On the afternoon of the seventh day, Xia Zhi finally encountered his first rain in this strange world.
Drizzling, like silk threads from the sky.
"It's raining."
Xia Zhi raised his head, feeling the raindrops gently falling on his face with their tiny points of coolness, speaking softly to himself.
He was from the south, where rain was especially common - light rain, heavy rain, night rain, storms, sun showers, plum rain, sleet...
Sometimes he liked it, loved that rare coolness; sometimes he didn't, hated that lingering dampness. But regardless, rain had long since become a part of Xia Zhi's life.
The crane gently flapped her wings in the rain, letting out a clear cry, as if reminding him to quickly find shelter.
"Mm, let's hurry."
Xia Zhi quickened his pace and, under the crane's guidance, soon found a tree with particularly dense foliage.
Taking shelter under the tree provided adequate protection from the rain.
Fortunately, it was just rain without thunder, otherwise sheltering under this big tree wouldn't have been safe.
Xia Zhi reached out to cast a Warming Spell on the crane, helping dry her feathers, then cast one on himself as well.
As warm light passed over his body, his damp clothes immediately became completely dry.
Light-element magic was truly convenient - it could illuminate, warm, heal, deal damage, and detect good and evil...
It was practically an all-purpose system.
Xia Zhi leaned against the tree trunk, thinking to himself that for a traveler, other elemental magic systems probably wouldn't be as handy and useful.
Fire element could start fires, Water element could wash things, Earth element could build stoves, Wood element could...
After thinking for a while, the rain showed no signs of letting up. It seemed it would continue for quite some time.
Xia Zhi took out some fruits and berries, sharing them with the crane.
Due to the rain, darkness fell earlier than usual today.
The temperature gradually dropped, and Xia Zhi couldn't help but sneeze. The humidity was heavy.
It was time to make a fire.
However, the space under this tree that could shelter from the rain was only this big, barely enough to accommodate him and the crane, leaving no room to build a fire.
There was no choice but to make do for the night like this. Hopefully, he wouldn't catch a cold.
Xia Zhi sat cross-legged against the tree trunk, opened the [Mall], browsed the items inside for a while, then closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.
In the middle of the night, he hazily woke up once, not from the cold; on the contrary, he felt something soft and warm beside him, as if lying between premium down pillows and quilts.
The little female crane... still had a conscience.
Xia Zhi gently rubbed his cheek against the soft feathers, feeling that sweet fragrance like orchids and musk in his breath, making him comfortable.
So fragrant.
Were all spiritual beasts this fragrant?
The little female crane was so fragrant; he wondered if she could transform into human form. If so, she would probably be a tall, beautiful woman.
He wondered if the [Mall] sold any transformation pills...
Xia Zhi thought hazily before falling back into deep sleep.
Meanwhile, feeling his face nuzzling against her, Cloud Retainer's body trembled ever so slightly.
On the morning of the eighth day, the rain had long stopped.
The air, washed overnight, felt exceptionally fresh.
Xia Zhi stood up from under the tree, stretching his body with satisfaction.
However, the crane beside him appeared somewhat haggard for some reason.
After brushing teeth and washing face, breakfast was still fruits and berries, but the crane had little appetite for it.
Because of the rain, many mushrooms and fungi suddenly sprouted along the way.
At each find, Xia Zhi patiently asked the crane whether these mushrooms and fungi were edible.
Walking and stopping like this, by noon, he had collected quite a few edible mushrooms and fungi.
After washing and slicing them, he put them in a small pot to make soup with pork. Even with just a little salt for seasoning, the soup was incredibly delicious.
It was a pity there was no staple food.
This soup would be perfect with rice or noodles.
The [Mall] did sell flour and rice, but the price-performance ratio was too low.
Xia Zhi only had 4 points left now, and these points couldn't be used carelessly; they needed to be saved for special situations.
As for the transformation pills for spiritual beasts, he curiously searched for them too.
There were results, and quite a variety of them, with different effects. Some could purify bloodlines, some could grant spiritual beasts special constitutions, and some could even forcefully evolve bloodlines.
However, they were all expensive, with the cheapest costing 150 points.
Never mind, staying as a crane was fine too, fragrant and warm.
Day nine passed smoothly.
On the tenth day, they encountered another group of those humanoid monsters, including ones carrying huge crude stone axes, with black iron-colored progress bars hanging above them.
Xia Zhi quietly chose to take a detour.
On the eleventh day, Xia Zhi finally passed through Dun Yu Ling and entered the territory of Tianheng Mountain.
Nothing happened on the twelfth day.
On the thirteenth day, Xia Zhi encountered a burning red flower, steaming hot, making it impossible to approach.
On the fourteenth day, the noon sun was scorching, and Xia Zhi stopped to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
Using detection, he could see a flat road twenty meters ahead.
Not the kind of winding path covered in weeds, but a wide, solid road formed by countless wagons and people treading over it for thousands of years.
The road surface had potholes and gaps, showing a gray-white weathered color from years of exposure to the elements.
Looking at this road, Xia Zhi slowly exhaled, a relaxed smile involuntarily appearing on his face.
After living in the wilderness for so long, he finally saw traces left by humans.
Such a wide road must be an official road.
As long as he kept following the road, he would eventually reach a town.
And the guidance effect of the [Divination Staff] was probably about to dissipate here.
"Let's go."
Xia Zhi smiled at the crane and stepped forward, walking along the road.
The crane looked at this road she had walked many years ago, her eyes somewhat complex.
At this point, her escort duty was almost complete.
Liyue City was just a few miles ahead, with diligent Millelith guards at the city gates.
This area near the city was also patrolled monthly by Millelith and adventurers, clearing out monsters that might threaten the city and travelers, making it very safe.
She no longer needed to accompany him.
Moreover, Liyue was now a human-ruled city; it was better for immortals not to interfere.
But thinking about leaving, she felt an inexplicable regret and reluctance in her heart.
Both for the person and for this peaceful journey.
However, all good things must come to an end.
Rebuilding her realm was more urgent now; she could repay the kindness later.
Cloud Retainer's glass-colored eyes regained their calm.