I am slack jawed at the house in front of me, fuck that, its more accurate to call it a small mansion. More importantly, it is scaled to my size. Passing through the round shaped cutout, I am greeted with a complete garden. Still empty at this moment but there's space for plenty. The old man guides me through the porch separating the mansion to one bigger building and one smaller one, to the backyard. Where Zhaoxia and Qingfeng are already waiting, sitting at the table filled with foods in a gazebo. The old man sat on one of the empty chairs and I sat on the empty and bigger chair. Still dazed. This place will be mine? Surely not.

  “So, how do you like what you are seeing?” The old man asked with a smile

  “I didn’t notice this place when we passed by.”

  “You should thank our senior sister Zhaoxia, she made this place in the morning. Also raising part of the mountainside for the space.” Qingfeng then added

  “Come come, let’s not overwhelm our youngest brother. Now eat while the food is still hot.” Zhaoxia said in her older sister's energy, clearly proud of her work. Definitely better than my real older sister.

  With that, the other three start picking up their utensils and picking up the food. Qingfeng raised an eyebrow then leaned to my side.

  “You know how to use chopsticks right?”

  “Yes.” I blink and pick my chopsticks.

  Following how the rest dine in. Fortunately there’s no esoteric way of eating, so I just eat like how I eat in chinese and japanese restaurants back on earth. Picking up loads of noodles and various salty foods. Then lots of eggs. I ate in silence, chewing quickly as usual.

  “No need to hurry. Enjoy the food.” The old man said and I immediately slows down my chewing

  Realizing that I am still acting like I am eating alone. Eating quickly so I can get to do other things I need to do.

  “You can chew? How?” Qingfeng, clearly paying his attention to me asks

  Then he leans up, opening my skull jaw as I chew. Then he visibly cringes at what he sees and without saying anymore, continues eating his own food. I noticed even Zhaoxia paused a little when Qingfeng raised my jaw but she brushed it off more quickly.

  “Well, looks like our junior really likes eggs and salty foods. Here’s for you.” Qingfeng said and putting another egg on my bowl using his chopsticks

  “Try this one too.” Zhaoxia put roasted pork

  While the old man just hums. But a bowl of soup slides from one side of the table to near mine. Hmm. Eating with family, I wonder when was the last time I did this. So I chewed slowly. Tasting one food to the next. Not only eating quickly for sustenance absent mindedly. An unfamiliar warm feeling rises within my heart. Maybe I should have done this more often.

  “The food is amazing. Thank you.” I gives my appreciation to elder sister Zhaoxia

  Maybe living here won’t be so bad after all.

  “So, what did you see?” I finally asks, which made Qingfeng coughs

  “There’s a um… another set of jaws.” Qingfeng said after a drink

  “Do I have that when you check?” Then I glance at the old man

  “No.”

  Ah well, just another weird thing on my list. No big deal. Then I look back to the mansion.

  “I’m really going to live here?” I asked again, still in disbelief

  “Why? Anything lacking?” This time, Zhaoxia chimes in

  “No, I just never had a house before.” I said matter of factly

  “Then how do you live?” The old man said as he finished his meal and now drinking his tea

  “I live in apartment housing. Just one room with enough space.” I finished chewing and projects a miniature apartment tower that I once lived in

  “That doesn’t sound comfortable.” Came Zhaoxia’s concerned voice

  “It’s enough. I frequently move to wherever I find work. So I don’t know if I will make use of the space properly.”

  “I’m sure you will get used to this.” Zhaoxia reassures me

  After that, the meal concludes with small talks. I showed Zhaoxia the sun and the dyson swarm rings too. Qinfeng complained that I almost blinded him. Mostly I listen in with the old man who is mostly quiet. All this felt nostalgic, like the last time me and my university friends were enjoying ourselves. Before everything fell off.

  Night came. Always swiftly in moments you don’t want to pass quickly. I waved back at the three. On my other hand are various housewarming gifts. Another book on basic elemental control from Zhaoxia and two boxes filled with pills from Qingfeng. The old man gives nothing and frankly, he has given me more than enough. I enter the bigger building on the right side. I navigate through what looks like a living room. Though the furniture is curiously made of stones. I followed the directions Zhaoxia gave to my bedroom. Inside, the bed is also curiously made of stones. Seems like to accommodate my weight. I immediately went to bed and lay down.

  Fuck. Lying on my back is uncomfortable as hell. My head cannot touch my pillows due to my antlers, some part of the pillow was torn due to my antlers as I shift around, and my tail cannot be shrunk even more which made it awkward on my hips. No more sleeping like this then. I roll over, lying on my stomach and putting my neck on the bed instead. I don’t think I will be able to quickly sleep like this.

  —

  In another realm, a new name is engraved on a massive slab. Xuan Danxing (旦星|Morning Star), under the name of Xuan Xuechen (血辰|Blood Star).

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “Would you look at that? Seems like we have a new family member.” Came a young man’s voice, drawing the attention of dozen others

  “Looks like he is adopted.” A young woman remarks as she noted the two lines between the two names

  “Does not matter.” Came a loud thundering sounds that seemingly came from everywhere, a divine attention pressing down on all of them

  “Greetings Patriach.” All the cultivators present offered their greetings, withstanding the enormous pressure that demands them to kneel and die

  “Whether he is adopted or not, he now belongs to our family. I will not tolerate any kinslaying, accident or not, directly or not.” The Patriarch continues

  “Then, should we start looking again? That family line has been separated for half a millenia and our efforts to look have turned to nothing. I look towards the Patriarch for guidance.”

  “You do not need to look! Listen! Those who bear our surname will always kill! One million! ten million! Hundreds! Whether by our blade or not! Willing or not! The reward to those who reunited our kin is still in place! Find them! All of you have fifty years!”

  “Yes, Patriarch!” They answered and then the divine attention lifted

  —

  The next day, I blinked awake. I take back my words. That was a good night's rest. I looked around, it looked like yesterday was not just some vivid lucid dream and I am really here now. Standing from my bed, I proceed to check the rest of the building. Other than the living room, there's a kitchen at the side near the backyard, and a small storage room filled with a chest and drawers. The stove in the kitchen of course uses firewood and there’s no modern appliance in sight everywhere else. A small waterfall with a small pool that I didn’t notice in the backyard. The pool also has a small channel that flows to the garden at the front. Then I found the outhouse, at the far end of the backyard. Opening and seeing inside, I immediately closed the door. I will need to fix this later.

  Returning back to the living room, I sat on the stone chair. All of this still felt surreal. Real estate is fucked back home and now I have an entire house which worth at least three times my net earning of my entire life. Everything’s looking up. As there’s still time until my training appointment with senior sister Zhaoxia, I try to remember what I want to dress like. The three troublemakers show that they are at least allowed to modify their clothes. So no need for full uniformity. While I hate the British like any American does, I still admit, they do dress sharply. The T-shirt, the vest, and the suit. But most importantly the shoes. I created a project of the gentlemanly shoes I once tried. I lift my foot, excited to try. Then I noticed my hoof and paused. I tried to change it to another form that felt natural and it turned into wolf-like paws. In silence, the toes on the paw moving as I will it. Then back to the shoe, finger tracing the smooth texture of the shoes. Once again not able to wear this thing.

  Then I threw it to the floor. Banging then flopping. Anger and frustration welling. But I swallowed it down after a moment. I went to the shoe again, thinking before finally picking it up. Deciding that I don’t care that I need constant concentration to change my hooves to human feet, I will fucking wear this shoe! After fitting my feet inside the shoe, I walk around. Feeling the walk and enjoying the smooth tap-taping sound as I walk. Knowing the boots are an illusion and the feet require constant concentration, but still I’m going to enjoy myself. I might get over it but certainly not today!

  In my new shoes, I explore the smaller building. The inside has normal sized furniture. Then two beds in one room. Is someone else supposed to live here? Servants perhaps. Or maybe to accommodate more disciples? Didn’t senior sister Zhaoxia also lift part of the mountain to make space? So that may be it.

  With nothing else to do, I picked up the books that I had and went to the gazebo. Basic Elemental Control, Celestial Projection, and finally Fundamentals of Soul Arts. First thing first I read the Basic Elemental Control. Which is as short as Celestial Projection. It details how to control elements based on the spiritual roots the user has. The higher the grade of the spiritual roots, the better and the more powerful the control would be. Controls are then divided into move and shape. Moving are push, pull, and float while shape is shaping the element into various forms and objects. Essentially elemental bending like in Avatar. The one my grandfather keeps insisting that the OG is better. Though it seems like the control is much more robust here and the book also details that this basic and unsophisticated control alone will not suffice as those with higher grade spiritual roots can take over.

  Then I opened the book on Celestial Projection to compare. Both books are similarly thin and offer familiar things. While the elemental control depends on the spiritual roots, the celestial projection depends on the user's soul power. Elemental control therefore is much more efficient as the Qi only used on Move and Shape. Celestial Projection allows much more versatility but the Qi usage is doubled. First to project and then to control the projection. Changing one projection to another also consumes Qi. As for how versatile it is, can it also produce sound? With a song in mind, I close my eyes and try to remember a song. To my delight, a calming and soft guitar sound resounded. Not just in my mind when remembering but also to my ear.

  Dim dim dam dada dim dim da dada dim da lilam

  The song still flows just like how I remember it. The song is from my grandfather's favorite game. Oh Damn! That’s right! My Grandfather’s SSDs!! FUUUCK! I have yet to see everything in it! He gives me five of those old 8 TB SSDs and I only get to see the content of five of them. Then I felt my feet explode back into hooves and the song also stopped. I will need to get used to concentrating better. I let out a long groan, putting my head on the table. Fuck, years of pirated content, gone. Classic Video Games, music, etc. At least I get to finish all the games on those 2 SSDs.

  I hum as I project the song again. Then also concentrating to have my hooves into feet in shoes again. Enjoying the tunes and humming along. Then I open the last book. Fundamental of Soul Arts. This one is much thicker. I opened the book and greeted with a preface:

  ‘If you are not talented in Soul Arts, close this book, return it, and lament your fate’

  Damn. I then flip to the next page.

  Perceive emotions

  Discern truth and lies

  Bind every words

  Feast on desire

  If you have at least one of these talents, you may proceed to the next page. If not, do not proceed or your soul will be damaged. Alright, this one seems to be on to something. Then I flip the next page. The entire two pages are filled with mad scribbling. But then, the scribbling starts to move, hypnotic, dizzying, like trying to read after spinning in one spot for a while. Then I blink, the words are now neatly arranged in beautiful cursive english.

  ‘Like a myriad of glass, every eyes perceives the world differently. Every soul will perceive emotions differently. Discern truth and lies differently. But every perceivement and every discernment will be added to your senses. Learn to control these senses or be overwhelmed.’

  The first page is very useful. It details how to control the augmented senses in very basic methods. If on eyes, focus on closing both eyes to switch the senses or closing one eye which one decided to hold the augmented senses. I have three pairs of eyes, so I tried closing one pair to switch the perceivement of the halo of emotions on and off. No sign of this working now but will be revealed soon. Then if on your ears then the act of closing one ear or cupping hands on ears is enough. The same with my nose. But the book offers no solution if the augmented sense is on the skin or tongue, only recommending other methods for self control. Then on to the second page.

  ‘Bind every word. Control your tongue or it will control you. Those with more talent in soul arts will find that their words have power. The more talent, the more power. Words are mantra and mantra will control the thought and the thought will control the soul. It will bind others as much as it binds you. Vague words are a double edged sword. Never let an interpretation be free. Never offer your name. But twist every vague word against others, use any interpretation against others, and take every name offered. The more of these three in your control, the more you control others.’

  I blinked once. Then twice. This is just an instruction to fae-like behaviour. Then I heard a knock. Senior sister Zhaoxia is already in the gazebo.

  “My apologies, I heard your song and you are reading with such attention that I felt guilty butting in.” She said

  “Eh, don’t worry about it” I closed the book for now.

  It’s time for training with Senior sister Zhaoxia, to make sure I can defend myself.