Half Prince ½ Prince Vol 7 Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Supreme Battles.h.i.+p  – translated by dahlys

Gui’s heart…

Without thinking, I immediately leapt toward Gui, but the hateful system was faster than I was. Gui faded into spots of white light before my very eyes, the wide smile on his face showing that he had died without regret… As for me, my whole body slammed heavily into the ground. I felt a powerful urge to cry…

Gui disappeared, Gui disappeared, Gui disappeared! Slowly, panic began to spread from the bottom of my heart. Has Gui really disappeared? He won’t appear again? Then, the Gui who is always grinning cheekily, always letting me beat him and scold him, and always standing behind my back supporting me silently, is gone?

“Prince, why are you in a daze? Flowing Wind is still here,” Lolidragon shouted in exasperation.

With tears welling up in my eyes, I hugged Lolidragon and said, “Lolidragon, Gui has disappeared. What should I do?”

Lolidragon, who was in my arms, suddenly stiffened. She grabbed my head with both arms and with a ‘crack’ sound, turned my head to face Flowing Wind… Ouch, I seemed to have lost a few hundred HP…

Lolidragon said syllable-by-syllable, “I said, Flowing Wind is still here. Do you not understand me?”

“I understand. I will avenge Gui.” I looked at Flowing Wind with bloodshot eyes, “He made Gui disappear, so I will avenge Gui, even if it costs me my life!”

I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head and found myself lying face flat on the ground. Before I could figure out what was going on, I heard Lolidragon start to scold me vehemently. “You b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Did my words fall on deaf ears? I recently explained that HD is set up so that an NPC will disappear right after killing a player. Flowing Wind is still standing there, unharmed, yet you keep complaining about Gui disappearing! You didn’t listen to what I said at all! Talking to you is a waste of my breath and less constructive than playing a piano to a cow1.”

I raised my head, eyes lighting up with joy. So Gui hasn’t disappeared? This won’t do, I must confirm it. I immediately opened the PM channel and asked hastily, “Gui, Gui, Gui! Are you there?”

“I’m here! Prince, you should be wary of Flowing Wind. I am calling everybody to help out now.” Gui replied anxiously.

I felt utterly relieved when I heard him speak. Great, Gui is still alive!

“Prince! Are you even listening to me? Flowing Wind is still here! Are you planning to stay lying there on the ground and making it easier for him to kill you?” Lolidragon’s voice sounded like it was on the edge of hysteria, so I quickly jumped to my feet, drew Black Dao, and monitored Flowing Wind’s movements.

“Relax, the Dictator forbade us from killing you.” Flowing Wind said coldly, “If not, you would have already died a thousand times over.”

“Why did the Dictator forbid you guys from killing me?” Suddenly, I was very curious. Clay Child had also mentioned earlier that he would not kill me. Now that Flowing Wind was saying the same thing, I had a strange thought. Does the Dictator of Life…not want to kill me? Also, I must be the only exception, as Flowing Wind murdered Gui without hesitation, but did not kill me, the person responsible for his anger.

“I don’t know, but the Dictator’s orders are absolute,” Flowing Wind replied icily.

I tilted my head to one side and thought, Err, the Dictator of Life forbade Flowing Wind from killing me, and Flowing Wind said that he cannot defy the Dictator’s orders, so this means that Flowing Wind will not kill me no matter what I do! I grinned evilly. Then, what am I hesitating for?

“Your life is mine!” I drew Black Dao and charged toward Flowing Wind without a second thought. I immediately began slas.h.i.+ng at him with the intent of teaching him a harsh lesson.

However, Flowing Wind dodged all of my attacks calmly and easily. He raised one brow questioningly and said, “You want to kill me?”

“What else could I be doing with a sword? Helping you to relieve an itch?” I shouted, but the Black Dao in my hands never stopped attacking. I slashed vertically and sliced horizontally, but not a single hit landed on Flowing Wind’s graceful body.

“Humans are really the epitome of conceit,” said Flowing Wind as he waved his hand with disdain.

On hearing this, I was so angry I nearly pulled out my blade and slashed at him… Ugh, I think I’m already slas.h.i.+ng at him. But Flowing Wind was right. Alone, I couldn’t even scratch him. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me. If I couldn’t even touch Flowing Wind, then what about the Dictator of Life?

I shook my head forcefully. I still have my companions! If everyone works together, we can definitely defeat the Dictator of Life!

“Prince!”

I heard Gui’s voice behind me, along with the footsteps of many people. Without turning back to look, I already knew that Gui had ‘rounded up some people’ to help me.

Flowing Wind’s expression darkened as he said, “I almost forgot. Humans are also the perfect example of ‘tyranny by majority’.”

A little annoyed, I said, “Hey, remember that you are a BOSS. The mechanics of the game make it impossible for a player to solo a BOSS. This has nothing to do with being human or NPC!

“Ah ah, starting to look for excuses already.” Flowing Wind made an expression that said ‘I knew this would happen.’

This person not only deserved a beating more than my brother and Lolidragon combined, he was as stubborn as Celestial. This made him extremely hard to handle. Sigh, is the Dictator of Life letting all of his subordinates do whatever they want? First, Celestial refused to leave. Now, there’s Flowing Wind. Is he treating my Infinite City as a nursery?

“Prince, let’s defeat him together.” Raging flames burned in Gui’s eyes.

Before I could even open my mouth to reply, Flowing Wind said, “Never mind me, you people are so weak you can’t even kill Celestial. Don’t worry though, I don’t plan to kill you. I came here to take care of the traitor, Celestial.”

“You want to kill Celestial?” A little confused, I asked, “Didn’t the Dictator of Life forbid you guys from killing each other?”

“He did forbid us from killing each other.” Flowing Wind smiled evilly and said, “But since Celestial betrayed us, he can no longer be considered one of ‘us’ anymore.”

That was simply illogical. Both Gui and I made a strange expression.

Flowing Wind’s face suddenly changed and he became more menacing. He growled threateningly and said coldly, “Where is Celestial? If you refuse to tell me, I will shower Infinite City with blood.”

When he finished speaking, the castle began to shake violently. Fierce winds howled, shattering all the windows around me. The wind was so strong I actually felt that I had to use all of my strength just to stand firmly.

Smack! Shocked, I looked behind me only to see Gui and many other citizens of Infinite City glued to the wall, desperately using their hands to block the wind that could be said to be as sharp as a blade.

He’s gone too far! I roared angrily, “I don’t know! Even if I knew, I would never tell you.”

“What can’t you tell Flowing Wind?”

I snorted coldly and said, “Celestial’s whereabouts, of course…” Eh? This voice sounds like… I turned my head and my jaw nearly dropped. Celestial was standing at the door, frowning. He waved his hand and ribbons of Celestial Satin appeared in midair, blocking the wind in place of the shattered windows. Finally, the interior of the buildings returned to their windless state.

The moment Flowing Wind saw Celestial, he immediately roared angrily, “Traitor! You finally appeared. Watch me erase your existence on behalf of the Dictator…”

“Ah, Flowing Wind. Long time no see.” Celestial walked towards Flowing Wind amicably, as if he had just met a good friend he hadn’t seen in many years.

Flowing Wind tripped and nearly fell to the ground. He quickly steadied himself and laughed icily, “Raging Cyclone!”

The warning bells in my heart sounded, and I immediately dove toward the unprepared Celestial. As I pushed Celestial over, pillars of wind that were shaped like spiral drills bore a large hole at the place where Celestial had been standing, causing several explosions.

After I turned around and saw the large hole that let me look down from the third floor to the bas.e.m.e.nt, I flew into a rage and shouted, “You’ve gone too far! Celestial is still one of you. Are you trying to kill him?” More importantly, how much will it cost to repair such a large hole? Yu Lian-dàsăo will definitely not forgive me!

“You’re right,” Flowing Wind’s face was clouded in shadow as he, who had not moved much previously, suddenly began to make a series of weird gestures. Surely, this was not going to be a normal attack!

“Quick! Everyone leave this place, now!” I hollered angrily. Everybody ran as fast as they could toward the doorway. Only Gui looked at me hesitantly, but after I gave him a flying kick, he too flew out the door. Under my intimidating gaze, he finally started to run for his life. As for Lolidragon… I didn’t need to worry about her, since she was the first one to escape.

I looked toward Flowing Wind in time to see the strange sign he had formed and held with his hands. I also saw the smile of satisfaction on his face… Oh no! With Celestial carried over my shoulder, I headed for one of the broken windows and leapt outside. Although it was the third floor, I was very sure that Flowing Wind’s attack was much scarier than jumping off a building.

While I was still in midair, I heard the horrifying sounds of an explosion accompanied by rocks flying everywhere from behind me. The game’s gravity also unkindly started to make me fall downwards. Oh great, maybe the rocks will conveniently bury me at the same time I fall to my death, so that a grave doesn’t even need to be dug for me… Helpless to do anything, I mocked myself.

However, I seem to have stopped falling in midair? Curious, I lifted my head only to meet Celestial’s gaze, which was unusually calm and mature. Was this really Celestial? I felt the beginnings of suspicion. Suddenly, Celestial winked at me playfully and turned back into that confused Celestial whose mental age was comparable to a five year old’s.

Celestial’s body slowly floated upwards, followed closely by my body. Hey, the feeling of floating in midair isn’t so bad… Oh my G.o.d. My eyes widened when I saw the castle. My Infinite Castle… why is there only half of it left?!

My face paled as I looked at the castle. Half of the Infinite Castle that everyone had put so much effort into building had become a pile of rubble. The design that Gui had taken great pains to come up with; Yu Lian-dàsăo’s desperate fundraising; everyone becoming unpaid construction workers; everybody feeling moved when the construction of the castle was finally completed… Everything was ruined!

I felt suddenly tranquil, and became so calm that there was not a single expression on my face. Perhaps this was because there was no expression that could express my current… anger!

“Flowing Wind, the Dictator will be angry with you.” Celestial frowned at Flowing Wind.

Flowing Wind bellowed angrily, “I don’t care, I’ve been displeased with you for a long time already. A traitor like you has no right to be one of our comrades. Your punishment from the Dictator is long overdue.”

“The Dictator forbade us from killing each other, and also, we are not allowed to prevent Prince from going to the Northern Continent. You cannot disobey the Dictator’s orders,” Celestial shouted.

I froze for a long moment. The Dictator forbade the Four Heavenly Kings from preventing me from going to the Northern Continent? But he dispatched so many NPCs with HD installed to threaten us into not going to the Northern Continent! What exactly is going on?

“I don’t care, I am going to destroy this d.a.m.ned place, exterminate you, and kill Prince!” Flowing Wind’s eyes radiated cruelty as he started making weird gestures again.

“Celestial! Hurry up and stop him.” I yelled, panicking. The destruction of the castle was causing me enough heartache. If Infinite City also vanished, how was I supposed to face everyone?

Celestial had already begun chanting a strange incantation, but suddenly, he stopped and looked blankly at the sky. I was so anxious, I grabbed Celestial’s shoulders and shook him vigorously.

“Dictator?” Celestial spat out in disbelief.

A look of slight alarm appeared on Flowing Wind’s face. Fl.u.s.tered, he followed Celestial’s gaze. What he saw made him sound like he was terrified to the extreme. He said, “How can this be? The Dictator cannot leave the Northern Continent.”

At this point, I also noticed that there was one extra person in the air. His blood red hair fluttered in the wind and his handsome face had an exotic magic tattoo. With the exception of the look in his eyes, which were not as filled with sorrow from a predetermined fate, he looked exactly the same as the photo Lolidragon had shown me.

“Flowing Wind, you disobeyed the Dictator’s orders,” The Dictator of Life said.

Err, why does this statement sound so awkward… Ah, right, who refers to himself in the third person? What’s going on? I was extremely confused.

Suspicious, Flowing Wind asked, “Who are you? You…are not the Dictator.”

“I am the Dictator’s clone.” The Dictator of Life…no, his clone explained, “The Dictator can find out the happenings of Second Life through me.

“Go back, Flowing Wind. The Dictator is very angry,” the Dictator of Life’s clone said expressionlessly.

“The Dictator is very angry?” Flowing Wind made a fl.u.s.tered expression and said, “Okay, okay, you tell the Dictator that I’ll go back immediately.”

Before he left, Flowing Wind threw Celestial a vicious glare, but Celestial smiled innocently and even waved to Flowing Wind in farewell. Flowing Wind was so p.i.s.sed he nearly leapt toward Celestial, but in the end he simply glanced at the Dictator of Life’s clone and flew off in embarra.s.sment.

“You are the Dictator of Life’s clone, right?” I coldly obstructed the Dictator of Life’s clone, who was about to leave. He stopped and looked at me expressionlessly, while I glared at him icily. I slowly raised my hand and curled up four of my fingers, leaving the index finger pointing straight out. I pointed at the wrecked Infinite Castle and said with absolute seriousness, “Pay up!”

“…”

Agitated, I clenched my fists and yelled furiously, “What? Are you trying to avoid your debt? Do you know just how much money was spent building Infinite Castle?” I wasn’t kidding; if I didn’t collect the rebuilding funds, who knew if I could even reach the Northern Continent? I might be cut into pieces by the Finance Department and the Construction Department while still on the Central Continent.

After maaany seconds, the Dictator of Life’s clone was still motionless and there was no expression on his face at all. I couldn’t help but frown. It’s not possible that this Dictator of Life, the G.o.d of Second Life‘s…clone wants to evade the debt?

The Dictator of Life’s clone remained silent, but he slowly raised his right hand and pointed toward the half-wrecked Infinite Castle. He muttered some incantations, and a miracle suddenly happened!

The rock debris actually moved! Dumbfounded, I watched as the rocks stuck together to automatically form a wall. The walls then tumbled around and joined to each other, forming rooms. Astonis.h.i.+ngly, the wood chips also reformed themselves into chairs and tables before jumping into the rooms and arranging themselves.

Without much effort, Infinite Castle was restored to its former self, without even a hint of damage. I couldn’t help swallowing my saliva while imagining, “What a convenient ability. If I had this ability, I would never again have to worry about Yu Lian-dàsăo swallowing me alive if I break something.”

“Is this acceptable? If there is nothing else, I shall take my leave,” the Dictator of Life’s clone said monotonously.

I immediately came back to my senses and hollered, “Wait a minute!”

“Is there something else?” The Dictator of Life’s clone was still annoyingly expressionless.

Curious, I asked, “You say the Dictator of Life can find out everything that’s going on through you?”

“My eyes are the Dictator of Life’s eyes.”

“Okay, look at me now. Remember to keep looking at me, and don’t turn your head away.” I adjusted my position and made sure I was right in front of the Dictator of Life’s clone. I pointed at the Dictator of Life’s clone haughtily and shouted arrogantly, “Dictator of Life, you just wait and see! I, the Blood Elf Prince, will definitely go to the Northern Continent and finish you off. So, you better clean your neck obediently and wait for me, got it?”

“Got it,” the Dictator of Life’s clone suddenly said softly, and the expression that flashed across his face for a moment… Was it gentleness?

Before I could respond, the Dictator of Life’s clone had already turned and flown away. As I watched him I… resented myself for being unable to fly… Wait, if the Dictator of Life flies like this when I go to kill him, how can I fly after him to chop him? I probably couldn’t ask Celestial to carry me into the air, could I?

Even if Meatbun had a bamboo helicopter2 and could lift me into the air, I would have to cling to Meatbun with one hand. Could I kill the Dictator of Life with just one hand? I’m not Yang Guo from Return of the Condor Heroes, who became stronger after losing one arm!

“Prince, are you okay?” Gui asked, worried. He added, “We were crushed underneath the rocks, so we couldn’t help you. You aren’t hurt, are you?”

I tilted my head and answered irrelevantly, “Gui, is there a way for players to fly?”

“Fly?” Gui asked uncertainly. After that, his body shook violently for a moment and he said seriously, “You’re right, Prince. If we can’t fly, it would be impossible to defeat the Dictator of Life, who can. I must discuss this issue with Lolidragon.”

“Hmm, if I could fly…” I snorted coldly twice and said, “We’d see if that d.a.m.ned Fire Phoenix would still dare to abduct my Meatbun for a flight.”

“I can’t believe that the Dictator of Life actually created a clone that looks exactly like himself.” Lolidragon suddenly cut in and said, “This is troublesome. I guess it’s no longer possible to go to the Northern Continent secretly. Especially since a certain idiot just announced to the Dictator of Life that he was going to kill him.”

For a moment, I felt guilty, but then I remembered Gui saying that the Dictator of Life was omnipotent. In that case, shouldn’t he have found out that we were going to the Northern Continent a long time ago? Just as I was about to rebut Lolidragon’s stupid reasoning confidently, she started speaking before I could.

Giggling, Lolidragon said, “Prince, although there is still some time before we have to leave, do you want to see our means of transportation?”

My interest completely roused, I replied, “What are we using for transport?”

Lolidragon smiled mysteriously and left a statement, “Come with me.”

With enough curiosity to kill many cats, I followed her. Of course my attendant, Gui, tagged along. Lolidragon’s other attendant, my little brother Feng Wu Qing, also picked up his pace and went with us.

We walked quickly, and before we knew it we had reached the edge of the lake outside the city. Although ‘lake’ sounds like the kind of small pool where, for no reason, a beautiful lady was bathing and was then accidentally peeped on by the male main character, this place was different. This lake that is found north of Infinite City is really, really big!

I strained my eyes, but even so I could barely see the opposite sh.o.r.e, which was shrouded in mist. Also, I had to rotate my neck about two hundred and seventy degrees in order to see the left and right edges of the lake. All that being said, the most important thing was, I didn’t see anything besides a lot of water! Was our group going to swim to the Northern Continent? Then should I buy a bikini-… er, swimming trunks?

No, the really important thing was, if it were that easy to swim across the sea, who would want to pay that ridiculously expensive boat fee? Anyone who thought about it would know that it was impossible to swim there, unless Second Life had a mermaid race. Even if there was a mermaid race, would I have to be reborn and start from scratch as a mermaid?

I looked at the smooth surface of the lake, then looked at Gui and Wu Qing. Both of them also had curious expressions, so all three of us looked at Lolidragon – the only person who knew what was going on. Just what kind of trick is she trying to pull?

Lolidragon smiled her annoying ‘hee hee hee’ smile, turned to face the lake and shouted, “Supreme tri-functional sea, land, and air battles.h.i.+p – Activate, Challenger!”

What? Challenger, the supreme tri-functional sea, land, and air battles.h.i.+p? But… after thinking about it for some time, I asked, “Where have I heard the name ‘Challenger’ before?”

Gui replied weakly, “That was the name of the s.p.a.ce shuttle that exploded on its maiden flight before it even left the Earth’s atmosphere3.”

What an extremely unlucky name! It’s as unlucky as naming a s.h.i.+p ‘t.i.tanic.’ I sighed and was just about to discuss Lolidragon’s naming ability with her when the surface of the lake, which was originally as smooth as the surface of egg yolk, became covered in many ripples. A gigantic object then rose out of the lake, nearly burying me beneath the huge splash it created.

I stared incredulously at that gargantuan battles.h.i.+p that I thought I would only ever see in the pictures they showed us during military cla.s.s. At the same time, I gulped and listened to Lolidragon’s triumphant explanation. She said, “The Challenger is five hundred meters long and two hundred meters wide; it can carry more than two thousand people. It has three forms: a submarine, a mobile land citadel, and a flying battles.h.i.+p. In terms of combat ability, the Challenger has one hundred laser cannons, three hundred machine guns, and one Super Nuclear Cannon of Utter Annihilation. It will definitely be very useful when we attack the Northern Continent.”

“Amazing!” I exclaimed. This way, we won’t need to worry about being KO’d by NPCs before we even reach the Northern Continent.

Just as Lolidragon was laughing evilly with the battles.h.i.+p as a backdrop, I suddenly noticed some strange large tentacles stretch out of the surface of the lake and wrap tightly around Challenger. Then, a ma.s.sive octopus head appeared. My eyes widened as I witnessed the Challenger make a few snapping noises after being completely wrapped by the giant octopus and, like the so-called unsinkable t.i.tanic that sank on its first cruise, the battles.h.i.+p broke into two pieces and slowly began to sink…

No, I sulked. At least the t.i.tanic managed to set sail. Our Challenger has never even seen the ocean before…

“Lolidragon, the s.h.i.+p has sunk.” Feng Wu Qing pointed at the lake, hand trembling.

Lolidragon laughed derisively, “That’s not possible! The Challenger is a masterpiece made with utmost care…”

Probably because even Gui’s face didn’t look so good, Lolidragon turned around skeptically just in time to see the only remaining nuclear cannon above the lake’s surface. After one mighty pull by the giant octopus, the Challenger finally eloped with it, never to return…

I looked at Lolidragon’s petrified figure and slowly said, “I think we should take the flying carpet. Later, we will choose the members of the team. If we squeeze, eight people should be able to fit on the carpet.

“The six members of Odd Squad plus Suns.h.i.+ne and Kens.h.i.+n already make up a total of eight people. As for the rest…” I frowned and looked at my little brother. Will Wu Qing give up going to the Northern Continent? I asked, “Wu Qing, do you want to go to the Northern Continent?”

Feng Wu Qing looked at me, opened his mouth, and was about to say something when all of a sudden, he froze with his eyes popping out of their sockets. Once again, he raised a trembling hand, pointed behind me and howled, “What a big clam…”

Clam? I was stunned for a moment. I looked behind me and indeed saw a large clam appear in front of my eyes. I secretly guessed, Could this clam be the one I was acquainted with?

Gui, who was standing beside me, calmly sized-up this large clam. Using my one hundred percent accurate sixth sense to make a guess, Gui’s mind must be filled with the specialized knowledge of various creatures, earth science and so on that would allow him to investigate the evolution of this clam and figure out which kingdom, cla.s.s, order and species4 this clam belonged to.

“Ah, Meatbunbun’s master, I’ve finally found you.” AnRui suddenly opened the two halves of his clam sh.e.l.l to reveal white, tender, and extremely delicious-looking clam meat. Of course, there were two large eyes growing on the meat.

Gui and Wu Qing froze when they heard the clam talk. However, I was not at all shocked. Instead, I raised my right hand, waved, and said, “Long time no see, AnRui.”

I quickly fished Meatbun out of my bag so that he could reminisce on old times with AnRui.

“AnRuiRui!” The moment he saw AnRui, Meatbun, who had just come out of the bag, hopped excitedly to AnRui’s side. He even leapt between the two halves of the clam sh.e.l.l and used AnRui’s ‘meat’ as a trampoline.

My little brother beside me was howling in despair, “The clam actually talked. The clam actually…”

Gui also frowned and mumbled to himself, “Since when did clams have vocal chords?”

Ignoring the two who were close to having a nervous breakdown, I went ahead and asked AnRui, “AnRui, why did you suddenly come out? Didn’t you say that you didn’t want to come out?”

AnRui sighed softly, “Someone entrusted me with a task, so I had to come out.”

“Someone entrusted you with a task?” I didn’t quite understand what he meant, so I asked, “Who? What did he ask you to do?”

“I cannot say that person’s name, but he asked me to take all of you to the Northern Continent.”

I was stunned. AnRui was going to take us to the Northern Continent? How? Would we have to sit inside AnRui? Although AnRui was rather big, that was in comparison to a normal clam. In reality, this clam was only a bit taller than a person. After considering its own meat, there was barely enough s.p.a.ce left for me to squeeze in. How could it carry us to the Northern Continent?

“AnRui?” Lolidragon, who had been petrified for a long time, suddenly shrieked, “Are you the sacred beast, AnRui?”

Before I could reply, Lolidragon had already rushed in front of AnRui and asked, “You’re really willing to take us there?”

AnRui’s clam sh.e.l.l wobbled. That was probably a nod of its head, I thought.

“That’s fantastic!” Lolidragon exclaimed excitedly, “We have the strongest battles.h.i.+p!”

“Lolidragon, even if the Challenger has been destroyed, you shouldn’t get so depressed.” I shook my head and said, “Isn’t asking a clam to become a battles.h.i.+p going too far?”

Lolidragon turned to face me, her face expressionless. With lightning speed, she pulled out a dagger and placed it against a certain fatal spot of mine. No, accurately speaking, it wouldn’t be fatal. It’d just hurt so much I’d wish I were dead.

I looked down at the spot that I didn’t really need, but also didn’t want to lose. My expression immediately changed and I said extremely seriously, “I believe that Lolidragon must have a profound reason for calling a clam a battles.h.i.+p. After some careful deliberation, I have realized that this is indeed a good idea. After all, n.o.body… not even an NPC, will think that a.s.sa.s.sins are hiding inside a clam!”

Lolidragon pursed her lips and finally withdrew her weapon. She then looked at AnRui like he was a Chanel bag and said, “It’s not a normal clam! It’s the bi-functional land and sea Supreme Clam Combat Submarine – AnRui!”

“I understand if it’s the sea, but I have to ask you a question.” Feng Wu Qing still hadn’t defrosted. He asked, “Have you ever seen a clam running on land?”

Lolidragon did not answer his question, and I also swallowed my own reply as we watched an enormous shadow swoop down on my brother. Wu Qing, who was suddenly eclipsed by an ominous shadow, had only just widened his eyes slightly when the owner of the shadow landed on top of him, bellowing angrily, “Are you discriminating against clams?”

Fresh blood stained the ground, accompanied by the sorrowful howl of a martyr. I looked away reluctantly and said, “Rest in peace, Wu Qing. I will definitely cook more clams for you as offerings.”

After bidding him farewell, I turned to face Lolidragon and said, “Stop keeping us in suspense and tell us how AnRui is supposed to take us to the Northern Continent.”

Lolidragon waved to AnRui and it finally left that unrecognizable heap of flesh and blood that was my brother. After retreating back into the lake, AnRui closed the two halves of its clam sh.e.l.l and slowly started to grow larger. There was a stupefied expression on my face as I watched AnRui grow so large it occupied one third of the lake. The current AnRui could fit not only me inside, but could easily carry a few hundred people.

I was beginning to understand how AnRui could take us to the Northern Continent. However, I never imagined that there would come a day when I was swallowed by a clam… No, not swallowed, but ‘put’ inside its stomach.

I can only hope that AnRui doesn’t reek of seafood…

Footnotes

1 “…playing a piano for a cow.”: A Chinese saying that means something is completely pointless. Cows can’t appreciate music.

2 “Bamboo helicopter”: The propeller-thing on Meatbun can be seen here: http://images.wikia.com/halfprince/images/b/b4
/Novel8-1-.jpg

3 “…the s.p.a.ce shuttle that exploded on its maiden flight…”: This is an exaggeration by Yu Wo. The real Challenger exploded on its tenth mission. In her online version, Yu Wo also interchanges the name of the Challenger with Apollo 13. She changed all of the names to the Challenger in the print versions.

4 The biological cla.s.sification system: Kingdom > Phylum > Cla.s.s > Order > Family > Genus > Species