As soon as the words fell, Lucian felt his ear being pinched.

Immediately after, he heard Rover's sinister whisper in his ear: "You seem to be having a lot of fun, huh?"

"And you said you were at the painted fan stall? Heh heh…"

Lucian's expression turned serious: "Rover, we really were at the painted fan stall earlier. It's just that we finished quickly, so we came here."

"Oh, really?" Rover grabbed Abby's ear with her other hand. "Abby, you tell me. If you lie, I'll starve you for three days!"

Abby had been hesitating, but hearing that, he immediately stopped wavering: "Lucian's lying to you. When he was talking to you, he was at the Plumpcake stall. Then he ran off with Sanhua to come here…"

Lucian gritted his teeth: "So all those Plumpcake were wasted on you, huh?! You're really my best buddy!"

Abby shrugged helplessly. "Lucian, don't blame me. I know the difference between one full meal and a lifetime of meals."

At that moment, Sanhua suddenly spoke up: "I was the one who brought Lucian here. Rover, if you want to blame someone, blame me."

Rover: "?"

Abby gasped in admiration: "Now that's love!"

Rover tossed Abby into the Tacet Mark: "Love my foot!"

Then she grabbed Lucian's arm: "I want Plumpcake too."

As Lucian was dragged toward the Plumpcake stall, he cried out dramatically: "Sanhua, your kindness is unforgettable! When I come back, I'll definitely marry y—OW!"

Sanhua watched as Rover gave Lucian a sharp knock on the head: "…"

Chixia laughed. "Sanhua, let's have another match! We're settling this today!"

When they returned to the Plumpcake stall, they found the pink-and-soft Encore had also come to enjoy the Moon-Chasing Festival.

"—Uncle Li, what's this? It looks so yummy!"

Uncle Li smiled kindly. "These are Plumpcake, a traditional Jinzhou City pastry with thousands of years of history. Try some—they're delicious."

He handed a few to Encore, who took a small bite and asked curiously: "Thousands of years… so there must be some interesting stories about them, right? Uncle Li, do you know any?"

Uncle Li thought for a moment. "Hmm… there is one story about Plumpcake. Let me think…"

"This tale starts with the two Sentinels of Huanglong…"

Uncle Li began recounting the story of the Sentinels, Jué and Hsin, which Lucian and the others had already heard.

Encore asked curiously: "'Hsin'?"

Lucian also turned to Jiao-Jiao. "'Hsin'?"

Jiao-Jiao gave him a sidelong glance. "If you want to know more, go find out yourself."

Lucian: "…"

Nearby, the fireworks stall owner, Xisha, watched them and sighed. "…Ah, my daughter's just like that. That kid… once she gets into stories, she just won't stop."

Encore, still clutching her Plumpcake, ran over excitedly. "Wow! Fireworks!"

Lucian followed and patted Encore's head. "Encore, want to see fireworks?"

Encore raised her hands cutely. "Yes—!"

Xisha looked at Encore as if seeing his own daughter and smiled warmly. "The reason I set up this stall is because my daughter kept pestering me to see fireworks."

"Since I know how to make them, I set up shop here."

"You came at just the right time—my daughter's been saying she wants to see the biggest, most beautiful fireworks lately."

"But she wasn't satisfied with the ones I made before. Still, I came up with a new recipe recently."

"I've already gathered the materials, but I haven't had a chance to test it yet. Would you all be interested in helping me out?"

Encore cheered first. "Yay! Let's set off fireworks!"

Lucian nodded slightly. "In that case, hand them over. We'll find an open area to test them."

Xisha was equally excited and quickly finished assembling the fireworks.

But he frowned slightly at the final product. "Huh… this doesn't look much like the fireworks I made before, but it doesn't look like firecrackers either…"

"Be careful, alright…?"

The group headed toward the river outside Taoyuan Vale.

Lucian asked curiously, "Encore, how come you came to the Moon-Chasing Festival?"

Encore giggled. "Encore's on vacation!"

Lucian blinked. "The Black Shores actually gives vacations?"

Encore said matter-of-factly, "Of course! And I'm still a kid, you know? I need to grow, so I can't overwork myself…"

Lucian tilted his head. "Then how come Aalto isn't with you? Didn't he come along?"

Encore shook her head. "Nope! Aalto still has a mission, so he couldn't make it."

Lucian grinned. "How pitiful."

He took out his terminal and snapped a photo with Encore and Rover, the bustling Moon-Chasing Festival in the background. Then, he sent it to Aalto.

[Rover's Dog: I'll take care of Encore for you. Rest in peace. [photo.jpg]

[Autumn Water Without Ripples]: (╬▔皿▔)╯

[Autumn Water Without Ripples]: Please, take good care of her.

Lucian sighed. "Aalto's a good guy. Even like this, he still asks me to look after Encore."

Rover facepalmed. "You're so mean."

Jiao-Jiao also scolded him. "Lucian, you'll end up with no friends like this."

Lucian shrugged and asked Encore, "Encore, do you think Big Brother Lucian did the right thing?"

Encore clapped excitedly. "Absolutely! That's exactly how you should treat Uncle Aalto!"

Lucian spread his hands. "See? Even Encore agrees."

Rover: "…"

Jiao-Jiao: "…"

Soon, they arrived at an open area near a small stream.

Encore stared at the water eagerly. "Big Brother Lucian, let's throw the fireworks in the river! It'll make a huge splash!"

Lucian crouched down and said solemnly, "Encore, throwing fireworks in the water causes pollution. The people of Taoyuan Vale rely on this water—it wouldn't be good for them."

Encore nodded obediently. "I understand. Then let's set them off here!"

She placed the firework on the ground and conjured a small flame at her fingertip using her Resonance ability, lighting the fuse. Lucian held her just in case.

If nothing unexpected happened… then something unexpected was definitely about to happen.

The spark raced along the fuse erratically, far more violently than usual.

Rover's expression sharpened. "Get back—!"

Before she could finish, Lucian had already pulled Encore away, while Rover kicked the firework high into the air.

BOOM—!

The next second, the firework exploded midair—but it didn't sound like a firework at all. To Lucian, it was practically a bomb, unleashing a terrifying blast of sparks.

Thankfully, Rover had kicked it upward. If it had gone off on the ground, the force might have started a fire.

Encore cheered. "Wooow! Big fireworks!"

Lucian crouched to check on her. "Encore, you okay?"

Encore grinned. "Mhm! Encore's fine! Not scared at all!"

Rover rubbed her forehead. "This should be called 'extremely powerful firecrackers'…"

Jiao-Jiao agreed with Lucian. "This should be called a bomb."