at the breakfast table.

"San Lang and I are going to Puqi Shrine," Xie Lian announced.

A moment of silence.

Xie Lian coughed awkwardly. "And um, Hua Yuan, would you like to..." Xie Lian's voice trailed off.

"..."

Xie Lian felt a bit odd. The breakfast table felt a bit off.

Granted, Xie Lian doesn't think there has even been a need for a breakfast table till a couple of days ago. It was usually breakfast in bed. (and that, my good readers, is the best kind of breakfast.)

But here they are, with a brand-new breakfast table. Which actually matched quite well with Xie Lian's purple yam congee in these very cute round-shaped porridge bowls. Oh, what's that? It looks more like purple tar? Well, guess what. I can't hear you. (:p)

And eating from these cute little bowls were Hua Cheng and Hua Yuan. Next to Hua Yuan was Quan Yizhen. Hua Yuan keeps scooting closer to Hua Cheng and the man keeps nudging the boy away. Yin Yu was sitting at the very corner of the table with bags under his eyes. Quan Yizhen stared dumbly at his bowl of congee watching the ominous (evil) purple energy swirling around his 'food'.

Xie Lian: "Ahem."

Everyone looked up at Xie Lian.

"..."

"Hua Yuan, would you like to go to Puqi Shrine with us?"

Hua Yuan nodded. "Yes, Daozhang! I think it'll be fun!" Hua Yuan smiled at Xie Lian before turning to smile even wider at Hua Cheng.

Hua Cheng: "..." The man reached out a hand and ruffled Hua Yuan's hair. He turned to Xie Lian and smiled. "Gege, we are going to have so much fun!"

Grumbling indistinguishable words, Hua Yuan went back to his porridge, hair all messed up.

"Puqi Shrine..." Quan Yizhen muttered.

Quan Yizhen looked up, pupils broad. "I want to go too!" he announced.

Hua Yuan nearly choked on his porridge.

"..."

。。。

。。。

。。。

"Daozhang... I don't think I can walk anymore..."

Being in a five-year-old body was surely tiring. Hua Yuan was restricted from doing much stuff! Including walking more than half a mile. Hua Yuan was about to kneel down on the dirt floor.

"Oh, I can hold-"

"Here, Gege, I got this." Hua Cheng picked up the boy with a hand and tucked the child under his arm.

"..."

Hua Yuan huffed. He looked at the man who had suddenly changed into a handsome youth with two eyes and a lopsided ponytail when they left Paradise Manor. Two eyes! Hua Yuan didn't even know they could do that. Hua Yuan hung over Hua Cheng's arm with his own arms and legs dangling, pointing to the ground like a damp robe being hung to dry.

Quan Yizhen was up way ahead of the couple and child, hopping from tree to tree. One moment he was hanging from a branch, the other he was climbing up a trunk and quarreling with a squirrel.

Yin Yu was still at Paradise Manor with the promise he'll catch up with them later.

"Isn't it nice to not rely on spiritual power for a change?" Xie Lian remarked. "It may be more of a hassle to walk but the view made it all worthwhile."

Um, you mean this dusty old dirt road? Why can't we ride on swords or something? Hua Yuan sighed. He looked to the left. Well, at least the trees are nice. The ones that don't have Quan Yizhen squatting on a branch that is.

Soon, they reached Puqi Village.

Puqi Shine was up at a little hill in the village. Almost immediately Quan Yizhen disappeared behind the temple to play with the minnows in the lake.

They reached the summit. Hua Cheng dropped the child onto the floor. A shabby-looking cabin had appeared in sight. Cabin was a generous word. It was more of a shack.

"I know it doesn't look like much... But it's cozy nonetheless!" Xie Lian assured Hua Yuan. Xie Lian must have caught the look on Hua Yuan's face.

Hua Yuan turned to Xie Lian. "Daozhang, it's beautiful!" he said. "Daozhang, can you give me a tour?" Hua Yuan walked stiffly towards the shrine.

Just as Xie Lian helped Hua Yuan open the door, they heard a multiple of Daozhang!, in the distance. It was some of the villagers.

Soon after, the villagers were at the gate, greeting enthusiastically to Xie Lian and Hua Cheng.

"Daozhang, it has been a while!" one of the locals said. "Don't worry, we had people come to clean the shrine every now and then. We all pitched in to help! Even though Daozhang isn't here, most of us still come to pray every most often."

Xie Lian: "Oh, that's wonderful-

"Yes, yes, Daozhang!" Another villager piped up. "Daozhang, do you remember Ling-er? She and her husband have been trying to have a child and now she is expecting! It must have been Daozhang's blessing!"

Xie Lian: "Actually-

"Oh my, it's Xiao Hua! Doesn't it seem like Xiao Hua got even taller? Daozhang, you are very lucky!"

"Daozhang, Daozhang, can you tell your friend over there at the lake to fold his pant legs up before playing in the water?"

"Daozhang- eh, who's this?"

The villagers fell silent one by one as their eyes fell on the little boy behind Xie Lian.

One of the older women in the group approached Hua Yuan. "Wah, who's this little handsome? What's your name, little one?"

Hua Yuan: "Hello, Jiejie. I'm Hua Yuan."

The woman practically squealed. "Did you hear that, y'all? He called me Jiejie! My, I do look young, don't I?"

The villagers: "..."

Another woman: "Ah, Hua? Is it Xiao Hua's little brother? Then Xiao Hua is Da Hua now!"

No, lady.

"I thought he was you guys' son."

"..."

Quan Yizhen had somehow made his way back without anyone noticing. The man was barefoot and the helm of his pants was still wet. There was a set of wet footprints behind him. Quan Yizhen looked confused. "Isn't he?"

All of the villagers' eyes widened. "Oh my," the woman who asked for Hua Yuan's name said. She placed a hand over her lips.

"..."

"Well, I can see the similarity," one of the villagers said.

All of the villagers nodded vigorously.

Hua Cheng smiled courteously at them.

Xie Lian wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

。。。

。。。

。。。

A few hours later, Xie Lian finally was able to usher all the villagers away.

Hua Yuan collapsed onto the straw mat, exhausted. Daozhang, you have a flower city and a garden! was still ringing in his head. He tried explaining his name doesn't mean garden but all the village ladies just laughed and praised him that he was so smart for a five-year-old.

Hua Yuan sat up and shot a glare at Hua Cheng who was examining the condition of the only window in the shrine. And that guy was no help! The man only beamed at the villagers and ruffled Hua Yuan's hair until Hua Yuan was sure he was going to give someone an electric touch.

Hua Yuan hopped up. "I'm going outside for a bit!" he announced and ran out without waiting for a response.

。。。

。。。

Hua Yuan found a good spot behind the temple. There was a lake and beyond that was a small forest. Hua Yuan entered the outskirts of the forest and sat down against a tree.

"..." Hua Yuan looked left and right. Making sure there was no one, he scrambled into a squat and lifted the corner of one of his sleeves. A round fluffy thing plopped out.

Round was an understatement. It was a ball-shaped cat. With fur.

"Thank god," the puff said, its voice muffled from being face-planted on the ground.

Hua Yuan looked at the white fluff thing. "Sorry, did you wait long?"

"I think I have grown a beard."

Xin flopped over and stared at him. Hua Yuan huffed.

"It's not my fault. Who knew you would suddenly decide to have a solid form?? That alone cost me 800 cookies! I have half the mind to use you as one of those stress-relief plush toys." Hua Yuan bought up his hand and balled it.

Xin grimaced. "I never said it was your fault! Are your five-year-old brain cells getting through you? I-

"Is that a hamster?"

That nearly scared the living shit out of both Hua Yuan and Xin. Xin froze and Hua Yuan slowly turned to see Quan Yizhen squatting next to him. Hua Yuan nearly cursed out loud.

"Wah! W-what are you doing here?"

Quan Yizhen looked at him. "I was here the whole time," he said, pointing up. Turns out, Quan Yizhen was up on a branch in the tree the entire time.

Hua Yuan made a mental note to not only look left and right but also up the next time.

"Is this a hamster?" Quan Yizhen asked again. He picked up a nearby stick and used it to poke the furry blob on the ground.

"...no it's a cat..."

"It talks." Quan Yizhen commented.

"No, it doesn't." Hua Yuan said quickly. Hua Yuan looked at the cat. Xin was holding their breath and looking like a frozen idiot.

"Yes, it does." Quan Yizhen frowned and poked the cat harder.

"OH MY GOD, YES, I TALK! Please, just stop poking me!" the cat suddenly shrieks.

"..."

Quan Yizhen looked at Hua Yuan. "See," he said. "It talks."

🤔

Thank you for reading!

('▽')/✨

Please do vote and comment, it'll be highly appreciated!

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Word Count: 1687