Above The Sky
Chapter 106 - 106 100 Flowing Time and Faith_2

106: Chapter 100 Flowing Time and Faith_2 106: Chapter 100 Flowing Time and Faith_2 Attributing the cuts to Spirit Energy and traps, Ian generously divided the choicest fats, limbs, and back meat, giving them to Elder Prude and other senior White Folks, while distributing the offal and leaner cuts to the neighboring locals, keeping only the head and ribs for himself.

In this way, whether it was Captain Red, who had previously been harsh to Ian, or Artisan Minning, as well as Captain Badanli, who held a favorable view of Ian, all sent their thanks and reciprocated his gesture, not to mention Elder Prude, whose happy beard was trembling.

Hiliard turned the stripped-clean boar’s skull into a bone hat and gifted it to Elan as a toy.

Little Elan, wearing it on his head, gleefully shouted ‘Uncle’s the best!’— then, under Ian’s saddened gaze, he corrected himself, ‘Brother, you’re the best!’ prompting laughter from them both.

Regrettably, Hiliard didn’t eat much of the hunt this time, asserting the young ones should eat more, he only took a few bites before sitting aside with a contented smile.

Ian noticed, somewhat worriedly, that noticeable wrinkles had formed at the corners of Hiliard’s mouth.

In July of Terra Year 767, Ian had fully recovered the memories of his past life for a whole year.

To celebrate, he made a pot of spicy mushroom soup hotpot using green peppers and mushrooms he had bartered from the Natives, the only flaw being the scarcity of beef and mutton in Harrison Port, forcing him to use seafood for the hotpot.

The good news was that seafood was abundant in Harrison Port, from shellfish to snails, and fish to seaweed—everything was readily available.

Elan particularly liked the spicy half of the hotpot soup because it gave him ‘more sensation’…

The aftereffects of the Sleep Powder hadn’t fully healed, leaving several of Elan’s senses impaired, yet this didn’t stop the little boy from being happy every day.

Hiliard preferred the fresh taste of the mushroom soup, yet when he tasted the seafood broth Ian made using dried fish, fresh shrimp, and sea clams, he couldn’t help but sigh, deeply regretting that it had taken him so long to discover such a delicacy.

Even so, the old Knight didn’t eat much.

In September of Terra Year 767, Elan began learning to read, with Hiliard as his teacher.

The old Knight even carved many illustrative figures on wood planks, dedicating himself to teach rigorously, while Ian also didn’t slacken off and continued to encourage Elan to read and write after training sessions.

By the end of October of the same year, Elan learned how to write his name, basic numbers, Ian and Hiliard’s names, as well as words like ‘brother’ and ‘uncle,’ to the surprise of both men at his quick learning pace.

Clearly, Elan wasn’t slow, in fact, quite smart—but the Sleep Powder had undoubtedly affected him.

In November of the same year, to celebrate Elan learning a hundred words, Ian and Hiliard took him to a hill north of Harrison Port for a picnic.

The little boy was not fond of meat, meaning the Unicorn Deer Ian hunted could only be eaten by the teacher and apprentice.

When a brother learned the method of Provence stew from a past life, cooking for his sibling a pot of wild berry stew, it was unexpectedly well received, leaving Ian to muse that he truly did have a touch of Elf blood in him.

At night, cloudless, Ian pulled out a telescope hoping to watch the stars, only to discover, in disappointment, that there were fewer than twenty stars left in the entire sky of Terra; he could only observe the twin moons and a few remaining twinkling planets.

Even the ‘Illusory Moon’ and ‘New Moon’ rarely appeared together, with the bright and ever-changing Illusory Moon being a common sight while the dim New Moon could hardly be seen a few times a year.

As for those distant stars, even a single one was hard to find.

“Starting a millennium ago…

or rather, since the Calamity of Heavenly Fall, the stars have been vanishing gradually,” Hiliard said while gazing up at the sky, with a passion in his eyes Ian recognized but distinct from his own, “Not many care about the truth behind it…

They don’t mind at all.”

The night passed in silence.

A teacher, a brother, watching the starless night sky amidst the soft breathing of a young boy.

Until dawn arrived, and the sun rose.

At the end of the year 767, Elan still couldn’t articulate long sentences clearly and could only express his thoughts and intentions with combinations of words.

Hiliard wanted to use his Source Quality Energy to probe Elan’s condition but was stopped by Ian.

Because it was obviously not a type of damage that Source Quality Energy could repair, Spirit Energy would be much more suitable.

More importantly, Ian had noticed that Hiliard would visibly age a little each time he used his Source Quality Energy.

Though it was just speculation, Ian wouldn’t allow it, not even the possibility.

In January of Terra Year 768, Elder Prude began preparing Ian for the True Form of the Wave Singer and even granted him a Virtual Primordial Seed.

To conceal his readiness, Ian deliberately failed once, and waited half a month before imitating a successful attempt on his second try.

Despite that, Elder Prude was astounded, as he hadn’t actually expected Ian to succeed at all—he had just wanted Ian to get a feel for it in preparation for genuine cultivation in the future.

Elder Prude urged Ian time and time again to not reveal the fact he had already condensed a Primordial Seed, and he began to secretly gather the ingredients for Magic Potion related to the Wave Singer on Ian’s behalf.

Upon learning this, Hiliard reviewed the recipe for the Wave Singer’s Magic Potion for Ian, ensuring that it could better support the Sand Armor Apprentice’s abilities without hindering Ian’s progression.

He even directly shared many subsequent Magic Potion recipes with Ian.

In April of Terra Year 768, it was time once again for the annual Fish Harvest Festival.