Chapter 224 - The Boy who loves him

Lin Yu Yan walked over to the captain of the ship they were going to take to the West continent. It was way busier than the last time they were here. It seems something was up.

"Ah! Young lady! Good timing! I didn't know how to find you," said the Captain. "Where's the young man?"

"It's just me today. I wanted to know-" said Lin Yu Yan but was interrupted.

"We are actually leaving tomorrow early in the morning. Because there is an upcoming storm, we wanted to leave before it gets here," said the Captain. 

"Ah, that's perfect since we are in a hurry," said Lin Yu Yan. 'How convenient.'

"That's great," sighed the old man. "There is one more man who is supposed to be on the boat as well but we couldn't find him either. He also seems to be in a rush."

"Ah, I'll help find him for you," said Lin Yu Yan. Then she felt Chen Xing-Fu's and Han Bingwen's qi for a second but it disappeared. 

"Is something wrong?" asked the Captain, noticing the change in her face.

"Ah, no. What does he look like?" said Lin Yu Yan.

"He was wearing what looked like grey clothing. He had light brown hair but you can tell he's Chinese with his face. Oh, and he had a deep voice."

"I think it should be enough since there isn't a lot of people with light brown hair. I'll go look for him and let him know by tonight," said Lin Yu Yan.

"Thanks for the help, young lady," said the Captain. 

Lin Yu Yan waves as she walks away. She turned to see Han BIngwen and Chen Xing-Fu already waiting for her.

She runs over to them, glad they are okay.

"Lucky for us, we can leave tomorrow early in the morning," said Lin Yu Yan.

"That's great," said Han Bingwen.

Then there was a growling coming from below and it seemed Chen Xing-Fu was getting hungry. Then Lin Yu Yan's stomach growled.

"Haha, should we get lunch?" said Han Bingwen.

"Yeah!" said Chen Xing-Fu.

Han Bingwen leads and Chen Xing-Fu waves his hand to whisper in her ear. Lin Yu Yan bends down and Chen Xing-Fu looks over at Han Bingwen to make sure he wasn't looking over at them.

"Today is Bingwen's birthday," said Chen Xing-Fu.

Lin Yu Yan's eyes widen in surprise. 'That's right. I asked Mingli about it… I was so busy dealing with the ex-head of the Chen family that I forgot about it.'

"Help me look for a gift when we get the chance," asked Lin Yu Yan.

"Yeah!" said Chen Xing-Fu. "Actually, I already found one."

"Really?" whispered Lin Yu Yan. Chen Xing-Fu looked at her with bright eyes and nodded.

"Bingwen? Can you find us a restaurant different than the ones we have tried before? I'm a little tired from talking and want to rest" said Lin Yu Yan. "Xing-Fu will keep me company."

"Okay, I'll be back in a bit," said Han Bingwen. He walks around finding a restaurant.

"Show me where this present is," said Lin Yu Yan.

Chen Xing-Fu takes her to the same booth Han Bingwen was at. 

"Ah, it-" said the Shopkeeper, remembering Chen Xing-Fu's face but he interrupts her before she could continue.

"W-we want to get this Obsidian one!" he said in a panic.

"I would like to get the Obsidian necklace," said Lin Yu Yan.

The shopkeeper looked at Lin Yu Yan and then looked at Chen Xing-Fu, understanding the situation.

"I see… is it a gift for your husband?" asked the Shopkeeper. 'I can see why he got the crimson one.'

Lin Yu Yan was surprised. 'Husband… haha, hopefully.'

"Yes, today is his birthday," said Lin Yu Yan, blushing.

The males that surrounded her when Han BIngwen left them alone were surprised. She was deeply in love with the man if she had a smile with furrowed brows and a sad but sweet voice when she spoke that.

Many were sad that she was taken, also finally noticing the child with her. But the shopkeeper chuckled knowing what the little boy was doing.

"Sure. We have a big order of jade beads and can throw it for free. Would you like to accept?" asked the shopkeeper.

"Ah, yes," said Lin Yu Yan.

"J-jade beads?" asked Chen Xing-Fu.

"Ah right. You don't know," said Lin Yu Yan. Chen Xing-Fu does but he was acting like he doesn't since he was still a child and she might figure out something.

The process was the same and Lin Yu Yan bought the necklace.

"Yu Yan- I mean mommy? I need to use the bathroom…" said Chen Xing-Fu.

"But I thought Bing- I mean Daddy took you to the bathroom already?" said Lin Yu Yan, having to act in front of the shopkeeper but it warmed Lin Yu yan's heart to hear him call her mother.

"I did but I need to go again…" said Chen Xing-Fu. 'I did need to go but we didn't have enough time.'

"Is it okay if he uses the one in the shop? I don't want him far from me," said Lin Yu Yan. She gave her a look of, 'I'm still buying.'

"Sure, no problem," said the Shopkeeper, smiling back at her with an okay.

"Go on," said Lin Yu Yan.

"Thank you," said Chen Xing-Fu, running to the back to go do his business.

"I would like to get this bright yellowish-orange one," said Lin Yu Yan, when he was out of sight.

"It's for your son, I'm presuming?" said the shopkeeper.

"Yes," said Lin Yu Yan.

"I think this sky blue one-" said the Shopkeeper, thinking the lighter blue matching Chen Xing-Fu better.

"No, I want him to have the yellow one," said Lin Yu Yan, with a deep and caring smile. "He's is like the sun, bright and warm, wherever we go."

"I see," said the shopkeeper. "The same thing?" 

"Yes. I will do the first jade bead and my husband will do it when I give it to my son later," said Lin Yu Yan.

"Okay, I will do my best," smiled the Shopkeeper. 'What a beautiful couple… No, what a beautiful family. I wish them all the best.'

------

"Where did she go!? It's been over a week already!" said Hua Mulan.

In the Hua residence, it's in chaos with Hua Shu Lan who has gone missing. They were used to her sleeping over at her friend's house for a day but when she didn't up, they figured it was because she was being extra angry.

But it's been a week and they were starting to get worried.

"It's true… she would have been back by now," said Li Shang. "Even Auntie hasn't seen her. Her tantrums don't last this long."

"I went to see those stupid friends of hers but it seems that they have not gone home either. I'm surprised they haven't reported them missing yet," said Hua Maoli.

"Maybe because they are used to them going out for this long," said Tang Kei Yong. "When I was a kid, my parents were worried at first when I went missing during a certain period of time but as days gone by, they got used to it."

"That's true. She's the only one out of the group that actually has a job. The others just steal their parent's money and go to places for weeks and months," said Hua Maoli.

"Does that have to do with the guy?" said Meiying. "Ever since the guy was here, there are strange things happening around town…"

Then the door swings open and Li Dan E stood there, heavily breathing for rushing. 

"It's Lin Yu Yan…" said Li Dan E.

"What?" said Tang Kei Yong.

"Yu Yan! She's somewhere here in this town! Han Bingwen too! The blood we found in the forest belongs to Lin Yu Yan and Han Bingwen. There was another but I don't know who it belongs to," said Li Dan E, catching her breath.

"That can't be…" said Meiying. 'It was familiar but… that's not how her qi feels like. That's not her qi… that can't be.'

"Ah, the rumors of a beautiful couple must be them," said Hua Moali. "But what about the kid?"

"Right… what about the kid…?" said Tang Kei Yong, getting off-topic.

"Anyway, I also found something else strange," said Li Dan E, sitting down on the couch. "There is a barrier in the slums."

"What? Why is there a barrier there…!" said Hua Mulan, then turned to her son in realization.

"That guy must be there! That is why we couldn't find him. That means he really was on his way back to the West Continent!" said Hua Maoli. "We should have checked there!"

"Sorry, we thought it was too obvious so we never searched there," said Li Dan E. "But I found the trail of blood when I went back to the scene and that's when the barrier was found."

"That means Yu Yan has encountered the man," said Meiying. 'But that man is not strong enough to hurt Yu Yan. He's not even strong enough to fight Kenzhi.'

'Why is she hurt then?' thought Hua Maoli. He looked over at Meiying, thinking of the same thing.

"Then she is in danger," said Hua Mulan, the only one who hasn't met Lin Yu Yan.

"If we couldn't sense Hua Shu Lan's qi, I bet she also got caught," said Hua Maoli. "That's the only reason why I am unable to search for her and she hasn't been back."

"Knowing her, she shouldn't have left town so that is the best answer," said Li Shang. "But… Shu Lan isn't that weak? My daughter is pretty strong."

Li Shang started to worry. Hua Mulan looked over at her husband and looked down. 'Yes. She's not weak… I trained her myself, I know how strong she is… Unless...'

"All the more reason to find her. We move out tonight," said Hua Maoli