People are in the magic card, instigating rebellion against the world.

Chapter 149 I have recovered my true form! Samadhi Fire!
"Where is it?" Sakura couldn't help but grip her wand tighter and ask with a frown.

"Don't worry, it will come out on its own soon." Ye Hui said calmly, his divine sense already spread out, clearly capturing the restless flame energy at the bottom of the hot spring pool.

The aura of the Fire Card is becoming increasingly evident; it's clear it can no longer contain itself.

Sure enough, he had barely finished speaking when...

The water in the center of the hot spring pool suddenly began to churn violently, splashing water everywhere.

There was a "crash" sound!
A humanoid figure made of flames slowly rose from the pool.

The flames coalesced into a body glowing with an orange-red light, igniting the surrounding air and even causing the nearby bamboo fence to scorch slightly, as if it were about to burst into flames.

"This is the Fire Token?" Sakura looked at the imposing figure in front of her and subconsciously took a half step back, feeling a little scared.

Just by looking at those flickering flames, you know it's not to be trifled with.

It seems to be much more powerful than any Clow Card we've encountered before!

The magical power emanating from the opponent was simply outrageously strong!
It even feels more terrifying than the frozen card that gave us home-field advantage last time!
"It's so...so hot!" Sakura felt the temperature around her rise several degrees. The beads of sweat that had just appeared on her forehead evaporated before they could even slide off, and even her breath felt scorching. "If this keeps up, will we get roasted alive?"

[You have encountered the powerful spirit beast, the Heavenly Burning Beast! You keenly sense that this beast's strength is unfathomable, far beyond your current ability to contend with!]

[But you remained fearless in the face of danger, determined to protect the Heavenly Spirit Root disciple Kinomoto Sakura and the Guardian Daidouji Tomoyo in this fierce battle, demonstrating your unparalleled strength!]

Ye Hui ignored the system's dramatic remarks and kept his eyes fixed on the fire card.

Tomoyo, who was standing nearby, had already reacted and spoke up in time: "Sakura, battle suit!"

She reached into her small bag and took out a neatly folded pink combat suit, handing it to Sakura.

"Huh? Tomoyo! When did you bring these clothes?" Sakura asked in surprise, her eyes wide.

When they came out to soak in the hot spring, Tomoyo was even carrying her combat suit?
“When Ye Huijun said that the Clow Cards could appear at any time, I was already prepared.”

Tomoyo smiled and gently tucked the battle suit into Sakura's arms, her tone casual.

"Every time I encounter a Clow Card, I need to wear appropriate clothes to fight. It's always good to prepare in advance. And considering that the Clow Cards have many abilities, I also prepared fireproof materials in advance."

“Tomoyo…” Sakura looked at the battle suit in her arms, her face blank.

Why is it that every time Tomoyo encounters a Clow Card, she can magically produce a brand new battle suit?

Aren't they here on vacation?
"Sakura, hurry up and change. The energy of the Fire Card is getting stronger and stronger." Tomoyo's purple eyes curved into a smile as she stuffed the battle suit into Sakura's arms and gently nudged her arm, signaling her to change quickly.

"But... there's nowhere to hide here..." Sakura looked around at the empty courtyard, her cheeks flushed and her eyes filled with embarrassment.

[Kinomoto Sakura's emotional value +8]

"Don't worry, Sakura." Ye Hui turned around understandingly, his back to them, and said easily, "I can't see anything, just change as soon as possible."

Tomoyo also turned around and tugged at Ye Hui's sleeve, making him move aside to completely block his view.

Not long after, Tomoyo's voice came: "Alright, Ye Hui-kun, you can turn around now."

Ye Hui turned around.

Sakura was wearing a red and orange tutu battle outfit with tiny flame patterns embroidered on the hem, paired with matching lantern pants. It was both agile and combative, making her look even more dashing than usual.

"Sakura looks so good in this outfit!" Tomoyo had somehow pulled out a camera, pointed the lens at Sakura, and her purple eyes were full of admiration. "It perfectly matches the fire element; the photos will definitely be amazing!"

"Tomoyo-chan..." Sakura's face turned even redder, and she subconsciously raised her hand to gather her skirt, somewhat embarrassed, to avoid the camera.

"Alright, now we should get down to business." Ye Hui's gaze returned to the center of the hot spring pool.

Fire Shield clearly didn't take those little kids seriously, completely ignoring them. Instead, the flames on its body burned brighter and brighter, causing the water in the pool to evaporate rapidly, producing large amounts of white steam.

The temperature in the entire courtyard had become unbearably high.

As one of the four elemental cards, the Fire card is far more powerful than ordinary Clow Cards.

At this moment, it released all its energy, causing even the air to tremble slightly, clearly intending to suppress them directly with flames.

Moreover, the Fire card currently holds the advantage of being in a favorable geographical position.

Although the water in the hot spring pool seems to be able to suppress the flames, it can also be evaporated into water vapor by its high temperature, which makes the surrounding environment more conducive to the spread of the flames.

Defeating it here would be extremely difficult.

"Water is the nemesis of fire! Tomoyo-chan, Ye Hui-kun, we can use the water card to attack it!" Sakura stared at the flickering flames on the fire card, her eyes lighting up. She quickly came up with an idea. "The power of the water card should be able to extinguish the flames. Okay, let's do it!"

She immediately raised her wand, gathered magical energy, and softly chanted a spell.

As the spell fell.

Clear streams of water gushed from the tip of the wand, sweeping towards the fire tablet in the center of the hot spring pool with great force, as if to engulf the entire fire tablet.

"Great! This way we can definitely defeat it!" Sakura looked at the water flowing closer to the fire card, her face filled with confidence, feeling that she would definitely succeed this time.

However, she did not expect that fire and water cards are both of the four elements, and fire cards are inherently highly offensive cards. A single water card alone is simply not enough to suppress it.

Ever since.

Water sign: Attack! .jpg
Fire card: ()
Water sign: Retracted.jpg
As soon as the water touched the flames of the fire sign, it was instantly evaporated into a large amount of water vapor.

With a series of sizzling sounds, white mist rose rapidly and soon filled the entire courtyard.

Visibility dropped sharply, and all that was left was a white blur; even the figures of people around us were no longer visible.

"What?! How could this be?" Sakura looked at the thick fog in front of her, on the verge of tears.

She originally intended to extinguish the fire sign with water, but now...
It's more like adding fuel to the fire for the other party?

The fog also served as cover for the fire sign.

Fire Card: Thanks to the enemy for sending the giant rocket.
Sakura: QAQ
"What...what should we do?"

"Sakura, are you alright?" Tomoyo's voice came from the side, tinged with worry.

She reached out, trying to find Sakura's location, but grabbed nothing.

The fog was so thick that even their breathing became indistinct.

"I'm fine, Tomoyo! Where are you?" Sakura quickly responded, waving her hand to summon wind and try to dispel the fog in front of her.

However, the continuous flow of mist from the hot spring pool not only had no effect but also made the fog even more pervasive.

Just then, a fireball suddenly roared out of the thick fog, carrying a scorching heat, and flew straight towards Sakura's direction.

Using the fog as cover, Huo Pai launched a surprise attack on them.

"Sakura! Watch out!" Although Tomoyo couldn't see the exact location of the fireball, the scorching heat stung her skin, and she immediately sensed the danger. Without thinking, she mobilized her spiritual power and subconsciously set up a defense.

A pale blue water shield appeared instantly, blocking everyone's path.

This is the basic form of the Golden Light Mantra that she recently learned.

Moreover, she cleverly combined water flow with the Golden Light Mantra to create such a water shield.

This can greatly reduce the impact of the flames on her.

Tomoyo blinked and looked at her hands.

She wasn't very skilled at it before, but she didn't expect to be able to execute it so smoothly in a critical moment.

However, she was only a newly established cultivator with limited spiritual power. To use her power in this way, she would have to expand the range of the shield several times over so that she could protect everyone even when they couldn't see clearly.

Although the effect is stronger, the consumption is also greater.

Moreover, compared to the current fire cards, the light shield she summons is far from strong enough.

"boom!"

The fireball struck the water shield, shattering it instantly, and continued flying towards Sakura with undiminished momentum.

Seeing this, Ye Hui snapped his fingers.

A transparent spiritual energy shield appeared out of thin air and stood firmly in front of Sakura.

Fireball: (◣_◢) I crashed.jpg
Golden Light Mantra: Unmoved as Mount Tai.jpg
The fireball struck the shield.

With a "bang," it exploded into sparks that dissipated into the mist, leaving not even a trace of the shield's pattern.

"Ye Huijun, the best in the country!" Sakura's eyes lit up as she looked at the intact shield in front of her and exclaimed in admiration.

[Kinomoto Sakura's emotional value +14]

【Daodaiji Chiyo’s Emotion Value +12】

[Once again, you displayed your overwhelming power before Sakura Kinomoto, a disciple of the Heavenly Spiritual Root, and Tomoyo Daidouji, a guardian deity! Your domineering presence and strength are deeply imprinted in their hearts!]

Ye Hui looked at the system log and couldn't help but twitch his lips.

Domineering and powerful?
No, are you trying to portray a domineering CEO falling in love with me?

This is a cultivation channel, okay?!
Ye Hui shook his head and turned his attention back to the battle.

The bonfire in the hot spring pool was still blazing fiercely, the flames burning ever more intensely, even tinging the surrounding mist with a faint orange hue.

Sakura frowned as she watched this scene, using water and ice shields to protect them from the heat.

However, how to subdue the Fire Card has become a problem.

She said with some distress, "It seems that using water signs alone is really not enough. The water flow can't get close to it at all; it will only make the fog thicker."

She turned to Ye Hui, her eyes pleading, "Ye Hui, what should we do now? The power of the Fire Card is stronger than I imagined. I've never fought an enemy like this before."

[Kinomoto Sakura's emotional value +12]

Ye Hui stepped forward with a smile, his voice carrying a reassuring power: "It's alright, just go ahead and try. I'll cover for you and won't let the fire card harm you."

[Kinomoto Sakura's emotional value +10]

【Daodaiji Chiyo’s Emotion Value +12】

Sakura first pouted, clearly not wanting to rely solely on Ye Hui's help.

Then, she began to think seriously: "Fire's nemesis is water. If water can't control it, what else can?"

As she thought about it, she muttered to herself, "Sword tokens? No, elemental tokens aren't afraid of physical attacks."

"Thunder Card? Its attack power is strong, but it doesn't seem to be as good as the four elemental cards..."

For a moment, she was caught in a dilemma, and her hand holding the wand tightened unconsciously.

Just then, a familiar Osaka accent suddenly came from above: "Idiot Sakura! How could you forget this!"

Little Ke flapped its wings and flew in from the direction of the room.

It came after sensing the presence of the Clow Cards.

It slowly landed on Sakura's shoulder, its face showing a look of utter disappointment.

"Huh? What did I forget?" Sakura paused for a moment, then turned to look at Kero.

"To defeat a powerful elemental card like the Fire Card, the power of just one card is not enough!" Xiao Ke said confidently, hands on her hips. "We must use two or more of the four elemental cards at the same time, and with the help of other Clow Cards, use the synergy between the elements to completely suppress it!"

"Huh? You have to control two of the four elemental cards at the same time, and also use other Clow Cards?" Sakura's eyes widened instantly. "But... I've never used so many Clow Cards at the same time before. Won't I be able to control them?"

Xiao Ke crossed her two fluffy little hands over her chest and said firmly, "You are now the master of the Clow Cards. As long as you hold firm to your beliefs, they will obey your commands! Okay! Don't think too much, just try it and you'll see!"

"I..." Sakura looked down at the wand in her hand, still somewhat hesitant.

Simultaneously controlling two or more Clow Cards sounds incredibly difficult; can she really do it?
“Sakura.” Ye Hui walked to Sakura’s side, gently squatted down so that he was at eye level with her, and then reached out and gently rubbed her head.

"Don't be afraid. Have you forgotten how we trained in the secret realm?" Ye Hui's voice was gentle yet powerful. "With you and Tomoyo working together, can't you also block my clone? Treat the Clow Cards as your partners. You're not fighting alone. The Water Card and the Wind Card will help you."

[Kinomoto Sakura's emotional value +15]

Sakura looked up and saw Ye Hui's serious gaze; her hesitation gradually dissipated.

Yes, she's not alone. She has Ye Huijun, Zhi Shi, and the Clow Cards who are willing to cooperate with her.

There is nothing to be afraid of!

"Sakura, think again about the people you want to protect."

Ye Hui looked into her eyes, becoming even more serious, "The guests sleeping in the hotel, and us beside you, everyone is waiting for you."

"You are the only one who can subdue the Fire Card right now. You can do it."

In fact, with Ye Hui's current strength, it wouldn't be difficult for him to subdue the Fire Card, but he would prefer that Xiao Ying complete this trial on her own.

Only by overcoming difficulties herself can she truly grow, which is more effective than any preaching.

Moreover, the younger the child, the easier it is for them to develop an APU (Advanced Personality Development), and the more likely they are to build an independent personality.

Sure enough, Sakura took a deep breath, and her eyes hardened.

"I understand! Ye Huijun, I will try my best!"

[You successfully intoxicated Kinomoto Sakura, a disciple of the Heavenly Spiritual Root, with your seductive platitudes! Heh heh heh! Watching her moved to tears by just a few words, you felt a surge of pleasure, as if you were manipulating a genius of the righteous path!]

Ye Hui: “…”

System, could you please stop using such strange words all the time?
He was clearly encouraging Sakura, so how did that become bewitching or manipulating her?

Ok?
You old, idiotic, and incompetent system!
"Yes!" Sakura didn't notice Ye Hui's helplessness and just nodded vigorously. "I will absolutely... I will absolutely not let everyone down!"

She took a deep breath, raised her wand, and called out the names of the three Clow Cards: "Wind! Water! Freeze!"

Sakura closed her eyes, and memories of her experiences with Hikaru and Tomoyo flashed through her mind.

Whether it was the training in the secret realm, the tension when she captured the Clow Cards, or the ease when they went to school together... and the promise she made to Ye Hui to become stronger and protect the people around her.

"I absolutely cannot lose!"

She suddenly opened her eyes, her dark green pupils sharpening as she issued commands to the three cards.

"Wind! Transform into chains, bind it, and don't let it break free!"

"Water! Transform into a giant dragon, use water to devour its flames and suppress its power!"

"Freeze the flames, lower the temperature, and stop the fire from spreading!"

As the command was given, the Wind Shield instantly transformed into countless transparent wind chains, flying towards the Fire Shield from all directions, tightly binding its body and rendering it unable to move.

The water tablet condensed into a giant water dragon, roaring towards the center of the hot spring pool, the water cascading down like a waterfall, precisely pouring onto the fire tablet.

The frozen brand exuded a chilling aura, and the surrounding temperature dropped significantly as soon as it appeared.

However, this isn't Frozen's home turf, so it doesn't bring much benefit.

However, with the two elder brothers and sisters, wind and water, leading the way, it can still easily influence and damage the fire card.

The fire card was caught in a triple attack, with wind and water intertwined, and the frozen card occasionally launching sneak attacks. The flames on its body began to flicker violently.

Soon, it was suppressed by the water flow and became smaller and smaller, until it was almost completely extinguished.

It let out a mournful cry of despair, its body growing increasingly ethereal, having lost all power to resist.

"Now! Sakura! Capture it quickly!" Kero shouted from the side, his wings flapping excitedly.

"Restore your original form—Clow Card!" Sakura raised her wand and chanted the familiar incantation.

"Ding--!"

With a pleasant, crisp sound, a soft light shot out from the tip of the wand, enveloping the illusory fire card and quickly absorbing it into the card that was floating in the air.

A Clow Card with a fire-man design slowly fell to the ground and was caught steadily by Sakura.

"I did it..." Sakura looked at the brand-new Fire Card in her hand, somewhat incredulous, her fingers gently stroking the card. "I actually used three Clow Cards at the same time, and even captured the Fire Card..."

"Great! Sakura!" Tomoyo rushed over and hugged Sakura's arm, her dark purple eyes curving into crescents. "I knew you could do it! You looked so cool when you gave the commands!"

"Well done, Sakura. You handled three Clow Cards with ease. I told you you could do it." Ye Hui walked over, smiling as he took out a beautifully wrapped candy from his storage ring and handed it to Sakura. "Here, this is a reward for your courage."

This candy is certainly not ordinary; it's a spiritual energy pill he refined using low-grade spiritual herbs, coated with a layer of sugar. It can restore strength and tastes very sweet.

"Arigato, Ye Hui-jun!" Sakura happily took the candy, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth.

Instantly, a sweet taste spread in my mouth, and the stamina I had used up during the battle was slowly recovering.

Remembering something, she handed over the fire token in her hand again: "Ye Huijun, take a look."

Ye Hui took the card.

The system notification appeared on time.

[What Burning Sky Beast! It's nothing but a little Kara in front of you! You despicably used Kinomoto Sakura, a disciple of the Heavenly Spirit Root, to deal with the Burning Sky Beast! And you even stole its demon core right in front of her!]

[Congratulations on completing the side quest "Hot Spring Horror"! You have received the reward "Samadhi Fire"!]

Samadhi True Fire: A primordial true fire refined from the unity of essence, qi, and spirit. It can burn all things, dispel all illusions, and is suitable for alchemy, weapon crafting, and exorcism.

Samadhi is really hot?

Upon seeing this, Ye Hui raised an eyebrow, and then felt a surge of joy.

With this, we won't need to rely on the Fire Control Talisman anymore when refining pills!
This will significantly improve efficiency!

But at this moment, a sudden change occurred.

"Om-"

A slight vibration was felt.

Then, a dazzling golden light suddenly burst forth from Xiao Ke's body, causing people to instinctively squint.

"Kero?!" Sakura was startled by the sudden change and instinctively reached out to grab it, but was bounced away by the golden light.

Xiao Ke's originally palm-sized furry body began to grow rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In just a few breaths, the originally round and chubby mascot has grown into a majestic golden lion and tiger!

Its fur is fluffy and shiny, and it has a pair of pure white wings spread out on its back, making it look sacred and majestic.

"I am Cerberus, the sealed beast of the Clow Cards!"

It hovered in mid-air, its head tilted back, its voice no longer childish but deep and powerful, carrying an innate arrogance as it proclaimed its identity to the crowd.

"Wow..." Sakura and Tomoyo were both stunned, their eyes turning into beady eyes.

This was the first time they had ever seen Xiao Ke in her true form.

I never expected that a plush toy that usually only eats and sleeps could have such a cool appearance!
Tomoyo instinctively raised her camera, and the lens followed the big tiger.

"Because Sakura, you successfully captured the Fire Card, and now you have three of the four elemental cards, a portion of my magic power has been restored! Hahahaha!"

Cerberus let out a triumphant laugh.

It circled once in the air, and the wind generated by its wings dispersed much of the surrounding mist.

Then, it slowly landed in front of Ye Hui. Its enormous body was almost taller than Ye Hui. It looked down at him with a pair of golden beast eyes and boasted, "How about it? You brat! Now you know how powerful I am, right? You dared to laugh at me before, now you'd better kneel down and admire my mighty figure!"

It held its head high, its tail swaying proudly behind it, its golden fur shimmering in the light.

[Kerberos's Mood Value +16]

Ye Hui glanced at its arrogant demeanor, then said calmly, "Oh, it's just gotten bigger. I thought it was some kind of amazing change."

He looked Cerberus up and down before slowly adding, "You do look a bit more imposing than before, and you seem quite suitable as a mount. But... can you maintain this appearance for five minutes?"

"What...what are you saying!" Kerberos was taken aback by Ye Hui's words, a hint of panic flashing in his golden beast eyes, but he still tried to save face, "Of course I can maintain it for a long time! If I want to, I can maintain it for a lifetime!"

However, as soon as it finished speaking, the golden light on its body began to flicker, and its originally huge body shrank rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye. Its wings gradually became transparent and finally disappeared completely.

Oh no, it's gotten smaller.

"Begging beans! Begging beans sack! What's going on?" Cerberus panicked, hurriedly mobilizing his magic power to stabilize his form, only to find that his newly recovered magic power was not enough to sustain him. "No... no... I haven't had enough of showing off in front of this brat yet!"

In just a few seconds, it transformed back into its original plush toy form and fell straight down from mid-air.

Ye Hui reacted quickly and caught it in one go. After weighing the light little thing in his hand, he teased, "Five minutes? Looks like I overestimated you. You can't even last a minute. You're all show and no substance."

"You...you're speechless!" Xiao Ke clutched her head, feeling dizzy and disoriented, unable to speak clearly.

The dizziness from the sudden loss of magic hadn't subsided when Ye Hui precisely hit her sore spot again.
It really embarrassed itself today!
[Kerberos's Mood Value +25]

It struggled to jump out of Ye Hui's grasp, landed on Xiao Ying's shoulder, and angrily shifted the blame to Ye Hui: "It's all your fault! If you hadn't made those sarcastic remarks and ruined my mood, I could have lasted much longer! It's all your fault!"

"Besides, it's all because I've been waiting for you for too long, and I haven't eaten for too long! My magic power can't keep up!" Little Ke was still making excuses, waving her little paws to argue, "If I could eat ten snacks and drink three bottles of juice, I could definitely maintain my true form for an hour! No, ten hours!"

"Alright, alright, stop making excuses." Ye Hui raised his hand impatiently and lightly flicked Xiao Ke's head with his knuckles. He controlled the force just right, making it yelp in pain but not actually hurting it.

"Pfft..." Sakura couldn't help but laugh when she saw Keroberos puffing up his cheeks in a huff, yet helpless expression, and then looked at Ye Hui calmly bullying him.

Tomoyo chuckled softly, her eyes filled with gentle smiles, the tension from the battle instantly vanishing.

[Kinomoto Sakura's emotional value +10]

【Daodaiji Chiyo’s Emotion Value +9】

The chaos caused by the fire sign was perfectly covered up by Tomoyo using the excuse of a malfunction in the hot spring equipment.

The hotel guests and staff were all affected by the sleep card and fell into a deep sleep.

No one saw the existence of the Fire Token, and no one knew about this brief battle.

With Zhi Shi's financial power, the hotel manager not only did not pursue any responsibility, but also came over personally, bowing repeatedly to apologize and offering to provide them with the best compensation service.

For example, they could offer a lifetime VIP card for the hot spring hotel, so guests could stay for free and even get a free room upgrade, just asking that the hotel not spread the word about the equipment malfunction.

Money makes the world go round; the ancients were right!
Back in his room, Ye Hui took out the Christmas gifts he had prepared.

Sakura was given a cherry blossom-shaped hair clip, which looked delicate and cute, but was actually a magical artifact.

This was crafted from the demon core he obtained after defeating the Shadow Leopard in the world of the book, and it possesses both defensive and stealth capabilities.

Sakura is usually reckless, and although he's there to look after her, there shouldn't be any major problems, but it's always good to have an extra layer of protection.

The pink cherry blossom hair clip looked especially lively against her short brown hair. After receiving the gift, Sakura immediately put it in her hair and was happy for a long time.

As for the gift to give to Tomoyo, Ye Hui was initially at a loss.

Because Tomoyo lacks nothing, ordinary gifts are simply not worthy of her.

Finally, he decided to forge a spirit sword for Zhi Shi himself, using a piece of black iron that he had obtained by chance. He repeatedly tempered it, making the sword thin yet exceptionally tough.

Upon receiving the spirit sword, Tomoyo immediately smiled with narrowed eyes.

She named it "Purple Moon" and then put it into her spatial ring.

By the time the commotion at the fire station had completely subsided, night had already fallen over the eaves of the hot spring hotel.

The effects of the sleeping card gradually dissipated with the evening breeze, and the staff in dark blue uniforms carefully cleaned up the scorch marks left by the fireball in the courtyard.

Then staff came to check on them to make sure they were okay. They also told them that the original hot spring pool was temporarily closed, but another backup hot spring pool was open.

If they're interested, they can give it a try; it's a pool that's only open on specific holidays.

In the end, the staff apologized repeatedly.

Chiyo stood in the corridor and gently told the hotel manager not to worry about it.

Before she could even finish speaking, the other party bowed repeatedly, saying that they would waive all the fees for their next visit and even provide a complimentary kaiseki breakfast for the next morning.

Actually, breakfast is already provided.

However, considering the amount of food the snow rabbit ate today, the hotel decided to send eight breakfasts tomorrow.

Tomoyo smiled and thanked her.

Wait for someone to leave.

Xiaoying, carrying the Fire Talisman she had just captured, followed Ye Hui over. Watching the manager's respectful departing figure, she sighed softly.

"As expected, Tomoyo-chan can solve any problem!" The Fire Card still carried a faint warmth, and holding it in my palm felt like holding a small sun.

Tomoyo smiled and said, "I just happen to know the hotel manager. So, shall we still go for a soak in the hot spring? We haven't had much time to soak yet."

"Okay, okay! We even took a bath, but Snow Rabbit hasn't had one yet!" Sakura nodded repeatedly.

As soon as they reached the courtyard gate, they saw Snow Rabbit standing under the stone lantern waiting for them, carrying two paper bags in her hands.

"I just finished making a phone call and went to the hotel convenience store to buy some things." He handed me the bag, which contained strawberry-flavored milk and several boxes of fruit. "Eating something sweet while soaking in the hot spring will make you feel more comfortable."

Sakura's eyes lit up. She took out a box of daifuku from the bag, unwrapped it, and took a bite.

The sweet aroma of red bean paste spread in my mouth, perfectly balancing the heat after the battle when paired with slightly cool milk.

"Brother Snow Rabbit, you're so thoughtful!" she mumbled, a little red bean paste still clinging to the corner of her mouth.

Ye Hui smiled and wiped it off for her, saying, "Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."

They arrived at another hot spring pool. The water in the open-air hot spring pool had been changed and was so clear that the pebbles at the bottom of the pool could be seen.

Warm steam rose in wisps, carrying a faint scent of sulfur.

Sakura was the first to take off her yukata and carefully stepped into the water, stopping only when the water reached her shoulders. Then she sighed comfortably, "Ah—finally I can relax!"

Yukito sat on the stone steps next to her, placed the plum wine on the small table by the pool, and gently swirled the wine in her glass: "It seems like something happened in the hot spring pool over there just now? I heard from the hotel staff that you were still there."

"Uh, there was a problem with the hotel's equipment," Sakura said somewhat embarrassedly.

They were the ones who caused the trouble by subduing the Fire Token, yet the hotel staff apologized to them and even gave them a bunch of gifts.
"By the way, Yukito-san, who called you just now?" Sakura suddenly remembered something and quickly changed the subject.

“It’s Touya. He asked if I wanted him to bring back some Hakone specialties.” Yukito took a sip of plum wine and smiled gently. “I told him that we can buy some cookies and chocolates when we go to the Little Prince Museum tomorrow.”

"The Little Prince Museum!" Sakura's eyes lit up. "I saw it in a magazine before! There are lots of prince sculptures inside, and even balloons that float!"

“I checked the route, and it only takes twenty minutes from the hotel,” Tomoyo added. “In the morning, we can have breakfast first, then go to the museum, and in the afternoon we can visit the nearby glass museum before heading home in the evening.”

Seeing the two of them excitedly discussing the itinerary, Ye Hui smiled and nodded, "I'll do whatever you say. I'm just here to keep you company."

As they were chatting, Sakura suddenly looked up at the sky and pointed overhead: "Look! There are so many stars!"

Everyone followed her gaze.

The night sky was like a piece of deep blue velvet, with countless stars embedded on it, shining as if sprinkled with a handful of diamonds.

The outline of the Milky Way was faintly visible, stretching from the mountain peaks in the east to the clouds in the west.

The steam rising gently from the hot spring pool refracted the starlight into a faint halo, which fell on the water's surface as if it were covered with shards of silver.

"The stars are much brighter than the ones I saw in Tomoeda Town." Tomoyo looked at the stars with a faint smile on her lips.

“Yes, yes!” Sakura nodded repeatedly, then remembered something, stretched her hand out of the water, and made a heart shape with her hands towards the stars. “Dad said that the stars in the sky are all transformed from people who have passed away. I wonder if Mom is watching me now.”

Yukito paused, gently patted her head, and said tenderly, "Of course she's watching. Sakura is so kind and cute, your mother will be so proud of you."

Tomoyo nodded, "And we will always be with Sakura, just like the stars."

(End of this chapter)