Book 5, Chapter 28 - Water Ghost As Companion

Love Code at the End of the World

“I’m looking at your home, thinking about what all of you look like.” I climbed down from the tree. It was nice to feel the sea breeze blowing on me.

“What happened to you the other day? Why did you suddenly become angry when we brought up my brother’s name?” The robot bird flew down with me.

I became quiet as I walked towards my campsite. “Because in the outside world, there is also someone named Xing Chuan. He killed the person I loved.”

“What?” The robot bird was shocked.

I bore my heartache as I continued towards my campsite. I clenched the ring on my ring finger tight.

The robot bird flew over and said, “You lied!” Xing Ya didn’t believe it.

“I have no reason to lie to you. It’s up to you to believe it or not.” I returned to my campsite to dry the fish.

Xing Ya didn’t speak for very long, only standing by the side. “Brother is unlucky. He shares the same name as a killer.”

I glanced at her and chuckled lightly. “Everyone outside is a killer. So am I."

The robot bird looked at me and cocked its head sideways. “You… When you mentioned that humans ate humans outside. Is it true?”

Looking at her, my feelings grew complicated.

If I had landed here when I’d first got to this world, wouldn’t it have been great? Then, I wouldn’t have changed. I wouldn’t look like I was ten years older. Looking at Xing Ya, I saw the innocent and childish me from back then.

“You wouldn’t want to see it with your own eyes. Don’t be curious about the outside world. It will kill you,” I said and stopped looking at her.

It stood for a while before it flew away. The robot bird flew to the island that looked extremely beautiful.

As time passed by, the people on Hagrid Island gradually let their guard down. There were no longer any robot birds who monitored me at all times. They would regularly send me food and daily necessities too.

Among the food, I saw vegetables and fruits, which meant that there was vegetation on the island. That was great. To the outside world, this place was simply heaven, a pearl at the end of the world.

As time passed by, I slowly calmed down. I could feel that I had become far colder and cooler than my older self, but I could also feel that nothing had changed at the bottom of my heart.

It was Jun and Zong Ben, and the beautifully tranquil island, and the kind people on the island, who had healed the wound in my heart. The darkness didn’t manage to eat me up completely.

I slowly grew to rely on the island. I wasn’t in a hurry to leave this place. I fell in love with the peace and quiet here…

Maybe…

The Luo Bing who had massacred the city outside….

The Luo Bing had wanted to take revenge for Harry by killing all the Ghost Eclipsers in this world…

I was really tired…

Lying on the beach, I reflected on my action of massacring the city.

I had killed all the Ghost Eclipsers there but I hadn’t felt any sense of relief. On the contrary, I felt great hatred inside me. I felt lost and I felt empty. Even now when I recalled it, some memories were vague…

That had been the time when my mind had been at its weakest. My defences had collapsed due to Harry’s sudden death. It turned out that I was actually fragile.

When I had first come to this world, I had been sixteen and a half years old. I’d thought I was strong, but it had actually been because I’d met Harry and I’d met Noah City.

I had been well-protected by Harry and Noah City. Now, as I thought about it, I had only been bothered by my relationship with Harry and Raffles. I had never worried about anything else.

We’d talked about how scary the Ghost Eclipsers were but they had been very far away from me.

It had been just like Hagrid Island. I had been like Xing Ya who was curious about the outside world.

She was similar to the me back then. She knew that the outside world was dangerous and the Ghost Eclipsers were scary. However, she was still curious and couldn’t resist the temptation of the outside world.

After having experienced all that, I started wanting to live on this island and never ever to return to the cruel world.

An innocent person wanted a rough experience and thought it would be an adventure. 

A person who had a rough experience wanted to be innocent but could never return…

I wanted to return to a peaceful life but I couldn’t stay on the island because I had obligations and missions to complete.

I wanted to take revenge for Harry, but I was no longer reckless and impulsive enough to let hatred drive me to find Xing Chuan and kill him. It would be meaningless to do that. On the contrary, it would make the Ghost Eclipsers even more aggressive.

Instead, I wanted to end the war using my own method. I wanted to put an end to the war completely.

Not as part of Silver Moon City nor the Aurora Legion, but as Luo Bing!

For that, I had to make a lot of preparations.

Xing Ya would come and visit from time to time. She was really curious about the outside world and she wanted to know more about me too.

During the days on the island, the girl talked to me the most. Although I had never seen her, I felt that she definitely looked very cute.

“I told my brother that your enemy shares the same name as him.”

I walked towards the seawater, wanting to catch some seafood.

“My brother was shocked. Haha.” Xing Ya seemed to be happy that her brother had been astonished, as though she’d successfully pulled a prank on him. “Sister Elena looked shocked too.”

“Elena?” I stood at the water and stared at Xing Ya in shock.

“Yeah. She’s my sister-in-law, my brother’s wife. What’s wrong?”

If there was only Xing Chuan alone, it could be a coincidence. But what about Elena?

Why does this mysterious island that seems to be forgotten by the end of the world seem to be related to the people on Silver Moon City in so many ways?

“Nothing. I’m going to catch a fish.” I dove into the water.

“The scallop you grilled was extremely delicious! Save some for me today!” Xing Ya flapped her wings above the surface of the seawater.

Brilliant sunlight shone into the clear seawater.

Ever since I’d landed here, the shallow sea was the place I visited the most. I could walk under the sunlight and play with the colorful fishes swimming among the beautiful corals. It was clear and beautiful. 

Xing Ya had even brought me diving equipment so that I could dive deeper.

There weren’t predator fish in the region but the fish here were huge. I could eat for a few days when I caught one. There were huge shellfishes too.

There was a deep gully in the front where the sunlight couldn’t shine through. Starry lights flashed from the depths of the gully. Suddenly, a huge tentacle charged out before me! The light purple tentacle looked extremely fresh and delicious!

Only when the tentacle charged at me did I realize that I hadn’t brought any weapon with me!

At once I retreated but my legs got entangled. The octopus was strong!

I turned back to look at the tentacle. Just as I wanted to burn it with my superpower, a figure that appeared in the sunlight.

He was extremely fast. Coming to the side of the tentacle, he swung down his sharp claws. The tentacle was chopped off by his sharp claws in an instant!

I stared at him in shock. He floated in the water and I recognized him. He was the water ghost. The water ghost from Steel Ghost City!

Glancing at me, he turned around. He swam into the deep gully and disappeared.

Confused, I returned. I randomly grabbed a lobster on the way back to the shore. 

“Are you okay? You went out for so long.” Xing Ya flew by my side. “Wow! Grilled lobster! I’m bringing my food container!”

Xing Ya’s greediness showed that although Hagrid Island had abundant resources, they didn’t have any great chefs there, just like Silver Moon City.

I was still puzzled. Although water ghosts usually looked similar to each other, he’d looked different. The light in his eyes told me that he had intelligence. That was why I could recognize him.

However, why would the water ghost I met in Steel Ghost City appear here?

The robot bird had already brought her food container before me. It looked like she was ready to eat at all times.

I smiled. Let me feed this bird first.

Once the robot bird had brought the grilled lobster back, I picked an apple and walked to the seaside. Looking at the surface of the sea, I fiddled with the apple in my hand. “Hey! If you understand human language, come up and chat!” I threw the apple out.

The apple dropped into the sea. It floated for a while, before a green hand suddenly grabbed the apple, stirring ripples in the water.

I ran to the water and looked around. A green figure quickly approached me and swam around me. His cold body touched my legs in the water gently, like a shark that circled around me. Then, he appeared before me, studying me with his big, round eyes. His pupils seemed to be the color of amber.

“I recognized you.” I stared at him. The water ghost’s ears had evolved into fish gills. They were closely attached on both sides like thin wings. I looked at him suspiciously. “Why are you here?”

His hand gradually appeared above the water. When he spread his palm open, my heart stopped. It was Harry’s ring…

He touched it gently and a light shone out from the ring. It was pointing in my direction.

My hand trembled as I picked up the ring. Tears flowed out from the corners of my eyes and slid past the corner of my smiling lips.

It must be fate that Harry was sent back to me. Harry, you didn’t go back on your words. You will forever be by my side…

I looked at the water ghost. “Thank you…” I put the ring on my hand.

He watched me in the water.

Wiping my tears, I looked at him with a smile. “So, you followed the line? Because you were curious?”

He nodded.

I smiled. “You swam for a few months to get here. I will take responsibility. Follow me in the future. Whatever I have to eat, you will get some too.”

He smiled in reply and revealed a mouthful of sharp teeth. Suddenly, he turned and dived into the water. After a while, he re-appeared with a huge tentacle in hand. He’d killed the octopus!

He threw the tentacle onto the shore, about a dozen meters away from me. He was telling me that he didn’t need me to look after him.

Heh, alright. I admire that you are way stronger than I am. How about we keep each other company then?” I extended my hand to him.

He glanced at me and smiled. Extending his claw, he tapped my hand. Then, he returned to the water.

Since then, I had a new companion with me, Ghostie. With Ghostie around, I didn’t have to worry about not getting any seafood.

Ghostie couldn’t stay on land for too long. Although he was an amphibian, his skin would dry up and he would feel uncomfortable if he went ashore for too long. Hence, the ocean was his home. If Ghostie was considered as a mermaid, his kind would be the ugliest mermaid in the world. 

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