After the procession finished, the somber atmosphere soon passed and the crowded town square once more became noisy. Lowen wondered if the group should rest after their long travel but before he could make a decision little Ben closed his eyes for a moment and sniffed the air.

*Sniff Sniff*

Ben's eyes shot open and his feet moved by themselves. Before anyone knew it, little Ben was already halfway down the street. Ben moved through the crowd like a phantom, pivoting on his toes and sidestepping agilely, slipping past the crowd until he found a certain stall and came to an abrupt stop. An old man stood behind this stall and had been selling sweet fried cakes for a while now when a small boy appeared out of nowhere like a ghost. The old man almost fell backward from the shock, only when he saw the dumb drooling look on the young boy's face did he regain his calm.

The old man looked at the boy waiting for him to speak but the boy just continued to stare at his sweets while drooling. Finally, the old man grew annoyed and cleared his throat.

*Ahem*

"Boy, are you just gonna look all day slobbering like a pup?"

Ben's eyes refocused and he quickly wiped his drool away but it did him no good as more formed at the edge of his mouth in no time. Ben pointed sheepishly at the mini fried sweet cakes and asked.

"Can...can I have some?"

The old man nodded his head before holding out two fingers.

"Sure, 1 mini bungy cake is 2 coppers and if you buy 4 I'll throw in an extra one for free. So, how many do you want?"

Ben heard money this and money that and his head started to spin in confusion. When it came to money, no scratch that, when it came to numbers in general, Ben had no clue. He was 5 but he, as well as most people living so far out of the way, had almost no knowledge when it came to math or reading. Staring up at the stall owner in a daze, the owner just assumed he had no money. With the wave of his hand, he started to shoo Ben away.

"What no money. Kid, come back when you've got some coin from your ma or pa. For now though, shoo, your gonna clog up my business."

Hearing this, little Ben hung his head low in depression. When it came to money, he had none whatsoever, as a matter of fact, he's never had money.

"I'll take some."

Ben perked up after hearing this voice from behind. Lowen and everyone else had made their way over to see what has enticed little Ben so much.

"Big bro, can I have one?"

Lowen nodded.

"Of course, that's the reason I'm getting some."

Ben's eyes brightened and he stared at the old man in excitement. The old man, however, looked at Lowen doubtfully. Lowen's clothes were in the best of terms of poor quality and he looked as though he were even poorer than Ben.

"Boy, like I told your brother here, 2 coppers for a bungy cake. So how many do you want 1...2"

Lowen reached into his pocket and pulled out a single coin. With a flick of his thumb, the single coin flipped through the air and landed perfectly into the stall owners hand. As the light from the sun reflected off from its surface, the old stall owners eyes widened at this unforeseen happening. The old man stared at the gold coin in his hand for a moment before bringing it closer to his face and eyeing it carefully then, strangely enough, the old man nibbled at the coin's edge for a second before looking back at Lowen with a bright smile.

"Oh, this is a real gold coin, I didn't expect that. Well, how many you want?"

Lowen thought for a moment and looked at everyone else and could see the anticipation in each of their faces. Even Benjamin looked like he wanted to try one. Looking at the size of these fried mini cakes, each one was only about the size of half a lemon.

"Give me 20 of them."

The old stall owner's smile stretched further and he quickly wrapped up the goods. Giving Lowen his change of both a few silver coins as well as a few copper coins, the old man handed over the cakes and waved at Lowen and his group as they walked away.

After a few minutes of wandering around, Lowen and the others found a nice open space with a large decorated fountain in the middle. The fountain consisted of two large statue birds with long necks and with their bodies intertwined, water flowed from the tip of their beaks, making a beautiful scene. This was a place people could come and relax as there were several tables and benches off to the side from the fountain. Sitting down, Lowen unwrapped the fried cakes and an aroma of sweetness wafted in the air. Lowen felt a line of drool slide down his chin and wiped it away before anyone noticed. Finding the best looking bungy cake, Lowen picked it up to the dismay of little Ben. Lowen, however, smiled teasingly before grabbing Ben's wrist and placing it in his hand. Little Ben looked at Lowen with bewilderment.

"This one, I can have it?"

Lowen nodded.

"Yea, unless you don't want it, then I'm sure someone else will gladly take it."

Ben looked cautiously at everyone before covering the treat with his other hand as though he were guarding it, causing everyone to burst out in laughter. Nia teasingly said.

"Yea yea hurry up and eat it before I steal it."

Nia jokingly reached for Ben's bungy cake and he instantly shoved it into his mouth. Silence.

Everyone stared at Ben waiting for his word on it when his expression changed. His eyes seemed to sparkle as he rubbed the side of his cheek in pure delight. Finally, a single word managed to slip past his lips.

"Delicious!"

The others seeing this grabbed a mini bungy cake and they too shoved a cake in their mouths. Silence. Pure bliss entered their minds as a wave of sweet flavor and a soft chewy inside took their taste buds by storm. Not only that, the crispy fried outside that was coated in some type of powdered cinnamon made this snack the perfect little bite. Everyone seemed to melt into their seats as they ate this delicious treat, well everyone except for Benjamin. As a grown man, his pride wouldn't allow him to except something so girly but on the inside, his mind was screaming something different.

(Oh my god, that looks so good. Damn this brat, he did this on purpose I know it. He knows I'd feel embarrassed asking for something so girlish on my own and now I'm stuck watching the others enjoy this yummy looking thing, dammit all.)

As everyone but Benjamin tore into these delicious treats, soon there was only one left. Benjamin couldn't help but drool inside his mouth and gulp it back down depressingly. At the same time, everyone seemed to be full. Benjamin stared at this last treat with desperation, his eyes screamed insanity. Finally, Benjamin couldn't take it anymore.

(Dammit, forget my pride, I want a snack.)

Just as Benjamin was about to reach for it though, Lowen quickly snatched it up and smiled at Benjamin devilishly.

(Damn, this turd, isn't he full yet?)

Lowen could guess what was on Benjamin's mind and felt like teasing him a bit.

"Does anyone want the last bungy cake?"

Benjamin clenched his fist when he heard this and looked at the others worriedly. Luna waved it off and little Ben pat his stomach in satisfaction. Nia looked at her dad and could see that he was going through some type of inner turmoil.

"Dad, what's wrong?"

Benjamin though couldn't tell her, instead, he came up with an excuse.

"No, its nothing Nia, I'm simply tired, that's all."

Nia turned away and Benjamin's thoughts were again screaming.

(NOOOO, Nia please dig deeper than that. Can't you see I want that snack? Can't you tell when papa is lying?)

"Nia was that a yes or a no for the last bungy cake?"

Nia felt her stomach and shook her head.

"I think I had too much actually, I couldn't eat another bite."

Lowen nodded.

"Your right these cakes were just too good and I'm full as well, I can't eat anything else."

Benjamin's eyes widened.

(He's full, he's actually full hehehe. Then that last one is surely mine, yes, yes, yes.)

With Benjamin's hopes at their highest, Lowen's next words were like a bucket of cold water.

"Hmm, since no one wants it, guess I'll just have to throw it away."

Lowen took the last piece and turned to a trash can, taking aim, Lowen threw the cake in the air in a perfect arc. Just as it was about to land inside a shadow flashed and snatched it out of the air.

Ben, using his shadow steps had dashed over just in time to catch it.

"Big bro you can't."

"Eh, I thought you said you were full."

"I am but big bro, you can't waste something so good."

(Yes, yes, that's my boy. Now give it to papa.)

"I'll eat it later, that way we don't have to throw it away and I can still have something yummy before I go to bed."

"Oh, your right, my bad my bad, you can eat it later that's fine too."

Benjamin's shoulders dropped and his face went blank as though he were lost in a daze. Lowen looked at Benjamin and wondered how someone could be so prideful even over a snack that they clearly wanted. Lowen said a few words out loud to no one in particular.

"Next time, just be honest with yourself."

Nia, Luna, and Ben looked at Lowen with a bit of confusion before he waved them away. Standing up Lowen and the others made their way back into the town square staring at all the new and interesting things, while at the same time, Benjamin was grinding his teeth in bitterness.

(That snack, next time, it will be mine.)

----------------------------------------------------------

As the sun started to set, Lowen and the others were in need of a place to stay. Unfortunately, after the Rize incident, 100's of extra soldiers had already come to Jizhen as reinforcements until the incident was completely resolved. Because Jizhen wasn't a huge town, it didn't have an official garrison so most of the inns were full. Coming to the edge of town, the group found a small run-down inn. The reason it was so run down was quite easy to figure out. It sat only 100 or so feet from the town's graveyard and because of that it made no money, causing it to become more and more run down in turn making it seem even worse.

Walking inside, Lowen and the others were surprised to find that the interior wasn't actually all that bad. The floors were slightly worn but the decor was cozy. This inn was two floors but seemed like only one with how quiet it was. Looking around, there seemed to only be 2 customers but looking at their expressions they clearly didn't want to be bothered. Lowen walked up to the front desk and behind sat a young woman with short brown hair. Seeing this small boy approach her, her first thoughts were that he was lost but seeing the group behind him, she threw that thought away. With a voice that was as clear as a bell the young woman politely asked.

"The price is 1 silver for 1 room which comes with dinner. How many rooms would you like?"

Lowen hadn't thought of it earlier but how many would he need exactly. He had slept with Nia and Ben ever since arriving in Sento but it's not like he needed to sleep with the two.

"We'll go with four rooms for the night and we'll need 5 meals total."

The young woman nodded in confirmation.

"That will be 4 silver and for the 5th meal that will be an extra 5 coppers please."

Lowen handed over the money and the lady confirming the amount handed him back 4 keys and added.

"Dinner will be ready in 1 hour and if you want, for an extra 2 coppers we can deliver a bucket of freshly heated water and for another 2 coppers, we can even provide soap."

Lowen gave himself a sniff before he looked back at the others. With a nod to everyone else, Lowen handed over a few more coins. The young woman accepted the money with glee before saying.

"If you go to your rooms, I can have the water heated up and brought to you in 10 minutes, that way you can wash up before dinner."

Lowen gave a nod and everyone first went to one room. Walking in, there was one wide bed with 1 blanket and two pillows. Ben ran and jumped on the bed in excitement. Rolling around on it, Ben couldn't help but smile.

"So soft."

Nia was about to smack Ben on the head when she heard Ben's words. Sitting down on the bed, she right away felt her body relaxing. She hadn't slept in a bed or felt its comfort for nearly 2 years. Constantly sleeping on the cold hard ground, with only hay as a blanket, Nia wanted to cry feeling this bed beneath her. Laying down on it, she too smiled like Ben and began to stretch out like a lazy cat in a sunlit windowsill.

Lowen handed the keys out, one to Luna, one to Benjamin, and one to Nia.

"Everyone has a separate room beside Nia and Ben, they'll share a room."

Ben hearing this grew panicked.

"Big bro, you don't want to sleep with us anymore, why?"

Lowen shook his head.

"That's not it, these rooms are just too cramped."

Ben though wasn't buying it.

"But big bro, this room is bigger than our whole house, we can sleep together look."

Ben then scooted to the very edge of the bed, showing how little space he would take up before he fell off. Jumping back up to his feet, he then rubbed his head laughingly.

"See, see."

Seeing how he wasn't getting through to Ben Lowen finally gave up.

"Ok Ben, this time we'll sleep separately and next time we'll go back to the way it was, hows that?"

After everyone persuaded him, Ben reluctantly agreed.

-------------------------------------

As the day settled into night, everyone was fast asleep, everyone except Lowen. As Lowen sat still in meditation, he could feel his tiny ki seed rotating faster and faster, it was slowly but surely growing. After a while, Lowen released a long breath.

*Phew*

(My ki seed is growing slowly and my body won't grow stronger until I physically grow. After I reach the capital, I'll look into how to become a second circle m......)

Lowen's thoughts abruptly stopped as he felt an odd aura moving about outside.

(What is this aura?)

Lowen stood up and walked toward the window, looking out he could see the surroundings were covered in a thick clouded fog. Something was moving about. What was strange to Lowen was the fact that this aura felt like nothing he's ever felt before, it almost felt like the opposite of an aura. Something that's alive, yet not.

As the fog rolled about, Lowen saw multiple stones placed evenly about and as the fog seemed to slightly pull back, Lowen could clearly see their shape. The stones, they were tombstones. That creature with an odd aura was actually moving about in the town's graveyard.