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 iional to express his feelings towards them. Meanwhile, Alfonsen showed impressive athleticism by perf 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 Touyself twice, just in case. The river was nasty. They all ughed at me, the vilins. It was so unfair since I believed my Agility was higher than his. I guessed stats weren’t everything, and physical abilities also pyed a role.

  We passed by a river cruiser, simir to the one we sailed down, and most of the people pulled out their phoo film us. Rue ehe attention and did two ps around the ship. This dog wao bee a media star.

  In Yangshuo, we made a list of all the fun pces a expl. We spent a whole day at the Yulong River, swimming and pying ier, and I ughed 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 bee 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 Alfo breakfast. When I arrived, I found Alfonsen already seated, iing a pte of food with a suspicious expression. I slid into the chair across from him, a nod of greeting before diving into my breakfast.

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

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

  “Excellent idea.” I leased he ting.

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

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

  “I o vert some of my capital to the local currency,” he expined, lookiermined. “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, auro his meal. Wheuro our rooms, he gave me a hundred gold s; I gave him ten thousand euros a 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, aook pictures of me with Mahya. It took me five mio expin to Rue how to operate the camera with telekinesis, but he took photos of the three of us whe 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 excelleaurants and bars in the narrow hat it was hard to choose. It didn’t take long for us to fall in love with the pce, and soon, it became a regur stop for lund dihe great atmosphere, with the sounds of ughter and the mouthwatering smell of different foods, drew us in like mags.

  One evening, after ara-long day, we returo 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 k, we were drunk like skunks, ughing our heads off.

  Stumbling out of the st 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 bance. “You know,” I slurred, trying to focus oh ahead, “just I do ralize 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 decred. Lis nodded in agreement and almost tipped forward. Mahya tugged me back toward the bar. “One round more!”

  I ughed, allowing myself to be pulled along, though my thoughts were already ahead of the game. Secretly, I cast ralize 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 ughter loud and loose, but inside, I was less drunk. I didn’t sober up pletely, still wanting to have fun, but the memory of my st hangover was still fresh enough to keep me from making the same mistake twiO, thank you.

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

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

  After visiting a tea pntation 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 ...

  We took a bike tour of the Yangshuo tryside. 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 mas’ meat I was feeding him, but only now I had a way to pare. 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 uood the feeling.

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

  “Why?” I asked.

  “While regeiween 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 o figure that out, and I’ve got some things for you both.”

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

  “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, led in bubble , were small gss vials—half light green, the other half a darker green-brown. He poio the light green ones first. “These are mana potions; eae restores five hundred mana.” Then he poio 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 pnts, so the supply is limited, but with your healing skills and the faster regeion from the spirals, you should be good.”

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

  Lis nodded, satisfied, then poi 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 ohis box has anti-venom and anti-poison potions. Split the box between you two and give me your snake eggs.”

  Mahya took the box, ah handed him s. When Lis saw I’d kept mine in a cooler, he burst out ughing.

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

  Lis just shook his head, still grinning. Ohe ughter died dow 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 expined, his tone softening. “Here are all my notes ohing 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 turo me, pulling out a familiar book. “This is the book on familiars you studied in Shimoor,” he ha over. “I know you copied it, but I want you to have the inal.”

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

  Lis hen g 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 a. 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 fi and cookbooks?”

  “If you’re willing, then yes.”

  I handed over all my books. Once I was done, Lis handed me a medium woode filled with gold s.

  “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 turo me with that mischievous glint in his eye. “Let me see all the jewelry you’ve got—might need some fifts or bribes fons.”

  I pulled out my colle, and Lis ied each piece like a seasorader 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 mohan everyone oh bined.

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

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

  “This way’s faster and more ve,” 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 whe like this. I khis from experience.

  Finally, as if remembering something, Lis pulled out a weird traption 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 musi a mana world from the hard disc Mahya made for you,” Lis expined, looking way too pleased with himself.

  My chest tightened as I turhe strange traption 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, f a smile as I threw my arms around him. “Thank you, Lis,” I managed, my voice crag slightly. “You have no idea how much this means.”

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

  That night, our st diogether dragged on lohan usual. The food was great, but it sat in my stomach like a rock, heavy with the fact that this was it—the st meal we’d share. We ughed, made toasts, and sed stories, but every time the versation dipped, the silence hung in the air a bit too long, reminding us what was around the er.

  We headed to the Gate the 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 t out the moment. Rue trotted ahead, pletely clueless, while the rest of us gged, our footsteps quieter than usual. Whee finally came into view, it looked bigger than ever, an obvious remihat we were about to go our separate ways.

  Lis touched the Gate to access the world’s information and spent siderable time reading it. When he finished, he turo 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 expined, “These are all the Gate s I recall crossing or hearing about.” He paused momentarily, then added, “You should also ask Alfoo 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 aking the pages and tug 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 turo Mahya , pulling her into a warm hug. They spoke quietly betweeheir 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.

  Wheepped apart, the moment hit me harder than I thought. My throat tightened, and for a sed, I couldn’t find my voice. The words I wao 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 fort 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 st group hug, and he crossed to the Dragon Realm.

  I hate goodbyes!