There are a few big trees scattered around the herb field.
Two of those trees have a swing tied between them.
"See this herb field?"
"Mm."
"When Divine Lord Soren and Adrian Drake first became my father's disciples, my father made them plant herbs," Lucia said. "Lian-Lian and I would play on the swings here while those two acted like farmers, digging holes and sweating away."
"They were both pampered young masters, never worked a day in their lives, so you can imagine how clumsy they were! Especially our Divine Lord Soren—no matter how I explained, he just couldn’t get it. I had to teach him hand‑over‑hand for ages before he finally learned."
"Tell me, how does someone that hopeless end up ascending to become Divine Lord? I still don’t get it!"
"Hey, do you know where he ascended? Right here in the Spirit Alliance! None of us knew what was happening—suddenly, lightning from a Tribulation Storm struck the Alchemist’s Pill Room and blasted a huge crater."
"I dug him out from the ruins, thinking he was dead. I cried my eyes out—only for him to come back to life, perfectly fine..."
As she spoke, Lucia noticed Sean Shaw didn’t seem very happy.
She hesitated a little. "Am I talking too much? Do you not like listening to me?"
"I do like listening," Sean said.
"But I feel like... you're not actually happy?"
"I just don’t like hearing you talk about Qilin Divine Lord Soren Lann."
Lucia’s eyes went wide. "...Why?"
Sean didn’t answer.
"You don’t like our Divine Lord Soren?"
"No."
"Then why?"
Sean looked at her for a long moment before finally saying, "If I died, would you cry?"
Lucia slowly realized—was he... jealous?
She bit back a smile and teased, "I don’t know, maybe you should die once and find out?"
Sean didn’t reply, his eyes turning pitiful again.
"I’m just joking with you!" Lucia grinned mischievously, looking as dazzling as the prettiest flower in spring.
Sean stared at her, utterly entranced.
Lucia showed him the sea of flowers where she once flew kites, the grassy patch where she roasted Antler Serpent, and the little brook where she caught fish...
She didn’t mention Divine Lord Soren again.
Sean visibly perked up, his lips curved in a quiet smile.
"What do you think of this place?"
Sean replied, "If a child grew up here, they’d definitely be happy."
"A child?" Lucia’s eyes went wide.
"Uh, I mean... kids in general... Not our child, just... it’s a good place for kids to grow up..."
He trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.
Lucia couldn’t take it either; she covered her forehead and turned away, finally saying, "Let’s go back. They’re probably done talking."
"When they’re done, they’ll come looking for me," Sean said.
"So you want to keep wandering around?"
"I... want some water."
"Huh?"
"I want tea."
Lucia said, "...Then come with me. I’ll make you some tea."
Sean blinked and smiled.
Lucia led him to her own residence.
This season, Redleaf Mountain was ablaze with crimson foliage—fiery and warm.
But the buildings up here were calm and understated.
Once inside, she told Sean to sit wherever he liked, then went to boil water and make tea for him.
She kept sneaking glances at him.
He sat on the couch, barely moving, his eyes darting here and there—sometimes lingering on a piece of calligraphy she’d written, sometimes on the throw pillow on her couch—looking for all the world like he was sneakily snooping around.
Lucia felt something she’d never felt before.
Her heart raced, sweet and giddy.
It was just boiling a pot of tea, but somehow, it felt more joyful and fun than ever before...