"My father finally came back but father will leave me alone again... wuwuwu..." A voice of a child had once again reverberated on the hall.
The group felt their scalp go numb as they slowly turn their body back to the open hall to the direction of the gigantic tree.
"...Father doesn't remember Small Seed now?" The green leaves of the tree are now giving off a resplendent golden light. Its branches are swaying to the rhythm of the words coming from the mysterious voice of the child.
Everyone in the group dared not to move nor retreat as the entire hall was enveloped with heavy pressure. They panned their eyes everywhere but the owner of the voice is nowhere to be found.
"Senior... may I know what is it you need? Maybe we can help you..." Laur moved a step forward and bowed his head respectfully. He may sound calm with the way he delivered his words but in reality, his hands were both trembling in pressure.
"I don't need anything! I want to talk with my father..." The voice retorted quickly like a child throwing a tantrum.
Yulrir felt a thug in his heart and can't help but to look directly at the gigantic tree. It was a weird feeling but he felt like he has heard this voice before.
"Maybe from a dream?" Yulrir mumbled to himself as he held Theo's arm tighter.
Theo noticed how restless Yulrir is from the moment they arrived at the temple. He hugged his wife with both of his arms and caressed his back in a soothing manner. For some reason, Yulrir's heartbeat calmed down the moment Theo had enveloped him in a hug. The group was too preoccupied with the mysterious child's voice so they heed no mind with the couple's intimate display.
"Your father? Senior... We have no idea who your father is... If you could give us an information about him, we might be able to find him..." Laur responded politely with a hint of sincerity in his voice.
The mysterious child's voice didn't respond but in a few breaths of time, the gigantic ancient tree had given off a blinding light enshrouding the entire hall. Everyone in the temple was forced to shut their eyes.
"Se-senior?" Laur was the first one to peek and was relieved to see that everyone is in one piece.
"..."
"Where's the tr--?"
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKK!" Fenella shouted in a high-pitched tone.
Everyone stared at the direction where Fenella is pointing at.
"A-a-a-a--- fl-flooatingg--- chi-child?!" Eavan seemed to lose it as well and shrieked.
"A vengeful ghost!!!" Valmont added in the panic-fray.
"SMALL SEED IS NOT A GHOST!!!" The child floating in the mid-air said pouting.
The group was stunned as they realized that the child had the same voice as the mysterious voice earlier. The child has a green apple-colored hair and crystal-like golden eyes. He had a five-leaf clover huadian red mark on his forehead which compliments his fairy skin. He looked like a child favored by the heavens.
(A/N: Huadian refers to the ornamental markings that can be usually seen on the forehead or cheeks.)
"S-senior?! Aaahh-- We are here to greet senior..." Laur was the first one to react and cupped his fist forward to greet.
Upon seeing their leader's actions, the other members of the group had followed suit.
"Aaaaahhh! Father is not allowed to bow before me!!!" The child had panicked and went towards the group and landed on the ground.
The child awkwardly ran over passing everyone and stopped in front of Yulrir and Theo.
Yulrir and Theo were in a stupor to see that the cute little boy earlier exuding an aura of an "immortal" is looking right in front of them with teary eyes and waving his hands cutely.
"Father... father... You don't need to bow down... Father! Pick Small Seed up!" The cute little boy jumping up and down in front of the stunned Yulrir.
Theo squinted his eyes towards the little boy and knitted his brow. Everyone in the group felt like their jaws had just dropped on the ground seeing the lively little boy doing cute things and saying "father this-- father that--".
"This is so cute... it's almost a sin!!!!" Valmont exclaimed while he immediately covered his nose.
"I'm gonna disown you as a friend..." Fenella rolled her eyes away from Valmont.
Vaughn who was standing not so far from Yulrir and Theo can't help but to look '???' at the scene before him.
"S-small seed?" Yulrir mumbled softly as he looks at the bright-eyed little boy.
"Mhhmm Mhmm! Father calls me Small Seed right? It was father who named me Small Seed! So Small Seed is Small Seed! Small Seed wants a hug!" The little boy beamed while he attached his little hands onto Yulrir's black cloak like a Koala and looked up at Yulrir with great anticipation.
Theo was beyond stunned and looked at his wife and the mysterious child with mouth gaped open. He as well can't help but to feel complicated at what is happening and look at Yulrir with a serious face.
"Even if you already have a son, I'll still love you unconditionally." Theo tapped his chest and gave Yulrir a reassuring huff.
"IDIOT!-- WHAT ARE YOU EVEN SAYING!?! DO I LOOK LIKE AN ASEXUAL HYDRA TO YOU?" Yulrir whisper-yelled to the stunned Theo.
"I'm just kidding ah! I just find it cute after all... you both had the same golden eyes." Theo said while scratching his jaws.
"The same eye-color?" Eavan's eyes lit up.
"That's not fair!!! I wanted to see Junior brother Yulrir without a mask!" Fenella beamed in, completely forgetting the earlier intense atmosphere.
"These guys will be the death of me someday..." Laur who seemingly had been ignored can't help but facepalm.
Vaughn looked at Yulrir and the little boy with bright eyes and chuckled.
The little boy who noticed that he was being ignored had pouted and tugged Yulrir's cloak. As Yulrir looked down, the beautiful golden eyes of the little boy had glistened in anticipation like a teary-eyed doe.
The little guy released his cloak and opened his small arms and waved it like a child wanting to be scooped up.
"Father... father... let's have a reunion hug..." The cute little boy chirped happily.
Yulrir seemed to be struck by needles in his heart and can't help but to feel a bit sentimental as he looked at the little boy's eyes. There must be a connection between the deja vus that he was experiencing and the child in front of him right now. He bent his body and scooped the small boy on his arms like a 'mother hugging her child'.
The little boy teared up and enveloped Yulrir's neck with his small arms. It was indeed a sight akin to a reunion between a father and a child. Everyone dared not to laugh nor comment on it as they were as well all moved on the cute scene before them. Yulrir seemed to be moved by the little boy's actions and gently soothed the back of the child.
Theo naturally had an urge to join the hug and be like a small family but actually dared not to. He isn't that shameless after all... Well at least, what he thought so. (a/n: My god... you dare call yourself not shameless?)
"Father... don't leave Small Seed again okay?" The child withdrew his head on Yulrir's shoulder and look at Yulrir with teary doe eyes.
"But--I-- I-- I am not your father..." Yulrir mumbled dejectedly.
"No! No! No! You are my father! You have the same soul, smell and even meridians! ... Although your body had been digressed and seem to be weaker than Small Seed right now... I can tell that you are still my father!" The child shook his head.
Everyone in the room felt like they've been struck with a thunder and can't help but to look at Yulrir with curiosity. Afterall, what the little child had said is something that cannot be ignored and more likely really had a relation with Yulrir.
"Father said back then that the next time he'll go back... He will be picking me up and we'll tour different places together!" The little boy said enthusiastically.
"T-this... But I don't know any about this..." Yulrir sighed and gave the little boy a wry smile.
"That's okay! Father also said that... The next time Father will come to pick me up... Father might not recognize Small Seed anymore... He also said that Small seed will have to guide Father if ever that time comes!" The little boy tapped his small chest and huffed proudly.
"Thinking about it... Father back then had requested me something..." The little boy gasped and panned his head onto the other members of the group.
Everyone stiffed as the mysterious child looked at every person in the hall with calculating bright eyes.
"Hooop!" The little boy jumped down from Yulrir's arms and landed perfectly on the ground.
The little boy then kowtowed respectfully in front of everyone.
"!!!!"
"My name is Small Seed. Small Seed would like to say thanks for accompanying father here... Father had told me that whoever he was with the moment he gets back means that they are all Father's friends... So father had told me to keep a token of appreciation to them." The little boy gently raised his adorable face and gave the group a sincere smile.
He then waved his two small hands and a lump of treasure, books, and even weapons had appeared in front of the crowd.
"Father left those treasures for Small Seed to give to Father's friends. Also, apart from it... Father asked Small Seed to plant blood parasite to Father's friends..."
Before even the group can retort, a swift needle-like thing was shot into each other's neck in precision excluding Yulrir.
Theo immediately covered his throat to feel if something was wrong with his neck and gave out a sigh of relief. He only felt an itching feeling earlier but now, it disappeared completely.
"Small seed would like to apologize for not telling you beforehand... It is to prevent father's friends to create any unnecessary action. The blood parasite I injected to each one of you isn't harmful... It can even help you to strengthen your body over the time. As long as you don't betray father, the blood parasite will not do you any harm. If ever you did so, the blood parasite will eat your body and even your very soul. This will prevent you from reincarnating." The little child said in a solemn tone.
Everyone in the group felt like a ticking bomb has been planted inside their body and they had no way to remove it. Everyone can feel the pressure coming from the mysterious little boy in front of them and dared not to rebuke at all. Afterall, they had no intention of betraying Yulrir especially now that they had found out that Yulrir is someone who had an unknown background.
"I'll rather die than betraying my wife." Theo chuckled.
Small seed look at Theo with bright eyes and nodded. "As expected of my father's current soulmate, you are quite dependable!"
Theo's eyes lit up the moment he heard the little boy's statement and gave Yulrir a proud smile. Yulrir pinched Theo's right arm in retort.
"Also, please do keep this meeting a secret. Father isn't strong at the moment so I don't want any of father's enemy to discover him yet." The little boy gave off a sad expression like a dejected small puppy.
This scene had made everyone to empathize and nodded with all conviction.
"We will not spread a word out..!" Eavan and Fenella said sincerely.
"What meeting are you saying? Did we ever meet? Who are you? Who am I?" Laur said with a poker face.
"We are all friends! Staying quiet is my forte!" Valmont shouted out which made Eavan and Fenella choke on their own saliva. "What 'staying quiet is your forte' you're saying bah?"
"We will cooperate as you said... I just have a little question... This father of yours... Who is he actually?" Vaughn said in a respectful manner.
The little boy looked at Vaughn with a dejected smile and shook his head slowly.
"My father's existence is complicated... Small Seed was not allowed to say his name nor even tell who he is... you'll know about it eventually from Father himself when the time comes..."
"I understand..." Vaughn nodded in response.
"By the way... I like the shape of your soul! My fa----- MHMMMPHPHH MFFFF MPHHH--" Vaughn swiftly and bravely covered the little boy's mouth before even finishing his statement.
"Thank you, Small Seed... I apologize but I really can't help but to squeeze your cute cheeks... You are so cute." Vaughn said in a monotone while squeezing the little boy's cheek.
"..."
"..."
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A/N:
In my drafts... Small Seed's name is Xiao Zhongzi which literally means Small Seed but I had decided to switch it in english name too. c:
Aiya... Some of you may murder me because of this chapter but my body is now ready. (ಥ﹏ಥ)
Thank you for reading! ('；ω；')
This potato shall now go to sleep. My boss had called me to report to work tomorrow due to script revisions on the video I was making soooooo I might be away for 2 days or so... Here I thought I'll be able to dedicate my entire vacation with rolling around the bed. ;u;
I apologize for not replying to messages immediately ;; My app won't load properly or sometimes I even double post whenever I reply (I apologize!!!) *bowshead*
A/N x2:
Below are my drafts of Yulrir when I was making him... In their verse, human cultivators grow faster than a non-cultivator human. An example was attached below. Although they grow faster, they retain their youth in a longer period of time. Please think of it as a phase when a kitten and a puppy grows fast in a span of a year, the concept applied are the same.
When I publish the edited version of this story in the future (which is yet too far since I wasn't even in the 1/4 of the story aaaaahhh), I may or may not retain the same verse though... I get a lot of complaints saying that they are too young haha... I don't know... Maybe, my imagination will really send me to jail or hospital sometime in the future (hopefully not) ... or I'll probably just lengthen up my prologue or probably I didn't explain it enough. (ಥ﹏ಥ) *rubs my forehead*
I apologize for the long A/N.
Again... THANK YOU! ('；ω；')
*kowtows all*