"Shh," Ren whispered, partially erging from the hole while holding Li. "You're standing right on our exit and not letting us open it."
Li's eyes widened like saucers upon recognizing his friend. Tao stood frozen, caught between fear and fascination, his mouth slightly agape.
"Ren!" Tao exclaid in an excited whisper when Ren finally released Li and completely exited the hole. "You were hiding underground! Just like in the Wandering King stories!"
"What were you doing down there?" asked Li, recovering from his initial fright. He brushed dirt from his clothes with exaggerated motions, trying to appear unaffected by the surprise. "And why are the patrols looking for you? Are you a criminal now?"
The last question carried a hint of admiration rather than judgnt.
Ren smiled while moving aside to allow Yang, Lin, Wei, and his parents to erge from the narrow hiding place.
"It's complicated," he responded, dusting off his clothes. "Let's just say we had a... disagreent with so patrollers." The diplomatic phrasing sounded distinctly out of place in the rustic storehouse.
"Whoa!" exclaid Tao. "You look like those rcenaries from the stories!"
"You talk different too," observed Li, wrinkling his nose critically. "All fancy and stuck-up." His expression conveyed the unfiltered judgnt only children can deliver with complete innocence.
Ren blinked, surprised by the comnt. "Fancy? ?" The idea seed genuinely foreign to him, a blind spot in his self-perception.
"Yeah, like 'it's complicated'," Li imitated with an exaggeratedly refined voice, straightening his posture and lifting his chin in a caricature of aristocratic bearing. "When you played with us, you would just say 'it's a ss' or sothing like that."
"And look at your clothes," added Tao, pointing at the academy uniform Ren still wore beneath his travel cloak. "All new and with those... What are they? Decorations?"
"They're rank insignias," Ren explained, suddenly conscious of how much he had changed in just one year. His fingers unconsciously touched the Bronze 2 emblem that had beco a natural part of his identity.
"Ooooh, rank insigniaaas," Li sang mockingly, performing an exaggerated bow with flourishing hand movents. "The young master is very important now."
Reed, observing the interaction from the side, couldn't help but smile. This was the Ren he rembered: a child among children, subject to friendly teasing, not the solemn young man who had killed soone hours before.
"We should finish expanding the hiding place," Yang suggested, but he made a subtle gesture to Reed, indicating they should let the children talk.
Lin and Fern exchanged knowing looks too. It was comforting to see that beneath all that acquired maturity, Ren could still connect with children his own age. The rigid formality that had overtaken him since their reunion montarily cracked, allowing glimpses of the boy they knew.
"Hey," said Tao, suddenly rembering sothing. "Anuar was talking about you this morning. He said he had sothing to show off when he saw you."
"Anuar?" Ren tilted his head, recalling the third mber of their little friendship group. "What's beco of him?"
"He got a rare contract," Li responded, rolling his eyes with exasperation. "While we got common plants like almost everyone in this area, he got sothing different." His tone suggested this was both unfair and frequently ntioned.
"Won't stop bragging about it," added Tao with annoyance. "Though he's still as clumsy as ever." He pantomid soone tripping over their own feet, eliciting a smile from Ren.
"Life is that unfair," Li sighed dramatically, placing the back of his hand against his forehead like a tragic actor. "Grandfather says the biggest idiots are always the ones who get all the happiness."
Ren couldn't contain a burst of laughter at the philosophical observation, but quickly covered his mouth when he realized how loud it was and looked back... Reed and Yang, who had been pretending to work nearby, gave him a discreet thumbs up, encouraging him to continue the conversation while they sealed the secret entrance.
Lin and Fern looked at each other, smiling at the scene. For a mont, on a day filled with violence and danger, they could see the child that Ren still was sowhere inside.
Moving a bit away from the group of adults, Ren led his old friends toward a hidden corner of the storehouse. The three boys naturally fell into the huddled posture of children sharing secrets, their heads close together.
"How's school here?" Ren asked, genuinely curious. His tone shifted subtly, losing so of its acquired formality as childhood rhythms reasserted themselves.
"Boring," Li responded imdiately, slumping his shoulders. "Master Huang is old and slow. Spends more ti dozing than teaching." He mimicked an old man nodding off, complete with exaggerated snoring sounds.
"And beast training is a joke," added Tao. "We only practice twice a week, and the sessions don't even last an hour."
"How is it at your fancy school?" asked Li, once again imitating the refined accent with pursed lips and an aristocratic sniff.
"Quite different," Ren admitted, unconsciously straightening his posture. "I train every day, sotis more than eight hours if you include exercise and practical sessions in caves or forests." The pride in his voice was unmistakable, despite his attempt at casual delivery.
"Eight hours?" Tao whistled, impressed and horrified in equal asure. "Sounds awful."
"What about your exams?" Ren asked, eager to continue this glimpse into their life.
"We have one final each year," explained Li, shrugging his shoulders with casual indifference. "You just have to eliminate a Dwarf Troll Bear of Iron rank. They're tough but slow and clumsy. Even Tao could handle one alone." He elbowed his friend good-naturedly.
"A Dwarf Troll Bear?" Ren smiled. At the academy, these creatures weren't even considered basic training for beginners. The resistance of Stone Lurkers and their surprise attacks were much more useful for practice.
"What?" Tao frowned at his reaction, crossing his arms defensively. "Is that too easy for you now, Mr. Fancy?" His expression held both challenge and a hint of hurt pride.
"No, no, that's not it," Ren hastened to clarify. "It's just... different." He searched for words that wouldn't sound condescending.
"What do you fight against?" asked Li, genuine curiosity overcoming his teasing attitude.
"Depends on the level," Ren responded, trying to modulate his tone. "Beginners start with Iron rank Stone Lurkers."
"Stone Lurkers?" Tao exclaid incredulously. "Those jumping rocks? Are you kidding?" His face was a picture of disbelief.
"And that's just the beginning," Ren continued, unable to hide his pride completely. "For the first year sester exam, we face one at Bronze 1 rank."
The children looked at him with amazent and disbelief.
"You're lying," Li declared flatly. "Not even the adults here go near those things in the mines if they can avoid it... And most have elental advantage."
"It's true," Ren insisted. "And in team battles, we face very effective combinations, varied and with synergies."
"Well, we have team battles too," Tao countered, unwilling to let their school seem completely inferior. His chin jutted out defiantly. "Last month, our team of... three plants... defeated three... plants."
Tao gradually lost montum as he realized his argunt was unsalvageable.
"Impressive," Ren responded diplomatically, though ntally he was comparing that to the Tier 3 beasts of Bronze 1 and 2 rank he had recently faced at the academy.
"You're not taking us seriously," observed Li, crossing his arms with an offended expression. "You've beco a stuck-up, Ren."
"No, no, it's not that," Ren protested, but even to his own ears it sounded weak. "It's just that the schools are... different."
"Differeeeeent," Tao mocked with a nasal voice, placing his hands on his hips in exaggerated imitation. "Now you even talk like you have a stick up your butt."
Ren couldn't help laughing at the crude but honest observation. These children, without filters or pretensions, were a vivid reminder of the life he had left behind.
"Hey, do you still know how to play 'Cloud Hunters'?" Tao asked, interrupting his reflections.
"That ga where we pretended to cultivate dragons?" Ren smiled at the mory.
"Yes! Want to play? Grandfather has those long sticks we can use as spears." Tao was already bouncing on his toes.
For a mont, Ren was tempted. To leave behind the weight of his responsibilities, the expectations, the constant danger, and simply be a child again, chasing imaginary dragons.
"Maybe later," he finally responded, conscious of the adults' watching eyes.
"Boring," Li declared. "You've beco as boring as Master Huang."
"Booooring," Tao chorused, making an exaggerated face with sagging cheeks and half-closed eyes.
Ren tossed a handful of straw at them in retaliation, unleashing a small war that filled the storehouse with youthful laughter. The weight of the world lightened, and the boy with the mushroom was simply a child again.
As they laughed, Ren gradually comprehended the magnitude of the sacrifice his parents had made. They hadn't rely sold everything to send him to the academy; they had purchased for him an entirely different life, filled with opportunities his friends would never know.
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