“I… this is… ” The handsome-faced He Yishu weakly opened his eyelids, which hadn’t been raised in a long time.
The first thing to come into view was the white ceiling, cut into squares by brown wooden beams, with ring-shaped hanging lamps in matte white casings set within the frames.
“You’re finally awake. “
He saw the young man beside him, whose skin was a bit more delicate, “President, where is this… is Leonardo still alive? “
“He’s alive, but he left the leasing area two days after you got hurt, so I don’t know where he is. As for here, it’s Kruen, the capital of Stiefen. My friend Bai Yuan brought you here. “
A young man with chiseled features, wearing an ordinary coat, stood by the bedside, flashing a smile at He Yishu.
It was this guy.
“Buchen. ” He Yishu sat up halfway from the bed.
He glanced down at his own body, feeling some peculiar sensations swaying within, as if remnants of foreign energy still lingered inside.
Standing around the bed were a crowd of friends and a few unfamiliar faces.
“I originally thought it was just a simple mission. I never expected it would nearly cost you your life. “
Yang Zicang handed over a small wooden box.
“What is this? ” He Yishu raised his arm, which seemed somewhat unresponsive, and took it.
“You’ll know when you open it. “
Hua Mi, Xue Qi, and the others nearby looked at him with a trace of envy. Seeing the expression in He Yishu’s eyes that indicated he realized the item might be precious, they nodded encouragingly at him.
Opening it, he found a statue as long as an arm inside.
“This is…! “
“A Bloodline Statue. “
Yang Zicang, standing by the bed with his arms crossed, said, “It’s my former captain Mr. Mori’s Bloodline Statue. I believe that if he were still alive, he wouldn’t mind me giving it to you on his behalf. Now, you’ll have to seek out the Blood-line Circuit yourself. “
“This is too precious. ” He Yishu never expected to receive such a valuable gift. It seemed almost unbelievable to him.
“Take it, friend. ” Said Zorro, standing a few steps away from Yang Zicang.
“Between friends who have shared hardships, entrusting such precious items to each other for safekeeping is actually a more secure way of preservation. “
Gazing at this mottled stone carving bearing blurred facial marks, as if weathered by countless years, He Yishu clutched it tightly.
“Thank you, President. “
“You’re welcome. Now, take some time to rest. Later, we’ll go meet the distributors together. “
……
Just as Yang Zicang returned to the hotel room and pushed the door open, he saw Tata Mingqi sitting at the table, busily crafting something by hand.
“You… “
“Ah, you’re finally back. I’m swamped with work. I hope I never have to be an engraving craftsman again in this life. “
“You little rascal… ” Yang Zicang frowned, glancing at the doorknob. “Then just decline a few more orders. “
“Haha, I was just joking. “
Yang Zicang shook his head, walked over, tossed a leather bag onto a chair, then stared with ill intent at the boy working low over the floor, tapping away with a small hammer on an amulet.
“Speak up if there’s something you want to say. “
“Eh, and here I thought you’d ask me all on your own. “
Tata Mingqi threw the small, glossy-tipped black hammer in his hand onto the floor and picked up a silk amulet that was partly inlaid with silver thread.
“Since I’ve gotten such a great opportunity through you, I’ve made a decent profit this time, hehe. Anyway, you’ve fulfilled your contract with the distributors. So, I’ll tell you for free what kind of benefits come after a full, complete contract. “
“Mm-hmm. “
“The upside is…” Suddenly, Tataming’s expression froze on his face.
He sniffed with his nose, looked around in confusion, then raised his head and, under Yang Zicang’s fox-eyed scrutiny, began scanning his surroundings. He stood up and approached, sniffing left and right with his nostrils.
At first, Yang Zicang was a bit puzzled, but when Tataming’s nostrils neared his shoulder, his gaze narrowed slightly.
“You’d better come out now!“
“I’m over here.” A faint voice suddenly came from the windowsill across the room.
The two turned to look. A delicate, metallic bird with an enamel-like texture lifted its wing and placed a deep, small hat on its head. It turned its head slowly, exuding an oppressive, full of menace.
“For a mere first-layer Bone Spirit to actually detect my presence, you’re quite impressive, Cuckoo.“
Tataming huffed, puffing out his cheeks, and placed his hands on his hips, glaring at it.
-｛Distributor July · Mr. Lai noticed my current experience with interest.｝
The boy, turning his head, asked Yang Zicang helplessly:
“Bro, this mechanical stele bone spirit has been eavesdropping on a lot of our matters. Do you want me to let the moonlight’s radiance enshroud this place, isolate it, and then discuss our affairs?“
Little Cuckoo hopped on its tiny feet, looking over: “Is there something about the Moon Realm that you know and I don’t, that you needed to eavesdrop for?“
“Then tell me, why are you here?” Yang Zicang tilted his head and glanced at it.
The little bird instinctively licked its beak.
As it was mulling it over, Tataming said:
“The Moon Realm also has new plans emerging. However, as an Ether Beacon envoy who followed the court out, you shouldn’t be able to return there anymore, right. “
“And besides, your court has been utterly destroyed. ” The boy said, shifting his posture.
Stung in her sensitive spot, Little Bird lowered her head, as if a shadow of gloom surrounded her body.
“Alright, just get straight to the benefits. Anyway… he and I have had some agreements before. “
Unwilling to risk this unpredictable time bomb misfiring and messing things up for him over some trivial reason, Yang Zicang quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
“Then I’ll get straight to the point. “
Tatamingqi snapped his fingers, and the air in the room turned eerie, as a dark mist seemed to seep out from the surrounding walls, expanding to envelop the entire space.
Yang Zicang hadn’t been able to sense it before, but now he felt a faint, subtle trace of special Moonlight energy being projected into this place.
“This is the first-layer Moonlight. In short, this room is now equivalent to a small-scale Withered Forest. Well, that’s something that exists everywhere in our real world. “
Tatamingqi spread his hands and said:
“Generally, the Skeleton-Spirits crawling out of the Moon Realm into the human world mostly appear in those areas known as ‘Withered Forests,’ where there is dense Moon Realm energy. “
Little Bird shook its head, seeming to recover a bit of energy, and acted with extreme disdain, showing through its demeanor that it wasn’t interested in hearing any of this.
“Isn’t it said that the Moon Realm’s glory doesn’t shine upon newly created Tracks of Fate, forcing one to refine Moonlight to awaken one’s bloodline? “
“That’s because I’m here. “
Tatamingchi puffed out his chest with pride. “I’m like a mobile anchor point of the first layer of the Moon Realm. As long as I’m willing, Moonlight will pass through my shell and truly reflect into this… well, this room. “
His momentum diminishing slightly, he looked at Yang Zicang and added,
“Also, in the original human world, Covenant Moon Emissaries and Pulse-Mergers also need to obtain Moonlight layer by layer, and receive responses from the Soul Hall of the Moon Realm to awaken their bloodline abilities. “
Little Bird fluttered over in a sudden motion, landing on Yang Zicang’s head, and stared down at the boy below, saying,
“Did you find me by smelling the Moonlight aura on me? “
“That’s not it. You’ve almost no connection to the Moon Realm anymore. “
“Annoying. At least there’ll surely be a tiny bit, right? ” Little Bird, suspicious yet full of anticipation, stared at the boy who lifted his head in a forced smile.
Tatamingchi put his hands on his hips and said, “The smell of alcohol on you is the same as the one I caught in the tavern. “
Cuckoo was so shocked he jerked his head away violently.
Yang Zicang let out a somewhat disappointed sigh. “So, what was that piece of news you were about to tell me? “
Tatamingchi toyed with the protective talisman pendant hanging around his neck and said,
“Mm-hmm. That news is basically my own story, a retelling of it. But the protagonist has to be you—or rather, your statue. “
“A statue… of me? ” Yang Zicang’s mind immediately began racing, and in an instant, he seemed to realize something.
As her companion froze at Yang Zicang’s stunned expression, Little Bird fluttered her wings slightly.
“Unlike me, who can reflect Moonlight, what your statues emit are the radiance of your fate fragments. Generally speaking, the Moon People who approach your statues can feel the brilliant life experiences emanating from your glorious light, thereby restoring some human rationality. Consider those ordinary Skeleton-Spirits—among millions, not one has the chance to become like me. “
Yang Zicang stood there somewhat stunned, frozen in place.
He thought about his own collected experiences, those treasured and purchased by the Moon Realm Distributors.
The world where Wu Zheng resided—those humanoid forms covered in bones within the saint’s Psychic Loss Field.
The skeletal beings that could neither die completely nor be resurrected stood paralyzed on the desolate land for thousands or even tens of thousands of years, wandering aimlessly like withered trees through the wilderness, unable to find any human creation to soothe the desires within their hearts, let alone enjoy the sensations brought by organs and skin.
“This is… why you came to this world… “
“This is the agreement reached between the Holy Ring Council and the saints of the Moon Realm. “
“That’s absolutely incredible, Cuckoo. Those bones must long for some taste of human life. “
“Yes, that’s also what drives them to keep climbing and striving. ” Tata Mingqi nodded, then turned his gaze to Yang Zicang:
“Your statue in the Seventh Layer of the Lunar Realm will be unveiled soon. A statue carved from a portion of ‘Heroic Flash’. Within the strings of fate it bears, the soaring essence-energy converges from the heroes. For the lifeless Skeleton-Spirits, it is nothing less than a perfect nourishment of life essence. “
Cuckoo flapped its wings happily and soared up, chirping: “Even for humans, it’s a rousing anthem, Cuckoo~ Let alone the little twigs, Cuckoo~ “
“No wonder you wanted to take all our radiance and glow. “
Yang Zicang murmured softly. He had once fantasized that if the glow among the distributors could be owned by him, like the Presidential Suite in the Hostel of Divinity, it would have been wonderful.
Then he and everyone else could gradually and steadily rewrite the fates of countless people and events, starting small and expanding outward.
But at this moment, he felt relieved instead.
“What a pity, ” Yang Zicang said with a light chuckle. “If I had known it would come to this, I would have sold this glow to you. “
“Huh? What! ” Tata Mingqi looked over in shock.
“My adopted son is still on the first level of the Moon Realm. If he knew that his undying king of a godfather is changing a world’s future locked by this era, he would surely be proud of me, wouldn’t he! “
As Yang Zicang spoke this sentence to himself with his arms crossed, Loki. Tata Mingqi suddenly slammed the talisman in his hand hard onto the floor.
“Five Radiances, to hell with them! “
……
At night, Yang Zicang lay in his bed, still feeling a sweet taste in his heart.
Yang Zicang had never imagined that his own changes to the world would, across another barren land, silently rewrite the fates of many Skeleton-Spirits through enduring statues over a long period.
Suddenly, Yang Zicang felt a greater urgency regarding the acquisition of Radiance and his transactions with the distributor.
Turning over in bed, Yang Zicang looked at the other pillow by his head. He suddenly thought of Haili Koni, gently sitting on the bedside, enjoying how he softly blow-dried her hair, along with the faint fragrance emanating from her and the softness of her hair strands.
“Koni, ” Yang Zicang muttered. After speaking, another image surfaced in his mind: the boy with two horns emerging from the Trail of Light inside the Feilü Inn.
“Coming back from the future. And calling me ‘Dad’… “
Yang Zicang fell silent for a moment, clutching the corner of his quilt. He furrowed his brows, pondering in his mind for a while.
“This… “
A faint, uncanny feeling crept into his heart.
No. He abruptly threw off the quilt and, somewhat urgently, slipped on his shoes and walked toward the door. But upon touching the doorknob, he hesitated.
“What if… if I have a girlfriend now, will that son of mine… Will changing the future be his death? “
Yang Zicang’s mind grew heavy with this thought.
Knock knock!
Yang Zicang startled. Glancing through the peephole in the door, he saw the beautiful silhouette of Haili Koni standing outside, a smile on her face and supper bags in her hands.
Slowly, tiny beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Why were there horns growing from her head… Should the future be changed… His eyes were fixed on the woman’s face, which combined beauty and a certain lofty spirit beyond the door.
Her personality, her wisdom, and a certain budding affection in a maiden’s heart…
He had, in truth, begun to harbor certain thoughts and expectations himself… Yang Zicang recognized this from the faint, guilt-laden yearning for Xu Aiyuan.
But…
This time, that spark of light was all thanks to the boy…
Yang Zicang looked at the door handle in his hand.
Dong! Dong-dong!
A somewhat deeper-sounding knock echoed from outside the door again.
“Mr. Buchen, I heard you’ve returned. “
Haili Koni tilted her head, leaning closer to the door.
“I brought some of the late-night snacks your people from the continent most enjoy. I made them for a long time. “
Yang Zicang stood rooted inside the door as if facing a formidable enemy, his hand gripping the handle. What should he do…
Suddenly, a little bird appeared beside Haili Koni, twisting its head to stare at the bottles of beer in her food bag. It licked the edge of its beak and said, “He’s fine with it. “
Yang Zicang’s eyes snapped wide open. “Damn it! “
……
The Grand Duchy of Helzenhorz Castle.
The original palace of Grand Port City was already occupied by an armed uprising force.
Or rather, the high-ranking officials of the Grand Duchy inside had long since been evacuated, leaving behind an empty shell.
Artworks were toppled, antiques were smashed, treasures were plundered, and the halls were set ablaze.
Like the riots gradually igniting elsewhere on the continent, the chaos here, no matter what people do to vent, is beginning to draw no attention.
Because after the apocalyptic catastrophe in mid-to-late June, all life on the surface will naturally quiet down. The owners of the land will naturally return, clean things up, and continue to build tall palaces.
“The World Ark’s Heroic Deeds Cannot Conceal Rotting Public Opinion, Chaos Is Intensifying Across the World “
At this moment, in a certain sunless room.
Yao Xiaoqin set down the newspaper with a calm expression.
She glanced fondly at her own growingly beautiful reflection in the mirror. Since meeting that gentleman and having him inscribe that name-like pattern into her Mental Sea, the changes in her skin tone and temperament had become increasingly rapid.
“Perhaps this is the benefit of attaching oneself to an ancient family. “
Even though she was a Fogfolk capable of longevity without dying, she still reaped rewards from this.
“After all, he is the monarch of a nation, ” she murmured distractedly, glancing at the air beside her while stroking her own skin.
……
In another slightly larger palace-like bedroom.
Leonhard stood beneath a painting of himself and his father, shaking a kind of herbal juice in his hand.
_”Your Highness the Crown Prince, Miss Yao Sumang is exactly as we guessed. Even after witnessing President Buchen’s feat, her psyche showed no significant fluctuation.
In other words, that young lady has lost all interest in aimlessly searching for special events outside like a headless fly. _”
“Feat… ” Leonhard muttered, then lifted his head to look at the man who had been protecting him within the sub-ether force field.
“So you think her heart lies with the royal family now? “
The man lowered his head and said coldly, “At the very least, her attraction to the powerful and noble can be seen—from how she painstakingly got close to the director of her association, only to abandon him at the moment of success without hesitation and rush straight to Your Highness, the Grand Crown Prince. “
Leonhard raised the herbal liquid in his hand, sniffed it, suppressed a strange odor, and slowly drank it down.
“I hear that only by being with a foreign woman can one digest this kind of tobacco vine-sap quickly. ” Leonhard swallowed the medicine and looked at the empty glass he was turning in his hand.
“That kind of ritual, may be uncertain, ” the man opposite prompted cautiously.
“Hmph, I’m guessing that ugly woman’s excuse. But their family’s stuff is indeed not bad. As for Su-Man, huh, I wanted to see if I could use her to try getting into that lodge. Turns out she gave up on the chance to return, just for the title of queen. “
“That status only works for Fogfolk. ” The man, dressed in an ancient palace guard’s uniform, continued to remind him. Noticing that the Crown Prince’s expression was turning displeased, he pressed on:
“At the very least, it tested Miss Yao Su-Man’s loyalty to Your Highness. “
“More like loyalty to fame and reputation. “
Leonhard placed the glass on the surface of a dark cabinet decorated with intricate lacquer carvings.
“But I appreciate this kind of determined loyalty. That intangible, fickle thing called love is indeed not suitable for my queen. Well then, Herne, lead the way. “
Herne took out a business card and, with the Crown Prince’s composed, closed eyes, led him away from this bedroom that had no door, only a few breathing holes.
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