Chapter 33: End of Prologue // Arc 1 finish
Lan'er, who had been calling out to her master for quite some time, was ignored by the latter.
She could see that her master was completely immersed in her own thoughts, so she decided not to disturb her for now and speak with her sisters.
"Sister M-"
Swoosh...
But, she couldn't finish her sentence as a strong breeze swept past them, causing the leaves or petals of the tree to swirl around them.
It felt as if the tree was alive as the petals of the tree were slowly dancing around them, leaving them inside a dazzling scene.
Such unnatural beauty left the three girls speechless. Pieces of sunlight shined through the tall and wide shade the unique tree provided, making the atmosphere more enchanting.
"Woah..."
All of them remained absentminded before the breeze finally stopped and the petals fell to the ground once more.
"That was... beautiful." Meixiang whispered.
Fei'er and Lan'er nodded in agreement.
They unanimously voted to place their new home here.
Zed was already one step ahead of them as he was flattening the ground near the humongous tree.
He was hovering above the ground while casting a spell that caused violent wind to push away the shrubs and small pebbles.
He turned to his three sisters who were observing his work. "This is going to take a while so how about you three head down the mountain and look for food?"
"Be careful though, I trust that you know when to fight and retreat if the opponent's too tough. Remember, never underestimate them."
"Also, Lan'er will lead the hunt so make sure the two of you follow her orders."
Meixiang and Jingfei agreed since they knew that Lan'er was more experienced in hunting so they had no problem trusting her judgments which had been polished since her childhood.
But Meixiang remembered what Zed said last night so she grew worried and suggested, "Why don't you rest for now? After all, you've been carrying us since yesterday and you haven't even had a proper sleep in the past week."
Zed appreciated her sentiments, but he declined. "It's alright. At the very least, I'll make sure that we will all have a roof above our heads before I go to sleep."
With that, he resumed his work and proceeded to clear the surroundings.
Meixiang and the girls could only reluctantly leave and secure food since they hadn't eaten anything last night and this morning, making them feel slightly starved.
The three of them descended the mountains and scouted the area, making a mental map of the surroundings.
Their surroundings were no different from a regular forest except that the trees looked larger and healthier.
It wasn't long before they found a variety of unindentified plants and herbs.
Even the knowledgeable princess could only identify a few of them and they were considered very rare materials in their Kingdom.
But here... they were simply considered grasses, as you could find the said rare material in every direction.
They all speculated that the island they were on is a paradise for cultivators and also a treasure trove of an Immortal.
Tang Xiurong chuckled at their reaction since they were ignorant of the greatest treasure on this island, which was the unique tree from before, but she had to admit that there were several useful materials for cultivators below the Immortal realm.
She decided to educate them about the unique and rare vegetations that they encountered, along with the small mammals that had evolved differently due to their unique environment.
Since only Lan'er could see and hear her Tang Xiurong, she patiently repeated her master's explanation to Meixiang and Jingfei.
They had also seen several beasts and reptiles that had a vastly different appearance from the beasts that they knew.
For one, most beasts were three times the size compared to their usual appearances. A wild rabbit here was the size of a street dog.
Honey bees were as large as a fist and frogs were at the size of an adult german shepherd.
Tang Xiurong navigated through the forest and served as their guide in picking several herbs while avoiding dangerous beasts and objects.
After spending the entire day hunting, exploring and foraging, they finally returned to the peak of the lone mountain where they saw a wooden cottage.
It was afternoon and so they were able to see the details of the wooden cottage.
The exterior of the house was complete as it had a front porch, strong thick wooden logs that served as the walls, and a sturdy wooden roof with a chimney made out of stone cut rocks.
It had a modernized and western design, influenced by Zed's knowledge of his previous life.
When they stepped on the front porch, they realized that the entire wooden floor was polished. Even the supporting beams of the roof of the front porch were finely carved.
It was as if a professional architect had designed the house.
Opening the smooth wooden door, they wondered how Zed managed to place the materials together when they didn't have any nails or a hammer.
The interior of the house was much wider than one would expect.
There were four small bedrooms, a living room with a fireplace, a kitchen, and a small comfort room big enough to fit a toilet.
Naturally the house was very empty with not a single piece of furniture made inside the house. No toilet, cooking utensils, seats, nor beds.
After exploring the house, they found Zed resting in one of the rooms. He was sleeping on a makeshift bed created with leaves.
It was poorly made as well, so the bed was already broken, but Zed was too deep in sleep to realize.
All the girls grimaced as they understood that Zed has totally exhausted himself after helping all of them.
They decided that at the very least, they should lessen his burdens so after roasting the wild rabbit which was the size of a dog, they satiated their hunger and went to collect materials for their beds.
With Tang Xiurong's guidance and proper coordination, they managed to gather enough materials before dusk approached.
They all stood on the porch as the large bright moon illuminated their surroundings. It was yet again, another enchanting scene as they felt closer to the lunar moon.
But they didn't stay idle as Tang Xiurong taught them how to weave beds and use the tough cotton material they gathered to fill the insides of the bed.
They spent hours until they successfully made one. It was woven in long unique green leaves that Tang Xiurong said would be the perfect material for their bed. The bed had a simple rectangular shape with the size for an adult. It was as soft as a normal mattress, but the weaved leaves made it slightly uncomfortable to sleep on.
After successfully making the first bed, they continued until they had four separate beds. It was only when they finished the last bed that Lan'er noticed something that was bothering her for a while.
"Ah!"
Her body stopped as they were carrying the last bed to Zed's room.
Jingfei and Meixiang turned to Lan'er and asked, "What's wrong?"
Lan'er answered in a lighthearted tone. "We forgot to put two beds in my brother's room."
Question marks appeared above Jingfei and Meixiang before they asked why they needed to put two beds in Zed's room.
Lan'er smiles. "Isn't it obvious? I'm sleeping beside brother." She stuck out her chest in pride and added, "I have never slept alone before nor do I plan on doing that now."
Meixiang's forehead slightly creased. "Wait... if you still sleep beside your brother, then... does that mean you also take baths together?"
"Oh? How do you know?" Lan'er tilted her head.
Meixiang and Jingfei's face immediately turned red in embarrassment. Though Meixiang had a teasing personality, she was still a royal lady at heart, so hearing that her friend was actually showing her bare skin at this age to the opposite sex... was just too much for her still immature and innocent heart.
Jingfei on the other hand is simply an innocent girl from nobility, so she got embarrassed for the same reason. It was hard to imagine that her best friend was always sleeping beside her brother and taking baths together.... that might not be such a bad idea, Jingfei thought.
"Y-you're a growing lady! Shouldn't you stop doing those things? Aren't you ashamed?" Meixiang asked in an abashed voice.
Lan'er merely shook her head. "Not at all. Brother's scrubbing techniques are supreme! Plus I always get to enjoy my quality time with brother during our bathtime."
She continued, "Besides? Don't you remember what you asked before? I naturally have this soft skin and fragrant hair because brother washes me."
"What I said back then was true."
"S-seriously?!" Jingfei asked in amazement. Before, she just thought that Lan'er was joking, but she became convinced after she saw what their brother was capable of.
Meixiang remained silent while having a red face of embarrassment at the thought of taking a bath with Zed.
'W-we'll see each other's bodies... his muscles and his... thingy.. kyaaaa!-' She couldn't last against her imagination as her perverted thoughts became too graphic for her heart.
(E/N: The world is gonna go to shit if 13 year olds are already thinking of these things.)
Lan'er nodded in satisfaction. "Yep. That's how it is, so now, let's move my bed to brother's room."
Jingfei and Meixiang looked at each other before nodding in understanding.
"No."
Lan'er's face contorted as she quietly shouted. "But why?!"
"Because!" Meixiang made a strict expression. "You have to understand that men and women need to sleep separately unless they are in a relationship or are married to one another."
"Siblings are no exception."
"Oh, is that it?" Lan'er sighed in relief before stating, "The there's no problem because I will marry brother in the future."
"Cough!"
Jingfei and Meixiang both coughed in surprise when they heard the statement of the little girl. They knew that she was old enough to know what her statement meant.
"Y-you!" Meixiang calmed herself down and asked, "Did Zixin agree to it?"
Lan'er innocently nodded her head and answered. "Yep! I proposed to brother and he agreed to it!"
Jingfei immediately inquired. "How old were you at that time?"
"Hmmm... three? But does it matter?"
Meixiang responded, "Of course it does! Since you were just a child, he probably just agreed to satisfy your demands as a child."
"But he still agreed to it!" Lan'er remained stubborn.
Their entire night was going to be spent arguing about sleeping with Zed before they were reprimanded by Tang Xiurong.
Lan'er eventually gave up and slept on her own bed and the two other girls became satisfied.
-
Zed woke up to the familiar feeling of a warm object sticking to his body. He groggily got up and saw Lan'er adorably hugging his body tightly.
"Hmm... is it already morning?"
If anyone else had woken up in his place, they would have immediately gotten a heart attack from waking up next to such an adorable beauty like Lan'er.
But for Zed, Lan'er was his sister and it became natural to him to see her like this.
Of course, he understood that his sister was very charming, to the point where she needed to wear masks in order not to cause public disorder, but for him? Lan'er was his very adorable sister.
He made a faint smile as he stroked the peaceful sleeping face of Lan'er.
Intimate actions like this lifted his spirits and cleansed the stress he had accumulated.
"Uuuu..." Lan'er softly groaned as her eyelids fluttered.
"Brother...?"
Zed made a gentle smile. "Good morning my little Lan'er. Did you have sweet dreams?"
This is how their morning is usually spent, but contrary to their wholesome routine, Lan'er suddenly got up and kissed him on the cheeks.
Zed slightly tilted his head, but didn't find it weird, thinking that this was simply a new way of showing her affection to her brother.
"Brother... we're getting married in the future... right?" Lan'er asks in a soft voice.
Truthfully, there were several valid issues that her sister Meixiang pointed out, and Lan'er was actually worried about it.
So she decided to resolve the doubts in her heart as soon as possible by clarifying Zed's feelings.
Zed's drowsiness was cleared up when he realized that his little sister was asking him seriously.
He grimaced as he was dissatisfied about the children his age thinking too much about marriage when they hadn't even reached their twenties yet.
Despite his thoughts, he decided to truthfully answer his little sister.
He softly caressed her head before speaking in a gentle tone. "Lan'er... marriage is a sacred covenant for an adult man and an adult woman. By getting married, they would swear their oaths to one another and tie their future together."
"Now... You are simply too young to be thinking about such things, but if you still feel the same in the future, only then will brother think about it."
He added, "Of course regardless of the result, I will always be your brother no matter what."
Lan'er became hopeful after listening to what Zed said, but after hearing his last sentences, she became slightly dissatisfied.
'Of course Lan'er loves being Brother's little sister but... Lan'er also wants to become Brother's wife!' Lan'er kept her dissatisfaction inside her thoughts.
"Ah!"
They heard someone shout from outside their room before hurried footsteps stopped in front of the door.
Clack.
The door opened and Meixiang entered the room with a sour face.
"Lan'er! You dare pretend in front of us and then sneak into Zixin's room?!"
She wasn't really furious, but she wanted to make Lan'er know that she felt betrayed.
Meixiang was deeply dissatisfied because, 'I want to sleep beside him too!'
(E/N: I can already tell, 5 bucks he sleeps with all of them at some point, and no, get your mind out of the gutter! Not in that way! Just pure, innocent sleeping.)
Lan'er cheekily smiled before adorably sticking out her tongue.
"And you!" Meixiang looked at Zed. "You need to stop spoiling your sister like this! She is a growing lady! Surely you acknowledge this fact as well?"
Zed rolled his eyes. "Of course I do. Why do you think I made four bedrooms?"
"And yet you still let your sister in!"
Zed waved his hands in innocence. "I was asleep the entire time. What do you expect me to do? Kick her out in my sleep?"
Although Meixiang was slightly irritated, she realized that it was wrong to blame Zed for this one, so instead, she grumbled and invited them out for breakfast.
The two siblings sighed in relief and got up from the bed.
Meixiang made a sharp glare and pointed at Lan'er. "We're not done."
The latter merely chuckled before following behind her brother.
Meixiang released an exasperated breath before following the two.
-
The three were greeted by Jingfei who remained outside to roast the pieces of the rabbit they hunted yesterday.
"Good morning, Brother Xin."
"Morning Fei'er."
They ate a hearty breakfast while the three girls enthusiastically explained their exploration yesterday.
Zed remained silent while listening curiously to them. He could not believe that such mutations of animals occurred in the place they were currently at.
But now that he thought about it, There were plenty of unusual things about the island and Zed didn't have the slightest clue for their causes.
He decided to think about it another time, since they were going to stay in this place for years. He thought that he had plenty of time to study their new habitat.
-
The day continued when the girls set out for another exploration while Zed continued to finish their house.
The three girls eventually arrived at the foot of the mountain and found the extremely large lake that formed at the bottom of the waterfall.
It was the same lake that took over 1/4 of the entire island. It had several river streams connected to several directions.
When they neared the crystal clear lake that reflected the blue skies, they found multiple schools of fishes.
They were amazed that even the fishes had different variants compared to the fish they knew from the kingdom.
While they were inspecting the water, Lan'er's atmosphere changed as she called Jingfei and Meixiang.
Her change was abrupt but Lan'er and Tang Xiurong had already discussed this beforehand.
Just from Lan'er's tone of voice, Meixiang immediately recognized that it was Tang Xiurong possessing Lan'er's body.
Similarly, Jingfei also had the intuition that her best friend wasn't her best friend anymore.
Tang Xiurong looked at the two girls in front of her with a curious smile.
The air around Lan'er changed as she began to exude a dreadful and unfeeling aura. Jingfei and Meixiang's body slightly shivered as they were exposed to this kind of aura.
She only had one question to ask them: "Are you two willing to be my disciples?"
Edited By: WorthyAdversary