Chapter 578: A Meng Arrives

Leonard turned his head to glance at Leikton beside him, opened his mouth, but the voice that came out was Parles's hoarse old voice:

"What do you mean?"

Leikton looked at Leonard, whose expression instantly grew serious, opened his mouth and, word by word, spat out the phrase: "It means… A Meng has arrived."

Leonard was stunned for a moment, his voice sounding a little panicked as he muttered:

"Old man, what should we do? Go to the Southern Continent, or stay in the cathedral for a while?"

Parles did not answer Leonard's question, took over control of his body, and continued:

"How did you know?"

Leikton turned and looked at the towering Saint Samuel Cathedral behind him, and said calmly:

"I just went to the Harvest Cathedral and got some clues there; then I searched around Beckland and didn't even see a single monocle."

"Night moves quickly; before I could get there, she had already arranged everything for you."

"Arrange? You mean the Southern Continent operation was deliberately set up by the goddess to keep me away from A Meng?" Leonard looked at Leikton, his tone hesitant.

As soon as his words fell, Parles scoffed without mercy: "Ha, you really think highly of yourself. You're just incidental, and if you go to the Southern Continent, certain matters will inevitably require your involvement; Night wouldn't be so kind to help."

After a two‑second pause, he began to speak to himself:

"In a metropolis like Beckland, A Meng will certainly leave a few avatars to gather information for future needs; if all his avatars disappear, he must be hiding himself and setting up some schemes."

"Before you head to the Southern Continent, you'd better not leave Saint Samuel Cathedral. Under Night's watch, A Meng's avatars won't approach this place easily, at least not openly."

Leonard took a deep breath, nodded heavily and said: "I understand."

Leikton raised an eyebrow slightly, as if recalling something, and whispered: "Ha, I think I know what you'll encounter on the Southern Continent."

"Gentlemen, see you again on the Southern Continent,"

As he spoke, his body rapidly dematerialized, fragmenting into tangled pure knowledge that surged into the spirit realm.

"What does he mean?" Leonard asked the old man inside himself, puzzled.

Parles snorted coldly, his tone even: "Hmm, it means you should make more preparations; your journey to the Southern Continent won't be peaceful."

"Alright, to avoid being detected by A Meng these days, I'll enter a deeper slumber; and you stop shouting old‑man old‑man all the time. If an A Meng avatar happens to be nearby, just wait and wear the monocle."

After his words fell, Parles fell silent again; Leonard called out "old man" twice in his mind, received no response, quickly steadied his emotions, turned and walked toward the cathedral.

Above the gray mist, Klein sat in the high‑backed chair belonging to the Fool, extending a spiritual touch to Leikton's deep‑red star.

The deep‑red light surged like a tide, and soon images and sounds began to appear:

"A Meng has come to Beckland; you'd better find a suitable reason to leave here. If you can't find one, try praying to Night; she will arrange it."

"You could come to the Southern Continent; there you'll gain unexpected rewards."

A Meng? How did he get to Beckland? Klein's curiosity rose just then, and he heard Leikton's following words:

"A Meng is probably looking for Parles; this is the last 'Time Worm' trait he needs. His true body can't conveniently come to Beckland, but if he finds your trace here, I think he wouldn't mind taking a risk."

Klein was silent for two seconds, then hesitantly asked: "Why would he think he could find my trace in Beckland?"

In the deep‑red glow, Leikton's voice drifted: "Did you forget where the Fool's honored name originally came from?"

"Aurora Society. What does he have to do with the Aurora Society? It can't be that the True Creator reached some tacit understanding with A Meng? Thinking of this, Klein's face grew solemn. The True Creator was born from the corpse of the Ancient Sun God, its successor; A Meng, as the child of the Ancient Sun God, naturally can receive its aid. Damn it, everyone who bears a grudge against me is family!"

He inhaled deeply, quickly steadied his emotions, and said calmly:

"I understand; I'll find a proper chance to go to the Southern Continent."

On the outskirts of Beckland, Leikton watched the gray mist dissipate rapidly, curled his lip, and muttered: "A Meng's early arrival has disrupted their plans; to keep everything orderly, something will surely happen on the Southern Continent as well."

"Ha, it's going to get lively."

As his words fell, his body instantly dematerialized, breaking into wave after wave of tangled knowledge, becoming a pure information‑flow entity that surged forward like a torrent.

On the Southern Continent, at the mouth of the Pas River Valley north of the Pas River Valley, near the Northern Province, countless tangled pure knowledges surged from the spirit realm, converging on a golden‑glimmering sailing ship in the harbor and reconstituting Leikton's body.

His figure just appeared on the deck of the "Golden Dream", and a pale‑blue "gate" instantly materialized before him. Edwenna, wearing a beige coat cinched at the waist and a dark knee‑length skirt, stepped out of the gate. Leikton's gaze swept over Edwenna, lingered two seconds on the dark brown vellum book she held, then smiled lightly and said;

"Good morning, madam."

Edwenna gave a slight nod, her voice calm:

"Good morning, Mr. Tains, I've already had the crew move the grain you need to the port warehouse; you can go directly to the warehouse manager to collect it."

"Thank you for your help." Leikton bowed lightly toward her.

While they were speaking, Daniz, cloaked in a black mantle, also appeared on the deck; before he reached them, his voice already carried: "Captain, isn't that Yodsen guy the teacher at the school? Why did he suddenly return to the ship?"

Captain, isn't that guy Yu Desen supposed to be teaching at school? How did he suddenly come back onto the ship?

Daniz opened his mouth, then froze in place, scratched his head puzzled and said: "Huh, what was I about to say?"

After a two‑second pause, he looked at Edwenna, seemed about to speak, but the words slipped away again.

Leikton glanced toward the cabin near the deck and saw Yodsen grinning smugly.

"Already a 'Dream Thief'?" he muttered softly, then turned to the still‑dazed Daniz and chuckled: "Weren't you supposed to be over at the Rosted Islands, contacting the local resistance?"

"How do you know?" Daniz retorted in shock, then, as if he understood, nodded: "I only supply them with some necessary provisions; I'm not joining them. I'm still the fourth mate of the Golden Dream."

Behind him, Yodsen stepped out of the cabin, saying as he walked: "You're right, I'm just helping out in the Pas River Valley; I'm still your third officer. Isn't it normal for me to appear on the bed?"

Watching the crew gathering ever more on the deck, Leikton raised an eyebrow; he felt that aside from Edwenna, everyone on the ship was watching and guarding against him.

"Why the sudden hostility? Because I had Edwenna add a few lessons each week?" Thoughts turning, he turned to Edwenna, pointed at the vellum book in her hand and said:

"If you find a way to complete the ritual, come find me; I can help you shatter it and reclaim its traits."

"I will, thank you for your help." Edwenna gave a slight nod.

After a brief exchange, Leikton looked at the crew surrounding him, sighed lightly, bowed to Edwenna and, after departing, his body instantly dematerialized, breaking into streams of information that pierced the crew's bodies and surged toward the warehouse.

He soon found the warehouse manager here, proved his identity, and opened the warehouse where Edwenna stored the grain.

I can, thank you for your help. Edwina lightly nodded and said.

After that, they exchanged a few more words briefly. Leighton watched the crew members around him quickly surrounding him in layers, let out a slight sigh, after saluting and bidding farewell to Edwina, his body instantly became intangible, breaking apart into streams of information, penetrating the bodies of the surrounding crew, and surging toward the direction of the harbor's warehouse.

He quickly found the warehouse manager here, proved his identity to them, then opened the warehouse where Edwina stored the grain.

He casually found an excuse to send away the enthusiastic warehouse manager who had introduced the transport team to him, Lei Ke Dun clapped his hands and summoned an Invisible Servant holding a materials crate.

He took the suitcase from the Invisible Servant's hand, skillfully set up the sacrifice ritual, through the Illusory Sacrifice Gate transferred all the grain in the warehouse to above the Grey Mist, then arranged the receiving bestowal ritual on Little Sun's side to retrieve it.

After doing all this, Lei Ke Dun looked at the warehouse door that had been closed in front of him and let out a long sigh.

"This should be the last batch of grain for Silver City; Frank's new mushroom strain is nearly successful, so after this we won't have to go through all this trouble."

While sighing, his body gradually became incorporeal, dissolving into streams of information that rushed into the Spirit Realm.

On the south bank of the Pas River Valley, the city of Yinsisi, where the Steam Church originally preached, after the Yantis official forces were expelled, has become the headquarters of the New Teaching.

Lei Ke Dun's figure quietly appeared on the street, his gaze curiously surveying the surroundings; it hadn't been long since his last visit, but the city had changed considerably.

The streets became clean and tidy, the old houses had been repaired, the ringing of bicycles never ceased, pedestrians' expressions grew richer, and Lei Ke Dun could clearly sense the bewilderment and exhilaration emanating from them.

As he moved, fragments like light spots fell from his body, each fragment a stream of information that flowed freely through the city, recording the surrounding information.

In this state, he seemed able to peer through the river of time to see the city's past and future, able to see the quiet flow in every corner of the city, from each minute thing composing the city bursting forth a dim, unclear, colorless light.

Within that light, countless images floated, appearing thin and insubstantial yet giving an impression of immense weight, as if bearing a scroll of ages and civilization.

Lei Ke Dun's gaze followed the direction of the flowing light upward, when suddenly the sounds of steam engines, turning gears, and whistles rang in his ears; intense light and shadow intertwined, tracing symbols of steam, gears, and levers, a profoundly heavy, immensely attractive figure gradually taking shape.

(End of chapter)