Conquer the other worlds with abandon, they've fallen in love with me!

But just then, Lilia's gaze swept over the shady side of a rock by the stream, where a small patch of pink flowers was growing.

The petals are very thin, with slightly curled edges, as if they were wrinkled by the wind.

She walked over, squatted down, and reached out to touch one of the flowers; the petals trembled at her fingertips.

"Sena, look at this—" she said in a lower voice, with a hint of curiosity.

Sena came over, and the two of them squatted side by side by the rock.

The small flowers grew densely in the cracks of the rocks, and their color was light pink, with the part near the pistil being a darker shade.

Sena reached out and touched it too. As soon as her fingertips touched the petals, a sweet, cloying scent wafted over her.

Lilia took a deep breath, and the sweet taste slid down her nose. Suddenly, she felt weak all over, and her knees hit the ground.

"What...what does this taste like?" Her voice changed, becoming much lower than before, with an indescribable softness.

Sena smelled it too.

When that scent entered her nose, she felt as if something was flowing down with her breath.

Xiao Fu felt warm for a moment, then quickly warmed up again, as if being slowly soaked in warm water.

"...How strange~" Sena's voice softened.

They looked at each other, and both of their faces turned red.

Lilia rested her hands on her knees, her breathing becoming heavy. She looked down at herself, then looked up at Lin Yu in the distance.

Lin Yu was squatting by the fire with his back to them, turning over the meat, and didn't notice the commotion.

Lilia picked the flower up from the ground, glanced at it, and then put it down again.

The edges of the petals were already a little wilted, but the sweet scent still lingered on her fingertips.

"Let's go~" She stood up, her legs were a little weak, and she stopped after taking two steps.

Sena followed behind her, her steps unsteady. When they reached the fire, the two of them squatted down at the same time, squeezing to Lin Yu's side from either side.

Lilia spoke first: "Lin Yu~"

Her voice was lower than usual and a little hoarse.

She looked up at him, her eyes reddened, her lips slightly parted, and her breath hot.

Sena didn't say anything, but her knees were already pressed against Lin Yu's legs, and she was practically leaning on his arm.

Her head was tilted slightly, her cheek pressed against his shoulder.

Lin Yu put down the branch in his hand, turned his head to look at them, and quickly noticed something amiss:

"Did you smell those little pink flowers?"

Lilia nodded, then shook her head, as if she didn't know what to say.

"That's one of the ingredients for refining the Awakening Elixir." Lin Yu stuck the branch into the edge of the fire and patted the ash off his hands.

"If you smell it alone, it will make you seem strange."

……

……

As the sun began to slant westward, the three extinguished the fire, cleaned up the broken bones and charcoal ash on the ground, and put the unused pieces of meat into their storage magic bags.

When Lin Yu stood up, Lilia and Sena also stood up. Their legs were still a little weak, but they stood relatively steadily.

Instead of taking them directly back to the manor, he first went to the market.

The market is even more lively in the evening than during the day, with lights on both sides lighting up one after another, casting a warm yellow glow on the stone pavement.

The crowd moved between the stalls, the shouts, laughter, and the sound of spatulas hitting iron pots mingling together, scattered and then gathered again by the evening breeze.

Lilia walked on Lin Yu's left, and Sena walked on his right, both holding his hands.

As Sena walked past a wooden sign covered with notices, she slowed her pace and her gaze fell on one of the papers.

The paper was pale yellow, with copper nails at the edges, and several lines of text were printed in red ink.

Sena leaned closer to look and whispered:

"...The touring troupes will arrive in Windchime Town in four days for a ten-day performance in the central square...to celebrate the triennial 'Windchime Lantern Festival'..."

"Lantern Festival?" She looked up, her gaze falling on the gold-painted title at the top of the paper.

Lilia leaned over from the side, rested her chin on Sena's shoulder, and stared at the notice for a few seconds.

Her eyes slowly brightened: "So the Lantern Festival is almost here."

She straightened up, her voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement: "I heard from Sister Vera that performance troupes from all over the southern part of the kingdom will be coming."

Sena didn't speak, but her feet didn't move.

His gaze remained fixed on the paper, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curved into a slight smile.

She had never experienced these things before. In Lanchi Village, the most exciting thing was nothing more than group hunting.

She had no idea what a lantern festival, with its parades and performances, was.

Lin Yu stood behind them and reached out to pat the tops of their heads.

"Then I'll take you to see it when the time comes."

Sena's eyelashes fluttered, and she looked up at him: "Really?"

"Um."

Lilia had already grabbed Lin Yu's arm and swayed it, her voice filled with excitement: "Can I ride on your back? That way we can see even higher~"

Hearing this, Lin Yu crouched down a bit, put his arms under the two girls' legs, and lifted them up together.

Lilia and Sena's feet left the ground at the same time, their ankles overlapping at Lin Yu's waist, their skirts hanging down to cover his hands.

Lilia's foot wobbled, and she turned her head to look at Lin Yu, her cheeks still flushed.

"Didn't you get enough riding in the forest?" Lin Yu's voice carried a hint of amusement, neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for the two of them to hear.

Lilia's ears instantly turned red. She turned her head and buried her face in Lin Yu's neck, her voice muffled in his collar:

"I didn't say that kind of riding..."

Sena did not respond.

She buried her face in Lin Yu's other shoulder, her hand gripping the fabric of his shirt, her fingertips slightly curled.

Lin Yu carried them a few steps, his boots making a slow, steady sound as they stepped on the stone pavement.

The oil lamps on the street cast long shadows of the three people, which then gradually shortened and swayed alternately.

"Speaking of which," Lin Yu turned his head, his lips brushing against the top of Lilia's head:

"This is the first time you've done this together. You can do it often in the future."

Lilia lifted half her face from the crook of his neck, not looking at him, but her voice was a little steadyer than before: "...Mm."

Sena didn't say anything, but gently kissed Lin Yu on the cheek, which was her way of agreeing.

......