alright?"
Hua Lin Yu blinked his eyes at him, grasping onto the figure that Hua Lin Rong had wanted to use to nudge his nose.
His brother laughed and then turned back to their father, nodding. "You see, Xiao Yu is alright with it. Don't bother coming back too fast."
Hua Ning Shun also laughed and shook his head at them. "I see I don't need to worry about you. You two brothers are getting along just fine. Alright then, I'll be back in while." He took a last look at them and then went to find his father.
Hua Ming Jun was currently cultivating in his own quarters. After he had left his closed-door cultivation when Xin Lan entered the area, he hadn't returned again. Right now, he just didn't feel that his family was safe enough to do so. No, it would be better to stay out here for a while longer and make sure that nothing was going to happen to either his son or his grandsons. Even if he would neither be able to win against that dragon nor be able to do anything against that presence that his son had felt before, he would at least try if somebody dared to attack his family.
"Father."
Hua Ming Jun stopped cultivating and opened his eyes, looking at his son. "Something happened?"
Hua Ning Shun went over and handed him the letter. "Nothing in our family but the Jian Yi Sect's Sect Master Fei sent us a message. Apparently, something happened with the demon-hunting sects that they want to discuss."
The patriarch read over the letter and nodded slowly. "I can see why she would want everyone there. This kind of thing can't be taken lightly if it has indeed happened in so many cases." He folded the letter again and handed it back to his son. "You wouldn't want your old man to go, would you?"
Even though he was the Hua family's patriarch, he normally held back with these kinds of things. He had handed over over most of his responsibilities to his son long ago. Right now, he was just focusing on cultivating and spending time with his family. So Fei Bai Mu had addressed the letter at Hua Ning Shun immediately and not bothered to involve him. He wasn't quite sure why his son would come to talk to him about this.
Hua Ning Shun sighed and sat down opposite his father. "Normally, there wouldn't be a problem with this at all. I'm just worried because of Xiao Yu. With what has happened before and that person in our neighborhood now …" He shook his head and sighed again.
Hua Ming Jun nodded. "I see. Yes, those are indeed concerns that you should have. I'm just afraid that there is no good way to deal with this. This meeting is one that we have to attend. And anyway, we can't always stay cooped up in here because of what happened. That wouldn't be good."
"So should I just go? What if something happens?"
"Then what about me and your other son? And what about the branch families? Anyway, we're not helpless just because you aren't here. And Xiao Yu should learn to live a normal life, don't you think so? If we always stay around, protecting him that much, he will never be able to become a good cultivator.
"He has to learn that there are dangers out there. And that sometimes, these dangers are beyond what we can take or even anticipate. I think that is also a valuable lesson for him."
Hua Ning Shun nodded with a heavy heart. "I understand that. I just can't help but worry. He's still so young. I just don't understand this thing."
"Neither do I. But what can we do about it? Just ask Ah Rong to pay a bit more attention. I'll also keep an eye on Xiao Yu while you're gone. I'm sure nothing bad will happen. Now, you should really set off. Sect Master Fei hates it if you let her wait."