As Julius reappeared inside Adam’s bedroom, Adam patted the girl’s cheeks tenderly, unwilling to remove his small fingers, fearing that she would vanish.
He tried to speak, but only cut baby noises escaped his quivering lips.
Yet, somehow, the girl understood and ruffled his smooth hair in wonder.
"Of course, it’s really me! After I died, someone offered to reconstruct my body but said that it would take two years. And Tada! I’m back to explore the world as promised!"
She gripped his hot hand, feeling his smooth skin and noticing her own with a deepening frown.
"How did you become a baby, and why am I a two-year-old child? Also, where are we?"
"The person who rebuilt my body turned you into a baby and sent you into this mountainous region, but you don’t know where we are?"
Her eyes sparkled, the smell of adventure filling her nostrils as she brushed her condition aside, eager to see the outside world and its wonders after her prisoner’s life in the hateful underground complex.
Then, she leaned closer to him, cradling her arms around his body.
"Alright. Since I’m older, I’m the big sister, ok? Don’t worry, I’ll care for you well until you grow up."
A mischievous grin split her face as she embraced him to raise him.
However, her face reddened, and her muscles tensed as she gazed at him in disbelief.
"Why are you so heavy? I’m weaker than before, true. But it’s not normal!"
"Hee. What do you mean it’s more important to cover myself? Oh! I’m naked." Her eyes trailed down, noticing her skin glisten under the bright sun. "You naughty boy is concerned for your big sister? You’re so adorable."
She pinched his cheeks as his eyes rolled in their sockets, a sensation of shame he had never felt before engulfing him.
’Take the fabric wrapped around me to cover yourself, Misha!’
An inner roar pierced his mind as he made another series of cute gurgles. Yet, he smiled, happiness flooding his heart and making his hands tremble.
’I can call you big sister if it makes you joyful. I owe you that much, my friend.’
Meanwhile, Misha chuckled and wrapped herself in the soft fabric, leaving him naked. But it was better that way.
’No one will be too shocked to see a male toddler naked.’
His big baby head bobbed before he coughed and pointed a finger to the horizon.
’Let’s move before more beasts attack us. We’ll discuss and ponder what to do once we’re safe and after filling our stomachs.’
Simultaneously, his belly grumbled in protest as if to express that they should feed it first.
’What a bizarre feeling... Is that hunger? It’s infuriating...’
As a ghost, he had never felt it. The sensation seemed bizarre, alien even, but he still grinned. It was his body! If it required food, he would shove so much inside that it would never cry about hunger again!
Hearing the noise, Misha’s grin broadened on her lips as she whispered.
"My DNA contains the information of every beast. Want me to make milk for you?"
He swallowed the wrong way, his face turning a deep shade of red as he almost suffocated at her wild idea.
"Hahaha! I’m joking, of course. That person tweaked my DNA a little. I can only transform my hands, feet and skin to have animalistic properties now. However, I don’t need evolutionary cells anymore! No matter what I eat, I will automatically integrate what my body deems useful. Isn’t it great?"
She raised her thumb, her face red as her nail turned into a sharp claw.
"But I’m back to the beginning of my evolution path. So, I guess we’re in the same boat, huh? Let’s recover our past strength and have fun together."
He outstretched his hand to her, asking to be carried and finding comfort in her presence in this new world. He was also eager to start this new journey with the person he trusted the most after Julius. However, contrary to what she may think, he was by no means weaker. Instead, his stats were nothing short of terrifying.
’It’s just my baby’s condition and the fact that I’m unaccustomed to having a body that blocks me. But I’m sure I’ll recover rapidly.’
He still had to check the new entries, but safety came first.
However, despite Misha’s best efforts, sweat, and angry huffing, she failed to carry him.
’Are my bones that dense?’
A bitter taste filled his mouth at the thought. With their unbreakable properties came the weight, and in this situation, it made things harder for them to start their journey.
After five minutes of unfruitful efforts, Misha dropped to the ground, her chest rising erratically to let her labored breath out.
As a sense of helplessness settled, leaves rustled and footsteps echoed before a sudden voice, old and filled with curiosity, resounded behind them.
"What are two kids doing in the middle of the valley? Did you lose your parents?"
Following the sound, Adam craned his neck and saw an aged man wearing beautiful robes. The neat fabric glistened in dark blue, red, and white under the sun as locks of white hair cascaded before his grey eyes.
Despite the man’s stern face and the few wrinkles running around his short beard and moustache, he couldn’t help but think that this person wasn’t the regular old man you would meet around the street.
’He’s at least as strong as Julius. Wait, how do I know that?’
He pondered the feeling he perceived from the man, understanding in a heartbeat what it was.
’Now that I can wield Qi, I can sense others’ life force, like Julius!’
Even if hidden by his clothes, he knew the aged man’s appearance was deceptive, hiding a muscular and powerful body, the body of a cultivator.
As he analysed the situation and realised he landed in the cultivation world, the man walked to them and smiled brightly.
"I can help you find your parents if they are nearby. What’s your name, little girl, and why is your brother naked on the ground?"
Misha’s eyes darted between him and the man, uncertainty gnawing at her heart as she hesitated to attack.
"I don’t understand his language. Is he trying to kidnap or help us?"