Sooner than I would have liked, the night came to an end as the first rays of dawn peaked over the horizon. This also just so happened to coincide with all the guards finishing the camp clean-up and being ready to move out—something we would have already done if it was not for May nearly yelling at me, asking, “What is up with you and kidnapping live dangerous predators?”

  In response to this strange but rude accusation, I opened my mouth to say something, only to quickly close it when nothing came to mind. It was not like anything happened when I did it, though that probably was not a good excuse.

  Lou Xia then went to say something when I chose to respond to May saying, “Sorry. I won’t bring back any small animals again.”

  That caused the two of them and everyone else around to look at me strangely for a few seconds. May then nearly shouted at me again, saying, “How is a six-foot-tall Gale Spirit Wolf that can easily kill a mid-stage foundation establishment cultivator small!”

  Her accusation left me feeling embarrassed, so I turned my head away from her while replying, “Because it was cute and easy to pick up?”

  This only got the angry retort of, “That does not mean you should!” from May. It was honestly something I would have expected from my mother- And I am not going to continue thinking about that.

  In an attempt to clear that from my mind, I turned toward the merchant Edman and asked, “Are we ready to head out?” The moment after my voice rang out in the clearing, May went to say something else, only for Lou Xia to hold her back. This got a few gnces from Edward and the guards, but none of them asked anything, and Edman cleared his throat before responding, “We are prepared to head out whenever you are.”

  Hearing this, I forced a slight smile and said, “Great! How about we head out now, then?”

  That got a look of concern from Edman and Lou Xia for a few seconds until they managed to conceal it, and Edman said, “That would be fine, and if you would not mind, I would like to offer my carriage for you to rest in for this small journey of ours.”

  It was obvious that this offer was made, at least partially, to get into our good graces, and it was also a nice gesture, but I did not want to take advantage of him and all. This led to me wanting to refuse him; however, before I could, May stepped in and said, “That would be great, but I am afraid that Lou Xia and myself would not be able to do so for now. However, Vale would love to take you up on your offer.” This was all said in a voice that implied that she was trying to reduce as many problems as possible, with an expression to match.

  Since the offer was already accepted as well, I reluctantly stepped forward and took a seat in the carriage.

  Not even a second ter, Lanalia hopped in and took a seat across from me. May then quickly closed the door, sealing the two of us inside before anything else could happen. All I had now was the girl across from me and my ever-spiraling thoughts.

  Thankfully, Lanalia spoke almost immediately, asking me, “So what is it like?”

  That instantly brought thoughts to a halt, and I unconsciously muttered, “Huh?”

  Lanalia did not seem to notice the traffic accident that she just caused in my brain and crified herself by asking, “You know, what is it like being a cultivator?” It was mostly unnecessary to ask that again, but it was nice to get some crification. Regardless, it still took a few seconds before my brain could start functioning again and another few seconds to formute an answer. After all that, I was finally able to answer, “I would not be the right person to ask that.”

  This only got confusion from her as she tilted her head in the same way that I would before she asked me, “And why is that?”

  “Well, I don’t really do the same things as other cultivators.” I slowly expined while scratching my cheek.

  At that, she seemed to get even more curious and asked me with slightly shining eyes, “Then what do you do?”

  “Well, I have mainly been working on setting up my little base and creating cultivation…”

  “Then you can…”

  “There is also…”

  “What if you…”

  …

  The two of us got to talking about all the different little things about the tech that I was building and the cultivation techniques that I made, along with how cultivation techniques worked and what made up their components. To be honest, it felt like I was talking to an otherworldly version of myself. All the expressions and the questions that she was asking were things that I either had done or would do myself. However, there was just enough difference that it did not feel like I was in some sort of echo chamber.

  Eventually, all of this ended when Lou Xia opened the door to the carriage, and we found out that the day had come to its end, with everyone else setting up camp. We then walked out of the carriage and were about to continue our conversation when Lou Xia stepped in between us and escorted us to the fire.

  It was clear from the look in Lanalia’s eyes that she wanted to continue talking about things with me, and I did too, but it looked like we would have to continue our discussion tomorrow. This obviously made her unhappy, but we both dealt with it, and it gave me more time to go over some more cultivation techniques.

  Sadly, I would not be finding anything to keep me company tonight. Though I wonder how Mom would feel if I brought back a “dog” as a pet.

  Vulthurtoor