Shi Yan awoke to find himself tightly held in Li En's bosom. The old woman had carried him back to their bed and wrapped the sheep's skin around them.

The boy looked up to see the old woman smiling, reaching out her hand to pat his head. "Young Master, you're awake now. Are you hungry?"

Shi Yan was puzzled as he asked, "Li En, normally you would already have prepared breakfast by now. Has your body started to hurt again?"

Li En's hugged tightened as she gave the boy a gentle peck on his forehead. "Young Master, there is no need to worry. I just wish to hold onto you a little longer..."

Shi Yan seemed to understand something and spoke again. "Li En, I also want to hug you longer but we need to go and eat. You must eat or you cannot become healthy!" The boy proclaimed yet again, quoting from the old woman herself.

"Yes, you are right. Young Master has certainly grown up..." Li En gave the boy a kiss on the cheek and slowly raised her body. Her emotions were still solemn but she upheld a radiant look on her face.

"*Em!* I will grow up more to take care of you, so you don’t need to worry!"

The old woman let out a soft chuckle and took a wrapped up straw package beside her. She opened it up with a hint of sadness, presenting the hemp clothing inside with a grin plastered on her face. “Young Master, here are some clothes for you to wear.”

Shi Yan received the gift with open arms, had a curious look on his face. He felt the material in his hand; both the tunic and the pants, a little rough but still much more comfortable than his current straw-wear. His gaze soon turned to the woman in front of him, “Li En, where did you get this? How did you make it?”

“… You will know when I bring you there.” Li En entices the child with his curiosity. “Young Master, do you wish to eat first before we leave?”

Shi Yan immediately tugged on Li En’s arm, “Wait! Where are we going?”

“How about I tell you while we walk? Young Master, if we get there earlier, you can explore the place!” Li En exclaimed.

Shi Yan’s eyes radiated with curiosity as he jumped out of bed and quickly stripped naked, placing his brand new, perfectly fitting clothes on him. In the midst of his excitement, he recalled an urgent matter. “Li En, let’s eat first before we go…” It was not his grumbling stomach that caused him to make such a request, but rather, it was due to his unceasing worry for the old woman’s health.

“Alright Young Master.”

***************

~ 40 minutes later,

***************

Both Li En and Shi Yan had their fill. The old woman took out another package and changed her straw clothing into her new hemp wear. This time, her package had a miniature pouch, made out of leather. She opened it up and showed Shi Yan the dirty copper coins inside.

“Li En, why are you holding onto dirt?” Shi Yan asked while tilting his head.

The old woman let out a soft chuckle, unsure of how to respond. “… Young Master, do you remember the word I taught you called 'money' ?”

*Em!* Shi Yan gave a nod but he continued to question, “But Li En, you said that money was something shiny and sparkly!”

The old woman walked out of the cave and to the river bed, with the young boy following closely behind her. She scrubbed one of the copper coins in her hands, to slowly reveal the concealed glimmer under the pile of dirt. Displaying the copper coin in all its glory, Li En explained. “Although it had grown dirty over the years, it is still shiny. Out of the three types of money, the copper coin is the lowest of value. But Young Master, each type of money has a different shine to it. Do you remember what I told you before?”

Shi Yan pondered for a moment before explaining, “There are two more types of money: Silver and Gold. Silver is white, like the clouds, while Gold is yellow like the banana, but all of them are shiny.”

[Young Master has such amazing memory as always…] Li En gave the little boy a peck on the forehead and proudly congratulated the boy, “Young Master! You are absolutely right!” [ I probably only told him this twice and he has already remembered what I said.]

*Heehee* Shi Yan grinned and asked, “Li En, so what does money have to do with anything?”

The old woman continued to act mysterious, “Well Young Master, that is something that you will find out for yourself later.”

The little boy gave a pout while Li En placed the Copper Coins back inside the pouch and hung it on her waist. The old woman gently held the Shi Yan’s hand and lead him into the forest. “Young Master, let’s go. We will reach there before you know it.”

********************

After an hour of walking,

********************

Along the journey, Li En explained more about the world that Shi Yan was kept from. Each story piqued his interest even more. There were horses that pulled wooden boxes, items made out of something harder than rock itself! A myriad of questions sprung forth from Shi Yan’s mouth after each story. His excitement peaked to the point that the little boy eagerly walked in front of Li En to catch a glimpse of whatever was ahead.

“Eh?” Shi Yan exclaimed in confusion as he noticed the unfamiliarly of the forest. He abruptly stopped in position and looked around.

“Young Master? Is there something wrong?” Li En asked with her eyebrows wrinkled and body in full alert.

*Um!* Shi Yan nods and points to the tree, “Li En, that tree over there doesn’t look familiar at all. Are we lost? Why haven’t I seen this tree before?”

[…] Although Li En was well aware of Shi Yan’s impeccable memory, memorising an entire forest worth of trees would simply be an inhumane feat. However, as she got a closer look at the tree, Shi Yan was pointing to, she understood what the boy meant.

Unlike the regular trees around the forest, this particular tree was of an entirely different breed. It was particularly known for attracting caterpillars. Normally, plant life would repel its natural predators but this particular breed of tree was vastly different. Its leaves were all meant for feeding the caterpillars, allowing the caterpillars a safe haven for them to slowly grow big enough to form their own cocoon. The naïve caterpillars would wrap themselves inside their cage, where the tree would take advantage of this opportunity to have a succulent meal. While in metamorphosis, the tree’s twig would slowly grow, inching inside the cocoon, penetrating the unconscious caterpillar and draining Its innards. The results left a tree filled with empty white coffins hanging on branches with half eaten leaves displaying a sinister grin.

After realising it was just a Catilai, Li En breathed of relief as she comforted the boy, “Young Master, there is no need to worry. We are going on the right track.”

“… ok… but Li En! I’ve walked this far before! Why haven’t I seen this tree before?” Shi Yan asked, filled with doubts.

“… well,” Li En was a little stumped by the question but gave her take on the matter. “Young Master, it is extremely likely that you haven’t walked in this direction before… or maybe you simply never got a good look at this tree?”

“Maybe…” Shi Yan sounded unconvinced but no longer pursued the matter any further.

[… There is no way that this child would not notice such an obvious tree.] Byakko pondered as he could feel Shi Yan’s doubts flooding his mind. [But, it was also possible that the child had not travelled to this parts before…] Byakko similarly also placed the topic behind him but Lumu on the other hand noted this down.

**********************

~ after a few more minutes,

**********************

Shi Yan and Li En could hear the faint voices coming from the distance. In the midst of the excitement, Shi Yan quickly ran forward and passed a tall bush to finally see a whole new sight.

Buildings! Children! More people talking to each other! These were the first scenes that entered the boy’s eyes. Although wood that made up the houses were somewhat rotting, leaving a decrepit taste to the environment, it was still a magnificent sight for the little boy. With his mouth wide open, Shi Yan quickly shouted to his caretaker, “Li En! Li En! Look! So many houses! So many people!”

The old woman appeared from the same bush Shi Yan ran out from and spoke with a smile, “Yes Young Master, there are many people here. Do you wish to play with the children? They speak the same language as us.”

Shi Yan quickly asked, “Li En, there are more languages?”

The old woman gave a nod, “Yes. In the Nan Dynasty, everyone is able to speak Chinese. But, there is more than just the Nan Dynasty. There is also the Magreh Kingdom, where people speak English, which is just south of here.”

“Li En, will we ever go to the Magreh Kingdom? Sounds like it will be very fun over there as well!” Shi Yan’s eyes shone a brilliant light as he anticipated the day where they two could visit such places together.

The old woman’s eyes turned dulled as she nodded, “Young Master, maybe once you get older. It’s quite a distance between the two places and we will need to earn enough money to travel there…”

“Em! I will definitely earn a lot! Li En, so how can I earn lots of money?” Shi Yan asked.

“… Young Master, that is a very complicated question…” Li En scratched her head in confusion.

“Then Li En, how did you earn those copper coins?”

“….” Li En thought for a moment before explaining. “Young Master, manual labor is definitely something that one can earn from. But, such tasks are usually handled by adults and render quite a bad income …”

“… Li En, which job would pay most?”

“Young Master, those jobs that pay the most usually have the least number of people capable of doing it. For example, herbalist or teachers.”

“…” Shi Yan pondered for a moment, “then Li En, why don’t you become a teacher and I become a herbalist? We can both earn a lot of money!”

Li En awkwardly continued to explain, “Young Master, both occupations require you to pass a really hard exam.”

“But Li En, you are so smart! Any kind of test would be easy for you!” Shi Yan spoke with a sense of pride that made Li En feel a sense of delight, but at the same time, embarrassment.

“Young Master… I’m not as smart as you think…” Li En muttered but was quickly rebutted by Shi Yan. “Li En! You know so much and I’m always learning from you! If you are not smart, then won’t that make me worst than an idiot?”

“…” Li En became speechless, [I really can’t quarrel with you, Young Master…]

*Un!* Shi Yang gave a nod of approval, as though he had won the argument and grabbed the old woman's hand, leading her into the street.

When the two appeared out of the bushes, they unintentionally caught the attention of the few starving children running about. One of the taller boys went forward to confront Shi Yan, “Little brother, how did you come out of the forest?” with his bowl cut hair and small, squinty eyes, he looked like an oversized doll. However, it was obvious that he lead the group of children from his straightforward disposition.

Shi Yan looked at Li En, unsure of what to answer. How was he suppose to direct the big guy all the way from the cave home? Unfortunately, Li En returned the same look of bewilderment.

“Zhi Lang! Why are you bothering them so much!” A cute but frail little girl with two black buns on her head called out to the boy with her arms by the hips. She hastily stomped over and bowed down to Li En and Shi Yan. “I apologise for my little brother’s rude behaviour…” Her tiger like obsidian eyes swipes towards Zhi Lang, hinting to him.

Obediently, Zhi Lang bowed down and apologised as well, “Sorry…”

Li En quickly pacified the situation, “No… no… little girl, you are mistaken... There is no need to apologise to us…” The old woman tried to reach out her hand but withdrew it after noticing a youthful woman walking closer to them, shouting out, “Zhi Lang! Ke Xing! What are you two doing!” She was a well-endowed woman, wearing a silk white dress embroiled with a black snake on the shoulder. This woman was in her 40s but still appeared youthful. With her black wavy hair pined up, accompanied by her dark green eyes, she was the carbon copy of a womanly viper.

Hearing her cold voice made the two children shiver in fright as their bodies were frozen in place, head still held down low. Meanwhile, the children around them seemed to tacitly understand something and quickly scampered away.

The middle-aged woman was quick to move, in a few seconds, she was already in front of both Li En and Shi Yan. With a warm smile, she greeted Li En, “Madam, I hope that the children have not caused too much trouble to you. Do not worry, I will properly educate them once I bring them back home.”

Li En shook her head. “They caused no trouble. These two were truly well-behaved. There was just a slight misunderstanding between us, that’s all.”

The middle-aged woman’s smile widened, but her stare shone an ominous light “Madam, they shouldn’t even be disturbing you in the first place.” Without waiting for Li En to speak, she turned around and reprimands the children, “What are you waiting for? Didn’t you hear me?”

“Yes Madam Cheng!” the two children’s voices were loud but held a welling sense of despair within them. It was evident that they would suffer some form of punishment later. With much haste, the two children ran through the street, hoping to not further anger her.

Madam Cheng turned around to share a few more parting words to the pair one more time before strolling back. With her back turned, Shi Yan tugged on Li En’s hand. When the old woman brought down her head to Shi Yan’s level, the little boy cupped his hand to her ear and whispered, “Li En… why is that woman so scary? Is she one of those Demonic Beasts that you speak of?”

Li En gave a pitiful chuckle, “… Young Master… did she really look that evil to you?”

Shi Yan points to his turquoise eyes, "Her eyes seemed like she wanted to eat you!"

"…"