54 Back Mountains (1/2)

Xin Fan woke up with a clear mind. A proper sleep was something that he hadn't experienced in quite some time and it was refreshing whenever he had a chance to do so. Xin Fan could hear the mumbles of Chilong on the bed beside him and Tianfei, a bunk above him. Xin Fan slowly crawled out of bed to open the windows to see the snow. Already at this early hour, he could see children throwing balls of snow at each other.

”Kids wake up!”

Aunty Lu opened the door with a wide grin. She seemed to be ready a long time ago. Tianfei slowly got up while rubbing her eyes, still not fully awake.

”Ehhh...where am I?”

She slowly climbed down the bunk bed and headed over to the bathroom. While this was happening, Chilong and Xin Fan headed towards the dining area where they were greeted with the sight of food. Aunty Lu was quite excited as they slowly sat down to have the meal. Xin Fan took a bite of the meat bun and his eyes lit up. It was just like the food he ate back at home.

”Ahh...It's been a while since I've cooked for somebody else.”

Aunty Lu looked satisfied at the sight of the childen enjoying the food. Although Chilong didn't say anything, his enjoyment could still be seen. Tianfei slowly entered the dining room afterwards still looking a bit tired. As she looked at the food on the table and Xin Fan and Chilong eating it, her face shifted from tired to betrayed.

”Ah! You didn't wait for me!”

She scrambled over to have a seat and grabbed the few remaining meat buns on the table. She ate extremely quickly as if she was a hamster.

”Hey! We only ate one!”

”Don't rush. There is still more. Nobody will take it.”

Xin Fan and Chilong let out a sigh of relief. Aunty Lu took out another plate from the steamer and placed it on the table. After eating breakfast, they left the home and decided to explore the village. Over in the main square, Wang Mei was having a conversation with her grandfather.

”So you need some dried rations to last another week. Right?”

”Yes Grandfather. The school would pay for it.”

”Alright then. It'll be done in a day.”

From the conversation, Xin Fan could infer that they would depart once again soon. For now it was best to explore around and have a stretch before another long ride. As he was about to explore, Xin Fan felt a tug on his robe. It was a boy around 4 years old, no older than Xiao Xing. Next to him was a girl who looked quite similar to him just with an extremely blank look.

”Hey. Big brother you are a cultivator right?”

”Huh? Um sure?”

”My sister has been acting strange recently.”

”Huh? Why does that have to do with me?”

Xin Fan was not quite sure about what this kid was talking about. That was until he looked at the girl. At first glance, she looked pretty normal however anyone can tell, this wasn't normal. As Xin Fan looked around he could see this everywhere. People would still do what they normally do, but they would seem to be somewhat blank.

”I'll take you to Teacher Wang.”

Xin Fan led the siblings to the teacher.