Chapter 600

Night shrouded the earth, stars dotted the sky, and the celebrating citizens of Port Santa had all returned home, leaving behind garbage scattered across the ground and the smell of alcohol permeating the air.

The festival had officially ended, and tomorrow would once again be the start of the grind.

Lu Mian had stayed drinking until that bar closed before leaving; when he emerged, it seemed as if only he and the sporadically lit gas streetlamps remained on the street.

The late-night air was tinged with the chill of approaching winter, and every breath Lu Mian took brought a wonderful, refreshing sensation into his lungs, while the constant, rhythmic sound of the tide crashing against the shore made the night feel even more serene and profound.

Seeming slightly tipsy and in a better mood, Lu Mian shoved his hands into his trouser pockets and walked with a light step, bypassing the various trash left behind by the revelers.

No one saw him; all was silent around him.

Just like that, Lu Mian strolled back to the room he had rented using a fake identity document.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw Lu Lu Jianuo standing in the living room, pacing back and forth.

"Still awake?" Lu Mian raised an eyebrow.

Lu Lu Jianuo looked like someone who had just recovered from a serious injury, and he said with a complex expression:

"An hour ago, that captain of the battle nuns, Noelia, came looking for you. She wasn't wearing leather armor, but a very gorgeous long dress. She has such a great figure..."

"And then?" Lu Mian asked with amusement.

Lu Lu Jianuo replied with a hint of envy:

"I told her you weren't in, and she left looking very regretful."

"But what does that have to do with you? Why haven't you been able to fall asleep for a whole hour?" Lu Mian scoffed.

Lu Lu Jianuo coughed awkwardly twice:

"I just suddenly had thoughts about my future. Should I go back to Trier and continue on this path as a doctor, or choose a different life?"

Lu Mian smiled, ignored this "doctor," washed up briefly, returned to his own room, and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

He had a dream, where the various events that had occurred recently entered his dream in a chaotic fashion, combining into an even more grotesque and bizarre story.

At six in the morning, Lu Mian woke up on time and sat up.

His mind was already clear, and as he recalled the dream he had just had, he suddenly realized he had missed a detail:

If one didn't consider the fact that the Aurora Society might have had an angel secretly watching, the most important part of the entire Sea Prayer Ceremony was Amon using the altar in Milo Village to extra-covertly attach the "Theft" ability to his "Lie."

Otherwise, when the spaceship's energy channel opened, the eruption of deep-layer power would have caused a certain reversal in the situation on the scene, and without the power of the sea, he would not have been able to use the authority of the "Viceroy of the Sea" to trap the "Mad Lady" and drag it out until the arrival of Ms. Magician.

But as an existence standing at the pinnacle of the three divine pathways of "Seer," "Apprentice," and "Marauder," the Celestial Worthy should have had a very perfect and profound understanding of the various abilities of the "Marauder" pathway; he shouldn't have failed to imagine that an Amon-bestowed "Theft" power might be hiding inside the altar.

It was understandable that he didn't tell the "April Fools" about this knowledge; after all, they were just consumable tools, and knowing too much would only affect their determination and will during the operation. But for this matter to directly lead to the failure of the overall plan seemed inconsistent with logic.

Was the Celestial Worthy's intention more than what appeared on the surface, having already secretly achieved a certain goal, or had Amon and the person behind him done something beforehand that allowed such a situation to occur?

If Amon had really been watching the altar in Milo Village the whole time, last year's Sea Prayer Ceremony wouldn't have failed. Of course, one couldn't rule out the possibility that he wanted to see the "April Fools" make a fool of themselves.

But while it was understandable to let the "April Fools" carry out sabotage last year, shouldn't the simplest and most effortless method this year have been to quietly make the "Ring of the Sea Queen" complete during the "Paying Respects to Ancestors" segment? Then, watch as the acting "Viceroy of the Sea," disguised by "Salted Egg Superman," discovered with shock and confusion that the sea sacrifice ceremony had actually succeeded!

Why go through such a huge circle and do so many unnecessary things?

There must be something in this that I haven't figured out...

Lu Mian rubbed his head and got out of bed.

He wasn't surprised or shocked by the realization that had just emerged. For a matter involving such high-level and high-status existences, it would be abnormal if he could quickly figure out the truest purpose of every participant in every link.

In any case, his goal had been achieved, and the dangerous black hole inside the spaceship was still sealed. The rest didn't have much to do with him. If he could figure it out, that was fine; if he couldn't, he would write a letter to ask Ms. Magician, treating it as a reminder.

After jogging a lap around the not-yet-fully-awake Port Santa, Lu Mian wrote a letter telling Ms. Magician about the questions he had just thought of.

At this time, Lu Lu Jianuo, who had been searching for breakfast for Ludwig, also returned to the room.

Lu Mian thought for a moment, took out 1,000 gold liso for him, and said in a calm voice:

"I have something to take care of and will be gone for a few days. You are responsible for taking care of Ludwig. When I return, this commission will be completely over."

By then, Lu Mian planned to take a ship to the Southern Continent, carry out some small conspiracies along the way, spend some time, and strive to be prepared to welcome the final conspiracy to advance to Sequence 5 when he reached his destination in the Southern Continent.

Lu Lu Jianuo didn't ask where his employer was going, but asked with some trepidation:

"Will... will there be danger in these few days?"

"The matter is already over," Lu Mian said with a smile. "If there really is other danger, just run to the Monastery of Abundance and seek protection. Isn't that the scenario you were looking forward to?"

Lu Lu Jianuo gave a sheepish smile, his mind put at ease by his employer's attitude.

Port Santa had bright sunshine, delicious food, and enthusiastic women; staying a few more days wouldn't be bad!

…………

A two-story stagecoach sped between the rural towns dotted across the green grasslands, heading toward the foot of the Pilaes Mountains.

Lu Mian maintained the appearance of the great adventurer Louis Berry, sitting by the window of the stagecoach, quietly watching the scenery that kept sweeping backward outside:

In every patch of green grassland, there were flocks of sheep scattered like clouds, and shepherds wearing trimmed, easy-to-move-in robes walked around everywhere;

They either lived in shacks they had built themselves or had small shepherd huts mounted on wheels that could move across the plains;

From time to time, nearby villagers would try to drive away those outsiders who had come for the seasonal migration, only to be dealt with by them either with cheeky smiles or by being bribed with money and supplies;

When encountering locals with firm wills, the shepherds who had come from the mountain passes had no choice but to move to even more desolate places, facing the prying eyes of wild wolves and other creatures...

The scenes and events that had once been spoken of by the shepherds of Cordu Village were imprinted into Lu Mian's eyes in the most intuitive way, remaining in his brain.

Two days later, the stagecoach arrived at the foot of the Pilaes Mountains and stopped in a small town outside the mountain pass.

Lu Mian changed into a black woolen coat and entered the mountains alone.

On the mountain ridges, the cold wind gradually grew stronger, and almost no one walked in the wilderness.

Lu Mian walked through the mountains where the green was already sparse, walked on the paths trodden by shepherds and merchants, and walked under the gray sky where no birds flew. There were no people or animals around, only withered trees and small streams with little water; everywhere was a scene of winter desolation.

In such loneliness and such cold, he spent nearly three days, step by step crossing the Daliezh Mountains, and walked to the side of the small river outside Cordu Village.

After bypassing the woodland with tall trees, Lu Mian saw at a glance that blood-colored giant pillar that, despite not being tall, gave one the feeling of a mountain peak.

While gazing at it, he heard a burst of footsteps coming from ahead.

It was a middle-aged man wearing a fur coat, with his hands tucked into his sleeves.

The middle-aged forest ranger shouted, shivering slightly in the cold wind:

"Don't go any further; that village is already gone!"

Lu Mian's gaze passed over this forest ranger and landed on the ruins of the buildings in the distance that had either completely collapsed or been burned.

After gazing for several seconds, he asked in a low voice:

"What happened to that village?"

The forest ranger looked left and right, then lowered his voice and said:

"They say they believed in the devil, and the people in the village all went crazy, burned their own houses, and walked into the abyss.

"Look, would a normal village be like this?"

Lu Mian fell silent and didn't speak for a long time.

Seeing this, the forest ranger said sincerely:

"Anyway, those masters told me to stop anyone from entering this village, saying that one would get infected with bad luck and provoke the devil."

Lu Mian remained silent and didn't ask anything else.

After looking at that patch of ruins, which seemed both strange and familiar, for a while longer, he turned and left the village entrance, walking step by step into the cold wind toward the nearest alpine grassland.

The pasture grass here had completely withered and been blown away by the wind, leaving only large patches of brown soil.

Lu Mian gazed at the ruins of Cordu Village from here for a long time, found a shack left behind by shepherds, and lay down inside.

He closed his eyes and remained motionless.

If only everything before had been a dream.

When he woke from the dream, the alpine grassland would still be green and lush, birds would be returning in the sky, the old tavern would be full of farmers and herdsmen, his sister would continue to urge him to study, and Raymond, Ava, and the others would still be worrying about their own futures, not knowing what kind of life they would have...

…………

In Port Santa, where the sun was still bright but the weather was starting to turn cold.

Lu Mian suddenly appeared in front of Lu Lu Jianuo and Ludwig.

"You're finally back!" Lu Lu Jianuo blurted out, as if he had seen a savior.

Ludwig, that child, had an even bigger appetite, and those 1,000 gold liso had been spent faster than expected!

If Lu Mian hadn't returned in another week, Lu Lu Jianuo would have had to consider whether to use his own money.

He couldn't let the child go hungry; who knew, he might eat people!

Lu Mian smiled:

"The commission is over. I'm paying you the balance now. Do you want me to help you 'teleport' back to Trier, or do you want to take a ship yourself, or cross the Daliezh Mountains to go back?"

Lu Lu Jianuo fell silent, looking a bit conflicted.

PS: Asking for monthly votes for the last three days~

(End of chapter)