This trip to the Glorious Domain was different from the one to the Monte Region.
While the competitions in the Monte Region were intense, at least there was a fixed schedule and a clear return date. This time, heading to Glorious Domain early, aside from checking in and adapting to the environment, she had no idea how long they would stay.
She folded several changes of clothes and placed them in her suitcase, then packed Ziyue's, Chiying's, and Jinyao's latent energy pills separately.
Jinyao squatted beside the suitcase, curiously watching her pack things inside.
“Yanyan?”
“Packing,” Liu Yi said without looking up. “We're leaving for the Glorious Domain tomorrow.”
Jinyao's eyes lit up.
“Yanyan! Yanyan!”
That's the place with lots of Fire-type pets!
“Yes,” Liu Yi nodded. “That's the place.”
Jinyao's tail wagged frantically, and the entire lion spun around the suitcase, so excited it wished they could leave right now.
Ziyue jumped off the bed, walked to the suitcase, and gently nudged the folded clothes inside with her paw.
“Bingbing?”
Do you need my help?
“No need,” Liu Yi said, reaching out to rub Ziyue's ear. “Just help me keep an eye on Jinyao; don't let it mess up the suitcase.”
Ziyue nodded, gently circled Jinyao's body with her tail, and dragged it away from the suitcase.
Jinyao stumbled from being dragged but didn't struggle, obediently squatting nearby.
Chiying hovered above the suitcase, watching Liu Yi pack things inside.
“Mo?”
Leaving tomorrow, should we take Jinyao to the training ground for some more practice today?
Liu Yi thought for a moment, then nodded. “Good idea. I'll take it to the backyard for a bit more practice this afternoon. I'll finish packing this morning.”
Chiying nodded and went directly to the backyard to train by itself.
...
Friday, November 7th.
At seven twenty, the doorbell rang.
“Coming!” Auntie Chen hurried to open the door.
Wei Xiuyu stood outside, dressed in a dark gray casual outfit, with only a black backpack on her back and no suitcase.
“Morning. Ready?”
Her gaze swept past Auntie Chen and landed on the silver suitcase in the center of the living room.
“Ready.” Liu Yi dragged the suitcase to the door. “Teacher Wei, you only have one bag?”
Wei Xiuyu patted the backpack on her shoulder. “It's enough. Let's go.”
Auntie Chen saw Liu Yi to the door. “Remember to text me when you arrive.”
“Okay.”
Liu Yi, dragging her suitcase and accompanied by Ziyue, Chiying, and Jinyao, followed Wei Xiuyu out of the house.
Auntie Chen stood at the doorway, watching the black sedan gradually disappear around the street corner, still clutching a corner of her apron.
Fluffy Butler floated beside her, its fur changing from pink back to white, then to a faint blue.
“Quan Quan.” Boxing Bunny squatted at Auntie Chen's feet, looking up and chirping.
Auntie Chen looked down at it and smiled. “It's alright, they're not gone forever.”
She turned and walked back into the house, with Fluffy Butler and Boxing Bunny following behind her, their footsteps remarkably clear in the quiet living room.
Longwu Beast Tamer Association, second basement floor, dedicated directional teleportation array hall.
The entire hall was circular, with the floor paved with dark gray energy-conducting materials, its surface adorned with intricate patterns, as if a complex array pattern had been magnified and etched onto the ground.
“We're here.”
Wei Xiuyu's voice came from ahead; she was speaking in a low voice with a staff member wearing a Beast Tamer Association uniform.
Liu Yi walked over, dragging her suitcase.
“So this is Student Liu Yi?” The staff member was a middle-aged man in his fifties, with a nameplate on his chest that read “Supervisor.”
“Hello,” Liu Yi nodded politely.
The male Supervisor's gaze lingered on her for a moment, then fell upon Ziyue and Chiying, before shifting to the small golden lion at her feet.
“Is this the Radiance Shift Blazing Lion that Wei mentioned?” His tone carried a hint of undisguised curiosity.
Liu Yi nodded.
“May I take a look?” The male Supervisor crouched down. Jinyao tilted its head, watched him for two seconds, then turned to Liu Yi.
“Yanyan?”
“Let him see,” Liu Yi said softly.
Jinyao turned back, took two steps towards the male Supervisor, and looked up.
The male Supervisor carefully observed Jinyao's fur color, mane, and unique golden eyes.
“It is indeed a Radiance Shift individual,” he stood up and turned to Wei Xiuyu. “And this fur color… I've worked in the Glorious Domain for over a decade and seen many Blazing Lions, but I've never seen this particular color.”
Wei Xiuyu looked at Liu Yi, then at the male Supervisor, a slight curve on her lips. “You worked in Glorious Domain?”
“That was ten years ago,” the male Supervisor said with a hint of nostalgia in his voice. “I was working at the Beast Tamer Association in the Saint Candle Region back then, and later transferred back to Longwu. The Blazing Lion tribe there, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they're the symbol of Saint Candle.”
He paused, his gaze returning to Jinyao. “If they knew a Radiance Shift individual had been contracted by a Beast Tamer from Longwu, their reaction would surely be interesting.”
Liu Yi didn't respond.
The male Supervisor withdrew his gaze and turned to walk towards the center of the hall. “The teleportation array is ready. Please follow me.”
In the center of the hall, a circular area about ten meters in diameter emitted a faint golden glow. The array patterns on the ground became denser in this area, their complexity far exceeding those on the periphery.
The male Supervisor walked to the control panel at the edge of the area, his fingers rapidly moving across the screen.
“Directional teleportation array, destination: Saint Candle Region Beast Tamer Association, Glorious Domain. Teleportation will take approximately three minutes. You may experience slight dizziness during the process; please do not panic.”
He pressed the activation button.
The array patterns within the circular area suddenly lit up, and golden light rose from the ground, interweaving in mid-air to form a hemispherical light shield. The air inside the shield began to distort, as if scorched by high temperatures.
“Please stand in the center of the teleportation array,” the male Supervisor said.
Liu Yi walked in, dragging her suitcase, with Ziyue by her side. Chiying flew into the light shield from her side, and Jinyao was cradled in her arms.
Wei Xiuyu stood beside her, hands in her pockets, her expression calm.
The male Supervisor walked to the control panel and reconfirmed the data: “Coordinates locked, energy stable, array patterns functioning normally. Teleportation will begin in ten seconds.”
“Ten, nine, eight…”
Jinyao poked its head out from Liu Yi's arms, curiously looking at the surrounding light shield.
“Seven, six, five…”
The light shield grew increasingly brighter, with golden light surging from all directions, filling their vision.
“Four, three, two…”
Jinyao suddenly retreated into Liu Yi's arms, burying its face in her elbow.
“One, teleport!”
The golden light instantly swallowed everything.
Rate on N.U.
