Chapter 58: A Special Surprise

A strong scent of rose perfume wafted through his nose as they sunk in between the pair of soft snowballs.

"Wow, look at you so tall and handsome, most of all so healthy. I can't be happier. Do you know how guilty I felt when you went missing when I was supposed to look after you? Will you forgive this aunt?" Yaro asked emotionally.

Arion wanted to answer, but Yaro's insane strength was keeping his face buried in her bosom, allowing him only to let out inaudible sounds.

"Aunt Yaro, if you suffocate him, how can he talk?" Mei playfully said as she came forward to pull Arion up. However, even though she had a smiling face, her brows were slightly furrowed.

"Oh, I am sorry, Arion," Yaro worriedly said as she pulled Arion up, seemingly ignorant of the fact that she was accidentally suffocating him.

Arion awkwardly coughed as he said with a smile, "It's fine. And you don't have to say sorry, Aunt Yaro. I know you didn't have any choice but to leave to help out the neighboring ward. So don't feel bad about it, please."

"Mwha! Such a sweet boy you are," Yaro happily said as she kissed his cheek and held his hand as she dragged him inside, "Come. I have prepared so many special dishes for you knowing that you already woke up. That was why I didn't visit you since I wanted to make sure my surprise would make you happy."

Arion smiled, but then his excitement got cut short when he remembered that he was unable to taste food as before.

Only this morning, he even vomited his favorite food, the meatballs cooked by Yaro. So wouldn't the result be the same if he eats the food made by Yaro this time as well?

"Aunt Yaro, did you possibly mix any medicinal herbs in the food you prepared for me?" Arion asked with a slight smile as he remembered he strangely was finding medicinal food tasty.

Yaro happily said, "Don't worry. I didn't put any of those bitter-tasting things. I know you don't like to eat such stuff."

Arion felt like facepalming since he knew she couldn't be blamed for not knowing his newfound appreciation for medicinal food.

So he tried to come up with a good excuse, "Is there any possible way you could mix any herbs in the food you cooked?"

Yaro put her hand towards her lips, "Oh, dear. Are you still feeling hurt somewhere?" She asked worriedly.

Arion waved his hands, "No, of course not. But I don't want to take any chances and want to make sure I take sufficient beneficial food for a few more days just to make sure that I am perfectly alright."

Yaro's eyes lit up, "Aha. I see that you have finally become conscious of your health. Is it to maintain your handsome hunk looks to impress some maidens, hehe?" She asked as she pressed his biceps, making Arion chuckle awkwardly.

Arion had a feeling if this sexy-looking aunt was interested in him, but then he wondered if it was just his mind playing tricks for not being with a girl for a very long time.

"Don't worry. I will pour some herbal oil over the food I cooked for you. That should be fine, right?" 

Arion was about to say 'yes' when he suddenly remembered how expensive anything related to pranic items was and said, "Actually, you don't have to since I don't want to make you waste such a precious oil over nothing."

Yaro pulled her brows together, "Nonsense! What waste? If you are the one eating, then not a drop would be wasted. Besides, you are the man of the day, so the least I should do is hold back to make you happy."

Arion smiled and didn't say anything anymore as he got dragged away to a large table with various sizzling dishes.

Fortunately, since Yaro sprinkled some oil over the food, he was able to eat without any issues while enjoying the taste though, for the most part, he felt like he only found the oil delicious.

Arion didn't know how to explain this weird phenomenon that was happening with him and felt that it had got to do something with all the changes that happened to his body.

With Arion's arrival, the place became even more vibrant and louder as people began to discuss how courageous Arion was despite his condition, while others continued to praise him in different ways.

However, this was only after people consoled those who lost loved ones on the day the Dreadlings attacked.

Mei also said some words of consolation to people she was at least acquainted with, including Ina's father, who was forcing himself to put up a smile to not make others too concerned about him.

Very soon, suddenly, silence descended, making Arion look towards the front, wondering what happened for all these people to suddenly go silent.

"Oh, I think they have arrived. Let's go take a look," Yaro said with tinges of excitement as she pulled Arion along.

On the outside, a carriage stopped, and two elderly figures stepped out.

One of them had a stick on his hand and had a full white beard which was at least six inches long and had an amiable-looking face. Arion identified him as the Village Chief of his Rimfefall Village, and every single person who lived in this village knew him.

People also addressed him as Chief Aslan, just as Arion does.

However, Arion was closer to the Village Chief since he was a good friend of Mei and always entertained him as well, no matter how busy he was. He was also the one who didn't crush his hopes just because he was disabled before but, in fact, encouraged him to continue doing whatever he feels best.

The other old man had an aged look, but his posture seemed straight as an iron rod and had a valiant aura around him, making him appear stronger and younger than he looked.

Arion identified him as Old Zi as people generally called him, or Zixin Siu, the only retired Champion in the Fok Grove Ward and, in fact, the only living Champion left of his generation in the Rimefall Village.

Arion wasn't that familiar with Zixin since he barely saw the man walking around Fok Grove Ward. He would usually be traveling here and there, which also made him wonder whether he was indeed retired or voluntarily doing everything.

However, he knew that Zixin was a kind man as well who even adopted a poor orphan as his son more than a decade ago.

As the two elderly men entered the backyard, everyone bowed to pay their respects to such admirable figures, especially Zixin Siu, who was still rumored to be half as strong as he was during his prime despite being very old.

He could have minded his own business and stayed cooped in a nice house without lifting a hand while having many servants to serve him. But he did nothing of the sort and continued to save people, even from other wards when he wasn't even obliged to.

This was the main reason why people of the Rimefall Village held him in high regard and why the Fok Grove Ward considered him as their leader.

"Come on. They were looking forward to seeing you once you woke up," Yaro said as she pushed Arion to the front.

Aslan and Zixin saw Arion getting pushed to the front and their lips arched into a friendly smile upon seeing him.

Aslan beamed as he came forward and patted Arion's shoulder, "My boy Arion, look at you. Sigh, Heavenly Mother has been kind to you by granting you such a boon."

Zixin also came forward with a look of admiration, "Right. May she continue to protect you from the Timeless Realms as she always does. A noble kid like you is a blessing to us, especially to our Fok Grove Ward."

Arion didn't feel as if he was standing before senior experts but two next-door grandpas. Still, he felt pride welling up inside him after hearing their heartfelt compliments.

Arion pressed his palms together in a cross as he said, "Thank you for the kind praise, Chief Aslan, Old Zi."

"Don't mention it, boy. It is a well-deserved one," Aslan chuckled as Zixin nodded.

"Please have some seats, seniors," Yaro respectfully offered as she was the host.

Aslan waved his hand with a smile, "No need for that now, Yaro. Not before we announce something for our friend Arion here."

"Announce?" Arion mumbled in confusion.

Zixin said, "You must be wondering why we came empty-handed, right?"

"Uh, no...I really didn't," Arion dryly chuckled.

"Haha, it would be bad on our part if we didn't appreciate you for what you did when everyone else did. So we have a special surprise for you which we also wanted to announce to others as well to spread some positivity," Aslan happily said.

Arion knitted his brows, wondering what surprise these two seniors had in store for him.