Chapter 159 The Bright Moon Hangs High

When it comes to fighting, Yan Shi has never lost.

Even when facing off against world-renowned figures, Yan Shi always manages to win without a doubt.

Not to mention a motley crew.

Yan Shi stood still, gripping the necromantic halberd tightly, his palms sweating.

She felt like she had been scammed.

After she took out the necromancer's halberd and waited for a while, a large group of shadows suddenly leaped out from between the low, dilapidated shacks.

Just as Yan Shi had gathered his strength, wary of being overwhelmed by the group attack, the shadowy figures suddenly collapsed when they were about a meter away from him.

He lay on the ground, motionless.

It stopped moving.

Yan Shi: ?

Yan Shi: !

This is a staged accident!

She hasn't even made a move yet.

Brain shutdown.jpg

Yan Shi awkwardly and stiffly faced the boss who had brought her and Lin Cai over. At this moment, the boss slowly turned around, revealing a terrified expression, and gave an innocent smile.

The boss knelt down with a thud.

Yan Shi: ...

"My lord," the boss kowtowed repeatedly, cowering on the ground.

The sunset that had previously painted the entire sky red was gradually swallowed by darkness, leaving only a faint sliver of the setting sun on the horizon.

The light dimmed.

This shack is located right by the sea, and its construction is extremely poor, basically made of discarded materials salvaged from the beach or garbage dumps. The ground is naturally rough sandy soil, full of potholes and mixed with dirty cement ditches from daily life.

There were also some sharp pieces of shell and metal shavings.

The sea breeze whistles through the cracks, carrying the distant echoes of crashing waves.

The boss was hit hard, her face buried between her arms, her knees pressed against the ground, her body trembling uncontrollably. Her forehead slammed against the ground again and again, making dull thuds. Before long, blood splattered from her forehead, gradually gathering around her face and meandering down the uneven ground.

The blood mixed with the mud, eventually disappearing into a seemingly calm stain.

She seemed oblivious to the pain, only moving her head against the ground urgently and mechanically.

The surroundings suddenly became quiet.

Although there should have been many people in the shed, from an instant onwards, even their breathing became barely audible.

"...My lord," the innkeeper's voice was broken by a choked sob, "it was my despicable greed...the lords' kindness allowed me to live in the city...but I can't change my inherent flaws..."

Her voice trembled as she spoke, filled with fear and desperate ingratiation. Her words, like damp moss, seeped eerily from the cracks in the surface.

"Please, forgive me this time. Attacking you, sir, is entirely my fault; it was my idea. I was audacious and reckless; you can do whatever you want with me."

By the end, her voice was trembling with barely suppressed sobs.

Yan Shi stood there, stunned, his hand gripping the Undead Halberd tightly.

"ah...?"

What did the boss do wrong?

Yan Shi didn't quite understand the scene before him.

She tried to say something blankly, but all she could feel was the damp air mixed with the stench of decay and fish, like swallowing a moldy sponge.

Suddenly, a small shadow darted out from the corner and pounced on Yan Shi.

"Let my mother go! You bad person!" she screamed as she rushed toward Yan Shi. Her voice was childish, but sharp and shrill with anger.

Startled, Yan Shi instinctively waved his hand.

The necromantic halberd sliced ​​through the air with a low hum, its dark blade striking the small shadow.

She fell to the ground, her movements instantly stiffening, her body arching into a small arc, like a fish washed ashore by the waves, and she remained motionless.

Yan Shi looked on in astonishment, his fingers loosened, and the Death Soul Halberd fell to the ground.

The boss looked up and saw that his face was covered in blood.

She crawled stiffly on her knees, rushed over, pulled the little girl into her arms and hugged her tightly, then lowered her head and curled back up.

They fell silent.

Yan Shi felt like he was watching an absurd puppet show.

Behind the boss, an invisible thread pulls her and this shack together.

She bit her lip, slowly finding her voice. "God said," Yan Shi squatted down and looked at her boss, "that the injuries have healed."

Because it is in the inner world, and the barrier between worlds has not yet been broken, the power of the laws is strong and undeniable.

As soon as the words were spoken, the law responded.

The wounds on the boss's face vanished in an instant, leaving only bloodstains. The little girl, who had been accidentally struck by the necromancer's halberd and was on the verge of death, also recovered. Opening her eyes, she was still curled up in the boss's arms, her fingers tightly gripping the hem of his clothes, and she turned her head to stare fiercely at Yan Shi.

Yan Shi looked down at her.

The little girl was dressed simply: a short-sleeved shirt and long pants, with a cotton jacket over it on this chilly beach night. The jacket looked like it had been washed too many times; the edges were white and pilling.

Under Yan Shi's gaze, the little girl slowly turned her head away and stopped staring at her.

The surrounding shadows should have completely disappeared by the time Yan Shi finished speaking, but for some reason they remained lying motionless, some still trembling slightly.

It's confirmed, it was a staged accident.

At this moment, Yan Shi just wanted to leave the scene of the staged accident as quickly as possible.

She looked at her boss. "Now, can we talk this out properly?"

So hurry up and take her away.

The shopkeeper put the little girl down and slowly stood up. "Sir, please come with me."

This was Yan Shi's first time entering such a low-ceilinged shack.

Because the sun had already set, it was pitch black outside and inside the house.

The shopkeeper tugged on the light cord by the door, and a light bulb hanging in the center of the room flickered on, casting a dim yellow light.

It's better than nothing, though.

"It will be a little brighter in a bit," the shopkeeper said.

It's hard to say whether Yan Shi's eyes had adjusted to the dimness or the lights were indeed brighter, but he was gradually able to see the furnishings in the room clearly.

If you don't look at the outside, it's just an ordinary little room.

The interior appears to have been created using simple space-expanding magic, featuring a living room, two bedrooms, a small kitchen, and a bathroom.

The living room was decorated in a cozy style, with a shelf in one corner piled high with the same kind of trinkets that had been sold at the stall earlier that day.

Two silver coins were indeed too expensive.

These small ornaments, which look like they cost two silver coins or forty yuan, can be bought in bulk at the Yishui Small Commodities Market in the world of watches.

Behind the dining table, on the wall near one of the room doors, were bright red certificates of merit, with cartoon stickers adorning the edges.

The house was empty. It appeared to be the owner and a little girl living there.

Yan Shi approached and read aloud the top certificate, "Bu Shuo was awarded the title of 'Three Good Little Model' in the year 7314 of the World Calendar. This certificate is hereby issued to encourage him."

"So your name is Bu Shuo." She turned to look at the little girl standing next to the boss.

The little girl blushed, a fleeting look of anger crossing her face, but mostly a mixture of embarrassment and bewilderment.

She darted out from behind the boss and ran into the room next to the award certificate, disappearing from sight.

It looks a bit like the stray cat that Pang Yan used to feed when he was in high school.

A smile flashed across Yan Shi's face for a moment.

Behind her, the boss silently took out a white cloth from a drawer, carefully wiped the tables and chairs in the living room, and then pulled out a chair. "Sir, please sit down."

What would you like to know?

Yan Shi sat down in the chair, his gaze sweeping around the room before finally settling on the boss's face. "Tell me briefly about this shantytown, the protection money, and your situation."

She was genuinely interested in the other world, which sounded like something out of a novel.

The owner nodded. "Most of the residents living here are like me; they are unregistered residents without identification codes."

"Because of its coastal location, the port of Novano had no city walls on the seaside for convenient transportation. However, being close to the city made it much safer than the suburbs. So we settled here, and gradually a shantytown was formed."

"Although it's much safer here than the outskirts, it's closer to the sea. At night, unintelligent monsters from the sea come ashore and devour the residents. The Free Alliance has built a barrier on the outermost edge of the shantytown to prevent monsters from entering. In exchange, we need to pay the Free Alliance a sum of money every month as payment."

That is, protection fees.

Very reasonable.

Master Meng truly doesn't miss any opportunity to make money.

Yan Shi seemed to be deep in thought, then realized a new blind spot: "Can unregistered residents also set up stalls and do business in Novano Port?"

Don't you need a business license?!

Boss: "Sure. Just pay a fee to the city management officers."

"For ordinary living beings, money can accomplish almost everything."

As soon as the boss finished speaking, Yan Shi felt his hat being gently tugged from behind.

She leaned back and looked up; Lin Cai was standing behind her.

"Lanlan," Lin Cai said softly, "Let's go. I'm so cold."

---

Lin Cai followed quietly behind Yan Lan, her steps light and quiet, almost blending into the night.

From the moment the boss knelt down and began kowtowing, her gaze remained cold.

The naive and inexperienced Lin Cai was shocked by the scene around her. Worried that she would be a burden to Yan Lan, she shook the future Lin Cai awake and asked her to take over.

When Lin Cai opened her eyes, she was met with familiar darkness.

The painful memory of holding the crown of the scorching sun in my hands surged up again.

Yan Lan was unfamiliar with this shantytown, but Lin Cai knew it all too well.

Even though they all live in the Otherworld, there are differences among the beings there. Those living in this shantytown are at the very bottom.

Humans, who are born with extremely weak spiritual perception, and some despicable hybrids live here.

Lin Cai briefly came here to hide during the time she was on the run, wearing the crown of blazing sun.

Out of compassion and goodwill, she spent all the money she had left to ask a doctor to treat an old woman, only to be betrayed by the old woman when she was at her weakest.

For a bounty of one million gold coins.

Although Lin Cai didn't think the old lady would actually get the money.

Nobles are the least trustworthy.

But the old woman still betrayed Lin Cai.

Money is a passport in the shantytown.

It is the foundation of everything.

Whether it's the Bureau of Foreign Affairs or various large families and independent forces, there's a reason why they don't consider these people as residents within their jurisdiction.

These people came from outside the city, and selfishness and self-interest flowed in their blood.

Although the noble and powerful also have selfishness and self-interest flowing in their blood, they know shame and care about their reputation.

These people won't.

Therefore, it's perfectly normal for them to turn against each other and take action for their own benefit.

But Lanlan couldn't see clearly.

Not only could Yanlan not see clearly, but according to Lin Cai's understanding, Lanlan, who seemed cold but was actually soft-hearted, would also want to get involved in this matter.

Lin Cai sighed deeply.

really.

After the boss briefly explained the origins of the residents in the shantytown and the background of the protection fees, Yanlan lowered her eyes thoughtfully.

From Lin Cai's perspective, she could see that Yan Lan's eyes were always bright. His face would carry a smile, a nonchalant air, and a burning passion.

Let's go.

Lin Cai thought.

A bright and dazzling moon like Yanlan is not suited to be tainted by filth.

The bright moon should hang high in the sky.

Author's Note: Chapters 159-164 have undergone major plot revisions and are now complete.