Because Mona hadn't seen anything, she couldn't imagine the battle Mu Yang had experienced for a while.
But Atea and Kachina were clear about it.
Every Abyss invasion, although it wouldn't cause large-scale casualties,
Still resulted in considerable losses.
How could it be solved as easily and casually as Mu Yang did today?
As the candle-keeper of the People of the Springs, even when fully prepared, Atea could only face one gate alone.
The price was that she herself would be heavily eroded by the Abyss. It was simply impossible for her to do what Mu Yang had done… chatting and laughing casually.
Mu Yang put away Withering Glory, turned to face the arriving group, and said, "This attack targeting the People of the Springs should have been from two locations. I have already eliminated them."
His tone was calm, without any ripples.
It was as if he were talking about a very small matter.
It wasn't even as "passionate" as when he had persuaded customers to buy things at [The Leisurely Puffer].
The leader of the People of the Springs, Amena, stepped forward.
"Thank you, guest from afar. This attack was extremely well-hidden. We spent some time before we could locate this place."
"If the monsters had run into the tribe, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
"I express gratitude to you on behalf of the People of the Springs."
The leader was a sensible person.
Gratitude could not be expressed with words alone.
She waived all of Mu Yang's expenses in the People of the Springs.
Although Mu Yang was not short on money,
In such situations, there was generally no need to refuse.
Mu Yang had only helped out casually; he didn't want the People of the Springs to owe him a favor.
Even after the Abyss invasion incident,
The People of the Springs that night remained lively as usual.
Everyone continued with music and dance.
It was as if nothing had happened.
Having personally experienced this, Mu Yang actually understood them somewhat.
Abyss invasions were different from Fontaine's prophecy.
Fontaine's prophecy was an invisible, unseen pressure.
You didn't know whether, after falling asleep tonight, you would turn into water tomorrow.
Such pressure accumulating over the long term was enormous.
Moreover, as the prophecy was realized step by step while one remained powerless,
This sense of helplessness was the reason Fontaine's people were later dominated by fear.
Natlan's situation was different.
The Abyss was a visible and tangible enemy.
It was like a somewhat more powerful foreign invasion.
As long as proper precautions were taken, there basically wouldn't be major losses.
This was how their ancestors had always gotten through it.
Perhaps fighting the Abyss and then holding a party had already become their habit.
Mu Yang found a quiet place and enjoyed the night of the People of the Springs.
Although the leader had invited him to join the evening gathering and receive everyone's praise and compliments,
Mu Yang himself did not like such occasions, so he politely declined her invitation.
Early the next morning,
Mualani rushed back to the People of the Springs. Her first priority was naturally to find Mu Yang.
She had already learned about the Abyss invasion.
He was a guest she had brought back—she couldn't let anything happen to him!
Of course Mu Yang was fine.
In the latter half of the night yesterday, after the crowd dispersed, he had returned to [The Leisurely Puffer].
When he had rushed out to find the Abyssal Gate, he had directly thrown away the surfboard.
He was thinking of coming back and making a new one himself.
It would be best if it could be used on both water and land.
Then he could surf in the desert. If the response was good, he could even promote it.
When Mualani pushed open the door, Mu Yang had nearly finished.
However, what Mualani cared about most right now was Mu Yang's physical condition.
She looked him up and down, and only after confirming he was fine did she let out a long sigh of relief.
This action made Mu Yang feel somewhat inexplicable.
If Mualani had heard about the Abyss invasion from the tribe members,
Then she should know that he had solved the Abyssal Gates with just two swords, right?
So what was there to worry about?
Those monsters were about to lose it.
Later, Mu Yang learned the reason.
It turned out that Mualani had not heard it from the members of the People of the Springs tribe.
Instead, Citlali had told her.
When Mualani was taking her client to the destination, she happened to run into Citlali on the way back.
As the high priest of the Masters of the Night-Wind, her abilities were unquestionable.
She told Mualani that the People of the Springs were about to encounter something bad.
The young girl immediately wanted to rush back.
It was Citlali who promptly stopped her.
She told her that even if she accelerated without stopping, by the time she arrived, it would already be resolved.
Only then did Mualani stop thinking about rushing back via the Spiritway.
She could rush, but her client could not.
As for why Mualani trusted Citlali so much, this matter had to be traced back to the past.
Mualani had heard from somewhere that the Masters of the Night-Wind had a reclusive high priest.
So she wanted to ask her to calculate the fortune for her next trip.
Citlali naturally refused.
She blocked the door and wouldn't let Mualani enter the house.
"Go find someone else!" Citlali said. "It's just guiding someone on a trip. Little girl, don't overthink it—where would there be so much danger!"
The two engaged in a contest of strength across Citlali's door. In the end, Mualani only stopped when she heard Citlali threaten that if the door broke, she would have to pay full price for repairs.
Mualani was not someone who gave up so easily.
The next day, she arrived carrying a full food box for a visit.
Fried shrimp balls, flame stew, dragon cookies…
Although Citlali didn't want to see guests—because at that moment she was wearing pajamas and the house wasn't tidied up…
For the sake of the food, she still reluctantly opened the door and let Mualani in.
After Citlali had eaten and drunk her fill and was in a comfortable mood, Mualani took the opportunity to make her request again. She even used the sure-kill technique she had inquired about:
"Grandma, did you know? A new volume of 'The Shimmering Tales' is coming out!"
As a loyal reader at the level of a living dictionary, Citlali naturally knew.
So she didn't show any expression and waited for Mualani to continue her moves.
"The next person looking for me as a guide is an editor and author from Yae Publishing House coming to Natlan for inspiration. Hehe, maybe I can get the book in advance."
Upon hearing this, Citlali sat up straight and assumed the posture of an elder and high priest.
"Ahem. The land of Natlan is full of the unknown and mystery. We all need to show reverence toward night and fire. I'll make an exception and divine for you once."
The result of the divination was: [If you encounter a fork in the road, you must go to the right side.]
This was the revelation Citlali had obtained by blowing away the mist of the future while meditating.
"Good thing you trusted me, little girl. If this hadn't been foreseen, I'm afraid something big would have happened."
Before setting out, Mualani had checked the map. There should have been only one main road to the destination this time.
But when their group reached the inside of the volcano, a fork that was not marked on the map appeared ahead.
It seemed that active volcanic activity had changed the nearby terrain.
Following Citlali's instructions, she indeed smoothly led everyone to the original destination.
From then on, Mualani respectfully called Citlali "Great Senior" and often brought various gifts to seek "life advice" from her.
Mualani's talk about [luck] and [misfortune] had also increased day by day since that time.
"I already told you there was no need to worry, yet you still rushed back so fast."
Citlali leaned against the door with an expression that said "I told you so long ago."
She wanted to say something else to tease her, but suddenly stopped.
Because when she carefully observed Mu Yang, she saw the most unsolvable mystery of her life…