Beautiful Things Are Deceptive

The berries looked incredibly enticing—each one brightly colored, about the size of grapes. They must be delicious!

Lilith immediately started to drool.

Until now, the young witch had never experienced hunger, let alone been starving for so long!

"Food! You found food!" Lilith cheered, hopping towards Freyr on her bare feet.

Seeing her reaction, Freyr's lips seemed to curl into a slight smile, which quickly disappeared as he sternly said, "Don't get too excited. This is all I found after a whole morning."

His walk was a bit awkward, and only then did Lilith notice that Freyr's feet were covered in cuts, likely from walking barefoot through the forest.

"Alright, let's eat first."

Freyr set down his haul and pointed to the string of tuberous roots hanging from the vine. "These plants are recognizable to me. I have some knowledge of herbalism. These wild plants have edible roots, and they're quite substantial."

Freyr washed the roots in the seawater and handed them to Lilith. "These are all yours. You can eat them as they are or roast them over the fire."

Lilith hesitated, looking at the handful of roots in her hand, feeling a bit aggrieved. She glanced at the bush laden with bright berries. "I... I want to eat the berries..."

"No, you eat these roots. I'll eat the berries," Freyr said calmly, but his tone left no room for argument.

Tears welled up in Lilith's eyes.

She felt heartbroken. This guy was definitely doing this on purpose! He was deliberately mistreating poor little Lilith! Yes, that must be it. It was because she wouldn't let him eat Jiujiu! So he was getting back at her!

Feeling utterly wronged, Lilith crouched by the fire, roasting the roots briefly before stuffing them into her mouth.

The roots Freyr had chosen were large and not unpleasant to eat... or rather, they had no taste at all. They were tough and required a lot of chewing. Poor Lilith's cheeks ached after eating just two. Most importantly, they were not tasty at all... completely flavorless.

Freyr, sitting across the fire, silently plucked the berries from the bush one by one, popping them into his mouth and chewing slowly.

Gradually, Lilith's gaze was drawn to him...

She swallowed hard. Those berries... they must be delicious... this stingy guy!!

"What are you looking at?" Freyr smirked. "Do you blame me for not giving you the berries and making you eat these roots?"

Lilith didn't say anything, just pouted.

Seizing a moment when Freyr wasn't looking, Lilith stealthily grabbed a berry from the bush... Her wizard robe was large and spacious, and her movements were well-concealed. Freyr didn't notice.

Then, when Freyr's attention was elsewhere, Lilith quickly popped the berry into her mouth and bit down hard...

Just as she anticipated a sweet taste...

Blegh!!!

Lilith's face twisted in horror. She spat the berry out instantly!

What was that! It was so sour it made her teeth ache! So astringent it twisted her tongue!! Lilith barely bit into it before she felt like throwing up!

Can these berries really be eaten??

Freyr watched Lilith with a faint smile. He slowly bit into his last berry, chewed it deliberately, then stood up. "Alright, now that we've eaten, we have work to do."

At that moment, Lilith looked at the bare bush, then at the handful of roots she had left... Compared to the sour and astringent berries, these bland roots suddenly seemed like a delicacy!

Remembering Freyr's words, "You eat these, the berries are mine," and recalling how he silently ate those awful-tasting berries without changing his expression...

Lilith found herself speechless.

She clutched the roots tightly, staring at Freyr.

"What are you looking at? Hurry up and eat. We've got work to do!" Freyr frowned.

"Yes! Yes!" Lilith stuffed the roots into her robe and bounced to Freyr's side, her gaze and voice softened, even tinged with guilt. "W-what should we do? I'll follow your lead!"

"We're going to catch fish. If we only eat roots, we won't last long!" Freyr smiled. "Tie this vine around me. You hold the other end. I'll wade into the water and use a stick to try and catch some fish... but..."

Before he could finish, a thunderous roar erupted!!

The ground suddenly shook violently! Both Freyr and Lilith lost their balance and fell to the ground!!

The roar seemed to come from the depths of hell, deep and resonant, striking terror into their hearts! Freyr had heard a dragon's roar before, thinking it was the most terrifying sound in the world.

But now, this sound was far more frightening! Louder and more fearsome!!

The ground continued to tremble violently, and it felt like they were experiencing a devastating earthquake!!

Even the sea roared, with waves surging violently...

"What the hell is that sound!!" Freyr's face twisted in shock as he clutched the fallen Lilith.