"That person was actually you—I really can't believe it, but it was definitely your face." Selena said in astonishment.
"No need to make a fuss. It's all just an illusion—if you fixate too much, you'll get stuck and risk qi deviation. Look at Skylar and Luna Chu, they're just enjoying the scenery without a care." Evan Chu said.
Evan was also deeply shocked by Selena's words—he hadn't expected her vision to reach so far. He just wondered if she saw those final four characters.
"It really is strange. Since we're here, let's just enjoy the scenery for now. We'll talk when the moon comes out tonight." Claire Ouyang said.
Evan also felt there was no need to dwell on these issues—one day, the truth would come out.
He looked at the river formed by the waterfall and said, "There must be fish in the water. I'll go catch a few for a barbecue—my grilling skills are top notch."
Talking about barbecue made Evan think of the time he pranked Yang Rhea in the Monster Beast Forest. He wondered how the girls were doing now.
"I won't eat fish—it's forbidden for us Merfolk. Even though I know fish tastes great, I just can't eat it." Claire Ouyang said.
"No problem. I'll catch a few mountain pheasants for you later. For now, I'm going to get some fish." Evan said, then flew straight over the river.
Evan glanced at the rushing river, then leapt in with a thought—but something strange happened: he didn't make a splash at all, leaving Claire and Selena astonished.
At that moment, Evan was slowly searching underwater—he had completely merged with the water, like he was a water molecule himself, not even needing to breathe.
Watching the fish swim all around him, he felt exhilarated—especially since he could walk right up to them and they had no idea, thinking he was just part of the water.
Evan picked out a few big, fat fish for the barbecue—it took zero effort. If he wanted to catch a thousand fish here, he could do it in minutes.
What made Evan happiest wasn't just catching fish without a sound—it was mastering Watershift and truly merging with water itself. This was a heaven-defying ability: if he ever faced someone he couldn't beat, he could just dive into the water and become completely undetectable.
He stored the fish in his belt and shot out of the water, still perfectly dry—as if he was water itself, and water was him.
Taking the fish out of his storage belt, Evan said, "These are the fattest fish in the river. Luna Chu, clean them up for me—I'm heading to the mountains to catch some pheasants."
With that, he flew off again. Watching Evan's departing figure, the two girls felt a flood of emotions—he had far too many secrets, enough to make anyone afraid.
Just then, Luna Chu and Skylar returned, both wearing flower garlands and looking cheerful. Seeing the fish in front of Selena and Claire, Luna Chu said, "Such big fish! We're having fish tonight. Evan may be useless at most things, but he's amazing at barbecue. I used to go fishing with him all the time—I'd clean the fish, he'd do the grilling."
Looks like Evan caught these fish again. I'm an expert at cleaning fish—just watch!"
After speaking, Luna Chu drew her sword and, with a few quick moves, removed the scales from a fish, slit it open, and cleaned out the guts—all with practiced skill, leaving the others stunned.
After Luna Chu finished cleaning the fish, Evan came back, carrying several colorful mountain pheasants and looking very pleased with himself.
Evan gathered some firewood and put on a barbecue show, using seasonings from his storage ring. The food came out so delicious that everyone couldn't stop praising it.
Time passed slowly, and finally night fell—but the moon was nowhere to be seen, maybe because the mountains were too high.
No one knew how long it took, but eventually moonlight shone down on them. Evan said, "Everyone spread out and look for a teleportation gate in the moonlight—time's short, or we'll have to wait till tomorrow night."
Everyone understood Evan's meaning and scattered. Evan and the others flew into the air for a better view, while Luna Chu stayed by the barbecue site, watching the surroundings.
As everyone waited anxiously, a faint light suddenly flickered not far in front of Luna Chu, and a shimmering portal appeared before her.
Seeing the portal, Luna Chu shouted excitedly, "It's here! It's here!"
Evan and the others rushed over when they heard her. The portal was right where they'd been grilling before, which was kind of funny. Evan said, "This portal won't last long—it looks like it runs on moonlight. We need to hurry."
With that, Evan strode toward the portal. Claire carried Macy the Violet Thunder Fox, and Selena, Skylar, and Luna Chu followed close behind. As the five stepped into the portal, a huge pulling force swept them away, and they vanished.
Wind roared past their ears, and the immense force made it impossible to open their eyes. No one knew how long it lasted—when it faded, the five found themselves in a vast forest.
Evan checked that everyone was safe, except Luna Chu looked a bit pale. He said, "This must be the Azure Tide Ruins, but I have no idea which part we're in."
It's said the Azure Tide Ruins are vast—if you flew from east to west, it would take nearly half a year. That kind of distance is unimaginable, but there are plenty of teleportation arrays here.
None of the others doubted Evan's words—actually, it was the Sword Spirit who had told him all this; otherwise, he wouldn't have known.
Looking at the surroundings, Evan found the forest filled with gigantic, towering trees—many so huge that several people would need to encircle them. The branches and leaves were so dense that he couldn't see the sky at all.
"Everyone, be careful. In a forest like this, fierce monster beasts could show up at any time. None of us is familiar with the Azure Tide Ruins—if we've entered the territory of some savage beast, things could get troublesome," Evan said.
Maybe he really was a jinx—just as he finished speaking, a thunderous roar shook their eardrums.
"A monster beast, just as I thought! Luna, big brother, be careful. Claire and Selena, protect them—leave this beast to me," Evan said.
A moment later, a not very large, gray, wolf-like monster beast appeared not far from the group.
"Big brother, this monster beast is already at King-rank, fifth layer—you'd better be careful!" Macy the Violet Thunder Fox warned.