Chapter 456: Haiyin Ronggu Yuan

Valar Bay.

On the Ygdrasil leaves, colorful light flowed.

Flora spun wildly within the leaf, looking left and right, thoroughly delighted.

Gao De watched Flora darting about beneath the tree, smiling silently.

The batch of tree seeds he brought back needed to be planted quickly to accelerate Ygdrasil's growth.

Planting the trees had to be handled personally by Flora to ensure stability, so Gao De had brought her along to Valar Bay.

"Leaving already?" Finally, after her excitement faded, Flora landed on Gao De's shoulder and spoke in a soft, delicate voice.

"Yes, we're leaving."

"But remember to come back. You know the way, right?"

"We'll return via teleportation. No need to remember the way." Gao De replied, "honestly."

Seeing the hesitant little figure, he smiled and stopped teasing her. "Don't worry—I remember. Before I return, I'll take Lady Flora for a proper tour over there."

"Lady Flora doesn't care about that," the little figure's wings fluttered joyfully, yet she turned her head away, gazing at Ygdrasil, adopting a solemn, serious expression. "Over there isn't like here—there are bad people. Master, be careful. Watch your safety."

"Thank you, Lady Flora, for your concern. I'll remember."

"Then I must rely on Lady Flora to look after things here."

"Lady Flora is very smart."

"That's right."

Gao De wasted no more time and activated the Astral Teleportation.

The colorful light swirling around the Ygdrasil leaves rapidly converged, and abundant astral energy soon coalesced into an Astral Gate.

This time, it wasn't just random teleportation anymore.

On the return journey, Ygdrasil had marked his return coordinate.

So now he had two options: random teleportation or marked-point teleportation.

Gao De naturally chose the latter.

Shouldering the bulging large bundle, Gao De stepped into the Astral Gate, and the colorful light instantly enveloped his figure.

"Back."

After a flash of colorful light, Gao De found himself back in his room at the Palm Tree Inn.

After three days, he had returned to Lagos City.

Everything in the room remained exactly as he had left it.

Gao De set down the bundle and walked to the corner of the room. With a crisp metallic click, the capybara sack was unfastened.

The instant the sack opened, Tuanzi—having been confined inside for three days—shot out like a compressed spring toy, eagerly breathing in fresh air.

With a slight surge of mana, Gao De cast 【Beast Link+】, establishing a mental connection with Tuanzi to confirm whether anyone had entered or any unusual events had occurred during his absence.

"You've worked hard." After confirming all was well, Gao De unwrapped the bundle and pulled out a block of frozen meat.

The translucent amber flesh contained faint ice-elemental crystals nestled between muscle fibers.

This was the rib muscle of a third-rank geopulse creature, the Frostmane Lizard—excellent in texture, and packed with abundant blood qi and magical energy.

Gao De gathered a small flame at his fingertip and thawed the rock-hard meat.

Tuanzi watched the entire process, clawing at the air with its front flippers, its pink nose twitching upward, nearly touching the meat.

Seeing its impatient state, Gao De quickened his pace, fully thawing the meat and holding it toward Tuanzi's mouth.

The moment the meat reached its nose, Tuanzi snapped open its three-part mouth, seized the meat, and effortlessly tore through the translucent muscle tissue, chewing rapidly, cheeks puffing into round, hamster-like balls.

When the last bite was swallowed, a faint shimmer of light flashed across Tuanzi's body.

Though only a small piece of flesh, its high third-rank quality had brought about a slight change.

But Tuanzi was still young—the blood qi and magical energy in this piece had nearly reached its tolerance limit. It needed time to digest and absorb before further feeding.

Fat doesn't come from one bite. This couldn't be rushed.

Ding—ding—ding—

As Gao De stepped out of the room, the central clock tower of Lagos City chimed eight times, its deep, resonant tones ringing in rhythmic cadence—eight o'clock in the morning.

In Lagos City, Gao De still had two major tasks unfinished.

One was acquiring the Harland Shipyard; the other was uncovering the mastermind behind the Water Beast Extermination mission to earn higher merit.

Clearly, the former was more urgent.

Though Gao De now carried fifty sheets of Ice-Wutong Leaves worth over 15,000 Jin Quehua coins, the question remained: how to convert them into cash.

But Gao De had already prepared a contingency plan.

"First, find Anna. Three days without word—she's probably frantic."

Ai Sha had left him an address: Haiyin Ronggu Yuan.

Though not a landmark, it was at least a named place, so it wasn't hard to find.

Outside the inn, the street was already crowded with carriages offering rides.

Gao De straightened his clothes and waved down a carriage. "To Haiyin Ronggu Yuan."

"Yes, sir!" the driver shouted immediately.

Once aboard, the driver focused on driving and said nothing.

These veteran drivers were well-mannered—whether talkative or quiet, they never intruded on passengers' privacy.

Yet Gao De initiated conversation.

"How large is Haiyin Ronggu Yuan?" he asked casually.

These carriage drivers crisscrossed the city daily—they were local experts and knew Lagos City well.

"Haiyin Ronggu Yuan?"

The driver drew out the syllables, as if recalling details, then continued: "In size, it's probably among the top three in Lagos City's Ronggu Yuans, since it's run by the Tide Speakers Sect."

"Though the Tide Speakers Sect has declined and barely survives, even after selling off nearly all its assets and scattering most of its followers, they've refused to shut down Haiyin Ronggu Yuan. Good-hearted people—pity." The driver flicked his whip gently as he spoke.

"So Haiyin Ronggu Yuan is property of the Tide Speakers Sect?" Hearing this familiar name, Gao De raised an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"Was the Tide Speakers Sect once a major sect in Lagos City?"

When he'd met Doctor Danika in Marko District, Gao De had wanted to learn more about the Tide Speakers Sect—but the patient had woken up then, so the topic was dropped.

Now that it came up again, his curiosity stirred.

His curiosity stemmed from the fact that Sister Danika, a Tide Speakers Sect nun, possessed the rare spell 【Healing Shu 】, making him suspect the sect was more significant than it appeared.

"It was one of the two or three largest sects in Lagos City. They freely provided storm trajectory forecasts to fishermen, guided their sailing schedules, and blessed their safety—earning them many followers."

The driver, once started, couldn't stop. His voice carried a note of sorrow. "But when the Spiritvein Craze erupted, most fishermen—its core followers—quit fishing to mine Spiritvein ore. Followers vanished in droves."

"Yet the then-high priest acted decisively. Seeing the situation, he poured the sect's funds into Spiritvein-related industries."

"For the first few years, they made a fortune from Spiritvein profits. With the dividends, they built a stained-glass chapel, added guest rooms for followers, renovated the church bell tower, and purchased gilded ritual vessels—constantly expanding, at its peak."

The driver spoke vividly, as if the scenes unfolded before his eyes.

Although the number of followers declined, the sect thrived despite the odds.

Gao De fell silent for a moment.

He could guess what came next.

"But later, as you know, the Spiritvein Craze burst. With no more dividends, the sect—already depleted of followers—could no longer cover daily expenses. The buildings expanded during the craze became heavy burdens."

As Gao De expected.

"For example, the stained-glass chapel and renovated bell tower each required vast Jin Quehua coins annually just for cleaning and maintenance."

"For the first few years, the Tide Speakers Sect barely sustained costs by selling off ritual vessels and other valuables. But those items were finite—eventually, there was nothing left to sell."

"Without money to maintain the buildings, the already dwindling followers left in greater numbers. Monks, unable to receive stipends, began to depart. It became a vicious cycle."

"If I recall correctly, the Tide Speakers Sect has now sold off nearly all its assets. Today, they likely own only Haiyin Ronggu Yuan and one church."

"Honestly, with Haiyin Ronggu Yuan's scale, daily expenses are substantial. I doubt they'll last much longer."

"Sigh—if they can't hold on, what will become of the children in Haiyin Ronggu Yuan?" the driver worried aloud.

Creak!

At that moment, the driver yanked the reins sharply and halted the carriage.

"Sir, we've arrived."

Haiyin Ronggu Yuan stood in a working-class district in eastern Lagos City. Its outer walls were built of dark brick and stone, covered in patches of peeling paint and weathered marks, appearing dilapidated and aged.

The heavy gate's paint had peeled off.

Above the gate, a small spire stood, its tiles mostly missing, exposing the wooden structure beneath.

Gao De paid and stepped down from the carriage.

The winter morning air was crisp and cold.

Before the Ronggu Yuan's gate, two or three dozen children stood on the roadside, their faces flushed red from the cold.

Two children held donation boxes—ancient, worn, their paint flaked off nearly entirely.

The other children held tin cans.

Inside each can was water and a small fish, swimming weakly in the shallow liquid.

Two more children held up signs, their crude handwriting reading: "Please help us."

Doctor Danika stood among the children, dressed in a plain gray robe.

She led them in soliciting donations from passersby; those who donated received a tin can and Danika's blessing.

Clearly, the fundraising effort was not going well.

Most passersby hurried past without stopping, let alone pulling out money from their pockets.

Click.

Gao De dropped a silver dragon coin into the donation box, instantly drawing stifled gasps from several children nearby.

"Thank you, brother!" The little boy holding the donation box looked up at Gao De timidly and thanked him.

At that moment, Doctor Danika had noticed the commotion and walked over.

Upon seeing Gao De, Doctor Danika first blinked in slight surprise; her weary eyes flickered with a glimmer of light, then she stepped forward with a smile, placing one hand over her chest in salute: "My lord, I never expected to meet you here."

"Doctor Danika," Gao De returned the salute, then gestured to the children around him, "How long have these children gone without a full meal?"

"Two or three months, maybe," Doctor Danika replied, ashamed.

"How did it come to this?" Gao De was startled. He knew the orphanage's situation was dire, but he hadn't expected them to be starving.

"Ever since the bishop fled with the sect's assets, the sect's morale collapsed. Everyone divided up the remaining property and scattered, leaving only this orphanage behind—and only a handful of monks still loyal to the sect." Doctor Danika sighed faintly, her eyes filled with disappointment and anger.

"There are 132 children in the orphanage. Daily food costs alone are substantial, not to mention fuel, repairs, and maintenance expenses."

"The children are growing; they need constant new clothes, shoes, quilts, toiletries—these living expenses add up significantly. Alas, everything requires money."

"Though my medical skills and magic still have some use, wealthy families in the city occasionally hire me to treat illnesses—but such cases occur only once every one or two weeks, and the fees I earn are far from enough to cover the orphanage's costs."

"So even though we've cut the children's meals from three to two per day, they still only get half-full portions. With no other option, I've brought them out to beg for donations." Doctor Danika's gaze swept over the frail children, heavy with sorrow.

Looking at these pale, youthful faces and hearing Doctor Danika's words, Gao De felt an indescribable emotion in his chest.

In his past life, in the country he had lived in, going hungry was an absolute taboo no citizen could tolerate.

The clearest example: if you begged for money on the street, no one might pay attention—you'd be dismissed as a fraud—but if you begged for food, exaggerating slightly, you could be fed until you burst.

"This should be enough for the children to eat full meals for two days," Gao De thought, then pulled out a Jin Quehua coin and handed it to Doctor Danika.

Doctor Danika took the Jin Quehua coin, crossing her hands over her chest: "My lord, thank you for your mercy and generosity. The Ocean will bless and protect you."

"Thank you. You are the true embodiment of mercy—you are the one who deserves the Ocean's blessing and protection."

"By the way, my lord, were you just passing by?" Doctor Danika asked.

It was unusual for a Sea Sentinel mage to appear here.

"No," Gao De remembered his purpose and spoke seriously: "I'm here to find someone."

"Find someone?"

"I'm looking for Miss Elsha." This was the coded signal Gao De and Elsha had agreed upon.

"So you're a guest of the young lady," Doctor Danika said, slightly startled, then studied Gao De deeply. "My lord, please follow me."

(End of Chapter)