"They were murdered on the mountain."

Hearing this, many of the nearby adults were shocked and for a few brief seconds, silence pervaded the village square. However, just a few seconds later the silence quickly turned into a clamor, increasingly becoming louder and louder before some started shouting.

"Murdered! Did he say murdered?"

"He did, said they got killed on the mountains."

"On the mountains, then how'd he get here? hows he still alive?"

"Boy, who did it? are there more of 'em?"

"We gotta prepare, who knows what might happen next."

Many questions floated around and like a spark in the hay, some people began to grow panicked. The children, however, simply looked confused, not understanding why their parents were becoming upset.

Looking at the confusion and panic growing, the chief quickly raised his hand high above and grasped at the empty air forming a fist, then with a shout that shook one's eardrums he spoke.

"SILENCE!"

Those who stood closest to the chief heard ringing in their ears; The crowd's voice then lowered into a murmur and then nothing. Taking command of the situation, Roland looked at a few older gentlemen in the crowd and began giving out orders.

"Everyone, look at me and listen, this is what's going to happen. First off, no one will panic. In order to get to the bottom of this situation, we must all remain calm. Keep your composure, the children do not need to see their parents running around like scared chickens. Second, all elders are to gather in the chief hall where we will figure this out. Also, all able-bodied men will guard the perimeter of the village tonight in shifts. Those without weapons will use their farming tools, pitchforks, and hoes or anything else that can be used to fight. Finally, there will be a curfew, anyone not defending the village must be in their homes 1 hour before sundown and must remain in their homes until sunup. These are my orders, now go."

As the village chief gave his orders, the villagers started to scatter like birds, busying themselves left and right. Before Lowen knew it, everyone had cleared out of the village square. As for those that were left, besides himself there were four other people, Roland the chief, as well as three older gentlemen, presumably, they were the elders.

Roland looked down at Lowen with a questioning gaze.

"Lowen, come with me."

With those few words, Roland turned around and headed for the Chief Hall.

Lowen gazed at the back of the village chief, he was surprised at how well Roland had handled the situation, he didn't seem to be a simple village chief. With that in mind, he quietly walked behind him, the three elders peered at one another before they too followed along.

Arriving at the Chief Hall, Lowen halfway expected it to be raggedy like the rest of the village, but impressively it was quite well maintained. Its inside was brightly lit with candles and torches. There were several large carved pillars made from wood and on each pillar there were depictions of brave warriors in battle, fighting what seemed to be monsters or at least they were creatures that Lowen had never seen before. After going past a large gathering hall, they continued down a long corridor. After a minute or so the few people came to a smaller room at the end of the corridor; Walking in, there was a small round table big enough to fit 6 or 7 people, besides that, it was basically empty. Roland and the three elders took a seat and with a gesture invited Lowen to do the same. As Lowen sat down before being prompted, he immediately began to narrate, speaking in truths and half-truths. He recounted what had happened and as he did shock could be seen in everyone's eyes, especially the three elders. For a boy no more than 6 or 7 to have his family killed by bandits and then barely survive himself, it was truly a miracle but what really shocked them was how calm Lowen seemed to be describing his parent's death. At first, they each thought it to be weird but eventually, they chalked it up to Lowen being in shock or maybe he was simply emotionally exhausted for the moment. He had just gone through great trauma and probably had no time to properly grieve, so they simply waved it off.

Although he told the 4 men about the bandits, he failed to mention the wolves, as well as the fact that he was a ki practitioner. As a ki practitioner, one would be able to sense if another person was as well. In his previous life, this was a simple rule of the world but for some reason, when he entered the village he could feel no ki coming from any of the villagers. Not only that, there was a different type of energy emitting from their bodies. This energy was something Lowen had never felt before, although faint and minuscule he could still clearly feel it. A curiosity crept into the back of Lowen's mind and with it a suspicion. If he were to tell them about his ki, well, there was just no way of telling how these people would react. Lowen felt it would be better for both parties if he just kept that to himself.

After finishing his story, the four men heaved a sigh of relief.

The village Chief Roland rubbed his temples for a moment before saying.

"So, 3 bandits attacked you and your parents and as your father and mother defended you, that's when you managed to hide yourself up a tree. After that, your parents could no longer fight and were killed and before the bandits could find you, a huge roar came from not too far away and so, the bandits panicked and ran off with your parent's horse. After that, you managed to scrape together the last of your supplies and then after wandering around, you accidentally managed to find this village."

It was hard to believe that a 6-year-old survived a bandit attack, survived the frozen mountain and after wandering around for days managed to stumble upon their village. If the kid were not so young, they would have sworn Lowen was lying and was sent here to set a trap but what kid of his age could make up a story like that? And if it was a trap what purpose would it have. Their village was beyond poor. There's nothing worth taking and it's not like they would rush up the mountain to confirm the story. So if there were an ambush in place, all they would have to do is simply not go up the mountain. They couldn't see through any of Lowen's half-truths and therefore believed him, realizing that, they all took pity on him.

One of the elders slapped the top of the table and broke out into a smile.

"Haha, a miracle, to survive such an ordeal, absolutely a miracle."

Seeing this, the other 2 elders broke out into cheerful laughter as well, being able to live through all that was indeed a miracle. The three elders were indeed a bit too excited and felt quite relieved but seeing this Roland's expression immediately darkened.

*BANG!*

Roland's fist slammed against the table.

"You three fools, the boy just lost his parents and yet you sit here celebrating, giddy like a flock of geese getting a piece of bread, disgraceful.

The three elders instantly realized their mistake, lowering their heads slightly they apologized. With a glance, they looked over at Lowen, regret now filled their eyes, but it soon turned to surprise. Looking at the young boy who had just lost his parents, instead of seeing the boy cry, he seemed to be indifferent to his situation.

Roland rose from his seat in a huff but soon calmed himself, with a sigh he said.

"Lowen, go wait outside for a moment, I need to discuss some things with the elders."

With a slight nod of his head, Lowen quietly got up and walked out, shutting the door behind him. Looking around there were no chairs or benches in the corridor, feeling bored, Lowen sat on the floor thinking about his situation.

(It seems they bought my story. Although those elders seem simple enough, that Roland seems different somehow, heh but still none of them could see through me. At least for now I seem to be safe, but where should I go from here.)

Just as Lowen was contemplating on what to do, he soon heard the pitter patter of footsteps approaching him.

Looking down the long hallway, Lowen spotted a young girl walking towards him. Wearing a plain dress, she seemed to be around 11 or 12 years old. She had short chestnut covered hair and dark brown eyes, as well as a few freckles on her face. nervously stopping right in front of Lowen, she looked at him and with a timid voice said.

"E...excuse me, is the Chief in right now."

With a simple nod, Lowen said.

"He is, but he's discussing something with the elders at the moment."

The young girl gently furrowed her brows as if she were trying really hard to think of something, after hesitating for a moment she said.

"Um, are you new, did your family just move here or are y'all just traveling around?"

Lowen was momentarily stunned.

(Is this girl dumb? Maybe she wasn't in the village square? But someone should have told her by now. I mean, what did she think was going on this whole time with everyone running around causing such a commotion?)

"My family is dead."

With a bit of shock, the girl's expression grew dim, she was absolutely confused and could not form a sentence and because of this the hall grew quiet and the atmosphere became awkward and weird.

Meanwhile, inside the small meeting room.

"Chief, what are we gonna do if bandits do come?"

One of the elders had spoken up in concern. Although the village had very little in terms of wealth, it wasn't an impossible idea for the bandits to take all of their food supplies. Their winter stock was their lifeline; With winter upon them, if their food storages were raided then they would have no choice but to hunt in the mountains, which would be nearly impossible. During the winter season was the time when most animals would hibernate. Hunting in the cold mountain would rarely get you a meal, plus the conditions were some of the harshest, whether it be the frozen weather or the monsters, the mountain during winter was basically a no-go zone. The worst-case scenario would be if the women and children were taken and sold to slavers, with that it would truly be the end for the village.

"What should be done with the boy, should we cast him out?"

Another elder said this, but as soon as he did everyone grew silent and he immediately regretted it. How could he be so cruel as to cast a child out? Cast him out where? back into the mountains, the forest where dangerous creatures lurk and prey upon everything that has flesh.

The other 2 elders, as well as the chief, gave him a long cold stare, in their expressions it seemed as if they were asking themselves, do we really know this man, is this who he is.

Another elder spoke up.

"I'll admit that the boy seems a bit strange, maybe even a bit suspicious but in the end, he's still a child and to send a child away to face certain death is too much. For now, maybe we just keep him here in the village, at least until we have more information."

Everyone seemed to agree with this and the chief relaxed a bit, but his brows then furrowed once more as he spoke.

"Where should we put him?"

It was at this moment that they all heard a small knock at the door.

(Has the boy gotten bored or grown tired of waiting?) The four men thought.

Well, it was to be expected. They had been discussing the same topic for quite a while, what kid wouldn't be bored to death.

The men glanced at each other before the chief straightened himself up a bit and he hollered.

"Come in."

As the door opened, each of the men was surprised at who had walked in. When the three elders noticed who it was, they each had a sour expression. In walked a young girl with reddish-brown hair and a plain dress. One of the elders seemed to be immediately angered by her appearance and spoke in a haughty tone.

"Nia, how dare you come here."