A Moment of Warmth

Huang Yang had turned around. His slow steps were sounding out as his feet sunk into the snow. He had Heard Zhou Ru shout out, hoping to catch the attention of Huang Mei, who should be asleep.

He thought that he heard mumbled voices coming from the house. Perhaps Huang Mei hadn't been asleep, with her sweet personality, she likely waited for her friend, who was, in reality, her servant.

In the sky was a black crow, Xiaotian. He had followed everything from a bird's field of view. Everything from when Huang Yang realized that he had forgotten his sword, to when Zhou Ru was demonstrating her sword skills.

He was now watching Huang Yang leaving. His owner still seemed sad and depressed. Xiaotian then looked back at Zhou Ru.

Huang Mei had come outside to meet her, clearly shaking all over from the cold weather. While she had some thick clothes on, she wasn't a martial artist yet, since the only true freak of the family was Huang Yang.

As if Xiaotian understood the conversation, he flew towards Huang Yang, grabbing the boy's white robes. While it didn't have enough power to pull the boy, it certainly got his attention.

Huang Yang looked at this bird of his with a weird look. "What are you doing here Xiaotian?", he asked, not really expecting a reply.

The bird let go before taking off towards the house of Huang Hao again. Huang Yang had a confused look but followed this bird of his.

Soon the two arrived at the wall surrounding the house. Huang Yang almost felt like once again asking a pointless question, knowing he wouldn't get an answer, yet the noise coming from the other side of the wall stopped him.

Two voices seemed to sound out, drawing his focus. He slowly approached the wall. He could hear the voices of the two girls talking.

Huang Mei was tightly wrapped in blankets and clothes, only revealing her green eyes to the world. Zhou Ru on the other hand felt warmer than ever since reaching the second stage in the opening realm.

Her black hair had become a mess after the show before, while her blue eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Congratulation on breaking through sister Ru!", Huang Mei almost shouted in excitement. She would always follow the mood, except for when she was with Huang Yang, where she was mostly shy.

"Thanks, sister Mei, I also need to find that boy and thank him...", she said as her original joyful voice seemed to change a bit.

Not knowing what had happened to Zhou Ru, little Mei was curious. "Who was the boy, and why do you need to thank him?", she asked with an innocent voice.

She told her how, she had been training her sword technique just on the other side of the wall, trying to catch the snow with her sword, until Huang Yao had shown up.

She had seen Zhou Ru getting her manual from the library, and hated looking at a servant invade the family. She seemed to look down on mortals far more than others. When Zhou Ru didn't give it to her, she had attacked.

Zhou Ru had taken off into the forest, with the mad Huang Yao chasing her through the cold woods. Every now and then, Huang Yao would scream at her, calling her a worthless slave.

This continued for a short while, yet it didn't take long for Huang Yao to catch Zhou Ru. The servant girl honestly thought that she would die, until a boy showed up.

As Zhou Ru reached this part of the story, her eyes began to shine with awe. This boy who seemed younger than her had so much power. He only had to say a couple of words before Huang Yao took off running.

After this he didn't seem arrogant, he may appear distant but still acted like a good person. She followed him back home, where he asked to see her perform. She was in reality really nervous.

A weak martial artist performing, in front of a stronger one just didn't seem right. She, however, picked up her courage and did it. Her understanding of strength had grown, and snow finally followed her sword.

As her sword was nearing the ground in a final strike, the barrier towards the second level had been broken. In the last second, her strength had increased greatly, and she knew that her level wasn't at the complete beginning of the opening realm any longer. She had advanced.

Coming to an end, she raised her hands and pressed them to her temples. "His name was familiar, but I'm not sure who he is... Huang Yang, I know that I have heard it before", said Zhou Ru with closed eyes.

Hearing her words, Huang Mei almost jumped up. Surprise and happiness appeared on her face, along with a red glow. "Big Brother Huang Yang?!", she yelled.

"You know him?", Zhou Ru asked with a smile. She wasn't that surprised, since this sister of hers, was a true member of the Huang family.

"Yes, he is the greatest talent of the family, he is super strong and nice", Huang Mei said with a smile. The joy which should have gone on for a long time stopped, as Huang Mei's face seemed to sadden.

"What's the matter?", Zhou Ru asked with a worried look.

Huang Mei looked at Zhou Ru with hesitation, before telling her what happened months ago. Huang Yang had killed a family member, after his actions showed that he had allowed a demon to invade him.

Since that day, Huang Yang hadn't been the same. He didn't want to play, nor did he show interest in anything besides training.

"It's my fault, i-if I hadn't been there, brother Yang wouldn't have to kill him, the seniors would have subdued Zhilan and maybe everything would be different", Huang Mei said with a shaking voice as tears began streaming down her cheeks.

Zhou Ru hugged her, feeling her warm tears flowing. "It's not your fault sister Mei... if Huang Yang hadn't done it, another one would have,", Zhou Ru said in a gentle tone.

From what Huang Mei had said, it appeared as though, there really weren't any other options. If the senior members of the family, couldn't stop the demon, then it meant killing Huang Zhilan was the only way to save everyone.

Huang Mei only kept on crying as she thought about Huang Yang, "But why big brother Yang, h-he doesn't smile anymore, he is always serious and sad, wh-why can't he come back", her voices seemed to shake more and more as time went by.

A tear fell from Huang Yang's eye, as he turned around. Once again walking home. "Come on Xiaotian", he said.

The black grow began following him, but first, it took a look at the two girls, hearing the last words of Huang Mei before taking off. "I-I, just want him to smile".

.....

The walk home seemed longer, as Huang Yang kept slipping into his mind. He saw happy memories. The shy look from Huang Mei, the foolish smile his brother had from their father, along with the warm feeling from his mother.

His grandfather's booming laughter, Pen Min with his gourd who didn't seem to have a bottom, and Lei Nianzu playing with his long beard while talking about blacksmithing.

Each happy thought seemed to be followed by one of his nightmares. In the night each of his loved ones would die, scaring him when he woke up, yet they were always there for him.

He suddenly felt lost. Since the death of Huang Zhilan, he hadn't made any happy memories. He wouldn't smile when training, nor in his spare time. It felt as though he had skipped the months without thinking.

He had heard that this was normal for high-ranking cultivators, as they could live longer, yet he was just a child but had already skipped so many months.

His heart, felt heavy as he walked among the trees. Xiaotian landed on his shoulder in silence, as if not wanting to bother him.

He thought about how his parents felt. He had not even smiled at them since then, hardly hugged them, or even talked to them. If they acted that way, he would feel as though his heart had broken, so maybe they felt the same.

Time seemed to crawl by as the hollow night followed him home. Standing outside his room in the cold, Huang Yang noticed that the sun had started to rise. The darkness of the night seemed to falter as the bright sun took its place high in the sky.

Huang Yang opened the door to his room, only to see the black fur coat given to him by his father, lying silently on the floor. Tears fell from his eyes.

He wanted to feel the warmth of his mother's embrace, smile with his father as they talked about martial arts, and play with his brother until night came around.

His heart, felt heavier by the minute as he grabbed his coat, wrapping himself in it as he walked outside. The cold had vanished as he felt the heat of the warm fur.

Sitting by the frozen pool, he watched as the sun rose up, waking up the wildlife and people. He had told his parents that he would like to wake up as early as possible in the morning.

Just as promised his parents were on their way towards his room. They stopped on the other side of the door, yet their voices were not blocked.

"It's his birthday honey, I-I just want him to be happy", his mother said with difficulty, trying to stop her tears from falling. She gently leaned into her husband's embrace who had a worried expression.

"I know, I know, but what can we do, nothing is working, maybe he just needs time", he said as his face began to fall for each word. The sadness was clearly displayed.

"All we can do is smile, maybe then he will to", Huang Shi said to his wife, with a pained expression. The thing he loved about winter was seeing his son run around with his former coat of black fur, seeing the happy smile of a boy who would soon hold his birthday.

The two of them did what they could to hide their tears. They put on big smiles, with crescent eyes as Xiao Shu opened the door in a joyful movement. "Happy birthday", she said, knowing that she would not get a reply.

Surprise flashed across their faces as they could not find Huang Yang in his bed. They scanned the room only to see that the garden door stood open.

With careful steps, they peered out of the open door. What they saw was their boy sitting by the lake, wrapped in the coat given to him by his father.

Slowly, their tears once again began to fall.