Small steps quietly resounded through a dim lighted forest. Warm rays of sunlight coursed through the small space between leaves softly piercing and illuminating the path ahead of the small figure.
Sheng Hao nimbly walked through the outskirt of the Toe Village. His steps had a sense of familiarity and ease when crossing the area, the illusory trees that were used to hide the village didn't seem to bother his walk.
"Thanks to the kind granny, I can get some freedom here." He mumbled mindlessly with his eyes gazing at the lush greenery surrounding him.
"The old man would absolutely stop me from going here…" his legs mindlessly moved with his consciousness delving in deep contemplative thoughts.
He was currently in the midst of his third year of life in this world. Constantly acting the same childish way he was accustomed to when he was around the elder would bother him at some point. During these times he would come here to avoid any interaction with them.
In the end, he couldn't train in anything yet and could only watch and listen to the elders' abstruse talks. That in turn would frustrate him immensely, making him curse the slow growth of his aging body.
"Buckethead told me that spiritualist would have their first awakening between the age of five and nine…" An expectant grin flashed on his lips with his eyes glowing lightly with hope.
"I wonder when I will be able to start my spiritual training…"
On earth, he had spent far too many months developing skills and crafts, solely for the sake of filling his mind to escape the boredom of daily life.
His obsessive and perfectionist nature made him try a lot of things before further focusing himself on music. Even thought that had worked for years, it had sadly ended up further pushing him into darkness when his life took a different turn.
In the middle of his lost pondering, a standing figure appeared in the corner of his eyes. Between dense clusters of tall trees, he noticed an empty glade where the light was acting differently.
In the middle of the area, Hao noticed a proud and calm figure that seemed to be frozen in time. The moment he noticed the person, his legs couldn't help but stop as he gazed admiringly at the old beauty.
Although she was supposed to be part of his grandfather's generation, he couldn't help but release a sigh from the thorny rose beauty that was standing still like a carved statue.
It was only after a minute or two passed that he noticed the oddity of his reaction.
"This is not the time to act like a weirdo." He mumbled before turning around and continuing in his track. He mentally noted the area in his brain before nimbly going back to the village.
His daily life resumed. With quiet morning's accompanying his silently recovering grandfather and some afternoons where he accompanied the wild Buckethead and the knowledgeable Flamelle.
Months passed quietly, the few times he had seen his grandfather move were to prepare some sort of workplace in an area of the courtyard. Although the preparations were advancing at a calm pace, Sheng Hao felt tranquil when he saw Sheng Wang preoccupied by something other than his troubled past.
The Old Witch too had stopped nagging the old man, even forgetting about the payment of the medicines and pellets she had concocted to help him recover.
Sometime Sheng Hao wondered if the payment in question had been but an excuse to motivate his grandfather to move from his usual spot. In the end, he didn't bother his mind too much with that thought, throwing him in the back of his mind with the rest of conclusions he had come up on the elders.
Although amiable, with the most of them looking and acting like kind aunties and uncles. He couldn't help but think that reading the seniors wasn't anything easy, sometimes he even felt as if he was walking in a den of old dragons and phoenix that shouldn't be provoked.
Inside their cottage's small courtyard, where the small workshop was slowly taking place. Only needing a few days of work to be finished.
The free-minded Buckethead took care of delivering several large items. Mostly large tool and ores, it was at this time that Hao came to the final conclusion that his grandfather was sometime that delved in the art of blacksmithing.
During these deliveries, Hao couldn't stop himself from asking Buckethead a few questions after looking at the way he manipulated the huge tools with ease.
"Training!?" exclaimed Buckethead with a strange expression on his face.
"I don't know if your body is ready for something like that…" his eyes gazed deeply at Hao's eyes as he asserted the determination displayed in the toddler's large watery gaze.
Sheng Wang nodded from the side, agreeing with Buckethead's affirmation. But he didn't speak as he could sense the determination hidden in his grandson's gaze and didn't want to break his hopes.
"However, I do think that playing around with a few toys can help you." He exclaimed while striking his palm with his fist as if he had suddenly come to a conclusion in his head. "I'll take care of this demand. One of the seniors in the village is a talented sculptor, he might be able to help me make you something usable. Only I have no idea when he will be back."
Sheng Hao's eyes shone brightly making the pair of Buckethead and Sheng Wang laugh heartily from his facial expression. "Think of it as a birthday present from me." He added before departing after a few rough pleasantries with his old friend.
"I wonder what he was thinking about…" his mind wondered on what kind of toy Buckethead was coming up with. The reincarnated drunkard asked himself if they even had toys back there in his tribe.
Looking at the spiritualist's massive frame, bulky muscles and savage-like atmosphere, he couldn't help but imagine toys you would either lift or viciously punch. He didn't know if that could be counted as a fun activity.
Although Buckethead's savageness was akin to an old and solid mountain peak, his calmness didn't fully contain his place of origin as a sharp savage hue always glinted in a corner of his yellowish eyes.
Sheng Hao continued looking at his grandfather's quiet work, both of them maintained their usual silent ways only this time Hao's vision persistently stayed on his grandfather's figure.
He wanted to help but he knew that his grandfather wouldn't ask and would most likely refute as the majority of the tools were far too heavy for him to manipulate.
His mind delved in a deep contemplative thinking as he looked for ways to open up the discussion. Sadly, he couldn't come up with anything that satisfied him and the young boy ended up releasing a silent sigh before deciding to just keep silently watching him work.
"I'll just end up bothering him…" he thought in a hush. "I wonder if there are some ways to cultivate spiritual energy without awakening my spiritualist's soul…" the question popped in his mind as he couldn't help but think about the physical feat his grandfather was capable of when releasing his spiritual power.
"I'll at least be able to exert a normal adult's physical strength if I am able to succeed in that!" that thought couldn't help but produce a smile on his lips as he felt it would definitely solve the problem related to his current body.
Especially that recently, he had come to notice that his body's strength was lacking even when compared to someone of his age. Even short runs were somewhat difficult for him to execute without his body breaking large sweats, making him wonder if the newborn body he had inherited had issues.
"No need to curse my luck, only time will fully reveal these answers."
"Plus physical strength isn't the only dominant power in this world!" he comforted himself as he couldn't help but bask in a bitter remembrance of his past.
"Back then I thought music was the only kind of strength I needed. But I quickly learned that apart from relieving myself and a few others, I didn't have any real impact on the world."
"Let's not even talk about the joke of a celebrity's influence, I've had far too much of that kind of garbage…"
He swiftly shut down his train of thought as he sensed his mind bask in memories he didn't want to confront at all. Thankfully, at the same moment he began losing himself to his memories.
Sheng Wang's deep voice spread in the courtyard and awoke him with stupor. "Come help me!"
Sheng Hao executed himself, not really sure what he could really do to help his grandfather as he had been slightly demoralized due to the talk with Buckethead.
By the time he arrived next to his grandfather, he saw a finger pointing toward a large dark pit and heard a sentence that shocked him slightly.
"Light up the furnace. I'm going to work through some material to test if the entire setup is working properly."
His grandfather's voice had turned slightly grave when he was in work mode, the tone he had used when speaking to Sheng Hao was akin to one he would use with an assistant forger.
"I will light the first few charcoal pieces, you just need to use the air blower to start the rest of the coal." The instructions that left the experienced old man's mouth were simple and concise.
Sheng Hao executed himself as soon as he saw a golden spark flash brightly for a second and before long all the dark colored coal had taken a reddish hue due to the blazing heat.
The fire created warm air current that brushed his chubby face. Soon, large sweat beds were spread on his forehead and his loose clothes hang tightly on his body in some places.
"This is nothing…" he gritted his teeth tight fearful of collapsing due to his weak body expending all of its endurance.
The wooden fabric of the air blower creaked weakly with the leather part folding and wrinkling every time Sheng Hao applied pressure on it. The more his body trembled and sweated, the firmer his determination consolidated and his eyes turned firmer.
"Finally!" He thought between two hushed breaths that made him feel as if the furnace was moved in his body, taking home inside his lungs. Although the time spent with the Flamelle and Buckethead was very instructive, he always felt that it lacked any practicality.
He could only hear and ask, but never really try anything as he was still young.
"I can finally do something!" he thought with his determination to push through taking hold of his entire being.
The fact that his grandfather was trusting him enough to make him participate in his work chores was enough for Sheng Hao to give this task his entire focus.
On the side, his grandfather Sheng Wang watched Sheng Hao's entire action without saying another word.
A strange light shone in the corner of his eyes as he couldn't help but thank the heavens that their clan had been blessed with good blood. He sighed silently, lost in thought, but never losing the sight of his working grandson.
"Too hot, the fire will die in less than two minutes if you maintain this blowing speed." He finally spoke, giving other instructions and correcting the mistakes in Sheng Hao's fire maintenance.
"Use the tools next to the pit to move some of the charcoal to lower their burning frequency. Listen carefully to the sound you are hearing."
"Feel the heat that is coming from the pit." Each sentence echoed in the mind of the reincarnated man.
"You must be able to feel the correct temperature that is needed through the wind that is coming out of the furnace!"
"Focus!"
Sheng Hao's mind couldn't help but clear out slightly. The air blower that had turned heavy and hard to use would smoothen after Sheng Wang's words of advice. Nearly rejuvenating his dying will. Like that, Sheng Hao soon grasped the rhythm and a steady one on top of that.
"Good!" Exclaimed Sheng Wang the moment he sensed that the light coming from the furnace's pit had taken the right reddish hue.
Without adding any further word, he grabbed one of the large pouches and threw a rough iron mineral into the burning pit.
"Blow air the moment I begin a new sentence. I will use this opportunity to explain some concept you will see me execute when the ore is ready."
"You can start!" Sheng Hao tiny arm twitched and trembled lightly and the triangular-shaped air blower bent before spewing a large gust of wind right on top of the burning charcoals.
"Excellent!"
"Iron of this quality needs to be processed at the correct temperature or else it can't be made into anything valuable…"
Sheng Hao's gaze constantly shifted between the fiery pit of the furnace and his grandfather's figure. He constantly looked for details on Sheng Wang's face, small and minutes facial movements. The strange action would help him grasp the exact moment when he needed to act.