A fantastical journey across the heavens, beginning with the Witcher.

Startled by the teasing, the ghouls instantly abandoned their prey in the tree, their murky eyes fixed on Li De, and they all turned around and pounced on him.

Li De suddenly exerted force with his feet, the soles of his boots crushing the thick layer of decaying leaves in the forest. Instead of retreating, he advanced, charging head-on into the ghoul horde.

The silver sword was drawn, its cold, piercing light tearing through the darkness of the forest; the first strike was a brutal, heavy slash.

The giant ghoul at the forefront, spitting out foul-smelling saliva, leaped into the air with its powerful body, attempting to tear its prey to shreds in one bite.

They were met with a dazzling sword light brimming with power, and then everything went black.

puff!

The sharp silver sword cleaved the monster in two, its corpse crashing heavily to the ground and sliding behind Li De with its momentum. Its terrifying giant claws were still twitching unconsciously.

Geralt, not one to stand idly by in the tree, gripped the branch and leaped into the air, his heavy body slamming into the back of a ghoul. His silver sword pierced the monster's head, cleanly and decisively ending its life.

The impact of the landing shook his injured internal organs, and the dull pain that followed made his eye twitch.

A putrid stench assaulted their senses, and the remaining ghouls, drooling, surrounded Li De.

Even after witnessing their companions being brutally cleaved in two, these monsters showed no sign of backing down.

Any creature that is attacked will feel pain and fear, but ghouls will not feel that!

If ghouls could talk, they would definitely reply angrily: You're talking nonsense!

Li De moved with agility, dodging and weaving through the frenzied monsters. No matter how these bloodthirsty monsters tore at and bit him, they couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes.

On the contrary, the silver sword in his hand could easily reap the life of a monster with each flash of its light.

Geralt immediately joined the battle from the side, forming a perfect teamwork with Li De.

Both were disciples of Vesemir and had known each other for many years, developing a tacit understanding that required no words. With just a glance, they understood each other perfectly and joined forces to break up the ghouls' formation.

The threat of five ghouls and ten ghouls is not simply a matter of x2.

The monster horde was torn in two, and two battle-hardened demon hunters each guarded one side, unleashing their masterful demon-hunting swordsmanship in a one-sided massacre.

After just a dozen or so breaths, the last ghoul collapsed heavily to the ground, and the surroundings returned to complete silence, leaving only the heavy stench of blood slowly dissipating in the evening breeze.

Li De flicked the blood off his sword and sheathed it. Before he could even ask a question, he saw the white wolf spit out a mouthful of black blood.

Holy crap!

Li De's expression changed drastically. He quickly pulled out a bottle of Swallow Potion, uncorked it, and poured it into Geralt's mouth while cursing.

"No way, if you're injured, don't you dare start fighting!"

After swallowing the medicine, its effects quickly spread throughout the body.

Geralt's rapid breathing gradually calmed down, his pale face visibly regained its color, and his mental state improved significantly.

"It's alright now. The blood clots were stuck in my chest wall, and vomiting them out actually made me feel much better."

"Don't tell me it was internal injuries from being beaten by a bunch of ghouls. If the old man finds out, he'll definitely give you a good beating for months."

Geralt rubbed his still aching chest and couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.

"Don't even mention it. I've had the worst luck lately. The short-range portal malfunctioned and the exit opened into the sky. When I landed, I crashed right onto a rock, and then I was surrounded by a horde of ghouls."

"And you? What are you doing in Sintra? There's still war going on here, it's dangerous everywhere."

"Sintra?"

Li De raised an eyebrow in surprise, "This is the border of Brug. If we go another ten miles or so, we'll reach Temuria."

"What?"

White Wolf's expression changed, and he said through gritted teeth.

"It must be some magical entity near Sintra interfering with the portal. I need to go back."

He then turned to leave.

Li De grabbed him, knowing he was anxious to find his daughter, but deliberately kept him in suspense.

"What's the rush? You don't even have a horse. How are you going to get back? Come with me first. I'll take you to see someone."

Geralt was filled with anxiety, but there was no other way to get around, so he could only follow Li De back the way he came out of the dense forest.

As dusk settled and a cool evening breeze blew, the carriage sat quietly by the roadside, its interior sealed shut, from which faint, rustling sounds could be heard.

Li De stood beside the carriage, pointed to the closed door, and a mysterious smile appeared on his lips.

"I'll give you three chances to guess who's inside. And here's a hint: this person is very important to you."

Without horses to take them, they certainly won't be able to get back to Sintra in time.

Since things had come to this, Geralt simply accepted this inappropriate little game.

Without a second thought, the name that tugged at his heartstrings came out: "Yennefer?"

Li De smiled and shook his head: "Although your on-again, off-again relationship is more outrageous than a soap opera, I would never steal my brother's girlfriend."

Geralt wanted to say Vesemir, but he figured the old man wouldn't play along with Reed's nonsense, so he changed the name again.

"Dandelion?"

Li De continued to shake his head, his tone dismissive.

"If he is that dissolute poet, he only deserves to be tied to a horse."

Geralt went through all the people he knew in his mind, pondered for a long time, but still couldn't come up with a solution. So he simply made a joke, saying it in a self-deprecating way.

"Who else could it be? It can't be my son who was lost away from home."

It was originally a joke about giving up and not caring about anything.

But after he finished speaking, Li De smiled without saying a word.

Geralt's smile froze instantly, his heart pounded, and an absurd yet perfectly fitting answer flashed into his mind.

He asked tentatively in a low voice, somewhat incredulously, "Is...is it Ciri?"

Li De stepped aside to open the car door, tilting his head slightly: "See for yourself."

The moment Geralt received the reply, he felt as if his brain had been struck by a heavy hammer, and all the anxiety and worry of the past few days erupted at that moment.

He could no longer maintain his usual aloofness and composure, and strode to the front of the carriage, trembling as he opened the door.

Inside the carriage, Ciri was leaning back in her seat, idly fiddling with the straw rope between her fingers.

Upon hearing the door open, she instinctively looked up and immediately saw a familiar face in the doorway.

"Geralt!"

Ciri's eyes widened instantly, and she spoke softly in disbelief, her little face full of surprise and astonishment.

The white wolf, who often boasted that he had "lost most of his human emotions in the Trial of the Grass," couldn't hold back any longer.

He held Ciri carefully, his movements as gentle as if he were holding the most precious and fragile treasure in the world.

"I went to Sintra to look for you, but Calanther wouldn't let me take you with me... How did you end up here?"

Geralt gently stroked the girl's hair, his voice trembling with excitement.

He had imagined many scenarios for their reunion, but he never expected to meet his destined woman, who had arrived more than a decade late, here.

Ciri has been very obedient these past few days.

She was afraid that Li De would see her as a burden and abandon her, and that the Nilfgaards would catch up with her, so she kept suppressing her emotions.

The moment Geralt saw him, all the hardships of the past few days, the fear of witnessing war, and the grief of losing his grandmother erupted completely.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she could no longer hold back her sobs as she burst into tears, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.

"Grandma...Grandmother...Li De...I...Waaaaah!"

She tried several times to stop crying, but failed each time.

In the end, all the fear and sadness turned into unstoppable tears.