What Are You Up To?

They had successfully made black powder, resolving the biggest combat problem weighing on everyone's minds.

Everyone took a break to rest, but Li Xiang still couldn't sit idle.

Carrying the seawater she had specially collected and brought back from the shore, she crouched before an open stone workbench, quietly tinkering with the things in her hands.

Clear, brilliant sunlight fell across the stone tray of seawater, scattering tiny glimmers over its surface.

After repeated sun-drying, filtering, and evaporation, the sunlight gradually dried away the moisture in the seawater, leaving a fine, dense layer of white crystals at the bottom of the tray.

Taiju, who had crouched beside her and watched the whole process, finally couldn't contain his curiosity. He leaned closer and asked.

"Li Xiang! What are you doing?"

He stared at the white stuff in the stone tray.

Li Xiang looked up at his question and answered casually, "Nothing much. Just tinkering with some laxatives to pass the time."

"Laxatives?" Taiju's eyes stayed glued to the pile of white crystals. "I've got it!! You're making laxatives to deal with constipation, right?"

Having said that, Taiju looked at her with shining eyes, waiting for praise.

"Correct." Li Xiang smiled and nodded. "You're so smart, Taiju."

She raised a hand and gently pushed Taiju away when he leaned too close.

"Taiju, go amuse yourself over there for a bit while I finish putting this away."

Taiju happily agreed at once.

Senku had been quietly watching from the side.

The boy had one hand in his pocket, his eyes slightly narrowed and a sly smile curling his lips.

He strolled over and picked at his ear out of habit. "Hey, you're really going to do this? What the hell are you plotting?"

Li Xiang turned to meet Senku's all-seeing gaze. Completely unfazed, she raised an eyebrow with feigned composure.

"What else? You think I'm drying salt for fun because I've got nothing better to do?"

"This is called tactics, understand?"

"You're just an innocent little kid. Don't go guessing what the adults are thinking."

Senku let out a helpless laugh and stopped calling her out.

Before long, Li Xiang finished purifying all the sea salt, filtered out the impurities, and stored it in a clean stone container.

Everyone put away the tools together as well.

Then they switched to gourmet appreciation mode...

At noon, the sun hung high overhead, spreading warm sunlight across the forested mountains.

The breeze was gentle, the birdsong clear, and the four of them enjoyed a rare moment of hard-won peace.

To reward everyone for their days of exhausting travel and work, Li Xiang built a fire, skewered some fresh fish, and leisurely began grilling lunch.

The charcoal crackled, flames gently licking the fish as its fat slowly rendered out and dripped down with a sizzle. The rich aroma of grilled meat drifted on the breeze, filling the entire camp.

Taiju and Yuzuriha sat nearby, eagerly waiting for the grilled fish to be ready.

As Li Xiang turned the skewers, her gaze seemed fixed on the coals, but out of the corner of her eye, she had already caught the movement in the shadows of the forest.

Behind the dense shadows of the trees, a tall, solitary figure had been lurking for some time. It was Tsukasa, the Lion King, who had vanished days ago.

He remained hidden in the shadows, silently watching.

Without stopping her hands, Li Xiang spoke softly toward the seemingly empty woods, her tone composed.

"You've been hiding long enough. Since you're here, stop skulking around."

"Come out. The fish is ready. Have a bite first, and then we can talk."

As she finished speaking, she picked up the freshly purified "sea salt" and sprinkled it lightly and evenly over the golden, crisp surface of the grilled fish.

The faint scent of salt mingled with the meat's aroma, making it even richer and more tempting.

The figure behind the trees remained silent for a few seconds. There was no longer any point in hiding.

Tsukasa, the Lion King, slowly emerged from beneath the dense shade, his presence chilling.

He walked step by step to the fire and reached out to accept the grilled fish Li Xiang offered him.

Its skin was fragrant and crisp, the flesh inside tender and fresh, steaming hot and mouthwateringly aromatic.

Yet Tsukasa merely lowered his eyes to the fish in his hand. His fingertips tightened slightly, and he still didn't take a bite.

Seeing how guarded and tense he was, Li Xiang couldn't help smiling, her eyes curving with amusement.

"Why aren't you eating? That wary of me? Afraid your big sister poisoned the fish?"

Tsukasa looked up into her clear, dark eyes. After a moment of silence, he finally let go of his wariness, lowered his head, and began eating slowly.

He ate quietly, finishing the entire grilled fish cleanly in moments.

The warmth of the meal softened some of the hostility built up over days of confrontation. Once he had finished, Li Xiang put away her smile and calmly got to the point.

"Go on."

"You've been lying low for so long. You came back quietly because you're here to deal with us, right?"

The moment she said it, the air froze.

Taiju stiffened beside her, his nerves instantly taut. Yuzuriha instinctively clenched the hem of her clothes, her breath catching. The relaxed atmosphere among the four of them was suddenly shrouded in a heavy sense of danger.

Everyone held their breath and stared hard at Tsukasa, the Lion King, ready to fight back.

Faced with their wariness, Tsukasa remained impassive.

"My only target is Senku."

"Once I've dealt with him, I'll let all three of you leave safely. I won't hurt you."

But Li Xiang spread her hands and said casually, "Sure."

"Then just kill him."

"Li Xiang!!"

Taiju panicked at once, shooting to his feet with disbelief written all over his face.

"How can you say that! Senku is our friend! We've fought side by side all this way. Didn't we promise to survive together and rebuild civilization together? How can you just stand by and let something happen to him!"

Yuzuriha's eyes reddened too. "Li Xiang... is that really what you think? Are you going to give up on Senku?"

Both of them were stunned, unable to accept that answer.

To them, the four of them were the most steadfast of companions.

Only Senku, the person whose life was at stake, showed no sign of panic.

He picked at his ear out of habit and looked at the two distressed companions. "You don't need to get worked up."

"With our current fighting strength, even if all four of us teamed up, we'd have almost no chance of beating Tsukasa, the Lion King, head-on."

"If I die, the three of you can get away safely and keep living. That's the optimal solution."

"It's a good deal."

"Senku! Stop talking nonsense!"

Taiju immediately cut him off sharply, his eyes bloodshot.

"How can you care so little about your own life! Life is the most precious thing there is. How can you treat it like a bargaining chip you can just throw away!"

"What do you think life is!"

Senku looked at the agitated Taiju and gave a faint smile.

"It's all right, Taiju."

"Just think of it as... indulging a selfish wish of mine."

With that, he stepped forward, walking alone to stand before Tsukasa, the Lion King.

The two stood silently facing each other, only inches apart.

The wind swept through the camp, stirring the boy's hair.

Senku raised his eyes and calmly met Tsukasa's cold gaze. "Haven't you wanted me dead all this time?"

"You don't have to wait anymore."

"Go ahead and take my life now."

Tsukasa's eyes reflected his confident expression. The boy stood neither meek nor defiant.