Trouble on the home front

Next time he woke up Xiao Fan instantly noticed that his eyes were still closed but everything else was fine.

Legs and hands could move a little, and he could think clearly again, he also noted that he had been brought to his bed that he had been sleeping in.

Although his current bed might be a straw bed was it was still indefinitely better than the hard floor in his cell or the cave, so waking up on it was too easy for him to realise his location.

Then despite that, he had already understood he couldn't see he tried to move his head to look around.

Of course, this subconscious thought of his didn't give him anything, but it did make the person sitting next to him realise that he was awake.

¨Everything is okay. We're inside your room¨ She said in a calm voice that was only possible because of Cao Cao's interference.

Du Lan had dragged him into his bed from the hallway and started to wait for him to wake up.

First, she wasn't really concerned about his condition; However, when Xiao Fan didn't wake up the first day of his sleep, she got a little worried.

Then when he didn't wake up in a day, but neither on the second days night was it time for her to get worried for real.

As if he had gone into a comatose state would it be a death sentence for her with a deadline creeping up ever closer to a point where just some monkey confirming him being like this would end in their deaths.

And so when the second days morning came, she was already thinking about to ask for help from Uruk, but that was scratched off, as what advice could the monkey tribe's chief give her?

The only thing they would give would be an immediate death sentence for both of them.

While Du Lan was thinking Cao Cao knew precisely how these things went.

Other races would take in people from other races, but if the active person became crippled or something like what had happened to Xiao Fan would they most likely get rid of them.

Maybe in the best-case scenario, the end would be banishment or in extremely rare cases if they would have done something heroic could their families survive.

But Xiao Fan sits firmly into the former category of getting rid of quietly, and so would she follow him.

Coming to this realisation had made her think about ways to wake up Xiao Fan or to escape the tribe by herself.

The latter would have by now surely happened if not for the fact that Cao Cao has stepped in again to bolster her faith.

During the intervention, Cao Cao had said a few words about how he would wake up soon and that there were was no need to worry about his health.

Du Lan who had already heard and experienced about so many weird things around Xiao Fan and Du Huan that something talking to her sometimes like it knew every thought she had didn't face her too much anymore.

Her faith was once again restored.

On the other hand, that had put another thought to her mind. That was how she could balance around thee things around her?

Du Huan had become a shooting star in such a short time, and Xiao Fan was even weirder with the person with the omnipotent powers around him.

How could a mortal like her dangle around such people?

As she was going about the few days she had spent alone in her head Xiao Fan who heard her talk in ever soothing voice inquired her ¨How long was I out for?¨

¨Its the second day now¨

¨Has something happened around here?¨

¨The monkeys have started to hunt, and some of them have brought a lot of meat to you as gifts. About handling those things, I have taken the liberty to receive all of them¨

Hearing this made a small smile appear on Xiao Fan's face, as indeed the monkeys bringing him food wasn't what he needed; however, it showed that the monkeys had some gratitude towards him.

¨What about Uruk? Has he come here looking for me?¨

¨Uruk had come here looking for you a day ago. It was something important, but after I managed to tell him that you were attempting a breakthrough, he didn't bother anymore. Though he made sure to that he wanted to see you¨

¨Sure I would have done so anyways¨ Then he lifted himself into a sitting position from the bed.

Du Lan seeing this immediately zapped into action.

¨No you can't leave the bed! How can you walk somewhere if you can't see?¨ She thought that whatever Xiao Fan wanted to do by leaving was a horrible idea at the moment.

However, Xiao Fan had a solution for this ¨Of course you are going to take my hand and lead me everywhere. To the kitchen, to eat!¨ As he reached his hand towards where the sound had been coming from.

Du Lan, with a slight blush, reluctantly agreed to take his hand, and with her help, he also got up.

She was already a woman, and of course, she had knowledge about man and women, yet holding a man's hand in this kind of situation hadn't come to her mind.

On Xiao Fan's side, there was only thought about the practicality of this and nothing more.

Although holding her hand did send some weird wave around him constantly, which were also considerably bigger than just brushing off her hand.

Xiao Fan having much less of an idea about what happened between a man and a woman didn't know what this was.

But even he now having acted so many times weirdly around the Du sisters made him was sure something was up.

There must be something more profound in all of this, he thought, and so he started to think about it and as she was dragging him to the kitchen did he began to caress her hand with his thumb.

This didn't make the feeling change. The only change it brought was their grip becoming warmer due to their arms linking together for so long like this, he reasoned.

Meanwhile as Xiao thought so, Du Lan, who was guiding him was becoming redder by the minute not only from the had but also from her snow-white face.

The sight of her would even make Xiao Fan have a breakthrough in his theory.

The redness on her face didn't just come from holding hands but, also from sometimes looking behind her to Xiao Fan who couldn't notice her staring at his well-figured face and that silver-black hair which made him stand above any man she had met before.

When talking of facial features would Xiao Fan rank at the top whereas talking about his body would any girl like her say that its a big turn off.

There was also that Xiao Fan was a cultivator and who didn't like strong people? Xiao Fan was basically a being straight above her with amazing strength that she also wanted, and he had promised to guide her there.

When they got to the kitchen, Du Lan guided him to the table ¨Sit there, while I will make you some food¨ She placed his hand on a chair quickly before walking towards the pile of meat the other monkeys had hunted and gifted them parts of.

¨Do you want to try rabbit, wild pig, or oryx?¨ While hovering her hand around the different animal carcasses.

¨You must have tasted them already so pick what you think is best¨ And so moments later they were eating the meat from a wild boar.

Next stop for them was the training room even after many arguments against it from Du Lan.

She thought it would be crazy for him to train right now, as he had just woken up and the only person who knows when his eyes would open didn't comment about it.

Inside the training room.

¨Guide me to the third weight¨ He might be not able to open his eyes, but after yesterday feeling of success, he wanted more of it and the only way to get it was to train and eat just like he would normally.

And with Du Lan's helping, he made his way to the third ball and started lifting, as for now.

He sought to get a routine going, and the first thing was to see how much his body could take in standard training.

Additionally, into the moments between reps, he added a snack which meant taking a piece of raw meat and water that was used in one set to fuel his growth which did make him progress at an outrageous speed.

This did, of course, make his food intake outrageous also, as his first training made him consume a mortal family's food intake for a week.

However, compared to the progress the costs were insignificant he noted, as with these speeds he could become a super genius, if no one else was using the same methods of course, but that was unlikely he thought.

And to supply this consumption of his? Well, there was only her, as no one else could see Xiao Fan at his current state the reason for this was the ever same.

He would most likely be challenged by others inside the tribe if they would know about this, and then get killed.

The drawback for this being was that Du Lan would be at the end of her stamina and mental health just much as him. And every time she came to the room, she pleaded for him to stop training before something critical would happen.

She would still consider him to be in a critical situation and doing what he was doing didn't fly with her.

However, all of her worries were shrugged off by the sentence ¨If I don't train hard enough every day there will be a day sooner than later that something will get us¨

This madness didn't stop before he was done with a casual three-hour training to find his limits in training, and at the end of it, both of them were panting Du Lan slightly more.

Du Lan, while panting thought that no monkey would believe that something was wrong with him physically but mentally was a different thing, as even they didn't train this much.

Training now done, he went back to the bed and talked more with Du Lan.

¨Do you want to go see your sister? Maybe tell her that you are alright?¨ He asked while lying down again on his bed while she took the stool she had been sitting on so far.

¨No not now. I don't think that she is even trying to find me anymore¨ She said in a pretty indifferent tone, but there was surely a bit off lamenting in that even he could notice.

¨Why wouldn't she be looking for you anymore?¨ They seemed so close, but now her sister had abandoned her?

¨Its not about Du Huan but its about the town itself. Most likely, after my kidnapping, she went back home to ask for help, but that would have made the situation only worse.

As I'm pretty sure that they are now panicking even more about the attack you would bring to them¨ Her voice now carried more regrets about making such quick decisions, yet when the first arrow left the bow, everything had already been set.

¨So you are saying that your sister is too valuable to lose because you might still be alive?¨ Emphasasing the might.

¨Yes they would now more than never risk someone on her level to find me. She might not believe our town elders, but our parents are still firm believers of them and us sisters always listen to our parents, so she must have stayed behind to defend the town and participate in the coming tournament¨ This was the most likely development on Du Huans side that Du Lan could think of.

¨Your town will be safe, but what about the tournament you have been talking about?¨ If he wanted to get out of here or gain fame and recognition quickly would the perfect place be a tournament, and if Du Huan was participating with good odds, his chances in winning wouldn't be any less than hers.

¨The tournament will be the biggest thing happening around here, and It is an unusual one as well. The local warlord just suddenly announced it together with a message that all hostilities in his domain were allowed for the period before it.

And from what I have heard from my sister to win the tournament that is meant for us youths you need to be at the Body Activation realm to win it, as a Body Warming realm cultivator can be top three but winning it isn't possible she said

So everything in mind our town has been given her all the support to rise to the peak of Body Warming or even breakthrough to Body Activation has been talked about, but that requires too much from the towns side in terms of resources they have told us¨

Hearing that such a good thing was happening so soon relatively close by Xiao Fan smirked his eyes still closed. ¨Well we will go there and see what is happening and if nothing else we will be able to see your sister there¨

Du Lan also smirked a bit, as this was just what she had wanted for him to do. Xiao Fan going there with her in tow would get her to see Du Huan and tell her that she is okay, so she didn't try to disagree in any way.