The most troublesome part was that Hirana Monastery was also up in the mountains.
I really didn't understand why all monks liked building their monasteries in places like that... It was practically a stereotype by now.
"If we set off from here, we should be able to get around that mountain range... But it'll mean another two hundred li or so. What a hassle..."
By the light of the campfire, Chen Ce circled and marked the map as he ate and rested.
As for his other traveling companion—one certain fox girl...
She wasn't interested in the roasted meat or the jerky. She just kept gazing longingly at the Corrupting Potion hanging from Chen Ce's waist.
"Ahri's hungry~~~"
"But you just drank some this morning." Chen Ce couldn't even be bothered to look at her. "I've already paid you today's wages. Don't even think about drinking more."
"Then Ahri wants an advance on tomorrow's wages~~~"
"Tomorrow you'll definitely ask for an advance on the day after that."
"No, I won't~~~"
"That's what you said yesterday, too."
"Oh, come on~~~"
Ahri curled her tails around herself and rolled on the ground, acting cute and trying to wheedle her way into getting what she wanted—or at least, that was probably what she was doing.
Chen Ce didn't even raise an eyelid.
After rolling around on the ground for a while, Ahri gradually accepted reality. Her cheeks puffed up as she slipped into a sulk—she was definitely acting her age.
But just as she secretly resolved never to talk to him again, she suddenly sensed something amiss.
Yes, sensed it—not through basic senses like sight, touch, smell, or hearing, but through her innate connection to the Spirit Realm. She sensed that something strange was going on.
To be precise... she'd felt something like this during the day, too, but it hadn't been strong enough for her to pay much attention to it.
Now, though, she was sure that something was... watching them?
"Boss, boss..."
"Even if you talked my ear off, I still wouldn't give you an advance on your wages." Chen Ce waved a hand.
"That's not what Ahri means!" Ahri stubbornly scratched the back of his hand. "Ahri feels like something's watching us... I don't know if it's a human or something else..."
"Hmm?" Chen Ce immediately set down the map. "Are you sure?"
"Very sure... But Ahri can't explain what it is... It seems to be really far away..." Ahri had always trusted her own perceptiveness, but this time, she truly wasn't sure.
It seemed the other party had a way to hide itself.
When she'd followed Chen Ce to "stake out" the brothers Yasuo and Yone, she'd been able to pinpoint their unusual magic from several li away. But now... she could only sense something was there, without being able to locate it precisely.
"Can you guess which direction it's coming from?" Chen Ce asked.
"I can't..." Ahri shook her head helplessly.
"Then can you tell what kind of 'feelings' that presence has toward us?"
Chen Ce remembered that Ahri had this ability—she could tell from energy fluctuations whether someone was hostile toward her.
She'd relied on that ability to hunt before.
"Mm... Ahri will try..." Ahri's pupils gradually narrowed to pinpoints as her perception intertwined with the Spirit Realm.
All nine of her tails stood up, and her fox ears flattened like a nervous cat's.
A little while later, a puzzled look appeared on her face.
"It's... curiosity...? Something like curiosity...?"
"Curiosity?" Chen Ce was puzzled, too.
"It seems that way... Ahri isn't sure..."
"Hmm... All right."
Seeing this, Chen Ce didn't force her to give him a definite answer. He simply took the weapon off his back and set it down beside his feet.
"We'll take turns keeping watch. You sleep the first half of the night, and I'll sleep the second."
"Okay." Feeling uneasy, Ahri stopped sulking and obediently leaned against him, ready to rest.
For safety's sake—and to put herself more at ease—she even wrapped her tails tightly around them both again, without restricting his limbs.
"If anything happens, remember to wake Ahri. Don't leave Ahri behind and run away alone..." She looked up into his eyes, her voice full of anxious caution. "Please, don't leave Ahri alone..."
"Of course I won't. Don't overthink it." Chen Ce rubbed the fox girl's head to comfort her. Ahri had already been abandoned by her people once. In all these years, she hadn't even seen another member of her kind. The loneliness inside her made her feel deeply insecure.
Though she often acted silly and cute, she was always uneasy deep down.
Some people could endure loneliness, but no one liked being lonely.
"Mm..." Ahri made a soft sound, then pulled one of Chen Ce's hands beside her cheek and pressed against it like a pillow.
He didn't refuse her small request, letting her sleep with his hand as a pillow—he only hoped his arm wouldn't go numb tomorrow.
The hours of the deep night passed slowly, but luckily, Ahri's breathing gradually evened out—though it remained very shallow.
She didn't dare sleep too deeply. She was too afraid of being abandoned again.
Chen Ce watched his surroundings in silence, not even daring to close his eyes for a quick rest.
Something could dart out of the darkness at any moment... He didn't know what was watching them or how strong it was, so all he could do was stay cautious.
Under this intense psychological pressure, even the shadows of the trees in the darkness looked like people... It was an awful feeling, seeing danger everywhere.
But he still gradually began to feel sleepy.
Maybe he was exhausted from traveling all day, or maybe his battles with Sion, LeBlanc, and the others had drained too much of his energy. Whatever the reason, he was getting drowsy.
His eyelids closed again and again by accident, and each time, he forced them back open.
Time passed, second by second, and the fox girl's breathing grew heavier... She seemed to be sleeping soundly.
Even the horses nearby had fallen asleep. It was as if Chen Ce was the only one left in the world, still putting up a futile struggle against that irresistible drowsiness.
So... sleepy...
No... I can't...
Can't sleep...
Can't...
Sleep...
Lillia cautiously stretched out one hoof.
Then a second, a third, and a fourth...
She was still so careful, as though the fallen leaves on the ground could turn into monsters at any moment and devour her whole.
She tried her best to make her steps lighter, but her clumsy movements remained somewhat stiff.
Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop... Her hooves kept making distinct sounds against the ground, which terrified her.
But she couldn't suppress her curiosity.
She wanted so badly to meet those two—a girl who looked like a fox and a human who seemed quite young.
Hugging the branch in her arms tightly, she approached in halting steps, stopping every three paces for fear of waking the two sleepers.
The two of them were "made to sleep" by her ability.
She was curious about everything in this world and wanted to meet those two people who looked so interesting.
But she didn't dare approach recklessly... She was too scared, even though she didn't know what she was afraid of.
In any case, she decided to start with their dreams.
Perhaps she could learn a little about them from their dreams—their pasts and such—and then make friends with them.
"My name is Lillia... Hello...!"
Lillia hid behind a huge boulder again. Gazing at the two sleeping figures in the distance, she rehearsed her opening lines to herself:
"I'm Lillia... I'm a bud that fell from Mother Tree... It's nice to meet you...!"
"No, that sounds too easy to misunderstand. It makes me sound like a bad person..."
"My name is Lillia. I'm happy to meet you...!"
"That won't work, either. Introducing myself right away would seem too abrupt..."
"You seem interesting. Would you like to be friends with Lillia...?"
"How about that? Hmm..."
Second by second, the timid little deer kept rehearsing what she would say.
But no matter what, she couldn't think of a suitable opening line, and a long time had already passed.
If she waited any longer, they would wake up.
With no other choice, the little deer continued approaching, planning to look at their dreams first and then rehearse her introduction again.
She took careful, tentative steps toward them, finally stopping several dozen meters away.
She peeked halfway out from behind a tree trunk, then cautiously waved the branch in her hand.
In an instant, she sensed one of their dreams—the man's.
She saw many wondrous scenes.
The dream seemed to take place somewhere outside Ionia... There were all sorts of amazing things there... like an iron rhinoceros racing along the road, and a "cage" friend that opened automatically when you pressed a button and carried people up and down. There was also a little iron box that could show all sorts of changing images...
It was all so amazing!
What was this place called? Blue... Blue Star...? What an amazing place!
A beautiful smile gradually spread across Lillia's face. The wondrous, cozy scenes in the dream filled her with contentment, like tasting an exquisite delicacy more delicious than anything in the world.
She couldn't help peeking further into the beautiful dream, turning its pages herself.
The next scene was even more extraordinary.
She saw the man sitting solemnly at a desk. On the desk was a large "box," and inside it were all sorts of things that kept changing.
What were those things...?
Wait...
Were those...
Little people, one after another?
How had they become so tiny, and why were they trapped inside that little box?
They'd even become like pieces of paper!
That was so scary!
Lillia was startled by the scene in the dream, but her intense curiosity still drove her to keep watching.
Until she saw something even more horrifying—
She saw...
herself trapped inside that tiny box, too...
And the man said her name...
[Lillia, do it for me—use the Ionian Guillotine on top lane!]
Eh? Eh? Ehhhh...?
Eh—?!
Lillia was terrified.
She was certain this was her first time meeting this strange man, so why... was she appearing in his dream? And how had he been able to say her name?
How had this man sealed all those people inside that little box?
This was... black magic!
Before you continue