Departure and the Moon Magic Fern

By the Sacred Lake.

A craftsman carrying a basket of bone plates on his back looked back into the distance. At the bottom of the basket lay the "Final Chapter," the object of countless people's obsession.

Stan Tito left the Sacred Mountain and God-Servant City with the "Final Chapter." He didn't know if his actions would truly make a difference, but he felt compelled to act, and so he did.

Even if it meant losing everything.

Before, he had been the exalted inheritor of the saint's will, with the potential to become the controller of the Sky Temple, one of the highest positions of power.

Now he had lost it all, reverting to a mere craftsman.

But he had no regrets.

He even felt as if he had broken free from his shackles, gaining true freedom.

The first half of his life had been spent going with the flow, following in his father's footsteps to become a craftsman, then fortunately becoming Stan Tito, the inheritor of the saint's will.

He had never truly considered what he wanted for himself.

But this time, he felt the presence of his own will, a feeling of his life suddenly bursting into radiance.

Even if it was just for a moment.

It was the leap of his will in the river of life, the most brilliant instant of his entire existence.

"Time to go home!"

Stan Tito decided to return to his hometown, a small coastal town on the outskirts of the God-Descended City, to see it once more before deciding his next move.

Perhaps he would return to being a craftsman. Beyond this familiar craft, the world seemed full of uncertainty.

After seven or eight days of careful, unhurried travel through various towns, Stan arrived near Stone Forest City, once the most important city in the Star Luo Kingdom.

He hadn't encountered the pursuit he had anticipated. In fact, nobody he met along the way had heard any rumors about the Child of Fortune, Stan Tito, leaving God-Servant City. Everyone only knew about Henir becoming king, the fall of the Star Luo Kingdom, and the establishment of Henir's dynasty upon the ruins of three collapsed thrones.

Henir had, after all, become king.

But he had suppressed the news about Stan Tito, as if everything would cease to exist if the king didn't mention it.

However, Stan Tito's friend, that priest, had become an infamous traitor, branded as a spy who colluded with the Sele Kingdom to betray the queen.

Even the minutiae of his past were exaggerated in rumors, becoming evidence of his vile character and betrayal of Her Majesty.

In the towns Stan Tito passed through, tales of the priest's "evil deeds" were spreading everywhere. People angrily cursed and spat upon his actions, vividly recounting events from his youth and even childhood. Even his skill at swimming and swiftly catching Ancestral Fish as a child had become proof of his bloodthirsty, murderous nature.

The populace devoured these rumors with unquestioning fervor.

As Stan Tito listened, a wave of incredulity washed over him, the absurdity of it all almost overwhelming.

"The wicked can be forgiven just by laying down their weapons, while the virtuous are immediately cast into the mire for the slightest blemish."

"People of Yinsai!"

"Why are you so lenient towards the wicked, yet so harsh towards the good?"

He passed through the jumbled rocks of the stone forest, gazing into the distance.

At the edge of his vision lay Stone Forest City, its majestic walls visible among the towering, chaotic stones.

He had no plans to enter Stone Forest City, intending only to skirt around it on his way to the God-Descended City.

Suddenly, a violent tremor shook the stone forest. The ground beneath his feet quaked, causing Stan Tito to stumble and lean against a rock for support.

"Boom!"

The earth split asunder, and a mass of writhing, vine-like tentacles erupted forth, twisting and intertwining as they rose skyward. In mere moments, they had formed a colossal plant, towering a hundred meters into the air.

It was a giant column composed of intertwined massive vines, without leaves, with a huge sphere hanging at the top.

Stan Tito immediately recognized what it was: "The Moon Magic Fern?"

As the vines bent down, the sphere on the Moon Magic Fern gradually lowered itself in front of Stan Tito.

The sphere opened, revealing a young Trilobite woman sitting inside, looking at the Child of Fortune.

The huge sphere swayed, and she sat with her legs crossed, as if in a swinging basket.

"I heard that the descendant of the great poet, the legendary Child of Fortune Stan Tito, had a conflict with King Henir and left God-Servant City."

"You wouldn't happen to be Stan Tito, would you?"

Stan Tito could tell from her teasing tone that she definitely knew who he was: "Based on just a rumor, you can make such a guess and be so certain?"

The young woman laughed: "Alright!"

"I've seen you before through the eyes of the Moon Magic Fern, descendant of the great poet, Child of Fortune."

Stan Tito asked her: "Who are you?"

Although he had guessed she was from the Samo Kingdom, he didn't know her specific identity.

The young woman replied: "I am Princess Saliman of the Samo Kingdom, first in line for the throne."

"I came to negotiate with King Henir. The Samo Kingdom is prepared to sign a non-aggression pact with King Henir, but I didn't expect to encounter you here."

Though she said this, it was clear that the young woman's mission wasn't limited to this. She also bore the responsibility of assessing the internal situation of Henir's dynasty.

If she perceived any weakness in King Henir, any instability in his rule, the Samo Kingdom would spare no effort in launching a war against Henir.

Princess Saliman looked at Stan Tito with interest: "We've heard your story, heard that you're a fortunate person, a low-key individual."

"No one expected you to have the courage to challenge King Henir."

Stan Tito: "You can be more direct. I'm an ordinary and useless person, someone with nothing but luck."

Princess Saliman shook her head: "No, no, no, Child of Fortune."

"To be favored by fortune and God is itself a most powerful strength and gift."

"Moreover, you still carry the bloodline of Saint Tito."

"If Henir's dynasty doesn't want to keep you, why not come to the Samo Kingdom?"

Stan Tito declined: "You're not inviting me. You're inviting the descendant of Saint Tito, the entity known as the Child of Fortune."

"If I went, I would only become a puppet in your hands, a pretext and declaration for waging war."

"I'm just an ordinary, average person. I don't want to become your banner in the name of God."

Despite his humble beginnings, Stan Tito possessed a rare clarity of self-understanding.

"Very well!"

"But I believe that one day, you will come to the Samo Kingdom."

The young woman turned to leave with the Moon Magic Fern. Before coming, she had heard about the Child of Fortune leaving God-Servant City, but Henir hadn't issued an arrest warrant, nor had he stripped Stan Tito of his status.

Henir had suppressed the news about Stan Tito, as if everything that had happened before didn't exist.

She didn't know that Stan Tito had left with the great poet Tito's "Final Chapter," which was now hidden in his basket.

She didn't forcibly take the Child of Fortune, Stan Tito, with her, as it might give Henir an excuse to condemn the Samo Dynasty.

But she also didn't send Stan Tito back to God-Servant City, because she felt this person would cause trouble for Henir.