What A Dream Wants

"Mom! Dad!" Max shouted out, running to hug both of them.

The mom bent down to hug Max. Looking up, she saw Steven and Friends©.

"Hello, Mr. Estevan," She and the dad greeted him. Then, she asked, "I thought you left two days ago?"

"No, Mrs. Miller, I just had some urgent matter to attend to," Steven replied. "These are my friends- Lukas and Olivia."

"Hello, Lukas and Olivia." Mr. Miller and Mrs. Miller greeted them.

Lukas and Olivia greeted them back.

"Okay... there's actually a reason why we're here today," Steven told Max's parents. "We... want to accept Max as a disciple for the Academy."

"Oh... but Max is still so young." Mrs. Miller replied.

"Mom... Dad... What are they talking about?" Max tugged on his mom's sleeve.

"Wait a second, Max." She spoke.

Hushed whispers flew between the two parents.

Mr. Miller mused over it. "It's surprising that Max can cultivate."

"Why?" Steven asked.

"I can't cultivate. My wife can, but her aptitude is not high." He replied. "People who moved to this village can, but people who have been here for generations can't. Especially these past few years, so many people have moved out, because of the Generations have come and gone, but none of us have been able to cultivate. It is our way of life."

Steven and Friends©' expressions darkened.

"Max has never cultivated before, right?" Steven asked.

"Well... we are simple farmers; we don't have much use for cultivation."

"Can I see something?" Lukas asked.

"Sure." Mr. Miller consented.

Lukas sent his qi into both of the parents. Like a gust of wind, it dispersed afterward.

He frowned. "How many people are in this village?" He asked.

"Less than a hundred now." Mr. Miller replied. "Most people that used to live here now live in the cities."

"They don't have any cultivation nor can they cultivate. Their meridians are closed. Innate closed meridians." Lukas whispered to Steven and Olivia. "They also don't possess any unique quality to them, nor do they have a special constitution."

"Are they not blood-related?" Olivia asked.

"No... that can't be possible." Lukas said softly. "And it's not bloodline dilution either, they can't cultivate unless they get their meridians opened up. Which is an inconvenience since they already missed the prime years of their life..."

Lukas put his hand on his chin, mystified.

"Wait," Steven whispered back. "Max has a friend, who's about the same age as him. Let's see if he can cultivate."

"Mr. Miller, Mrs. Miller, can we go meet the Smith family," Steven asked.

"I have to cook dinner, so I can't accompany you, sorry." Mrs. Miller said.

"I'll accompany you." Mr. Miller said.

"Me too! Me too!" Max jumped up and down.

. . .

"Hey, Dave!" Mr. Miller called.

"Hey, James!" The guy called, walking out of the house.

"Dave, this is Estevan, and those are his friends." He told Mr. Smith.

"Hello, Mr. Smith." They greeted him.

"Hi, Mr. Smith!" Max said, grabbing onto Mr. Smith's Legs.

Dave ruffles Max's hair.

"Mr. Smith, can we talk to your son, Jess?" Steven asked.

"Sure," Mr. Miller replied.

Lukas secretly sent a bit of qi into Mr. Smith...

"Closed meridians." He told the others.

"Cheeky." Olivia raised an eyebrow. "Didn't know our uptight leader could do that."

"Sorry," He said, blushing with shame.

"Max!" A boy, around Max's age, ran out and yelled.

"Jessica!" Max yelled.

"Don't call me that!" Jess said, chasing after Max.

Then, they basically played tag.

Steven and Olivia stood there in silence.

Lukas, taking advantage of the opportunity, cheekily sent qi into Jess.

"He" Lukas started to say, but his eyes betrayed his emotions, "has two constitutions. The Sunlight and Moonlight Dream Constitutions."

"Wait," Olivia paused, mystified. "... It's quite abnormal for two children have such constitutions when their family is crippled. Unless..."

Olivia pondered for a few seconds.

"It could be... that," Olivia whispered. "No cultivation, a convoluted bloodline, constitutions supposedly possessed by... It all makes sense!"

"What? No, it can't be. If it is..." Steven whispered anxiously. "No. No, it can't. No."

But his words were uncertain.

"I don't know," Lukas frowned, frustrated. "There is something weird with this village. I didn't notice any beasts near this village, and I thought it was just a coincidence, but I'm not so sure now... Oh, Olivia. That makes a lot of sense..."

"We have to recruit him." Olivia proposed.

"Mr. Smith, can we recruit your son into the Academy?" Olivia asked. "Your son can cultivate."

Mr. Smith had quite a dumbfounded look on his face. First, the hushed whisper-arguing and then this. "I have to talk this over with my wife." He told them.

. . .

He slowly came out of the house with his wife.

"Jess?" His wife called out.

"Yes, mom?" Jess stopped running.

At this point, Max decided it was a good idea to tag him.

"Why you-" Jess started to scowl, but then he remembered his mom was asking him something, so he stopped.

Max blew him a raspberry.

Jess ignored him.

"Would you join these cultivators to join a school called the academy?" Mrs. Smith asked, her lips quivering. "Mommy and Daddy can't cultivate, but if you join them, you'll definitely become stronger."

She was about to cry, not wanting to part with her son.

"Mom, dad," Jess said.

"What's cultivating?"

Mrs. and Mr. Smith became silent.

Steven and Friends© became silent.