He pondered for several days.
Even Li noticed that something was off with Xia Fan. "Are you all right?"
He had not kept the things An told him from Li.
"I'm fine." Xia Fan tossed aside his pen and the densely scribbled drafts, then wearily collapsed into his reclining chair. He had barely slept these past days, and dark circles had formed beneath his eyes.
Li moved closer and gently stroked him with her tail. "Actually... it doesn't matter if you can't figure it out. Maybe there was never a correct answer to begin with."
"How so?"
"The sanctuary needs us, and we cannot do without its protection. This balance can at least last for several hundred more years. As for what things will look like after those centuries have passed, who can know for sure?" Li said softly. "The seeds have already been planted. In the future, Qi Sense Users will spread across the entire world. With the knowledge in the Escape Tower, it probably won't take long to restore the splendor of your homeland, will it? Problems that cannot be solved now may naturally find their answers by then. We only need to let things take their course."
Breathing in the fragrance of Li's hair, Xia Fan could not help recalling An's words.
"—But you don't need to answer me right away. I'm not forcing an answer out of you. You can spend a lifetime thinking about it, or even cast it aside and live out your days as a human."
"You won't be disappointed?"
"Disappointed?" She had laughed at the time. "I'm helping you because I don't see you as some savior. Especially after crossing the boundary, you understand even more clearly just how limited the things humans can do truly are. Besides, we were the ones