Wilbur chatted with the old man briefly. They were far too exhausted from their trip to the merfolk realm and decided to rest early.


    The two men only woke up by noon the next day, and the old man gathered his fishing tools. "I''m going to get two big fish for us. Let''s have grilled fish for lunch."


    "I''lle with you, sir."


    Wilbur picked up his own fishing tools, following after the old man to head to theke. The weather was splendid, and the rays of the sun emitted aforting warmth. Wilbur stared at the old man''s back in front of him, hesitation filling his chest.


    Wilbur''s goal ining to Gelsa was to find the eighth dragon cauldron, and now that he had retrieved the cauldron, he should be on his way. However, Wilbur had lived here for over a month and had long since established some form of a rtionship with the old man.


    Wilbur did not know how to tell the old man that he had to leave. To be honest, everything here had been settled.


    Gelsa was in the middle of nowhere, and it was inconvenient for the old man to live here on his own. Wilbur looked around him, and asked carefully, "Sir, now that things in Gelsa havee to an end, surely this ce doesn''t mean anything to you anymore? Why don''t you leave Gelsa with me, and see the world outside?"


    The old man stopped in his tracks, his back facing Wilbur. "You''re going to leave soon, aren''t you?"


    Wilbur froze. "Yes."


    The old man let out a sigh. "I''m not going to stop you if you want to leave, you know. You don''t belong here... but what you said just now was far too childish."


    The old man turned around to face Wilbur, pointing at his own temple. "I love Gelsa with all my heart, and I''m far from done here. It''s still in my mind, and I''d say that you wouldn''t be a suitable owner of the Dragon Cauldrons if you''re just cultivating to reach a certain goal. In fact, letting go of all the cauldrons now before you find the ninth dragon cauldron might be your best decision."


    Wilbur took a deep breath. "There''s no end to cultivating, sir. I''m not here just for one thing."


    "Alright, alright. I understand where you''reing from, but I''m not going to leave with you." The old man continued to walk ahead. "Maybe one day you''ll see that when you truly love something, you don''t expect anything in return. Maybe you''lle to be like me and learn to enjoy loving. When are you going to leave?"


    "In three days."


    Wilbur looked up at the old man and saw that he was rooted to the spot. Wilbur took a few steps forward and saw Commander Miller fishing by Lake Gelsa with a rusty fishing rod.


    Miller turned at the sound of their footsteps and waved at the two men. "Sorry, I hope you won''t be ufortable with me being here."


    The old man shrugged, walking over to Miller. "Oh, you''re fine. I just didn''t think you''de here."


    Miller shed a bitter smile. "I didn''t think I''d take such a leap myself, to be honest. But since I''m here, I guess I''m staying. There''s no going back for me, anyway."


    Wilbur smiled. "Not like you''d want to go back either, right?"