Chapter 305 - Calamity
Chapter 305: Calamity
The sea breeze lifted the thin curtain, making the blue seashells at the window flutter slightly and the chime made from corals chime.
Higan was sitting on the edge of the window. Even with Tang Ling’s mask on her face, her slender and beautiful body was like a night painting embedded at the window.
One could not help but wonder what she looked like under the mask yet could not bear the revelation. What if under the face under the mask did not match one’s expectations? Would it not destroy the romantic anticipation in one’s heart?
Many young men who walked past the street would lay their eyes on the window where she was, but none of them dared to fantasize.
Throughout the entire deck area of Darkness Port, other than the circular ring around the castle, this place would be the second most prestigious residential area. Not only did one have to be rich, but one must also be extremely powerful to settle down in one of the houses here. Gazing at the women in this particular area was a suicidal act.
On the other hand, Higan did not care about what the people outside the window thought of her. While she sat in the slightly salty sea breeze, she gazed upon the shell toy on the table. It was the first time she felt so complicated.
Under the toy was a piece of note and it was clearly from Tang Long based on the powerful and conservative strokes.
‘Look, she likes you too, so I brought her back.”
“Is that so?” Higan’s finger slid across the mask on her face as her thoughts were carried away by the breeze.
Tang Long was good to her, too good in fact, but he did not know that she never wanted to possess the toy. She did not even have the heart to possess anything. She seemed to be driven only by her emotions, and nothing else.
Still, why would she have the urge to take this mask? Wearing it seemed to remind her of the soothing scent from that person.
Her lips curled into a smile.
Higan was watching the reflection of the moon on the sea from the window while Tang Long was watching her from the yard.
In front of him was a glass of water. If not absolutely necessary, Tang Long would never have drunk water that had no benefits to his body. However, whenever he looked at Higan, even a glass of water would taste sweet.
Deep in his memories, the sky was always grayish-blue and the mountain paths were messy and disarranged. He would recall the rapid and violent torrent of the dark river, the vicious and scary monsters…
He thought his willpower would never collapse, yet as he went through the endless horrible scenes and hopeless slaughters, he was pushed to the brink of collapsing.
No one would understand how it felt to see a girl as beautiful as a painting in the direst and bleakest moment.
The feeling was not salvation, but the relief of all burdens before death. At least, the last scene he saw before his death was a dreamy and beautiful one, but he soon realized the girl was not a dream. She was real.
He could not forget how she had calmly walked towards him. He was weak and she was powerful. Death bloomed like flowers in her trail, yet it set off her merciful look. The flowers of death reaped the lives of the vicious and scary monsters one after another.
Expressionless, she had seemed to be seeking something as she muttered, but all she made were meaningless grunts.
That particular moment left a deep impression on Tang Long. He knew she had been looking for her support. Her muttering should have sounded clear once, but she had stayed in the horrible place for too long to the point that she had forgotten what she had been saying all along. Soon, it became more of a habit.
Tang Long was utterly sure of it to the point that it pained him.
She had walked past him when he had suddenly reached out to her and grabbed the hem of her dress.
When she turned around, her gaze had been so cold that it felt scary, but when she had a clear glimpse of Tang Long’s face, a tinge of doubt and confusion had flickered over her cold eyes. A series of reminiscences happened in her mind.
She had squatted down, sniffed Tang Long and sat down. Although she had not moved anymore, her eyes had been as empty as a void.
“Can I be with you?” Tang Long had asked.
She had nodded softly and that was the first impression that Tang Long had of Higan.
Even until today, whenever he thought of how purely she nodded, a complex sweetness would rise in his heart. Was it a sign that she recognized his scent from the very first meeting?
Strangely, as she judged people by scent, Tang Long really hoped that there was no one else in the world that possessed the scent that Higan acknowledged. If there really was, he would kill the person.
A tinge of coldness flashed in his eyes. Suddenly, one of his men came over and informed him, “Young Master Long, Mr. Qi Dou requests for a conversation.”
Tang Long nodded and stood up. He glanced at Higan before he walked into his own room.
Inside his room, Qi Dou was waiting on the other side of the call and his face was displayed on the transparent monitor on the wall. He seemed to be in a snowy place and further away from him was a wide expanse of mist-covered lake.
Qi Dou was taking sips of alcohol from his personal bottle gourd.
“Teacher.” Tang Long sat down and curiously sized up the environment around Qi Dou. He asked, “Where are you?”
“Scarn Safety Village, some rural place. I’m here because of the mysterious giant lake that appeared a while ago. It seized all the headlines back then,” Qi Dou answered.
“Did you discover anything?” Tang Long raised a curious brow, utterly inquisitive about the giant lake that had appeared out of nowhere.
“Nothing but secrets.” Qi Dou seemed to have no intention to discuss the topic. After a brief answer, he asked, “Did you meet Zero?”
“I did. Everything progressed smoothly. He has started guiding me in Precise Instinct for an hour a day for now.”
“Really?” Qi Dou was doubtful about the answer.
“Yes, in fact, we’ve already started the training today. I learned a lot.” Tang Long then paused for a while before he said, “He does have a message for you, Teacher. He said he will be fair to me, but he will remain neutral before the particular period. Then, he will only stay behind and observe.”
The doubt on Qi Dou’s face disappeared after he heard the message, but he sighed and exclamation flashed over his eyes. He went silent for a while before he said, “Great, it’s probably the best outcome that you can ask for. Cherish your training with him. Try to win his fondness and try to make him admire you.”
“I will, Teacher. Is there anything else for today?”
“There is, actually. A ship will arrive in Darkness Port in April. It will be the ship that the council has prepared for you. Genius prodigies from all over the world will gather in Darkness Port now as the factions within Darkness Port have started to make their move.
“And you, shouldn’t you start looking for your crew?” Qi Dou then took another sip of alcohol from his bottle gourd as he added, “Tang Ling should be in Darkness Port as well. It’s a good chance for you to face your demons.”
“Tang Ling?!” A complicated fierceness blazed in Tang Long’s gaze. He then asked, “Ship? My crew?”
“Yes, Tang Ling! But you cannot use the council’s influence to get to him in Darkness Port. You must defeat him fair and square because, in Darkness Port, no schemes and conspiracies are allowed. Strength speaks louder than anything.
“As for your ship and crew, all the major factions of the world have come to an agreement…”
******
Gulp!
Boss Huang drained the glass of milk from a Level 3 vicious beast in a single gulp.
Chomp, chomp!
He anxiously munched on a large chunk of sea sugarcane, and lastly, he stuffed two big mantous into his mouth, almost choking himself to death. He took less than a minute to gobble down all the food.
Tang Ling was overwhelmed by Boss Huang’s eating. He opened his mouth, trying to say something but he got a fierce glare in reply from Boss Huang.
“If somehow people know I’m eating, I’ll beat you up.”
“What does it have to do with me? Why not Ding Ling or Ding Dong?” Tang Ling argued angrily.
“Because you are more bulliable.” Boss Huang made it sound so righteous.
Tang Ling forced the grievance down his throat and told himself to bear with the rascal. Just you wait, I’ll beat you up every day when I am stronger than you!
“Are you going out today?” Boss Huang had actually left the table for the store, but he stopped halfway and asked Tang Ling.
“Mm-hmm,” Tang Ling answered with his nasal voice as he was concentrating on refining the piece of black iron blank.
“You’d better hurry up. Higan has been here for almost half an hour.” Boss Huang looked askance at him.
Nevertheless, Tang Ling turned a deaf ear to him as he removed the refined blank from the anvil and put a new blank on top. When it came to any kind of technique, as long as one mastered it and crossed the threshold, progress would follow.
Tang Ling felt like he had reached the entry-level and the set of three smithing techniques was not quite enough for him anymore. He longed for faster improvement. While Boss Huang was bored out with his dull reply and wanted to walk out from the smithing room, Tang Ling suddenly called him back.
Boss Huang turned around with a sleazy smile. “Ha! Still concerned about the girl, aren’t you?”
“I think I’m quite familiar with this set of three smithing techniques. Do you have other techniques to teach me?” Tang Ling did not care about Boss Huang’s question and voiced his request instead. A second later, he added with a strict look, “I love smithing for you, my dear boss. I love helping you make money. I want to learn, learn and learn!”
“Shut the hell up, you bastard! Do you think I’ll buy your words?” Boss Huang believed none of the words that came out from Tang Ling’s mouth because he was also a shameless rascal himself. He waved his hand and said, “I’ll teach you something new when you can refine 20 blanks in a day.”
“Great!” Tang Ling answered straightforwardly since it was not a difficult goal to achieve.
“Boss, I also want to know Ro Xin and Ro Li’s whereabouts. How much will it cost?” Tang Ling also asked about the Ro siblings as it should be time to reunite with them.
“Smart, eh? Asking the price of your first question.” Boss Huang’s eyes curved like crescent moons when he smiled. He raised a finger and said, “It’s not that expensive: 1 Black Sea coin. Think of a way to earn yourself the money.”
“Can you guarantee my safety? I don’t have any disguise now and you said that even before if I show my true face in Darkness Port, I’ll be fine!” Tang Ling added a new question.
“You little cunning bastard, trying to fish me for safety assurance?” Boss Huang pouted. He then took something out of his pocket and tossed it to Tang Ling. “Take this with you. Try not to get into trouble.”
What the hell is this? Some smelly sock?
Tang Ling held the lump of cloth in his hand. Then, he shook it open reluctantly and it turned out to be a face cloth with a dog’s head sewn on it and nothing else.
Isn’t Boss Huang a blacksmith? Why is he always carrying weird stuff with him? And Higan is here? Tsk, trouble much!
Frustrated, Tang Ling scratched his head and continued his smithing which was something that he found fascinating lately.