38 Sorrow (2/2)

”It might seem natural to you, but in this world, it's harder to find one such as this than to find a phoenix feather or reverse scale.”

Van smiled. He wanted to become friends with this girl. He felt that he could trust her. Besides, if she could casually wander in the City Lord Palace's Garden, he knew that she was trusted by his teacher.

She stared at him blankly before standing up.

”Hey! Where're you going?”

Van stood up after her, getting ready to chase after her and return the napkin if she took off. Instead, she started to climb the tree. She hopped from branch to branch until she made it to a nice large one with a spot that was perfect for sitting on. She picked the fruits from above her and started to munch on them casually. Van walked to the trunk of the tree and started to climb up also. He bumped his head on a branch and looked up in response.

His face turned a deep shade of red as he got an eyeful. He immediately put his head down and tried to get the rest of the way up without looking up. When he made it up, she had already started on her 3rd spiritual fruit. They were shaped like pears but had a sweet tangy taste to them. Van sat down next to her and grabbed fruit from above, before taking a large bite.

The two just sat there and watched the trees and the grass sway in the wind. Then, the girl suddenly turned towards Van and started to speak up once more.

”You saw it didn't you.”

Van's face had just turned back to its previous color, but it once again flushed.

”I didn't see anything.”

He said as he looked to the side.

”Don't do it again. I will kill you.”

”I swear it was just an accident!”

”I know and that's why you aren't dead.”

Van smiled wryly. They continued to sit there and stare off into the distance until Van started to think about what she had just said.

Wait. She said that she could kill me. Could she really kill me though? I'm at the 1st Stage of Inner Discovery.

Van had an idea pop into his head and released his divine sense to check her cultivation. His eyebrows raised in shock.

He couldn't even detect a hint of an aura from her, but she was obviously a cultivator or she wouldn't be able to casually munch on these rare spiritual fruits.

There was only one explanation. She was at least at the 5th Stage of Inner Discovery.