"He just left like that." Lily Bai pouted. "I still have so many questions about the Otherworld I haven't asked him yet!"
"Can we go home now?" The Eternal Wishfish suddenly popped up, looking miserable. "My Threefold Essence Yuan Force!"
Lily Bai glanced around, then looked at the "clear" character in her hand and said, "Let's go."
So, the Fish took her back.
Back at Primeval Abyss Gorge, Sean Shaw was still waiting in the same spot. Seeing her return, he asked in surprise, "So fast?"
Lily Bai nodded and told him everything she saw and heard.
"Let me see your character," Sean said.
Lily Bai held out her hand for him to see.
But—the character on her palm was gone!
"Huh? It's gone! I checked just before we came back—it was still there," Lily Bai said.
Sean Shaw looked at her suspiciously. "You said that guy looked like me? Was it just a hallucination?"
Lily Bai mulled it over, then asked the Eternal Wishfish, "Was it just a hallucination?"
The Eternal Wishfish replied, "No, it was real."
"Then where did the character on my palm go?"
"It was just a 'clear' character, wasn't it? You know about it, so why keep it stuck to your palm forever?"
Lily Bai: "Does the 'clear' character mean something special?"
The Eternal Wishfish said, "How would I know?"
"Then... do you know where that guy came from?" Lily Bai pressed.
The Eternal Wishfish: "No clue."
"It's lying again," Sean Shaw said.
"It's lying again," Sean Shaw said.
Lily Bai eyed the Eternal Wishfish. "Why are you lying so much today?"
"Ow! Anyway, my job's done! I'm off to cultivate! My Threefold Essence Yuan Force! My poor heart hurts..." With that, it dove under the water and vanished.
Lily Bai didn't bother chasing after it.
Going down there really did drain its cultivation... Its eyes even turned red from heartbreak—definitely not faking it.
Once she got back up, Lily Bai started divination and fortune-telling, researching the 'clear' character to see what secrets it held.
She kept feeling that Yan wasn't like her—he didn't just casually pick a character to write.
Sean Shaw was thinking too, then asked her, "You said he held your hand?"
"Huh?"
"Did he hold it or not?"
"He was just... writing a character! What wild ideas are you getting now?"
"You could've written it in the air for him, and he could've done the same for you—why did he have to hold your hand to write?"
Lily Bai: "Let's just go home."
...
Radiant Palace.
Soren Lann was in the middle of court discussions with his ministers.
He was speaking when he suddenly stopped, looking up.
The ministers looked up to see a small swallow fly in, its wings flapping vigorously as it hovered in midair, almost as if showing off.
"Ha! Isn't that the Golden Swallow from under your eaves?" a young Divine General laughed. "What brings it here?"
Soren Lann took a deep breath and said, "Drive her out of the palace! Don't let it come in again!"
Two Divine Guards went over, trying to drive Azure Flame away.
"Wait!" the Divine General called. "The Golden Swallow seems quite clever. If the Divine Lord doesn't like it, may I keep it instead?"
Soren Lann looked at the little swallow but said nothing.
"Divine Lord?"
"Forget it." Soren Lann waved his hand. "You all may leave for now!"
Everyone thought it strange—just a little swallow flew in, so why stop the meeting altogether?
Once everyone left, Azure Flame changed back into human form.
"What are you doing here again? Why did you come into the audience hall?" Soren Lann asked her.
"I'm here to tell you I've found a clue!" Azure Flame said. "Remember to keep your promise when the time comes."