Chapter 186: Fireworks
"Are… we there yet!?"
"That's the 10th time you have asked that, Vi"
"Viel, it hasn't even been half a day since we left the shore!"
"W… what!?"
It has been 3 hours since the group left Choryu and rode on a ship towards the Western Continent. And Viel had been walking around the room ever since, almost dying of boredom.
"There are lots of shops inside the ship", Diao Chan could not help but sigh as she looked at the restless Viel, "You can go ahead and explore them, we will be here for a week"
"Hm", Diao Mei nodded her head, "The shops are diverse, selling products from both our lands and the Western Continents. The prices are a bit higher though", she sighed.
The Ocean Master, the name of the colossal ship that Viel and the others were currently riding on was and is famous throughout the entire world. Although it was no longer the original one from hundreds of years ago since the Demon God's minions destroyed its predecessor, its renown still remained the same.
It was a city of its own. It had restaurants, shops, and even its own governing body. Perhaps a 'small country' was the better description for it. A country that had citizens that came from all over the world and some have even chosen to live in the ship permanently, at a high cost, of course.
"Do they sell clothes that are… more fitting for me?", Sofia stood up and fixed her spectacles. Most of her old clothes were blown away during the fight between Viel and the mysterious red-haired individual that Viel keeps on calling the Usurper.
The clothes that she had right now were mostly robes that she bought from Taizhou and she was not really that comfortable in wearing them. Also, it wasn't her style.
"Sure", Diao Mei nodded her head as she also stood up.
"Aha!", Viel excitedly clapped his hand as he grabbed Sofia's wrist, "Let's go explore the ship then!"
"I--"
Diao Mei was about to say something, but before she even got the chance to, Viel dragged Sofia out of the room.
In truth, she wanted to invite Sofia to explore the ship. She hasn't really got the time to fully get to know her yet ever since they met a few months ago. The only thing she knew about her was that she was Viel's fiance back in her world.
Viel was there for 7 years. If you think about it, even if this is his world, he had spent most of his time there. He had his own friends, he had his own home… he had a life there. And Diao Mei wanted to know about it from Sofia.
Truthfully, she also wanted to be friends with her. But alas, she could only sigh as she watched as the two left the room.
"Is it really alright for such a child to come with us?"
Diao Mei's thoughts were then disrupted by Lu Xun's voice.
"What do you mean?", Diao Mei could not help but furrow her eyebrows. She met Lu Xun three years ago when her grandfather first introduced the two of them.
Diao Mei had no idea that General Diao had set her up for marriage to someone she has not even met before. She hated the idea, she did not even know why his grandfather set up such a thing in the first place. But after a while, Diao Mei calmed down. Maybe she would end up liking Lu Xun in the future, she thought.
But seeing him now, she still could not find herself being with him in the future.
"There will be lots of dangers in this trip", Lu Xun continued, "We won't be able to babysit him all the time"
"First of all, he is already 12", Diao Mei could not help but harrumph, "And second, the trip will be more than dangerous, that's why we needed someone like Viel"
"What?", Lu Xun could not help but furrow his eyebrows.
"He is strong", Diao Mei said without any hesitation.
Hearing Diao Mei's words, Lu Xun's eyebrows furrowed even further. Did they really believe what was coming from their mouths?
"He's only an Earthen Core realm!", Lu Xun waved his hand in frustration, "How strong could he be!?"
Lu Xun could not take it anymore as he shouted at Diao Mei. "He is not--"
"He is stronger than me"
Lu Xun was about to say more, but he quickly shut his mouth as soon as Matriarch Yinji's voice entered his ears.
"I… is he!?", Diao Mei could not help but widen her eyes in shock as she stared at the Matriarch. Lu Xun, on the other hand, could not help but blink numerous times as he slowly took his seat.
"Yes", Matriarch quickly nodded, "I have only detected power like that with the Demon God"
"W… what?", Lu Xun could not help but gulp. He was waiting for the Matriarch to say that she was only joking, but it didn't come.
Diao Mei's eyes were completely wide in shock. She knew that Viel was abnormally strong. But to actually be stronger than Matriarch Yinji, who was able to make even the Emperor submit to her? How… was that even possible?
"Right now…", Yinji continued as her words started to become quiet, "He is probably trying his best to hold back"
"Hold back?"
"Yes. Like I do", Yinji let out a sigh as she looked at her hands, "If I don't focus on controlling my strength, I would probably destroy this ship with a step without even knowing it"
"That…", Diao Mei could not help but place her hand on her chin.
"The boy probably doesn't know he is doing it, though", Yinji said, her tone solemn, "He has been doing it all his life that it has become completely normal for him"
"An amazing boy, isn't he?", this time, it was Diao Chan who let out a word of admiration, "I remembered the first time I met Viel. It was quite… eye-opening for me", Diao Chan slightly covered her mouth as she chuckled.
The first time she met Viel was when her daughter brought him to the mansion. Viel and his stupid father fought in the courtyard and Viel ended up summoning this… gigantic hand that covered their entire estate.
Their servants even thought that it was the hand of god itself and started praying.
"S… something like that happened?"
Hearing the story come out straight from Diao Mei's mother, Lu Xun could not help but gulp nervously. But still, he shook his head vehemently. He still refused to believe the ridiculous stories. He won't believe it until he sees it for himself.
While the three were busy with their thoughts, Matriarch Yinji could not help but reminisce the first time she met the boy in the other world. He felt pure, untainted.
But when she met her the 2nd time in the Golden Pavilion, when he and Xing Cai asked for her help, Viel felt completely different. He still acted the same, but his power was… more exposed. And even now, it grows by the second as if it wanted to swallow the whole world. It was faint, but Yinji could feel it growing.
...Like a firework ready to blow up.
And that firework was currently helping Sofia choose what to buy in one of the shops.
"How about this?", Sofia said as she rotated in place and swayed the dress she was wearing. It has been a while since she wore a dress that's similar to what she was used to wearing back in her world, so her satisfied smile could not be hidden.
"You always look beautiful, Sofi", Viel said as he sighed, "Stop flaunting and let's just eat"
"Hmph", Sofia quickly hummed as she stopped spinning, "What about you, aren't you buying anything?"
"No", Viel quickly shook his head, "I still have lots of clothes from when… Antoinette and I went to Weber's"
"Isn't that where you bought the red cape you're always wearing?", Sofia said as she checked on more clothes.
"...Yes", Viel could not help but let out a smile.
"Antoinette, huh?", Sofia let out a tiny breath as she paused, "I wonder how they are doing right now?"
The two could not help but look at each other and sigh. Their breaths fill up the entire shop for a few seconds as they reminisce. The shop owners were worried that the two were just here wasting their time on the ship, but in the end, Sofia ended up buying everything in the store.
"Now, let's go and eat some food!", Viel excitedly left the store as he pointed towards the restaurant area, "I smell sweets right over there!"
Hearing Viel's words, Sofia could not help but let out a sigh. "Maybe we should invite the rest so we can have a proper meal instead?"
"Ah! Good idea!", Viel snapped his fingers, "We can let Diao Chan's mother pay!"
"That…"
Sofia was about to stop Viel, but before she could even grab his shoulder, he was already in the distance. That wasn't exactly what she had in mind when she suggested inviting the rest, she just wanted to avoid the sweets.
And so, with another sigh, she could only chase Viel to try and stop him. But to her surprise, she only had to take a few steps before she could catch up to Viel, as he suddenly stopped running completely.
"...Viel!?", Sofia quickly grabbed Viel's shoulders and faced him towards her. She thought that what happened to Viel in her world was happening again, that the voices in his head were taking over his body again. But when she saw that Viel's eyes were normal and there were no green lights flickering on them, she quickly sighed in relief.
"What's happening, Vi?", she breathed.
"Something… is coming"
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