Five days later, early morning.
The rock tortoise trudged slowly forward, circling around the hills that blocked the road. Its massive claws pressed into the low stones, carrying the small courtyard on its back step by step.
In the yard, the rabbit-eared girl was sweating through another round of physical training.
"One, two, one... thirty more, hold on!"
Luciel stood beside her, voice steady and strict as he urged her through push-ups.
"Okay..." Mino gritted her teeth, her arms trembling as beads of sweat rolled down her flushed face. The wooden floor beneath her chin was already darkened with sweat the size of a palm.
Though her arms shook, she stubbornly pressed down again, forcing another push-up.
For five days now, Luciel had pushed her through daily training, increasing the load little by little.
From the plantation, Liyue emerged after checking on Angel Wings. She leaned closer to Luciel and whispered, "She’s been training the whole morning. Shouldn’t she rest?"
The white-haired girl had developed a habit of wandering to the plantation multiple times a day—either to watch Angel Wings grow, or simply sit under the tea tree in a daze.
"She can rest after these thirty," Luciel said seriously.
As a former special soldier, he understood better than anyone where the body’s true limits lay. Mino still had some reserves of energy—he intended to push her to the edge before allowing rest.
"I don’t see how this kind of training is useful." Liyue frowned. She had brought up the same doubt several times already.
Mino had been trained before, but this regime seemed far too gentle in her eyes.
"I’m laying the foundation," Luciel replied calmly.
He had noticed flashes of martial discipline in Liyue’s movements, and even certain words she unconsciously muttered in her sleep. All of it hinted at a grim past. He wasn’t in any rush.
"There’s time. That’s all we need."
Liyue’s lips tightened, regret flickering in her expression. "Sorry. I’ve been too anxious."
Luciel shifted the subject. "Has Angel’s Tears condensed yet?"
"Yes." Her tone lightened with wonder. "I didn’t expect it. In just ten days, a drop already formed. It’s incredible."
After all her careful calculations, she had only expected Angel Wings to recover in about seven days. For a drop of Angel’s Tears to form so soon exceeded all her expectations.
"Maybe it’s thanks to the Xinghui tea tree," Luciel said with a faint smile.
The accelerated growth from the Xinghui Realm must have hastened the process by at least three days.
"I suppose so." Whenever Liyue thought of that tea tree glowing under starlight, she couldn’t help but marvel.
"But... I still don’t have a proper container." Her expression dimmed. "Ordinary vessels can’t preserve Angel’s Tears. Its properties would just dissipate."
"We’ll look once we reach the Moon Lake Tribe. Maybe we’ll find something suitable."
Luciel had no good solution himself. Wood and stone were useless. As for glass... he knew it came from sand, but without time or the right resources, it wasn’t something he could attempt now.
"You’re right. That’s the only choice for now," she sighed.
"Didn’t you say we’ll arrive near the Moon Lake Tribe soon?" Luciel lifted his gaze to the horizon, though no mountain was yet in sight.
"At this pace, we should reach the mountains by tomorrow morning." She pursed her lips. For days she had tried to persuade him otherwise, but Luciel remained determined to head for the Moon Lake Tribe.
"Don’t worry. I’ll handle everything." He patted her shoulder.
Then he crouched beside Mino and resumed counting, his voice deliberately steady:
"Twenty-nine, twenty-nine, twenty-nine... thirty!"
With trembling arms, Mino forced out the last push-ups and collapsed flat on the ground.
"Don’t lie there. Sit up."
Luciel grabbed her collar and hoisted her upright like a kitten.
Panting, Mino flopped back weakly. "Oh..."
"Your stamina is still poor. We’ll need dozens more days of training." As he spoke, Luciel massaged the acupoints in her arms.
"I’ll listen to you," Mino nodded, her rabbit ears drooping limply.
"The assassination techniques I taught you yesterday—remember them?" Content orıginally comes from Nove1Fire.net
In the past few days, he had added anatomy lessons, teaching her how to disable or kill with precise strikes.
"Of course! Piercing the throat, stabbing the heart..." Excited, Mino began to demonstrate with her hands—
"Ouch!" She immediately winced, clutching her sore arm.
"Who told you to move?" Luciel scolded, though his tone carried amusement. He continued massaging. "After breakfast, you’ll practice those moves again."
"Okay!" Mino’s ears perked. To her, the training wasn’t hardship—it was fun, meaningful, far better than wandering aimlessly each day.
Luciel, patient as ever, made sure she learned properly.
"Alright, up you go. Take a warm shower, then breakfast." He tugged lightly on one of her ears.
"Ow! You’ll pull them off!" she yelped, dodging instinctively.
It had become a daily game—Luciel tugging her ears, Mino darting away like a rabbit.
"If you stop struggling, I won’t pull."
"Hmph! Someday I’ll dodge them all."
"Then you’ll be qualified to be my student," Luciel teased.
"Just wait!" Pouting, Mino staggered into the room.
"Use warm water," Luciel called after her.
"Got it!" her crisp voice answered from inside.
"You two get along so well..."
Liyue’s voice was cool, but beneath it hid a trace of envy.
Luciel turned with a grin. "Want to do push-ups too? I’ll massage you after. Or maybe... tug your ears?"
"My ears are off limits!" Her pale cheeks flushed as she stammered, "I—I’ll go cook breakfast."
With that excuse, she hurried inside, flustered.
"How about a thigh massage, then?" Luciel called after her, laughter in his tone.
"You... shameless!" Liyue almost tripped at the door.
"Hahaha..." Luciel’s hearty laughter filled the yard.
Teasing the cold white-haired girl had become a small joy of his day.