Upon hearing Feng Yuan’s listless reply, Mo Ling quietly pushed open the bedroom door and glanced around the room with some confusion before saying,
Mo Ling was surprised when she heard Feng Yuan’s voice but couldn’t see him; at that moment, the Little Husky lying on the desk yawned and said,
"That...is that dog you?"
Resting its head on its crossed front paws with a lazy look, the Little Husky lying on the desk asked,
"Why are you looking for me so late at night?"
"I...I just came to see how you were."
Mo Ling said shyly, her face flushed with embarrassment. Although she intended to comfort Feng Yuan, once there, she didn’t know how to begin. Feng Yuan guessed her intention with a glance at the Blue Butterfly Demon on Mo Ling’s shoulder and said,
"Thank you for your concern, I’m fine."
"That...do you want a drink? I’ve heard that drinking can soothe a troubled mind."
The Little Husky had a strange smile on his face, and Feng Yuan quietly said with his mouth open,
"No need, unless I stay drunk forever, what’s the point? Besides, I can’t really afford to be drunk for too long now."
The Agunas phantom flicked its tail and settled on an adjacent desk, looking at Feng Yuan while Mo Ling said with some regret,
"I should have had my brother set the rendezvous right at the dock."
"It’s not your fault, who could have expected this, right? Besides, if I really avoided everything, where could I go?"
The Little Husky showed a self-deprecating smile, and Mo Ling was puzzled, but Feng Yuan didn’t wait for her to speak before saying,
"Don’t worry, I’m okay, I just need some sleep."
Mo Ling didn’t believe him, and continued with a faint attempt at conversation. After a while, succumbing to fatigue, she wished Feng Yuan good night before heading back to rest.
Wagging his tail, the Little Husky wore an inscrutable expression as the Agunas phantom looked at Feng Yuan and said,
"That’s impossible, not only are we from different times, but even if we weren’t, I still..."
The Little Husky looked lost in thought, swinging his tail listlessly. After a while, changing position, Feng Yuan prepared to rest. After the prolonged conversation with Mo Ling, he felt sleepy too.
Seeing Xiao Ji still bustling about, Feng Yuan spoke up,
"Aren’t you going to rest? I’m going to sleep now, so remember to turn off the light when you do."
Xiao Ji was startled for a moment, then quickly hopped onto the desk with something in its arms. Sensing something placed on his head, Feng Yuan rolled his eyes upward and said,
"Isn’t that the thing you gave me? Why put it on my head?"
Xiao Ji gestured at Feng Yuan while the Agunas phantom translated directly,
"It says that’s a gift for you."
Smiling helplessly, Feng Yuan took the metal mask off with a paw and placed it aside, saying,
"You really are... gifts shouldn’t be given back and forth, okay?"
Xiao Ji tilted its head, looking as if it didn’t understand, while Monaria offered a yellow flower to Feng Yuan. Feng Yuan looked at Monaria with confusion and asked,
"What are you doing?"
"It’s also a gift for you."
Looking at the yellow flower in Monaria’s hand, Feng Yuan said with an open mouth,
"There’s no need to rush; you could give it to me after you’ve created a second one."
Monaria floated to the Little Husky’s head, and before Feng Yuan could ask, reached out a small hand to gently stroke the Little Husky’s head. As Feng Yuan heard Monaria quietly singing a melody, he said softly,
"I appreciate it, thank you."
Xiao Ji nudged up to Feng Yuan’s side and rubbed against him, which stopped Xiao Ji from imitating Monalisa’s song. Feng Yuan, finding it somewhat amusing, said,
"Alright, if you start singing, I’m afraid none of us will be able to sleep tonight."
Dissatisfied, Xiao Ji glanced at Feng Yuan, and the Illusory Sound Parrot carefully placed its top hat aside, squeezing next to Xiao Ji as it tried to mimic Monalisa’s voice, singing the inexplicable tune.
However, the issue of the Illusory Sound Parrot not being able to mimic voices properly still persisted. Despite its best efforts to completely copy Monalisa’s singing, the result was disjointed, with the melody turning somewhat eerie. Fortunately, the singing was still pleasant to the ears and not as unbearable as Xiao Ji’s attempts.
Little Green Snake wriggled over with Pomiti in tow, joining Feng Yuan. The little messenger birds also came to join the fun. Already warmed by his husky fur, Feng Yuan felt almost too hot surrounded by a circle of Spirit Beasts. Considering this as their way of showing care, he didn’t say much.
Under the control of Feng Yuan’s Divine Sense, the light went out. Just as all the Spirit Beasts had fallen into a deep sleep, Feng Yuan suddenly awoke. He sensed the door being stealthily opened. Cracking an eye open, he spotted Liu Wenli poking her head in for a quick look before retreating and gently closing the door.
Feng Yuan sighed and slipped back into dreamland. Outside, Delong Tower had already floated in waiting, responding to Feng Yuan’s request. Cheng Yong, bracing against the cool night air, quietly approached the camp and seeing Delong Tower, he said in a low voice,
"Lord Sea God, we are prepared. We’ll be relying on you for the next part."
Delong Tower spun in its water ball before drifting toward the beach. On the high-speed sea lane, the Spirit Beasts laden with their harvest were speeding along. Though they still had to trade with the people from the Divine Land Region on land, all of the Maritime People and Aquatic People were growing impatient, eager to reunite with their companions left on the islands.
The yield of this venture had surprised everyone, even the already-high expectations of Elder Xia Yu were stunned when the final tally was made.
Perhaps it was due to the might of Delong Tower, or perhaps the counterparts thought that the Maritime People and Aquatic People posed no threat, but in any case, the trade brought in far more essential supplies than expected. Although many items were not exactly the same as those in the Divine Land Region, they were similar enough for use.
"It’s a shame we can’t use that thing every time, what’s it called again?"
The mayor said somewhat greedily. Elder Xia Yu gave the mayor a sharp knock on the head and rebuked,
"Don’t talk nonsense! Can Lord Sea God be at your beck and call like some servant, always ready to create high-speed sea lanes for you?"
"If Lord Sea God hears this, we’ll all be in trouble!"
"Still, this haul is truly..."
Unable to contain his excitement, the mayor began to speak when Cheng Yong, looking at the tallied results, was struck by astonishment and joy, tearfully exclaiming,
"This is wonderful! Even if we don’t trade with those villains, we won’t lack supplies."
"That won’t do! The trade with the Divine Land Region must continue. Besides, many of the things we’ve exchanged aren’t things we need. If we don’t trade them away, what use are they to us?"
Elder Xia Yu interjected, and Cheng Yong, still radiant, said,
"But there’s no need for that..."
"Nonsense! Have you considered how much time it takes us to go back and forth?! Is it truly worth it just relying on what we get from the sea?"
"No buts. If you’re unwilling, I can accompany An on the trip myself,"
Elder Xia Yu said angrily, while the mayor gently patted Cheng Yong, asking,
"What do you think we should do?"
"But do we still have places to trade our goods now?"
Casting a glance at Cheng Yong, Elder Xia Yu calmly said,
"We go farther south. They haven’t been affected by the war, and they’ll help us."
"They?! Could it be..."
Elder Xia Yu looked at the mayor and said,
"Exactly them. Do you think those land dwellers wouldn’t take action against us without the Maritime People’s involvement? An enterprise started with no capital is the most profitable!"
Struggling to find the right words, the mayor looked down as Elder Xia Yu gazed towards the direction of the camp and said,
"We’ve already discussed it. If it works out, we’ll merge back together."
"Don’t be so quick to dismiss the idea. What do you think will happen to us without our martial strength? If we remain impoverished as before, there’s at least no interest from those with power."
"But if we start to grow wealthy from this trading, what then?"
Elder Xia Yu said seriously, looking at the mayor,
"Don’t say that we can develop our own force. While we haven’t been separated for long, we can still reunite. If too much time passes, don’t you think we’ll start to trip each other up?"