When it came to studying, Emily Bennett brought out the determination she had honed during three years of high school preparing for the college entrance exam. After all, the subjects she had to learn now were vast and complex, obscure and difficult to understand, and her teacher was somewhat unreliable. She could only take careful notes during class, organize them herself afterward, consult references, and cross-check her understanding.

Sarah was very pleased with her academic performance. For the first time, a faint smile began to appear on her usually cold face, and she would occasionally offer a rare word of praise, saying she had made progress.

Ethan Young, on the other hand, seemed worried. He felt that his young disciple was at an age when she should be playing, not studying so hard day and night. The thing he said most often was, “Emily, why aren’t you going out to play?”

Worried that his disciple, being new, might not have playmates, he even went around to all the neighboring families with children to let them know. As a result, the mischievous kids, already eager to meet the new playmate, had no more reservations. Aunt Wood’s Dahua and Erhua, Uncle Brooks’s George and Billy, all swarmed in every day, dragging Emily Bennett up the hills and down to the streams to play.

At these times, her master would always stand at the doorway, waving happily, “Have fun! Remember to come back for dinner at dusk. I made your favorite bamboo fungus and mountain chicken soup today.”

Emily Bennett felt helpless about this kind of care from her master. She really didn’t want to play with these six- or seven-year-old kids; she just wanted to study hard.

But her master’s enthusiasm was hard to refuse, and her playmates were full of energy. She had no choice but to reluctantly lower herself to childhood intelligence and happily join the mud-playing, bird-egg-hunting crowd.

Chapter 5

The eldest of the The Brooks Family, George, was perched high up in a Chinese date tree, while the other kids below craned their necks, looking up at him with anticipation, which made him feel a bit proud.

He secretly glanced at the Emily girl from Mr. Young’s family. When she first arrived, she looked thin and sallow, but after less than two years at the teacher’s house, her cheeks had filled out, her skin had become fair, and her lively appearance was very endearing. None of the kids in the alley could resist playing with her. Maybe it was because she studied with the teacher, but she was different from the other kids here. She never got herself dirty, never cried, always wore clean clothes, and had a sweet smile. But if Emily wanted to play a trick, no one could escape her mischief.

George picked a branch full of dates and tossed it down to his friends. Though these crooked, odd-looking dates were a bit ugly, they tasted sweet and were one of the kids’ favorite snacks. With a bit of selfishness, he aimed the branch with the biggest, plumpest fruits and threw it toward Emily Bennett.

Emily Bennett stood under the tree, looking up at the kids picking fruit. Her real childhood had been spent in all kinds of expensive extracurricular classes.

Luxury cars, a private driver, a suffocatingly tight schedule, rushing back and forth every day between various training courses—she could hardly remember any time for fun.

She never expected that, already in her twenties, after living life over again, she could finally relax like this and have a carefree, playful childhood.

The kids busy grabbing dates didn’t notice, but right now, standing next to Emily Bennett was a black figure several times taller than them. It was the “祙” she had seen on the bridge pier her first day in town.

Tall and big, broad-shouldered, with a small black head and eyes on top, this big monster stood among the children, looking up expectantly at the kids in the tree tossing down fruit.

Emily Bennett caught another branch of dates. Frank always managed to toss the fruit right into her arms every so often, so she didn’t even have to rush forward with the others to grab them; the fruit in her arms just kept piling up.

Without looking away from the treetop, Emily Bennett quietly handed a branch of dates to the demon beside her. The big demon stared blankly, reached out, and took them.

After being here for so long, Emily Bennett had found that although this monster was huge, just as her master had said, he only liked to blend in and play with people, never doing anything out of line. Gradually, she stopped being afraid of him. At this moment, she even thought that after watching for so long, maybe the monster just wanted a branch of fruit.

Sure enough, the big demon held the small branch of fruit, looked it over from all sides, squatted down nearby, and tilted his head to study what he was holding.

Frank jumped down from the tree and patted his pants. “Alright, that’s it. I can’t reach any higher.”

“Can’t get any more? I’m so short.”

“What a pity, there are still so many up there. Next time, let’s bring a bamboo pole.”

The kids walked back regretfully, when suddenly there was a loud rustling from the treetop. Dates, leaves, and caterpillars rained down on their heads.

“Oh no, where did such a strong wind come from?”

“So much fruit! Quick, pick it up!”

The children laughed and dodged as they scrambled to pick up the fruit scattered all over the ground.

In the world they couldn’t see, the black figure standing by the tree puffed out his chest and blew out a long breath, which whipped up a gust of wind, shaking down the fruit from the tree.