As they walked, the two men chatted. Bu Chunfeng knew the forest's plants like the back of his hand. For every flower Xu Huo showed interest in, he could name its family, the plant it had evolved from, and the new abilities it had developed afterward. He also mentioned that he had several gardens of his own, all gifted to him for free by his followers. He used them to grow flowers and medicinal herbs, then sold the harvest to cover expenses for the religious order or to help followers who were in need.
Although neither man fully agreed with the other's ideals, they respected each other, and their conversation flowed easily. By dinnertime, Bu Chunfeng had naturally joined the two families for a meal.
He was lenient with the children, but strict with the adults. If he thought a parent had taught a child something wrong, he called it out directly.
The parents from both families felt a little awkward, but they also thought he had a point, so they could only agree.
As the saying went, he was lucky he hadn't been beaten up because District 022 was fairly developed and monitoring devices were everywhere.
After dinner, everyone decided to stay there for the night. They were still near the edge of the forest park, so they could go for a walk nearby, but visitors weren't allowed any farther in.
The two families and Bu Chunfeng turned in early. Xu Huo took advantage of the night to walk deeper into the forest. The forest looked very different at night, especially with so many glowing plants. It seemed to have become a fairy-tale wonderland, breathtakingly beautiful.
"Plop!" A little monkey hurled a fruit at him. Xu Huo stepped aside, and it missed. He looked down, bent over to pick