Chapter 138: The Night in the Forest

“They are chefs from Saint Laia. When it comes to culinary skills, Little Fox, you can certainly trust them.”

“So they aren’t specialized barbecue masters?”

To Liuli, it seemed as if only a specialized barbecue master could produce such exquisite grilled meat.

‘I thought only a specialized barbecue master could make meat like this.’

“Not necessarily. After all, no matter how rich Saint Laia’s educational resources are, hiring a master specifically for one dish would be too wasteful. Fortunately, many of our chefs have long lifespans, so researching recipes isn’t a difficult task for them.”

From the look of things, it seemed even many of the chefs in Saint Laia were long-lived species.

This made Liuli curious.

With so many long-lived individuals, how did they spend their vast amounts of time?

“Serveyia, how do long-lived species generally spend their long lives?”

While immortality might be everyone’s dream, a moment’s thought revealed a problem.

Whether it was longevity or true eternal life, one had to face the question of what to do to make life meaningful.

How could one keep such a long life from becoming boring?

One couldn’t exactly spend every single day sleeping the time away, right?

“Generally, it is nothing more than traveling combined with learning. One always has to find things to do to avoid boredom. However, most people do not actually live long enough to reach that stage of boredom. Various accidents tend to end a person’s life first.”

“So… will that happen to me too in the future?”

Although Serveyia mentioned that accidents could end a life, in Liuli’s mind, there were no true accidents.

She preferred to believe those people had chosen to end their own lives.

“Little Fox, that depends on your level of acceptance toward new things. As long as you maintain a heart of curiosity, you won’t face that problem.”

Curiosity.

Serveyia made it sound easy, but Liuli felt it wasn’t that simple.

Maintaining curiosity about something is a difficult task in itself.

Even with games she loved, she would eventually feel burnout after playing for a long time, let alone studying subjects she didn’t like.

“Why worry about that, Little Fox? Even if you do experience burnout, it would be a long, long time from now. At least for now, you can try to enjoy the moment.”

Liuli thought to herself that she knew she should enjoy the moment, but her personality didn’t really support it.

As mentioned before, she was always prone to overthinking and worrying about gains and losses.

“But…”

“No ‘buts.’ Little Fox, you just need to remember: the next time you’re unhappy or overthinking, go do something that makes you happy. Trust me, after doing those things, you won’t be in the mood to be depressed anymore.”

Somehow, Liuli felt Serveyia’s words carried a hidden meaning.

Happy things… what counted as a happy thing?

Did mining count?

Serveyia’s expression was incredibly serious, making Liuli hesitant to joke.

She was a bit afraid that if she responded with a joke while Serveyia was being serious, it would be extremely awkward.

Liuli finished dinner with various thoughts swirling in her head.

Surprisingly, Serveyia’s advice actually worked; she wasn’t wallowing in her worries anymore.

After dinner, the sky gradually darkened.

Liuli initially thought they would light a campfire for illumination, but it turned out the issue was solved with magic.

While magic lights had many advantages, campfires often felt more immersive.

Plus, when camping in the wild, fire could scare off beasts.

Though Serveyia had told her this forest was mostly inhabited by magic beasts, would magic beasts be afraid of fire?

“Why not use a campfire?”

Liuli thought about it and decided to ask the question.

“On one hand, open flames can cause fires. On the other hand, magic lighting has advantages that open flames can’t match. It is brighter, more stable, and more effective at deterring magic beasts.”

“Okay…”

Since Serveyia put it that way, she didn’t have any more questions.

However…

“Serveyia, it’s still early. What should we do?”

Thanks to modern technology, people no longer lived by working at sunrise and resting at sunset.

Even after dark, they had various entertainment options.

But camping was different.

Without those options, how would they spend the evening?

“What would you like to do, Little Fox?”

“I don’t know…”

Liuli lacked camping experience and didn’t know what to do in such a situation.

All she knew came from various fictional works.

In those stories, the protagonists usually just chatted—nothing particularly creative.

After all, camping was often a way for two or more people to bond.

But for her…

Liuli glanced at Serveyia.

She didn’t seem to need this to bond further with her.

She looked back at Aili; the elf lady was still reading the Liu Bei Wen she had written.

Liuli found it strange—how narcissistic do you have to be to keep admiring your own novel like that?

“By the way, Serveyia, can you take me for a walk in the forest?”

“Oh? Why are you interested in that, Little Fox?”

“I’m a bit curious about what those magic beasts look like. And there must be many small animals in the Moonlight Forest, right? I’m curious about them too.”

Liuli’s magic studies had mostly been theoretical.

Even in practice, auxiliary magic didn’t need to be cast at enemies; Teacher Lin Ya often served as the target.

As for simple combat magic, the targets were even simpler—Saint Laia had many straw men that served as perfect targets.

“I can, but I should tell you beforehand, Little Fox, the magic beasts in the Moonlight Forest aren’t exactly cute creatures. They’re usually quite terrifying. Are you sure you still want to see them?”

“I just want to look, not challenge them. Besides, with you here, Serveyia, there won’t be any safety issues, right?”

Liuli’s understanding of fantasy races came from a game.

In that game, the magical races were mostly Western fantasy style.

Back then, her younger self wasn’t scared by those “exquisite” appearances, so why would she be scared now?

“If you say so, Little Fox, then I have no objections. Shall we head out now?”

“Is it okay?”

Liuli looked around.

Everyone was busy with their own things, though she didn’t see Fina anywhere.

“Of course. What are you looking at, Little Fox?”

“I’m looking for Fina. She doesn’t seem to be nearby.”

“As a mermaid, Fina needs to stay hydrated frequently. She probably found a spot to soak in the water.”

“Oh, then did I make things difficult for her by inviting her?”

Liuli recalled their first meeting; Fina seemed to have just finished soaking.

Was traveling long distances difficult for a mermaid like Fina?

“Little Fox, you didn’t force her to come. Since it was Fina’s own choice, she surely knew what she’d be facing. You really don’t need to be so hesitant in these situations.”

“Okay, let’s go then.”

Sometimes having someone by your side was important—someone who could pull you out of a negative mood, even if their methods didn’t seem to matter.

The sun had set.

The forest at night was completely different from the daytime.

If the daytime forest was full of life and vitality, the nighttime forest brought mystery and deathly silence.

Liuli suddenly regretted wanting to see small animals.

The nighttime forest didn’t seem suitable for them.

Could she really find any?

“Serveyia, what do you think we can find in the forest at night?”

Since she had no idea, she might as well ask Serveyia.

If even Serveyia said they wouldn’t find anything, she wouldn’t have to keep her hopes up.

“That actually depends on how much you want to see them, Little Fox.”

“What do you mean? Does that mean you have a way, Serveyia?”

“Of course. If you really want to see those animals, I can force them out for you to look at.”

“Then… never mind. I don’t think I can handle a ‘A Rider’s Red Dust Makes the Concubine Smile’ kind of situation.”

Despite her curiosity, forcibly disturbing the animals’ ecology seemed a bit much.

In the end, she decided to leave it to fate.

“Besides, can’t we also go see the foxes?”

Many foxes were kept in the courtyard of Qingli Hall, so Liuli had learned a bit about their habits.

Generally, foxes are nocturnal, meaning it was truly possible to see them in this forest.

“True. If you wish, Little Fox, just release a bit of your aura, and countless foxes will flock to your side.”

“But how do I release my aura?”

Liuli thought the way princesses in animations were surrounded by small animals was very charming.

So, when she heard Serveyia say she could attract them with her aura, her curiosity was instantly piqued.