The four of them set off for the port to take a ship to the next continent.
The journey to the port took a day, though, it would have been shorter if they had not taken breaks in between, and stayed overnight at an inn along the way.
“Young mistresses, young masters, we have arrived at Biru.”
Cecil closed the book she was reading about medicinal plants, heaving a sigh. “Finally.”
I bet this town is named after the colour blue in another language.
Cecil thought for a moment, when she heard the name of the town stated by the carriage driver.
Hana gasped awake, rubbing at her eyes in a drowsy manner.
Whereas, K’xug still had his eyes closed and Xue slowly opened his eyes as they drifted over to the raven-haired woman opposite him.
The doors to the carriage opened and K’xug exited first since he wanted nothing more than to stretch his stiff body. The next to exit was Hana, and K’xug naturally reached his hand out for her to hold, and Hana accepted his aid without qualms.
Xue exited next, and followed by Cecil. Just like K’xug, Xue naturally reached his hand out as well, only for Cecil to push it away gently.
“I have my own arms and legs to support myself.” Cecil stated, lifting her dress slightly and stepping down from the carriage.
A memory of Cecil doing the same exact action and saying similar words flashed past his mind, making him blink. Xue watched as Cecil walked forward, stretching her arms into the air and she sighed in relief.
They had spent almost half the time in that carriage, and her body was stiff.
Meanwhile, Xue stared at his hand with a faint smile on his lips and he walked forward, standing beside Cecil.
Biru, the town where the port of the Han continent was located, was filled to the brim with people especially with people from other continents. Naturally, since this town was given more attention as it was the entrance to the Han continent, it seemed more sophisticated compared to other towns.
Cecil did not recall ever seeing any town looking so vibrant and grand, even the Eagle Academy and the town, Indigo, could not even compare.
There was an enormous fountain in the center of the town, and the pavement wasn't made of gravel but concrete with a simple but pleasing design.
Among the four of them, it was only Cecil who was struck with awe...which was to be expected. Even though she herself knew she had been here over a million times, but that wasn’t her. After all, Cecil was someone who transmigrated over. It was different from viewing images from her memory rather than seeing it in person.
Whereas, Hana came here frequently with her parents along with Cecil’s parents, since they were wealthy merchants after all. Towns with a port was a big benefit to their trading business.
Meanwhile, K’xug and Xue who had experienced the opulent lifestyle in the heavenly realm were unfazed by such a measly sight.
Just then, a loud rumbling sound was heard from one of them.
K’xug, Cecil and Xue turned to look at the red-haired woman standing next to them, and Hana only lifted her head up, showing a sheepish smile.
“I’m...I’m hungry.”
“Alright, let’s go eat first before heading to the port,” Cecil smiled. “I am hungry too.”
Hana brightened up instantly. “Then, let me lead the way! My parents once brought me to a place to eat in this town, and it was soooooo delicious!”
“Lead the way then, Hana,” Cecil gestured before she paused. “Ah, but no going into alleyways.”
“...or following random strangers into alleyways either,” Xue added on. “Even if they offer free food.”
K’xug nodded in agreement, his expression solemn.
I do not want to start punching mortals either.
Hana looked at the three of them agreeing with one another, and she pouted to herself. “Why do I feel like all of you are treating me like a little kid?”
“Well…” Cecil chuckled nervously.
Xue rubbed at his nose, sniffling.
K’xug shrugged.
You are like a little kid.
Hana continued pouting.
***
True to her words, Hana led the way without wandering into alleyways, and the food was indeed delicious.
The four of them exited the restaurant, and Cecil counted the remaining money in their hands, contemplating.
We definitely need to find a way to earn money once we reach the next continent.
Cecil tapped her fingers on her chin.
“What are you thinking about?”
She snapped out of her thoughts, looking at the ash blonde-haired man standing beside her.
“How did you know I was thinking about something?”
“Whenever you do this,” Xue explained, mimicking her actions by tapping his finger on his chin. “I know you are thinking about something.”
Her finger on her chin froze, and Cecil gradually brought it down as she blinked rapidly. “...I didn’t know I did that.”
“Is that so?” Xue softened his gaze. “I always see you doing that though.”
Cecil absorbed his words, her eyes meeting his.
Always see me…
So you have been looking at me the entire time--
Once that thought crossed Cecil’s mind, her eyes widened in realisation and she inhaled sharply. She also noticed how soft his gaze was at this moment, making her heart jump.
She hurriedly averted her eyes, her hands flying to her cheeks that were growing warm.
Not again!
I am feeling conscious again!
Xue noticed her avoiding his gaze, and he frowned in confusion.
“...?”
Cecil was not avoiding him as much anymore, but she was still avoiding him sometimes. Just like now, where she dared not look at him straight in the eyes, despite doing that without any difficulty moments ago.
Hana skipped her way to the group waiting outside the restaurant for her. She managed to ask the chef personally about the recipe of a food, and it made her extremely happy.
She had the chance to cook and eat such delicious food for herself!
“I’m done! Where should we go now? To the port?” Hana exclaimed.
Cecil grabbed Hana’s hand hastily, dragging her along. “Yes, let’s go to the port! We need to choose the boat!”
Hana obediently allowed herself to be dragged along, her mind still stuck on the recipe in her mind as she darted out her tongue, licking her lips.
K’xug patted Xue on the back, nudging his head at him to move along.
There was a slight gloomy look in Xue’s grey eyes as the two men trailed behind the two ladies.
***
“Fresh fish for sale!”
“Were these just caught recently?”
“Yep, ma’am! Fresh out from the sea! You can’t get this anywhere else!”
“Give me a bag of those!”
“That’s a little pricey, anyway you can give me a discount?”
The four of them arrived at the port, and it was bustling with even more activity. Hana pulled at the edges of K’xug’s clothes to ensure she wouldn’t get dragged away by the crowd.
Meanwhile, a drunkard almost collided into Cecil, and Xue reached his hand out, pulling Cecil close to him. He narrowed his eyes at the drunkard stumbling around in broad daylight, a bottle in his hands.
Cecil glanced at the arm that was wrapped around her shoulder in a protective manner, before she ducked her head down, growing shy.
She couldn’t deny it.
It felt...nice.
“Ah!” Hana’s fingers slipped from K’xug clothes.
K’xug hastily held her hand and pulled her forward slightly.
Hold my hand, or you’ll get swept away by the crowd.
“Okay!” Hana beamed, nodding her head. “Ah, Cecil, which boat should we choose? And where?”
“Hmm…” Cecil hummed thoughtfully, her hand going to her chin again. “The places to rent a boat should be just right in front, and which boat to choose…”
In the novel, Xue and Hana did travel to the second continent with a ship. However, due to the lack of money at that time, they had to settle for a battered boat and unfortunately, the owner of the boat did not take care of his boat that well. It was simply because...he loved the thrill of a speedy boat.
Needless to say, the trip to the second continent on the battered boat was a terrifying one.
There was also another detail revealed during the boat ride, it was that Hana suffered easily from seasickness.
Thus, the boat ride wasn’t just a terrifying one where the owner narrowly avoided obstacles, but filled with Hana vomiting and gagging. Moreover, with the owner hollering and cheering at the top of his lungs at the thrilling boat ride, it did not help with the situation.
“We are not going for a cheap boat,” Cecil simply stated, nodding to herself. “Definitely not.”
She did not want to experience what Xue and Hana experienced in the novel.
***
They finally arrived at the part of the port where people rented boats or cruise ships to the second continent. At this part in the novel, Cecil remembered there was a cruise ship that would make a stop at the second continent, however, the tickets to that particular cruise ship were extremely expensive.
“Ay, young miss and misters, looking for a boat?”
Cecil forced a smile on her face, the musty smell surrounding him made her take a step back. She glanced at the battered boat that the owner was gesturing to, and she had no doubt that this owner was the same owner of the battered boat in the novel.
“No thank you.”
Hana shook her head as well.
K’xug and Xue observed the sad, pathetic boat with a frown.
The four of them moved on, their shoes softly hitting against the concrete pavement. Compared to before, the crowd here wasn’t as hectic, thus, the four of them could stroll on peacefully.
“Oh wow, look at that boat, it’s huge!” Hana gasped in amazement, pointing.
“That’s a cruise ship,” Cecil responded. “It is really huge.”
Cecil knew this was the same cruise ship mentioned in the novel. It was magnificent and luxurious, the exterior of the ship looked so clean, it was hard not to think that it was a new cruise ship.
If I had a choice, I would definitely choose this cruise ship to ride on…
But the ticket price…
Cecil sighed softly to herself, looking around at other choices.
No matter what, she had to choose a boat for them that had a resting area, and also, the owner of the boat had to drive at a steady pace.
She did not want Hana to start vomiting around the boat.
“Let’s ride on that ship then!” Hana suggested with a bright and excited smile.
Cecil snapped her head towards Hana.
“Whatever you choose, Cecil, I will follow--no, we will follow.”
Cecil looked towards Xue this time, her eyes widening. “What?”
Suddenly, she found three pairs of eyes on her and Cecil glanced at the three of them, sighing as she nodded.
“I guess we could check out that ship.”
Hana cheered.
The ticket price might have changed, who knows?
The four of them headed towards the grand cruise ship.
***
A man with long purple and black hair waved his hand in the air, and a transparent orb appeared out of thin air. His round eyes narrowed at the transparent orb hovering over his palm, black magic swirling inside of it, incessant.
He was inside a well-furnished room, though, the tone of the room was rather bleak.
All of a sudden, he felt a presence behind him and he waved his hand, the transparent orb disappearing from his palm. Just as he did that, a black portal formed behind him and a cobalt blue-haired man stepped out.
“So, what did you see?”
“Well, the same old scene,” Veau smirked lazily. “The angels are revolting even more, though, they seemed to be scrambling around instead.”
Zeau smiled softly, his expression benign but the scathing tone in his voice says otherwise.
“Still rebelling? How useless. Now that they are without a ruler, one can clearly see how pathetic these angels are.”
“They are pathetic even with a ruler.” Veau added on.
“Indeed--what is that smell?” Zeau furrowed his eyebrows, the benign expression started to crack slightly. “What concoction did you decide to douse yourself with this time?”
“To be honest, I do not have the slightest clue,” Veau shrugged. “Ah, but it is aromatic, is it not?”
“Very.”
“Tch, you are no fun. I want to see something ugly.”
“If you have time to fool around, drop by to have a chat with your old friend, Xue.”
Veau held a new set of clothing in his arms, preparing to change when he heard Zeau mention Xue and he paused.
“Spy on them? Why would I want to do that?”
“You allowed them to free K’xug, and he is now by their side,” Zeau narrowed his eyes at Veau. “Do you not think it won’t have the slightest implication in our plans?”
“By the time they have recovered fully, those plans will have been executed perfectly,” Veau responded nonchalantly, starting to change his clothes. “Why bother yourself with them?”
Zeau harrumphed.
It sickened him to think that they are happily enjoying their time down in the mortal realm together.
He wanted all of them to suffer.
“They do not deserve any peace, they should all suffer,” the smile gradually disappeared from Zeau’s face. “Suffer more.”
“Suffering?” Veau hummed to himself, nodding with a lazy smile. “I guess I can see something ugly again.”
“One more thing, Veau--”
Zeau began to say when his vision was blocked by a bunch of clothes flying to his face. Suddenly, he found himself breathing in the overwhelming awful stench that Veau’s clothes were soaked in.
“...”
“Burn the clothes.”
With those three words, Veau disappeared back to his own portal.
Zeau lifted the clothes from his face, black flames engulfing the clothes as he covered his nose with his hand. Once he found himself breathing in fresh air once again, Zeau heaved a sigh and he faced his own palm towards him again.
The transparent orb with black magic swirling in it appeared once again, and Zeau brought his head up.
A dark shadow hung over his demonic red eyes.
Zeau conjured his own portal silently and he teleported away as well. The well-furnished room went back to its original peaceful state, as if no one had ever been there.
***
《 start 》
It’s weird.
It’s weird how I never get tired of looking at you.
...and to think that looking at you used to make me annoyed.
Now, when I look at you…
It fills me up in ways I can never describe.
《 stop 》