We used the E-foils to get to Yangshuo, and it was FUN!

We sped down the river at a high speed, frightening some fishermen. Rue nearly collided with a boat, which I believed was intentional to express his feelings towards them. Meanwhile, Alfonsen showed impressive athleticism by performing figure eights and double jumping. When I tried it, I fell into the water instead of staying on the E-foil and swallowed some disgusting water.

Ew!

I cast Healing Touch on myself twice, just in case. The river was nasty. They all laughed at me, the villains. It was so unfair since I believed my Agility was higher than his. I guessed stats weren’t everything, and physical abilities also played a role.

We passed by a river cruiser, similar to the one we sailed down, and most of the people pulled out their phones to film us. Rue enjoyed the attention and did two laps around the ship. This dog wanted to become a media star.

In Yangshuo, we made a list of all the fun places and went exploring. We spent a whole day at the Yulong River, swimming and playing in the water, and I laughed so hard that my sides and cheeks hurt.

We rode through the Ten-Mile Gallery on a tourist train, taking in the sights, when we reached the Moon Hill. My eyes narrowed at its perfect arch.

“Looks just like a Gate,” I murmured, still surprised it wasn’t one.

“It could become one,” Lis said, pointing at the arch. “With the rise in mana levels and the increasing number of Gates, who knows? It might transform.”

The following day, I met Alfonsen at breakfast. When I arrived, I found Alfonsen already seated, inspecting a plate of food with a suspicious expression. I slid into the chair across from him, offering a nod of greeting before diving into my breakfast.

Between bites, I asked, “Are you managing independently?”

“Yes,” he replied, setting down his fork and looking proud. “Mahya showed me how to use a computer, and I am attending workshops to collect points.”

“Excellent idea.” I was pleased he was adapting.

He hesitated momentarily, then leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping slightly. “Can you assist me with something?”

I paused, curious, before nodding. “Sure, what do you need?”

“I need to convert some of my capital to the local currency,” he explained, looking determined. “I want to buy goods like you and Mahya to help me fund my travels.”

“Smart move,” I said, patting him on the back. “Let’s do it after breakfast.”

Alfonsen smiled, relieved, and returned to his meal. When we returned to our rooms, he gave me a hundred gold coins; I gave him ten thousand euros and left him to his own devices.

We climbed Xianggong Mountain instead of using the trails or road, and I took a million pictures, mainly of the view but also of Lis, Mahya, and Rue, together and separately. Mahya also took a lot of pictures of me with Lis, and he took pictures of me with Mahya. It took me five minutes to explain to Rue how to operate the camera with telekinesis, but he took photos of the three of us when he got it.

“Develop two sets and give me one,” Lis asked me.

“Sure.” I gave him a thumbs up.

West Street became our favorite haunt almost instantly. There were so many excellent restaurants and bars in the narrow lanes that it was hard to choose. It didn’t take long for us to fall in love with the place, and soon, it became a regular stop for lunch and dinner. The great atmosphere, with the sounds of laughter and the mouthwatering smell of different foods, drew us in like magnets.

One evening, after an extra-long day, we returned to West Street. The air was warm, and the lights from the shops and bars gave everything a golden glow. We kept drinking, and before we knew it, we were drunk like skunks, laughing our heads off.

Stumbling out of the last bar, I leaned heavily on Lis, who wasn’t much steadier on his feet than I was. Mahya, equally drunk, was giggling beside us, her arm looped through mine for balance. “You know,” I slurred, trying to focus on the path ahead, “just I do Neutralize Poison... be a sober poof.” I tried to crack my thumb and fingers, but it didn’t work.

Mahya snorted, and her feet got tangled. “If you rerember spells, you don’t drunk enough,” she declared. Lis nodded in agreement and almost tipped forward. Mahya tugged me back toward the bar. “One round more!”

I laughed, allowing myself to be pulled along, though my thoughts were already ahead of the game. Secretly, I cast Neutralize Poison on myself, feeling the familiar magic course through me, clearing the fog from my mind. I kept up the charade, letting my steps remain unsteady, my laughter loud and loose, but inside, I was less drunk. I didn’t sober up completely, still wanting to have fun, but the memory of my last hangover was still fresh enough to keep me from making the same mistake twice—NO, thank you.

Eventually, the three of us stumbled back to the hotel, still laughing and leaning on each other. And yes, I still had a killer hangover. Mahya was right; at some point, I forgot my spells.

I suggested visiting the ancient town of Xing Ping, but they didn’t want to see “old things”—heathens.

After visiting a tea plantation and Xianggong Hill, we bought more tea. I suspected that with all the tea we bought, it would take us a lifetime to finish it. But Mahya said, “We won’t always be traveling in a small group, and besides, Vitality extends our lifespan.”

Well, when you put it this way ...

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We took a bike tour of the Yangshuo countryside. Rue immediately jumped into the bike trailer, and for the first time, I realized how much he had grown. I saw he became bigger after the ritual and grew with all the mana beasts’ meat I was feeding him, but only now I had a way to compare. In Shimoor, he occupied half of the trailer, but now he barely fit in and couldn’t move.

We visited the Longji Rice Terraces, which were impressive. Even Lis and Mahya found them remarkable. The three of us just stood there, taking in the view’s grandeur. I heard both of them sighing and understood the feeling.

After three weeks, Lis caught up with us at breakfast one morning and said, “Come to my room, you two.”

“Why?” I asked.

“While regenerating between learning spells and while you were busy copying books,” Lis began, looking a bit too smug for his own good, “I looked in the Archive to see what items I should take to the Dragon Realm. We need to figure that out, and I’ve got some things for you both.”

Mahya and I exchanged curious glances before shrugging and following him to his room. Once we got there, Lis started pulling box after box out of his Storage.

“What’s all this?” I asked, eyeing the growing pile curiously.

“Some things I prepared or set aside for the two of you,” Lis replied casually, opening one box. Inside, nestled in bubble wrap, were small glass vials—half light green, the other half a darker green-brown. He pointed to the light green ones first. “These are mana potions; each one restores five hundred mana.” Then he pointed to the darker ones. “And these are health potions. Be careful with them—they speed up healing by using your body’s reserves. I didn’t have enough plants, so the supply is limited, but with your healing skills and the faster regeneration from the spirals, you should be good.”

“Thank you,” Mahya and I said together, exchanging a look of appreciation.

Lis nodded, satisfied, then pointed at two more boxes. “Each of you gets one of these—an equal number of potions.”

We quickly stored the boxes away, and Lis opened another one. “This box has anti-venom and anti-poison potions. Split the box between you two and give me your snake eggs.”

Mahya took the box, and we both handed him our eggs. When Lis saw I’d kept mine in a cooler, he burst out laughing.

“Hey, don’t laugh,” I protested. “Mahya keeps hers in a bucket!”

Lis just shook his head, still grinning. Once the laughter died down, he got serious again and handed Mahya two swords, a box of papers, and a stack of blueprints. “I copied everything we worked on together that you don’t have copies of,” he explained, his tone softening. “Here are all my notes on everything we did together and some stuff I worked on alone. Hope it helps.”

Mahya’s eyes lit up, and she hugged him tightly. “Thank you.”

Then Lis turned to me, pulling out a familiar book. “This is the book on familiars you studied in Shimoor,” he handed it over. “I know you copied it, but I want you to have the original.”

I took the book, surprised by the gesture. “Thank you,” I said, meaning it.

Lis nodded, then glanced at me with that serious expression again. “I read dragons like knowledge more than anything, so I need you to do me a favor,” he said. “Please give me all your books from Earth and buy yourself a new set when you leave China. I have my set but haven’t studied it yet, and I don’t want to give it up.”

“All of them?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “Even the fiction and cookbooks?”

“If you’re willing, then yes.”

I handed over all my books. Once I was done, Lis handed me a medium wooden chest filled with gold coins.

“You don’t have to pay me!” I protested, feeling indignant.

“Yeah, I do,” Lis insisted, not budging. “You paid for my first set. This time, I’m paying, and that’s final.”

I sighed, realizing it was a losing battle, and took the money. He then turned to me with that mischievous glint in his eye. “Let me see all the jewelry you’ve got—might need some for gifts or bribes for dragons.”

I pulled out my collection, and Lis inspected each piece like a seasoned trader and bought more than half of it at ridiculous prices. No matter how much I argued, he wouldn’t back down. He kept insisting that after three hundred and fifty years of traveling and trading, he had more money than everyone on Earth combined.

Mahya joined in, showing him some of her fabrics, and Lis bought a good chunk of that, too, along with some of the nicer glassware I had.

“Why didn’t you just come with us when we went shopping?” I asked.

“This way’s faster and more convenient,” he replied smoothly, but I suspected it was just an excuse to give us a lot of money. I remained silent; there was no point in arguing with him when he got like this. I knew this from experience.

Finally, as if remembering something, Lis pulled out a weird contraption that looked like a cross between a speaker and a jigsaw puzzle made of nuts, bolts, and tiny antennas.

“This is for you,” he said with a huge smile.

I stared at it, turning it over in my hands. “What is it?”

“A device that lets you listen to music in a mana world from the hard disc Mahya made for you,” Lis explained, looking way too pleased with himself.

My chest tightened as I turned the strange contraption over in my hands, the reality of Lis’s thoughtfulness hitting me harder than I expected. It wasn’t just a gift—but a reminder of the bond we’d formed, of the shared moments and inside jokes. A lump formed in my throat, and I swallowed it, forcing a smile as I threw my arms around him. “Thank you, Lis,” I managed, my voice cracking slightly. “You have no idea how much this means.”

Lis chuckled and hugged me back. “You’re welcome.”

That night, our last dinner together dragged on longer than usual. The food was great, but it sat in my stomach like a rock, heavy with the fact that this was it—the last meal we’d share. We laughed, made toasts, and swapped stories, but every time the conversation dipped, the silence hung in the air a bit too long, reminding us what was around the corner.

We headed to the Gate the next day, and the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Every step felt like I was moving in slow motion, like my legs were trying to drag out the moment. Rue trotted ahead, completely clueless, while the rest of us lagged, our footsteps quieter than usual. When the Gate finally came into view, it looked bigger than ever, an obvious reminder that we were about to go our separate ways.

Lis touched the Gate to access the world’s information and spent considerable time reading it. When he finished, he turned to us and said, “Don’t look so sad. We are Travelers, and we go wherever the road takes us. We had an amazing time together and formed a strong friendship; you should celebrate that.”

He handed us two pages filled with names, his expression serious as he explained, “These are all the Gate chains I recall crossing or hearing about.” He paused momentarily, then added, “You should also ask Alfonsen to give you the list his family made him memorize. We will keep in touch through the Archive, and I am sure we will meet again on the road.”

I nodded, taking the pages and tucking them away. “Let us know the minute you meet a dragon and are safe,” I told him, my tone firm.

“I will, I promise,” Lis replied, his voice steady as he met my eyes.

He turned to Mahya next, pulling her into a warm hug. They spoke quietly between them, their words too soft for me to hear.

Then he hugged me tightly, his grip firm and full of warmth. “Goodbye, my friend. May your road be full of wonders and joy,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.

When we stepped apart, the moment hit me harder than I thought. My throat tightened, and for a second, I couldn’t find my voice. The words I wanted to say stuck, tangled up in the emotions I wasn’t sure how to express. I didn’t want to say goodbye—not like this, not when it felt so final. But then, a phrase I’d read in the Archive surfaced in my mind, a minor comfort in this heavy moment.

I took a breath, letting it steady me, and managed a smile, even though it felt shaky. “May your road be happy and your adventures gentle,” I finally said, the words carrying more weight than I’d intended, but they felt right.

Mahya came over, we did a last group hug, and he crossed to the Dragon Realm.

I hate goodbyes!