"Crap! This is going to hurt!" scream Tim in his mind with panic flashing on his face. The reincarnated man moved his limb in an attempt to slow the speed at which his body was piercing through the air.
Even with the disappearance of the illusory trees, the strange magic didn't affect his flying speed as the ground under him still threatened to smash his fragile bones into fine powder. After flailing his pudgy arms left and right to no avail, his instinct kicked him and he retracted his limbs and turned himself into a ball. He protected his small head with his hands and prayed that the impact wouldn't end this new life of his.
The successive actions were done by instinct, Sheng Wang saw the scene unfurl in front of his eyes and started crossing the terrain separating him from his grandson. Urgency and panic were written clearly on his eyes, a grave face that was masked with dozens of shuffling emotion didn't stop him from kicking the ground to propel himself forward.
"Hao!" roared the old man that circled his spiritual energy and send it raging toward the soles of his feet. A few pearly drops of blood tainted his gray beard with his face aging slightly and turning pale.
The hidden injuries he had sustained in the royal ground of the Jianshen Empire were opened by the strike he had used to respond to Vitenka's surprise attack, the hazardous and raging cycling of his spiritual power worsened his situation.
His clogged veins and energy path, already thin and shriveled due to the hidden damage, were forcefully reopened but Sheng Wang didn't seem to have any care for the situation inside of his body.
The pain traversing his nervous system shocked him and should have been enough to at least hinder his movements. But the old man crossed the distance separating him from his grandson in a split second.
A ball-shaped Sheng Hao suddenly felt that he had hit something. However the strong impact he had expected didn't appear. His body collided softly with what felt like a deep and mellow cushion, a surprised giggle escaping from his developing throat that soon turned into a laugh when he noticed that his body was no longer flying like a bullet.
Sheng Wang forcefully swallowed a mouthful of blood before releasing a deep sigh, his eyes couldn't help but soften and turn into two crescent moons when his gaze landed on the watery eyes and beaming smile on Sheng Hao's face.
"N … Nothing bad happened…" he thought as he ignored the trembling that seemed to have taken hold of every fiber of muscle that surrounded his bones. He calmed himself breathing deeply. And the next moment, the spiritual energy he had been releasing calmed down, lying dormant in his meridians as a pale hue painted the surface of his face.
Vitenka didn't move through the event, her prideful mind had deemed that deactivating the forests was already a great contribution to the ongoing event. However, her cold gaze never quit the figure of Sheng Wang and only looked at the toddler that had been accompanying the old man. The few wrinkles on her emotionless face shivered slightly the moment she noticed Sheng Wang's injuries, but her physical reaction quickly disappeared.
"Still looking sharp, Old Two!" exclaimed a deep voice that seemed to have recognized the white-haired old man. A large figure appeared and made its way to the group from a path that was hidden behind Vitenka.
His large steps produced small trembling thumps on the lush ground but the way he walked showed that his heavy weight didn't hinder his movement at all.
"You really aren't made of delicate flowers Vitenka. Can't you see that it's just our old friend Sheng Wang?"
"How cold and hard must your heart be, for you to viciously attack him as soon as you see him…"
Another voice followed suit, responding to the burly figure that appeared behind Vitenka in a shrill tone.
"Don't let your grudges take the life of an innocent bystander!" the witch-like voice reprimanded Vitenka as it seemed to care more for the life of the small toddler.
However no individual appeared and only her voice spread in their surroundings. The mysterious witch didn't seem to be interested in greeting the group personally, simply sending her voice traveling her through mystical means.
"Come meet me whenever you want"
"You two! Take care well of our guests, in the end you can't treat them forever like outsiders…" The voice disappeared as soon as her message ended. The meaning behind her final words were clearly directed at the pair that seemed to know Sheng Wang, the grave tone wasn't hidden and clearly showed that they would pay a price if they didn't listen to her.
"You heard the old lady!" spoke the mountain-like man standing next to Vitenka. He turned toward the pair of grandfather and grandson and continued, completely throwing whatever had just happened in the back of his mind.
"When did you get yourself another son?" a pair of shady eyes couldn't help but discreetly peek at Vitenka. Seeing that she didn't react at all, he silently sighed before throwing a beaming smile at the small toddler Sheng Wang was holding.
"Long story but this cute little buddy is my grandson." Briskly responded the old man surnamed Wang.
Sheng Hao couldn't help but look silently at the few seniors surrounding them. He couldn't help but feel that there was a pre-existing story between his grandfather and the group of eccentrics.
"I wonder what happened between them for her to act like this…" thought silently Tim with his mind wondering what happened in the past.
"Thank God I'm not the one receiving that icy cold glare." He sighed deeply as Hao's watery eyes turned toward his grandfather and noticed the strange pale hue on his face.
"I hope his injuries aren't too grave…" sympathy for his grandfather's condition made his heart tinge as if someone was pinching it. The apparent tiredness that was no longer hidden by the experienced old man couldn't be seen by everyone. Thankfully, their journey was over and the misunderstanding with Vitenka was solved without provoking further issues.
Deep down Tim felt that Sheng Wang's injuries weren't life threatening. Plus he couldn't help but feel that the old man would be able to take care of himself without any problem.
Sheng Wang shared some pleasantries with his old friend, later Hao would learn the name of the likable spiritualist. The man's name couldn't have been more befitting for his future cultivation path. Surnamed by the native tribe he had come from due to the ridiculous physical strength he was born with. Back then they had commonly given him the title of Mountain Shaper. But his close friends outside of his native region called him Buckethead, later Hao would also come to painfully understand the reason behind that surname.
The group advanced through the empty path leading to the village. Midway Vitenka silently slammed the ground with the sole of her boot, releasing a silent wisp of spiritual energy through the ground.
The next moment, the empty path was once again filled with ancient trees that brimmed with vitality and spirituality. However Tim couldn't help but feel that the strange magic was even more mysterious when he noticed that the spiritual nature showed on the tree barks disappeared as they advanced through the mysterious path.
The strange formation hiding the village of stray spiritualists was conjointly formed using rare resources and was continuously maintained by the energy of the spiritualists living in the village. Rare were those that didn't participate in it, with the sole exception being the few spiritualists that had strange and unstable characteristics in their spiritual energy.
Usually, formations required a stable and harmonious energy circulation. Using hazardous and nefarious types of energy could lead to backfiring that might end up ruining the heart of the formation.
The elders that lived in the remote village were composed of experienced spiritualists that had roamed the Portalia Continent for dozens of years before retiring in a quiet domain.
Each of them was specialized in different crafts, making it possible for them to live in near-autonomy in a region that was still considered part of a desolate wilderness.
The reasons for their presence here weren't known to Tim. But he could feel that they, too, were running away from something. From the illusory defense, to the location of the village, it was obvious to the reincarnated drunkard that the story behind the discreet village wasn't anything simple.
Sadly, he wasn't even aware of the story behind the journey with his grandfather and didn't have enough details to understand everything.
In this world, he didn't even know if he had other family members, or where they came from with his grandfather. However, he wasn't stressing himself to know more and even if he wanted to, his young body hadn't formed complete vocal cords. During the journey through the wilderness, he came to learn that he was able to understand a few words and sentences, but nothing more than that.
The rest of his understanding came from his own comprehension of the world entering his eyes, and that was enough for him to understand that he had transmigrated to a brand new magical world.
One that was completely different from Earth, one that made it possible for people to move as fast as bullets and break solid rocks as though they were made of soft sand.
Currently, he was walking on his two wobbly feet, assisting his balance with the firm and thick hand of his grandfather. After what seemed like a short minute through the path, a few wooden houses appeared in front of the advancing group. Tim couldn't help but feel that the structure and positions of the small habitation weren't left to chance.
"Is there any empty cottage?" asked Sheng Wang as he couldn't help but want to avoid sharing a house with the other elders. Although the group of spiritualists could be considered his friends, the recent event left him wanting some peace of mind. Deep down he wanted to avoid any deep conversation with them.
"We're currently quite tired after traveling through the wilderness…" he added with his eyes gazing at the dozens of houses spread over the small sized village.
"No problem! I'll quickly take care of that for my old buddy!" exclaimed the burly man named Buckethead before turning toward Vitenka.
"Why don't you show them the rest of the village while I depart to make preparation for their housing?"
Buckethead didn't wait for an answer as he swiftly departed from an area that seemed to serve as the village's plaza. His steps resounded through the silence as Sheng Hao felt anxious when he gazed at the cold-looking female spiritualist.
Sheng Wang, too, stood in complete silence. His gaze never leaving the eyes of the cold beauty that didn't seem to have aged when compared to the image existing in his memory. When the strange view entered Tim's eyes, he couldn't help but feel pain in his heart due to the immeasurable sorrow that seemed to surround his grandfather's figure.
The sorrowful atmosphere soon had an effect on him too, influenced he started losing himself in his own memory. The recent event related to his reincarnation had happened far too quickly. Even though the process had felt like a long restful sleep, he could still feel attached to his old self. In the end, he was but a man that had spent far too much time lamenting on his loss. In his grandfather's gaze, he could feel the same form of obsession that had corroded his heart and tainted his soul. The kind of feeling that would slowly but surely take the life away from the wisest and bravest men. Feeling that, the hand he used to grab his grandfather's palm tightened instinctively, taking him out of his reveries.
Two small coughs broke the silence as Sheng Wang's gaze turned resolute.
"V… Vitenka. It's good to see you again!" he ended as his facial paleness was reduced slightly by two reddening cheeks.