Chapter 4: The Dangers of Traveling
Another month had passed while Zed and Lan'er's life became significantly smoother. Lan'er had also grown visibly healthier compared to her state when she was drinking Zed's blood.
Her pale cheeks grew plumpier with a tinge of rose hue and her eyes grew even more vibrant than before. She had also become energetic and would often speak to Zed in baby jargons, to which of course, Zed enjoyed replying to.
As for Zed, he would often fly around the forest in an attempt to search for any nearby human settlements but endless trees and meadows stretched for hundreds of kilometers in their area.
If he was taking into account both the time and distance he spent in exploring the entire forest, he had probably already covered an entire state or province.
He didn't know which direction they escaped from and so his entire surroundings were unfamiliar to him. What's worse was that he found out from Li Zixin's memories that this entire world wasn't completely mapped.
Even with the existence of cultivators and immortals, the map of the entire world [Xianxia] still wasn't complete.
This just showed how incredibly large this world was. Li Xizin also heard stories about different realms as well as cities located on the moon.
As for the actuality of those stories, only when you entered the path of cultivation would you be able to find out the truth.
In any case, Zed knew he had to advance his Magic circle level before he could travel to great lengths.
Magic circle levels are the stages that every mage goes through. Levels 1-3 for Acolytes, 4-6 for Apprentice, and lastly, 7-9 for Masters.
Zed reached a 6th level magic circle before he forcibly tried advancing to the 7th level, and died due to his reckless use of mana in his body.
As of this moment, Zed only has a 1st level magic circle and he is considered an Acolyte-rank mage.
But considering his capabilities, he should already be considered an Apprentice-rank mage.
Zed spent most of his time cultivating his mana circle and trying to break through the 2nd level.
However, even the greatest genius in his past life needed a whole year to advance from the 1st level to the 2nd. From then on, each level would only get harder and harder to advance past the previous level.
And so half a year passed while Zed and Lan'er continue to travel across the endless wilderness. Their journey began when Zed broke through the 2nd level a month ago.
They traveled great distances every day, covering about 200 kilometers per day. However, they still had yet to encounter any human settlements.
Though they had met several beasts and monsters. Some were familiar to Zed while others were complete fantasy-like monsters.
There was one instance in which they almost died when they passed through the territory of a flying mammal.
It was a monster unfamiliar to Zed but its wings spanned 30 meters wide and its body was half the size of its wings.
It was incredibly mobile as it kept chasing Zed and Lan'er for days.
Zed tried to fight it, but gave up when he realized that only spells at an advanced level could deal considerable damage to the flying beast.
And one advanced spell was enough to drain half of his reserves and he still had to maintain his flight.
In the end, they escaped successfully.
-
Months passed and Lan'er had grown to a year and a half.
She had begun walking and speaking. Her hair had grown to her shoulders while some of her teeth had started growing too.
Zed could only lament his fate while he fed Lan'er with his finger to which she would successfully chew on them every time.
Zed himself had become 111 years old, counting his age from Li Zixin's memories. Meaning that his body was only 6 years old.
But his body was already comparable to children who are 8-10 years old.
-
Another 2 years passed and Lan'er was beginning to speak clearly. Much to Zed's surprise, Lan'er's intelligence was incredunly high.
Although her sentences were still broken, she could convey her messages to Zed properly. She would often ask for them to play and often question what you would call the object she was pointing at; Such as the skies, the trees, the ground, the sun, etc etc.
Zed only needed to teach her once for her to completely remember the name of that particular object and add it to her vocabulary.
He was happy to teach a genius student and he was even happier to see that Lan'er was genuinely curious about the world.
He felt a great sense of accomplishment whenever he saw Lan'er mentioning an object he taught her.
-
2 more years passed and Zed was 10 years old while Lan'er was 5 years old.
Lan'er had grown into a beautiful and adorable child. Her large and sharp eyes gave her a cold yet attractive gaze.
Her silver hair had grown all the way to her back which complemented her sapphire eyes. She also had fair and soft skin despite constantly being under the sun and participating in Zed's hunts.
She was also capable of holding complex conversations with Zed now while the latter kept teaching her everything she wanted to know.
Sometimes he would teach her proper use of grammar, etiquette, manners, and values he learned from his previous life.
He would also teach her arithmetic, and she was already capable of adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing.
He also taught her how to use currency even though most of the time they would just role play with water puppets conjured from Zed's spells.
Although he felt guilty for the fact that she still didn't have any friends of her own age, he was trying his best to reach a human village or city, but even after years of traveling, they had yet to meet any other humans.
-
It was winter and Zed made a small igloo beneath a large and tall tree.
They were wrapped in thick coats made from pelts they had previously hunted. They had no problem staying inside the igloo as they sat near the fireplace that Zed had conjured.
Lan'er sat in front of Zed with the latter wrapping his arms around her to cover her in warmth.
"Brother?" Amid the silence, Lan'er's bell-like voice resounded.
"Yes?"
"Are we... are we the only humans left in this world?" It seems that Lan'er had been hesitating on asking this question.
Zed could tell this by feeling her mildly trembling shoulders. It would have gone unnoticed if Zed wasn't holding her closely.
"I don't think so and I'm pretty sure there are plenty of humans left. It's just that we haven't reached them yet."
"Is that so..."
Zed could hear the loneliness in her voice, but all he could do was hug her tighter and reassure her.
"I promise you little Lan'er... We'll see the others soon. Also, are you already tired of Zaza and Lexy?"
He said this in an attempt to change her mood. He expected her to deny it since they were her closest friend but…
"...They're not real."
It seems that Lan'er had already figured that out. Zed wore a grim smile as he realized that they really needed to reach a human society soon.
"I'm sorry Lan'er... I'm really trying my best." Zed could only apologize for his incompetence.
Lan'er turned to Zed. "No brother! I do not blame you... it's just that... I'm wondering if you're fake too... and that I might lose you too."
Her worries were met with Zed's chuckles as he took her in another embrace.
"Don't worry little Lan'er... I'm 100% real and I will never leave you alone. I'm your big brother and no matter what, I will always be there for you."
Zed's words made Lan'er look at him. She asked in her little voice, "Truly?"
"Indeed my precious little sister... I will always be there for you."
Lan'er hugged Zed back.
"I love you, big brother."
"I love you too, little Lan'er."
Zed's heart was filled with fulfillment and warmth, feeling incredibly proud that he raised the child in front of him.
The corners of his lips curved upwards, expressing how much he enjoyed this moment.
'For you... I will do anything...'
He would do whatever it takes to protect this child that he raised and grown attached to.
-
After 4 months of traveling, Zed noticed that the further they went, the stronger the beasts became.
Until finally, they met with a fearsome beast that they couldn't escape from.
Zed was forced to hide Lan'er away since it would be better for him to face the beast alone.
"BROTHER! DON'T LEAVE ME!" Lan'er's desperate screams could be heard as she saw her brother's back which was comparable to an ant's in contrast to the monster he was about to face.
"BROTHER!"
Her brother's last words to her were to keep herself hidden and forgive him if he didn't return.
Naturally, Lan'er knew what he meant.
And so, she desperately knocked on the stone wall her brother created in an attempt to hide her from plain sight.
She kept pushing, punching, and scratching to the point that her hands began to bleed, but she refused to give up.
'Brother... no... BROTHER!'
Smack! Smack! Smack!
And yet, the stone wall refused to budge even in the slightest bit.
She wailed as this was the very first time that her brother had ever left her. She knew the reason that he had to, but she couldn't help but wonder if his leaving was her fault.
She would like to think logically but her emotions kept exploding. She was terrified at the thought of being left alone and she never realized until now how important her brother was to her.
A day passed and a week soon followed, but there were no signs of her brother's return.
She had not eaten nor drank anything the following days as she obediently waited for her brother. Her anxious mind kept reminding her of the possibility of him dying but... she kept hoping that he would return.
She had already decided that if her brother didn't return, then she would die here waiting for him.
Lan'er knew it was stupid and her brother would be very disappointed in her but... she didn't know what else to do.
Of course, she could be self-reliant as her brother taught her many things including how to hunt by herself.
But... what was the point of continuing on living if her brother wasn't there?
She didn't care about finding other humans anymore. She just wanted to meet her brother as soon as possible.
Besides, her brother told her that if a living being dies, they would either go to a paradise called Heaven or a horrible place called Hell.
She was sure that if she died, she would meet her brother in Heaven and they wouldn't have to go through any trouble and danger anymore.
Plus, they could also meet their parents!
Thinking positively like that, she waited.
Lan'er was very hungry, her throat was thirsty, her stomach was aching and she felt very weak. Her hands were ruined and she had yet to tend to them but-
She kept waiting.
It was on the 9th day of her brother's disappearance that the stone hiding her finally moved.
There, she would meet the most horrifying sight that would haunt her for years.
"BROTHER!" She screamed.
She hurriedly ran towards the pitiful figure of Zed as his entire body was bloody and messy. Some of his limbs were twisted in weird angles while numerous wounds scattered across his body bled out.
One particularly large wound spanned across his entire back.
"Wha...whaa... what do I do?" Lan'er was panicking as she had never seen her brother in such a state.
When she saw the red trail her brother made, she couldn't help but suck a cold breath as she saw all the blood.
It was apparent that her brother had crawled all the way here while using the last of his powers to move the boulder.
"Brother!" Her body moved before she could think.
She dragged him towards the crater and inspected his wounds.
Tears kept forming as she saw her brother's state. At the very least, she knew that her brother was still alive as he had taught her that a creature was still alive if it still breathes.
She first decided to change her brother's clothes while wiping away all the blood that had dried on his body. She had previously seen how Zed dressed and covered his wounds and so she replicated it to the best of her abilities.
She remembered that she needed to cover wounds and that when a living creature loses too much blood, it would eventually die.
So she knew what to do next.
After completing the task, she gathered leaves to make a comfortable bed for her brother. She also climbed trees to look for edible fruits and berries, but when she returned, she found the trails of multiple beasts walking towards the crater her brother was hidden in.
'They must have followed brother's tracks, or did they follow the scent of blood? No- this isn't the time to think!'
She dropped the fruits and ran in haste as she was horrified at the thought of her brother being eaten by beasts.
When she entered the cave, she found three wolves approaching her brother.
"HEY!" She shouted in desperation as she hoped to get the wolves' attention.
It seemed that her plan worked as they all looked in her direction while growling.
In the face of the beasts, she drew a deep breath and stood in a stance.
In her hand was a small knife carved from a monster's sharp tooth.
It was incredibly sharp and it was also one of her brother's gifts to her.
Two of the wolves leaped towards her while one of them remained next to her brother, as if not minding the small trouble, and getting ready to feast on its prey.