The Alchemist's Guide to Flesh and Blood Ascension

Chapter 175 Paper Stars and Hope

An extremely rare little thing happened today.

Iseria got up very early.

She was wearing a faded light blue loungewear, her hair casually tied in a loose, low ponytail in the style of Eugène Joan, and she was holding a cut, thin rectangle of colored paper, her brows furrowed.

"Fold it like this, then turn it over like this—no, no!"

"How did Yonivore do it again?"

"I clearly remembered it last night—"

She murmured to herself, her fingertips pressing fine creases into the paper.

Iserlia, engrossed in folding paper stars, did not notice Lilith peeking out from behind the wooden door.

"Iseria—what are you doing?" Lilith, barefoot, quietly slipped behind the pale-haired girl and rubbed her misty eyes.

"Fold stars," Iseria held up the half-folded strip of paper in her hand, showing Lilith the outline of the unfinished product in the morning light.

"Although it's flat now, it will puff up after a few more folds."

Lilith tilted her head and reached out to touch the edge of the unfinished product.

"difficult to handle."

"It won't prick your hands if you fold it," Iseria said after a moment's thought, finally pulling a new sheet of colored paper from the drawer and handing it to Lilith. "Want to try it?"

The silver-haired girl took the sky-blue paper, sat down next to Iseria, and whispered, "Like—yesterday's river water."

"That's actually the color of the sky—"

Lilith nodded as if she understood, and mimicked Iseria's actions, folding the paper over and over again.

"Wait a minute, that's not how it works—look at me."

Iseria slowed down, turned the paper over, and then folded it from the other direction.

"You need to fold a corner here first, and then—"

Lilith stared at the pale-haired girl's fingers, her crimson pupils reflecting the trail of confetti fluttering in the air.

"Then here, you have to put it in like this," Iseria leaned over and helped Lilith tuck the last corner into the gap, then gently pinched the star's edges with her fingertips.

A plump, sky-blue paper star lay in her palm.

Lilith looked at the star, then took out another dark blue strip of paper and began to carefully fold it.

Then it was shaped into a ball.

"fail----"

"You didn't fail, you're already amazing," Iseria said, ruffling Lilith's hair.

The silver-haired girl slowly lowered her head, staring at the two stars in her palm, one full and the other wrinkled.

She placed them side by side on the table, tilted her head to look at them for a while, then picked up the crumpled one and handed it to Iseria.

"help----"

At this moment, Lilith blinked her innocent red eyes and looked pitifully at the beige-haired girl.

Iseria paused for a moment, then smiled and accepted the half-finished product.

The fair-haired girl gently pinched a few key points with her fingertips, smoothing out several abrupt creases.

And so, a crooked, dark blue paper star was born.

"Okay," she said with a smile, handing it over.

Lilith took the star, placed it in her palm, and looked at it for a long time.

"I like it—" she said slowly.

Then, the silver-haired girl tilted her head, looked at the blue sky outside the window with a puzzled expression, and continued to ask, "Why—can't I see it now?"

"Hmm—you can only see the stars at night."

Iseria stared at the stars in the storage tank for a while, then her eyes suddenly lit up. She first drew the curtains, and then hung a black curtain behind them.

The entire room suddenly became dark.

Then, with a gentle tap of her fingertip, a bright blue ethereal glow flickered behind the black curtain, transforming into the final glimmer of a solidified galaxy.

Those paper stars, supported by the ether, rose slowly, as if they had truly transformed into silent and dazzling stars.

"Hehe—pretty impressive, right? Once we've folded all the stars, we'll give them to Eunicevo together!"

Lilith nodded, clenched the two stars in her palms, and gently pressed them against her chest.

The starry sky dimmed as the sun rose, and Lao Liu's distinctive shouting came from downstairs.

As the darkness dissipated, the wind blew a crack in the window, letting light stream in once more.

A few paper stars on the table rolled to the ground in the wind.

Lilith bent down to pick it up, but unexpectedly heard a strange voice coming from downstairs.

She walked to the window and leaned out.

Waves was leading a group of little frogmen with healthy, dark green skin standing at the door.

"Lilith? What's wrong?" Iseria walked over, looked out the window, and immediately understood. "Ah, it's what Wave was talking about—"

Before she could finish speaking, a deep, resonant sound came from downstairs.

"Croak—Yonev, it's been a long time! I've brought the children to see the great hero."

"Alright—come on up, how about we see Iseria and Lilith again?"

Footsteps came from the stairwell, dense and light.

Lilith took two steps back and stood behind Iseria, still clutching eight small stars she had folded herself.

Most of the little frogmen were much shorter than Lilith, and tiny dark red veins were faintly visible beneath their light green, translucent skin.

The little frogman at the head of the group had its amber eyes fixed on Lilith. It turned its head and called down the stairs, "Come quick! Come see the great hero!"

More footsteps surged up, and the stairwell was suddenly crowded with light green frogman heads.

It looks a bit scary.

"There's nothing we can do. They said if I don't see all the great heroes, I won't go to school," the frogman leader said, his webbed hands resting on the bone and tooth necklace.

"Alright, alright, didn't the little guys want to deliver something?" Wave turned around and looked at the group of little frogmen bustling around in the stairwell.

The little frogs looked at each other, and one after another, they pulled out all sorts of things from all directions—

Shells, pebbles, even brightly colored bird feathers—some people couldn't find anything at all, so they anxiously strung together a freshly woven straw rope with their lost baby tooth and held it in their palms.

"Reciprocity is key."

She seemed to see a paper star that was similar in color to the river water, and recalled the memorable "water war" of yesterday.

She thought for a moment, then unfolded the six slightly crumpled paper stars that she had folded herself into her palm.

"Boss—I haven't been paid, all I have is—this."

"The first two are for the boss and her."

Lilith turned to look at Iseria.

The other little frogmen didn't say anything, but they all nudged each other and looked at her expectantly.

Iseria smiled, opened her storage jar, grabbed a handful of paper stars, and said softly, "Yonev hasn't paid me yet—this is all I have."

The paper star, symbolizing "hope," landed in the little frogman's webbed hands.

It turns out that smiles really are contagious.

They laughed, and Lilith laughed too.

Everyone saw it.

"Alright, all the deliveries are done. Time to go back."

The little frogs hopped downstairs, looking back every few steps.

Lilith's hand hovered in mid-air, but she didn't wave it. Instead, she quietly watched the small figures disappear one by one at the top of the stairs.

There are fewer stars, but more "decorations" on the desktop.

Lilith turned around, staring at her empty palms, then took out a new piece of colored paper, sat down at the table, and quietly folded it.

Colorful paper stars are born from her hands, becoming translucent in the sunlight.

"Stars, bright," the silver-haired girl said, putting the paper stars she had folded back into the storage jar.

"I like."