Chapter 82 The Spear of Courage Still Presses Forward (Part 5) Our Mission...
Winona's body turned into stardust in the glow and morning dew, gently scattering into the grass where bones lay scattered.
That brief scene flashed through everyone's minds like fragments. They wondered if this strong and beautiful blonde girl would reappear at the blacksmith's shop and tell her story to the next destined person.
"I really have to believe this isn't a dream, or a game, but something that actually happened." Feng Feng stared blankly at the flowerbed where Winona had disappeared, her hands still covered in mud.
Xia Zhu silently agreed in her heart. She really couldn't figure out how this dream came about. Every character and their story seemed to have no clear direction.
It's just a legend told in detail by a spirit hiding in some corner.
Winona's story came to an end, and the group decided to return to the starting village to inquire about how to reach the "Sacred Land of the Great River in Middle-earth" mentioned in the quest.
Xia Zhu turned his gaze away from the Aingar flower, only to find someone still standing there, seemingly puzzled. He should have remained aloof, observing as if enjoying a good show, but now he appeared to be deep in thought, confronting some age-old problem.
She curiously scrutinized Ying Huo, trying to discern his thoughts from his furrowed brows. However, Ying Huo noticed her gaze and glared back impatiently.
"What are you looking at?" he said irritably, then ignored Xia Zhu and turned to leave the flower field.
"Okay." Xia Zhu comforted himself, looking like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and whose fur had stood on end.
"What is this?!" Feng Feng shouted, pointing at a pool of mercury-like liquid on the ground.
"It looks like the remains of the dead Needle King Bees." Ji Wuchou looked around and found that the corpses of the Needle King Bees that had just been killed were all gone, leaving only puddles of unknown liquid on the ground.
Hearing their conversation, Xia Zhu curiously ran past Ying Huo to Feng Feng's side.
"Huh?" She crouched down and discovered that when she came within a certain distance from the mercury, an icon would appear in her field of vision floating above the object.
For example, it currently displays: "Honeybee Mercury".
"I understand!" Feng Feng stretched out another hand and shouted at the unidentified liquid on the ground, "Honeybee mercury!"
"Ding ding—"
The silver liquid on the ground disappeared, and Feng Feng found a small brown bag in his hand, made of what appeared to be cowhide or some other special material.
A thin, shimmering silver sheet hung from the drawstring of the small bag.
"This stuff should be collectable! This looks fun!" Feng Feng said as he began collecting bee mercury.
Xia Zhu tried to imitate her actions, but found that she could only get a small bag, which was less than half the size of Feng Feng's, like a miniature prop.
"Perhaps it's because Xiaofeng is an elf, her gathering ability is better and her efficiency is higher." Ji Wuchou also tried it, and the amount of bee mercury she collected was about the same as Xia Zhu's.
Thus, not only the bees near the flower field, but also the fish that slipped through the net around the mysterious tree all became Feng Feng's prey.
As they walked back to the village, they heard her constantly calling out the names of the roadside flowers and grasses, as if she were gathering everything she saw.
Just as Ji Wuchou was about to go to the Star Travel Tree Tavern again to inquire about the way to the Central Plains, Feng Feng found a traveling merchant outside a bakery and bought all the bee mercury she had collected at a high price.
Feng Feng smiled and accepted the heavy bag of gold coins, asking him how to get to the place where the priests descended.
The old man, dressed in a black robe and with white hair and a face like a boot, stroked his beard, glanced at the group behind Feng Feng, and slowly said, "How about this, you return the gold coins to me, and I will take you to the Holy Land of the Great River in the Central Plains."
Feng Feng weighed the gold coins in his hand, then turned to exchange a glance with Xia Zhu and the others, before scanning Ying Huo from head to toe, and finally replied to the merchant.
“It’s not impossible, but…” She glanced at the small cargo box behind the traveling merchant, “Do you have a cart or horses? How will you transport people?”
The old man slowly packed the goods he had laid out into his cargo box, which contained all sorts of strange and unusual items: a green, claw-like severed hand, and various shimmering gemstones. He laboriously hoisted the cargo box onto his back and pointed in the direction of the outskirts of the city.
"Come on, you'll find out once you follow me."
So the group followed the old man back the way they came, walked to the riverbank, and stopped on a flat, wide patch of green grass.
It was sunset, with smoke rising from the village chimneys and travelers lighting bonfires in the countryside. Laughter and cheerful songs or lonely tunes could be heard drifting from afar.
The old man put the crate on the ground and waved for everyone to step back.
"Back up, back up, back up to that tree."
"Alright, alright, that's it. Let this broaden your horizons, you young people." With that, he bent down slightly, his already somewhat hunched back, picked up a short rope protruding from the bottom of the cargo box, and pulled the end of the rope out like pulling the pin on a grenade.
The inside of the cargo container seemed to have been stuffed with a firecracker, crackling and popping, even defying gravity as it bounced and tumbled out structural components like planks, ropes, and silk...
In just ten seconds, the fallen parts reassembled at a speed visible to the naked eye, slowly forming a barrier that concealed the old man and the cargo box.
A series of clanging and banging noises startled birds from nearby trees and fish from the river. A uniquely shaped, enormous spaceship appeared before them, its prow carved with the image of a strong, piercing woman. As wide, thin, goose-leg-like wings unfolded from both sides of the ship, the commotion finally ceased.
Six people stood dumbfounded on the lawn, facing this exquisite and fascinating behemoth.
"This is too comprehensive, with such a rich setting. It's reasonable to suspect that this person is Liang!" Feng Feng wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.
Ji Wuchou and Xia Zhu nodded silently.
A creaking sound came from the bow of the ship, and a short old man came into view.
He walked unsteadily to the woman statue, gently touched her face bathed in the sunset, and sobbed softly, his eyes gazing at the beautiful sunset over the distant mountains.
"This is my mother... the most famous pirate leader of the Western Sea, who robbed the rich to help the poor from the hands of villains, roamed the vast ocean all her life, and left me only this spaceship... She was the greatest woman in the world... brave and valiant..."
The old man's gaze suddenly swept over the audience below the bow of the boat, and he immediately put away his sad expression, realizing that he had been somewhat out of line.
"Ahem...Alright, as you can see, it's neither a carriage nor a horse. Everyone, would you like to board the ship?"
All six nodded in unison.
The old man lowered the long ladder, and Feng Feng excitedly climbed up first.
"Hey, wait a minute!" The old man stood guard by the ladder and spread his hands towards Feng Feng.
"Here you go, here you go!" She pulled the bag of gold coins from her bosom and tossed it to the shrewd merchant. Only then did he step aside, satisfied.
Looking out from the deck, the small village was bathed in golden-red light, with red and green hues piled up beneath the sparse clouds. Only a day had passed in this dream world, yet Xia Zhu had the illusion that she was about to leave her hometown.
The old businessman's spaceship was fully equipped, and the cabin was like a cozy little home where he had lived for decades, with a kitchen and dining room with floral curtains, a bedroom, a terrace, and even a laundry room. None of these had anything to do with Xia Zhu and the others.
The old man had the six of them squeeze into the attic at the top of the ship's cabin, saying that his treasure ship could travel a thousand miles a day and would reach the Central Plains by this time tomorrow, so there was no need to prepare rooms or provide convenient living for the hurried travelers.
We can prepare several extra dinners, but only if they can afford to pay for them.
“1, 2, 3… six dinners in total, that’s the number.” He spread his five fingers in front of the group.
"5 gold coins?"
The old man shook his head. "50 gold coins."
"You're robbing us!" Feng Feng almost jumped up. A full meal at the Star Travel Tree Platform only costs 3 gold coins, but this unscrupulous merchant dares to ask for 50!
Suddenly, she thought of something, instantly calmed down, patted the old man's shoulder gently, and then waved her hand, pretending to be powerless to argue.
"Never mind, give it to him."
Then all five of them looked at Ying Huo again.
He gritted his teeth and sneered, his gaze fixed solely on Xia Zhu's face. "Fine, isn't this my purpose?"
Xia Zhu quickly turned her head to look up at the sky and said, "Wow, what a beautiful view!"
*
Although the space above the cabin was cramped, not enough to stand up, and the height was just enough to sit without hitting your head, the view was excellent. With the wooden windows on both sides open, as the spaceship ascended, the drifting clouds would stream in.
Feng Feng and Ying Ya went to the deck to watch the ship set sail. Ji Yinxi sat cross-legged in a corner, with the Xuanyuan Sword lying horizontally on his knees. This was his daily routine of cultivation, which he heard was taught to him by Yinglong and helped to clear his meridians and promote smooth breathing.
Xia Zhu also sat on the ground like him, but he didn't understand any mental techniques or incantations. He would fall asleep as soon as he closed his eyes, his head nodding in a daze.
"Your approach is more effective than that of the Ji family; it's like he's gone on a spiritual journey to meet the immortals."
Ying Huo suddenly spoke, startling Xia Zhu awake. She rubbed the back of her neck, realizing that sleeping like this was indeed uncomfortable. Ji Wuchou glanced at the two of them and said in a cool voice, "Sleeping and resting is a very good form of cultivation. A-Zhu did nothing wrong."
Ying Huo was practically an outsider in this team. Normally, as long as he didn't speak, the others could tolerate him, but unfortunately, his mouth was poisoned.
"Oh? Is that so?" Ying Huo drawled as he looked at Ji Wuchou on the other side. "Ah, I see. It's fine to say that. After all, he is the most outstanding ice and snow cold current in Puyang in the past hundred years. His understanding of martial arts is definitely deeper than that of some crippled bodies."
Xia Zhu was somewhat surprised. She didn't know that Ji Wuchou was so powerful that he was considered the best in the family. How did he know? Could it be that they knew each other before?
If Ji Wuchou was truly a prodigy from Puyang, why was she ostracized by her clan? She suddenly recalled the rumors she had heard in the arena.
Xia Zhu glanced over there discreetly and noticed that Ji Wuchou was pale and had her eyes downcast, showing no intention of refuting.
"But it seems you've been hiding your true strength all along. Let me think, what was that move called again?" Ying Huo persisted, leaning lazily against the window. The setting sun cast a strange, vibrant glow on his face, making him look like a man-eating flower lurking in the night. "I remember now, Qianli..."
"Who exactly are you!" Ji Wuchou's figure arrived at Ying Huo's side faster than her voice, a crescent-shaped ice blade held against his throat.
"Who am I? I am Ying Huo, of course, just a broken body of unknown origin." There was no fear in his eyes. He tilted his head back slightly and rested it on the windowsill. The wind ruffled his hair, and the curve of his lips widened, his gray eyes narrowing with laughter. Xia Zhu stared blankly at his face, beautiful and striking, yet utterly wicked.
Every word he uttered was deliberate. When he saw others become angry and out of control because of him, Ying Huo actually enjoyed it, because only in such situations could everyone's attention be focused on him.
The ice blade pushed a little further into his skin, but his hand began to tremble.
"Little worry."
Xia Zhu spoke, gently placing his hand over hers.
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