The visit to the cathedral ended perfectly.
Accompanied by Xu Xi, Krisha explored the entire cathedral and recorded a lot of "wisdom from predecessors."
In Krisha’s words, this was the most precious gift. She would treasure it and use this "wisdom" at the right ti.
Seeing Krisha so happy, Xu Xi was also pleased.
The only problem was that he seed to have caught a cold recently, sneezing endlessly. Strange, wasn’t it?
Catching a cold under the protection of the highest magic...
After that, Xu Xi mostly stayed in the mansion he had bought, just like in the magical world, reading the ancient histories of this new world or occasionally going out with Krisha to buy daily necessities, or even traveling a bit to see different sights of the world.
Heavy rain poured down one day as if the heavens were angry. Lightning flashed through the thick clouds with fierce intensity.
By the second month of the simulation, a great rain ca. Even after it stopped, the ground was still muddy and soaked from the storm.
When Xu Xi and Krisha stepped outside, intending to buy so fresh food, they found the roads to be slippery and hard to walk on.
Mud pits, thick and sticky, covered the uneven streets, and the air carried an unpleasant odor. Wearing rain boots, Xu Xi ignored the mud and walked forward, but he realized that Krisha was still standing still, staring blankly at the dirty water pits, not taking a single step forward.
Even after hearing Xu Xi’s call, she remained in place, her face showing a hollow and dazed look, overlapping with the image of when Xu Xi had first t Krisha.
Finally, Xu Xi returned and gently held Krisha’s hand, leading her forward. "Are you rembering the past, Krisha?" he asked softly.
"Yes, Master," Krisha replied.
Xu Xi still rembered that first encounter clearly, in a filthy alley where the muddy water flowed. The girl, battered and bruised, dragged her broken body, trembling in fear and hunger, awaiting death.
Those mories were so deeply engraved that even now, Krisha couldn’t forget the sadness and that hand that reached out to her back then.
"Krisha," Xu Xi said, "would the current you still freeze because of those mories, unable to take a step forward? Sohow, I doubt it..."
The rain-soaked road splashed dirty water with every step.
In the sound of water, Krisha silently hugged Xu Xi’s arm, her expression calm as she whispered, "Master’s words, I don’t understand... After all—"
"I am just a broken witch who doesn’t know happiness or sadness."
Speaking those universal words of excuse, Krisha let herself relax completely, leaning her whole body against Xu Xi’s arm. It was warm, it was safe. Master, my life is broken and flawed. Only when you are here does it feel complete...
The rainy season lasted a long ti.
Many dried riverbeds were filled again.
Xu Xi stayed indoors during that ti, enjoying the warmth of the fireplace while reading history books of the new world to expand his knowledge.
"Master, please have so tea," Krisha offered.
Xu Xi glanced at the faint green liquid in the cup and took a sip, the bitter taste instantly familiar.
"Is there a problem, Master?" Krisha asked.
"Krisha... what did you use to brew this tea?"
"It's bitterweed, Master," Krisha answered.
Later, by reading books, Xu Xi learned that bitterweed was a herb similar to mind-clearing grass, bitter but refreshing.
"Next ti, let’s change to another kind of tea," Xu Xi suggested tactfully.
"Yes, Master," Krisha replied seriously.
By the third month of the simulation, the dragon blood grass they had planted had fully matured, turning a platinum color, waving in the wind like a shimring silver tide.
It was a magnificent sight, so dazzling that even wild sub-dragons were attracted to it, hoping to eat the grass to purify their bloodline.
Krisha, kind-hearted as always, wanted to share the excess dragon blood grass with the sub-dragons since the garden had beco overly crowded. But when she stepped outside the mansion with a bundle of dragon blood grass, the sub-dragons scattered in panic, as if lingering for a second would cost them their lives.
"...Master?" Krisha looked at Xu Xi in confusion, not understanding why things turned out this way.
After thinking for a long ti, Xu Xi realized the truth.
"Since Krisha is the one who has been taking care of the dragon blood grass daily, watering it with dragon blood every day... then in the eyes of those dragons, Krisha must seem like a terrifying nesis who tears dragons apart and bathes in dragon blood daily?"
No wonder they ran so fast...
By the fourth month of the simulation, the seasons shifted from hot to cold.
Xu Xi and Krisha left their ho and traveled across the world, just as they had done in the magical world.
They saw and experienced many things together.
They once witnessed the migration of dragon flocks while riding a giant steam magic airship. They also saw the grand feast of the rfolk on the vast open sea. As the legends said, the rfolk were all astonishingly beautiful.
"Vulgar," Krisha comnted coldly, shielding Xu Xi’s eyes with both hands, declaring that their outfits were too indecent for him to see.
Xu Xi agreed deeply.
With a sting of pain from being pinched, he obediently closed his eyes and let Krisha cover them until they left the rfolk’s territory.
Once back on open waters, the vast blue sea spread endlessly, reflecting the sky and drifting clouds like a boundless mirror. The salty sea breeze blew past, and fish frequently leaped out, gliding magically through the air.
"Master, would you like so fresh seafood?" Krisha asked, having learned how to tell which sea creatures were safe to eat.
"No need, Krisha," Xu Xi smiled and declined. "Going out of your way to catch it would be too much trouble, and besides, I’m not hungry."
But about ten minutes later, their ship coincidentally bumped into a fresh young fish that had mysteriously died and floated to the surface.
"This must be a gift from the world," Krisha said solemnly, using her magic to swiftly retrieve the fish and prepare several delicious dishes for Xu Xi.
Eating the food Krisha prepared, Xu Xi felt like he was extraordinarily lucky that day.
In the fifth month of the simulation, crossing the endless sea, Xu Xi and Krisha arrived at a new destination: a vast desert where the land was covered in sand, vegetation was rare, and the air was dry. Under the sunset, the rolling sand dunes glowed red, forming a magnificent sea of fire.
The dry trunks of ancient trees were scattered across the landscape, half-buried in the sand.
"Master, these are the local specialties," Krisha said, offering a plate of peeled nuts.
Standing on the deck of the steam airship, Xu Xi looked down at the vast desert and the distant sandstorms swirling with giant magical beasts. He picked up a nut, but instead of eating it himself, he brought it to Krisha’s mouth.
"Ahh—" Krisha opened her mouth expressionlessly and began chewing, her cheeks moving chanically.
"Is it good, Krisha?" Xu Xi asked.
"Very good, Master," she replied seriously.
Encouraged, Krisha clumsily picked up a nut herself and fed it to Xu Xi in return.
Xu Xi smiled warmly and accepted her kindness.
"Thank you, Krisha," he said. In truth, Master, it is I who should thank you. Thank you for returning to and pulling out of that cold and dark world.
"Please eat more, Master. These nuts are highly nutritious and very good for you," Krisha continued, feeding him one after another until Xu Xi had to urgently ask her to stop.
Leaving the desert behind, the steam airship sailed from extre heat into extre cold. The yellow sand and flying rocks vanished, replaced by towering glaciers as sharp as blades. Snowflakes fell thickly, covering everything in layers of white. Even the slightest tap on the branches would cause heaps of snow to fall.
"Krisha, be careful not to catch a cold," Xu Xi said as he wrapped a scarf around her.
The light gray scarf was finely woven, soft and warm.
Standing before Krisha, Xu Xi gently lifted her gray-silver hair and wrapped the scarf carefully around her neck.
"...Thank you, Master," Krisha said softly. "...I really like it."
In the icy world, strong winds lifted the ends of her scarf, fluttering like the wings of a caged bird, yearning for freedom yet unwilling to fly away...
After glaciers and deserts, their next stop was the volcanic region, where the ground was scorching, and molten lava flowed. It was said that ancient dragons road here, and the place was famous for its hot springs.
Unfortunately, Xu Xi didn’t see any ancient dragons. Even the common sub-dragons had migrated elsewhere the day he arrived. Regretfully, Xu Xi and Krisha enjoyed the famous hot springs instead.
Since there were no other guests, and because Krisha had bought the entire hot spring area, they each had a private spring.
Soaking in the warm water, Krisha covered her face, her cheeks burning. Perhaps it was punishnt for her presumptuous thoughts toward her Master.
But Krisha decided—no matter how harsh the punishnt, she would not retreat. She had to do her best, Krisha!
In the sixth month of the simulation, Xu Xi and Krisha ended their travels and returned to their original starting point.
"After months away, the dragon blood grass we planted is still here," Xu Xi said.
Sunshine filtered through the trees, casting speckled light onto the paths.
As Krisha released the protective barrier, a more vigorous wave of silver ripples appeared before Xu Xi, dazzling under the sun.
"Let’s go inside, Krisha."
"Yes, Master," Krisha answered.
To Xu Xi, several months of travel were far from enough. He wanted to accompany Krisha to experience even more.
But Krisha did not wish that.
She didn’t want Xu Xi to be trapped in this illusory world because of her.
She had matters that could only be completed by returning to Earth.
"Master, let’s leave tomorrow," Krisha said softly as they walked along the dappled path.
"Have you made up your mind, Krisha?" Xu Xi asked gently, reaching out to rub her soft long hair.
"It’s enough already, Master," Krisha replied, her eyes reflecting Xu Xi’s face. Because you are here, I can move forward. Because you are here, I am no longer afraid of the storms. Because you are here, I am no longer broken. This is enough. This is more than enough.
Krisha never wanted to monopolize Xu Xi forever.
That was sothing she could not and would not do.
The true battlefield awaited elsewhere.
Tap—tap—walking back to the mansion with Xu Xi, Krisha silently pulled out a piece of paper on which she had recorded all the "wisdom" she collected from the cathedral.
This was her ultimate weapon.
"So hot..." Imagining her future plans, Krisha tilted her head, feeling her cheeks burning again. Surely, it was punishnt for her bold thoughts about her Master.
"Krisha, are you having a fever?" Xu Xi asked.
"No, Master, I’m fine..." Krisha hurriedly denied it, not wanting Xu Xi to discover her shaful feelings, even though the faint blush on her face had already betrayed her.
"Alright, let’s go inside and enjoy our last day," Xu Xi said with a smile.
After entering the mansion, Xu Xi and Krisha didn’t just waste the last day away.
They tidied up the dragon blood grass in the garden, the furniture, and the classical decorations, making everything neat and clean once again.
"This way, everything begins and ends properly," Xu Xi said with a small nod, very satisfied with the freshened-up mansion.
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