Firefly Journey

Chapter 224 Winter in Nakas (13)

“I don’t know you,” Lü Jianming said.

The Starflow Sea is known as a forbidden zone for life, where even strong and robust magical beasts cannot survive. Where did this fishman come from? Don't be ridiculous, did I learn all those years of paleogeography for nothing?

As for the so-called Loken Islands, that's completely fabricated. While there are many natural islands in the Starflow Sea, no intelligent life has ever been there, so where did the name come from?

“Then you should recognize this.” The mermaid Sally said, taking something out of her bosom and holding it in her palm.

This was a smooth piece of jade, which Lü Jianming recognized at a glance. Its material was Wugang jade, unique to Wenzhou in the Chu Kingdom.

"How did you get this?" Lü Jianming asked, frowning. Students of the Black and White Academy all possess such a jade stone, similar to the internal points card of St. Louis Academy, serving as proof of their status as students of the Black and White Academy.

“Because I came with the Chu delegation,” she said.

I've never seen you before.

That's because I can't move around on land.

Lu Jianming and Fine looked at her lower body simultaneously. Well, she really couldn't move on land, not even the most basic movement.

"Then how did you get in?"

Sally explained, "I've been staying in the container the whole time, carried around by Young Master Du. I thought that even if we entered the competition space, we wouldn't be separated, but I was wrong."

After sorting things out, Lü Jianming roughly understood what was going on: Du Guangting had actually smuggled in his own agenda.

"It seems afraid of you," said Lü Jianming, looking at the stingray that had stopped charging in the distance.

"We fish-men are born to be the overlords of the ocean, possessing a natural bloodline suppression over other marine monsters, regardless of their cultivation level."

Sally said this with a hint of pride in her voice.

Lü Jianming nodded. He was saved by a stroke of luck and wouldn't be eliminated. What more could he ask for?

"I have a heartfelt request."

"I promise!"

"I haven't said what it is yet."

"Any other requests besides getting you ashore, right?"

“That’s true.” Lü Jianming looked towards the distant inland. “Could you come ashore with us and go find Du Guangting?”

Sally swam over, grabbing the driftwood the two were standing on with both hands, and began to spin her tail, propelling the "boat" forward like a paddle. The stingray observed from a distance, and, finding no opportunity, retreated unwillingly.

The mermaid Sally revealed her identity and even saved him. It wasn't hard for Lü Jianming to guess that her relationship with Du Guangting was not shallow, and it even resembled a tragic interracial love story in a popular novel.

As Lü Jianming filled in the blanks in his mind, he asked, "How many people know of your existence?"

"There were very few. Besides Young Master Du, there was his friend Young Master Ding, and a coachman. Young Master Ding was introduced to me by Young Master Du. And that coachman was particularly powerful; he could locate me through fluctuations in his magical power."

Lu Jianming said slowly, "He's not a groom, he's my uncle."

uncle?

Before coming to the Principality of Bema, Du Guangting told Sally about the delegation in general, but obviously, he did not reveal many core secrets.

"Is it the Sword Saint?"

"Yes." Lü Jianming sighed. The Great Chu delegation sent Chen Qingchen to bring him back.

Otherwise, he would have absolutely no interest in attending a major academy competition. Even if Lü Hongxiu insisted on joining the group, he would refuse.

Since the passing of Empress Jingmu, no more imperial heirs have been born in the Chu Palace. Princess Qingjia is a woman and the second son. According to the rules of succession, the throne is not yet hers.

Previously, Emperor Zhuang was young, and Lü Jianming was also young, so being a hostage was fine. But now that Lü Jianming has grown up and the strength of the Chu state is recovering day by day, the issue of succession has to be put on the agenda.

"By the way, while you were moving around in these waters, did you see that Lithops on the other side?"

Sally said, "Yes, it flew away a few days ago, and I haven't seen it since."

Lu Jianming felt a little more at ease. If he were to encounter Li Long again, he might still be eliminated, but now he didn't have that worry.

"Can you come ashore with us?" Lü Jianming asked again.

Sally shook her head: "My vessel for survival is in Young Master Du's hands. Without it, I cannot move on land."

Lu Jianming was in a dilemma. After all, Sally was also a member of the Black and White Academy, one of their own, and it wasn't good for her to stay in the water. If they found Du Guangting, it would be perfect for reuniting the two of them, but the problem was that as a fish-woman, she couldn't move freely on land, which was a real headache.

At that moment, Finney raised her little hand.

"I have a solution!"

Upon hearing this, the two looked over.

She continued, "Last year in Torreg, I obtained an extraordinary item, and after returning home, I had it processed by a craftsman."

"I'll try to use divine intervention to 'capture' this mermaid lady inside."

At the ancient god ruins, everyone let her choose first, and she took a liking to "Night Owl's Tears," which was a perfect match for the profession of "fortune teller."

"Try again once you get ashore."

"Um"

……

……

The Card district, a large coal-fired plant.

In the ancient world where alchemy was not used in people's daily lives, steam, coal, and magical artifacts were common sources of energy for society.

For the average person, the first two options offer better value for money.

In the Kade district, where factories of all sizes and types crisscross, coal mines, large and small, formal and informal, have made an indelible contribution to the energy supply of the Principality of Bema.

This coal company, named Neuer, was founded more than 150 years ago. After a long period of development, it has branches in many countries and is a leading enterprise in this industry.

Even in broad daylight, the black-clad knight, wearing a black mask, crouched down, picked up some fallen coal dust, sniffed it, and then crushed it.

Beside him, his friend Simpson Budd joked, "You're leaving soon, why are you still wrapped up so tightly?"

The Black Knight stood up gracefully, ignoring his friend's teasing, and said, "Let's go check the warehouse again."

Simpson received a tip that there were problems within Neuer Coal Company, so he dragged his friend along to investigate.

The company was operating perfectly fine until two days ago when it suddenly gave all its employees a day off. The incident was so sudden that there must be a reason for it.

Simpson has investigated and found that Neuer's products have an excellent reputation, with stable sales in recent years and absolutely no operational problems.

With stable income and expenditure, how could capitalists who would love to have their workers work eight days a week choose to give them a long holiday?

To avoid alerting the enemy, the two bypassed the security guards and sneaked in.

Simpson didn't care and didn't bother with any disguise, because even if his identity was discovered, he only needed to show his Vatican work ID and no one would dare to act recklessly.

Unlike the Black Knight, he comes from the legends of the streets and alleys, has many lives on his hands, and is even a wanted criminal on the surface. If his identity is exposed, it will have a bad impact on both himself and the Vatican.

After all, the title of "Great Teacher of Virtue" is, in some ways, more prestigious than that of the Black Knight.

After wandering around for a while, the two finally pushed open the iron gate of the finished goods warehouse.

The first thing you see are rows of giant shelves, piled high with crates of coal, waiting to be shipped out.

The sound of Doc Martens echoed in the empty warehouse. Suddenly, the two stopped at the same time and looked at each other in tacit understanding.

"has a problem."

"It smells like blood."