Wei Yang surfaced with the eye-covered cube, sending water splashing in every direction.
“Phew… Ah Li, come help me take a look at this thing.”
She removed the miniature oxygen tank from her mouth and swam to the shore. Her swimsuit, heavy with water, felt like it was dragging downward. Wei Yang pulled it up, feeling as though it might slip off at any moment.
Ah Li walked over and leaned down, resting her hands on her thighs as she stared at the cube.
“It doesn’t look like a frog.”
“…Do you want me to praise you for that observation?”
Ah Li playfully stuck out her tongue and reached out to poke the cube. Instantly, the eyes on its surface turned in unison to stare at her.
“Whoa,” Ah Li said, pulling her hand back and tilting her head to inspect it. “What an advanced puzzle cube.”
‘Is there such a thing as a puzzle cube in this game’s world-building?’ Wei Yang wondered.
“Stop joking. Could this be some kind of mutated frog spirit? Or maybe a divine artifact someone dropped in there?”
Ah Li stood up, resting her chin in her hand as she thought.
“Lilith searches all the girls gathering frogs before they enter the barrier, so it’s unlikely they dropped it. As for it being a mutated frog spirit, that’s a possibility, but I don’t know much about that. We’d have to ask an alchemist. I’ll help you contact one when we get home. Honestly, you’re quite something. How does the saying go? ‘A true master angler never catches actual fish’?”
Wei Yang rolled her eyes. Her pupils shifted into diamond shapes as she stowed the cube away into her pocket dimension.
However, thinking back on it, something felt strange.
If that thing had been at the bottom of the lake from the start, why hadn’t it been discovered for so long? Moon Palace Lake wasn’t exactly a deserted place. Lilith frequently brought people here to gather Zhuji pearls. It seemed impossible that no one had ever noticed it.
Unless someone wanted her to think she had found it by chance and had only placed it there recently. Who could that be?
A playful, smiling face flashed through Wei Yang’s mind.
Yuchan.
Since Yuchan’s phone could delete artifacts, she surely had the power to relocate other items.
*Splash.*
The sound of water interrupted her thoughts. She turned to see Namei emerging from the lake, holding a white frog. Namei shook her hair as she stepped onto the shore, a faint look of joy on her face.
“I want to try.”
She sat down and mirrored Ah Li’s earlier posture, cupping the frog in both hands as she slowly infused it with mana. Very quickly, the frog’s shell began to open. This caught Ah Li by surprise.
“Whoa, you’re a bit of a genius, aren’t you? You learned that just by watching one demonstration? Even though saying ‘just infuse a gentle amount of mana’ sounds simple, the precision required is actually quite strict.”
Namei turned her head and looked at Wei Yang with a satisfied expression, seemingly seeking praise.
Wei Yang didn’t want to praise her at all. She didn’t remember Namei being such a genius. The girl was usually quite ditzy; how could she suddenly be so sharp? ‘If it were Lulu, maybe…’
Wait.
A sudden thought popped into her mind.
Ah Li pulled a pair of golden gloves and a small box from her bag. She carefully took out the two pearls that had been opened and placed them inside.
“This should be enough. Luckily, I didn’t forget the box or the gloves made of golden fleece. The church has been needing these lately. By the way, are you two thirsty? I have drinks. Barley tea or orange juice? I even have alcohol.”
“The alcohol is part of your private stash, isn’t it? I don’t believe Lilith would allow drinking here,” Wei Yang remarked. “I’ll just have some orange juice.”
“I’m still a minor, so I can’t drink. Same as Wei Yang, I’ll have the orange juice. Thank you, Miss Ah Li.”
A moment later, Ah Li returned to them carrying the drinks on a tray. She had also draped a thin, translucent shawl over her shoulders.
“Here, try this. It’s Sister Ah Li’s special refreshing orange drink~”
She handed the drinks to the two of them and sat down on Wei Yang’s other side.
Wei Yang looked at her cup and then up at Ah Li.
“Why is my drink clear, and yours is too?”
“I told you, it’s a special orange juice. It’s not weird for it to be clear.”
Wei Yang pointed at Namei’s cup.
“Then why is hers orange?”
“…Because that one is just store-bought orange juice poured from the bottle. The special one is only for you.”
Wei Yang didn’t respond. Her pupils melted and shifted into the shape of flints.
A spark flew into the cup of clear “special orange juice.” With a loud *hiss*, the liquid erupted into a violent flame.
Wei Yang glared at Ah Li with a murderous look in her eyes.
“Care to explain why orange juice would catch fire?”
Ah Li whistled and looked away.
Ah Li took two punches for that.
***
After getting some actual orange juice, the three of them sat by the lakeshore and rested quietly for a while.
the night breeze blew softly, carrying the fragrance of lotus flowers.
Having finished her juice, Wei Yang looked at Namei’s melancholy profile and finally asked the question.
“Namei, what are you thinking now? About the Zhuji pearls.”
“…I don’t know. Before, I always thought the people in town were just arrogant merchants who only wanted to haggle over the price of the pearls, even though so many people in Jiuzhou are suffering from the plague. Now I see that we are actually the same—just prisoners of natural disasters.”
“…Regardless, I don’t want to be your enemy. Withdraw. We can’t solve Jiuzhou’s problems at the expense of Huyin Town. There is still time to turn back. Don’t become a villain when you know better.”
“But,” Namei bit her lower lip hard, “if I return to Jiuzhou just like this, how am I supposed to face everyone trapped by the plague? How can I look at their eyes, so desperate for salvation…?”
Wei Yang sighed and pressed her thumb against her temple. She hoped Namei would think it through and stop being so conflicted. As long as she and White Dragon left Huyin Town together, Wei Yang’s mission would be a success.
Of course, Wei Yang didn’t plan to stop there. She intended to work with Fu Ping to find other ways to suppress the plague in Jiuzhou.
If all went well, that would be the best ending.
Just then, a warm body suddenly pressed against her side.
“Gotcha!”
Ah Li’s arms wrapped around Wei Yang’s waist as she leaned her entire body in, rubbing her face against Wei Yang’s shoulder. Her soft form pressed firmly against Wei Yang’s arm.
“Gah! What are you doing!”
Startled, Wei Yang tried to push her away.
“Cuddling~” Ah Li whispered, blowing air into her ear. “It’s not like we have anything else to do~”
After the puff of air, Wei Yang felt weak all over, and her resistance failed. Ah Li rubbed against her even harder, her weight shifting and pressing against Wei Yang’s arm.
“Let… let go!”
“No~”
Namei was stunned by the sight. She watched the two of them entangled together with a dazed expression, her face turning bright red as she finally processed what was happening.
“Y-You two—” She rushed to rescue Wei Yang. “Miss Ah Li! Let her go this instant!”
Even after being pulled away, Ah Li had a lingering, playful smile on her lips.
“Namei, you’re such a buzzkill.”
Namei supported Wei Yang, her face incredibly red as she stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence.
Ah Li blinked, a realization dawning on her.
“Wait… are you jealous?”
“I—I am not!” Namei reflexively countered, though her voice grew smaller and smaller. “I just… I just…”
Wei Yang let out a sigh.
“I’m glad Namei came along. Otherwise, your sneak attack would have succeeded.”
Ah Li just smiled, completely unbothered.
“Then I’ll just make sure not to bring her next time~”
“There is no next time!”
Namei held onto Wei Yang, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke stubbornly.
“I knew it! It really would be better if you lived with me! I will protect your innocence!”
“Huh?”
‘It would be better if you lived with me,’ just like the suggestion from before.
But that time, it had been Lulu who suggested it.
Thinking of it that way, many of the recent inconsistencies started to make sense.
Wei Yang leaned in and pressed her lips close to Namei’s ear, whispering a single sentence in a voice only the two of them could hear.
Steam began to rise from Namei’s head out of sheer embarrassment, making her look exactly like a freshly steamed bun.