Chapter 104: Myriad Lights
Under the faint mist, the surroundings felt somewhat deserted. The Old Man said he would find transportation for the two of them, but Su Jiu felt that at close range, their flying speed was not slower than cars.
After a while, the Old Man somehow produced a small cart, with a stack of wheat straw on it, seemingly tied to the back of a bicycle by a farmer.
He then chuckled and said to Su Jiu, who was standing by, “Get on, get on. It’s already early morning, let the Old Man give you a ride to see the dawn of Fuzhou.”
After personally fiddling by the river, he tossed a meter-long squid tentacle onto the cart and turned to Youyou, saying, “The usual, plain white spirits with a bit of new wine, and some skewers.”
Youyou, on the cart’s canopy, shrugged her shoulders, lightly patted the front of the cart, and with a “whoosh!”, shot towards the sky. She seemed to be heading back to the bar first.
Su Jiu didn’t stand on ceremony, got on the cart alone, leaned on the wheat straw, smelling the unique scent of dry grass, and looked at the hazy sky, feeling very hungry.
“Forget it, I’ll eat noodles at the bar.”
She touched the few Magic Crystals in her pouch, then glanced at Huo Huo, who was sleeping soundly in her sleeve. Su Jiu hugged the awake little Siren to her thigh; the creature was well-behaved, allowing her to do as she pleased.
Su Jiu felt that the previous mist was the other Siren coming to find this little one. Humans were not part of their diet, and without a large force, they wouldn’t dare to attack carelessly.
“Let’s wait for the adult Sirens to come and take this little one away.”
She, Su Jiu, was not a malicious person. If attacked, she would naturally fight back, but she wouldn’t kill a young one like this.
“Getting ready to go, take this, don’t starve yourself.” The Old Man tossed a purple, fist-sized, rhombic stone, then slowly started pedaling the bicycle.
In mid-air, it faintly emanated a soft glow.
“Is this… the Magic Crystal of that Giant Squid?”
Su Jiu was slightly startled, quickly catching it. It felt as heavy as a hundred catties in her hand. It was shaped like a small squid, and a salty sea smell assailed her nostrils. She wiped it with her sleeve again and couldn’t resist biting into it.
It had that oceanic taste, a bit fishy, slightly salty, and her body felt warm. The blood in her body was churning, as if it had increased a bit.
But Su Jiu knew she still had a long way to go to reach the Battle General level. When the qi in her body turned into liquid, she would truly be a Battle General, and at that time, her bloodline could be strengthened again.
However, the more talented one was, the later they would break through. It wasn’t that they couldn’t break through, but their bodies could withstand enough qi. If it were completely condensed, it would require continuous tempering for a long time every day.
And when they stepped into the Battle General level, they would crush those who casually broke through to become Battle Generals, or those without talent.
“Good morning.”
“Old Ma Zi next door is tired, leading a little horse to the market.”
“Can’t compare to this old man’s little broken cart, it carries my little ones to watch the night.”
…
On the empty road, the Old Man grinned and started singing, seemingly a local folk song he composed himself, humming it with great enjoyment.
Leaning on the grass and watching the Old Man entertain himself, Su Jiu thought of her maternal grandparents from her previous life. They looked like this…
“Are the Old Man’s descendants also Night Watchers?”
Su Jiu, putting away the Magic Crystal of that Battle King level lord, asked curiously.
She didn’t understand much of the dialect, but she understood the words “little ones…” three words. For such a powerful yet peaceful elder, who were his descendants?
The Old Man stopped his dialect song, turned his head, revealing his somewhat rotten teeth, and smiled, “Who else could it be? You and Youyou, and them, are all.”
Su Jiu was a bit dumbfounded, then asked again, “Doesn’t the Old Man have any descendants?”
Did the Old Man consider the entire bar as his grandchildren?
“No… this old man hasn’t married, I’m waiting for someone.”
Hearing this, the Old Man smiled and pedaled the small bicycle even more energetically, though his figure seemed a bit desolate.
Su Jiu sighed softly.
He had never married, and she didn’t know who he was waiting for. Perhaps… he was waiting for someone who only existed in history.
“Eight more days, and I can enter again. I wonder if my Vampire bloodline will be strengthened.”
Glancing at the milky white Dragon Head Ring on her right hand, Su Jiu leaned on the hay, hugged the little Siren, and fell into a deep sleep. Human habits still prevailed; she was truly tired after the battle.
She didn’t even ask about the Lianyun Song Troupe…
“No need for pity, the old man has the wind to accompany him, and the little bar to accompany him.”
The Old Man’s folk song was faintly audible in her ears, as if he was telling a story or talking to himself.
…
After an unknown amount of time, the small trailer arrived at a mountain top on a road.
“Wake up, let’s watch the sunrise.”
The Old Man’s shout sounded. Su Jiu rubbed her sleepy eyes, sighed, and looked up to see the small half of the sky dyed crimson. A red sun was just emerging from the other side of the distant sea.
For Su Jiu, a social outcast who had never seen a sunrise, this was an extremely shocking sight. She quickly took out her phone to prepare to take a picture.
“So early?”
Su Jiu tucked the sleeping little Siren into her sleeve, picked up her phone, and saw it was just past 4:30, exactly the time of dawn. As she was about to photograph the red sun,
She noticed the Old Man’s gaze was directed elsewhere. Following his gaze, Su Jiu was first confused, then looking at the smile on the Old Man’s face, a vague understanding dawned upon her.
It was the suburbs outside the road, with buildings of varying heights, and she could even see some people hurrying to the market, pulling trailers similar to the Old Man’s… Then, the red sun seemed to peek out over the market, like a declaration of the dawn.
If the Old Man hadn’t come tonight, would this place have been destroyed as a toy by that Battle King level Giant Squid?
“Watching the night…”
Taking a deep breath, Su Jiu took a picture of the sun and a few pictures of the suburbs. This was the night the Old Man watched, or perhaps…
Su Jiu’s gaze turned towards the sea. The sea was very calm now, but who knew when it would rage again? Beneath the sea, there were beings beyond the War God!
“Let’s go, otherwise, if it passes five o’clock, a lot more people will come.”
“Today, I also asked Youyou to make some skewers.”
The two got back onto the old broken cart. The sunlight had slowly shifted. In the morning light, Su Jiu was like a traveler, and the Old Man was the driver.
As for who was the driver for whom, the dawn seemed to say it all.
“Ding ding!”
Shaking her head, Su Jiu opened her phone and found that Youyou had sent her a message—
[I used a little stratagem and found that the Lianyun Song Troupe does indeed have problems. Most of their funds are transferred through an anonymous foreign account. Their actual income is insufficient to support this chain of stores.]
[But there is no information indicating their connection to Sirens. Their business computers show normal bills and such.]
Before Su Jiu could even type a reply, another message from her arrived:
[However, they have recently hired high school students as part-time workers, claiming it’s to reduce costs, but I feel something is strange. If you want to investigate, you can try joining them.]
