Chapter 819: Little Daily Life (2/2, please subscribe)

Fang Yue felt the surging internal force within his body, his heart stirring with excitement.

He rose and went out, but the moment he opened his door, Fang Yue froze.

There sat Jing Yan on the floor of his own room, draped in a vaporizing black robe, his whole look made of black mist, looking thoroughly miserable.

Beside him stood Lin Ling, arms folded across her chest, her face stern.

"Jing Yan? Lin Ling? What's wrong? What happened?"

Fang Yue's heart gave a sudden thump, and he tensed up at once.

But Jing Yan only rose glumly, slowly letting the vaporizing black robe fade away to reveal his true face.

At just one glance, the ghost rings behind Fang Yue reacted on pure instinct—swish, swish, swish—firing off more than a dozen black silk ribbons!

"Y-Ye Ge, it's me! It's me! It's Jing Yan!"

Jing Yan cried out in fright, and only then did Fang Yue realize he had nearly made a move, hastily reining himself in.

One couldn't really blame Fang Yue—anyone suddenly faced with a freak whose face was covered in fish scales and who breathed through fish gills would instinctively go on guard.

"H-how did you end up like this?"

"I don't know either. I was originally going back to rest in the vaporizing black robe, but the more I slept, the itchier my face got. I scratched a few times, but the more I scratched, the itchier it got, and the redder my face became. By the time I came back to my senses, my whole face had a grainy, rubbed feeling, and fish scales had grown out."

"Ye Ge, Ye Ge, you have to save me. Am I about to die? Oh heavens, why am I so miserable? I've never even had a sweet girlfriend, I've never lived the luxury life of throwing away one big meal after eating another. How can my fate be this bitter? Boohoo…"

As he spoke, Jing Yan grew so emotional he wiped at his tears, leaving Fang Yue thoroughly embarrassed.

Fang Yue glanced at Lin Ling, who had turned her head away, and awkwardly went up to pat Jing Yan on the back.

"It's not that bad, it shouldn't be that serious. By the way, what did Qing Chen say?"

"He said it might be caused by erosion from the Han Jiang fog, and that it should get better once we leave Han Jiang…"

"Fog?"

Fang Yue's heart gave another sudden thump.

Sailing on Han Jiang with fog rolling in—this was not good news.

"Yeah, it's foggy, really thick fog. Qing Chen told everyone on deck they have to wear thick masks. Even Old Helmsman doesn't dare go too fast now, and the plan to have you speed things up has been put on hold."

Fang Yue's brow furrowed slightly. An idea did occur to him, but he would have to get to the deck and see the fog situation for himself before saying more.

And then there was…

He stepped forward, reached out, and touched the fish scales on Jing Yan's face.

Jing Yan immediately tensed and stepped back.

Fang Yue:???

"Why are you backing away?"

"T-too close! Ye Ge, I like girls!"

"??? What's that got to do with me? Stop the nonsense, let me take a look!"

"No, Ye Ge!"

Fang Yue grabbed Jing Yan's hand to keep him from fleeing, and carefully felt the texture of the fish scales on his face…

They were just like the scales on those red-eyed monster fish—very grainy to the touch, and under the glow of the Human Soul Lamp, they shimmered faintly, a red shot through with a hint of cyan.

Fang Yue pinched a single scale between two fingers, about to yank it out hard, which scared Jing Yan deathly pale.

"Ye Ge! Stop, it hurts, it hurts!!"

"Bear with it, I'll be quick."

"It's not about being quick, it really hurts! And—and Qing Chen already did this to me!"

"What? He's already done it? Then forget it, I'll go ask him about it later."

Fang Yue withdrew his hand, rubbed his chin, and for now had no clue what to make of Jing Yan's condition.

Jing Yan then returned the vaporizing black robe to Fang Yue.

"This is?"

"It can't block it. When I put on the vaporizing black robe, these fish scales reflect light with a higher priority than the black mist… forget it, I can't explain it well, just let me show you directly."

So saying, Jing Yan put on the vaporizing black robe.

The rest was fine, but on his face, the whole thing immediately shimmered with the reflection of fish scales; looking closely, one could even make out each individual scale.

"How can this be? I remember Lord Han used the vaporizing black robe too, and nothing went wrong…"

"It's different. Qing Chen said I've been hit by a ghost curse—the vaporizing black robe clearly can't block a ghost curse."

That seemed true; when Fang Yue had worn the vaporizing black robe before, the black ring above his head couldn't be covered, so he couldn't disguise his identity either.

"So I can only give this back to you, sigh…"

Jing Yan sighed, tottered as if about to leave, but Lin Ling called out to him and told him to wait.

Fang Yue looked at Lin Ling in puzzlement.

But before Fang Yue could ask, Jing Yan had already spoken: "Captain Lin is here to protect me. The others were afraid I'd been hit by a ghost curse and might suddenly drop dead, so they left someone by my side to watch me. They're also worried I might suddenly turn into a ghost-fiend and attack others, in which case they'd need Captain Lin to help suppress me."

So that was it.

Though it was a bit cold, this was indeed the correct response.

Yet after Jing Yan's explanation, Lin Ling still didn't leave with him. Instead, she faced Fang Yue, her expression a little tense, her gaze shifting.

Fang Yue looked puzzled and glanced back at Jing Yan, who wore the same bewildered look.

After a moment's thought, Fang Yue said sincerely, "Lin Ling, if something's going on, just tell me straight. It's fine—since we set out together, you and I are as close as brothers and sisters. Whatever it is, as long as I can help, I'll give it everything I've got!"

That was Fang Yue's honest feeling. Lin Ling was someone he'd known since Gu Yue Cun; their bond ran deep, and if he could help, he would never hold back.

Besides, Lin Ling was different from the others—he rarely came over for idle chat, so when he did show up, something was usually up.

Only… judging by Jing Yan's state, aside from the thick fog rising over Han Jiang, nothing else seemed to have happened.

Just as Fang Yue was thinking this, Lin Ling suddenly seemed to have made up her mind.

He saw his expression suddenly turn resolute, looking straight into Fang Yue's eyes, his face flushing red, gritting his teeth as he spoke.

"Xiao Ye, I, I want to ask you to teach me martial arts!"

Teach martial arts?

Fang Yue was instantly stunned.

For a moment, he actually felt a bit dazed.

Not long ago, when he was still a new player in Gu Yue Cun, the image of Lin Ling as Deputy Captain, majestic and imposing, was still imprinted in his mind.

He never expected that with the passage of time, there would come a day when it would be his turn to teach Lin Ling martial arts?

This, this really is...

Fang Yue couldn't think of a way to describe his feelings for the moment, but in any case, it felt strangely odd.

But in reality, Fang Yue's strength had long surpassed Lin Ling's, and he had always been in the lead.

But when it came to teaching martial arts, he really didn't have much confidence.

There was only one thing he was certain of.

And that was, if Lin Ling could reach the Human Rank, and meet the conditions, he would definitely pass on Lord Han's inheritance to Lin Ling!

As for now...

Fang Yue broke into a toothy grin.

"Of course, no problem. If you have anything you want to ask about martial arts in the future, feel free to come find me anytime. I'll guide you with all my strength."

(End of Chapter)