Chapter 81 – A Journey is Ending (Patreon)

After Alfonsen finished with Human Rights, I had him read the Magna Carta, the Constitution of the United States, and the United States Bill of Rights. After he finished reading each document, we talked about it, I answered his questions and helped him understand how it applied to the system of government they had in their kingdom.

After that, I started giving him more philosophical articles and books, and we would discuss his questions. He had a lot of protests about many of the ideas, but on the other hand, he stopped sounding like a thesaurus and started speaking in plain English. So, I decided that it was still a big win, even if he didn’t learn anything.

During this time, Mahya and I visited many wholesalers in Beijing and bought most of my list. We both decided to put aside ten thousand euros and purchase merchandise with the rest. After one of our shopping trips, I returned with an ample supply of cat and dog food; I learned my lesson.

Rue wanted to taste the food. He immediately spat it out, turned on the faucet with telekinesis, rinsed his mouth, and yelled in our minds, "Yikes!"

The four of us started laughing; Lis gave me two thumbs up and said telepathically, “Whatever you’re doing with the kid, it’s working. He sounds almost normal.”

For a second, I thought he meant Rue and was very confused, but then I saw him looking at Alfonsen and understood.

Lis and Mahya finished their project. It turned out to be a Magitech device, so I could access in a mana world all my electronic files on the external drive Mahya had built for me; I was over the moon and kept thanking both of them until they told me to shut up.

I asked Lis, "What are the chances you'll build me something I can listen to music with?"

"I'll try, but first, I need to build Rue an E-foil. I promised him."

We finished all our affairs in Beijing and boarded an express train to Xi'an. Alfonsen was very happy when he heard we weren't flying there; he still felt uncomfortable with planes.

We went sightseeing and saw the Terracotta Army, City Wall, Pagoda, Muslim Bazaar, Luoyang Longmen Grottoes & Shaolin Temple, and Mt. Hua. They didn’t even complain about seeing things that were buried underground. I think the number of the terracotta warriors stunned them into silence.

After that, we rented a car and drove to the Gate. It was another high mana world; they were popping everywhere. I found two workshops we hadn’t done before.

Table Tennis Playing
Seal Carving Class

We attended them for two days and continued on our Chinese trip.

We took the train to Sichuan and visited the Jiuzhaigou valley for three days, during which we also checked the Gate - the same high mana world as Xi'an. After that, we visited the panda bears. Mahya fell in love with them and tried to plan how to steal one and make it her familiar. Lis and I had to convince her for over an hour to give up the idea.

We went to see the Leshan Giant Buddha, Dujiangyan Irrigation System, Shunan Bamboo Forest, and Langzhong Ancient City. We enjoyed all the sights, and the peanut gallery had nothing negative to say.

I found some workshops for us, and we attended all of them.

Bamboo Painting Lesson
Half-Day Chengdu Cooking Class with Local Market Visit
Half-Day Chinese Bun Cooking Class with Local Spice Market Visit
Private Sichuan Cooking Class including Local Wet Market Visit
Half Day Private Chengdu Traditional Guqin Class

None of us got a point for the Guqin class, and I felt vindicated.

"You see," I told Lis, "I told you musical instruments need a longer time to learn."

"You could have invested the time."

"When exactly did I have time with all the fighting classes you made me take?"

He just shook his head and mumbled, "Excuses."

I pretended that I didn't hear him.

We all enjoyed Sichuan cooking, so we bought a lot of food for our Storage. The bellboy at the hotel kept coming up to our room to bring us more and more takeaways from all kinds of restaurants, and every time he visited us, his eyes got bigger and bigger and bigger.

At some point, we decided to take pity on him and went to buy the food in person. At every restaurant, we asked for a food order for a party of thirty people; we would load everything on my bicycle trailer, find a quiet corner, and store everything. This is how we toured for a week, focusing mainly on food.

Mahya kept saying, "We're going to eat so well; I can’t wait."

We flew to Hunan to avoid spending thirteen hours on the train and immediately went to Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. We visited the glass bridge and discreetly checked the Gate. This time, it led to a world with medium mana, level 42. After consultation, Mahya and I decided we still wanted thirty-something mana, not forty-something, and we didn't add it to the list as an option.

Alfonsen asked, "Why do you consult between the two of you and not with Lis?"

"Lis wants to visit the world of Genomey, and we're looking for a good medium-mana option."

"You're not a permanent group?"

I sighed sadly and said, "No. Lis is much older, more experienced, and stronger than we are. He'll be bored with us. He's moving on to a more challenging world, and we're looking for something gentler."

"Any chance I can join you?"

"Don't you want to go back to Austria, cross the Gate you came through, and wait for it to change back to Leylos?"

"No. I enjoy traveling with you, and I am in no hurry to go home."

"But how will you find a Gate that leads to your world if you walk away from a known Gate?"

"My family made me memorize a lot of Gate chains ten or more Gates long. At some point, I'm sure I'll reach a world mentioned in one of the chains, and I'll be able to find my way home."

I asked Mahya telepathically, "What do you think?"

"I don't care. At first, he made me laugh, but lately, he has improved a lot. If he doesn't revert to his old ways, I have no problem with him joining us."

"Okay. You can join us."

He gave a huge smile and said, "Thank you. Thank you very much. I really appreciate it."

The drive from Hunan to Guilin was only four hours long, so we decided to take a train. In Guilin, we visited the Reed Flute Cave next to the Gate: another high mana world, 63.

We boarded a cruise on the Li River to Yangshuo. The cruise was a fantastic experience, with breathtaking views. Rue had no problem with the big boat and sat and looked at the view as fascinated as the rest of us.

At some point, Alfonsen said, "It is a privilege to be born just to see this." We all agreed with him.

In Yangshuo, we went to check the Gate, and the minute Lis touched it, he had the biggest smile I ever saw on his face. I checked the Gate.

_____________________

Travelers Gate #238546952

Destination: Buramnaofliaixious

Status: Integrated

Mana level: 87

Threat level: Lethal

____________________

We looked at each other, and I smiled, too, because I was happy for him but also very sad. I knew my current journey with my friend was coming to an end. It was a very strange feeling to be very happy for him and very sad at the same time.

"Don't look like that; I'm not leaving right now. I have things I want to finish. Let's find a place to park our two houses."

Mahya touched the gate and said, "I don't understand."

"Dragon Realm," Lis said. "I've been looking for it for over fifty years."

“Are we crossing this Gate?” I asked.

“With Invisibility, in and out, shouldn’t be a problem.” Said Lis.

We did it and went to look for a place to park our houses. A four-year journey was ending, and it was the last leg. I was still sad about it, but I could understand him. I also knew we would meet again and keep in touch through the Archive, but it was still hard.