"Did I remember it wrong?" The tour guide looked suspiciously at Nian, who was sitting beside Lin Ye. She was at the window of the bus. She was now looking at the outside excitedly.
They were now on the bus and waiting to go to the capital.
They were in the back row of the bus. They divided the seat into two, with three seats on each side.
On the left, there was Skadi, who was sitting at the window, Grani, who was in the middle and Warfarin at the end. Messiah was also with them, sleeping on Lin Ye's lap.
On the right, there was Nian, who was sitting at the window, Lin Ye, who was in the middle and their new group member at the end.
Now Lin Ye was being interrogated by the guide about Nian.
"Why do I remember that there seemed to be no children in your group before?" The tourist guide asked Lin Ye.
Lin Ye, without changing his face, explained the situation to her.
"You remember wrong, we have a child here. She was the one who quarrelled before that she wanted to go to the temple above. That's why we accompany her up there."
"... Is that so?" The tour guide nodded and said, "That is indeed a bad thing to do. After all, there was an earthquake last night. Fortunately, you are fine. If a tourist has a problem while travelling, I will be held responsible. It's better not to leave the group next time."
Lin Ye rubbed Nian's head and nodded at the woman, "Don't worry. We will take care of this child."
Because Messiah has become a cat and the sudden appearance of Nian, Lin Ye needed to explain this to their guide. Luckily, the number of tourists in his group was still the same. Nian was taking Messiah's place.
Although the tour guide was a little puzzled, there were too many people to contact every day, and it was impossible to remember all the people she needed to take care of. I lived
So she believed what Lin Ye said.
Then the woman noticed the sleeping cat on Lin Ye. She pointed at it, "Where did you get this cat from?"
"We... found it."
"You found it?"
"Yeah..." He racked his mind to come up with an excuse. Then he looked at Nian, "She wanted to bring it with us. She said that she wouldn't follow us back from the mountain if we said no."
Lin Ye patted her on the head. He was guilty of placing the blame on her, but he was stuck in the corner. Maybe he should buy some more chillis for her later? As an apology.
Nian was confused about why he was patting her, but she leaned into his palm.
"Okay, your family has a lot of things to do." The tour guide said helplessly, "But you need to take better care of your daughter and cat. After all, our plan has changed and we are going to various cities. One of them is one of the biggest in Yan. The fourth princess of the royal family is also there. Don't be reckless. If you get into trouble, it will be difficult for both of us."
Lin Ye nodded and smiled at the woman, "Okay, I will definitely be careful."
The woman nodded at him and left.
Then he realised something she said to him.
Why did she say that Nian was his daughter? That was ridiculous. Judging from their age, Nian was way older than him. Like centuries older.... Judging from his appearance, he was an older brother at most. Why was he a father?
...
Did he look old? Was it because of his bags? It must be the bags!
Lin Ye sighed tiredly at this. He was getting old too fast for his liking.
"Your luck is pretty good," At this time, a voice sounded in Lin Ye's ears, "It's just so happened that the engagement ceremony of the fourth princess will be held where we are going."
Lin Ye turned his head and FEater sat beside him. A pair of black sunglasses and a black face mask covered her face. On her head was a cap that covered her bear's ears.
"Why do you dress up like this?" Lin Ye was a little puzzled.
"To hide my identity," She whispered to him, "Have you forgotten who I am?"
"Who are you?" Lin Ye didn't remember.
"Are you trying to make me laugh?" She asked.
"Ah... I forgot," Lin Ye remembered, leaning back slightly into his chair, "I almost forgot that you are still an international movie star."
"Hey! Inside voice! Inside voice," She put a finger on her mouth and said to him, "Don't be too loud, I don't want others to know..."
He chuckled at this, "Tough being famous, huh Superstar?
"... Are you mocking me?" She glared behind her glasses at him, "The way so said it annoyed me."
"No, no, no." Lin Ye shook his head innocently. His eyes were not looking at her and were more focused on Messiah instead. She could see a smirk on his face, "How could I - a normal citizen - dare to mock you - an international movie star?"
"... Believe it or not, I can kick you. Don't test me, Hero" FEater rolled her eyes, but she was wearing sunglasses, so Lin Ye couldn't see it.
Lin Ye chuckled at this warning.
"By the way..." Lin Ye looked at FEater suspiciously, "You are not with the travel agency, no? Weren't you going to have a vacation at the temple? Why follow us?"
"Hey, don't think too much about that," FEater pulled down her mask and smiled at him, "But if you really want to know-."
"Not really."
"- I originally came here to relax and have fun," She ignored him and continued on, "I find it is more fun to follow you than to stay in the temple. Maybe you will meet another divine beast."
"... I would rather not," Lin Ye helplessly smiled at her. Then he looked at Nian enjoying patting Messiah on his lap, "One is enough for now. Maybe on a later date."
"I was just giving an example. Besides, I can help you a lot. I can't help you much here, but in Chang'an, I bring a lot of benefits to your group."
FEater took off her sunglasses and looked at Lin Ye, "You shouldn't want to stay in a cheap hotel booked by this travel agency, right? I can help you book the best suite in the best hotel there."
"Is that so," Lin Ye smirked. It was not like he minded her company, but he would like to hear what she could offer to them, "How good can that place be?"
"It's a place where the princess of Yan stays," She smirked at his question.
That was an impressive claim made by her.
Although he didn't know the said Princess, seeing that royalty was staying there must show how good that place was.
Now he realised something. He saw a lot of things by now.
God, angels, demons, soldiers, leaders, divines Beast, horrific being from the depth of the sea...
The list went on and on.
Maybe he would add princesses to that list after this trip? A fun thing to think about, but Lin Ye knew that would just bring him a lot of trouble.
Lin Ye also did not forget what was his main aim on this trip. They were going to research the race of pure humans in Yan. Although they were sidetracked by dealing with Nian, this was still the most important thing about this trip.
"We got lucky," Hearing Warfarin talking, Lin Ye looked at her, "I checked online. There is an enormous library in Chang'an. When we arrive there, we'll check the materials in that library."
"Wow." FEater looked at Warfarin with admiration, "You're really dedicated to your work. I actually thought of going to the library, but I have never been interested in reading," Then she looked at Lin Ye, "Maybe you can change that?"
Warfarin frowned slightly at this.
Lin Ye chuckled.
Then he noticed Skadi's glance at him, "Skadi? What's the matter?"
Skadi glanced at Lin Ye, and then to Nian, who was sitting beside Lin Ye. Then she said nothing and looked out of her window.
"Hey, I found something about Yan. The picture of the fourth princess of the country," Grani said, a little excited now, "She's so beautiful, let me show you."
Grani showed her phone to Warfarin.
"Is it just me?" Warfarin murmured, "I feel like someone she looks familiar."
"Gege! Look!" Nian called him as she pointed outside her window, "A bird!"
Following her finger, Lin Ye saw a bird flying high in the sky.
"A robin?" He noted. Strange. In this world, robins should only be found in Columbia.
Why was he seeing one here?
"A robin?" Nian tilted her head.
"That is the bird's name," Lin Ye smiled at how curious she was, "Seeing one has a meaning."
"What is it!?" She became interested.
"Well," He chuckled at how cute she was, "When you see a robin bird, it means that a family member wants to see you."
"Really?" She looked confused, "But that makes little sense, Gege."
"Why so?" He hummed.
"Because you're here!" Nain said, "Why would I miss you?"
Lin Ye's eyes widened. He then gently smiled at her. His hand slowly patted her head.
"Yes, I am here," He smiled, "I won't be leaving you anytime soon."
Nian smiled back at him.
Lin Ye then looked outside of the window. His eyes narrowed when he saw where the robin was going.
Up to the mountain peak.
{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}
A robin flew across the sky. It enjoyed the feeling of the wind hitting its tiny body. It then slowly flew up Fubo mountain.
As it was flying up the mountain, it slowly got tired.
Its small body pushed through. There was something that it needed to see.
Finally, after much effort, it arrived at the top of the mountain.
It then saw a tree.
A maple tree.
As the bird quickly made its way to the tree, it saw a person sitting under it.
It was a man covered from head to toe with a white cloth. The only feature that could be seen on him was under his hood, two blue orbs shone brightly.
It flew to the mysterious man. The man heard the bird coming to him. He only put up his finger, and the bird landed on it.
The man hummed and brought the bird near to his face. He gently patted the bird.
"Hello there," He whispered, "Something you need to tell me?"
It chirped at him happily, like it was telling him something.
"Nian went with him?" He hummed. A smile slowly formed under his robe. "... Good for her then."
He held up his other hand out. Nothing was in it.
He balled it into a first. Then he slowly opened it again. Now in his palm, there were a few berries. Seeing this, the robin became excited.
The man moved the berries to the bird, and it ate them.
"Thank you for telling me." He said. The bird did not reply to him, too busy eating.
The man chuckled and moved his head towards where the city of Chang'an was.
He closed his eyes and hummed.
"Hope he can entertain me more there."
{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}
Draft: Jaq
Proofread: Jaq, Mint
Edit: Jaq