Chapter 409 – Traveling in the Rain

Chapter 409 – Traveling in the Rain

The next morning at six-thirty—the agreed-upon wake-up time.

Those who had been reading, practicing Magic, or crafting magical items all set aside their work and emerged from their tents at the same time.

Mo Lan looked at them—same outfits as yesterday, same hairstyles, and just like her, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed without the slightest hint of having just woken up. “Didn’t sleep?”

“Didn’t sleep.” ×3

“The meditation technique is really amazing. Forty minutes of meditation leaves you in better shape than a full night’s sleep,” Lilith said. “Now I finally understand how mages are all so learned.”

“I understand too,” Vasida said. “It’s because they all use meditation instead of sleep. Out of twenty-four hours in a day, they spend twenty-three studying, and the rest meditating.”

Sylph nodded vigorously. “We’ll have to be extremely careful among humans. People who could develop something like the meditation technique to replace sleep—every single one of them must be just like Moira…” Terrifying.

She swallowed those last two words back down her throat, but Lilith and Vasida instantly understood what she meant.

“???” Mo Lan felt like she was being subtly roasted. “What about me?!”

“Let’s go, let’s go! Sylph, let’s have the Burrowing Mushrooms head back to the surface! Everyone pack up your tents—we’re getting ready to move out! We’ll eat breakfast on the flying carpet!”

Lilith swiftly changed the subject while scurrying back to her own mushroom chamber.

Then she quickly separated her Burrowing Mushroom from Sylph’s and had it burrow toward the surface.

Vasida and Sylph each went their own way too—one to pack up her tent, the other to communicate with the Burrowing Mushrooms.

Mo Lan: “…”

*

After transforming the tents back into Tent Cards and putting them away, the mushroom chambers returned to the surface. A small door opened in the wall, and Mo Lan and the others filed out one by one.

Vasida looked at the dim sky. “It’s not light yet?”

“At this time of year, it shouldn’t be this dark!” Lilith said. “The water elemental force in the air is a bit dense. Is it because we’re getting close to Emerald Creek Plains, or because…”

“There will be three continuous hours of heavy rain over this area this morning. But on the bright side, there won’t be any thunder.” Mo Lan had already divined the weather with her Weather-Reading Spell. “In ten minutes, the rain will start coming down.”

“Quick, quick, quick! Little Mushroom! Shrink down and get back in the planting pot!” Lilith hurriedly pulled out the planting pot, using Hybrid Magic to urge the Burrowing Mushroom back inside. “Little Vine, you hurry back too! It’s about to rain.”

Sylph’s Burrowing Mushroom didn’t need any urging—the moment Sylph took out the planting pot, it hopped right back in on its own.

Bi’er sniffed the air. “Sylph, I smell blood!”

“Blood?” Sylph was instantly on alert.

“Over there!” Bi’er pointed to where the Vampire Vine had been rooted.

Zhizhi unzipped Mo Lan’s satchel and poked her head out, pointing at that spot. “Zhizhi!” Dead!

Little Vine, having just shrunk down and about to hop back into the planting pot, guiltily pawed at the patch of grass it had disturbed.

One look and Lilith knew exactly what had happened. “Don’t worry—Little Vine caught some prey last night. The leftover bone fragments are probably still buried in the dirt!”

Sylph let out a sigh of relief.

After putting away the Burrowing Mushrooms and the Vampire Vine, Lilith pulled out the flying carpet and activated the wind and rain shield. “Everyone get on, quick! The rain’s almost here.”

All four of them boarded the flying carpet. It rose slowly into the air, and before they had even flown a hundred meters, fat raindrops came pelting down from the clouds.

But it didn’t affect the four Sorceresses on the carpet in the slightest.

Vasida used her Light spell to condense a glowing orb that floated high above their heads.

The small area on the flying carpet became the sole bright haven amidst the dark clouds and driving rain.

“This feeling is actually rather nice!” Sylph said, watching the rain outside the shield.

“Same principle as how rainy days are perfect for staying home and sleeping,” Mo Lan said.

“The principle is sound, but… Moira, would you really stay home and sleep on a rainy day instead of reading?” Vasida said in astonishment.

Lilith set the flight path and let the carpet fly forward on autopilot, then ventured a guess. “Must have been in your previous life?”

Mo Lan nodded.

Only the version of her that had never experienced the apocalypse could have been both so weak and so carefree.

“Ahem! Hungry, aren’t we?” Lilith produced a large flat-bottomed pan. “Today’s breakfast is jianbing guozi—I learned it from an Earth recipe book!”

“Senior, just how many recipe books have you read?” Vasida asked in surprise.

“When I get a craving, I flip through cookbooks and try out new dishes!”

Lilith pulled out tools and ingredients as she spoke. “I’ve made this one many times already—I can handle it entirely with Culinary Magic. I guarantee it’ll taste more normal than last night’s cake.”

“Earth cuisine! That should be good.” Sylph and Bi’er both felt a spark of anticipation.

Mo Lan eyed the pan and got a bad feeling. “You’re making it with that pan?”

“The Mobile Kitchen Tool Card doesn’t have a matching griddle, but this flat-bottomed pan works too—it can spin on its own!”

Lilith had also shaped her Wand into ring form. With a subtle flick of her fingers, she activated Culinary Magic, and the cookware in the center of the carpet began moving on its own.

Lilith was right—as long as the pan could spin on its own, and the heat and oil were properly controlled, a flat-bottomed pan could make jianbing guozi just fine.

It actually looked quite authentic!

But when it came to the sauce step, Lilith seemed to have her own interpretation.

“I’ve got red berry jam, Earth salad dressing, ketchup, and honey ghee… Which do you want? Or all of them?” Lily asked.

Sylph: “Bi’er and I both want the red berry jam, with extra greens please.”

“Then I’ll have the Earth salad dressing!” Vasida said.

“Moira, what about you? I strongly recommend the honey ghee flavor! It’s my absolute favorite!” Lilith said.

Mo Lan: “…”

She knew exactly what Lilith meant by honey ghee. Unlike Earth’s blend of honey and clarified butter, Valen’s honey ghee came from a magical beast called the oil bomb bee.

It was a special honey-oil made by pressing the oil bomb bee’s honey together with its honeycomb.

Its usage was actually similar to jam—spread on bread and eaten.

The taste and texture were actually quite good, but it was sweet!

Sweet jianbing guozi—the very thought was unimaginable. Mo Lan hurriedly said, “Don’t you have any savory or spicy sauce?”

“Yes! Earth Lao Gan Ma chili sauce—you want that?” Lilith said.

Although it was a far cry from the hand-mixed sauce Mo Lan would have preferred, Lao Gan Ma was still leagues better than honey ghee. “That’s the one!”

“Alright then!” Lilith pulled out the chili sauce with a hint of disappointment.

One jianbing guozi, different sections spread with different sauces, rolled up, then sliced into four large portions and one small one.

She distributed them according to everyone’s chosen flavor. “Start eating—the second one will be ready in no time!”