By the time Yi Chen had freshened up, the sun was high in the sky, indicating that it was noon.

Just a few feet away from the shore, Yi Chen was sitting over a patch of grass, and in front of him, fire crackled as the smell of burnt wood pervaded the air.

Enjoying the scent he hadn’t experienced in years, he skewered the fish he had just gutted and placed them on top of the fire.

"A pity I’m out of all the spices..." he muttered with a bitter smile.

All these years, he had only been using very small amounts of them, but even then, it still ended up finishing a few weeks before the day they left the Frozen Ice Realm.

He clearly remembered Gao Zhen’s disappointed expressions whenever she saw him sprinkle as little spice as possible over the fish in order to make them last longer.

However, at times, her expressions prompted him to add a little more to her serving, just to see her expression brighten the next moment.

It was also for this reason that the spices were finished weeks earlier than he had anticipated.

*Chuckle*

"I bet she’s going to miss eating these," he muttered with a smile on his face while staring at the crispy fish being roasted above the flames.

A while later, he ate his fill before dousing the flame.

"HAAAAH!"

Stretching his arms as high as possible, he relaxed his stiff shoulders before falling flat on his back.

"Let’s see..." Yi Chen muttered while glancing at the vast blue sky in front of his eyes.

Admiring the sky for a couple of seconds, his mind soon busied itself. He was currently considering two options.

One was to immediately start packing and head north, as Gao Zhen had suggested in the letter. The other was to rest here for a day and start the journey tomorrow morning with adequate preparation.

Needless to say, the second option looked more enticing, especially when the wave of laziness after a good meal was taking over him.

However, just then, he was reminded of something important.

"Zhou Lan...they should have reached the Jade City by now, right?"

A trace of concern immediately formed on his face as he pushed himself up. Calculating the time once again in his head, the next moment.

"We spent almost seven days inside the Frozen Ice Realm...then, taking into account how I wasn’t dying from hunger after waking up, it shouldn’t have been more than two days since I was unconscious...if that’s the case, then yes, they must have reached Jade City a few days ago..."

As he finished those words, traces of doubt began forming in his mind.

’They would have safely reached by now, right? What if they encountered a problem on the way? The Great Divinator Guild, they would be able to heal her, right? What if they are unable to? What if the curse...’

There was no end to the uncertainties that kept popping up inside his mind. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"There’s no way I’ll be able to relax until I confirm things by myself." Yi Chen muttered to himself while hoping for the best.

Even though it would still take almost fifteen days to reach the Black Rock Kingdom, he still wanted to get there as fast as possible.

As a result, the previous desire to rest here for another day was immediately squashed.

Letting out a deep breath, he pushed himself up the next second before making his way towards the lake. He wanted to catch a bunch of fish so he’d have an adequate supply for the next few days.

However, before he started, he made sure to bury a tall enough stick in the ground and placed a rock on the tip of its shadow.

About twenty minutes later, Yi Chen’s storage ring was filled with a significant amount of fish.

Walking back towards the stick, he observed the change in the position of the shadow’s tip and placed another rock on that spot.

’Alright...so since the first spot I placed the stone is the western side and the other stone is on the eastern side...’

As he muttered those words, he soon aligned himself such that the western side was on his left and the eastern on his right.

Facing forward, he muttered the next instant.

"...That would be north then."

He noted the direction in his mind before moving towards the tent. A few minutes later, he had cleanly removed the tent materials and placed them all inside his storage ring.

"Let’s go then," he said while letting out a deep breath as his gaze fixed towards the north direction. The next moment, he softly nodded to himself.

’Bursting Fire Steps...’

A series of muffled bursts echoed as Yi Chen’s figure slowly disappeared into the woods.

It was right at that instant that a figure appeared out of thin air right next to the spot Yi Chen had been standing just a moment ago, her gaze firmly fixed in the direction he had just left.

Her eyes radiated with a regretful glint as she muttered softly, "I thought he would leave only by tomorrow..."

Keep thinking! That’s what you get for observing him all while concealing yourself. Just what was the point of doing all this? It’s not like he would have any clue as to what had happened.

The soul snorted with a frustrated tone and continued.

However, you didn’t! You didn’t listen to me at all, and this was the result. Now you won’t be able to see him for years! This is what you wanted, right? Stupid woman.

Instead of hiding all this, you should have just met him and said your goodbyes. Wouldn’t that have been much better than regretting it now?

To those words, Gao Zhen didn’t react immediately. In the last two days, she had grown used to the soul’s way of talking.

However, just because she was used to his way of speaking didn’t mean those words didn’t affect her.

"...After doing something like that to him, you expect me to face him as if nothing had happened?"

In the last few days, she had been trying to suppress and forget those memories as if nothing had happened, but no matter how many times she tried, they always snapped back at her.

She chuckled mockingly and continued, "You might be able to do that...However, I can’t...In the end...it doesn’t matter whether he knows or not, the fact remains that I’ve done something unforgivable."

If the soul had eyes, he would have rolled them at those words.

You stupid woman! What do you mean by something unforgivable? You saved his goddamn life! If anything, he should be grateful towards you!

It wanted to fill Gao Zhen’s ears with those words. However, it forced itself to remain quiet.

Not because he was worried about Gao Zhen, but because he didn’t want to get on her bad side any further. Now that he was forced to remain in her body, fuelling a hostile relationship would only come back to bite him later.

A while later, Gao Zhen’s body glowed with a subtle dark light.

The next moment, the protective barrier that had been cast around the tent site shattered as Gao Zhen’s figure darted through the sky in the direction of the Silver Cloud Kingdom with blinding speed.