Chapter 256: Departure, Journey to Chuan Yu (4k)
Gazing at the black token, carved with crow feathers and a golden pupil in the center, even the commander couldn’t help but slightly shrink his pupils. After a long while, he exclaimed in astonishment: “Night Watcher Elder’s token… Shiyu Order?! This item isn’t something only Battle King Level Night Watchers are qualified to obtain?”
It should be known that this thing had no other function, nor did it grant any overt power, but it was a symbol of identity. During missions, with the token as a pledge, one could receive Battle God Level treatment and convenience. This was also related to the positioning of the Night Watchers. If they weren’t stationed in their permanent positions, they couldn’t wield authority. After all, as the dark organization of the Dragon Country, the Shadows were ultimately hidden in the dark. Cooperating with the overt Dragon Hunters, dividing their duties, was the best arrangement. Moreover, in a world where martial power could disrupt order, power was actually linked to strength. If you were a Battle God, even if you didn’t join any organization, a commander like this Dragon Hunter would have to respectfully call you “Sir.” This was also why Su Jiu desperately wanted to improve her strength. Power brought by identity was only useful in the eyes of those who recognized that power. Facing evil organizations like the Ancient God Sect, or monsters and the Others, the only thing useful was… her fist.
“Don’t tell anyone you’re not dead.” The black-clad middle-aged man lightly tapped the table, making a clicking sound. “Why?” Su Jiu was slightly stunned by the words and subconsciously asked. She was planning to buy a phone and then report her safety. “Because you’ve disrupted the Ancient God Sect’s affairs several times, you’ve already been targeted by some hidden agents. On your father’s side, our people captured a few hidden agents, and under interrogation, they confirmed whether you had the strength of an invincible Battle General. They were planning to send an Intermediate Battle King to kill you, but they didn’t expect you to die too, so they shifted their target to your father.”
The hoarse voice sounded again, accompanied by the tapping of the table, speaking in a rather serious tone. He paused, his tone softening slightly, “…We have already arranged for your father to be protected in Magic City, so you don’t have to worry about anything else.” “Remember, before you have the strength to escape from an Intermediate Battle King, don’t easily reveal your identity. The madmen of the Ancient God Sect have already targeted you. Take advantage of this fake death to escape and earnestly improve your strength.”
“Thank you for the warning, senior… Where is he?” Gently taking it, her gaze fell upon the token, and she was momentarily lost in thought. When Su Jiu looked up at the middle-aged man again, he had already disappeared. Only a few crow feathers were spinning in place, as if indicating that the person had not left long ago. “This is… Night Watcher attire? This is the first time I’ve seen this style, but judging by the material, it should also be an Alchemical Item. I just don’t know its effects.” As Su Jiu looked around, trying to find his figure, she noticed that a black women’s trench coat had appeared on the chair. The crow feathers on the shawl seemed to be slightly floating. Su Jiu picked up the clothes, and it seemed that at the bottom was a black long skirt, with a hidden opening for a sword at a touchable place.
“Before you have the strength to escape from an Intermediate Battle King, appear as a Night Watcher with the codename ‘Jiu’… wear the Crow Feather Attire, wield the Shiyu Order, kill those who deserve to be killed, and uphold the name of our Night Watch.” The voice was somewhat ethereal, as if coming from the heavens above, slowly fading away until it disappeared. The Dragon Hunter commander glanced at the clothes on the chair, then at Su Jiu, his eyes becoming somewhat complex. When Su Jiu put on these clothes, she was already at the same level as him.
Sighing slightly, he then waved to summon two subordinates and instructed them briefly, “Prepare resting rooms for these esteemed guests, to be treated with the specifications of a Commander.” “Yes!” The two subordinates looked at him with some confusion, but under his unquestionable gaze, they quickly nodded and hurried to handle it. “If I want to remain anonymous, I can’t wear this Hanfu either. I can change into these clothes when I return to my room later. As long as I don’t wear the shawl, it’s no different from an ordinary slim-fit long skirt.”
Packing the black robe into the box with the Hanfu, and hanging the token on her waist, Su Jiu somewhat understood why some people said that Night Watchers had eccentric and reclusive personalities. The elder’s conduct was somewhat baffling. However, since the other party wanted her to remain anonymous, there must be a reason. It was better to be careful until Li Yu was completely promoted to Intermediate Battle General. However, both the Ancient God Sect and the official side had a misconception – she could actually escape from ordinary Intermediate Battle Kings with ease. If she obtained Li Yu, she should be able to contend with them equally.
“I will definitely instruct my subordinates to keep their mouths shut about today’s events and not to spread any rumors.” The commander glanced around and said loudly with cupped fists. A moment later, finding that there was nothing else for him, he asked Su Jiu, “Does Miss Jiu have any other needs? If not, I will go ahead to the coast to continue patrolling.” Su Jiu pondered for a moment, thinking that her merits were unusable, and she even used paper currency to buy cake. She quickly said, “Help me buy two mobile phones…” She had promised Bairnis the phone but hadn’t bought it for him yet.
Before she could finish speaking, she saw Bai Zhi’s head peeking out from the main entrance, so she changed her mind and said, “Three mobile phones!” The Vice Principal of Chuan Yu University also stroked his beard, looked at Su Jiu’s face, and said with a hint of solemnity, “I will definitely tell those students not to speak carelessly. Although the Ancient God Sect’s influence is not widespread in our country, it is not difficult for them to infiltrate a Black-clad Bishop or Priest… we still need to be careful.”
“This junior understands, thank you, old sir.” Hearing this, Su Jiu nodded slightly. She could truly understand the pervasive methods of the Ancient God Sect. She even had a premonition that it wouldn’t be long before she truly fought a strong practitioner of the Ancient God Sect. After exchanging a few words with the two elders, Su Jiu learned that she could encounter the Nine-Transformation Soul-Returning Grass at an auction held in the capital of Chuan Yu in a few days. Coincidentally, the buyer wanted to exchange items for it, which made Su Jiu a little excited, and she already had some plans. She would first get the Flame Phoenix Sparrow’s Li Yu, then catch a dozen or so monster beasts as Bai Zhi mentioned and sell them at the auction. She would use the Floating Life Blossom to exchange for the Nine-Transformation Soul-Returning Grass, and then see if there were any other items she needed, which she would buy with money at that time.
“I’m leaving now… you two.” After agreeing with the Vice Principal of Chuan Yu University to set off immediately tomorrow, Su Jiu cupped her fists and bowed to the two elders, then walked to the main entrance and touched Bai Zhi’s head, smiling and asking, “Were you waiting long?” “I’m not a child anymore, stop touching my head!” Shaking her head, Bai Zhi rolled her eyes, slapped Su Jiu’s hand away, then turned and walked towards the corridor outside, her hands behind her back, humming a meaningless song, seeming to be in a good mood.
“Is this girl on the wrong medicine? She was still looking grumpy earlier.” Looking at her retreating back, Su Jiu smiled helplessly. She couldn’t quite understand Bai Zhi’s thoughts. Seemingly noticing that Su Jiu wasn’t following, Bai Zhi turned around, blinked her eyes, waved her sleeves again, and shouted, “What are you spacing out for! Hurry up! My cake should be ready!” “This girl… Oh, so she’s just hungry.” Hearing her voice, Su Jiu was stunned for a moment, then chuckled and shook her head, slowly following. They left the Dragon Hunters Alliance, and it was already nearing evening outside. Their figures were stretched long under the streetlights, walking side by side, without a sound, just walking quietly.
Soon, Su Jiu got Bai Zhi’s cake from the cake shop. It was adorned with small flowers and had Bai Zhi’s name written on it. Bai Zhi glanced at it casually, pretending not to care, her green silk constantly blowing in the breeze, her bright eyes flashing with a cunning glint. The two of them walking side by side looked somewhat like high school sweethearts, one mature and subtly charming, the other quirky and clever, a perfect match for a science student and a liberal arts junior schoolmate. “We’ll go to Chuan Yu Province tomorrow…” “Is there anything delicious?” “…”
Dragon Hunters Alliance, in a clean guest room. The next day, the red sun rose, and the wind, with its slightly salty and damp smell, entered Su Jiu’s nose. She slightly opened her eyes, looking at Bai Zhi, who had fallen asleep on the table with some cream on her face. She then smiled and said, “This little glutton…” Last night, this tsundere little flower fairy kept saying she didn’t like it, but she ate more than half of the cake, which was quite amusing. Tidying her clothes, she changed into the Night Watcher’s long skirt, but she took off the shawl that symbolized her identity, which made Su Jiu’s temperament lean towards Bairnis, very classical, but the crow feather carvings on the dress made this feminized attire look quite solemn.
“We should go.” Gently wiping the cream from Bai Zhi’s corner of her mouth with a tissue, Su Jiu pulled the cat-like Bai Zhi, and they pushed open the door. However, she didn’t notice that the latter still looked sleepy. At the entrance of the Dragon Hunters Alliance, the Vice Principal of Chuan Yu University had been waiting for a long time. Beside him were three bird monsters the size of motorcycles and a person who looked like a beast tamer. Seeing Su Jiu approach, the Vice Principal turned his head, laughed heartily, and said, “Little friend Jiu, you made me wait!”
“Old sir, are we going to take these Qian Cheng directly to Chuan Yu Province later?” Su Jiu looked at these birds with great surprise. She recognized these bird monsters, named Qian Cheng. As herbivores, they were extremely gentle and easily tamed by humans. As their name suggested, they could carry people for a thousand miles and had excellent endurance. These Qian Cheng could fly at a stable speed for nearly four or five days, and their carrying capacity was quite good. An adult Qian Cheng could easily carry three or four times its own weight for a long flight. However, precisely because of their widespread nature, Qian Cheng were not very valuable, and very few people kept them as beast pets. But with the principal’s strength, he shouldn’t need riding beasts, right?
As if understanding Su Jiu’s implied meaning, the Vice Principal of Chuan Yu University said with a wry smile, “Originally, I could have taken the two of you directly to Yunpu City, but the school urgently summoned me back. It seems there have been traces of the Ancient God Sect near our provincial capital. Our students discovered that they were buying large quantities of raw silver mother.”
“Raw silver mother? Isn’t this something used to restrict the movement of monsters? Its most widespread use… seems to be for making Alchemical Balls to capture monsters.” Su Jiu frowned and muttered to herself. When she was bored on the small ice boat, she would take out some basic alchemy knowledge to read, so she naturally understood the function of raw silver mother. “I don’t understand these things very well, but school safety is my responsibility, otherwise, I wouldn’t have been allowed to travel here… Please come up first.” The Vice Principal supported one of the Qian Cheng with one hand, went up first, gently patted the Qian Cheng’s head, then turned to Su Jiu and the two of them and said, “Chuan Yu University is quite a distance from Yunpu City. After I escort you into Chuan Yu Province, everything will depend on you. However, these Qian Cheng are professionally trained, and they will try their best to avoid routes with fierce monsters, so you don’t have to worry about being attacked by powerful monsters.”
“Mm.” Su Jiu nodded slightly, lightly tapping her toes on the ground, and her figure floated onto the Qian Cheng’s back. She also gently patted the Qian Cheng’s ostrich-like head, finding it quite interesting. Bai Zhi also jumped up lightly, as if she had ridden one before. Then, she acted as if nothing had happened, leaning back on the Qian Cheng and yawning. With a loud cry, these three Qian Cheng, under the command of the beast tamer, suddenly soared into the sky and began to fly rapidly towards the west of the Dragon Country.
Sitting on the Qian Cheng’s back, Su Jiu looked at the faint clouds and mist flying past outside. She stretched out a finger and gently tapped, wrapping herself in crimson external qi, and began to cultivate cross-legged. The Nine Cloud Port was quite a distance from Chuan Yu Province. Even using Qian Cheng as transportation, it would take at least half a day to arrive. At this high altitude, there was no mobile signal, games couldn’t be played, and anime would buffer – so the only thing to do was to cultivate and consolidate her strength.
The bright sky gradually darkened, and the approaching night could be felt. Su Jiu, who was cultivating, was suddenly awakened by a shout. It was the Vice Principal’s voice – “We’re near Chuan Yu University… I’ll go down first! You all need to be extra careful.” Slowly opening her eyes, she saw the figures in red clothing turn into streams of light and rush into the distance, while the Qian Cheng beneath her head turned with a loud cry and flew back in the direction they came from. Looking at the dense forest landscape below, Su Jiu couldn’t help but sigh that she had finally arrived in Chuan Yu. She was so bored that she kept dozing off.
“Hoo…” A cool breeze blew past her back, and a warmth pressed against her back. She suddenly turned her head and found that it was Bai Zhi, the girl, who had directly come to her side and was now sleeping on her shoulder. There were still some red marks on her fair side profile, which was rather cute… “I really don’t understand how someone with this personality became a Demon Lord.” Two more hours passed. Su Jiu felt Bai Zhi tightly holding her waist, her body stiffened slightly, and she smiled helplessly. Like taking care of a daughter, she extended a finger to help Bai Zhi tuck away a few strands of green silk that the wind had blown astray.
“Get out of my way! You two bumpkins sitting on low-level monsters like Qian Cheng!” Suddenly, a娇横 (jiao heng – haughty and willful) female voice sounded not far away, seeming somewhat arrogant and overbearing. “Swoosh!” Along with the voice came two streams of white air, like wind blades, charging towards them.
