Time passed by quickly while making their way up the moonlight mountain.
From time to time, a few demon beasts would show up and block their way, but Yue Wan would quickly take out her sword and deal with them before moving on ahead. All of this, while not letting go of Sofie in the process…
Sofie herself was quite surprised at the strength of Yue Wan. After all, being able to carry her with only one arm would be difficult. Let alone fighting a demon beast at the same time.
"Stop!" As Yue Wan just finished cutting down a demon beast in the shape of a giant tree, Yang Meng called out and stopped her from moving forward.
"What is it?" Yue Wan said as she stopped and started poking the tree demon beast that was cut in half by her a moment ago with her sword.
"I think there should be moon flowers around here!" Yang Meng said in an excited voice, while inspecting the barren ground besides the mountain road.
"Really!?" Sofie jumped out of Yue Wan's arms and said in an excited voice. Having mostly spend her time relaxing, while being carried by Yue Wan.
Sofie found it quite enjoyable to look at the view from the mountain side, though she could not see the ground. Only an endless ocean of clouds spread out before her. Making her wonder why there weren't a single opening in the ocean of clouds. Looking at it, it almost seemed to go on forever.
Hearing Yang Meng mention the moon flower which they came to the moon garden for in the first place, Sofie felt excited and wanted nothing more than to go out and search for it.
"Have you two forgotten why we were hurrying towards the top of the mountain!?" Yue Wan interrupted the two children's excitement.
"B-but looking for a little would not hurt anyone… And the demon beasts who entered the moonlight mountain will most likely spend some time recovering, as they both fought each other a little while ago… A few minutes spend looking for moon flowers would never hurt…" Yang Meng said in a persuasive voice, trying to act cute at the same time.
"NO! We don't have time for that…!" Yue Wan said with a determined look on her face. Not willing to let the little brat in front of her delay them…
"P-please… Yue Wan~" Sofie said as she tried imitating Yang Meng acting cute.
"Okay! Take as long as you like~" Yue Wan said with a stupid smile on her face. Not having a shred of her former determination present.
"…" Yang Meng felt his lips twitching slightly as he looked at the idiotic smile that was now plastered on Yue Wan's face.
How can she say we don't have time for it and then say we have all the time in the world the next moment!? J-just what is wrong with this senior sister… She feels dangerous in several ways! Was it because Sofie asked? I-I have to make sure that dangerous senior sister doesn't do anything weird to her!
Yang Meng thought to himself as he sent on last look towards the smiling Yue Wan, before entering the barren mountain side besides the road.
…
Walking around the barren mountain side a few meters away from the mountain road, Sofie curiously looked at the ground filled with nothing more than rocks and a few plants here and there. "Why did you say that there are moon flowers around here? I don't see any…"
The only thing that was of note, was the moon hanging high in the sky with moonlight bathing the entire mountain side in front of Sofie… But… The moonlight was everywhere on the mountain side, Sofie could not find out the reason why this barren place was special in any way.
"The moon flower normally absorbs moonlight to grow stronger and there is lots of moonlight around here!" Yang Meng said like he was stating something obvious.
"B-but why here!? Isn't there moonlight shining almost everywhere on the mountain side?" Sofie asked slightly frustrated as she felt Yang Meng didn't answer her question.
Yang Meng looked a little confused upon hearing what Sofie said, but quickly started contemplating over something while looking at the barren mountain side in front of him.
"No real reason… I guess? It was close to the mountain road and we would be able to search the place easily, seeing that there is nothing blocking the view. Making it easier to spot as well." Yang Meng said in a confused voice, wondering why Sofie looked frustrated.
Sofie wanted to say something but felt that she couldn't argue with any of the things Yang Meng said, she even agreed with what he had said.
"By the way… What does the moon flower look like in the first place?" Yue Wan came in from the side asking Yang Meng.
Sofie, who was about to say something to Yang Meng stopped with a half open mouth.
W-wait a moment… W-what does the moon flower look like? Hm… The receptionist back at the mission hall didn't say anything about it and Yang Meng haven't mentioned anything about it as well… So, what am I even searching for in the first place?!
Bewildered by the sudden realisation, Sofie quickly closed her half open mouth and looked at Yang Meng waiting for an answer. Trying to look like she already knew the answer.
…
Yang Meng looked over the waiting Yue Wan and was about to start explaining how the moon flower looked like, that was when he spotted Sofie standing a little farther away.
Fidgeting with her hands while looking away, but clearly casting a glance towards his and Yue Wan's direction from time to time.
"Sofie do you want to describe it?" Yang Meng said, a mischievous look on his face.
"N-n-no! I-I'm fine!" Sofie said as she started fidgeting even more, while trying to hide her blushing face by lowering her head and looking down on the ground.
"Are you sure?" Yang Meng said with a smile on his face.
"Y-yes!" Sofie said as she felt like her face was burning up in embarrassment.
Yang Meng on the other hand seemed to somehow find it enjoyable watching the embarrassed look on Sofie's face, even he had no idea why.
…
Having somehow ended up being teased, Sofie had no idea how much suffering her refusal in admitting not knowing how the moon flower today brought her later on.
All Sofie could do was stare down at the ground, hopping that Yang Meng would start talking soon. The look she was getting from Yue Wan was unbearable… It almost felt like a predator watching its prey, with her being the prey…
"The moon flower normally grows out in the open, you should be able to find it around here as the moon is up and the moon flowers need to absorb moonlight. The moon flower looks pure white and have small glowing stars on its petals, so it should be easy to spot. The more stars on the petals. The higher grade it is." Yang Meng said, Sofie also felt the gaze from Yue Wan, to her relief, leaving her.
Having finished his explanation, Sofie, Yang Meng and Yue Wan started looking for moon flowers all over the barren mountain side.