The Urban Dao Child

Yang Dao and the four people flew off on the horizon after dealing with the deformity. The young man was now worried about how to say farewell to his people. He had emotions and compassion in his heart, however, this did not mean he did not want to go away. 

He did not notice where he was flying off to, and subconsciously, he flew to the place where it all began for him. The orphanage in Bell City. It was evening and the sun was setting down. The sky was covered with an orange hue. 

...

Sister Tina was waving at a car going away from the entrance door. This car belonged to a family that has just adopted a child from the orphanage. The older children all stood behind her waving at the car with a smile. 

Cao, the eldest of the children asked, "Sister Tina, why do children not have a say in whether they want to go away with those new people or not? They all agree to the sweet coaxing words." 

He was not jealous or against this idea but he thought that children did not have much awareness of things and they happily follow anyone who talks sweetly to them. This thing had always made him curious. Sister Tina smiled and said, "Children follow their instincts. Instincts are better than your intellect sometimes." 

The rest of the children nodded. Suddenly a warm voice asked, "What are you pipsqueak nodding about?" 

The two girls standing near Sister Tina ran to the voice in an instant. Sister Tina said, "Dao, you finally have the time to come back?" as she shook her head. 

In the past ten months, a few new children had started living in. They did not know who this person was, and why were the two big sisters hugging him like koalas.

Yang Dao replied to the lady, "I am home."

Cao cheered, "Welcome back, Big brother Dao." 

The children all cheered. Yang Dao held the two girls in his arms and said, "You two, it is not good to cling when you grow up. What will people say?" he teased the two girls.

The two girls snorted as they snuggled their heads to his chest. Behind him stood the four people. Feng Yun said, "Master, you asked us to find the successors right?" 

Yang Dao nodded in confusion. Feng Yun smiled and said, "The two girls, they have the physique of fire. I choose them as my disciples. They have been learning for ten months." 

The Dao child was surprised, he bent his neck to look at the two girls only to find two pairs of starry eyes gazing back at him as if asking, "Are we awesome?" 

Yang Dao chuckled and said, "You two are indeed awesome." 

The two pairs of eyes turned into inverted crescents. The boy patted their heads and said, "Let's go in." 

Then only the two girls held his two and let him walk. Yang Dao asked, "How have you two been learning, Sister Yun taught you well?" 

The two girls nodded in unison and gave him an okay signal. He found that the two had become somewhat confident than earlier. He was able to sense that all of the children and people had some sort of elemental source energy radiating from them but he did not know the twins to have been taken under the wing by the phoenix. 

The people came inside and Yang Dao greeted the new children in the orphanage and then began to help some faculty members to cook food. Atsuji Kurogame told the children fairy tales in a room, while Ryu Jinshi taught the teenagers about fitness. 

Feng Yun was testing her disciples in their room while Laohu Bai taught the teenage girls, how to be more graceful. She was always as such in front of outsiders. Mind you, she was a white tigress. The queen of felines, her grace can put anyone to shame if she showed it. 

...

Inside the kitchen, Sister Tina watched as a handsome young man cooked food with a big ladle and pot. She asked, "When will you leave?" 

Yang Dao shivered for a second and replied without turning back, "In a few days."

Sister Tina nodded, "What have you been up to lately?" 

"Rectifying some problems. Making the world a better place." said the boy with a chuckle. 

Sister Tina said in a soft voice, "I am aware of your identity, Dao." 

The hands stirring the porridge in the pot froze as the young man shivered. Sister Tina sighed and continued, "Nina and Tina had told me all about it. Also, since your people are preparing someone to take over, that means you will be going away. Where to, I do not know. All I know is that this place is your home. You can come back here always."

Yang Dao could not help but let the tears in his eyes fall down as he heard these words. Sister Tina said, "Keep moving the hands the porridge will burn otherwise." 

He gave her a nod as he began to stir it again while tears kept falling down his eyes and mixed with the porridge. The boy was very worried about how to reveal his identity but everything was already set in order. 

After the food was cooked, it was served to everyone in the orphanage. The people praised every bite they ate. Yang Dao was happy in this atmosphere, away from all worries. If it was the past, he would have wished for the time to stop at this moment but he was aware that such a thing was impossible. 

So rather than crying over it, he decided to make the best of it. The people did not sleep the whole night. Yang Dao decided to stay in the orphanage for a few days while the familiars packed up their work. He had not yet visited the Dao Space and needed to check on Dao Yin, this place was his haven and so he stayed. 

...

After the four familiars left, Yang Dao sat inside a room with his legs crossed. The young man focused on meditating and gradually his consciousness emerged in a starry scape. He found that he was alone and sat down meditating with patience. 

After an unknown amount of time, he opened his eyes and found a white-haired girl looking at him. He asked, "Took you long." 

Dao Yin had come over. She smiled and came to sit down next to him. She said, "Yeah, was saying my farewell." 

Yang Dao nodded and asked, "Will you meet me in the next place?" 

Dao Yin smiled, "Depends if you can find me." 

The young man smiled. Dao Yin had grown a lot more beautiful in the past couple of years. The two chatted in peace about their anticipation for the next world and the challenges they might face there.

Suddenly, the girl asked, "What will you do, if you are born in a family that is different from your temperament." 

The boy said, "I would like to explore more and then decide. It is not like I can decide where to be incarnated." 

Dao Yin nodded, she thought for a bit and said, "We will be ascending so, I do not think we can take a proper birth?"

"We can still cheat," said Yang Dao. 

Dao Yin was surprised and they began to discuss the cheat. After a while, the white-haired lady suddenly pressed her lips against Yang Dao's. She said, "This is our first kiss and it is also a farewell kiss. I will see you in the next world." 

Yang Dao nodded as he caressed her face with his hands. The girl smiled and nuzzled her head against his palm as she faded slowly. The young man sighed and his consciousness also returned to his body. He woke up and found two anxious teens walking left to right. He asked, "Why are you two so antsy."

The two were none other than the twins. Yang Dao coaxed them by telling them that he was in a deep state of meditation and then he came to eat something. 

...

Time seemed to have grown wings, and a week passed away. Yang Dao wrote a letter to Sister Tina and after handing it to the two twins he left the orphanage in the night. He did not wish to see them upset so he left. 

He met with the four familiars in the dao courtyard mansion. He asked them, "When do we leave." 

However, he got no reply so he asked, "What is it?" 

Atsuji Kurogame said, "Allow me." 

The other three nodded and the old man said, "Master, this is the last time you will meet us in this form until you have ascended to the dao palace. The next world is going to be a task that is a complete test for you set by the great Dao. We cannot aid you." 

Yang Dao was shocked by this but he did not say anything or show any expression. The old man kept on talking for a few more minutes telling him what the actual circumstances were, and why they could not follow him. He had no choice but to show his understanding for the four people to ease up guilt. 

In the end, he said, "I will see you all soon." and then he left the Dao Courtyard Mansion to go to the Dao island. The three girls, Lisa, Kiya, and Mika had made peace with their parents and said their goodbyes as well. However, they were taken by the familiars to meet Yang Dao when he steps in the dao palace.