Chapter 11: Ideals

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Chapter 11: Ideals

“Ah! I can’t eat another bite!” Geer rubbed his bulging belly and sighed contentedly. “That was absolutely delicious.” Lisa gnawed on the fish in her hand; at her feet, several fish bones had already accumulated.

“Yeah, yeah, exactly!” Lasse finished off his fish in just a few bites, eagerly watching Ye Tian, who was still busy. “Sorry for making you do so much,” Gray said apologetically as he took another big bite of fish.

“It’s nothing, as long as everyone’s happy.” Ye Tian smiled. “Hey, Tian, what is this? It smells amazing.” Jin pointed at a small bottle—the secret behind the delicious grilled fish.

“That’s pepper. Don’t you use it here?” Ye Tian asked in surprise. “Pepper? What’s that?” Lisa asked, curious. “It’s a kind of seasoning, very common where I’m from,” Ye Tian explained.

“Oh, I see. Still, it’s really delicious!” Lisa sighed, then praised him happily. “No, not at all,” Ye Tian chuckled, putting a few more fish on the rack. “Um, Ye Tian, can you really eat that much?” Gray asked, puzzled at seeing Ye Tian prepare even more.

“Oh, I’m just used to it.” Ye Tian smiled wryly. He’d gotten used to fighting for food lately, so now he unconsciously made extra—otherwise, he’d end up hungry. “What a weirdo,” Lisa muttered, then took another bite of grilled fish.

“Hey, I heard that!” Ye Tian protested. Lisa stuck out her tongue and ducked behind Radon. “Hmph, I’ve decided—you’re not getting any dinner tonight,” Ye Tian threatened with a smile.

“Hmph, who wants to eat your cooking anyway!” Lisa retorted, hiding behind Radon. “Ugh!” Ye Tian realized arguing with a girl was the most pointless thing, so he sensibly shut his mouth and focused on his breakfast.

“We’re currently about here,” Gray said, pointing at the map, “about three days’ journey from the nearest town. For these three days, we must stay alert. I have a bad feeling—whatever was stalking us last night might still be following.”

“Understood!” “Let’s get going then—today will be a tough one,” Gray said as he waved, and everyone packed up, formed a battle formation, and continued forward.

“Tian, don’t take out magic cores so casually. They’ll attract unwanted attention,” Jin said calmly to Ye Tian, who was lagging behind.

“I understand.” Now that he knew the origin and value of those stones, Ye Tian would be more careful in the future; he’d always known not to flaunt his wealth. The group marched on in silence, praying the journey home would be uneventful.

The day passed peacefully, but everyone was exhausted—except Ye Tian, who still looked energetic, as if he hadn’t tired at all.

“Tian, what’s your profession? You have such stamina,” Jin asked, panting, and looked enviously at Ye Tian, who was slim but remarkably fit.

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“Well, profession… I don’t really have one. If I had to say, I’d probably call myself a beggar.” Ye Tian thought for a moment, then answered.

“A beggar?” Jin eyed Ye Tian, whose coarse clothes were nonetheless very clean, and found it hard to believe.

“A beggar. I grew up begging,” Ye Tian said with a grin. He had no qualms about his past, nor did he see any reason to hide it.

“I’m impressed,” Jin said after a long pause.

“Tian, Tian, hurry and make dinner! I want grilled fish!” Lisa bounced over, grinning, and made her request loudly.

“Nope, someone said they wouldn’t eat my cooking tonight,” Ye Tian replied.

“Really? Who, who? Who said that?” Lisa looked around innocently, then shrugged. “No one did!”

“Shameless,” Ye Tian muttered, covering his forehead. Truly, girls were always unreasonable.

“I’ll go check if there’s a pond nearby.” Since everyone was exhausted, Ye Tian didn’t call Geer to come along and planned to go by himself.

“No need,” Lasse returned just then, carrying two chicken-sized magic beasts in his hands.

“We’ll have these for dinner,” Lasse said. “I already checked—there’s no water source nearby.”

“Then how are we going to clean and prepare these? Are we making clay-baked chicken?” Ye Tian looked at the two beasts, each the size of a fat goose, and sighed.

“No worries, Jin can help,” Lisa said with a grin, and Jin nodded behind her.

“How? Don’t tell me he can conjure water?” Liu Kai asked suspiciously.

With a flick of his hand, Jin produced a fist-sized ball of water that floated above his palm.

“He really conjured water!” Ye Tian exclaimed in surprise.

“There’s nothing to fuss about—Jin’s a magus. He doesn’t even need to chant for spells like that,” Lisa said with a pout.

“Oh, that’s amazing,” Ye Tian said, uttering words that nearly made Jin cough up blood. “Amazing?”

Ye Tian drew a kitchen knife from his back, stunning everyone except Geer, who’d already gotten over his surprise before.

“Tian, where did you hide your weapon?” Lasse asked curiously, never having noticed the square-bladed object at Ye Tian’s waist.

“It’s not a weapon, it’s a kitchen knife—used by cooks,” Ye Tian explained, and in no time at all, he gutted and cleaned the two beasts, then had Lisa dig a large pit. She went to do so, pouting in protest.

“Hey, what are you up to?” Geer asked curiously.

“Heh, just wait and see,” Ye Tian said, keeping it mysterious. Before long, Lisa returned, lips pursed; she’d never dug a hole at the church before—this was a first!

“Not bad. I’ll reward you with a chicken leg later!” Ye Tian laughed, asked Jin to conjure some water, and then used it to mix up a coating that covered the two “chickens.” “Jin, can you conjure a fireball?” Ye Tian asked.

With a whoosh, a fireball appeared in Jin’s hand.

“Perfect!” Ye Tian hurried to light the firewood, oblivious to the way Jin’s lips were twitching.

“What’s wrong?” Ye Tian asked, noticing Jin still wincing after everything was ready.

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“You really are odd—using a fireball spell just to light a fire!” Lisa blurted out.

“It’s so convenient. By the way, can you teach me that trick? Then I won’t need to carry flint on trips,” Ye Tian asked earnestly.

“Hmph!” Jin drew his robe tighter and turned away.

“What’s wrong with him? Did I upset him?” Ye Tian asked, puzzled, while the rest looked at him as if he were an idiot.

“Brother, you’re something else!” Geer walked over and patted Ye Tian. “Using a fireball spell to light a campfire—only you would think of that. It’s hilarious!” He laughed heartily.

Radon sighed and said, “Brother, you see, you just insulted Jin’s profession, so he’s angry.”

“Insulted? What did I do?” Ye Tian jumped, shocked. He’d only wanted to borrow a bit of fire—how did that insult him?

“Exactly!” Lisa chimed in. “No chicken leg for you,” Ye Tian declared, sentencing Lisa to death on the spot.

“Hmph, who cares? Who knows what disgusting things are inside those mud-covered beasts anyway!” Lisa said, losing her appetite as she imagined the magic beasts wrapped in mud.

“Gray, what’s the deal?” Ye Tian, at a loss, could only turn to Gray.

Gray hesitated, then gave a wry smile. “Well, you see, magic is for attacking, not for lighting fires. As for Jin using water magic to help us, that’s only because we have no other choice—otherwise, he wouldn’t do it.”

Ye Tian immediately understood—he’d offended Jin by trivializing his craft. He laughed and said, “Where I’m from, we have a saying: make the best use of everything. The point is to get things done—does it matter how? Besides, who says those spells are only for attacking?”

Everyone was stunned. Indeed, no law stated that magic had to be used for combat—it was just commonly accepted. Liu Kai suddenly slapped his forehead, and everyone stared in disbelief.

“It’s like a sword—in the hands of a villain, it’s used for robbery and murder; in the hands of a good person, it protects others. Can you say the sword itself is evil? No, it’s the heart that matters.” Ye Tian shrugged and continued.

Everyone looked at each other, speechless. Ye Tian’s words had completely upended their traditions, striking deeply at their hearts, and a strange feeling began to spread among them.

“The chicken’s done—who wants some?”