Chapter 39 Chaoyun Kingdom - Chaos Pearl (Part 3) Just like always...
The letter of peace was actually inside the last ephemeral flower of this bracelet. No wonder the bracelet didn't respond no matter how she called for it in the Blood Moon Secret Realm.
It turns out that this last lingtan flower was used as a storage bag.
However, the next moment, the letter of marriage was grabbed by the young boy and stuffed into his mouth.
Shi Xianxue screamed in fright, "No!! You can't eat this! You're not allowed to eat it!!"
Does he like shiny, glowing things? He's a siren who lives in the deep sea, so he probably likes to eat things like jellyfish and sea feathers, but this is a letter of peace, not food!
The young boy was startled by the sudden shout, and the letter of marriage alliance slipped from his mouth and fell to the ground.
He looked around innocently, pointed at her, and said, "Eat, eat you."
"I can't eat it either!" Shi Xianxue became agitated. "Let me go, and I'll take you to eat something delicious, okay?"
The little siren furrowed her beautiful brows and stubbornly said, "I'll eat you."
Shi Xianxue shook her head solemnly: "I saved you, I am your benefactor, you should repay me, but the way to repay me cannot be by eating me, because it will hurt me."
"It hurts," the little siren said thoughtfully.
"Yes, it hurts even more than when you were hit, so let me go and I'll take you to find food."
A moment later, Shi Xianxue untied herself and quickly stuffed the letter into her bosom. She suspected that this was a honey trap set for her, otherwise why could he tie her up but not those strong men? Was he bullying the weak and fearing the strong?
Damn it!
She was caught in a dilemma, her thoughts running wild.
Taking the little sea monster to Chang Le Ju would be tantamount to taking him to a slaughterhouse. She didn't want to keep him by her side, and he clearly had the ability to protect himself, so Shi Xianxue decided to get rid of him.
Just as she was lost in thought, a hurricane swept past her, and the little sea monster pounced on the fishmonger who had set up a stall on the street corner.
Shi Xianxue quickly grabbed his waist, and when the people around looked over, she shielded the little sea monster in her arms to cover its face, and then took a mask and put it on its conspicuous face. "Shh, I'll buy it for you now, let's go somewhere where no one is around to eat."
She pulled out the only piece of silver from behind her heel and reluctantly handed it over.
Shi Xianxue found a secluded corner and tossed a small yellow croaker over. The little siren, like a baby seal in an aquarium, tilted its head back and ate them one by one, licking its lips with lingering satisfaction after finishing one.
Shi Xianxue simply handed him the whole basket of small yellow croakers.
The little siren's stone-like eyes suddenly lit up, and she squatted in a corner with her little basket to eat fish.
Just as Shi Xianxue was about to sneak away, a hoarse male voice suddenly came from beside her. It sounded like he hadn't spoken for a long time; his voice was dry and hoarse, drifting from the deep night.
"Little girl, would you be interested in coming to see me?"
Shi Xianxue then noticed that a middle-aged man was sitting on a small stool by the moat not far away, watching her for who knows how long.
His stall was very simple, just a black rag spread on the ground, covered with strange objects: a mirror so blurry that you couldn't see people at all, a pillow as gorgeous as agate, rhinoceros horn and fish lanterns, and a fist-sized silkworm wriggling in a small iron cage, spinning gorgeous silk that wove a rainbow in mid-air.
Shi Xianxue was short of money and was about to wave her hand and say she would definitely do it next time when her eyes were drawn to a crystal-clear glass ball.
Inside the glass sphere were jigsaw puzzle pieces of various shapes, emitting a shimmering white light as they danced within, like miniature Lego toys from her era. Her face was illuminated by the light emanating from the glass sphere, but how could such a thing be here?
She crouched down, a faint color reflected in her eyes: "What is this?"
"This is good stuff." Seeing that he had finally made a sale, the man's face lit up. "Do you know the Zhou family of Beiyong Mechanized City?"
"Four hundred years ago, the north was a sparsely populated, harsh, and almost barren ice and snow city. A Zhou family moved here to escape the war. This family produced many talented people and were good at using ingenious mechanisms. They quickly transformed this barren land into a mechanical city with four seasons. They possessed the heirloom Three Thousand Worlds, which were three thousand small virtual worlds. The rules of these small worlds were set by the user. By putting a wisp of one's consciousness into them, one could experience different lives in different worlds."
Isn't this just a real-life version of "Minecraft"?
"This ingenious puzzle piece is the one that fell from the Three Thousand Worlds. Although it can't match the performance of the Three Thousand Worlds, it can still easily create a beautiful dream, and it comes with an instruction manual that I made myself."
Although it sounded useless, Shi Xianxue still politely asked, "How much?"
The man rubbed his hands together: "Twenty gold coins."
Having a beautiful dream is quite a luxury.
Shi Xianxue stood up: "You could have just robbed it, but you insisted on giving me this puzzle piece. You're really too nice."
The man looked her up and down and said, "Then ten high-grade spirit stones will do."
"I don't even have twenty pieces of gold, how could I possibly have ten spirit stones?" Shi Xianxue waved her hand, "Forget it, I won't buy it."
She turned around and looked in the direction of the little sea monster. The wind whistled past her ears, and the empty basket lay askew on the ground, leaving a dark stain. Several small fish helplessly thrashed about, but the tiny figure was long gone.
She went over to investigate and only left after confirming there was no trace of the little sea monster.
As rumored, the capital city of Chaoyun was indeed as wealthy and dazzling as the rumors suggested. Not only was there no curfew, but as the Ghost Festival approached, every household was brightly lit. The main street leading to the palace was occupied by performers of swordplay, juggling, tightrope walking, giant beast dancing, giant bird playing, knife swallowing, fire breathing, dragon and lion dancing.
The entire street was packed with people.
Shi Xianxue, lacking resolve, wanted to return to the inn quickly, but her attention was unexpectedly drawn to the beautiful iron-smelting display.
The blacksmith scoops molten iron with a clay ladle and pours it onto a wooden board. As he throws it upwards, he strikes the molten iron with great force. Instantly, sparks fly like golden dragons dancing, with light and shadow flashing and flowing. When the sparks are sparse, they resemble a fiery tree and silver flowers, and the dragon and lion dancers glide through the golden hall.
Shi Xianxue, along with the crowd, gasped in amazement, quickly putting the matter of the Chaos Pearl out of her mind.
So much so that it took her a long time to walk away from the crowd and along that bustling street before she noticed the several black holes burned into the hem of her skirt by the sparks.
Shi Xianxue felt as if the sky was about to fall.
Good heavens! This is the only dress she has to wear. Although it's poorly made and made of cheap materials, and it even caused allergic red spots on her skin, she still can't go running around naked!
No, Shi Xianxue tucked the small black hole further into the fabric, deceiving herself into believing that there was still a chance to salvage the garment.
As soon as she looked up, several familiar-looking men emerged from the darkness and lined up to block her way.
Shi Xianxue froze for a moment, then decisively turned around and walked back, but she was blocked by thugs who cut her off from behind after only a few steps.
Forced to retreat step by step, she forced a smile and said, "Brother, what's going on? We have no grudges against each other. I am neither talented nor beautiful, and I am penniless. It would be a losing proposition for you to rob me."
The leader, his hair half-burned, brandished a knife, his eyes gleaming with malice: "Enough nonsense. You smell of his scales on you. You saved him. Tell me, where is he?"
It seems I can't fool them anymore.
Shi Xianxue calmly reached for the talisman at her waist. "Brother, don't be angry. I'll talk, I'll talk, he's right here..."
Before she could even release the talisman, a short knife glowing red was pressed against her slender, fragile neck.
"You bitch, do you think we'll fall for your tricks twice? If you dare to try anything funny again, I'll finish you off first!"
When he bared his teeth, a wolf-dog-like appearance appeared on his face, with a dark undertone, reddish-brown fur, and small, round ears that flared outwards.
Shi Xianxue then realized that those who had surrounded her were not humans, but a group of hyena demons.
The person who can keep demon servants in Kyoto must be someone important. Shi Xianxue calmed herself down and said, "It's just a sea monster. Why are you guys so persistent? How about this, you come with me to my place, and I'll give you three sea monsters in return?"
"Bullshit! What sea monster? You're from the countryside, aren't you?" The man almost let slip the secret. He paused, then pressed the knife down harder.
“He has a personal grudge against us. He not only killed several of our brothers, but also bit off our boss’s manhood. If you insist on protecting him, then you will have to bear the consequences of our feud.”
Shi Xianxue could hardly believe what she had just heard.
Her head was buzzing, and she suddenly realized that the fishy smell from earlier might not have been entirely pure.
Bite down...
Remembering the innkeeper's hesitant words, Shi Xianxue got goosebumps all over her body.
That little sea monster clearly looked like a teenager. How could they do such a thing? Isn't that utterly depraved?
The atmosphere grew tense in the silence.
Shi Xianxue was drenched in cold sweat, and dared not move her hand on her waist. Time passed slowly, and Shi Xianxue gritted her teeth and decided to fight them.
Just as she was about to tear the talisman, several large white bones appeared out of thin air and slammed towards her.
Almost driven by instinct, several hyena demons excitedly leaped into the air, one of them grabbing a large bone in its mouth, its tail wagging like a propeller as it lay on the ground licking the bone, soon making it drip with saliva.
Shi Xianxue seized the opportunity and ran away as fast as she could.
However, she underestimated the hyenas' running speed, especially after they transformed into their original forms and used all four legs. They quickly caught up with Shi Xianxue, who was panting even more after only a few steps on two legs.
Seeing that she couldn't outrun him, Shi Xianxue lay down on the spot and peacefully placed her hands on her lower abdomen.
Come on, since you can't run away or fight back anyway, just bite her to death. Her flesh is soft, chewy, and melts in your mouth.
The hyena bit her hard, and she just gave up.
Several hyenas nearly lost control and crashed into each other. After regaining their footing, they saw her feigning death, rubbed their teeth together, bared their teeth, and barked wildly at the air twice before leaping up and attacking Shi Xianxue.
Shi Xianxue kept her eyes tightly closed, the ice-sealing talisman in her hand waiting for the right moment to strike.
The moment she crushed the talisman, several canine howls echoed through the sky. Her eyes darted around under her eyelids, and cool, crystalline particles fell onto her face.
Shi Xianxue felt itchy on her face, so she reached out and rubbed it, then opened her eyes a crack.
Snow began to fall from the sky at some unknown time, and the pack of ferocious hyenas vanished without a trace in an instant.
Shi Xianxue sat up abruptly. The snowflakes on her pale fingertips turned into grayish-brown ashes. Only then did she realize that what snowflakes were were clearly the ashes of the hyenas burned to ashes by the fire, which were then coated with a thin layer of ice crystals by her ice-sealing talisman, creating the illusion of snow.
The streets were quiet and dimly lit, with no one walking around. Occasionally, a breeze would gently rustle through the branches of the chinaberry trees, and ashes would fall on her face and clothes. She would inhale them unexpectedly into her nose and immediately sneeze three or four times.
She frantically patted at the ashes floating in the air, her clothes burned and torn to shreds, her little face filthy like a big tabby cat that had stolen some food.
Sneezing and coughing, tears streaming down her face, she took a deep breath, and something suddenly rushed into her throat. She then spat it out desperately.
Describing a state of disarray or utter disarray.
A barely audible sneer suddenly came from ahead.
The voice seemed to emanate from the nasal cavity, carrying a strong sense of contempt and mockery, mixed with a distinctively personal coldness.
Shi Xianxue paused, a cool breeze like a gentle hand caressing her cheek, lifting her cascading hair, and her voice, like a secluded valley, drifted lightly into the wind.
"As useless as ever."
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