Chapter 155: Deep within the Sea of ​​Return to Nothingness

"You mean the painting?" Aska was a little surprised. "That was changed by my mother. Before that, it was a portrait."

Yan Shi: "Does Governor Garcia like the sea?"

Aska shook his head, but before he could speak, Yu Youguan said, "Because Aska's father is a sailor."

Yan Shi: ?

“As everyone knows, the famous Governor Garcia fell in love at first sight with a handsome sailor when she was still the youngest daughter of the old Governor Garcia.” Yu Youguan said with great interest, “She did many absurd things for him, which made the old Governor Garcia furious and even said that he would disown this daughter.”

"Then why did Aska's mother ultimately inherit the title?" Yan Shi stated the facts.

Yu Youguan glanced at Aska cautiously.

Aska shrugged: "There's nothing I can't say. Besides, packaged love stories have virtually no credibility."

"Because all of my mother's sisters perished. They perished at sea."

“But I think there’s some credibility to this story,” Yu Youguan muttered from the side. “Aska, your position as the young master has always been very secure. How could it not be because Governor Garcia is showing old affection?”

“She doesn’t care.” Aska was also tired of standing; after all, her personality was different from Yan Shi’s. She pulled out a large jewelry box from the side, closed the lid, sat down, and continued, “Mother only cares about that sea.”

It is known that all of Governor Garcia's sisters perished at sea.

Governor Garcia only cared about that sea.

Did Governor Garcia's sisters really not die from their sister's murder?!

Yan Shi hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

It was obvious that Aska was aware of this as well, and she casually said, "Let me tell you what I know."

"The incident began many years ago with a merchant caravan. They committed a crime while stopping at Novano Port for supplies. To plead for mercy, they approached my mother and offered her half of a magical treasure. It is said that if the other half is found and put together, a portal to the depths of the Guixu Sea can be opened."

Yan Shi: ?

"A portal to the depths of the Guixu Sea?" she repeated slowly.

If she remembered correctly, everyone in the Otherworld possessed abundant martial virtue. Coupled with alchemical products and magical artifacts, there were also numerous items that could assist them. If they wanted to venture deeper into the Guixu Sea, they could simply set off; why would they need a teleportation portal?

Yu Youguan, standing nearby, was also somewhat surprised: "Governor Garcia actually believes in this?"

“After all, that’s the Guixu Sea,” Aska said, “the legendary tomb of the gods.”

Yu Youguan's lips twitched: "It's fine for unscrupulous tabloids to fabricate stories to deceive the public. We all know that there is no ancient record that says Guixu Sea is the tomb of gods."

Aska: "The headquarters of the Bureau of Alien Affairs is stationed on the Guixu Sea. At that time, the Bureau was in power, and many rumors said that the Bureau came from the depths of the Guixu Sea and was a descendant of the gods. Most importantly, that half of the spiritual treasure could give my mother the power of the sea."

"What is the power of the sea?" Yan Shi asked.

Aska was unaware, but Yu Youguan, who was standing next to him, remembered that Yanlan was a great water-type spirit master.

Of all the information she provided, whether true or false, the truest was that Yanlan had once stirred up the Moon Tide in Zhanzhou to repair the barrier of the floating island.

Zhanzhou Floating Island is one of the alchemical creations in the Inner World, second only to the Vil Nexus.

The barrier of Zhanzhou is complex and involves countless precious materials. Even Christie, the principal of Zhanzhou, probably could not repair it by hand with his own talent and understanding of the Way of Time.

Yanlan merely raised a finger.

Moon tides, moon seas.

Before Director Yan took office, there was never any news about them in the underworld...

Yu Youguan felt as if there was a thread connecting the two.

"The power of the sea refers to the fact that Mother suddenly gained control of a portion of the Dono Sea from a certain day onwards. Therefore, all of Mother's sisters perished in the sea."

It was indeed murder.

Yan Shi felt that he had made the prediction.

"The sheer force of reality convinced my mother that what the merchant caravan said was true. In order to obtain more information and to maintain secrecy, my mother killed all the members of the caravan, leaving only the person who discovered the half of the spiritual treasure alive."

"After confirming that the person who made the discovery could not provide any further information, she killed the last person who knew the truth."

All those who knew the truth were killed. Given Governor Garcia's ruthless methods of killing his sister for a title, he didn't seem like the type to tell his daughter these inside stories.

So Aska knows all this so clearly.

Yan Shi sighed silently.

“Dad was the last person to know the truth.” Aska only mentioned it once before continuing, “My mother wore that half of the spiritual treasure on her body every day. The long-term wearing of it made her irritable, easily angered, and obsessed with the sea.”

Apart from Asca's mother, most of the previous governors of Garcia were cheerful, had clear policies, and maintained excellent relationships with merchant groups.

Thanks to this, and through the long-term management of the Garcia family, Novano Port has become one of the most important core ports in the Underworld.

Aska: "That's all I know."

From this perspective, the sea doesn't seem to be a very good memory for Aska.

Yan Shi sorted out his thoughts, "Governor Garcia has fallen, so what about this half of the spiritual treasure?"

It sounds like a key prop in the whole story.

Before Aska could answer, Yu Youguan suddenly spoke up, "You come from the depths of the Guixu Sea?"

Yan Shi: ?

She looked at Yu Youguan blankly.

Didn't Yu Youguan just say that there are no ancient records about Guixu Sea?

Why are we bringing up where she's from again?

Yu You looked at Yan Lan's expression and muttered to herself, "I always thought this was fake, but it turns out it isn't."

Aska stared at Yanlan in shock.

The warehouse was completely silent.

Suddenly, there was a sound of something falling onto the carpet outside.

A very dull sound.

All three of them turned to look at the doorway.

“Lily,” Aska called out, raising her voice, “come in.”

The warehouse door was pushed open again, and a very elegant girl walked in.

"Exquisite" is an objective description, because although the girl has blonde hair and blue eyes like Aska, she is small in stature and wears a puffy dress, making her look exceptionally delicate.

Like a doll, harmless and fragile.

Aska introduced, "This is my sister, Lily."

"Entering this floor of the warehouse requires verification. Currently, only Lily and I have the authority in the entire Governor's Mansion."

So as soon as Aska heard the voice, he knew that the person at the door was Lily.

Lily's right hand was clenched tightly. Only when she heard this did she look up and timidly glance at Yanlan and Yu Youguan.

Yu Youguan snorted coldly: "Don't pretend. I'm not falling for your act."

“Lily.” Aska sighed and reached out to touch her hair. “Your mother has passed away. Don’t be afraid.”

"They are my friends."

“Sister,” Lily’s voice was soft, “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your conversation.”

Aska remained gentle: "Lily, you can come in if you want to hear, I won't blame you. But your behavior might offend my friend. So next time, Lily, can you just ask directly?"

Lily nodded, her face flushed. She looked up at Aska again, hesitated for a moment, and then opened her right hand, which she had been clenching tightly.

He held an irregularly shaped piece of metal in his palm.

“My mother was holding this in her hand when she was killed,” Lily said. “So after the assassin left, Lily put it away.”

Yan Shi: ...

Yu Youguan: ...

Governor Garcia died a death known worldwide for his tyranny, and his head was displayed on a flagpole in the port of Novano as a form of protest.

The phrase "Lily puts the things away" here refers to Lily prying open the dead man's clenched hand in a pool of blood, taking the things, and then quietly leaving.

Yan Shi was greatly shocked.

Aska seemed to have anticipated this, picking up the irregular piece of metal. "Lily is great."

Lily smiled happily, "Will that help my sister?"

Aska: "Of course."

"Great!" Lily's eyes sparkled as she lifted her skirt and twirled around. "Goodbye, sister. Lily's going back to her room now."

She skipped happily toward the door, gently closed the storeroom door, and quickly disappeared into the storeroom.

"Don't blame Lily." After Lily left, Aska handed the irregular piece of metal to Yanlan and said, "Lily was required by Mr. Carter to stay with her mother since she was a child."

“Mother,” she paused, “is not an easy person to get along with.”

That's already a very tactful assessment.

"So Lily got used to showing weakness to avoid punishment."

Yu Youguan clearly disliked Lily: "Only you, Aska, would say that she would actually kill him..." Then, under Aska's warning gaze, he swallowed the rest of his words.

Yan Shi examined the irregular metal block in his hand.

She didn't care what kind of person Lily was.

After all, without much thought, Lily's actions of directly touching her mother's corpse, taking her belongings, and leaving the crime scene are completely inconsistent with her outward appearance.

But this is the other world.

"Yanlan, do you recognize this half of the spiritual treasure?" Yu Youguan stopped arguing with Aska about Lily and asked curiously, looking at Yan Shi's actions.

Yan Shi turned the irregular metal block in another direction, his expression strange.

Considering that this is supposedly half of a spiritual treasure that can open a portal to the depths of the Guixu Sea, theoretically, she shouldn't recognize it.

But this metal block looks so familiar.

There's even a small empty circle at the very top.

Yan Shi placed the metal block on the ground, gestured to it, and suddenly realized what was going on.

No wonder he looked familiar.

This is half of a traditional longevity lock shaped like metal.

The small empty circle at the top is, unsurprisingly, for hanging ropes.

Author's Note: Novano Port is located on the Dono Sea.

Completed