“You’re a sage?!”

Lifting an eyebrow, Olivia stared, bemused. “Aren’t you a little off the mark? Last time I checked, I wasn’t nearing sixty.”

At Jielan’s disapproving glance, Xue Xiawen’s face morphed to one of sheepishment, black hair falling around his head in a thick curtain streaked with what Olivia could only describe as English Violet. “That wasn’t what I meant.”

“I know,” Olivia grinned. “I’m just giving you a hard time.”

Though Olivia should probably stop, the kid had had a rough night and morning already. It couldn’t be comfortable sleeping up against a tree trunk.

Or on a branch. With a sword digging into your side.

Olivia could attest that even a pocket knife was uncomfortable to wake up to. She always remembered to close it each time she decided to close her eyes for just a moment. She had heard stories growing up about the dangers of leaving a blade exposed when sleeping.

It had taken some prodding on her part, but Ju had gotten the quintet to sleep after nearly falling over each other following only a single cup of mint water at Olivia’s suggestion; it had been way too late for anything with caffeine.

Though the admission by Xue Huanfu, who was much of a talker as Ping with Rose Quartz highlights, that it had been a while since any of them had eaten, something about a practice of Inedia that had kept them going for nearly a week, had Ju refused to let them leave until they got some sleep and a good meal.

The powers of motherhood.

“So,” Olivia began, crossing her arms, careful not to jab her arms with the silver pin she currently held, “I guess you have questions.”

The five shared looks between each other, clearly conversing as Olivia waited. Her head felt strange, lighter even, but that was due to her missing hat.

Said hat that was currently dangling from an overly playful Arabian’s teeth, equine face curious as to why the game of keep-away had abruptly ended.

Olivia would admit that part of this was her fault; she should have known that Chester would go for her hat when she pulled Weixan’s hairpin free from Arabian teeth. Others would point out that it was the kid’s fault for getting too close to a horse with a habit of trolling men past a certain age.

Guess I should have warned them about his habit last night, Olivia mused. Even my brothers know not to go near Chester when he wants to troll.

But that idea had flown out the metaphorical window thanks in part to the arrival of her adrenaline crash, falling asleep on the saddle blanket, and waking up to the sun over the horizon and all five boys staring at Chester with degrees of awe; even the ever-appearing stoic Xue Jielan had sported wide eyes.

At Olivia’s confused expression, a very sheepish Ju revealed that brown hair wasn’t just unheard of in people. It also applied to domesticated animals, and any born with brown coloring was highly prized.

And I’m going to a place where everyone and their grandmother will see him. Poor Chester.

It wasn’t just Chester’s coloring. Compared to Yu’s stockier build, Chester’s more diminutive, sleeker form and dished head with wide-set eyes made him appear far more delicate.

As if he had been formed from glass.

Of course, that awe had led to Xue Xiawen getting a little too close, allowing Chester to snag the pin holding his ornament in place and resulting in a game of keep-away that should have been quickly resolved by Xiawen grabbing hold of Chester’s lead, but had been reluctant to do so.

If they’re anything like the cultivators in those books, they probably didn’t want to risk injuring Chester by accident, Olivia mused, eyeing the piece of carved silver she held. A pretty item, topped with a simple design that resembled waves, must be a sect thing since the other boys also sported similar head pieces.

A nice thought, but Arabians were made of stern stuff. They had been used to enhance other breeds of light-riding horses for centuries. Chester could handle a slight roughness.

Not that the boys had known since none had asked Olivia. And given that they moved around the countryside via flying swords, who knows what level of comfort around horses they had.

They were also sent out after walking corpses as thoroughly trained cultivators, despite their age.

Olivia briefly wondered what could be worse for teenagers than the walking dead but quickly discarded it; that line of thought always led to nothing but trouble.

“Um, Miss Ada?”

“Yes?”

Xiawen shifted nervously, clearly at war with himself about something, before finally swallowing and saying, “Um, if you wouldn’t mind, could I…?” He gestured to the silver pin Olivia still held, the other half of the ornament in his own.

“Whoops, sorry.” Handing the silver pin back, Olivia added, “Sorry about Chester, by the way. I should have warned you sooner that he’s got a bit of a trickster streak.”

“He’s that bad?” Xue Yixan asked, holding his brother’s ornament as the other fought to pull his hair back up.

“Worse,” Olivia’s grin sharpened. “Just be thankful you approached him after breakfast. He’s an absolute grouch in the morning.”

Looking past the boys, Olivia spotted Ju near the firepit. “Do you need help, Ju?”

“No, we’re good, Li. Most has already been pack up last night,” Ju called back. “But if you could bring Yu when we’re ready to hitch up, that be great.”

“Got it.”

Turning back to the boys, Olivia continued, “You got those questions ready?”

“Um, well,” Xue Jielan began, though he was struggling with forming a question.

Thankfully, someone was willing to bring up the elephant in the room. Or forest.

“Is your hair really that color?” Xue Quirong blurted out, hands clasping over his mouth at his senior’s look. “Sorry, Jielan-gege.”

Snorting, Olivia leaned over while parting her hair to expose the roots. “How about you tell me?”

The grass crunched as the young cultivator approached, a shadow moving across the ground as he quickly leaned forward and back. “It’s real.”

“Yep,” Straightening, Olivia ran her fingers to fix her hair as best she could, trying not to grimace at the feeling of the filth in her hair. I really need a shower. Scratch that; I could go for a bath right now. For a week.

“Then how can you say you aren’t a sage?” Xue Yixan asked.

Olivia raised an eyebrow. “Because I’m not. I’m your run-of-the-mill, average woman who got a little lost while out riding.”

If by a little lost being that I ended up being isekai’d to an entirely new world. How is this my life?

“But only sages have brown hair!”

“What does brown hair have to do with being a sage?” Olivia asked curiously. “Aren’t sages old folks who live high in the mountains and rarely come down, so you must go to them if you want answers? And they also have white hair because of their long lives of not being idiots?”

Xue Xiawen coughed into his fist, clearly trying not to laugh at Olivia’s jab. “No, those are saints.”

Olivia’s face fell flat. “I’m guessing we’re not talking about folks depicted in art with a halo, right?”

“Er, no, we’re not,” Xue Jielan swallowed. “Sages are…they’re sent by the gods when things…aren’t in balance.”

Are we seriously ripping off Krishna’s story here or something? Olivia slapped a hand over her face. “Please tell me it doesn’t involve killing evil kings or something like that.”

“Not always.” That was a grin in Xue Yixan’s voice; Olivia was sure of it. “That’s only happened five times in recorded history.”

“Five times too many,” Olivia sighed, dragging her hand down her face. “Look, I hate to break it to you, but I’m not a sage. Whatever ideas you have about them, I’m not that.”

Xue Quirong titled his head. “Then…what are you?”

“Easy. A normal person.”

“Li, we’re ready.”

“Coming.” Undoing the horses’ leads, Olivia turned to the quintent. “So, what are your plans? You mentioned you have to report, right?”

“Actually,” Xue Jielan began, slightly nervous, “we got word this morning that a Yao was sighted nearby. It was probably what attacked that prison transport.”

Olivia stilled. Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me. Please let me have heard that wrong. “I’m sorry, what?”

“A Yao,” Xue Yixan supplied. “A demon. Probably some animal that got possessed by a horde of hungry ghosts. They are smarter than your average animal.”

“I thought was what you said,” Olivia glumly handed the horses’ leads to a confused Xue Xiawen. “Excuse me for a moment.”

All five cultivators stared in confusion as Olivia proceeded to bash her head against living wood.