Chapter 89: Starry Sky and Sunset

Even an ordinary member of this knight squad gave Luge the feeling of being more formidable than that mercenary group's leader, and unlike the mercenaries' temperament bred from licking blood off blade-edges yet muddling through life, they exuded a kind of stern, sharp keenness; the sense of pressure when the knights stood together was even more intense.

At the very rear of the knight squad was a belated beast cart, looking far superior to the previous worm carts, but this thing was only usable in the towns around the Underground City; once you truly reached the desolate wilderness, those small worm carts were still more practical.

Luge merely stood silently beside the handsome youth, smiling as he watched all this before him.

"Young Master Lorigo, please."

The tall knight at the head spoke solemnly upon seeing the gorgeous beast cart had arrived.

Lorigo smiled and said, "Long time no see, Longgeer, you're still this rigid."

The knight didn't speak, only lowered his head, waiting for Lorigo to board.

Lorigo shook his head and headed for the beast cart first, with Luge and the red-haired woman following on either side, boarding the spacious beast cart together.

Luge was still examining the cart's gorgeous interior decorations.

The beast cart had already begun to move slowly.

"Presumably Lord Luge wouldn't like a gloomy castle; you can stay at my manor in the Inner City District — I live there most of the time too, the castle's stuffy life isn't to my liking either," Lorigo said with a smile, "Of course, I know Wizards all like private spaces, my manor is plenty large, but if you're inclined, I can also have Motel accompany you to purchase a property in the Inner City District, as a gift from me — I truly hope you can settle down here."

"If that's the case, I'll certainly recommend to Father to hire you as the Fanxing Family's lifetime Spell consultant," Lorigo said excitedly.

Having finished examining the interior, Luge picked a comfortable spot to lean against, utterly relaxed and at ease.

At those words he adjusted his posture once more.

"Then I'll impose; perhaps I really will stay in Fanxing City for a not-short period of time," he said with a smile.

Lorigo's eyes brightened at that, and the smile on his face grew even wider.

In truth, with Kalu's disappearance, Luge no longer had many choices; coming to Fanxing City to enjoy light and civilization, meditating and cultivating while enjoying life, was absolutely a good choice.

He could clearly feel the beast cart accelerating; he just didn't know how long it would take from here to Fanxing City.

The moment they arrived at this town, this band of knights showed up — meaning the so-called Baron Adult had known the news in advance, knew their movements; when they returned they passed by that Yuanwo Small Town again, the news might have been relayed from there — it seems these Abyss Cave Areas aren't as detached from the Underground City's control as legend says. Of course, it's also not ruled out that the mercenary group has people the Baron planted; the young master's reckless behavior may all have been playing out under the old father's nose.

"Are there any fun places in Fanxing City?" Luge asked casually.

"Fun? How about the Gladiatorial Arena? You can watch and bet, or go down and fight yourself to display your martial prowess — though you have no need for that, of course," Lorigo said with a smile, "Once you're settled, rest a few days, I'll finish handling Father's affairs, then I'll accompany you for a stroll."

Luge showed an interested expression — this would be a good place for Aijin and Dasha to train; just didn't know if they'd be willing, but after the last battle, the dejected Dasha should have the idea of training himself in his heart.

The wheels spun rapidly; once jolting became the norm, that was steadiness.

He pulled open the window and looked out of the beast cart; the swiftly spinning wheels had already carried them out of the sunset — according to what Lorigo and the other had said along the way, at this time the Underground City's light should already be starting to shift toward sunset; otherwise one might witness the strange sight of running from sunset into the blazing sun. When it comes down to it, this situation is still because the light source the Underground City controls is ultimately just the equivalent of a giant lamp — it's still too weak.

Luge watched the scenery under the light outside the window, feeling the gentle breeze; he deliberately narrowed his eyes, and for a moment had the sensation of being in the Surface World — but only while squinting, and he couldn't look up randomly; no matter how high or magnificent the Dome, it still wasn't that blue sky and white clouds.

They were like the people in legend who chase the sun; the light that should have grown darker and darker instead strengthened at every moment as they neared the Underground City, gradually reaching a balance — like being trapped in the moment before sunset, unable to catch up no matter how they ran.

He had to admit, the roads in this Ground Cave Domain were built quite well; the beast cart's speed grew faster and faster.

Unknown how much time passed; when Luge was about to close that window, he finally saw the rumored Fanxing City — according to Young Master Lorigo, this city's name came from his Ancestor discovering that this light source still had specks of light after being turned off at night, extremely like the numerous stars recorded in Ancient Books.

This city is probably much larger than imagined, he thought.

Those towering walls that could easily block all common Underground Beasts were actually white, looking like a city of holy light under the illumination.

The red-haired woman, seeing his surprise, explained from the side: "Fanxing City's outer walls are coated with Suosuo Crack-mouth Worm's Worm Essence, and every year during the memorial rites a section is coated — roughly twenty-three years to completely coat the entire wall once; during a famine, these deposits on the wall once saved many people's lives."

"That kind of Crack-mouth Worm? Isn't it said to be Worm Milk?" he said.

"Just something that looks similar; when brewing tea it's called Worm Milk, but it's enough to keep some people alive," she said.

Luge smiled, leaned against the carriage window and gazed up, finally seeing the light's source — right in the center of the Dome, directly above the Underground City, a massive Crystal Stone was set into that unreachably high Dome, also looking like it grew down from above, currently dimming bit by bit.

For the rest of the journey he kept his head tilted back at the window, always feeling there were traces of Runes up there — possibly a Wizard's handiwork.

"Does this thing have something to do with Wizards?" Luge looked toward the young master beside him.

"Worthy of Lord Luge," Lorigo said with a smile, "According to what I've seen in the classics, at the founding of every Underground City there were Wizards' figures — of course the specifics I don't understand too well; Fanxing City has stood here over eight hundred years, some things only my Father knows."

Luge nodded.

Actually, Luge felt these Nobles were also quite strange — the more he understood, the more he thought so; every day they simulated sunrise and moonset according to the Crystal Stone Clock, and according to the passed-down records of the Surface World's calendar, they counted the days themselves to divide the years, living year after year, and passed it down to their Ground Cave Domain's subjects.

The beast cart entered Fanxing City without obstruction, and its speed began to gradually slow.

Luge examined the houses and streets inside the city, and also breathed a sigh of relief — thought it was just as well they weren't white, otherwise it would constantly stir up his bad memories.

Young Master Lorigo suddenly raised his hand and knocked on the carriage body, pulling open the window on the other side.

"Send my friend first; Lord Luge goes to my manor," he said.

"Young Master, the Baron is waiting for you."

The voice outside the window was still that meticulous one.

"You should have heard what I said clearly, Longgeer," Lorigo said with a smile.

"Of course, Young Master."

The knight squad ultimately changed course, stopping before a massive manor.

(Chapter End)