one step away from reality to dream

In the midst of all this tension, Ravihiro had his hands full, not just with the beasts but also with Haruno's increasing demands. One morning, Haruno casually asked, "Brother, do you think you could help me decorate the house?"

Ravihiro nearly dropped the formation stones he was holding. "Decorate? What for?"

"Well, the baby will be here soon. And the place looks… dreary."

Ravihiro blinked. "We live in a forest surrounded by beasts. I think the last thing we need to worry about is decorating."

Haruno crossed her arms. "It'll be good for the baby. And for me."

Ravihiro sighed, rubbing his temples. "Fine. But don't expect much. I'm a cultivator, not an interior designer."

Scene 1: The Never-Ending Cravings

Haruno: "Brother, I want something sweet now! And it better be fresh!"

Ravihiro (groaning): "Sweet? You just had spicy food 10 minutes ago. Can't you wait?"

Haruno (crossing her arms, pouting): "No. The baby wants it, and I want it now!"

Ravihiro (under his breath): "Why didn't I end up with an egg that doesn't talk?"

Ravihiro rushes out to collect some wild honey. While climbing up a tree to get it, he accidentally disturbs a nest of bees. As they swarm around him, he frantically swats at them.

Ravihiro (running through the forest, covered in bee stings): "I'm a Soul Refinement cultivator, and I'm running from bees! This is my life now."

When he returns, bruised and swollen, Haruno barely holds back laughter.

Haruno: "You look like a porcupine!"

Ravihiro (deadpan): "I got the honey. Eat."

Scene 2: Decorating Disasters

Haruno: "Brother, I still think the house needs more colors. It's too boring!"

Ravihiro (already exhausted from protecting her): "We're surrounded by a forest. That's color enough."

Haruno: "The baby will grow up thinking green is the only color! We need decorations!"

Reluctantly, Ravihiro gathers colorful stones and starts making decorations. But he has no idea what he's doing, and the result is… strange.

Haruno walks in and bursts into laughter. The once-modest house is now filled with a chaotic mix of bright neon-colored formations, random hanging objects, and glittering rocks.

Haruno: "Brother! Did you… did you make this?"

Ravihiro (defensively): "I told you I'm a cultivator, not artist ( hiding that he is artist )

Haruno: "It looks like a spirit beast threw up all over the place!"

Ravihiro looks around at his handiwork and groans.

Ravihiro: "Maybe you're right. It's awful."

Scene 3: The Cooking Catastrophe

One morning, Ravihiro attempts to make breakfast, confident that he can at least cook a simple meal. Haruno watches from the side as he chops ingredients with the precision of a cultivator. However, things quickly go downhill.

He adds way too many spiritual herbs, thinking they'll make the meal more nutritious. But when the pot starts glowing, and steam begins shooting out in all directions, he realizes something's wrong.

Ravihiro (panicking): "Why is it glowing?! Is it supposed to glow?"

The pot suddenly explodes, sending soup flying everywhere. Haruno, sitting across the room, is hit by a burst of fiery broth. She opens her mouth to scream, but instead, a small burst of flames shoots out.

Haruno (frantically): "Brother! Am I breathing fire?!"

Ravihiro (wide-eyed): "I didn't know that would happen!"

Haruno: "You're trying to turn me into a dragon, aren't you?"

For the rest of the day, every time Haruno speaks, small embers puff out from her mouth, causing Ravihiro to stifle his laughter as he helps her cool down.

He spent the next few days begrudgingly setting up a strange assortment of furniture and colorful formations around the house. At one point, Haruno laughed so hard at his attempts to "decorate" that she accidentally knocked over one of his precious cultivation artifacts.

"Why do you do this to me?" Ravihiro asked, shaking his head with a small grin.

"You love me," Haruno replied cheekily.

Scene 4: The Overprotective Brother

As Haruno's pregnancy progresses, Ravihiro becomes overly protective, setting up multiple barriers and formations around their home to keep her safe. Haruno, however, finds this a bit excessive.

Haruno (pointing at the numerous glowing barriers): "Brother, do we really need this many?"

Ravihiro (nodding seriously): "We're attracting too much attention. I need to make sure nothing gets close to you."

Haruno: "You've set up, like, five formations just to get to the kitchen!"

Ravihiro: "Yes, it's a security measure."

As Haruno tries to walk to the kitchen for a snack, she triggers a trap formation that accidentally flips her upside down, leaving her dangling from a tree by her ankle.

Haruno (shouting): "BROTHER! Get me down!"

Ravihiro rushes out, horrified. He quickly deactivates the trap and lowers Haruno, but she's glaring at him, her face red.

Ravihiro (nervously chuckling): "Oops. Guess I went a little overboard."

Scene 5: The Unexpected Midnight Snack

Late one night, Ravihiro is awoken by strange noises coming from the kitchen. Groggy, he stumbles out of his room, only to find Haruno in the middle of a bizarre midnight snack—eating everything in sight with reckless abandon.

Ravihiro (rubbing his eyes): "Haruno… it's the middle of the night. What are you doing?"

Haruno (with her mouth full): "Baby's hungry!"

Ravihiro watches in disbelief as she combines the strangest foods—spicy soup with fruit, raw meat with sweet syrup. He shakes his head, torn between concern and amusement.

Ravihiro: "You do realize this is not normal, right?"

Haruno (shrugging): "It tastes good to me."

The next day, Ravihiro decides to go foraging again, this time without any complaints.

Despite the chaos and trouble, there was a bond growing even stronger between them, one forged not only by blood but by the challenges they faced together.

The Coming Storm

However, amidst the lighthearted moments, Ravihiro could feel a dark cloud gathering in the distance. He had caught whispers through his spiritual senses—rumors of powerful cultivators, hunters, and bounty seekers heading toward the Beast Forest, all looking for the source of the unusual energy spikes.

His mind raced. They needed to prepare for what was coming.

That night, after Haruno had fallen asleep, Ravihiro stood outside, gazing into the dark expanse of the forest. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, his mind sharp and alert.

"We're running out of time," he muttered to himself. "I must be ready when they come."

Despite his worries, for now, he allowed himself a moment of peace. Tomorrow would bring new dangers, but tonight, at least, they were safe. At least for now