Chapter 483: 100. Gouwen
Kakaro’s Snake People tribe is indeed a hassle to organize. Originally, Chuan intended to handle everything overnight, but as a mythical being, Chuan easily overlooked the gap between ranks.
Lower-ranked slaves are already physically weak and cannot endure continuous exercise and long-distance relocation. Moreover, at this moment, the Ideal Nation has not yet developed new zones, so even if they were quickly relocated, there would be no place to settle them.
If Chuan’s idea were truly implemented, it would probably become chaotic as soon as they arrived at the Ideal Nation.
So, under Gouwen’s suggestion, Chuan ultimately decided to take it slow, but his “taking it slow” only delayed things by a day.
The next evening, the last batch of slaves, Snake People, and items were almost moved out. As a result, this originally popular beach became extremely quiet, leaving behind only the empty buildings left by the Snake People and the waves that ceaselessly struck the sand.
Fisher did not go back that day and kept helping them organize their things. Of course, he had to stay until the end because he still needed to find a quiet place to try Gouwen’s method. Furthermore, according to Hela, entering mythical rank carries certain risks, and he felt it would be better not to do so in the Ideal Nation.
As he watched the last group leave under Mikhail’s guidance, he led the camel while looking around, preparing to find a quiet and safe place to enter mythical rank.
He had already asked Mikhail to inform Hela that he would return a bit later. Of course, perhaps it was unnecessary, but he also had Mikhail relay that he would bring back a little gift for her.
Unsure if it was due to his experience with Renee, Fisher, who had previously had no feelings or awareness in this aspect, now understood much more. For instance, he could have given the gift now, but he ultimately felt it would be better to present it in person.
How about that? Doesn’t it feel a bit like planting a tree for future generations to enjoy the shade?
“Hmph~ Hmph~ Hmph~”
The camel he was leading began singing again, prompting Fisher, who was about to leave temporarily, to pat its head to quiet it down.
But just as he was about to leave, he suddenly saw Gouwen sitting alone in the middle of the Snake People’s settlement, facing the ocean.
At that moment, he was still wearing clothes made from a seaweed-like fabric as during their first meeting, with light blue long hair hanging over his chest, tied up by a golden hairband to prevent it from falling loosely. He sat cross-legged on the beach, gazing at the distant setting sun over the sea, a gentle smile on his face.
Fisher raised an eyebrow and led the camel toward him, asking,
“Mikhail has left; aren’t you going?”
Gouwen glanced at him, and the gentle smile instantly turned into the familiar grumpy expression that Fisher recognized. Fisher always felt there was some derogatory implication in Gouwen’s opinions about him; he didn’t yet know the specific reason. Gouwen replied,
“Aren’t you still here?”
“I have things to do.”
“Are you going to flirt again?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Damn it.”
Facing the frowning Gouwen, Fisher smiled slightly, shaking his head instead of continuing the joke, and said,
“I just have something to do and will return to the Ideal Nation later.”
“I have things to do too.”
Fisher glanced at the ocean upon hearing this. After hesitating for a moment, he did not continue forward but instead sat down beside him. This sudden action caused Gouwen to pursed his lips and move back a bit. He asked,
“What are you doing?”
“Do you need help?”
“What?”
“Aren’t you busy?”
In Fisher’s black pupils, Gouwen’s mildly surprised expression was reflected, yet he remained unmoved and spoke,
“Pandora promised you some kind of reward, right? This matter relates to that reward, and also to your purpose in going to the Holy Realm.”
After a brief moment of surprise, Gouwen smiled and shook his head, saying,
“You found me out. I thought I was hiding it well.”
“Both of your reasons seem invalid to me. The first is that you said you went to the Holy Realm to learn medicine from Raphael, which is indeed possible, but afterward, when we went the next day, you did not show a deep eagerness for Raphael’s medical skills. This was the same when we went to the Tree Continent before. You are indeed interested in medicine and enjoy discussing it, but you are not obsessed or a seeker willing to take such a great risk to pursue the theory.
“As for the second reason, that’s even more absurd. You claimed that after moving, you suspected there were ghosts under your new house, so you came to the Holy Realm for answers. But the truth is, since that ghost can talk to your Whale Folk, how could you not know its origins? You’ve known all along that the true form of the main god of Ramastia is beneath where you live, and it was indeed its real self talking to you.”
Yes, in reality, Fisher had long discovered that Gouwen’s purpose for coming to the Holy Realm was not as he had said before. At that time, Fisher did not know the specifics; he merely inferred that at least his goals were unrelated to himself and very likely that his appearance had hindered Gouwen from achieving his aims.
Now, however, he had somewhat guessed the clue based on prior signs.
That purpose was related to Sorobato Angel.
Hearing this, Gouwen smiled slightly, a hint of warmth appearing on his handsome face. He sighed and said,
“You know, honestly, if it weren’t for that little flaw, you’d be a really nice person—smart and friendly.”
As he spoke, his tone suddenly became somber, his gaze began to scan Fisher’s lower regions incessantly,
“Hey, what if things go awry? You won’t have so many annoying flaws, right? I think you might become a saint then!”
Fisher’s body shivered, and he expressionlessly stepped back a bit, replying,
“No need, thank you, doc. So, do you need my help or not?”
Gouwen’s dangerous gaze gradually retracted, and he looked back at the sea, a gentle smile reappearing on his face,
“Well, no need, I must complete this on my own. The reason I didn’t tell you my real purpose earlier was because I considered the place you came from. I was concerned it might have a certain impact, not beneficial for the people and purposes I hold dear. I hope you don’t take offense.”
Fisher didn’t pay much attention and simply replied,
“No worries. After all, I also have many things I haven’t told you. Knowing each other deeply is not necessary to measure how good our relationship is. You’re the first person I encountered upon arriving here and have helped me a lot.”
Gouwen raised an eyebrow, turning to ask,
“What are the things you haven’t told me… Wait, do you have other women?”
“.”
Great, this guy is acting up again.
Once again inquiring, Fisher wondered why this guy was always so interested in his private life.
Fisher remained silent, staring at him expressionlessly, causing Gouwen’s curiosity to dissipate on its own.
After a moment of silence, Gouwen spoke with a smile,
“Forget it, forget it. You go ahead. Bye bye.”
“Are you serious?”
“Have you flirted too much? When I say so, do you think I need to be polite with you?”
Gouwen laughed angrily, sitting on the ground and waving his hand at Fisher, seeming to shoo him away.
After confirming multiple times, seeing how determined Gouwen was, Fisher had to slowly rise, brushing off the sand from his clothes,
“Alright, then I’m really leaving.”
“Go, go, there’s nothing happening here.”
After hesitating for a moment, Fisher took hold of the camel, turned away from where Gouwen sat, and waved goodbye as he walked toward another direction gradually enveloped by the deepening moonlight, soon disappearing silently into the delicate distance of the sunset.
Gouwen smiled as he watched Fisher grow farther away, and only after he completely vanished did he turn his gaze toward the now quiet sea.
The sun slowly disappeared, stars adorned the sky like a backdrop, and the moon rose again, casting shimmering light on the gently rolling sea.
Yet Gouwen did not make any other moves, quietly gazing at the ocean.
Even after several hours had passed since Fisher left, from dusk until midnight, when all had fallen silent except for the waves, he remained in the posture of sitting cross-legged facing the ocean.
Until a certain moment, he finally exhaled deeply, moving his body as if he had come to life, shortly thereafter his hand reached into his robe and felt around, quickly retrieving a slightly curved, glowing horn.
This horn was the one he had obtained from the Snake People yesterday, used to contact Sorobato Angel.
Gouwen weighed the horn in his hand, then without hesitation, aimed it at his mouth, took a deep breath, and forcefully blew the sacred horn in his hand,
“Woo! Woo! Woo!”
The sound of the blown horn seemed to produce no actual sound, but the horn trembled violently as if signaling a sound only a few select beings could recognize.
“Woo!! Woo!! Woo!!”
As the tremors of the horn grew more intense, Gouwen finally exhaled the long breath he had been holding, then gently tossed the horn into the sand nearby.
He remained sitting cross-legged, facing the gently rising and falling waves, seemingly waiting for something.
Time passed second by second, it felt like it had been a quarter of an hour or perhaps even an hour. In any case, under the sounds of the crashing waves, the originally clear night sky suddenly gathered dark clouds.
The sand particles on the surrounding ground appeared to defy gravity, floating up about a decimeter, quickly capturing Gouwen’s attention.
He made no further movements but looked up at the air, watching as a medium-sized, short-haired angel with orange-yellow hair slowly descended from the cloud layer, dressed in a white robe. The angel had a pair of dark gray phantom wings sprouting from behind, and an oval halo constantly rotated above his head, as if condensing all of heaven and earth into a single point.
His face wore a similar indifference to other angels, but when he slowly descended to the beach and saw it was empty except for a Whale Folk sitting cross-legged, his brow could not help but furrow slightly, showing significant disturbance.
Finally, when the angel appeared in the sky, Gouwen’s long-sitting face finally revealed more joy and relaxation. It was as if he had finally breathed a sigh of relief, like the excitement before a challenging surgery.
“Pleased to meet you, Sorobato Angel.”
After pausing for a moment, Gouwen smiled at the angel above, then he politely greeted him.
Upon hearing this, Sorobato raised an eyebrow and ignored Gouwen’s greeting. Meanwhile, his fifteenth rank closing in on the sixteenth rank presence quickly swept through the area. He soon noticed that all the Snake People, slaves, materials, waste artifacts, and the half-finished products he had left were now entirely gone!
A hint of anger rose within him, causing the halo above his head to flicker with a dangerous red light.
Sorobato’s gaze quickly narrowed in on the one remaining life form in the area. His aura cast down, pouring down from the sky with the pressure of a mythical being as he asked,
“Who are you?”
“Ah, me?”
Gouwen clapped his hands at this, then slowly stood up, shaking off some of the sand clinging to him,
“Did the third-day Sorobato Angel hear about a Whale Folk who was captured recently in the Holy Realm, who was unjustly accused along with a group of Trans, and had to run errands for several archangels?”
Sorobato squinted, quickly recalling the corresponding person,
“Oh, the Whale Folk with that group of Trans. So, you mean to say that everything here has disappeared, and the Snake People are nowhere to be found, and it’s related to you and that group of Trans?”
“No, it’s only related to me.”
“Related to you?”
“Is the third-day Sorobato Angel aware of the events involving the ocean six and a half months ago?”
Gouwen spoke smoothly, his massive whale tail swaying gently behind him as it traced a shallow arc in the sand.
Under Gouwen’s prompt, Sorobato’s pupils twitched slightly, even the halo above his head flickered with crimson light. He scoffed, saying,
“Six months ago… Oh, you’re referring to that neurotic Whale Folk who rushed out while I was forging a holy artifact in the ocean? Didn’t I nearly beat her to death before she fell into the trench? What, are you here for revenge?”
“Turns out the Sorobato Angel remembers. However, to be honest, that is indeed the case. I am here for revenge.”
Sorobato looked down at Gouwen, then seemed to realize something. He exclaimed,
“Oh, I get it now. I am the third-day angel in charge of punishment, so from the very beginning, you intruded on the Holy Realm to get captured by the second-day angel, so that you could meet me during the time of judgment. Since you didn’t know where I conducted activities among the mortals, you thought to come directly to the Holy Realm to find me.
“In that case, that group of Trans actually complicated your affairs. That group of Trans happened to appear in the Holy Realm, so you were dragged into it and weren’t judged by the third day but were directly taken to the seventh day for judgment by the seven archangels, right?”
“You’re not wrong.”
Gouwen bitterly smiled and nodded; indeed, it was the case. He had gone through such a large circle entirely due to the unexpected variables presented by Fisher and Tang Zeming Asuka.
Sorobato, who was certain of his guess, couldn’t help but laugh. He scanned Gouwen up and down, then snickered,
“However, may I ask, you are only at the fourteenth rank, not even close to mythical rank. There is no one else here; even if you face me now, you have no chance of winning. How dare you come to the Holy Realm to get caught, wanting to see me at the time of judgment? Have you lost your mind? Do you think meeting me will allow you to seek revenge? That neurotic Whale Folk is clearly an idiot, and you coming here for revenge is also brainless. Or is it that all of you Whale Folk are this foolish?”
With his mocking words, the red hue within the halo above his head grew more intense, causing the entire ocean to faintly ripple with physical winds, and the surrounding air became increasingly fierce, leaving deep marks in the sand like blades.
The clothes on Gouwen were also thrown about wildly by the wind, fluttering like butterfly wings behind him.
But he remained unmoved, only smiling with a hint of helplessness,
“The Whale Folk you injured heavily is named Xu, and indeed, while you were forging the holy artifact in the ocean, the commotion was enormous, just like roasting the beings from the depths of the sea; however, she should not have felt it as it was too far from where we lived, right? Maybe she was just disturbed from her sleep? Or perhaps it was because she found you displeasing when she returned from playing around that she acted against you; who can say.”
At the same time, a feather-thin golden blade slowly was gripped by his slender fingers.
Facing the fury induced by the mythical being from afar, he pointed the golden blade, more akin to a scalpel than a weapon, toward Sorobato in the sky. Due to the coverage of the other’s form, the moonlight couldn’t reach Gouwen’s face, consequently casting a terrifying shadow on his face, which was currently wearing a gentle smile.
“However, regardless of the reason, Xu was severely injured by you, and she has been lying in the trench recovering ever since. She holds her tongue, and once beaten, she won’t admit defeat, even if her teeth are broken and swallowed. But unfortunately, her childhood sweetheart, her husband, isn’t like that. He is rather petty and vengeful, which is why he secretly came to take revenge.”
Gouwen’s smile faded little by little until, in the end, that gentility turned into a chilling coldness, contrasting sharply with the raging winds in the distance.
He simply stated,
“Her husband is named Gouwen, and he is a doctor.”
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(End of this chapter)
