"Quite a few gods could break into my 'Mindscape,' but one who could arrive so effortlessly... this is the first I've seen."
Master Chen shook his head helplessly, then slowly lifted the teapot in his hand and filled the empty cup before Isis as well.
Scalding tea poured into the porcelain cup, raising a misty vapor. Emerald tea leaves gently swirled within, releasing a faint fragrance.
"Life always finds a way out," Isis said with a smile.
She turned to look at the uniquely scenic Chinese courtyard beyond the window, her slender jade-like finger pointing at a low stone covered in grass. "No matter how narrow the cracks in this hard stone may be, they cannot stop life from taking root."
As soon as she finished speaking, a green vegetable sprout strangely grew from the side of the cup in Master Chen's hand.
Master Chen froze where he stood.
There had not been the slightest crack in the porcelain cup, but once that sprout emerged, tiny fractures began spreading from its roots. As the sprout grew, the cracks became increasingly dense...
Bang—!
A few seconds later, the cup in Master Chen's hand exploded. The sprout had grown as large as a thumb and gently fell at his feet.
Scalding tea spilled over Master Chen's robes, soaking a patch of them. He silently looked at the broken fragments in his hand, a trace of bitterness surfacing in his eyes.
"This was my favorite tea set..."
"Oh, then I really am sorry."
The smile on Isis's face grew even brighter.
Beneath the gloomy sky, dense vegetation visibly began growing across the surface of the speeding carriage racing over the sea—vegetable sprouts, grass roots, flower buds... all kinds of plants flourished at an astonishing rate, quickly covering the carriage completely.
A few seconds