Within seconds all weapons were drawn and the time for talk had ended. Ming Ran watched as Cang Mu fought for the first time with a mixture of anxiety and excitement. He had always been left at camp during Cang Mu's missions. This had been the first time he had been allowed to accompany him. Cang Mu's blade was shining, already burning with qi. Ming Cheng rushed him and swords clashed, the energy reverberating through the air, as both were thrown backwards by the intensity. Ming Ran huddled in his brother's arms, somehow managing to avoid the rush of qi. Gong June rushed in once Ming Cheng had moved out of the way, tag teaming Cang Mu alongside Wei Ning with a flurry of both blade and spear. Cang Mu managed to avoid most of the blows, but still was cut across his forearm. He was about to return the attacks when a whip wrapped around his ankle and brought him down on a knee. Wen Quinn rushed in with a saber, arching the blade downwards. Cang Mu managed to block it, sparks fleeing from the impact of the opposing blades. Ming Cheng rushed in again flanked by Gong June. Cang Mu let out a large burst of qi blasting all of them backwards. While the five of them had been studying here for five years, four of them had never been in a true battle. The school here made sure that there were no stakes high enough to kill their students in battle. Wei Ning was the only one who had been in battles with life or death level stakes. Cang Mu was a different type of opponent, however; he had been in life of death situations more times than he could count, and learned the cutthroat way to survive them. While the others may fight with honor, he did not. Cang Mu matched them only for these reasons, if there weren't a difference in experience, he would have never had a chance.
Cang Mu had felt the desperation of near-death situations, the rush of adrenaline, blood sprinting through his veins, when his mind worked so quick that he never had the time to think things through. He followed his base instincts and acted on them. However, facing enemies like the five in-laws, he could see everything so slowly that he had ample time to think of everything. While they had great strength and skill, they had no clue how truly ruthless the world was. Even Gong June, who had followed her father to the battlefield had never been without someone backing her up from the shadows. Cang Mu had only himself to rely on, from the day he was born. He took a brief glance at Ming Ran and found him looking at him with such desperation. It was time to end this. Cang Mu rushed forward and exchanged a series of moves with the others, before being blown back by Ming Cheng. Fa Lin used her whip and immobilized him while Wen Quinn went in for the kill.
It all happened in the blink of an eye, Cang Mu had planned for everything minus the one variable that always managed to perplex him. Blood flashed in front of him, and his instincts reacted long before his mind caught up. Cang Mu drew himself up and delivered a powerful kick to Wen Quinn's side. Ming Cheng made to grab his little brother, but Ming Ran slapped him hard. He was crying very hard, half from the pain of being stabbed in his arm, half from fear. His body shook from the loss of blood and anger. Ming Cheng knelt, shell shocked that his little brother had slapped him. Ming Ran sniffled,
Ganging up on someone is what cowards do! Attacking my husband is even worse! You're all terrible! he signed, vaguely realizing that they couldn't understand him, I hate all of you! Stupid brothers! Stupid sisters! He cried even harder, terrified. Everyone was injured and normally he would have been busier and more energetic than a chipmunk, swishing back and forth treating everyone's wounds, but right now he could only cry, his emotions strung tighter than a bow. Cang Mu hugged him,
"Sorry. I'm sorry for scaring you. I should have behaved like you asked me to... please don't cry, yeah? I'll buy you something yummy, or maybe a bunny? I can buy you whatever you ask for, just don't cry anymore." Cang Mu soothed him, putting some pressure on his arm while he did. Ming Ran's siblings were shocked too, they had never seen Ming Ran angry before, he was always so patient and quiet. Never had he directed any anger at them, but the ones he was clearly the most angry at right now... was them. In a second, they were all trying to make things up to him, offering him treats, trinkets, or trips places. Ming Ran only used the same hand signs over and over again.
"He says he just wants to eat all together and for everyone to be nice to each other." Cang Yuan came out from behind the shattered piece of the door that had been smashed to pieces. Cang Mu and Ming Ran looked at him, eyes in shock. "What?" he shrugged, "You gave me the information on how to understand his gestures when you allowed me into your memory."
...
This is how Ming Ran ended up in a restaurant at the bottom of the mountain surrounded by an awkward atmosphere. Ming Ran sighed, was it really so hard to get along with each other? He reflected a little bit, Cang Mu did kidnap him, it actually was pretty justified that they saw him as the enemy. Then again, the only person who was supposed to be at dinner tonight was Cang Mu, they were uninvited guests. Ming Ran shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He winced, feeling a little fresh pain in his arm. Wen Quinn and Fa Lin go to try and check on him, only to be given the cold shoulder. They shrink in their seats. Cang Yuan has been watching the drama unfold for a few hours now, he can't help but marvel at the awesome might of the ultimate weapon!