In the early morning, Huai Shi woke up in his tent and heard a boiling sound from outside.
He got up, still groggy, unzipped the tent, and saw a pot set up in the middle of the campsite with thick soup already boiling inside.
The tent next to him had already been taken down halfway.
Lily looked at the two tent poles in her hand that seed to have been snapped by her own doing, completely baffled. "This should be the way to pack it up, right? That's what the instructions say…"
Huai Shi couldn't help but sigh. "You're holding the instructions upside down."
"Eh? Oh…"
Lily was first taken aback, then she had a realization, and imdiately stiffened. Turning her head and seeing Huai Shi, she subconsciously hid the broken tent behind her.
"You're up?"
"Yeah, I went to bed early last night," Huai Shi rubbed his ssy hair. "Didn't we say we were going to see the waterfall today? I thought I'd get up early to prepare breakfast... You made soup?"
"Yeah."
Lily frantically rolled up her own tent, a complete ss, trying to shove it into her backpack, but no matter how hard she tried, it wouldn't fit. She had no choice but to tiptoe and stuff the rolled-up tent into the bushes.
Everyone politely pretended not to see.
Fine…
At least the soup tastes good.
It even had so ham and wild edible mushrooms in it—Huai Shi couldn't recognize a lot of the wild vegetables, but the taste was much more delicious than he expected.
As a forr genetics Scholar, Lily, at any rate, had a dical background, so it was impossible for her not to know what was poisonous and what couldn't be eaten.
Maybe before cooking this pot of wild vegetable soup, she had already calculated its nutritional content and calories. There was no need to worry about eating it and losing consciousness.
After thinking this, Huai Shi couldn't help but rember Luo Xian.
Is she doing well now?
Checking the schedule, she should have arrived in Arica by now, right?
Her journey must still be ongoing.
In any case, it wasn't up to Huai Shi to worry about her safety. A daughter personally taught by Luo Lao and a formal disciple recognized by the Heretic King... worrying about her getting into trouble was less of a concern than worrying so unobservant scoundrel would provoke her and end up being casually turned into stead buns.
"Speaking of which, Aricans don't eat stead buns, do they?"
Huai Shi oddly asked, leaving Lily baffled for a while, not knowing what he ant.
I'm not Arican, how would I know such things… But maybe, perhaps, they… don't eat them? It seems they have pies, though… However, since Huai Shi asked about stead buns, then it probably isn't pies. Did he not eat enough? Is he hungry? Or did I not cook well, and he wants sothing else to eat…
After a whirlwind of complicated thoughts, Lily's expression fird. "I'll go learn how right now!"
"What?" Huai Shi was stunned.
Lily had already taken out her little shovel and was starting to think. "As for flour, it could probably be substituted with starchy Solanaceae plants. What filling do you like? Is venison okay?"
"No! That's not what I ant… I was just asking casually."
Huai Shi was so frightened that he dropped his bowl. It took a lot of persuasion before Lily finally abandoned the idea of setting up a kitchen on the spot.
—Deer are so cute, why eat them!
But they do seem like they'd taste really good.
Huai Shi stroked his chin and looked around. No one was nearby, and there was no surveillance. Even if he poached, no one would know. Should he catch a silly roe deer to eat for lunch?
Having gone a few days without breaking the law, he was starting to get an itch.
While drinking soup, Lily suddenly asked, "After we see the waterfall, is there anywhere else you want to go?"
"Hmm…" Huai Shi thought about it. "The Grand Canyon?"
Lily shook her head. "Didn't we already go there on the first day?"
"Hot Springs?"
"Went there yesterday as well."
"How about the wildlife area?" Huai Shi suggested. "Didn't you say the other day that you wanted to see lions?"
"We've seen that already."
Lily shook her head. After thinking for a mont, she looked a little dejected. "We've seen it all already."
A week's ti was enough for them to visit the entirety of Yellowstone National Park.
No matter how splendid the vistas and how rare the wildlife, no matter how vast the area, there cos a ti when one has seen all there is to see.
Once they saw the Great Falls today, there would be no reason to extend this brief trip any further.
"So after we see this, you'll be leaving, right?" Lily asked, looking up.
"Yeah…"
In the silence, Huai Shi ultimately nodded his head.
Perhaps he could stay in the All Spectrum Heaven Sphere with Lily to see the entire world, but where in the world is there a journey that doesn't end?
There were many tasks awaiting him, and many things waiting for Lily to do as well.
Even the happiest of journeys must co to an end.
Lily bowed her head in dismay and after a while, asked softly, "Will we… see each other again?"
"Anyti."
Huai Shi nodded naturally. "Don't you have my contact information?"
Fearing Lily wouldn't rember, he took out paper and pen from his pocket and wrote quickly, "This is my address, my phone number, WeChat, and QQ number—if I'm not in the Current Circumstances, I also have the Astronomical Society express beacon number."
He handed her the note, sincerely promising, "Anyti, Lily, whenever you want to see , you can contact —and I will do the sa."
Lily carefully put away the note, as if fearful of losing it, and tucked it into her innermost pocket, close to her body.
"Mhm."
She nodded vigorously, exchanging her contact information on the Border· Darknet.
As a student of the Three Sages and a future successor, there were still too many studies she needed to learn and understand before she could stand on her own. DM and the others probably wouldn't let Lily wander around casually until then.
And all day, even though Lily had received Huai Shi's assurance and tried hard to act happy, whenever she looked at the ti, her expression couldn't help but dim.
She was like a child who knew their wonderful holiday was coming to an end, feeling an innate reluctance to let go.
Until twilight deepened, she still sat in front of the waterfall, unwilling to leave.
Huai Shi didn't urge her but sat quietly beside her.
Until the sun dipped below the mountains and stars spread across the night sky, the tranquil moonlight illuminated this beautiful world.
She finally startled awake from her reverie, her head lifting in sudden realization.
"It's ti to go."
She murmured softly, slowly getting up, and nodded in thanks to the young man beside her.
"Thank you for rembering this insignificant promise, Mr. Huai Shi," she said, struggling to smile. "Nothing could be better than this trip."
"Just Huai Shi is fine," the young man said, a bit embarrassed as he waved his hand. "The 'Mr.' part feels a bit strange."
"I've gotten used to calling you that; I probably can't change it now, can I?" Lily said, shaking her head helplessly. Then she suddenly asked, "But no matter what, Mr. Huai Shi, you'll always be my friend, right?"
"Yes," Huai Shi nodded.
"That's great then."
Lily smiled, leaning down, and sothing soft and cool briefly touched Huai Shi's forehead before it was quickly withdrawn.
Huai Shi was struck as if by lightning.
And Lily had already turned silently away, disappearing into the night.
On Huai Shi's Book of Fate, a new entry quietly appeared.
[Blessing from Beyond·Event Affinity]
Reading speed of fate records increased by thirty percent, learning speed for all skills increased by twenty percent.
—O anointed one, this is a precious gift from the Creator, you must not slacken.
But at that mont, Huai Shi was completely unable to focus on this precious gift.
He was beside himself.
Completely stunned, Lily's last words echoed in his ears like thunder.
"Mr. Huai Shi, I like you the most."
***
"NICE!!!"
Lily had just opened her eyes when she heard KP's excited roar, "What a beautiful fastball! Player Lily boldly made her move! Lily went all in with an 'A'! Huai Shi is down, Huai Shi is sunk! Oh, oh, oh, what a beautiful tale of youth, Mama is so moved I'm going to cry."
"Get lost!"
ST directly pulled out a pistol and aid it at KP, pulling the trigger repeatedly. After emptying an entire magazine, she reloaded another and continued firing.
Not until she had truly turned this nuisance into an unburnable pile of trash did she kick it away and quickly step forward to support the dazed Lily.
"Are you all right, Lily?" she asked, worriedly inspecting Lily's stunned state, fearing that so defect or side-effect had been left from the final transformation ritual.
But Lily remained dazed, saying nothing.
Only a slight mist rose from her flushed face.
After a long while, she finally ca to her senses and looked blankly at the woman before her. "Teacher ST, I... I..."
Before she could finish, her eyes rolled back, and under unprecedented sha and panic, she temporarily fled this world.
ST helplessly supported her. Looking down at Lily, who seed to want to escape reality even in her dreams, ST couldn't help but sigh.
To manage this much was already her limit, wasn't it?
Silly girl.
That doesn't even count as a proper confession!
***
"Wow, that's bold? You've shocked your big sister for a whole year!"
Below the All Spectrum Heaven Sphere, the hall was empty, but a figure like a burning fla stood in front of the massive sphere.
She seed almost not to exist there, so ethereal was her presence. Yet, her very being felt like the axis of the entire world, creating the illusion that all things must revolve around her.
"Kids with too much free ti, falling in love? They should all be studying hard for ," she said, her usually lazy tone now tinged with seriousness. "No, this won't do. The Fool is still young; he can't be mulling over this stuff every day. Where's my copy of "Nine-Year University Entrance Exam, Five-Year Simulation"... Aha, here it is."
Saying this, she stuffed a thick stack of books into the All Spectrum Heaven Sphere's receiver and, still not satisfied, added a set of "Blue Post Examination Questions Decade Full Edition".
Then, she tossed in a few more higher mathematics books.
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