Chapter 6: Haibian Village // The way to the City

Luo Chen led Zed and Lan'er to his mother. When they reached her, his mother's eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh my- You are such a beautiful lass!" She complimented Lan'er.

The siblings immediately knew where Luo Chen inherited his personality from.

Luo Chen's mother crouched down to the same height as Lan'er. She smiled brightly as she kept observing Lan'er who immediately hid behind her brother's legs.

"You have such amazing hair and very fair skin! I wonder how a little fairy, like you, ended up in this place?" She said while inching closer to Lan'er.

She suddenly stopped and opened her eyes in surprise as she thought, "Or wait- such unnatural beauty... could you two siblings be offspring of immortals?"

When she realized this, she stood back up and introduced herself properly.

"This humble mortal's name is Luo Xiaoling."

She then bowed slightly which made her son, Luo Chen wonder if there was something wrong.

Seeing as there was a misunderstanding, Zed immediately tried to clear it up.

"Please raise your head, you mistook us. We are only a pair of lost siblings. We were wondering if you could tell us where we are and if there are any nearby cities. Specifically, one with a sect." Zed explained.

Luo Xiaoling observed the two slightly before sighing in relief. "Thank goodness, I thought I would lose my head for my disrespectful attitude.

But you can't blame us! Your little sister is just too beautiful! She could be mistaken for a fairy!"

Zed mentally rolled his eyes as he thought, 'Of course she is! After all, she's my little sister! Plus I always take care of her body.'

What Zed meant by this is that they always take a bath with soap and that's why they appear cleaner and neater than most commoners.

Lan'er's hair is always fragrant because Zed would sacrifice some of his mana reserves to condition her hair, resulting in them having an appearance similar to a noble's.

This highly contrasted with commoners who would normally take a bath once a week.

Luo Xiaoling was quite accommodating as she invited Zed and Lan'er into her home while Luo Chen kept pestering Lan'er to play with her.

"Little Lan'er, why don't you play with Luo Chen for a while? Don't worry, I'll wait for you here." Zed suggested to Lan'er but the latter was still hesitant.

She wrapped her arms around Zed's legs tighter, seemingly not wanting to go.

Ever since Zed got heavily injured, the two of them had never separated. Zed knows that it might have been a traumatizing event for her, but if she never grew up from this, she would always be dependent on her brother.

Honestly, Zed didn't have any problem with that, but he would still like the best for his little sister. He wanted her to grow up to become a strong and independent woman.

And so, his first step in remedying that was by allowing her to explore a little more about the world by herself as well as socialize and interact with other people.

"Lan'er..."

When Lan'er notices her brother's gentle tone, She realizes his intentions for her.

Her brother... wants her to grow up.

After remaining silent for quite some time, she sighed and finally let go of Zed.

"Come on! Let's go! I'll show you around the village!" Luo Chen grabbed Lan'er's arm and dragged her outside the house.

Zed let out a benign smile as he waved at his little sister.

"Be back before the sun goes down, you hear?!" Luo Xiaoling shouted.

From afar, her son replied with the same level of voice. "Okay!"

Luo Xiaoling chuckled while muttering something about her child and closed the door.

She offered a seat to Zed to which the latter took gladly.

Luo Xiaoling took another seat herself and faced Zed. "So... what do you want to know?"

-

Luo Chen took Lan'er across the village. He showed and introduced her to others and especially his friends.

The other children in the village were astonished by Lan'er's beauty while Luo Chen stuck his chest out the entire time, boasting about how he is Lan'er's first friend.

This incurred the jealousy of all the other boys while the girls were envious of Lan'er's beauty. After Luo Chen and Lan'er finished touring, he invited everyone to play with them.

Lan'er participated in their activities but didn't understand why they did it. She saw that the other children were having fun running around and chasing each other but she couldn't see the purpose of it.

Nonetheless, she figured that this must be a normal activity for children her age and so she remained quiet and continued playing with them.

By the time they were finished, the sun was setting and Lan'er immediately dashed towards Luo Chen's house.

She found her brother waiting for her in front of Luo Chen's home.

Lan'er crashed into Zed while rubbing her face onto his chest.

"Oof. What's wrong?" Zed asked in worry.

Lan'er shook her head and replied, "Nothing. I just missed you."

She sticks onto him while constantly smelling her brother. 'Haa.... brother's scent always puts me at ease.'

Lan'er was unaware that she already developed a huge brother complex while Zed thought this was just a normal reaction from her since he was her parent.

"Haa.. haa... haa..." Luo Chen wiped his sweat as he arrived near them.

"Y-you're... too fast... Lan'er..  haa..."

He was exhausted since he chased after Lan'er.

Zed's eyebrow twitched once more. 'Lan'er? Do you dare call my sister, Lan'er?! Only I can call her that!'

Of course, the child could only inherit his denseness from his parents. As such, Zed was also unaware that he had developed a sister complex, although not as deep as Lan'er's.

After some time, Lan'er looked up from her brother and asked, "Are we leaving, brother?"

Zed nodded.

"Wait- you guys are leaving?!" Luo reacted the strongest while the mother opened the door.

"Are you two sure you wouldn't eat dinner first? You could also stay the night since it is dangerous to travel the forest during nighttime."

Luo Xiaoling offered them to stay since she became worried about the two when she found out about their circumstances.

She had a hard time believing that Zed was only 10 years old and he was forced to take care of his sister at a very young age.

"It's alright aunty, we will be fine." Zed smiled as the two pairs of siblings walked towards the forest.

Luo Xiaoling could only sigh and wish them the best while her son still hadn't processed what was happening.

"Wha- they left? Noo! My fairy friend, come back!" Luo Chen threw a tantrum while his mother brought him inside their house.

-

The two walked deeper into the forest with the moon serving as their light.

Zed glanced at the moon which was completely different from the moon on his planet. The moon in this world was twice the size of his old one, making it occupy almost 30% of the night sky.

Lan'er was quiet so Zed asked her what they did for the day.

She answered that she couldn't get along with the others properly and that she understood what Zed previously talked about when one was too beautiful.

She felt the admiring looks of many people whether they be children or adults. Meanwhile, some held envious gazes towards her.

Lan'er also said that she couldn't fit in and failed to make a friend since everyone looked up to her. The majority of the boys also fought to stay by her side.

They kept calling her a fairy and she noticed that boys would often chase her in an attempt to touch her.

When Zed heard this, his eyes widened, and killing intent briefly flashed in his eyes.

But Lan'er reassured him that no one had caught her. Heck, they couldn't even touch her since she was able to easily outrun them.

As they continued to talk, they eventually arrived at the spot where they hid their belongings.

These were the items they had accumulated throughout their years of journey through the wilderness

A single bag contained their loot and weapons. Meanwhile, Zed placed three spears made out of different monsters' bones on his back and carried the large bag.

Lan'er hopped on his shoulders as Zed conjured a spell and they flew to the skies.

With the wind brushing upon their bodies, Lan'er let her silver hair scatter through the skies as she felt calmer now that it was only the two of them again.

If one were to see the two of them, they would find an unusual figure carrying a large bag that was more than thrice the size of the carrier.

"You should sleep for now Lan'er. We'll arrive at the city in the morning." Zed suggested.

"What about you, brother?" Lan'er was worried and thought it wasn't fair that she was the only one that got to rest.

Zed reassured her, "Don't worry about it. Your brother is very strong, you know? Skipping out on one night's sleep should be fine."

"But brother, you said that it's bad for your health if you stayed up too late! What more if you hadn't rested at all?" Lan'er's voice slightly trailed off.

Zed chuckled because Lan'er said all this even though she was already starting to fall asleep.

Eventually, Lan'er fell asleep and Zed continued to fly them in the direction of the city.

'Still though... I've confirmed it.' Zed's eyes squinted as he recalled the information he got from Luo Xiaoling.

As it turns out, they had traveled to another country. Their previous clan didn't have any records known despite them being a very renowned clan.

Zed's brows creased and continued to ponder about what happened.

-

When Lan'er woke up, she found herself astounded by the view she saw.

Several tall buildings rose to the skies as they were surrounded by large walls that spanned several thousands of kilometers.

It stretched across the forest and into the ocean. Mountain ranges could be seen from afar, adding a wonderful natural ambiance to the glory of the city.

She saw different structures made out of materials she didn't know. Their roofs were beautifully designed while the pavements and roads were made out of cemented rocks.

She also saw many new and unnatural things, but Zed knew that they had arrived at the destination they were aiming for.

Zed already realized that the civilization of this world, or at the very least, the country they were in, was influenced by the culture of ancient eastern Asia wherein most structures were made from preserved ancient wood. "Ancient China" Is the word that Zed would use to describe the city.

Tall pagodas and pavilions were seen from afar and the roofs of most buildings had curved ridges supported by wooden beams. The roofs were also built with ceramic tiles and lanterns that were hung across the streets and houses, serving as the light source for when nighttime came.

Carriages and palanquins were commonly used as a means of transportation and the majority of the civilians wore eastern robes similar to the ones he had on when he first arrived in this world. 

Lan'er was in awe as she did not stop asking Zed questions about the new objects she saw. She asked where they came from, how they were made, and what their purpose was.

This was the first time Lan'er had seen technology and she could feel her world growing larger and larger.

She also spotted many martial artists and cultivators flying in the skies while standing on their swords.

She was incredibly fascinated while observing the large city from afar.

After some time, Zed decided to snap Lan'er out of her daze as they landed in the forest several miles away from the city's entrance.

Zed dressed in clothes he made himself after properly hiding their bag of loot.

Zed was now wearing a black vest made from a four-horned sheep whose wool was very thick.

His pants were made with the same material and he shaped them similar to a martial artist's so it allowed smoother movements of his body.

With the well-defined muscles on his forearms and the spear he hung on his back, he looked like a full-fledged martial artist.

He tied his long black hair in a ponytail to finalize his look.

Meanwhile, Lan'er was wearing a soft silky robe that he had tried his best to design. It had a simple look and a waistcloth that allowed her to move freely while not losing her robes.

Because of her looks, she was very picturesque and looked similar to a fairy in fantasies.

Zed was worried about it and couldn't help but imagine what would happen if a noble or a young master stumbled upon her beauty and fancied her.

Zed explained to Lan'er about the different levels of power and authority. He also explained that nobles are people they couldn't afford to offend because their background was powerful.

He made an obvious and vivid example of how nobles can abuse their authority and Lan'er was smart enough to understand her brother's warning.

Having taught the values to Lan'er, they were both prepared to go to the city.

Edited By: WorthyAdversary