I don't know the Forest God," Amir said with a smile. Inside, he was a bit surprised.
He tried to decline, but the little witch was very serious and kept staring at him, seemingly unwilling to let him off the hook.
When he didn't respond, she fell into deep thought. She slowly extended her left hand toward the maraca fruit and gently cupped it. The fruit floated into the air on its own.
"Communicating with the Forest God will grant you her divine power, allowing you to control the forest's strength and protect the tribe's survival. But I..." Gulina lowered her eyelids, hiding her green eyes behind her hair.
She released the floating maraca and continued grinding it. "I'm sorry for telling you this, but I sensed a familiar aura about you."
At that moment, Amir felt Gulina's sadness and guilt, so he extended his left hand, and the fallen fruit floated back into the air.
Gulina's eyes widened instantly.
"I don't know the forest god, but this must be the same power. Can you tell me about your hometown?"
Amir didn't know why he had revealed his use of the Force. No matter how urgent the situation was, he always tried to hide it. For example, he used the Force to deflect part of the shockwave during the explosion, which allowed several people to survive.
On the Imperial prison ship, he hadn't considered using the Force until his life was in danger. However, his Seventh Sister might have already noticed something unusual.
He had never revealed it to anyone around him.
He knew the Empire was hunting down Jedi who had escaped Order 66. If anyone saw him use the Force, his peaceful life would be over in an instant, and the people around him would be in danger.
Yet he revealed it so easily to the witch in front of him.
He sensed pure kindness from her, unlike the unpredictable people around him or the Empire's inquisitors, who were filled with a terrifying, icy darkness.
Amir also suspected that the witch, Guligena, had sensed the Force within him, which was why she had made such a probing gesture.
"We are a small tribe of Adrien. We once lived under the protection of the Galactic Republic, but after the war, the Empire invaded us," Guli said in a hoarse voice, grinding the Malaka.
"We use the power of the forest to resist their machine army, but we are too weak."
As she spoke, Amir noticed her slightly furrowed brows and trembling lips.
"Most of our tribe was captured and taken away. We don't know where they were taken. Those of us with totems, like me, were brought to this planet."
Amir took the ground spices from her and placed them in the prepared container. Then she continued, "How did you manage to escape?"
"Two people snuck in and rescued me and..." Guli turned her head back to look into Amir's eyes, paused for a moment, and then continued, "And my brother. We hid in a room, but they never came back."
"Wait!" Amir suddenly had a hunch and asked urgently. "Were those two people an adult man and a short old man?"
"Ah! Yes, yes! You've seen them!"
At that moment, Amir realized that the two men who had rescued the witch were the same two "cellmates" Ashoka had rescued on the prison ship.
"Yes, they were involved, but they're safe now."
Guliana visibly relaxed.
"What about your brother?" Amir asked. He had already lit the stove, and a blue flame was now rising from the alloy pot.
"He's still in that house. I came out during the day to look for food," she said, touching the nutrient paste wrapped in her clothes. "I'll go back at dusk."
"After we finish eating, I'll go with you to check on him. Is there anywhere you'd like to go? I can take you off this planet."
"We have nowhere else to go. Our home was destroyed, and our tribe was captured." After saying this, Gulina looked utterly dejected. "If possible, I want to join the rebellion organization you two mentioned. I want to rescue my tribe."
"Join the rebellion," Amir thought. Upon returning, he found that Ashoka had left her contact information at BD-4. "I can help you get in touch with them."
"Really? That's too much trouble for you. You've already done so much for me, and I don't have anything to offer in return." Gulina's face was filled with apology. "This is what we'll do. If you ever feel lost about the future, come find me. I can see glimpses of the future, though they may not be accurate. But if it helps, please come find me, no matter how many times."
"All right, I won't hesitate," Amir said. Was this a permanent VIP card for a fortune-teller? Still, Amir was quite intrigued by the witch's ability to foresee the future.
Guliana seemed to foresee the future through her own willpower. Amir's previous experiences with foresight, such as the vision he had before the last explosion and the warnings he received about impending danger, were passive.
He decided to ask her about the process of using this ability to see if he could learn it in the future.
While they were talking, Amir put the chicken in the pot. The aroma of the meat and hot animal fat filled the kitchen.
"That's it! The taste of Malaka." Because of his genetic obsession with food, the familiar smell made Amir feel better.
Guliana, standing nearby, swallowed her saliva secretly.
After stir-frying, Amir added salt and the secret sauce he had bought from the goat head vendor. Then he poured in some water.
Amir covered the pot, satisfied.
A while later, he brought plate after plate of food to the makeshift dining table set up in the workroom.
"The food smells so good today, Amir!" Jax excitedly kicked the stool while holding a knife and fork, only to be pinched on the ear by Pierre, causing him to yelp in pain.
"By the way, where did you learn to cook? Before eating your food, I thought food was just for filling your stomach," Sain said.
"Haha, self-taught."
"I can't believe this is nun chicken," said Veronica, stuffing her cheeks full of food.
"It tastes even richer than before," Lango commented. After his braid was burned off in an explosion, he got a short haircut.
Guliana helped serve the last plate of vegetables and sat down at the table, eating silently with her head down.
"Why are you crying?" Veronica suddenly noticed the witch shedding tears.
"Sorry, the familiar taste reminded me of home," Guliana whispered.
Unusually, Veronica comforted Guliana warmly.
"Try this. I searched for a long time to find this edible vegetable." Besides the chicken, Amir stir-fried some vegetables.
Seeing everyone praise the food he had prepared made Amir feel fulfilled. These weren't just meals; they were also a reminder of the home he had left behind.
The people of the earth probably never imagined that their cuisine would evoke such emotion in a group of strangers from another planet, across time and space.
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