“...”

“...”

Expressionless, perhaps exhaustive, eyes.

The seniors remained at the sidelines. This was, overall, a repeat of earlier.

From their perspective, it was just a whining little sister, mad upset about her ‘ignorant’ brothers, and as HuaYan suggested to WeiQi a while ago, their intense squabble died down after some time, to the inconvenience of the other diners a short step away. However, they simply put up with it, knowing full well the trio could easily silence them by overwhelming force.

On the other hand, there was the troubled senior waiter, who waited long for that break in the conversation, and he promptly informed their group to head upstairs. Realising just how much time they had wasted, the trio obediently maintained their silence until they reached their table.

As they walked up the final flight of stairs, HuaYan grabbed hold of WeiQi’s shoulder to her sudden surprise, and whispered softly in her ear. Their gazes landed on the trio above them, showing clear signs of hunger and fatigue from all that’s happened.

“Looks like they haven’t abandoned the expectations of a regular youth, WeiQi.”

“...Right.”

“... . Isn’t that a much needed relief?”

“Unlike you, mine’s all over the place.”

Amidst all of their practical abilities and theoretical knowledge, unbelievably unattainable by any regular adolescent teen at their age, both HuaYan and WeiQi evidently saw their varying emotional sides, carefreeness and recklessness. While HuaYan managed to convince her to not worry so much about the trio’s potential futures, a part of her can’t let go of the sentiment about how these talents could possibly come to cost them dearly in ways larger than themselves, and he knew this to a T.

Knowing that this hesitation on whether to act now and how was seriously bugging her, HuaYan reasoned once more. All she wanted was the best for those three and that's an effort not to be dismissed, but dealt accordingly.

“I am sincerely proud to be dearly close with someone who deeply cares about those around them, and that’s why I will say this, WeiQi.

As long as they are happy, like they are now, there ain’t no harm with letting them explore. Perhaps being more lenient about it will lead to even better things being achieved by those three. Believe me when I say this.”

Eyeing him back one last time as they stepped atop the third level, WeiQi finally concluded.

“We are no better, HuaYan. What are we currently, in our early twenties? I can guess their tutorship had people much more experienced than us, and in greater numbers. I say they ended up more well-equipped than even ourselves today.”

“...you could say that.”

“Hence, who are we to judge so quickly, like you said before?”

“...”

“So please, just ignore what I voiced earlier, but I am deeply thankful for your constructive input and am sorry for wasting our time.”

“...”

“Shall we return to the feast?”

She held her hand out.

“...”

Although he felt unnerved at her final statement, HuaYan fell speechless in making a proper comeback, and he knew as well, WeiQi was the same.

“...”

“...”

Knowing this conversation reached a roadblock to their furthest extent, HuaYan eventually backed down.

“Please don’t be, WeiQi. These exact experiences are the reasons why I always cherish your company.”

He grasped her palm firmly.

“Let’s go!”

“... . Yes, let's.”

.

.

.

Everyone was spread out evenly along the round table.

HuaYan and WeiQi sat next to one another.

ReZhui sat beside him, and Eddisson towards her. In between the two boys, ShiYan sat at the forefront.

The table was fanciful, made of polished wood with a red table cover draped evenly over it. A rotatable circular glass was placed at its center with a large teapot placed on top. Five sets of tableware were placed professionally beforehand, and once the group took their seats, the senior waiter walked close and elegantly served each of them a hot cup of brown tea.

“Lady ShiYan, may I get your order?”

The waiter asked as he finished.

Normally, one would refer to a menu or a board. However, ShiYan had been eating here by herself several times already, so she simply told him to get them the usual. The others nodded blindly with full trust.

Giving all of them an affirmative grin, the waiter excused himself.

“Well received, Lady ShiYan and distinguished guests. The food will be here shortly.”

.

.

.

Now that they were waiting for their dishes, what better way to pass the time than further chatter, and they did just that.

Blowing hard on her cup, ShiYan then chugged everything whole. From that energy-intensive fight to her arguments, the first gulp felt like heaven. Her thirst was quenched, and she cheered for her throat’s rejuvenation.

“AHHH! That was good!”

Meanwhile, ReZhui sipped his slowly, watching her actions awkwardly.

“...What’s the matter, ReZhui?”

She noticed his gaze as she took the spare cup of tea.

“Nothing, ShiYan.”

He found it adorable.

“I see.”

ShiYan quickly finished her second fill.

There was soon silence, considering they were the only ones on the third story. Thankfully, HuaYan was a talker.

“Say everyone, shall we ask for some wine? I’m dying for some! Uh!”

Elbowed hard by his companion, WeiQi scowled back as usual.

“Don’t you listen to yourself? They are not of age yet, doofus.”

Massaging his sides, HuaYan remarked.

“That’s not true. My father regularly held drink outs with me and his friends every week from back then, and as he always said, ‘Age is just a number.’”

“...I’m flabbergasted that I am just hearing about this right now.”

“Really? I suspected you found out sooner.”

“Once you build up a tolerance from a young age, it’s harder to notice.”

“Anyhow, that’s only you, WeiQi. For all my juniors, what do you say? It’s all on me tonight!”

“...”

Raising his hand forward, ReZhui calmly informed him.

“Sorry Big Brother Wei, but we never drank alcohol before and don’t plan on doing so now.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

From where he sat, everyone saw the gradual fall of his smile. Grumbling away as his expectations shattered, WeiQi glanced stealthily at his hunched posture, quietly amused.

“Why…how could you say that, ReZhui…”

HuaYan was on the verge of tears.

“It’s really simple, Big Brother Wei. We know how drinking intoxicates the body and deemed it necessary to prolong its prohibition for as long as possible.”

Taking another chance to further drag him down, WeiQi commented teasingly.

“You should be thankful for your current job, HuaYan. Look at ShiYan’s physique. Her lack of consumption enables her to gain a body that goes up against larger men, alongside her fighting skills. Full abandonment for extra health sounds like a good deal, you hear?”

“...It’s been a day since, WeiQi.”

She eyed back in disgust.

“Hmph, if you’re still adamant about shortening your lifespan, go order some for yourself.”

“No way, WeiQi! The taste of wine is one thing, but the joy of watching others do the same goes hand in hand for the ultimate drinking experience. Please! How about I buy some for you at least?”

“I pass.”

“No!”

Ignoring his pleading state, WeiQi turned back to her juniors, specifically to ShiYan.

“Aside from his problems, I would like to stress the rest too. ShiYan, I adore your power. Well done.”

“...!”

ReZhui saw her fazed out before she flushed away in embarrassment, and he clearly knew why. Having willing to take great lengths to keep her connections with MianJu a secret, this incredible feat of learning how to defend oneself, especially for a girl of her status while going against the norm, had gone unnoticed by everyone from the very start. Although she didn’t mind the lack of attention, ShiYan had wished for at least her father’s appreciation of her progress despite the clear necessity not to for ReZhui’s sake.

Over the years, that desire waned away and the support of ReZhui, Eddisson and MianJu were just enough to push her forwards.

Hence, this sudden compliment from WeiQi caught her off-guard. Her expectations were so non-existent nowadays, that this simple gesture made her so elated, as all praises often have diminishing returns. The first, and perhaps only ever time, an outsider sincerely congratulated her held the most importance to her.

“Ah…ah, ah, ah…t-t-t-ta-thank you very much, Big Sister Tian! It…it was nothing much, really…”

ShiYan shyly replied, still recovering from that emotional impact.

Smiling proudly at her modesty, WeiQi then faced the two boys beside her.

“And for the two of you, I suspect it’s something similar, right?”

“...!”

While Eddisson looked to ReZhui for his opinion, he, on the other hand, grinned cheekily.

“Ahaha, looks like the cat’s out the bag, huh?”

“B-but, ReZhui?”

“Eddi, I see no harm in revealing it when stuff’s so blatant already. Although, it would be greatly appreciated if you two would please keep this to yourselves. There will be a lot more hassle than if there were only rumours about ShiYan’s fight…which had been seen by all back then.”

ReZhui bowed his head.

“Oh, no worries, ReZhui. HuaYan and I will gladly follow along. Right?”

WeiQi glanced at HuaYan.

“...”

Realising that she took his words to heart, HuaYan readily replied with affirmation.

“You can count on us, ReZhui. After all, the two of us will be heading home the first thing in the morning. Gotta resume the workflow as soon as possible, you know.”

“Hold on, seniors, what exactly brings you here then?”

ShiYan interjected.

“Oh right! We only told ReZhui.”

“True, and to answer your question, ShiYan, HuaYan and I came to visit Teacher and catch up on lots of things.”

“I see, so how was Teacher Woo? It’s been a long while since we last visited, right ReZhui?”

“Now that you mention that, I cannot recall exactly. A few months perhaps?”

“It's approximately four months and twenty seven days, ReZhui.”

Eddisson added.

“Well then, if that’s what Eddi calculated, then it really was long.”

“Teacher’s fine, ShiYan. He’s still as happy as ever, teaching the children of tomorrow. However, we can’t ignore the signs that he is getting much older and less energetic after noon.”

“oh…ReZhui, how about we send some elixirs some time later?”

“I was thinking the same.”

“How splendid, the two of you!”

“Well, Sister Tian, he’s not only your teacher.”

ShiYan sneered playfully.

“Speaking of which, ShiYan, Mr Xu is still the forefront village doctor, correct?”

HuaYan randomly asked.

“Hmm…aside from some minor and major establishments of new positions and resignations of the corrupt and uncooperative, DongBu’s village council remains the same as always. Why the question, though?”

“I was not expecting that broad of an answer, but then again, I shouldn’t have for you three. A-anyhow, I’m just curious, that’s all.”

Raising an eyebrow, ShiYan dug deeper.

“What do you mean by that?”

“XiaoQiu village, neighbouring HuaYan’s very own, recently had a drastic change in leadership, along with some minor ones further east. According to him, all of the top positions were replaced so suddenly.”

WeiQi filled in.

“What WeiQi said. I was just wondering if something big’s happening and how to prepare for whatever changes are made, but if a councilman’s daughter directly tells me their village still maintains its status quo, then maybe my suspicions are far-fetched.”

“...”

Finding this story pretty foreboding, ReZhui decided to make sure, interrupting ShiYan.

“It may be different in other-”

“Big Brother Wei, do you know why the current board was overthrown?”

“...! Strangely enough, I don’t know. Even those in my social circle have no clue.”

“Was the current board a desirable group?”

“I would say they are satisfactory. Seriously, no one expected this change to occur.”

“....”

“ReZhui?”

“ShiYan, Eddi, did anyone significant get replaced this Spring Festival?”

Immediately, Eddisson retold the conclusion.

“No one. Like ShiYan said, it’s only the corrupt and immoral that were fired. Moreover, XiaoQiu and GuLie of HuaYan’s village are outside the Bai river basin’s political envelope.”

“Sister Tian, what about your village?”

ShiYan interjected.

“There are no changes from what I heard. Overall, I think GuLie is just the sole anomaly, simply due to the fact it’s one of the larger villages in the area.”

“That may not be true…”

Eddisson corrected.

“...! Wha-wha…”

With everyone facing towards him, ReZhui demanded his answer.

“What’s your reason, Eddi? Did you realize something?”

“This may purely be a coincidence, but if I recall the map correctly, GuLie village is one of the main transportation nodes that has direct links towards Luo ChengShi. So…”

Suddenly, at the call of that place, everyone’s faces darkened, especially ReZhui's.

“Eddi, are you implying that that fat pig is behind all of this?”

“Think about it, ReZhui. We have never even stepped foot in that place during the past five years. In the end, we are clueless as to what's going on over there.”

“... . That’s true, Eddi. But what benefit does that bring? We have no need to hear about his inhuman antics as long as he never interferes with the lives throughout the Bai river basin as outlined by Mr Xu. And surprisingly, that lump of meat actually listened for once and here we are half a decade later. Everyone’s at peace and free from that tyrant’s grasp.

He knows the consequences if he returns here once again to wreak havoc over the populace. What difference does it make when that bastard could’ve easily unleashed his rampage years ago? The fact that he didn’t even until today suggests that he wasn’t the mastermind for the establishment of a new council in Big Brother Wei’s village.”

“...”

“Or at least, that’s what I think…”

Once finished, ReZhui shuffled back down in self-reflection. Contemplating his words again, ReZhui found his logic pretty solid and ultimately, stuck to it.

Meanwhile, with everyone else shakened by ReZhui’s sudden analysis, Eddisson immediately backed down, considering his own thoughts to be inadequate and senseless. On the other hand, ShiYan wanted to voice out her opinion. Unfortunately for her, what she had in mind was just pure speculation. In spite of that, ShiYan stated her stance on this.

“Although your reasons are sound, ReZhui, I think it’s still foolish to discredit such a possibility.”

“...Let’s say that was the case, ShiYan, Eddi. What are we going to do about it?”

ReZhui asked straightforwardly.

“Well…that’s perhaps something we could consult with Father.”

“....Right.” In the midst of his rage, that thought never crossed his mind, “That’s really the best option we have.”

Delighted that ReZhui agreed so, ShiYan detailed further.

“We can let him know as soon as tomorrow, and you could also send a bird to Mister Zhang to let him know as well.”

“I can’t do the latter, ShiYan.”

“...! What? Why not?”

“The messenger bird stationed at the Xu residence was only taught to reach our house, and currently, he’s absent from his regular duties.”

“Absent? Is this another cross-village talk?”

“Exactly. Pa told me it would take at most a week before he returns from his trip. His target today is the DuKa village across the Bai mountains.”

“Your father’s hard at work, huh. I even sometimes hear Father grumbling about how his letters to him were answered days after they were sent.”

“Haha, I would say the same with my master. But, top priorities matter, and Bai village is still lacking in their ties to the larger communal economy. Hence, Pa is doing his best with further networking.”

“Looks like the apple didn’t fall far from the tree, as expected of my exemplary apprentice’s father.”

ShiYan remarked sternly with a deep timbre.

“ShiYan, was the impression of my master seriously necessary?”

“Look at you going on talking about Bai village’s development, repeating the same stuff over and over again. You would really make a good street vendor, you know?”

She mocked squeakily.

“Alright, alright, everyone!”

“...!”

“...?”

Alarmed, ShiYan and ReZhui turned to HuaYan. He spread his arms wide and forward.

“I am very sorry for bringing up this intense discussion. Thank you very much for your full attention to this issue that’s solely my village’s own problems.”

He clapped his hands in prayer.

However, ReZhui simply sighed at his response, and gladly refilled the senior’s empty cup of tea. Smiling back as he did, ReZhui reassured him.

“Please don’t feel indebted to us, Big Brother Wei. Prevention is better than a cure. If I were in your shoes, I would have done the same thing, if not more. In the end, it’s all for the sake of our loved ones, and the villagers.

Do you agree, senior?”

“What ReZhui said, Brother Wei. This news was for our benefit too.”

In the background, Eddisson nodded his head with vigour.

“...wow…”

He softly muttered.

‘Were WeiQi and I this participative at a similar age?’

This time, he was truly filled with adoration for them.

“...y-yes. I understand fully!”

Coincidentally, just as HuaYan ended the string of conversations, footsteps could be heard from downstairs. Their shoes stumped hard on the wooden surface as they made their way up.