While Feng Lou was talking with Chaos Bell in his mind, Xiao Meiying watched people in the city square crying and praying. Her thoughts were in chaos. She had been kidnapped for five months, and now a creature larger than Earth had eaten the moon. She didn't know what to do. All she wanted was to be with her parents because she felt like the world was ending.
"Feng Lou, can we go? I can't stay here any longer. I want to see my parents," Xiao Meiying said.
Hearing Xiao Meiying's words, Feng Lou, who had been talking to Chaos Bell in his mind, snapped out of his trance and said, "Yes, let's go. Come, get on my back." He knelt down.
Hearing Feng Lou's words, Xiao Meiying quickly got on his back, and Feng Lou took off slowly. What he didn't realize was that people in the square saw him flying and began kneeling and praying towards him. "The Angel of God is here to save us," some people cried, believing Feng Lou was a divine angel.
...
30 Minutes Later
Feng Lou and Xiao Meiying finally reached the capital city of Veridiania. They saw the entire city in chaos, with people panicking and the city in disarray due to the creature that had eaten the moon.
The once bustling streets were now in ruins. Buildings were crumbling, and fires raged uncontrolled. People were looting shops, smashing windows, and grabbing anything they could find.
Violent clashes erupted on every corner, with desperate citizens fighting over scarce resources. The air was thick with smoke and the cries of the terrified and the injured. The chaos from the creature eating the moon had plunged the city into utter anarchy.
Xiao Meiying gave Feng Lou directions to her parent's house, and soon they arrived. Feng Lou landed in front of Xiao Meiying's parent's house.
Xiao Meiying rushed inside, calling out for her parents. The house was dim and filled with an uneasy silence, Xiao Meiying found her mother, Han Mei, sitting in the living room, her face filled with worry and exhaustion.
"Mom!" Xiao Meiying cried, running to her and embracing her tightly.
Han Mei looked up, her eyes widening in shock and disbelief. "Meiying?" she whispered, as if afraid her daughter might be a figment of her imagination. Tears streamed down her face as she stood up, pulling Meiying into a tight hug. "Oh, Meiying, I thought I'd lost you forever!"
Xiao Meiying could feel her mother's body trembling. "Mom, it's me. I'm here," she reassured her, though her own voice wavered.
Han Mei pulled back slightly, cupping her daughter's face in her hands, searching her eyes. "I've tried everything to find you," she said, her voice breaking. "I went to the authorities, I put up posters, I asked everyone, anyone who might have seen you. Every day, I prayed for your safe return."
Han Mei couldn't help but notice Xiao Meiying's appearance. She looked like a homeless woman, disheveled and worn from her ordeal. The shock of seeing her daughter in such a state added another layer of anguish to Han Mei's emotions.
Xiao Meiying felt a lump in her throat. "I'm sorry, Mom. I was taken, but Feng Lou saved me."
Feng Lou told Xiao Meiying to tell this lie before they arrived because he realized he might seem suspicious. He forgot to explain his own disappearance, which happened around the same time as Xiao Meiying's. He knew they might have looked into him because of that.
Han Mei's eyes flickered to Feng Lou, and a shadow of suspicion crossed her face. She remembered investigating Feng Lou when he went missing at the same time as her daughter. She knew his parents had worked for her husband, and a chilling thought came into her mind. Could Feng Lou have been involved in Meiying's disappearance?
She concealed her suspicions and approached Feng Lou to thank him. She hugged him tightly, to thank him and also to secretly check his cultivation.
As Han Mei hugged Feng Lou tightly, she tried to see how strong he was inside, but she couldn't figure it out. Before she realized it, Feng Lou felt what she was doing and gently moved her away.
"That's not polite, Mrs.," he said, looking serious.
Han Mei stepped back, surprised. Someone as skilled as her, being pushed back like a kid? It meant Feng Lou was much stronger than her.
"You! Who are you?!" Han Mei demanded, shielding Xiao Meiying behind her.
"I'm just someone who wants to protect your daughter," Feng Lou replied, a gentle smile on his face.
Xiao Meiying felt uncomfortable once more at Feng Lou's words. She still wasn't sure why he was so insistent on "protecting" her.
Han Mei's eyes narrowed as she confronted Feng Lou. "Protect her? What do you mean?" she demanded, her voice tinged with suspicion. "Did my husband hire you to bring her back?"
"No, I was not hired by your husband," he clarified. "I was approached by someone else who wishes to see Xiao Meiying safe"
He paused, gauging Han Mei's reaction before continuing. "I won't reveal who hired me, no matter how much you might ask. All you need to know is that I will protect your daughter no matter what,"
Han Mei was shocked by his words and then she said, "Did Mo sect hire to protect my daughter,"
Feng Lou replied with a simple "No" and then fell silent. "I will not say anything anymore," he stated quietly
Han Mei's questions hung in the air, but Feng Lou remained silent, his eyes closed as if retreating into his own thoughts
Seeing that Feng Lou was not answering she looked at her daughter and hugged her again.
As Han Mei held her daughter close, a flood of emotions washed over her. Amidst the relief of Xiao Meiying's return, Han Mei couldn't shake the surrealness of the situation. "Meiying," she began, her voice trembling slightly, "I saw something unimaginable while you were gone. A creature... it ate the moon." Her words hung heavy in the air, the disbelief evident in her tone. "I thought I was dreaming. How could such a thing be possible?"
Xiao Meiying's voice trembled with fear as she spoke up. "I also saw it," she admitted softly, her eyes reflecting the terror of witnessing the moon's disappearance. "The whole city is in chaos," she continued, her words tumbling out in a rush. "People are looting stores and stuff."
Her mother's embrace tightened. Han Mei's heart ached at the fear in her daughter's voice, her own worries mirrored in Xiao Meiying's eyes.
Suddenly, Xiao Meiying's questioned "Mom, where's Dad?"