"Li Yixuan," the voice of a man said. Li Huimin stepped out from the shadows as he stared at a long haired young man standing under the light of the moon. The young man turned to face him, his long hair flipping back with the impact of the turn.
"Father," Li Yixuan said, bowing his head in greeting. "It's been a while."
"One hundred years, to be exact," Huimin said, crossing his arms with an unreadable look on his face. "You ascend to the heavens and suddenly forget you have a family, huh?"
"You know the rules," Yixuan said with a sad smile as he stared at his father. "I can't have contact with the mortals unless it's something dire."
"Is that why you're here?" Huimin asked him. The two of them were standing by the shore of a large lake. The light of the moon reflected off the water, creating shadows in the lake of the trees all around them.
Huimin pulled his outer robe tighter around himself as the wind picked up. He stared at his oldest son, taking in his appearance. Yixuan looked like his clone, but he looked divine and stood tall. He was an immortal now, so he held an untouchable aura. Huimin wouldn't lie that he was a bit jealous. But mostly, he was just unbelievably sad. He missed his son more than anything. He prayed for this day to come.
"Yes," Yixuan said with a deep sigh. "The other immortals were against it, but I came because this upcoming war affects you directly. I can't just sit back and watch like I did in the past. The Aoki Devil is growing stronger. I fear he could hurt you. I don't want you getting hurt."
"I have nothing left to lose," Huimin said with a bitter smile. "You and your other father are both immortals. That woman hid your brother away from me. I don't even know where he is or what he's doing. I've just been wandering for the last 14 years. Like I don't have a purpose anymore."
"Meixia is your purpose," Yixuan told him. "Just like Yizhou is my purpose."
"Yizhou?" Huimin asked. Yixuan smiled and took a seat in the grass, leaning back against a large boulder that stuck out of the lake. Huimin walked over and sat down on the rock, picking up a stick and starting to break tiny pieces off of it. "What's Yizhou?"
"You'll learn in due time," Yixuan told him. "For now, I'm here to watch over you."
"Aren't you going to get in trouble?" Huimin asked, looking at his son with worried eyes. If the other immortals forbade him from coming down to Meixia, why would he risk it? Huimin didn't exactly understand.
"Father," Yixuan said with a small smile, "you're forgetting who's by my side up there. Your first love would never let the other immortals do anything to me. Of course he talked them into letting me come down here to protect you and your world. But also, I've come down to let you know of a prophecy."
"A prophecy?" Huimin asked, letting the stick and all the pieces he broke off drop to the ground. Yixuan smiled and picked up the stick, starting to write in the dirt with it.
"I don't know it word for word, just what I heard," Yixuan told him, focusing on the drawing he was making. "The Aoki Devil has two sons. Aoki is on the move to find them. Both sons have the power to defeat him. But both also have the power to join him and cause true evil in this world. The prophecy states that one of the sons will join forces with Meixia's three kings' sons and defeat the devil together."
"Mexia's three kings…?" Huimin asked, furrowing his eyebrows at those words. "Do you mean–"
"Your son, Dingbang's son and Guoqiang's son," Yixuan told him. "Right now we must let nature run its course and allow fate to bring the four of them together. Once that is done, then you can make your appearance to him."
"I don't even know where he is," Huimin said with a resigned sigh. Yixuan smiled and threw the stick aside. Huimin glanced down at his drawing. Once he saw the characters the young immortal had drawn, his eyes widened in shock. "In time, you will be able to visit him in this place and be reunited with him. But for now, you must stay back. We can't influence his destiny. If he gets distracted, things could go very badly."
"He's been there this whole time?" Huimin asked, his voice now barely above a whisper as he stared at the characters drawn by his oldest son. Yixuan gave him a small nod. "Have you been watching him?"
"I've came to check on him every month since the day you were separated from him," Yixuan told him. "I've been making sure he's growing up well. And I gotta say, he takes after me."
"Oh yeah?" Huimin asked with a soft smile. "He's like you?"
"In many ways," Yixuan said with a nod. "Stand by, father. Things will come together soon. You'll see him again. Right now, I suggest you try and find your old friends Lu Huan and Guiying. We could use their help."
"You remember them?" Huimin asked as Yixuan started to walk away. Yixuan smiled and looked back at him.
"Of course I do. How could I forget the two uncles who helped raise me?" Yixuan asked with a wink. "I'll see you, Dad."
"I love you," Huimin blurted out, but Yixuan had suddenly vanished.
Huimin let out a sad sigh as he stared at the spot his son vanished in. And then he started to weep. Years of pain and loneliness seeped back up into his mind. There was no explaining just how much he missed his family. Yixuan, Yixuan's other father, and his young child. He wished he could have them all back. Hopefully by the end of this war things would get better. They had to get better. Huimin needed a family. The loneliness was too much.
With that in mind, he allowed himself to calm down before turning away and heading up a dirt path. He had to send a letter to his old friends so they could meet and make a plan. It was time to gear up and fight.