Seeing this, someone couldn't help but say, "Cynthia Qi, you don't need to worry. We can find it ourselves."
"That's right, let's rest for a bit first!"
Even if they were dissatisfied with Ethan Gray, no one would say it aloud, lest they bring misfortune upon themselves. Besides, Ethan Gray had no designs on Cynthia Qi, which was a good thing for them.
Cynthia Qi was absent-minded as she nodded slightly, lost in her own thoughts.
Meanwhile, Ethan Gray continued up the mountain at a steady pace. Now, without needing Yuna to ask, whenever he saw edible fruits, he would pick them for her. Yuna, for her part, was content to simply eat, and became much quieter.
Another fruit was handed to her, and Yuna pouted, "I can't eat anymore."
Ethan Gray glanced at her protruding belly and chuckled, "Silly girl, who told you to eat everything?" He only wanted her to taste the spirit power infused in the fruits, not eat them all.
Yuna grumbled, making two soft whimpers, her face full of complaint. "Why didn't you say so earlier? You did it on purpose!"
Ethan Gray shook his head. What a silly girl!
Yuna looked at him with teary eyes, pitifully saying, "Big Bad, I'm so full!"
They had just left the restaurant not long ago and already eaten a plate of pastries. Now, after stuffing herself with so much fruit, it was no wonder Yuna felt so full! Ethan Gray tossed the fruit in his hand to Lynn Yee, then gently rubbed Yuna’s belly. Yuna let out a contented hum and, clutching his sleeve, began to drift off to sleep.
Lynn Yee stared at the fruit in his hand, speechless. Was he supposed to try it?
Yuna ate so happily; it couldn’t be that bad. Thinking this, Lynn Yee took a bite. The moment he chewed, his soul-reaping face twisted in agony. Was Ethan Gray messing with him? The fruit Yuna ate always seemed delicious, so why was this one so sour and astringent? Unable to bear it, Lynn Yee spat it out immediately.
Seeing this, Ethan Gray frowned. Clearly, something was wrong with this place. He carefully examined the fruit tree before him, then casually picked another fruit and tossed it to Lynn Yee.
Lynn Yee felt like crying but had no tears. As expected, only Yuna could enjoy the privilege of having Ethan Gray personally pick fruit for her. For someone like him, it was a blessing he couldn’t afford. Resigned, Lynn Yee bit into the seemingly delicious fruit, but it was just as sour and astringent as before.
Yuna, whose eyes had nearly closed, widened them at Lynn Yee’s twisted expression. Seeing him on the verge of tears made her laugh with schadenfreude.
Ethan Gray closed his eyes, carefully sensing the surroundings. Yuna blinked and closed her eyes as well. After a moment, she opened them and met Ethan Gray’s gaze. "Big Bad, there are two different forces here," she said.
Ethan Gray patted her head and nodded, "Let’s go take a look." He sensed it too—one force was from the Spirit Spring, the other was suppressing it. But that suppressing force was already weakening. If things continued like this, the Spirit Spring’s energy would eventually consume it, and the Spirit Spring would reveal itself to the world, no longer shrouded in mystery.
Yuna rubbed her head against his palm, then suddenly leaped from his arms and ran ahead. Ethan Gray frowned and quickly followed—he hadn’t forgotten that Yuna was terrible with directions. If she got lost, finding her would be a challenge!
She didn’t run far before stopping between two large trees. Staring at the space between them, Yuna snorted, "You dare put a barrier like this in front of me?"
Such a barrier was nothing special on the Windcloud Continent, but in this world, only Ethan Gray’s family could detect and break it!
With a swipe of Yuna’s paw, there was a crisp ‘crack’—the space ahead, which had seemed empty, now appeared to shatter like glass. The shards slowly faded from the air, as if they had never existed.
With the barrier gone, a cave entrance shrouded in black mist appeared before them. Ethan Gray’s face remained expressionless; just as he expected, the black mist was gradually being suppressed by the Spirit Spring’s energy.
Yuna wasn’t surprised by this at all, and Lynn Yee didn’t make a fuss either. After all, following someone like Ethan Gray, what could possibly shock him? Ethan Gray himself was the most astonishing existence of all.
Ethan Gray narrowed his eyes and struck out with his palm. A surge of spirit power dispersed the already thinning black mist into the air. Yuna sat on the ground, her furry little face deeply conflicted.
Ethan Gray picked Yuna up and carried her toward the cave entrance, asking, "What’s wrong?"
Yuna bit her paw resentfully and said, "There must be lots of delicious things inside, but I can’t eat anymore." Without a spatial ring, they couldn’t take much with them—what a waste!
Unfortunately, Yuna didn’t have the materials; otherwise, she could have crafted one herself. It seemed she’d have to ask Big Bad to help her gather materials when there was time.
But with Yuna’s muddled personality, she’d probably forget all about it once they left.
Ethan Gray didn’t care about those things at all. If he could turn Yuna into a human and feed her, that would be the greatest reward—everything else was irrelevant!
Ethan Gray carried Yuna into the cave, where a gentle mist swirled about like a fairyland. A soft breeze brushed their faces, bringing a sense of tranquility.
Yuna eyed the spiritual fruits that looked delicious, swallowing hard. She glanced at Ethan Gray, wanting to say something, but before she could, a small fruit was stuffed into her mouth. Yuna chewed, squinting her eyes, "So sweet!"
Ethan Gray stared at her intently without saying a word. Yuna felt strange, touched her face with a paw, and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that? Is my fur dirty?"
Ethan Gray shook his head. "Nothing." Then he picked another fruit and fed it to Yuna.
No one knew what kind of fruit it was—bright red and beautiful, but there were only two. Ethan Gray sensed that of all the fruits here, these contained the richest spirit power.
Watching Yuna forget all about her full belly and happily munch away, Ethan Gray thought to himself: if she still couldn’t turn into a human after eating, he’d just settle down and live here.