Chapter 704: Chapter 704: Siam Weed

The wind on the grassland was strong, blowing their hair into messy nests. Evelyn Ford chewed on a blade of dry grass, gazing wistfully into the distance.

"I thought we were following the compass. How did we still get it wrong?"

While her sense of direction wasn’t the best, she could at least tell the cardinal directions apart.

Rhys Chase had shown real foresight by putting Flynn Hansen in charge. If Flynn hadn’t woken up, they probably would have spent the day walking in circles on this grassland.

"Why didn’t you guys wake me up?"

Flynn Hansen was mortified. He felt like he’d been nothing but a burden on this trip—first a fever, then fainting, and on top of that, he was mooching food, drinks, and even a new pair of shoes.

"We thought we could manage with just the compass, haha! Never thought we’d get lost." Ryan Rowe clapped Flynn Hansen on the shoulder. "It’s not your fault. We were just overconfident. Let’s eat. We’ll get our bearings again afterward. We’ve lost a lot of time these past few days, so we have to press on today."

"We’re almost in central Serena Province. I recognize this grassland. We’ve veered off course, but it’s not a major issue." Flynn Hansen had already surveyed the area. For him, identifying the right direction was second nature.

After lunch, the four of them prepared to set off. Ronan Kendrick blew a sharp whistle, calling the horses back from the grassland. The wind was so strong it was hard to keep their eyes open, so Evelyn Ford took out some goggles and passed them to the other three.

"Let’s go."

Flynn Hansen took the lead this time. He said the correct route was to the southeast; they had been heading southwest all morning.

The dead grass grew tall. Evelyn Ford even spotted a few wild sea buckthorn trees. They were in a hurry to make up time today, but on the return trip, she was determined to dig some up and take them back to plant.

An hour later, they were back on the right track, where they spotted the red cloth markers Flynn Hansen’s group had left behind earlier.

They pushed on for the entire afternoon. By nine at night, it was completely dark. The beams of their flashlights revealed abandoned fields and collapsed houses. This had once been a county seat in central Serena Province, but now it was just a deserted ruin.

"WHOA..."

The horses slowed. Evelyn Ford tightened her grip on the reins, reaching out to pat her horse’s head. Flynn Hansen mentioned they had passed through here during the day on their last trip. In the light, the sight of the ruined city was starker, with vast patches of Siam weed blanketing the crumbling walls. His only memory of the town was the pungent smell of the weed under the hot sun.

The world around them fell silent. There were no calls from birds or insects; even the wind had died down. The only sound was the clip-clop of the horses’ hooves.

"There’s a flat patch of ground up ahead. We can make camp there for the night."

Perhaps because he had slept for over ten hours, Flynn Hansen was still full of energy despite the long afternoon’s ride. He led them to the flat ground he’d mentioned. It looked like it used to be a small public square; in the distance, a collapsed basketball hoop was visible.

There was no wind that night, but the air was cool and pleasant. Evelyn Ford thought spending a night in a tent out here would be rather nice.

While the others were setting up the tents, Evelyn Ford slipped into her pocket dimension. She told Quincy and the others they’d be camping outside for the night and brought out dinner.

At the sight of steaming braised pork belly, braised ribs, and fish with pickled greens, Flynn Hansen looked ready to fall to his knees and kowtow three times to Evelyn’s Magic Backpack.

"This is incredible, Joy! Is this the only Magic Backpack in existence?"

Evelyn glanced at it. "Only one, for now."

"If I had a bag that could hold that much, I’d fill it with food," Flynn Hansen said, earning a look of disdain from Ryan Rowe.

"That’s all you’ve got? You could pack it with planes, cannons, gold, and pistols, and you’re just thinking about food."

Flynn Hansen shook his head. "As long as I can get a full meal, I don’t want anything else."

"You’re pretty easy to please."

"These days, just having a full stomach is a luxury. Nothing’s more important than that."

’That’s right. If the base weren’t short on food, we wouldn’t be out here in the first place. In times like these, a full belly is everything. We’d go through hell and high water to bring that water celery, wild boars, and bison back to the base.’

Ryan Rowe and Flynn Hansen built a campfire in front of the tents. After they finished eating, Ronan Kendrick went to feed the horses. Evelyn Ford ducked into her tent and slipped into her pocket dimension again to wash up.

When Evelyn Ford emerged from her dimension, she was holding a small slice of crepe cake. Ronan Kendrick had just gotten back from feeding the horses and smelled of fresh grass. Evelyn tugged his arm.

"Mr. Graham left this for us. Let’s share it."

"I’m filthy. I’ll go wash up first. You can have it."

"Nope. We have to eat it together, or it won’t taste as sweet." Evelyn whined, pulling on his arm. "Let me feed you. You can wash up after. And don’t worry, it’s not durian cake."

How could Ronan Kendrick possibly resist her when she acted like that? His ears turned red as he quickly surrendered.

"I’ll put some ointment on you later. Is your butt sore?"

"It’s not sore. I’m used to it now." Evelyn scooped up a large bite of cake and held it to his lips. "Be good now, eat up."

"You’re the one who needs to be good."

Evelyn snickered. "Yes, yes, I’m the good one. Now open up. I’ll feed you, and then we can go night-night." Luckily, their tents were pitched far enough apart that the other two couldn’t hear them. Still, even the normally thick-skinned Ronan Kendrick blushed at Evelyn’s bold suggestion.

"Why is your face so red? What are you thinking about?" Evelyn chuckled. "Nothing dirty, I hope?"

"No. It’s just a little warm."

"It’s only ten degrees Celsius tonight, and you’re saying you’re warm? Can’t you regulate your own body temperature? I don’t remember you complaining even when it was over fifty degrees."

Evelyn still had a wicked grin on her face.

"Fess up. Are you thinking about something R-rated?"

"I was wondering if it might rain tomorrow."

"Hmph. Liar." Evelyn stopped teasing him. After they finished the cake, she had him go into her dimension to wash up. By the time Ronan Kendrick came out, she was already sound asleep.

「The next morning」

At six o’clock, Evelyn was woken by the soft patter of rain. She opened her eyes and listened in a daze, unable to stop a sigh from escaping.

"Ronan Kendrick, you jinxed it! You just had to say it."

"It’s just a light rain. It’ll stop soon." Ronan Kendrick was awake too. He hadn’t expected his casual comment from last night to actually come true.

Evelyn huffed and reached over to pinch his cheek. "I’m punishing you."

"Okay, punish me. I like it." He looked at her expectantly, and Evelyn started to wonder if he was right in the head. ’He actually has masochistic tendencies,’ she thought.

At eight in the morning, the rain stopped. The post-rain air was damp, filled with the mixed scent of earth and Siam weed, which made Evelyn Ford sneeze.

The Siam weed was in bloom. It had been too dark to notice last night, but it turned out the foul-smelling plant produced little white flowers. Standing in front of her tent, Evelyn gazed at the vast fields of tiny white blossoms in the distance, and her mood instantly lifted.

Ryan Rowe emerged from his tent, yawning. "Morning, Joy."

"Morning."

Evelyn closed her eyes, taking a deep breath of the fresh air. A new day was beginning.

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