Past

After sitting down, Shen Yuan turned to face Huo Rong and Bing Rong, who were both watching him with intense gazes, nearly making Shen Yuan nervous again, thinking about how they would react. He took another deep breath before beginning.

"Aunt Huo, Aunt Bing," Shen Yuan started, feeling both nervous and expectant; with a steady voice, he continued, "There is something important that I want to share with the two of you; I already talked with Mom yesterday. I think it's about time I share it with you as well; after all, I don't want to keep you in the dark for too long."

Huo Rong and Bing Rong both got serious as they listened to the seriousness of Shen Yuan's voice, they shared a quick glance as Bing Rong leaned forward slightly and gave Shen Yuan a reassuring look to continue speaking.

Shen Yuan continued, "The truth is, this is my second life, I'm not originally from this world, in my first life I was born on a different world than Desolate Continent, it was called Earth, and there was no concept of cultivation or superpowers, everyone was a mortal living their life peacefully."

"I had a family there, a mother and a younger sister. I don't know how I died or if I died and reincarnated here, but when I woke up I was already in my mother's embrace with all the memories of my past life intact."

Huo Rong and Bing Rong's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden revelation. Not expecting this to be the reason for Yuan's strange behavior. Nonetheless, Shen Yuan continued, 

"In that world, I was just a powerless moral, struggling to survive and provide for my family," Shen Yuan continued with a hint of sadness in his eyes, "But even then, I loved my family dearly. After all, they were the only ones who were with me at my lowest. There were also a few relatives who helped us sometimes."

"I don't know how it happened or why I ended up in this world, but ever since my arrival, I have been given a second chance at life with all of you, and there is also a chance that I might be able to find my past relatives. After all, the mysteries of the cultivation world are infinite."

The whole room fell into deep silence as soon as Shen Yuan finished speaking, Huo Rong and Bing Rong were deeply moved from looking at their expressions. They didn't know that Shen Yuan had such a past. Shen Yuxin also looked at Shen Yuan with tender eyes, patting his head to calm his nerves.

Huo Rong was the first one to speak; with a gentle voice, she began, "Yuan'er, I had no idea that you had such a past… Thanks for sharing this with us and trusting us with your secret."

Bing Rong nodded, totally agreeing with her sister as she also spoke to Shen Yuan with a warm tone, "We both may not know how it is to be from a different world, but if you need anything then we are here for you."

Shen Yuan felt a warmth spread through his chest as he listened to their heartfelt words. He was grateful for getting such a good family even in his second life, "Thank you, Aunt Huo, Aunt Bing."

He got up and went to hug both of them, Bing Rong and Huo Rong patted his back to comfort him.

Shen Yuxin, who was quietly observing it the whole time, finally said, "Yuan'er, we are your family now, so if you need anything, just ask any of us, and we will do our best to support you."

The group all sat in comfortable silence before Huo Rong bombarded Shen Yuan with questions about his past life, what was his previous world like? What about his family? Etc.

They continued chatting till late at night when Huo Rong curiously asked, "Yuan'er, how old were you in your last life?"

Shen Yuan was intrigued after hearing her question and asked, "Why do you want to know about that?"

Huo Rong smiled slyly and replied, "First, tell me your age, and then I will tell you."

Shen Yuan gave up and answered her, "All right, I was 20 in my last life; now tell me why you wanted to ask that."

Huo Rong's eyes flashed with a blinding light as she heard that; she looked at Bing Rong, who was also looking back at her; both smiled, and Huo Rong said, "Then, does that mean you are now 27 years old if we combine your age?"

Shen Yuan got confused with where they were swinging this conversation but he still replied, "If you look at this like that, then indeed I am now 27 years old."

Shen Yuxin realized what Huo Rong was doing, she just shook her head and giggled lightly.

Huo Rong grabbed Shen Yuan's hands while looking at him intently as she said, "Then shouldn't we be your big sisters instead of Aunt? After all, we are only 28 years old now, and you are 27."

Shen Yuan looked at her with a bit of confusion still on his face, "Well, what you said does make sense."

Huo Rong cheered as she said, "Great, from now on, you can address us as sisters instead of Aunts; it always made me feel that I'm old; isn't it great that we have a younger brother now, Bing Rong?" She smiled brightly as if her plan had finally succeeded.

Bing Rong nodded her head with a smile and nodded in agreement, "Yes, Yuan'er, it's less formal and makes us feel closer, after all, we are not much older than you if we count both of your lives."

Shen Yuan felt warm at their enthusiasm. He also felt that it was oddly satisfying to call them sisters instead of aunts.

"All right, Sister Huo Rong, Sister Bing Rong," Shen Yuan said with a small chuckle, "I think I will get used to that pretty soon; it feels better to call you sisters than aunts."