Chapter 53 Chapter Fifty Three - First Frost and Winter Snow (1/2)
The advancement of the season occurred without warning, Autumn becoming Winter overnight. The temperatures had plummeted overnight and the men and women of the small base woke able to see their breath. While some reacted by huddling deeper into their quilts, Autumn threw on a thick bathrobe and hurried down into the kitchen, where the heat from the aga was most pronounced. In the distant past, the aga's warmth would have been funnelled to other rooms to heat home and hearth, but that was before the property enlarged and expanded. It was also way before the age of central heating. A pity that the latter was redundant now. Still, as Autumn's body warmed in beside the stove, she expelled a quick sigh.
Outside, the ground sparkled in the lazy light of the sun. The speckled ice coated the hard ground and each and every blade of grass, giving the feel that the usually green lawn had lost its colour beneath the full moon the previous night. The empty stalks of corn and tomatoes were wilting, killed in the chilling cold and many other plants were showing signs of being effected as well. Fortunately, most of the garden's produce had been harvested, so there was little waste. Of the crops to grow above ground, only the brussel sprouts were waiting to be plucked, but that was simply due to the fact that this harder vegetables had better flavour if left until after the first frost. They would not remain out there for much longer.
The blue sky was clear of clouds, but plumes of white smoke began to curl upwards as the both the mansion and the small neighbouring cottage began to burn wood and coal, trying to raise the temperatures within them. ”How cold do you think it got, this morning?” Jimmy wondered aloud. With no tools to measure the temperature, there was no way to be certain.
”No idea,” Dexter replied as he helped Autumn load the kitchen tables with porridge, nuts and toasted seeds.
The days were so much shorter and there was little to do in the dark evenings when candlelight and battery powered torches were all that could disperse the darkness. There was only so much one could chat about and only so much one could reminisce. Ren Zexian only allowed Dexter to cultivate after the sun had set, thus although the number of ability users within the base had increased, they still lacked things to do at night.
It was discovered that the second squad had a few hidden talents in their midst. Shaun was already confirmed as a Metal user; his root was pure and he had no other abilities, but it was already amongst the best so others were not necessary. Brooke had a lone ice root, however Ren Zexian did not recommend that she cultivate at this time, but allow her body to focus on her child. He did not know that he had formed another misunderstood mark against him for his reasoning. Autumn, Cole and Jonah were found to also have dormant roots, surprising everyone.
Awakening roots forcefully was a risky business and the older one was the more risk was posed, so Ren Zexian felt that he really should not attempt to awaken Jonah's roots at all. Jonah was alright with this; he'd lived for more than fifty odd years without super-powers, he could survive the rest of his natural life without them. Besides, he needed to protect his lover and their baby and didn't want to chance ruining his life over the chance that he might get a bit stronger in the future.
Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.
Cole accepted the risk immediately and Ren Zexian accompanied him in awakening twin Rock and Sand roots, both said to stem from the major Earth root, though both were actually minor and not as powerful as the main root itself. Ren Zexian then handed him to be trained by his disciple, feeling that this was the best course of action to be taken.
Autumn had yet to decide whether she wanted to awaken the potential within herself, dubious and without confidence.
Several of the men bundled up in sweaters and what coats they could find in the mansion. It was difficult as there had only been a few men taking care of the property before the end and at least one of them had been as skinny as a rack, while in contrast, one had obviously been quite round; any who tried on his old padded coat looked as if they were drowning in it, even the physically larger men, Harry, Jonah, Dexter and Cole. They'd found a few other coats in the village that could be used, but not all were in good condition, likely the spendthrift owners willing to put off purchasing a new one for another winter or perhaps they just liked them that much.