Chapter 587: An Interlude (1)

The wooden ship sailed slowly but fortunately, the Red Mountain Harbor was located at the prominent tail of the Scorpion Island, at the edge of the Hellfire Sea closest to the Green Leaf Mainland. Adding on to the weather that was miraculously turning warm, they did not encounter too many dangers in the voyage. Not only that, but they were also lucky enough to encounter a smooth downwind so it only took the caravan ten days to return to the Sea Haines City.

The flagship of the caravan slowly pulled in to the shore and finally docked at the berth successfully. At this time, there were still seven to eight days from New Year but the harbor pier was already full of an indescribable festive atmosphere. Yaj looked down at the poor laborers who were busy working at the port but had a smile on their faces and sighed with relief, “I finally came back safely.”

“Yeah, Miss Yaj, you’ve succeeded, we are back safely. This is a miracle.” Duyev, who had a tall body, had his hand on his beard in an overjoyed manner. “This time, the Golden Velvet Flower Trading can finally survive its crisis safely. What a tiring voyage! I’d never make such voyage again even if there’s an axe placed to my neck.”

At the same time when the flagship captain lamented his feelings, a series of shouts resonated from the ships that had just docked, “Aha, ale! Women! Oily barbecued meat! You guys must be waiting for me…

“To think that we actually made it back before New Year! Ahahaha! Yellow gold colds, follow me back! You will make my family more happy in the New Year’s eve…”

“I can’t believe that I actually survived such a dangerous voyage! I’ll see who dares to brag in front of me next time in the pub now…”

Humorous and uncouth shouts could both be heard.

The happiness of ordinary sailors was as simple as this. They were already satisfied bringing 10 to 20 gold coins back home after undergoing a thrilling voyage.

In the past, Yaj used to look down in disdain at such cheap happiness but right now, a trace of envy filled her heart.

“Captain Duyev, you’ll get the rewards that you deserve after the shipments are counted. I’ll put it directly in the city bank for you.” Yaj smiled and said. She did not express her envy, much less telling Duyev that even though the ‘peace tax’ could now be paid through the trade with Wizard Li this time, it was still impossible for all debts of the trading company to be wiped off completely.

“I’m relieved to hear that.” The captain did not understand that the reason the female merchant said so just now was to purposely show that Golden Velvet Flower Trading had overcome their difficulty so that they could find new creditors in the future, he answered happily, “Miss Yaj, I’ll arrange for the sailors to keep watch by the side when the goods are being unloaded. The laborers at the dock have always been not too honest.”

Then, he hustled and bustled as he walked to the warehouse.

Just as he left, Zhang Lisheng came out of the cabin and walked quickly to the bow. He looked around and casually remarked, “Miss Yaj, it seems that the sailors on the ship are very excited about having returned safely. Oh, that’s right, since the ship has already been docked at the port of Sea Haines City, it’s time for me to bid you goodbye as well.”

“Where are you going, Sir Lisheng?” the female merchant asked in astonishment.

“A hotel, of course! The Lush Hotel last time was very nice.”

“You have experienced a dangerous voyage for more than ten days from the barbarian island for the sake of spending your new year in Lush Hotel in Sea Haines City?” A series of expressions ran coursed on Yaj’s face for a while before she finally asked.

“Of course not.” The young man shrugged. “The reason I came to the Sea Haines City is to try to watch the prelude to a magnificent epic drama.”

When Yaj who was burdened with anxiety but still had to force a smile upon hearing the black-haired young man started to talk idly with incomprehensible words in front of her again, her patience seemed to have hit its limit.

“Stop saying those incomprehensible gibberish! Just stop!” She suddenly lowered her voice and snarled irritatedly, “Since you’ve already guessed that Golden Velvet Flower Trading has fallen into a difficult situation, just simply voice out your conditions! What should I do to make you willing to help me? And how are you going to help? Are you going to become the sponsor for our trading company to get a loan or are you going to use some method that I can’t conceive…”

“Miss Yaj looks like the pressure on your shoulders has already crushed your will. I’ve already told you that you’ve misunderstood…” Zhang Lisheng was stunned and interjected the female merchant.

“Shut up! I know that the reason you purposely beating around the bushes is because you don’t want to be resented by me. I know this! I know this…” Yaj repeated it resentfully.

Zhang Lisheng saw that the female merchant was now acting like a madman despite still knowing how to conceal herself and merely opened his mouth at loss in silence for a little while. Suddenly, he carefully thought about it and realized that he was about to become a barbarian god that was going to declare war on the entire civilized mainland but was now troubled by a beautiful woman, of whom they only shared a relationship of making use of each other. This was so absurdly ridiculous.

“When I read the ancient myths and legends last time, I read that those gods would even throw away all disguises to fight each other directly just for the sake of fame and fortune. They would also do everything in power to come into contact with unrivaled beauties and some would even be jealous of the mortals and frame them up. I used to find it to be absurd but now that I’m going through it personally, I finally know that those stories might just be true. Aside from strength, a human is basically the same as god. Yeah, that makes sense. If one becomes completely emotionless and unmoved after becoming a god, what difference is there from death? Great freedom! Great freedom! So what if I conquer the entire Colossal World? Well, unless I become an idiot or otherwise, where can I get any great freedom…” The young man suddenly exploded in thoughts not without reason. Recalling his previous ambition, he smiled wryly and muttered to himself.

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At the same time when heartfelt feelings rose in Zhang Lisheng’s heart, Yaj who had vented out her inexplicable frustration and sorrow finally began to return to her senses slowly. When she remembered that this black-haired young man in front of her was probably the only savior of her entire family, she panted and fell into silence. Slightly incoherently, she whispered, “I’m sorry, Sir Lisheng, the pressure that I have experienced is just too big now. I-I can’t even imagine that I’d actually fallen into the state I was in just now…”

“It’s alright, Miss Yaj, I can understand. After all, a human’s personality will have a lot of ‘faces’. It should be said as normal for people like you who have not experienced many setbacks and tribulations before to break down under pressure.” Zhang Lisheng returned to his senses and smiled. “Alright, I really need to bid goodbye now…”

“Sir Lisheng, the Sea Haines City is the second capital of Kattaman City State so the New Year’s carnival celebration here is very grand and will attract many tourists every year. You may not be able to book a room in Lush Hotel now at this time…”

“Oh is it so?” The young man was stunned and looked at the distant city. He realized that the number of street pedestrians was far more than they were when he came last time, causing him to frown.

“So, I hope that you can accept my invitation and go to Golden Flower Terrier Manor during the New Year to be my guest,” Yaj forced a smile.

Zhang Lisheng pondered a while and had no choice but to nod. “Miss Yaj, looks like I don’t have any other choice but to thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure to have you as a guest. In that case, by the time the goods have all been unloaded into the warehouse of the port, we will set off right away…” When the female merchant saw that the young man had accepted the invitation, she secretly sighed in relief.

The instant her words left her mouth, her gaze that was watching the laborers transporting the wood with great difficulty under the ship suddenly locked onto a spot. A few seconds later, with a slightly strange voice, she said, “Sir Lisheng, I have something to do first so please excuse me for a while. You can—oh, the trading’s carriage is here already. You can rest in the carriage first.”

Okay,” Zhang Lisheng looked in the direction of Yaj’s gaze and saw a handsome young man dressed in a battle attire accompanied by two young men dressed in a hunting jacket was looking around and chatting with three young girls who were wearing elegant huge dresses while holding an opened folding feather fans to cover their faces. Zhang Lisheng smiled and nodded his head.

After that, the young man spotted a gap under the ship and under the cries of astonishment from the crowds, he gently leaped down from the merchant ship directly. After blending into the crowd, he walked to a carriage that was not far away that was painted with a golden flower pattern before telling the coachman, “I’m a guest invited by Miss Yaj.”

Then, he got into the carriage.

The four walls, floor, and ceiling of the huge carriage were entirely astonishing; with thick hard skin with complicated and beautiful patterns engraved on the leather. The wide seat was covered with soft suede, allowing those who sat on them to feel warm and relaxed.

“What a luxury! this should be regarded as the foreign world’s Rolls-Royce I suppose…” Sitting on the suede chair leaning against the moderately soft chair back, Zhang Lisheng whispered comfortably. Without warning, he heard a series of door knocking sounds from outside of the carriage, which was then followed by a gentle voice, “Sir Lisheng, can I come in?”

This greeting was quite skillful. Although the voice was unfamiliar and was neither the owner of the carriage, the young man who did not know about the way of the word just replied casually without much hesitation, “Please come in.”

“Thank you.” Accompanied with a seductive gratitude and a gush of fragrance, a mature woman whose exquisite facial features were destroyed by her thick lips and thin eyes but still had a pleasing charm opened the carriage door and entered with a lowered head.

Draped in a white silk shawl, she was wearing a tailored, low-cut pleated skirt that showed off her unmistakable graceful figure. When she bent low, the two soft peaks on the chest pressed into each other, a sight that would cause an ordinary man to feel a gush of warmth.

“Sir Lisheng, I’ve wanted to get to know you but I’ve never had a suitable opportunity to do so. Nice to meet you, I’m Nia Kayfend from Mermaid trading.” After getting on the carriage, the woman crossed her leg and slightly bent her knees as she introduced herself.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Nia.” secretly feeling perplexed, Zhang Lisheng smiled politely.

“You may find it strange as to how do I know you, right, Sir?”

“There’s nothing strange about it. Since you’re Miss Yaj’s friend, it’s natural that you know my name.” The young man shrugged.

“The way you move your shoulder is very handsome and charming. Is this a habit of the foreign mainland?” Nia smiled noncommittally and raised another irrelevant question.

“Well, I guess you can say so.” Zhang Lisheng replied casually.

“So young but you’ve already completed the feat of crossing the mainland; this is really enviable and admirable. Particularly, so when I heard that you’re trying to fulfill your own ideals…” When Nia saw that the young man did not have much interest in chatting with her, she was secretly pissed but continued to compliment Zhang Lisheng on the surface.