104 — A New Home

A/N: Through my week long suffering, I binged all three books of Red Rising's audiobook, and now I've forgotten how to write in 1st person past tense. I'm not even kidding, it's been an immense struggle, and I'm hoping some more practice can bring it back. Great books though, worth it. Anyway, here's the chapter, took me a while because I literally forgot how to write, is a bit rough, probably has tons of tense errors, but it's here. Enjoy! Book 2 begins!

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The cart rattled beneath me, jumping and clattering. In the distance, beyond the flowing hilly grasslands, I saw the town of Taizhou, bustling with people. Our new home.

I took a moment to appreciate my newly enchanted eyesight, as I saw things in vivid detail. It was an odd sensation to know that I could probably count the leaves on a small plant, still far off in the distance.

Labby rustled her head in my lap, turning over in her sleep as she pursed her lips, a frown on her face. I brushed a hand through her gray hair, looking at her child-like form sleeping peacefully.

“I’m sorry about what Li and Lei did,” Yan Yun said, noticing my lingering gaze on Labby. She sat in front of me, her legs curled around her body, and arms wrapped around them, as if to close herself off from the world.

Yan Yun hadn’t spoken much since we’d departed, and noticing the tears that glistened her eyes, I knew to not pry into what happened. Not yet at least.

“It’s not your fault. I went of my own will, and I failed to protect Labby because I was weak,” I said, clenching my fingers hard enough that my knuckles turned white at the memory. I looked up to see words that yet lingered on Yan Yun’s face, but neither of us spoke any further.

I had taken my revenge already. Even if the Elder spent all his resources, it would not be an easy task to restore the twin’s cultivation, or reputation. But I also wasn’t foolish enough to not realize that I’d made enemies for life. Children they may be, but both of them had been raised in a cruel world. They will come after me, and I’d have to be ready for them.

“Ah, here we go,” Cao Chen said, squinting into the distance. “I see Taizhou. We’ll arrive soon.”

Yan Yun stirred in the city, turning to look at the town in the distance. I noticed her eyes squinting as she looked towards the distance in confusion, before they widened a sliver as a realization settled onto them, soon after me.

She couldn’t see the town. Her eyes were unable to see that far.

I turned my gaze away from Yan Yun before she noticed that I was watching her. Words hung in my chest, curiosity and concern jumbling together. She has lost her Path. Just what happened after the spirit hunt with her? Did her grandfather do this?

Boiling fury rised in me at the man, but I forced the emotion back down. I was more prone to anger now, after I had become whole again. It would take years before I could completely feel settled in my own identity, but that didn’t mean that I would allow my past self’s faults to linger.

In front of that old tree, in the darkness with Ki, I had been born anew. This was a new life, one that I had been robbed of, gained anew. I would not squander it.

“Chii~” I hear Twilight chime, twirling as she climbs onto Su Lin’s back, to stand atop his head.

“Sii!” the silver spirit lilly chimed, following Twilight’s lead. Sheldon remained seated quietly, Nyan curled around the turtle, as the two snuggled together.

“Master?” Labby murmured, rubbing her eyes as she got up.

I patted her head lightly, smiling. “Did you have a good sleep?” I asked Labby, as she looked up to me, still shrugging off the remnants of sleep from her eyes. Silently, the little girl nodded. My eyes drifted to her robes, marked with the sigil of the moon. She would need some new clothes.

A wave of energy passed through the cart, as the spirits all clatter, and jumped around, excited for the journey to end. I saw Leiyu flying above the cart, rushing ahead to Taizhou by himself.

As the town drifted closer, people began to gather. I saw quite a few familiar faces walking around, as the cart rolled ahead. My eyes rest on the village head treading through the crowd of people to greet us.

“It is an honor to have you with us, cultivators,” the village head greeted us. “Please, allow us.”

A few burly men walked to our cart, and began to pick up all the luggage we’d carried.

“Here are you, boy?” a familiar voice reached me. I turned and saw a familiar wrinkled face heading towards me, a smoking pipe grasped in her other hand. “Took you long enough,” Granny Lang said in a gruff voice, but the smile on her face betrayed her true feelings.

I jumped off the cart, walking closer to the old granny. “What can I say granny, I can be a bit slow,” I replied, understanding the other meaning of her words.

The old woman cackled like an old witch. “You can say that again!” she exclaimed, amused. “But slow you may have been, but I’m glad to see you in one piece boy. I’m sure that old bastard also thinks the same,” she said.

I nodded. The Old Man. I still had a lot of things to talk to him about. But one thing at a time.

I turned to face the village head, and slightly lowered my head. “Thank you for allowing us to stay here.”

“Oh please, do not shame us by bowing to the honored cultivator. You’re the savior of our village, if I could not even do this, then I would shame my ancestor’s name,” the village head said, and I smiled, knowing his words were sincere.

“Now, please, come and have some tea at our place. The villagers will be seeing to your items, and preparing a place for you to stay at,” the Village head said, and I nodded, following inside.

To my surprise, none of my spirits or friends followed me inside the village head’s place, except Yan Yun, who trailed behind quietly with Leiyu on her shoulders. I turned to see Labby being prodded and pulled at curiously by the young children of the village. My little spirit turned to me, her eyes confused and slightly scared and I smiled, feeling a strange sense of happiness to see her among the kids.

Steeling my heart to her plea, I turned back around, and walked further into the village head’s home. Yan Yun and I took two seats in the chamber meant for guests, waiting patiently.

A girl walked into the chamber a few moments later, carrying trays with tea cups on them. I quickly recognised her to be the village head’s daughter Yin. I nod my head once to her in acknowledgement, eyeing the village head’s chamber. I could hear the clatter and chatter of my spirits running, and Labby’s laughter mixed inside the other kids’ shouts.

“It truly is an honor to have you here, an honored cultivator. The addition of old lady Lang and the other cultivators has helped the villagers quite a bit. We have medicine to sell to the city now if we so wish, and our sick do not die as often. Neither do we have to rush to the city to cure any more. Now to have you here as well. It is truly a blessing.”

I nodded in reply, not disagreeing with the village chief. “In truth, I have a lot of things to discuss with you as well, village head. Plans for this place, and what I will be doing as well. But seeing as we’ve just arrived here, I’ll leave those talks for later,” I said, taking a slow sip of the boiling hot tea.

Little whispers of conversation touched my ear, and I smiled. We sat in silence for a few breaths, as I drank the tea. Yan Yun shifted nearby, her eyes turning to me inquisitively. I motion for her silently to remain patient. It wouldn't ruin the surprise they’d prepared.

The door to the village head’s chambers opened with a click. I turned to see granny standing at the door. Yin rushed towards the old woman, as the two talked about something, and I raised my eyebrows.

“Are you hiding something?” I asked.

The granny turned one look towards me in surprise, before taking a smoke of her pipe. “Well, if you've caught on, might as well show you,” the old woman said.

I nod, standing up. Yan Yun follows behind me, her confusion growing more and more, as I follow behind granny Lang.

We walk, a bit further outside the homes that lined the perimeter of Taizhou, and I see the surprise that the village head and granny Lang had been trying to hide.

Gardens of spirit herbs dot the area, fields tilled and brimming with Qi, the air full of the scent of essence herbs. Wards shimmered in the area, to prevent spirit beasts from being attracted by the herbs. Beyond the garden, was a home.

But it wasn’t a home that I’d ever expected to see in this world. It was built with wood, it’s features clearly not from here, but a lot more modern in sensibilities.

The granny turned towards me, as I stared in silence, looking at the place. “Among the various plans you'd given, Su Lin had taken the blueprints for the school and asked old Gan to see if he could make a home in the given design. It ain't perfect, we'll likely need you to take a look around, but this is our gift to ya. For saving Zhang, and all the town folks here.”

Reaching the door, I pressed my hand against the wood, feeling a strange sense of happiness. Zhang opened the door, smiling as he saw my face.

“Welcome home, brother,” the boy said, walking up and I found a strange emotion well up in my chest, clamming my throat.

My home? How long has it been since I had a home? Since I belonged somewhere?

With a happy smile, I whispered. “I’m home.”