Chapter 114: Chapter 113: Fireworks
Jima sat leisurely in her chair, knowing that this was her last moment of leisure. The great benefactor was preparing to arrange various skilled teachers to package and sell herself at a high price before the Rainbow Festival.
Today, the great benefactor, Bransi, was quite talkative, possibly because of the clueless succubus who piqued his curiosity, or perhaps because he rarely set down his burdens and wanted to enjoy a moment of peace.
The silver bell rang, the door was pushed open, and the old maidservant entered with a wooden box on a platter. She said:
“Master, the big boss has a gift for you. We checked it; there are no traps.”
The great benefactor, Bransi, smiled and said:
“Place it on the table and step back.”
“Yes.”
After the old maidservant placed the exquisite brown box down, she left.
Jima caught a whiff of the smell of blood and nervously looked at the box.
To kill the disgusting fat man, Boss Fulis, she had made the greatest effort, angering him to sell meat in exchange for a chance to sneak in and secretly hide the “Vulnerable Gold Coin” on him with her tail.
“I hope the next scene won’t scare you.”
The great benefactor, Bransi, politely said as he personally opened the box, revealing a fresh severed head with silver hair in a ponytail.
Jima was taken aback, covering her mouth gently.
The great benefactor Bransi smiled at the head and said, “You are still too young.”
…
…
A quarter of an hour earlier.
In an underground cave, a grounded ship, in the boss’s room.
Akannis, gripping Boss Fulis’ hand, stabbed himself with a sword, feeling the wound sting fiercely and unable to restrain himself from gritting his teeth.
The sturdy door could not be opened due to damage to the lock. However, in front of the prepared battering ram, it pounded against the door, the sharp cracking sound of wood echoed throughout the room.
Boss Fulis’ eyes flashed with pleading, regret, and pain as Shadow King Akannis held his hand tightly, feeling his fat fingers loosening. Akannis locked eyes with him, staring into his eyes; under the effects of pain and the poison of the Shadow Blade, Akannis became a bit dazed, even experiencing hallucinations.
He saw with his own eyes Boss Fulis becoming younger, his plump fat face quickly caving in, revealing his cheekbones, and his skin sagging. The surroundings changed too, the bright, warm room with no shadows transformed into burned ruins, charred wooden frames standing amidst the wreckage.
The weather was cold, and a chill wind blew. Boss Fulis shrank down to a small bundle, a skin and bone child curled up in a nest made of half-burned clothes, covered with cotton clothes scavenged from a sick vagrant.
Akannis remembered this was the time when the fire zone had been completely burned for fire prevention. The cruel survival contest had finally reached the final area. The kids who were lucky enough not to die scrambled for the last bits of food from each other’s arms. Two days prior, during a scramble, Fulis had been stabbed.
It was a sharp, rusted blade; a solid stab would mean certain death.
Fulis, nicknamed Little Boss, was the youngest, the most timid, and the most afraid of death in Akannis’ group of children. When encountering a group of armed individuals claiming to be delivering bread, he was one of the few who listened to Akannis’ words and hid in the ruins, not daring to come out.
But Little Boss Fulis shielded Akannis from a blade during the fight; he was scared enough to cry out, but he still held onto the attacker tightly.
Akannis pulled him to their “home” and they shared the food they had scavenged. Though they chewed slowly on the hard bread and ate little at a time, the visible food had been eaten two days ago, and Little Boss Fulis’ physical state deteriorated day by day.
“Boss, I’m hungry. So cold… I don’t want to die.”
“I’m hungry too; there’s nothing to eat.”
Akannis dared not look at his face; he clutched tightly to the moldy bread he had hidden in his arms, which was about the size of one or two fingers.
Fulis was injured, and now there was nothing left to burn in the fire zone, and with the cold weather, he was doomed to die. Precious food should not be used on him, and without anything to burn, Akannis would not resort to eating the corpses of his companions.
So driven by guilt, Akannis planned to wait until Little Boss died before he would eat the food alone.
Little Boss Fulis said nothing, staring wide-eyed as if dead, dazedly gazing at the cold sky. The so-called benefactor had left not even a roof, burning everything down.
Akannis fell silent for a moment, put down the charred, ragged clothes he had taken from the dead child, stood up, and said, “I’ll go dig through the bricks; there might be food.”
There would be no food; the children who survived the “Black Whisper” catastrophe had already turned every brick over. But at least doing so, he would feel a bit better.
Akannis stepped over the ashen threshold and walked towards the ruins, a pleading voice came from behind:
“Boss, don’t leave me.”
The day before yesterday, another companion, Little Bug, also went out to look for food. Then he slipped away and was never seen again.
Akannis turned his head to the last companion huddled in the corner between two walls and said:
“I’ll bring back food.”
To reassure Little Boss to die in peace, he bent over at the door, numbly sifting through the charred bricks and blackened wood.
In the fire zone, there was only the monotonous sound of the wind and the monotonous blackness. The sky was covered with monotonous gray clouds. The surroundings were utterly silent, driving one mad.
Suddenly, a loud bang came from the sky.
Akannis looked up and saw the monotonous sky bloom with a bright and vibrant flower. It was so beautiful, a fleeting moment. Akannis stood frozen in place, unsure of what had just happened, thinking he was experiencing a beautiful hallucination.
One flower, two flowers, three flowers…
The flowers blooming in the sky added a rare touch of color to this monotonous, lifeless world.
It was fireworks.
From the noble district of Shalin City, filled with all kinds of magical legends.
The noble district was bustling, the clock tower chimed twenty-three times, and Akannis suddenly remembered that today was some kind of festival.
It was a banquet. He gazed in the direction of the noble district, his green eyes reflecting the blooming fireworks. Snowflakes floated down from the sky, landing in his eyes, melting into water, moistening the corners of his eyes.
“Is it fireworks?”
Little Boss Fulis weakly called out.
“It’s fireworks.”
Akannis repeated; he dropped the charred brick, turned, and entered their “home.” He crouched down and tightly held Little Boss Fulis’ small hand. “Squeeze together; let’s keep warm.”
Little Boss Fulis said, “Today must be an important day.”
“Yeah.”
“Nobles hold banquets during festivals.”
“Yeah.”
Little Boss Fulis swallowed hard: “I heard from you last time that the banquet tables are filled with all kinds of food, fish, pork, chicken, and more. You said there’s a dish called ‘bread pig,’ where they stuff bread into the pig’s belly, bake it, and the bread soaks up all the grease.”
That dish was made up by Akannis. He had shared rumors about the noble district with his gang members to serve as a way to fill their stomachs.
“Yeah.”
Little Boss Fulis’ eyes lit up:
“Little Bug said that the people inside live in big houses, that the fountains flow with milk, and that the pillows on the beds are made of bread. When they’re hungry, they just tear off a piece and stuff it into their mouths. I also heard that everyone has a magical doctor from overseas who carries a bag of medicines that can cure all illnesses, following each person around. Whenever someone feels a little ill, the doctor pulls out ointment, spreads it on bread, and eats it, and then they won’t feel dizzy or hot, and wounds won’t hurt anymore.”
Akannis glanced at their “home,” which had only three walls, with no door or roof. Since the “Black Whisper” had spread, the quarantine area had been locked down, and he had never seen a doctor. He gripped Little Boss Fulis’ hand tightly and forced out through clenched teeth:
“Yeah.”
Little Boss Fulis said, “Every room has a bonfire that burns high up to the ceiling.”
Akannis stared at the already cold small bonfire in their “home.” The big fire took lives and also consumed the fuel.
“Right,” Akannis said. “In the noble district, there’s plenty of bread piled up like a mountain. Do you remember someone used bread to lure people out? I heard it was because the benefactor’s daughter cried, and he stood up for her.”
Although many children were lured out and killed by bread, there were still many starving people who would rather believe in the benefactor’s charity and die under arrows.
Little Boss Fulis lowered his head and said, “How great it would be if I were a noble.”
Akannis was silent for a moment before suddenly exploding. He slammed the knife he had sharpened a hundred times onto the ground, cursing: “Fuck! Why do we have to starve?”
Little Boss Fulis was startled.
Akannis pointed at the noble district underneath the blooming fireworks and roared with all his might:
“I want to burn it down! Burn it! Kill them all!”
Once he finished shouting, darkness clouded his vision, and he looked down, weakly gasping for breath.
“Boss,” Little Boss Fulis called softly.
“Don’t be afraid; you won’t die.” Akannis took out the hidden bread and gave it to him, “I just had good luck and found a piece of bread. Eat it, and remember to follow me to do big things, burn them.”
Little Boss Fulis couldn’t wait and grabbed the moldy bread almost greedily, shoving it into his mouth. As he chewed, his eyes remained fixed on the blooming fireworks in the sky. It was as if, within the colorful fireworks, he saw fountains pouring milk, bread pillows, and large bonfires.
“But I want to be a noble,” Little Boss Fulis said softly.
“If you eat my bread, you have to work for me,” Akannis extended his hand, “We agree that when we grow up, you will help me burn the nobles and avenge our brothers.”
Little Boss Fulis swallowed the moldy bread and nodded. He reached out his thin, bony hand and hooked Akannis’ pinky finger, saying, “Okay.”
The two pinkies hooked together.
Akannis looked into his eyes, staring into Fulis’ eyes. The hollows under his eyes quickly filled up, his cracked, dry lips became plump, and two tufts of black hair grew on his fat lips. His hair became sparser, revealing a round, shiny head.
Akannis then remembered that Fulis had broken two promises.
He returned to reality.
Shadow King Akannis stood up, releasing the hand that had once made a pinky promise with him. Boss Fulis’s fat hand, grasping the Shadow Blade, flopped weakly to the ground.
“Thud!”
The door shattered, and a group of shadow thieves, with lanterns hanging around their necks, rushed in, shouting: “Boss, boss, are you okay?”
Shadow King Akannis covered his injured stomach and said, “That guy stabbed me with a sword.”
He had stolen Boss Fulis’s identity using the Shadow Blade. He held onto Boss Fulis’s hand, using the Shadow Blade to force him to steal his identity. Thus, to outsiders, Shadow King Akannis appeared to be the boss, while the one lying on the ground, Boss Fulis, was the Shadow King.
The shadow thieves gathered around, quickly shielding Shadow King Akannis, their weapons aimed at the grounded Boss Fulis.
“Boss is amazing; he really fell for the trap! The blood feud of the brothers has been avenged!”
Lying on the ground, with his throat cut, the overweight boss moved his thick lips, struggling to speak.
Shadow King Akannis looked at him coldly, completely unafraid; whatever he said, he had ways to cover it up.
Boss Fulis managed to spit out two words with difficulty: “Old.. boss..”
“Damn it, I’ll stab you to death and feed you to the tiger shark.” A strong man picked up a short spear, aiming it at Boss Fulis.
Shadow King Akannis pushed him away, grabbed the short spear, and shouted:
“Get lost, I’ll do it myself; this guy was once my little brother.”
After saying that, Shadow King Akannis endured the pain and stabbed the spear viciously through Fulis’ neck, then personally severed his head, tossing the body into a small black hole to feed the tiger shark. He lifted the head and said to his little brothers:
“Pack it up as a gift for the great benefactor.”
