Volume One, Chapter Eighty-One: Departure

“Are you done packing yet?” Mo De poked his head into the inner room, urging Mu Qing to hurry up; it was almost time for them to depart.

“Almost, almost!” Mu Qing reluctantly placed a large pillow atop the neatly folded bedding, got off the bed, slung his backpack over his shoulders, and left the cabin with Mo De.

This pillow had been a gift from Cuihua after the great battle ended. When Mu Qing first received it, he was a bit puzzled, while Mo De stealthily gave the little girl a thumbs-up in gratitude. At last, he could sleep under a real blanket at night.

Over the past two weeks, Mu Qing had grown fond of the pillow’s soft, fluffy feel, but now, with farewell imminent, he couldn’t take it with him on the journey.

The two walked one after the other towards the western end of the village, exchanging farewells with many familiar villagers along the way.

When they reached the village entrance, a figure dashed over and threw herself into Mu Qing’s arms.

Choking with tears, Cuihua was loath to let the Qin siblings leave, but she couldn’t find the words to ask them to stay, so she simply wept quietly in silence.

Mo De stepped forward and gently patted the girl’s head in comfort.

In the end, Cuihua forced herself to part from Sister Qin, her eyes reddened, looking utterly pitiful.

Mu Qing pulled the girl aside and whispered something to her. Whatever he said, it worked wonders: the weeping girl dried her tears and broke into a smile, walking hand in hand with Mu Qing towards the village square.

The “Long Dragon” expedition team was already waiting there with their luggage, and the team leader, Zhou Meiqiong, was haggling with the village chief, Shang Qingwen, and others, doing her utmost to refuse the villagers’ excessive generosity.

After a village assembly, it was unanimously decided that half of the rare beast materials harvested from the blood serpent would be given to the expedition team and the Qin siblings. But Mo De and Mu Qing both held up their hands in refusal, insisting they couldn’t accept so much. In the end, they just asked the villagers to sew them two snakeskin backpacks and selected some dried serpent meat as rations, declining the rest.

The expedition team was harder to turn away, since it was no secret they carried storage rings. In addition to the giant serpent materials, a heap of local specialties was piled up in the village square.

Shang Qingwen well understood the immense value of the pills he and Jian Xin had received. Moreover, during the serpent battle, Chen Luoluo’s final ice-sealing spell had been the decisive factor. The villagers in these settlements had always been simple folk: if you lend a hand when I am in peril, I will do everything in my power to repay you.

“Where’s Chen Luoluo? Tell that girl to come here, quick!” For the first time, Zhou Meiqiong realized how hard it was to turn down people’s kindness. She was still fending off gifts of chickens and cured meat from the villagers when she spotted the little girl Ai Keke and shouted out.

“Luoluo just saw the Qin siblings and went off with them.”

“We really can’t take any more! We have to leave! Goodbye, everyone, see you again!” Zhou Meiqiong, arms full of smoked meat, made a hasty retreat, waving goodbye to the villagers as she ran towards the outskirts.

At the eastern gate of the village, Cuihua finally stopped, no longer following. She waved farewell to Sister Qing and Brother Mo, watching as their figures and those of the expedition team gradually receded into the distance.

Tears shimmered in the girl’s eyes, yet a smile lingered on her face. That single dimple, shallow and sweet, remained for a long, long time.

After bidding farewell to Cuihua and the others, Mo De and Mu Qing joined the “Long Dragon” expedition team and set out for the nearest city, Anjie.

On the way, they passed the battlefield where they had fought the red serpent weeks before. The traces left by the battle had been mostly erased by wind, sand, frost, and snow. The huge alien moon, after causing several bouts of extreme weather, had finally dispersed at the end of its lunar tide, its alien essence returning to nourish the land.

After disaster comes fortune. Once the lunar tide ended, lands most ravaged by calamity were blessed with an abundance of earth and sky energy, becoming even more fertile and rich.

...

After traveling with the expedition team for a few days, Mo De suddenly slapped his forehead, realizing that communication had been restored, but he still hadn’t told his landlord and the others about being teleported to the northern desert.

After turning his phone back on, Mo De first called Sister Yan Xi to let her know he was safe, and then, at her reminder, phoned his class monitor, Su Ziwen.

Su Ziwen’s voice was tinged with surprise and delight, but she still kept her cool, reminding Mo De to return as soon as possible. The school had suddenly announced early ability testing to select members for the upcoming university visit.

“I’ll inform Wu Fan; you just focus on getting back. The big assessment starts on the second,” Su Ziwen instructed, but noticed something hesitant in Mo De’s tone.

“Um... Monitor, could you please ask for a day off for me? I don’t think I’ll make it in time for the assessment.” Sweat beaded slightly on Mo De’s forehead.

“Hmm? Where are you now?” Su Ziwen sensed something was off. Hadn’t he just gone to see off his ‘cousin’? How far could he possibly have gone?

Beside him, Mu Qing helpfully opened phone location and held the screen up to Mo De.

“Um... I’m still more than a day’s journey from Zhuoyi City. Even by the fastest airship, I won’t get back to Qin City until the evening of the second...”

On the other end, Su Ziwen fell silent.

Zhuoyi City? Wasn’t that at the northern border of Huaxia? How had Mo De run off that far without a word?

“I see. Just get back quickly.” Suppressing her anger, Su Ziwen ended the call.

That guy really had a knack for surprising her.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Su Ziwen picked up her phone to notify Wu Fan, then requested two more days off for Mo De from the school.

It was already October 30th; tomorrow was the day for students to return to Tianshui High.

Pressing her fingers together, Su Ziwen tried to soothe her anger and refocus on her meditation.

On the windowsill, the black cat sensed the girl’s steadying mind and slipped into a silver-tinged trance, its eyes flashing with a glimmer of white.

The girl’s posture did not change, but the flow of alien energy inside her grew ever smoother.

...

Mo De didn’t even get a chance to explain before the call ended with the familiar beeping tone. He covered his face, uncertain how he’d explain this to his monitor when he got back.

Beside him, Mu Qing burst into uncontrollable laughter at Mo De’s misfortune, holding her stomach as she laughed.

After all, compared to giving timely help or joining in others’ celebrations, there’s nothing quite as satisfying as enjoying someone else’s woes.

Glaring at Mu Qing, who was now rolling with laughter, Mo De lifted the tent flap and stepped outside to clear his head.

“Hey there, Comrade Mo!” A playful voice called from behind. Without turning around, Mo De knew it was Ai Keke.

Sure enough, a petite figure darted over, her high ponytail perfectly matching her mischievous personality.

The little girl, hands clasped behind her back, leaned forward and looked at Mo De with bright, expectant eyes, blinking at him as she greeted him with a hopeful tone.

“Good evening, Sister Keke.” Mo De’s lips twitched, but he still raised a hand in greeting.

“Mm, good evening, good evening!” Ai Keke’s smile was so wide her eyes curved into crescents, and she was clearly elated to be called “sister.”

Given that, by both age and stature, Ai Keke was the youngest and smallest member of the “Long Dragon” expedition, she rarely had the privilege of being addressed as “sister.” Ever since Mo De, in a gesture of courtesy, had called her “Sister Keke,” she had lingered around him, always waiting, expectant, for him to greet her again.

It was worth mentioning that although Ai Keke was the youngest in the team, she was actually a year older than Mu Qing, so Mo De’s greeting wasn’t misplaced. Still, the girl treated it like a ritual, coming over morning, noon, and night, much to Mo De’s headache.

“Stop pestering Mo all the time,” Zhou Meiqiong’s voice rang from afar. Ai Keke stuck out her tongue at Mo De and scampered back toward the camp.

“Meiqiong,” Mo De greeted Zhou Meiqiong as she walked over.

She took out a pack of women’s cigarettes, offered one to Mo De out of habit, then realized and tucked them away.

“Hope you don’t mind.” She waved her lighter, seeking Mo De’s permission.

“Not at all,” Mo De said with a smile. He never smoked, but didn’t mind others doing so. After all, when he was young, Bai Yi used to tease him with cigarettes all the time.

Back then, Bai Yi and Master Liu tried to teach the young Mo De to smoke and drink, hoping he would regain lost emotions. But when Sister Shu found out, they were thoroughly scolded.

“After we cross this ‘Great Rift’ tomorrow, Zhuoyi City will come into view.” Zhou Meiqiong exhaled a thin stream of smoke, seated casually on the ground. Under the starry sky and the glow of the campfire, she gazed at the bottomless chasm ahead.

Mo De stood beside her, peering down into the depths of the rift.

If you strained your eyes, you could just make out a faint scarlet glow at the bottom.

This was the “Chibu Great Rift,” a giant natural barrier northwest of Zhuoyi City. Not especially wide, but famous for its staggering length and terrifying depth. Rumor had it that a river of molten lava flowed beneath, and anyone who fell in would never emerge alive.

Thus it was also known as “The Abyss of Naraku.”

“How will you and your sister get home after arriving at Zhuoyi City?” Zhou Meiqiong took another drag of her cigarette. The smoke, unlike ordinary tobacco, carried a pleasant citrus fragrance.

“Sister Qing already booked an airship in advance. The Chamber of Commerce will send someone to pick us up.” The thought of soon returning to Qin City gave Mo De a sense of relief.

“No wonder you could travel with the Shining Gold Caravan. You really are well off.” Zhou Meiqiong was a little surprised to hear they’d be taking a commercial airship—such travel between Anjie cities was hardly cheap.

“Haha, not really...” Mo De rubbed his head sheepishly.

He was just a broke student. The reason they could take the airship was because a certain someone surnamed Li had, for the sake of convenient travel—no, for easier missions—bought an anonymous VIP airship pass from the Chamber of Commerce. It would be a shame to let the remaining trips go to waste, after all.