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“Come here.” The voice was crisp and cold, melodious like the song of a lark, yet it unmistakably belonged to a young girl. It carried none of the aged gravitas Liana had expected.

‘But really, Liana, do not be fooled. For a thousand-year-old monster like this, deceiving someone like me would be as easy as coaxing a child.’ Liana raised her head and forced out a strained smile. “Um… Mountain Ghost… I know I was wrong. Could I maybe not come over?”

“What do you think?” the Mountain Ghost replied coldly. Under the moonlight, the large swelling on her forehead was clearly visible.

‘So even the Mountain Ghost could be injured,’ Liana thought. Only then did she notice that the Mountain Ghost’s long, smooth hair was actually golden. It looked as though it had been spun from pure gold, bright and silky, spilling through the vines. With the light so dim, it was no wonder Liana had not noticed it at first.

‘Golden hair, though, was unheard of. Was it dyed? So even the Mountain Ghost chased after trends.’ Liana could not help thinking foolishly.

‘No, no. Now’s not the time to be thinking about that.’ She shook her head hard, driving all those strange thoughts out of her mind.

Knowing she could no longer escape, Liana lowered her posture as much as possible and pleaded sincerely. “Then, Mountain Ghost, I will come over, but could you please not eat me?”

Perhaps she was seeing things, but Liana thought she saw the Mountain Ghost’s cheek twitch noticeably.

“Fine,” she said. “I will not eat you.”

“Oh.”

‘Mountain Ghost probably would not lie, right?’ Thinking this, Liana shuffled forward in small steps. Her fingers clenched tightly at the hem of her clothes as her gaze flicked cautiously between the Mountain Ghost’s pretty face and the vines scattered around them, ready to bolt at the slightest sign of danger.

Fortunately, nothing happened. Liana reached the massive stone completely unharmed.

“Climb up,” the Mountain Ghost said again.

“Oh.” This time, Liana seemed less nervous. Gripping the vines, she nimbly climbed onto the boulder. Only then did she finally see what she could not make out earlier, the Mountain Ghost in her entirety.

Her face was even more beautiful than her profile, flawless to the point that no blemish could be found. Her deep blue eyes reflected moonlight and starlight like precious gemstones. The black dress she wore was tattered, yet its material looked expensive, with faint traces of gold trim embedded along its edges.

She did not look like some thousand-year-old monster born of vines at all. Her limbs were not fused with the vegetation either. Rather, it was as if she had lain on this boulder for a very, very long time, allowing the vines to grow along her body, climbing and nearly covering her entirely. Her hands and feet were merely hidden beneath dense foliage.

The Mountain Ghost looked nothing like what Liana had imagined. Instead, she resembled an ordinary girl who had been sleeping here all this time, sleeping so long that the marks of time had gathered upon her.

“Sit.” The Mountain Ghost struggled to free one hand from the vines and patted the empty space beside her.

“Oh, okay.” Liana nodded rapidly and obediently sat down next to the Mountain Ghost.

“Name.”
“Li… Liana.”
“Age?”
“Sixteen.”
“Gender?”
“……”

Liana slowly lowered her head to look at her chest, then slowly raised it to look at the Mountain Ghost.

“Female?”
“Quite honest, aren’t you?”

The Mountain Ghost reached out and plucked a small white flower from the vines beside her, popped it into her mouth, and chewed as she continued. “Do you know where this place is?”

“I… I do.” Liana visibly trembled at the question, forcing a smile that looked worse than crying. “This is your territory, right?”

“No. What I meant was…”

“Mountain Ghost, please rest assured. I am only here to look for medicine. I will not do anything else. I will leave as soon as dawn breaks. I promise…”

Liana did not listen to a single word the Mountain Ghost was saying. She assumed such questions meant she was being called to account, so she shrank again like a frightened quail, her head nearly tucked into her chest as she trembled uncontrollably.

‘This child really is not very sharp, is she?’ The Mountain Ghost looked on with helpless eyes.

“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you.”

“R-really?” Liana cautiously lifted her head. “And you won’t eat me either?”

“Of course it’s true.” The Mountain Ghost stuffed another small white flower into her mouth and chewed, her words slightly muffled. “Do I look like someone who eats people?”

“Oh, right.” Liana’s gaze swept over the Mountain Ghost’s rather meager frame. So small. She really did not look like someone who ate much meat.

“Hm?” The Mountain Ghost suddenly frowned and looked at Liana in confusion. For some reason, she felt inexplicably irritated.

……

“Where were we just now?”

“Th-this… where is this place?”

“Oh.” Picking up where she had left off, the Mountain Ghost continued. “Then where is this place?”

“This is the Blackwater Forest,” Liana said, blinking.
“And where is the Blackwater Forest?”
“Maplefall Town?”
“And where is Maplefall Town?”
“Skysouth Dominion? The Aurelion Empire?” Liana frowned. “Mountain Ghost, you really don’t know much, do you?”
“……”

This girl had been terrified just moments ago, and now she’s so brazen. Sure enough, she really was missing a screw somewhere.

The Mountain Ghost continued asking. “Do you know about battle qi?”
Liana shook her head.

“How about magic power?”
Liana shook her head again.

“Then can you cultivate?”
“Yes.” Liana replied, “As long as you can contain spiritual energy, you can cultivate.”

“Spiritual energy… I see. That’s slightly different, but it should refer to the same thing as magic power.” The Mountain Ghost murmured to herself, then continued. “What about realm classifications?”

“Um… the Mortal Realm has nine stages, then you transcend into sainthood, with Nine Heavenly Strata¹…” Liana counted on her fingers as she spoke. “That’s about all I know.”

“The realm classifications… is roughly similar?” The Mountain Ghost muttered softly, then went on. “About that spiritual energy, can you demonstrate it?”

“…Sorry.” Suddenly, the Mountain Ghost noticed that the light in the eyes of the absent-minded girl before her dimmed all at once. “I’m just a cripple. I can’t absorb spiritual energy.”

The Mountain Ghost froze for a moment, then lowered her gaze and said, “I’m sorry.”

Liana waved her hand and smiled again. “There’s really nothing for you to apologize for, Mountain Ghost. That’s just the truth. I’ve long since gotten used to it.”

“Is that so?” The Mountain Ghost peered into her eyes. ‘But your eyes are not saying the same thing.’

“One last question.” After a brief silence, the Mountain Ghost suddenly turned around and looked up at the bright moon in the sky.

Beneath the deep, dark night, the moon bloomed with a faint blue glow, echoing the distant starlight. It was breathtakingly beautiful, yet unbearably lonely and desolate. The moon shone in full splendor, yet could not truly merge with the stars.

She raised her hand, pointed toward the star-filled sky, and asked, “Do you know how to get there?”²