The sky was starting to darken as the old ladies soon started going back to their homes after staying in the Tang manor for an entire day playing with Xue Hua adorning him in all sorts of ways.
Xue Hua felt relieved when he saw them going back, feeling his head which had all sorts of hair accessories that the old ladies had brought from their homes during the day his head felt heavy too.
The servants also got busy in the yard, preparing tables and seats while some started lighting the lamps for reasons that Xue Hua didn't quite understand except the knowing that everyone was going to have dinner together.
Glancing back, they took a final glimpse at the kid, when seeing the kid feeling the accessories, they chuckled from the gate and shouted,
"We'll be back soon so don't take off that pretty braid!"
Xue Hua flinched as he looked back, seeing all those ladies still staring he looked away, his hands behind his back, pinching his fingers.
The old ladies laughed as they slowly walked out of the chief's house and Xue Hua only relaxed after they were out of sight.
He walked carefully to the gate and peeked out to see if they had truly gone away.
But when he saw the outside his eyes sparkled, seeing the lights outside.
The streets were well lit with oil lamps hanging on every door.
It was bright, unlike the places where he had stayed with Yue Ran, where the only light was a cackling open fire or if lucky, the bright moon in the sky.
Despite being quite remote the villagers lived in a decent condition, some could even say it was much better than the places in other territories.
Here each could afford many things that would be considered a luxury for other people in different territories, like oils, a roof that covered the house completely and thick doors and windows to prevent the wind from entering.
It was quite ironic how more people died from cold in other places than the people living here, in conditions many deemed uninhabitable.
They had with them oils and herbs in abundance, despite oil being an imported resource.
It was pretty peculiar,
however,
Xue Hua didn't question it any longer, since all he wanted to do now was go to Yue Ran and take off his braids especially those heavy pins
Remembering their final words he couldn't help but look back once more,
Those old ladies probably wouldn't notice anyway...
He felt the silver hairpin on his head and shuddered, remembering the process of how his hair became the way it did while with those ladies.
He was finally free from humouring them...
The image of Yue Ran's cold yet gentle gaze emerged in his mind.
He couldn't wait any longer, he hadn't seen him for the entire day after coming here and being dragged by those old folks.
He really wanted to see him
Yue Ran could've stopped them, he probably could've...but maybe he didn't because in order to make their identity more believable...
That had to be it.
His shoulders pounded, with an ache that had formed due to being tense for too long.
Patting the dust away from his back he looked around, stopping-
After he spotted a servant sweeping the snow in the corner, he planned to walk up to her to ask about Yue Ran, who now had truly become his older brother.
Although a disguise, it was.
He felt kinda funny, rubbing his stomach unconsciously, when thinking about it, for some reason he could hardly stop himself from grinning stupidly.
Then-
he felt a chill breeze past him.
His head snapped back quickly, but again, nothing.
It was a feeling, similar to when someone was being watched, he felt it again as soon as he turned his back.
But no matter where he looked, he found no one.
Actually, ever since they stepped foot in this village Xue Hua had been feeling much colder while having this feeling of being watched,
but he passed it off thinking it was those old ladies gaze and the cold didn't even register as anything out of ordinary since he had gotten used to varying temperature in the north, even if it was an already cold it could still grow even colder, it was amazing in a sense how people called a place like this home,
But now, neither were the folks around nor was there any wind.
Yet the temperature kept dropping from the morning.
Rubbing his arm, he walked closer to the yard.
Everything about this village was far from a typical problematic place, kind people, hospitality and generosity, housing elderly people.
Nothing was out of the ordinary, maybe except the fact that there were no youths or even children
But the villagers had already said that it was because of business ventures as this village had few opportunities.
Even though there were clinics, inns and even stalls that sold quite a lot of local specialities to visitors.
So he didn't really understand.
Only, most of them were closed temporarily due to the blocked route.
When he put the oddness aside and regained his senses, the servant was already done and was about to leave, making him panic a bit at the possibility of not seeing Yue Ran, it was dark, and he didn't know anyone.
As he was about to sprint towards her he felt a hand on his shoulder, which was followed by a familiar voice.
"Xue Hua"
Ah,
He came to find me.
He felt funny again.
Lifting his head, as he looked at the towering figure,
How did he even dare get upset? Maybe it was the sleepiness that made him so audacious, he wanted to forget about it and Yue Ran himself acted as though nothing happened yet Xue Hua remembered everything vividly so it was hard not to get embarrassed.
Despite his nails scratching the back of his hand it merely felt ticklish, taking in a deep breath he walked up to the immortal, he wasn't used to looking down so he seldom looked at Xue Hua once he was at his sleeve.
But even if he did, he wouldn't have noticed the kids' emotions, for his head was in a ridiculous state.
He wanted to dig a burrow for himself, but he didn't want to be far from him either.
It was a predicament for him really, one that seemed impossible to solve.
Feeling the added heaviness on his sleeve Yue Ran sighed merely, this was growing into a habit, Xue Hua held his sleeve once more,
Yue Ran thought that this child had gotten quite clingy,
But he couldn't help it,
Thinking for a moment he opened his mouth,
"Are you hungry?"
The kid for some reason flinched hearing his voice which seemed closer than ever, and nodded shyly.
.
.
Before dinner, they were led to their room,
"Please stay for as long as you'd like"
The chief's smile was warm, and sincere, quite rare among men like him who often take from his subjects.
Yet the villagers seemed fond of him, unlike the stuff formalities or fear when interacting with a lord, the villagers were quite casual, and relaxed even.
Xue Hua sat on the bed hurriedly removing all the accessories from his hair.
Yue Ran sat across him helping him so that the kid wouldn't tear his hair off,
A fleeting thought.
'The chief was a good person.'
....
And soon the darkness crept in, but the yard in Tang manor was lively, lit by lamps and candles at every corner
Keeping the place relatively warm, plus the villagers were all bundled up so despite the cold they were all cheerful and very full of life.
One by one every villager slowly showed up, each bringing something no matter how small the portion.
Even some large jars that seemed to contain a certain liquid that didn't need to be studied longer seeing the expressions on the old men's faces.
There were many kinds of dishes- all potatoes and very filling still.
The seasonings were limited but that didn't limit the cooks apparently.
This showcased the unity of the village and how everyone despite whatever struggle still stuck together.
Which was how mortals were, despite their deceitful nature.
It was honestly paradoxical.
How humans could be both sides of an extreme.
While conversing with the chief during the day using his scholar identity he found out quite a few things, the chief said, the sharing meal in the same yard was a ritual founded by the previous chief, his father.
Who wished to unite every single home disregarding status and wealth, because according to him, a struggle shared was less than half the struggle felt.
In the previous generation, the storms were more frequent and to make matters worse, the demon outbreak also happened around those times which left this village exposed to frequent demonic attacks.
The crack was soon found and closed by the disciples and their masters although it still engulfed many souls.
The food on the tables were grand by no means and their supplies had long depleted as they were mostly relying on the chief's stock of food to fill their belly, yet they all showed no despair, every face showed hopefulness and liveliness.
The warmly lit yard created a contrast to their situation, a warmth that seemed unusual in the north, the golden glow resting on the fallen snow bed.
The chief seemed embarrassed because he couldn't properly host Yue Ran and Xue Hua due to their situation.
Yue Ran assured him, because it was he who insisted on joining them outside when he said that they would serve them inside the house
It was only polite to respect their ritual and join them.
.
"It's been so long since we last got a visitor in this old place, much less a child!"
A man exclaimed loudly, laughing after having drunk some wine.
Despite being low on supplies it seems that it wasn't the case for alcohol.
A floral scent began wafting through the air, the villagers were not at all reserved with their drinks.
Especially the older ones, they were now full of vigor that could shame even teenagers,
"The last time I saw a child was when the little lady was still healthy, " he said, pouring another glass of alcohol.
After he had said that, there was a shift in the atmosphere making it tense for a split moment,
"So, what's going on with you?" An older lady slapped his shoulder looking at the woodcutter, referring to his days of getting lost, the people were quick to change the topic laughing again once more, glancing around the crowd.
It seemed to be a sensitive topic.
Yue Ran and Xue Hua were seated in the middle of the villagers, sharing a table with the chief and some old folks.
There were around five tables in the yard, each filled by the people of Siquan.
They served rice in a bowl with potatoes placed on a large plate, they had been boiled and seasoned with limited spices, there were some roasted potatoes, some sliced potatoes, the list went on.
While others were talking ,Yun Buizha crept up to them, squeezing between Yue Ran and the kid.
"Is this enough?" He leaned over and said in a low murmur
Yue Ran realised that he was referring to something, he had said earlier
'food will be nice'
He closed his eyes exhaling softly before he glanced at the kid, who after resigning to his fate was being stuffed with food by the old ladies left and right.
He even seemed a little overwhelmed with the amount of food confused like a lost puppy.
Yun Buizha followed his gaze and saw the same scene.
A smile drew on his face realising what the immortal really meant when they first met.
'so it was for him'
.
.
Yun Buizha retracted his gaze after catching a glimpse, as he started to feel guilty once more.
He truly felt guilty again, he just couldn't stop thinking about the past, thinking how prejudiced he was towards cultivators.
Seeing Yue Ran he couldn't help but be ashamed of himself,
Which resulted in forming respect towards Yue Ran, despite being someone who had no need to care for others caring so much for a child whom he wasn't even related to.
Unlike the people, unlike the cultivators he was used to, in stories, and tales.
How could he forget that there was good and bad no matter who the person was? As long as they were human, some were bound to be bad, while some who could help even at the expense of themselves, there was no way to fix a certain type of assumption on a person.
They were ever changing, ever evolving, and now, he too was changing because of that man.
Then Yue Ran nodded,
"It's not bad" His voice low as he answered, picking up the chopsticks he finally began eating.
Out of nowhere, he felt a piercing gaze, immediately he looked back, but nothing.
It was nothing like the hospitality and generosity he felt from the villages, it was hostile.
A killing intent.
He could recognise it, even if only for a split second.
The others seemed to not realise as Yun Buizha acted normally eating quietly unlike earlier when he seemed as though he'd never run out of words with the other villagers.
But his wandering eyes soon met Xue Hua's, who just like him was out of it, looking around.
It wasn't an illusion
Something was staring...
Watching..
And listening.
Then a drunken man walked over to Yue Ran, "young master! You should have a drink!" His mouth reeked of alcohol, his frame large despite his average height blocking his vision.
Yue Ran frowned slightly, the timing couldn't be worse, distracting him from the situation all while making it difficult for him to trace where it came from.
He was about to say something when that man added, "it's the pride of us northern people! You should know how each village has their special version of wine, right?" He laughed, intruding, as he took a seat beside him.
The chief had already retired earlier, so that man seem to feel no reservation now after drinking for so long,
Was this how they spent every night?
How could they say it was due to strength as a whole?
Were they not just drinking away their worries and pretending to be strong during the day? It was quite laughable.
"You won't get a taste of this wine anywhere else!" He laughed roughly,
Yue Ran's brows twitched,
'truly noisy'
Drinking must've melted his sense too, he had been silent the entire time yet that man kept on blabbering.
"I can't drink while sharing a room with a kid" he tried to talk sense into that man, doubting whether it would even work, however he always had other ways of making a person shut up.
After all, with how rowdy the place had gotten, no one would doubt why a drunken man just fell to the ground.
"Old Jie, stop bothering the poor man and come over here"
Someone scolded from Xue Hua's side,
It was lady Tang,
The man, like a drowned dog looking dejected after being unsuccessful in making him drink, walked back to his seat.
Some of the villagers had started walking back home, and his wife pulled him by the ear when he returned and was scolding him near his ears.
Yue Ran only rubbed his temple, he hadn't realized but Yun Buizha had already fallen asleep long ago.
This whole ordeal made him thirsty for some reason.
He reached out to the glass filled with water, however, before it touched his lips he saw the glass fall down.
Spilling the water on his body.
Xue Hua had grabbed his wrist making it fall.
Yue Ran's eyes widened.