The sceneries around the pair continued changing as their journey progressed. Even if Tim was spending the majority of his time asleep, that didn't mean he wasn't awake through some part of the journey.
The sense of wonder that took place inside the reincarnated drunkard seemed to instill new life in his body. With every meal he ingurgitated, his soul seemed to get more accustomed to the body he had reincarnated into. The control he had over his small baby body had rose to the point where Old Wang left him run on all four on the back of the titanic sized beast they were using to travel.
Sheng Wang's face would illuminate every single time he saw the descendant of the Sheng family gain vigor and life force with every hour that passed. The terror that had taken hold of his soul when he saw the death of the newborn didn't leave his mind yet. Some night, he would think about with a trembling fist. During these solitary hours of the night, he would look at the stars and wonder how his family members would gaze at him in the underworld.
Thankfully, the escape from the grounds of the Jiangshen empire could still be called a success. Even when considering the ridiculous body count from that night. With nearly all the hundred family members that made out the entirety of the Sheng Clan dying overnight. Less than two of them had successfully escaped and even then if it wasn't for Tim's soul reincarnating inside the baby. The event would have been a true nightmare for the old man.
Sheng Wang couldn't imagine how life would go on if he was left all on his own. The moment his eyes saw the lack of response of the young prince, he wondered whether he should traceback his steps toward the royal capital of the Shenjian Empire.
Back then, he stood there in absolute silence, holding a baby that seemed to have lost sign of any heartbeat. The scenery around him had formed a macabre painting in the outskirt of the Porcupine Tree Forest. Even in death he didn't think that he could have the face to see his deceased family members in the underworld. How could he look at the head of the Sheng Clan and tell him that he wasn't able to save his sole descendant.
The royal prince, head of the Sheng Family, had perished due to defending the retreating grandfather and baby. Sheng Wang immensely regretted the sense of powerlessness that took hold of his body when he saw the spiritualist from the Yao and Xia royal clan slaughter his own blood and flesh.
That moment, he felt as if he was turned back into a normal human being that had never cultivated. His heart wept and cried as he forced himself to continue rushing out of the slaughter grounds of the Shenjian Royal Empire. Thankfully, that sorrowful nightmare was now all behind him, with every second spent with his grandson healing the giant holes that had opened up inside of his injured heart and soul.
Currently, they were traversing a vast lush plain extended all around them. The pair of grandfather and reincarnated drunkard were calmly traversing the lush greeneries that accompanied the road in front of them.
More than a week had passed since Sheng Wang escaped with the cursed newborn from the Shenjian Empire, Tim's new body had grown healthier with every day that was passing. By the end of the first week, he was already able to stand on two weak-wobbly feet. The grandfather couldn't help but cherish the growth of his grandson, especially when he saw his large and round pristine eyes.
The apparent curiousness that was hidden in the reborn Tim seemed to touch a soft spot inside of the old man's heart. He couldn't help but feel like trying to explain some knowledge to the youth, but the small toddler wasn't yet able to speak.
However, sometime Ol'Wang could feel that the small doll-like baby hid a large intelligence behind his cute smile. After passing a few days on their own, their relations seemed to grow beyond the small number of interactions they had together inside of the royal palace.
Sometimes, he even felt that the little toddler was understanding him whenever he spoke a few gentle words of encouragement or whenever he warned him about something.
"Try to not go too far, little Hao." Whispered gently the old man as he let go of the small hand he was fondly holding. The positive tone he used when speaking to the toddler made it obvious to anyone that looked at them.
"Don't leave the obvious trail!" spoke once again the grandfather before reminding himself to keep watching the figure that seemed to have trouble standing on its two feet. "Does he really understand me?", he thought as he watched the small toddler follow the trail in front of them.
The eyes of Old Wang didn't take long before noting that the little newborn was nearly stable to stay on his two wobbly legs. His hands couldn't help but move as Sheng Wang clapped his hands together in praise, releasing small hohoho's as he rhythmically encouraged the small baby named Hao throughout his first few steps without assistance. Sheng Wang felt at ease, his mind didn't pick on any spiritual trace left by dangerous beasts.
Any creature that appeared near the green pasture wouldn't cause any problem for the old man as he felt he could react instantly to protect the young Sheng Hao. Thus, he left the newborn develop his own courage and self-confidence with every step Hao took on his own. Whenever Tim came to a stop, weather it was to take long breath in his small burning lungs or to patiently gaze at the plants and insect surrounding the trail, Old Wang left his take all the time he wanted and didn't press him forward.
"That's called a Spirit Dandelion." Explained the old man without thinking twice about Hao's comprehension. "That small creature swimming in that pond is called a Blue Hibiscus Tadpole."
"They can't really grow past the hundred year marks, but I heard that they can turn into delicious delicacies when processed by the hands of a true blooded cook."
The small tadpole Tim was looking at were but a few months old, their small bodies didn't contain much spiritual energy inside. A ridiculously small wisps at best, however, even that small wisps of spirituality made it nearly impossible for the toddler to catch the swimming tadpoles.
Splash!
The small hand of Hao turned dirty, even his small rosy face took a few splash from the water of the dirty pond. He didn't stop there, as he didn't seem to be afraid to dirty himself, his small hands once again turned into small fists as they vigorously slapped the surface of the pond in an attempt to catch one of the slippery small creatures.
Sheng Wang's face lit up as he couldn't help but release a hearty laughter out of his powerful lungs. The old man seemed to regain years in his lifespan, the small interaction he had with Hao while traversing the vast no man's land had a beneficial effect on the usually tired old man. The many wrinkles that were crisscrossing on his tired face seemed to fade after he started interacting with the small descendant of the Sheng family.
Splash! Splash! The feeble slaps coming from the toddler were enough to scare the spiritual tadpoles. Before long, the surface of the dirty pond was void of any small creature as only broken branches and soaked leafs seemed remained there.
"What the hell?" thought Tim as he couldn't help but feel that the tadpoles he was looking at weren't the same as the one that could be found back home on Earth. The sapphire blue figure of the small tadpole kept sliding between his feeble grip. If at first the reincarnated drunkard felt that he hadn't gained enough control over the weak baby body. He soon noticed that every time he tried catching the slippery creatures, right at the moment when his hands were supposed to connect with the newborn spiritual amphibians, a minute flash of light would appear on the oily surface of their skin.
The moment he noticed the weird situation, he couldn't help but feel that the world he was currently in was far too strange compared to planet Earth from his past life. Be it the fauna or flora, there were a lot of similarities that made him recognize a lot of plants, but for one similarity he could count thousands of difference in the variety of life here.
Through the journey of their escape from the Jianshen royal capital, to them crossing dozens of different terrains and biomes. Tim had been blessed with impressive views that were rarely available to anyone inside of the Portalia Continent. Even though he wasn't aware of many things and was sure that he was only looking at the very tip of the iceberg, he was still very sure about one thing. The world he was reincarnated into was a very special one.
Similar to the rules of physics in his past world, the world of the Portalia Continent seemed to resonate with an acute elemental spirituality. One that could even be felt by Tim's soul from within Hao's body.
A few minute passed, as Hao continued sitting patiently near the dirty pond, his eyes never quitting the surface of the water. The expression held by his face was one of deep pondering, as if thousands of mental computation were currently processed by the brain of the newborn.
"Ha ha ha!" Sheng Wang exploded in a hearty laughter. The grey mustache sitting on top of the old man's lips shivered and trembled as he tried containing an intense chuckle that still left his mouth. The expression flashing on Hao's face was definitely one that Sheng Wang had never seen on a baby's face as he couldn't help but feel that the sitting Hao was studying the dirty pond.
"Now that I see it, you can definitely turn into a great scholar when you grow up." Sheng Wang calmly said as his steps took him next to the sitting Hao. His large hand gently fondled the hair of the toddler, before adding. "These creatures may be weak but through evolution, every single lifeforms has found ways to defend themselves."
Hao's face twisted upward as he looked at the gentle smile hanging on his grandfather's lips. He nodded passionately, as if to show the old man that he was completely agreeing with his point of view. The small gesture turned the small smile of Ol'Wang into a beaming grin that went from his left ear all the way to his right one.
He couldn't help but genuinely feel happy due to the small baby's intellect. "They would have been so proud of you…", the experienced old man thought as the recent horror he had gone through resurfaced. The negative thoughts had only surfaced for a few frames, but Hao seemed to sense that something bad had happened in grandpa Wang's life. However, just as the small toddler tried tugging at the old man's pants, Sheng Wang moved.
"Open your eyes widely!", he exclaimed calmly as he raised the sleeve of his long silky robe. "To catch them, all you need to do is to make sure your movement can't be sensed." He added slowly as his movement synchronized with his breath. His bearded face was reflected on the dirty pond next to Hao's figure. "You see, these spiritual creatures are very capable when it comes to their underwater movement. A single tug on the water is enough to make them aware of your presence."
The old man's hand gently approached the surface of the water. However, the moment his hand was submerged inside of the dirty pond, the old man's movement turned instantaneous but also ridiculously slow. The next moment, on Hao's lap, sat three small crystalline tadpoles that twirled and squirmed between the fold of his loose garment.