Cheng Yunze stood alone by the railing of this half-broken ancient ship with old cannons.
From the phantom structure high up on the ship, the First Mate withdrew his gaze that seemed to have truly pierced through the sea fog, wooden cabin partitions, and masts to understand some of the situation.
{Sir, they seem to be discussing something? }
{Yes… It seems related to that famous play from the land when we were alive. }
Two faint phantoms appeared beside him.
{A play? What’s the point of discussing that? }
{Not sure. } The First Mate’s figure shifted slightly as he mused, then said offhandedly: {Perhaps… those dramatists busy earning Radiance with their wishes have hidden something within this? }
{What’s the play exactly? } Another somewhat darker humanoid silhouette phantom asked.
{Mm, it’s a… quite ordinary story script co-written by a great playwright from our country and a fellow countryman—also someone who came to a different land in this world alongside the designer of our ship. It’s called, “Mist Maiden and the Colored Glass Cup. _}
Having said this, the First Mate glanced at a gray-black shadow nearby and sighed:
{That man named Chairman Yang is selecting people to deliver the relevant story intel to him. Perhaps the content of this story has become quite hard to find on land these days. That’s why he’s consulting to have his most trusted people take part in the kindling of this Radiant Star. }
{Sigh… It’s been such a long time since we’ve had a Radiance. If only a little more could be born again. }
As soon as this thought was born, the keen reactions long buried in the First Mate’s murky heart, like seeds ready to sprout, were instantly stirred and revealed by a gentle breeze.
He spun around abruptly, fixing his gaze on the figure on the distant deck.
Based on the previous conversation, the opportunity is only… that brief gap when Chairman Yang returns to pick up this person!
{Speaking of which… } a shadow beside him said, {I think I still remember some stories about the Glass Lantern. }
{Who doesn’t? Back then, its tickets were the cheapest and it was loved by the masses. }
{Right, especially Miss Wu’s spinning dance on the stage where she tiptoed and stretched out her arms. Who in the audience didn’t praise it? }
{Not every actress could dance that kind of dance, } another gray-black silhouette of a concentrated thought body said:
{But in every performance, before piecing together the shards of the Glass Lantern, when the unconscious crown prince was before the king and queen and the wicked eunuch, the dance she danced, showing her arduous journey through mountains and rivers to retrieve the glass shards—it was absolutely the most polished, the most empathetic, the most melancholy yet uplifting dance of all the actresses. }
Suddenly, a heavy thought emanated from the almost-transparent, human-like thought body of the First Mate beside them.
{It’s really great that you all still remember. }
{What? } Two gray shadows lifted their heads.
The First Mate, his arms folded across a phantom-like chest, tilted his head to observe the solitary figure leaning against the ship’s railing, gazing into the pitch-black, brooding sea.
{Get everyone here. } As the two shadowy figures stood there in disbelief, the owner of this silhouette continued, {Let’s go to them. We’ll tell them the story of the Radiant Jade Chalice. }
The two figures exchanged a dazed glance, then moved as if to speak but held back. In the end, they dissipated like wisps of evaporating mist.
Cheng Yunze stared straight ahead. Ruan Wenxiong was at the helm of this halved vessel, so he only needed to stay vigilant against any lurking dangers.
Suddenly, faint, deliberate rustling noises came from behind him—sounds mimicking someone imitating muffled, distorted footsteps.
The man turned his face. In his handsome features, there were barely discernible marks, as if etched by the biting, harsh wind.
Then he saw it: the ghostly figure of a burly man clad in old sailor’s clothes emerging from the mist blanketing the deck, flanked by several other figures on his left and right.
Beyond noting that the pale golden skeletal figure was slightly brighter, Cheng Yunze watched their approach without any change in his expression. He offered no words, either.
{Newcomers from the land. }
“Gentlemen. Is there something you need? ” Cheng Yunze addressed these figures—entities that resembled psychic constructs, yet wavered with an ethereal quality.
So this place isn’t safe either. In fact, it might be extremely dangerous.
{We want to tell you a story, } the figure said.
“Oh? ” Cheng Yunze’s gaze held a flicker of surprise. “What kind of story? ” he asked, his leisurely posture shifting as he withdrew his hand from the ship’s rail and straightened up to look ahead.
{It’s about a girl from the Land of Mist who searched for the fabled fragments of the Lihua treasure, rumored to have fallen from the heavens to earth, all to save someone. You may not know, but when this play first appeared, it was an absolute sensation on the Bright Land where we were staying. }
Cheng Yunze’s gaze shifted slightly, “The Bright Land…? “
{First, you must keep it a secret. }
The phantom let out a laugh, sharp and forceful. {Just like that group of people before; on this ship, we go our separate ways, not interfering with each other. } It smiled imposingly, {As long as you don’t harm the ship’s integrity while repairs are underway, we won’t make things difficult for you. }
“And after the ship is repaired? ” Cheng Yunze could sense a formidable aura radiating from the other party, as if they were the true and ultimate owners of this vessel.
{Once it’s fixed, I wouldn’t mind sharing this ship with a few more living people. }
Nearby the First Mate Adrian, who was speaking, several shadows shifted their gazes, turning to look at him.
Cheng Yunze let out a soft exhale. “Alright. Then tell me—what is the story about?“
……
Hailikoni, watching the airship through her binoculars, paid close attention to the beautiful girl who was now speaking in an increasingly fluid manner.
“This is… that smile she puts on to comfort herself when she’s under stress. Are those people behind her forcing her into making some kind of choice?“
“Koni, ” the woman grabbed her daughter’s shoulder, “Fenni’s words mean—are Yang Buchen and the others all not at Kruun? “
A faint sound came from the loudspeaker in the air.
— “So, to implement our Council’s original ideal of borderless rescue… “
Haili Koni slightly parted her red lips, gazing at the screen at the delicate face, nearly identical to her own, that smiled gently as she looked ahead, almost as if locking eyes with her.
People across the city, sensing something unusual in the woman’s expression and demeanor, briefly lowered their voices.
— “Our World Ark has no intention of ruling over the communication facilities of any nation. ” Suddenly, she picked up the shiny silver microphone, as if shedding a mask, and said, “I have also considered handing it over to a single country. “
On the balcony of an old Haili family residence, Viceroy Lanni, supported by company, stepped out with a cane in visible shock.
“What is she about to do! “
“Who knows? Could she be planning to stand against the Empire? “
“Her! ” He struck the ground heavily with his cane!
— “But I believe the original intention of Chairman Yang and the rest of us was not to hand it over for one person’s monopoly. “
……
Evil Blade Liuyun had already melted into the chaotic darkness outside the vehicle, like a silent night wind.
“Hey, wait up, ” Jiang Tao said, pulling the still-sleepy Sha’er away from the public bus, which was shielded by the old, tattered cloth curtains, and followed after him.
Beyond the border marked by a row of wooden stakes and barbed wire ahead, the shantytown was densely packed and bustling with shadows of people. Their gazes were all fixed in terror or excitement on the airship hovering midair. Another figure was struggling to climb up the thick mooring rope below it.
Shouts of curses and fury drifted down on the night wind.
—She, too, dreamed of donating them to local cities for free for public property donated throughout the developing…
The two ran while watching the girl speaking on the airscreen.
“But this still left something immensely persuasive controlling society’s means! “
Evilty Blade Liuyun ghost-like sidestepped an obstruction and dashed straight toward the densest part of the crowd directly beneath the blimp.
He slid along the shadows of the dilapidated shantytown, heading for the open area where the tethering anchor rope was stickily pulled to the earth. This particular area was being guarded under minimal security codes guarded closely bare-backed was fighting ground under armed naked was flanked by several brute handlers guaranteeing heavy guns and large ones bearing territorial weight sway firmly tug — armored shoulder brute protect under and guarantee guard obviously they safely control the police guard for within out of climb disturb colleague contact interventional stop
“Halt! ” snapped some sentinels as recognized soldiers running through surrounding approaching.
Liu Yun’s hand will not moving ever downwards tight enough, cracking among hiding no-show whole dagger band and hold extended a entire pole cold toward the edges.
Facial hordes purely cold gush meet his under sight inside glare dash away through escaping passing.
Although the burly man felt no pain, a nameless fear that penetrated to the marrow of his bones suddenly seized him, as if something invisible yet vitally important had been gently “toggled, ” and all his strength drained away in an instant!
The few people around felt a sinister and terrifying aura awaken inside them, as if another, invisible body was being expelled from their own by the blade’s aura.
“Ah! “
— “…For the people of the world, I, on behalf of the World Ark, a truly borderless… “
The four or five people guarding the Anchor Point scattered like startled beasts, clearing out with a whoosh.
— “…For all the airship equipment floating in major cities around the world, we are conducting charity auctions tailored to local conditions… “
“What? “
Many people below looked up.
Seeing the group’s reaction, Evil Blade retracted the imposing pressure of his spiritual will emanating from the scabbard. That already terrified burly man felt as if he had snapped out of a daze; with a loud shout, he turned and ran away without looking back, gripping his machete.
“Hey, you down there! “
From the darkness nearly a hundred meters above, it seemed someone was shouting.
Just as Evil Blade Liuyun looked up beside the Anchor Point, the two tagalongs behind him shoved through the noisy crowd and ran over.
“Wow, it’s so high looking down from here. ” Sha’er’s gaze swept over the airship before settling on those people below, stuck halfway up and down. Suddenly, she heard a crisp click—the sound of a round being chambered.
Jiang Tao beside him picked up a black pistol and aimed it upward. “Come down, or I’ll shoot! “
Hearing this, Sha’er quickly searched around with her eyes, found a stone about the size of a fist, ran to pick it up, raised it, aimed at the nearest person above who was surprised by his companion’s escape, and said, “If you don’t come down now, I’ll throw it! “
“Huh? How dare you meddle in our brothers’ affairs… “
Bang!
Jiang Tao fired a blank shot in another direction, afraid the bullet might pierce the airship’s gasbag, but this shot still had an effect.
On the rope, a climber above, startled by this sudden short burst, lost his grip and fell straight down from the rope with a scream. With a “thud, ” he crashed onto the shed roof, then rolled to the ground, writhing and curling up in pain, rolling back and forth convulsively.
-｛Distributor April·Bern gave me a Favorable Review.｝
Jiang Tao’s face lit up with joy.
-｛Distributor February·Diocha marked a new node for the prelude of glory I am nurturing.｝
Then he saw a stone flying clumsily in a parabolic arc through the air, passing over the head of a man tightly holding onto the rope.
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