Eevee Nodded, but Yan Was Turned Away

Hu Liena followed into the grass courtyard, where Eevee had already picked up the light ball in its mouth.

Instead of handing it to her, it circled around the first wooden post and ran into the shallow sand area. Its four little paws left a clear trail of prints across the sand, but beside the second post, the tracks suddenly stopped.

Hu Liena halted outside the sandy ground.

If she used her soul power to track it, she could find Eevee in a few breaths. But Xia Che had said before she entered that Martial Souls were not allowed, and Eevee was clearly waiting for her to search on her own.

"Did you hide?"

There was no response from behind the wooden post.

Hu Liena lowered her head to inspect the ground. The final few pawprints were increasingly deep, showing that Eevee had leaped hard from that spot; the grass leaves on the left were pressed outward, while a pale brown tuft of fur hung from the right.

She did not immediately head to the right.

Eevee had already shown how careful it was. Leaving such an obvious tuft of fur was more likely a deliberate misdirection.

Hu Liena followed the flattened grass for several steps when she suddenly heard the faint scrape of sand behind her.

When she turned around, Eevee was jumping down from the top of the first wooden post, still holding the light ball in its mouth.

"You circled back?"

"Eevee."

The little creature pushed the ball forward, signaling for her to continue.

For the second round, it was Hu Liena's turn to hide.

She first touched all three wooden posts, then buried the ball in the shallow sand, leaving only a tiny edge exposed, nearly the same color as the grains. Eevee lowered its head to sniff the scent she had left behind, quickly ruled out the first two spots, and walked over to the sand pit.

It did not immediately dig up the ball.

The little creature lifted a paw and patted the sand, then turned back to look at Hu Liena.

"You want me to do it with you?"

Eevee moved aside, making room for her.

Hu Liena had no choice but to crouch down in the sand and dig out the light ball with her hands. Fine grains slipped between her fingers, and one corner of her skirt became dirty. She had never looked this disheveled even during training, yet Eevee stared at that smudge for quite a while.

Outside the observation window, Yue Guan asked, "Is it laughing?"

"No," Xia Che said.

"You answered too quickly."

Eevee's tail was already wagging.

Hu Liena saw it too. She brushed the sand from the light ball, then reached out and lightly tapped the spot before Eevee's forehead, stopping herself just in time.

"Can I touch you?"

Eevee looked at her sand-covered hand and took a step back.

"Do you think it's dirty?"

It nodded.

Hu Liena laughed in exasperation. "Who was the one who made me dig in the sand just now?"

Eevee picked up the light ball and turned to run.

This time, Hu Liena truly chased after it.

She did not use her soul power, relying only on her footwork to weave around the wooden posts. Whenever she was about to catch Eevee, it abruptly changed direction. Once it had widened the distance again, it would stop and look back at her. They went around in circles several times, but neither side truly wanted to decide a winner.

In the end, Eevee stopped on its own beside the water basin.

Hu Liena stopped as well. She did not reach for it while it drank, nor did she ask for another round.

Indeedee brought over a towel. Hu Liena wiped her own hands clean first, then took a fresh one and placed it in front of Eevee.

"Your paws are covered in sand. Want me to help?"

Eevee looked down at its front paws, stepped onto the towel itself, and rubbed back and forth twice.

"Looks like you don't need help."

"Eevee."

After rubbing its left paw clean, the little creature switched to its right. Hu Liena did not forcibly take over, merely holding down the towel so the cloth would not slide away with it.

It was a tiny bit of cooperation, yet it felt far more natural than the hand that had hovered in midair when she first entered.

A moment later, Eevee carried over a wooden plaque from the corner of the grass courtyard.

One side of the plaque showed an open door, while the other showed two sets of footprints walking side by side. It first placed the side with the door facing up, then used the tip of its paw to push the plaque over.

The side with the paired footprints was revealed.

Hu Liena's smile gradually brightened. "You're willing to keep getting to know me?"

"Eevee."

Eevee nodded.

Yue Guan walked into the grass courtyard as well. He crouched to inspect the wooden plaque, then held out a hand toward Eevee. "What about me?"

Eevee turned around and carried the plaque away.

"Looks like it only chose one," Xia Che said.

Yue Guan withdrew his hand without taking offense. He had already seen enough strange things today. One more Eevee that did not show an elder any respect was nothing much.

Back in the front hall, Xia Che pushed a price list toward Hu Liena.

It listed the fees for the initial examination, food, basic supplies, and future care. The numbers were not enough to trouble the Saintess, but for an ordinary household, they would already be enough to last a long time.

"So expensive?" Yue Guan was the first to ask.

"If you can't afford to raise one, don't," Xia Che said.

"One comb costs this much?"

"That's for the full set."

Indeedee soon wheeled over a small cart. A shallow food bowl, a soft-bristled brush, a paw mat, two days' worth of rations, and a simple medicine pack were arranged neatly upon it. On the bottom shelf sat an unused Poké Ball.

After reading the price list, Hu Liena looked down at Eevee again.

"I often have to leave the city for missions." She did not rush to pay. "Sometimes for several days, sometimes longer. I can take it with me, but I might also leave it in Spirit City."

"Ask it first."

"Ask it now?"

"Who else would you ask?"

Hu Liena walked over to Eevee and explained her situation item by item. She trained, she left the city, and she would encounter danger. Eevee could choose not to take part, and when it stayed in Spirit City, it could choose someone familiar to care for it.

Eevee listened very seriously.

After she finished, the little creature first touched the bag containing the training roster, then pointed toward the grass courtyard, and finally placed its paw on the wooden plaque with the paired footprints.

It did not shrink back because of travel or training, nor did it agree on the spot to every unknown possibility. The answer it could give for now was still only that it was willing to continue.

"That's enough," Xia Che said.

Hu Liena took out her money pouch.

Just as the gold coins were about to fall onto the counter, the shop door was suddenly pushed open.

"Hu Liena!"

Yan stormed inside, with Xie Yue close behind. They had heard that Yue Guan had been knocked down by a little creature in some strange shop and had only intended to watch the show. Yet the moment they entered, they saw Eevee sitting beside Hu Liena's feet.

Yan's attention was instantly drawn away.

"What is that?"

"Eevee," Hu Liena said.

"Is it strong?"

"Can't you ask a different question?"

"Then can it fight me?"

Eevee shifted half a step behind Hu Liena.

Xie Yue said from the side, "It already answered you."

Yan stared at Eevee for a moment, then looked toward the white device at the very back. "She can choose one, so I can too, right?"

"You can." Xia Che yawned. "First write down how much free time you have every day."

Yan took the short form and began writing at once.

Two hours of morning training, morning classes, afternoon combat practice, and extra training at night. He thought about the remaining space, then wrote, "Free before bed."

Xie Yue leaned over to read it. "You still need to review before bed."

"We can do it together while I review."

"Last time, you reviewed until the middle of the night."

"That was a special case."

Indeedee took the paper, glanced through it once, and pushed it back exactly as it was.

Yan froze. "What does that mean?"

Xia Che leaned back in his chair. "They want companions, not someone who comes to see them once before bed."

"I can cut one training session."

"Which one?"

Yan opened his mouth.

For a moment, he truly could not choose one.

"Give me a day. I can rearrange it." He still refused to leave.

Indeedee looked at Xia Che, then took four illustrated cards from the cart. Eating, drinking, resting, and training each had its own card. She pushed them in front of Yan, signaling for him to arrange them first.

Yan put training first, then placed a second backup training card in the afternoon. He put meals in between, placed drinking after training, and stuffed resting at the very end.

After watching from the side for a while, Eevee walked up, picked up the drinking card in its mouth, and placed it between the two training sessions.

Then it pushed the resting card forward by one space.

Xie Yue looked down at the new order. "It arranged it better than you did."

"It isn't training today."

"That's why its mind is clear."

Yan glared at him and reached out to switch the cards back. Indeedee pressed down on the training card first and gently shook her head.

"She means you can't even arrange time to care for it, so you can't enter yet," Hu Liena said.

"I understand."

"Then why were you grabbing the cards?"

Yan's hand stopped in midair, and he could only pull it back.

After watching the whole scene, Yue Guan suddenly asked Xia Che, "If I personally guarantee for him, can he meet one first?"

"No."

"What if the Pope speaks?"

"Still no."

Xia Che answered too quickly, and everyone in the shop fell quiet for a moment.

Yue Guan did not get angry. Instead, a thoughtful expression appeared on his face. Very few people in Spirit City dared to speak like that, and only one person currently dared to say it to his face and keep yawning afterward.

Hu Liena placed her money pouch on the counter. "Take mine first."

Indeedee did not take the entire pouch. She only removed the amount listed on the price sheet, then pushed the remaining gold coins back. Eevee jumped onto a low stool and watched each item being packed into its little bag, finally placing the wooden plaque with the paired footprints on top itself.

That money did not buy Hu Liena an Eevee.

It merely gave them the means to keep moving forward together.

The white device glowed quietly nearby. Hu Liena had already received the chance to meet Eevee again, but when it came to Yan, his name had not even entered that round door.