"You like sour? What about sweets?" Astra asked, gasping loudly.
Kriya didn't know what to say, so he just hummed. Astra sighed and threw more wood into the fire, yawning.
"I'm feeling so sleepy… even though I literally slept all day," she yawned, stretching her arms. "I don't know what's happening to me my whole body feels weak."She looked at Kriya with tired eyes. "I think I'll fall asleep soon. Don't mind me, okay?"Kriya nodded, and as soon as he did, Astra lay down with a thud and closed her eyes.
For a while, Kriya sat still, adding wood to the fire in silence. Then, he stopped. His eyes lingered on the flames, then slowly shifted to her sleeping form. His face was calm, but something about his expression was… unreadable.
Reaching into his sleeve, he quietly pulled out a mask. He closed his eyes for a moment, then placed it over his face. He stood up, walked a short distance away, then turned back. Forming a hand sign, a faint chakra flickered around his fingers. He directed the chakra toward the tree above.
The tree responded its branches slowly began to stretch and grow, twisting down toward the ground, surrounding the area like a gentle dome. The light shimmered softly, and within seconds, everything was hidden. A small, glowing barrier formed before it faded, leaving the space completely invisible from outside.
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It was around mind night , and Zuzu stood in front of a group of guards, pacing furiously with a stick in his hand, looking like a furious squirrel.
"Useless! Absolutely useless trash!" he barked, slapping the stick against his palm. "How can all of you come back without His Highness? And what do you mean you couldn't find him anywhere in the entire town?! You were trained for eighteen hours a day to look after him! Do you even realise how serious this is?!"
One of the guards nervously stepped forward, stuttering, "W-We looked e-everywhere, but His Highness is not found. I w-wonder if h-he—"
"Shut up!" Zuzu snapped, eyes twitching. "I know exactly what you're about to say. You fools won't get a single minute of rest until you bring His Highness back. I've already received too many bird messages to count ….His Majesty is furious, and we have only three days to get back. We can't afford to delay more… Now SCRAM!"
The guards vanished like a gust of panicked wind. Zuzu slumped onto a nearby bench, sighing deeply. "Where did you run off to this time…"
Just then, a gentle tap on his shoulder made him jump. He spun around quickly, eyes wide.
"Your Highness?! Just where in the heavens did you disappear to?! Do you even know how much—"
"Where are my sour berries?" The prince's calm voice cut through Zuzu's panic like a knife through jelly. He stood there, smiling innocently, as if he hadn't just triggered his inner fear a moment ago.
Zuzu blinked at him, speechless, before muttering under his breath. "Sour berries… of course." Then louder, "Your Highness, just wait here. I'll get them. Please, don't disappear again."
He dashed off, and the prince casually plopped himself down on the bench, whistling to himself. A few minutes later, he heard Zuzu returning and gave him a wave.
Zuzu arrived, panting slightly, with a basket full of crimson berries."I searched the entire market to find these," Zuzu said, slightly out of breath as he placed the big basket next to the prince. "Went through a lot, you know. A girl even dashed into me while I was wandering around after i got lost."
The prince, took a berry and nodded, munching calmly while Zuzu continued picking out the good ones and handing them over one by one. This went on for a while until the basket was almost empty.
"I also found out she's staying at the same inn as us—"
Zuzu suddenly paused mid-sentence, his eyes landing on something in the basket. He reached in and pulled out a single earring.
"Oh… this is hers….."
"Zuzu, what's that?" Zuzu held the earring up between his fingers. "It's hers. Found it in the basket. Must've picked it up without noticing." The prince tilted his head, extending his palm. "Give it to me."
Zuzu immediately stepped back, eyebrows raised like he'd been asked to hand over a cursed object. "Your Highness, no. It's a woman's earring."
"So?"
"So?! You're on the cultivation path, remember? Avoid women, Avoid distractions. That's rule number one. Even their accessories are distractions!"
"Zuzu, it's just an earring. Not the woman herself."
"Doesn't matter! Anything related to women must be avoided if you want to strengthen your spiritual energy. Speaking of which… what happened to your clothes? You look like you got into a fight with the forest."
The prince stood up, brushing his clothes, which were clearly worse for wear covered in dirt and slightly torn. He strolled ahead, hands behind his back while Zuzu followed behind,
"I was just having a little fun with some bees," the prince said casually, still walking ahead. Zuzu blinked. "Bees?"
"Yes, bees. It was quite fun fight with them." The prince suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned to face him. "Zuzu… I need something from you now."
"Yes, Your Highness?"
"Can you tell me What's the medicine for a Queen Bee sting?"