Edrick was not foolish and knew a whole lot thanks to his crests. He had been well aware for a long while that his lovely wives were intent on preparing something for his birthday. He had made sure not to pry in any way to keep the surprise for himself. Still, it was rather obvious that Yin had been ‘hired’ to distract him today for the sake of the preparations at the residence.

‘Those little fools, I bet that they’ve squandered all the money I gave them for this’ it was a rather nice feeling, though. It had been literal decades since anyone did something significant for his birthday--Actually, it might have been at least a whole century, since really only his family had done such a thing.

Turning his attention to the blonde tomboy, she was a natural at maintaining a poker face. But clearly, she was not a great actress when it came down to such a thing. Her face was a bit tense, and a wry smile would often begin to form if he attempted to ask details about that so-called legendary beast rumoured to exist in the forest.

Yin had not made the story up. It actually was a children’s fairytale that she had slightly rearranged for the purpose of her little lie… She didn’t know why deceiving like this was so much harder than deceiving when in a fight, yet Anoteros did not seem to want to poke holes in her story.

‘Damn… Does he trust me that much? This is making me feel bad… But it’s for a good cause…’ she told herself. Soon, both she and Edrick arrived at an area of the woods they frequented rather often, stopping there to discuss.

“So… From what I know, the beast was actually semi-aquatic. The rumours say that it either hangs around a hidden lake hidden deep within the woods, or that it headed down a cavern and found a body of water underground. I asked around some core disciples who went deep into the forest in the past, and from what I gathered, there are at least two lakes. One is tucked in between high hills and very hard to reach, whilst the other we should be able to run into by heading deep into the forest. It is apparently pretty big” she explained to the best of her abilities.

“Mmh… Do we have any idea how big that exotic beast is supposed to be, or what it looks like?” playing along, he responded with a simple question.

“No, not really, I am afraid. There are some descriptions, but they contradict one another”

The two spoke for a few minutes before setting out to trek through the woods. Edrick found this occasion to be a rather good one for him to get closer to Yin. And although he had gone into the woods many times, he had never truly explored all of it. The caves and cliffs had remained mostly unexplored, and he had never run into any lakes, only smaller bodies of water spread around here and there. So in truth, he was enjoying the goal of this little expedition.

Also, seeing the usually stoic Yin be embarrassed and nervous, but doing her best to conceal it, was a sight that pleased him greatly. In fact, his lower brain was twitching in approval- He had truly spent too much time with Yin. His desire for that tomboyish body of hers had only been growing all this time, especially as he learned of her other charms.

Truly, it seemed like the women intended for the protagonist’s harem were quite magnetic. This was making him curious as to what the others would be like. Fanqia and Yin already looked like premium trophies, be it their capabilities, looks or character…

For now, Anoteros made sure to use his authority as sasquatch lord to make it so that all sasquatches cleared the area they were going through. They did so in a hurry. Causing other creatures to take notice of the sudden movements from the usually stealthy creatures, and to instinctively follow their lead as they interpreted that as those powerful beasts being scared of something.

And naturally, what such powerful creatures were afraid of would also be terrifying to nearly all else.

Quickly enough, Anoteros was reminded of why he had never gone past a certain point during his ventures into the woods. Not only was the forest near Oie incredibly large, but it was also rugged, full of hills and pits. And in fact, the forest would appear over elevated compared to the city and plains surrounding it. For the simple reason that it was situated on a huge hill, Edrick didn’t know if it qualified as a mountain. He was not certain what made a mountain a mountain besides being taller than its surroundings.

The closer one went to the heart of this forest, the more the terrain would feel like a slope, a slope covered in sprawling vegetation, which was absolutely horrid to traverse. Not only that, but the trees actually thinned out in numbers, which also made travelling from tree to tree impractical.

Even Yin, who was always hungry to test her defences, had never bothered to go so deep. It was just too exhausting and inconvenient, especially when one heard that deeper into the forest was not that different from the rest, being just the same beasts, animals and monsters as the rest, simply slightly more isolated.

“Ah, I can see the lake!” Yin was quite surprised by the sight before her. The lake was indeed big, but also rather bizarre. She had not been told that trees grew from the bottom and emerged from the water. In fact, it looked like the forest terrain continued below the water, like it was perfectly normal.

These trees and plants did not seem changed or to carry any affinity for the water. They were the exact same thing as had been seen before, but submerged and doing perfectly well despite that.

Edrick also formed a small smile from that sight. This was the sort of thing he loved to see, natural wonders, and it was mixed with the fantasy elements of this world at that.

“Let’s take a rest before checking it out” scaling the slope whilst dealing with the extensive growth of greenery was rather hard on one’s legs, even for cultivators like them. It was best to take a breather after that.

“Should we dive in to look?”

“That’s awfully lacking in cautiousness for you, Edrick”

“I like to take risks from time to time”

“I suppose taking risks is part of being a cultivator… But submerging myself in an unknown body of water is not a risk I am willing to take- What if there is some water monster?”

“Don’t you practise the Snapping Turtle Blade Style and Impenetrable Shell Constitution? I would have thought that you were quite geared toward being in the water”

“Huh… Well… I actually don’t swim very well, and frankly, unless perfectly clear, water like this really freaks me out”

Whilst they rested, the two discussed away, their eyes fixated on the lake for the most part.

Although Edrick felt like teasing Yin about being afraid of water, it was a rather common and logical fear to have. Especially in this world. What lurked beneath the water was especially horrendous.

The seas and oceans were considered so dangerous that trade between continents was practically nonexistent. The only marine trade routes that were truly put in place involved following rivers or sticking very closely to the banks.

Sea monsters were absolutely real in this world, and a good portion of those monsters apparently had an obsessive hatred for ships and those who used them.

Even lakes could house some awful things.

“Well, but we need to check it out some way, right?” he said.

“I guess so…” Yin was strongly regretting agreeing to distract Edrick.