Although he’d accepted an escort mission, Qiyu actually didn’t know the way.

Fortunately, since the greatest threat to Leslie and his group was being hunted down, they knew the route back very well.

Ryan told Qiyu that it would take about a day and a half to travel from here through the Black Rock Mountain Range to Gold Hole City.

Qiyu appeared calm on the surface, but inside he was a little nervous: a day and a half—that meant he’d have to spend the night in the Black Rock Mountain Range. Nighttime… I wonder what the nights are like for the locals here. Is there black mist? Isn’t it terrifying? 

Ryan was undoubtedly an experienced guide; he knew every route through the Black Rock Mountain Range like the back of his hand—which paths were safer, where the strange beasts lurked, and where the scenery was best…

He hinted to Leslie that the route he’d chosen for his return trip was widely regarded as a “safe route”;  although the Black Goat was notorious, it generally didn’t break the unspoken rules.

Unless… someone had specifically paid to have the Young Master of the Borg Family killed.

Leslie smiled cheerfully, though it was unclear whether he had understood. It would be dark in about five minutes.

Qiyu unobtrusively gripped his staff tighter.

“Let’s rest here,” Ryan said.

Qiyu watched as he pulled out a packet of powder-like substance and scattered a wide circle around the center of where they were standing.

Noticing that Qiyu seemed to be observing him, he explained, “This is powder ground from the bark of the bitter-leaf tree. Most wild beasts and insects dislike its scent.”

Qiyu nodded. “Thank you for letting me know.”

Ryan waved his hand with a hearty laugh. “You’re too kind. It’s nothing rare—anyone who makes a living out here knows a thing or two about it.”

In the blink of an eye, Leslie’s attendant, Hugh, had built a fire. After Annie and Leslie exchanged a few words, Leslie quickly pulled out a pot and a bag.

Ryan shrugged. “The upside of traveling with the Young Masters is that at least the food’s pretty good.” He added enviously, “I wonder when I’ll be able to afford a storage item.”

A thought slowly crossed Qiyu’s mind. He pushed it aside, intending to test it out later if the opportunity arose. 

Soon, Annie had finished cooking a pot of soup filled with meat and vegetables. Hugh took a flatbread and toasted it over the fire.

Leslie wailed, “Why do we have to eat this again? I’m really sick of it.”

Annie grumbled, “But Young Master, you’re the one who insisted on dragging us to the Black Rock Mountain Range.” Hugh made a bitter face. 

“That’s right, Young Master. Once we get home, the head of the family is definitely going to punish us severely.”

Leslie：“……”

He deflated instantly and sighed, “Father will definitely hit me first. Don’t worry, I, the Young Master—I’ll take the brunt of it for you all.” 

Qiyu was served a bowl of meat soup and a fragrant, freshly baked flatbread.

Actually, he thought this dinner was just fine. Ryan, sitting next to him, clearly agreed; Qiyu even heard him muttering under his breath, making snide remarks like, “Young Master sure is delicate.”

During the meal, the others were quietly observing Qiyu. They had assumed that the wizard would remove his hood while eating.

Unfortunately, he didn’t.

The hood was truly strange—though it clearly wasn’t designed to completely cover the face, even when they stood directly in front of him, they couldn’t see the slightest hint of the hooded figure’s appearance.

It must be some kind of magic! 

In a sense, they weren’t wrong. By the time dinner was over, it had grown completely dark.

Qiyu remained on guard for a moment, only to discover that this night was completely different from the one in the Star Forest. There was no thick fog, and it didn’t transform into another world. 

It was just ordinary nightfall; the sky even grew dark bit by bit in a normal way. Just like a normal world—just like the post-apocalyptic world he had once lived in. 

It was still early for bedtime.

Both sides were very curious about each other and had questions they wanted to ask.

Leslie couldn’t hold back any longer: “Lord Yu, you don’t look like someone from Gold Hole City. May I ask where you’re from?”

Since the Survival Panel could display information about the Black Rock Mountain Range, and since he could name items from the Forest of Stars, it meant the Forest of Stars was a real place.

Qiyu didn’t beat around the bush and asked him, “I wonder if you’ve ever heard of the Star Forest?”

“The Star Forest?” Hugh scratched his head. “Young Master, have you heard of this place?”

Leslie: “It sounds somewhat familiar. Let me think.” Even Ryan, who was usually well-traveled, looked perplexed.

“Ah, I remember now,” Leslie suddenly clapped his hands. “I think I saw the Star Forest in a book once.”

He tried hard to recall: “It’s said to be an ancient place, once home to the elves. But later, the elves moved to a new realm, and the Star Forest was abandoned…”

He shook his head. “It was a storybook I read when I was a kid—I don’t remember it very well. My impression is that it was a desolate, uninhabited place.”

He suddenly realized something and exclaimed in shock, “Lord Yu, are you from the Forest of Stars?” Qiyu nodded.

Hearing what he’d just said, he quickly apologized, “I must have misremembered—I thought the Star Forest was uninhabited.”

“You aren’t wrong.” 

He thought to himself that the people living there now were all brought in from other planets. 

Leslie found it strange; when he first heard the name “Forest of Stars,” he could hardly recall any related memories. But as if forgotten memories were resurfacing—as if a layer of dust had been brushed away from the depths of his mind—he gradually began to remember quite a few things.

“I think I’m recalling a piece of information,” he mused. “It’s not as if I’ve had absolutely no contact with the Star Forest. When I was a child, I once attended an auction in the capital with my parents to an auction in the capital, where I heard about the Star Forest.”

“I don’t remember the details clearly,” he shook his head. “I just remember that elven items were expensive and highly sought after.”

“Now that you mention it, the Star Forest—I think I have a vague impression of it,” Ryan chimed in. “I seem to recall hearing a ballad sung by a minstrel. It’s said to be a very mysterious place; no one knows its exact location, and only those guided by fate can enter.”

As they talked, Qiyu seemed even more mysterious in the eyes of the group.

Leslie also asked Qiyu curiously if he was a dual-element mage; he had previously seen Qiyu cast a Fireball spell, and later saw him conjure a curtain of water. 

Qiyu hesitated for a moment, then nodded. 

“That’s truly remarkable,” Leslie marveled. “You sound quite young. A young dual-element mage like you surely has a bright future ahead.”

Leslie was indeed a delicate Young Master; before long, he began complaining that he was sleepy.

Qiyu watched as he pulled a large tent out of his storage item. Annie and Hugh went inside, presumably to tidy it up, and came out to tell him he could rest.

He warmly invited Qiyu to join him inside, but Qiyu declined.

With the biggest chatterbox off to sleep, Hugh and Annie were a bit reserved around Qiyu and didn’t say much.

Ryan, on the other hand, was very curious about the mage and the Star Forest, but he wasn’t very articulate. Since Qiyu didn’t initiate conversation, he didn’t know how to start, so in the end, he could only sit sulkily to one side, indicating that he would take charge of keeping watch that night.

Quiet fell over the camp.

This was Qiyu’s first time spending a night outdoors since entering the survival game.

But this kind of scene wasn’t unfamiliar to him. In his previous life, whether it was going out on missions with a group early on or traveling alone later, he had plenty of experience spending nights in the wild.

Come to think of it, being able to eat his fill and keep watch by the campfire would have been nothing short of a luxury in his previous life.

He didn’t find it hard at all.

He held out his right hand; the blue star pattern on his palm glowed faintly.

They couldn’t see it.

Whenever Bai deliberately tested them—by reaching for something or speaking while intentionally turning his palms toward them—no one could see the lines on his palms. 

The Survival Panel appeared before his eyes.

One of the pleasant surprises of arriving in the Black Rock Mountain Range was that the Survival Panel still worked. Ben God Has No Form had sent him a greeting a few hours earlier.

The regional channel for Server 01 was still filled with complaints about the incessant rain.

He opened his territory module; his subjects were all in good condition. The territory log showed that the territory had come under attack once today, but the crisis had been resolved in less than three minutes.

Everything was normal, and Qiyu breathed a sigh of relief.

He sent a message back to God Has No Form, who replied instantly.

【God Has No Form: Made it home safely?】

【I Love Survival Game: No, but things are better than I expected—I can use the survival panel normally here.】

【God Has No Form: Good to hear. Have you had dinner yet?】

【I Love Survival Game: Yes, thanks for asking.】

【God Has No Form: Since you’re not at the shelter tonight, stay safe and don’t get distracted. I won’t bother you anymore.】 

Qiyu closed the page, shut his eyes, and began meditating.

The night passed without incident.

In the morning, everyone else was in good spirits, except for Leslie, who had slept alone in a large tent. He looked listless and complained that the bed was too hard and uncomfortable; he’d woken up countless times throughout the night.

Breakfast was made by Annie again—a thick soup that smelled of cream and tasted sweet, with a slight fishy aftertaste. It wasn’t as good as God Has No Form’s cooking.

Qiyu wanted to take out a piece of jerky to eat, but he was a little stingy and didn’t want to share it with the others, so he decided to hold off. 18 “At this pace, we’ll be out of the Black Rock Mountain Range before noon,” Ryan said.

Leslie cheered, “Finally, we’re going home.”

He warmly invited Qiyu to visit the Borg Family.

Qiyu declined, saying he had other plans and would visit if he had time.

He wasn’t sure if simply escorting these people out of the Black Rock Mountain Range counted as completing the mission. Once the mission was complete, wouldn’t he be sent back immediately by the Wilderness Carriage?

The stretch of road they traveled that morning was already on the very outskirts of the Black Rock Mountain Range, and the people began to change. Qiyu felt a bit out of place—it had been a long time since he’d seen so many living people. As they reached a certain spot, a voice rang out in his mind:

【Player “I Love Survival Game” has successfully completed the commission. You may currently remain at the mission location for 24 hours or return to the shelter immediately. Do you wish to return to the shelter?】

24 hours?

Qiyu chose “No” without hesitation.

Ryan stopped in his tracks: “Young Master Borg, my mission is complete.”

Leslie quickly replied, “Okay, thank you so much for protecting me all this time, Ryan.”

Hugh took out a small pouch and handed it to him: “Lord Ryan, this is a small token of appreciation from our Young Master. Please don’t refuse it.” They had already paid the Adventurers’ Guild the commission for Ryan’s mission; this was a separate “tip.”

Ryan accepted it without hesitation, nodded to Qiyu, and quickly took his leave.

Leslie looked at Qiyu: “Lord Yu, where are you headed next?” 

Qiyu: “Based on what you’ve told me, I plan to pay a visit to the Mages’ Guild.”

Just as Leslie was about to say, “I’ll go with you,” a loud shout rang out from ahead:

“Leslie, you little brat!”

He immediately turned tail and bolted, not caring about anything else. 

Qiyu skirted around the group charging toward him and headed in the direction they had come from.

As they rounded a corner, the scene suddenly opened up before them.

A bustling crowd of people in all sorts of attire filled the street: vendors balancing fruit on their heads as they hawked their wares, merchants clutching wine jars and shouting out their prices, and warriors armed with weapons.

Everyone’s gaze fell upon him.

Curiosity, scrutiny, wariness…

Qiyu unflinchingly gripped his staff, a Fireball spell ready to be unleashed.

A short man slipped through the crowd and slid right up beside him, speaking enthusiastically: “Sir, my name is Qiao. May I ask if you need a guide? For just 10 copper coins, I can take you anywhere in Gold Hole City.” 

Copper coins?

Qiyu was puzzled. Aren’t Emerald Crystal Coins the standard currency? 

A clear, gentle voice came from inside the cloak. “Thank you, but I know the way.”

Ryan told him to just keep going straight along the road leading into town until he found the most imposing building.

He decided to check out the Mages’ Guild first.