The Opening

When they heard that they were having grilled fish that evening, Liyana immediately volunteered, eagerly taking Mo Lini with her to spear some fish.

Xia Lun cleared an open patch of ground nearby. The Bloodbats flew overhead, keeping watch on their surroundings, while Shalen began putting up the tent.

Aina said she had to go out for a while.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. I’m just going to check on something… I’ll be back soon.” The moment she finished speaking, she stepped into a rift in space.

Xia Lun stared at the place where Aina had vanished and let out a quiet sigh.

“Mr. Xia Lun… Did something happen?” Luo Lun had also noticed that something seemed off. “I know this may be presumptuous of me… but is there anything I can help with? I’ll do my best.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.” Xia Lun gave Luo Lun a reassuring smile. “It’s just a small matter. Aina will take care of it soon…”

Luo Lun pressed her lips together and left, only half convinced.

Xia Lun suddenly froze.

To Aina, was he any different from the Luo Lun standing here now?

Just as he was keeping things from Luo Lun, Aina was hiding something from him as well. Yet their reasons were the same: neither of them wanted the other to worry.

What a complicated feeling.

Aina was gone for only a short while. As she had promised, she returned from beyond the world after roughly fifteen minutes.

Her little face was still calm and unruffled, as though nothing had happened at all.

“I went to find out what was going on.” Aina naturally settled into Xia Lun’s arms. “After the Natural Hymn died, that thing stopped making any moves… Just as I expected, its ability should involve devouring. It happens to be the natural enemy of the Natural Hymn, so it’s nothing to worry about.”

“That’s good.” Xia Lun finally breathed a sigh of relief. He could tell that Aina wasn’t lying.

Night deepened. The last trace of sunset lingered over the mountain ridge like a ball of flame, yet it could give off neither light nor warmth.

“We’re back!” Liyana’s excited cry rang out from the woods, accompanied by the rustle of approaching footsteps. She and Mo Lini emerged from the trees one after another, crystalline droplets of water clinging to the ends of their hair.

A gigantic slime followed behind them—Little Lan, naturally.

Little Lan had swollen until it was nearly the size of a water barrel. There were even several fish swimming inside its body, and every time it bounced, it left a trail of water on the ground.

“Wow—I never knew Little Lan could do this!” Liyana wiped the water from her face and said excitedly. “It gets bigger after drinking water, so it’s perfect for carrying fish…”

“Bloop bloop bloop—”

Little Lan’s body rippled, expelling the fish inside along with the river water. As the water gushed out, its body rapidly shrank, returning to its usual round, blue blob.

“Hey, little guy, don’t come any closer for now. You probably smell like fish… You must stink.” Pinching her nose, Liyana took two exaggerated steps backward and waved Little Lan away with a look of distaste.

“Little Lan doesn’t stink,” Mo Lini retorted angrily.

“I don’t stink!” Little Lan echoed indignantly. Its transparent body trembled with agitation.

“That’s right! Liyana’s the one who stinks,” Mo Lini added, following Little Lan’s lead.

Only then did Mo Lini realize that something was strange. She blinked and looked down at the Little Lan in her arms.

A pair of eye-shaped markings formed across Little Lan’s transparent body, and the two of them stared at each other.

“Ah! Little Lan, you can talk!” Mo Lini nearly jumped in surprise.

“Huh? I can talk?” Little Lan sounded just as bewildered. Until now, it had only been able to say “bloop bloop bloop”…

Xia Lun’s eyes widened as well.

“What’s going on? How can Little Lan talk now?” Xia Lun asked Aina, who was in his arms. “Could it be like that golden-haired one—that it’s actually a human in disguise?”

“How could that be?” Aina burst out laughing. “What are you thinking, Xia Lun? Little Lan is already a fairly high-level monster. It’s perfectly normal for it to be able to speak, isn’t it?”

“Ah… So that’s what it is.” Xia Lun cleared his throat awkwardly.

Since he spent every day with Little Lan, it was difficult for him to realize how powerful it had become. It was like parents who rarely noticed how much their child had grown taller right before their eyes.

“Silly Xia Lun… You’re so cute.” Aina raised her little head, reached up from below, and cupped Xia Lun’s cheeks with a giggle.

Liyana crouched in front of Little Lan and curiously poked its jelly-like body. “Little guy, you can actually talk now!”

“I can actually talk now!” Little Lan itself still seemed extremely shocked. It appeared not to know when it had learned how to speak.

After all, Little Lan had always been responding to Liyana and the others in its heart. It had long been able to understand their conversations—it just didn’t know why the words had suddenly come out of its mouth this time.

“Maybe one day Little Lan will even be able to take human form,” Aina said, utterly unconcerned. Strictly speaking, Little Lan had been raised by her. She naturally knew exactly how high its potential could be.

“Really? That would be wonderful!” Mo Lini looked thrilled and began chattering away with Little Lan.

Xia Lun had already started preparing the fish that were still flopping energetically on the ground. Luo Lun had lit a campfire, its dancing flames driving away the chill of the night. A rich meaty aroma drifted from the iron pot hanging over the fire.

Xia Lun expertly cleaned the fish, rubbed them with spices, and set them beside the fire to roast slowly. Under the heat of the flames, the fish skin gradually turned golden. Drops of rendered fat fell into the fire, sending tiny sparks popping into the air.

Night quietly descended, and darkness cloaked the surrounding area. In truth, the campfire attracted plenty of mosquitoes and even some dangerous monsters, but all of them were kept outside by Aina’s magic array.

Little Lan tried out its newly acquired ability to speak, haltingly telling everyone about what it had seen in the river. Its sentences were still rather disjointed, but its excitement was infectious, bringing smiles to everyone present.

“That big fish… tried to run… I did this… splash! Got it!” Little Lan excitedly changed its shape to reenact the scene, making Mo Lini giggle.

As she listened, Liyana secretly reached out to grab a grilled fish, only for Xia Lun to gently swat her hand away. “Wait a little longer. It isn’t ready yet… We still have to brush it with honey and roast it for a while longer.”

“Aw—I think it already smells great like this.” Liyana stuck out her tongue, but in order to enjoy the even more delicious grilled fish later, she settled for ladling herself a bowl of meat soup instead.

Within the little camp, sheltered by Aina, light and laughter filled the air. It felt utterly worlds apart from the cold, merciless world outside.