anwhile, Peach Blossom, Oliang, Wet Trash Can, and Draco gathered to wait for the others in front of the building used for transporting guests ho. After waiting for nearly two hours, they could not stand it any longer and decided to find a hotel to rest and eat, as today's quest had been exceedingly grueling.
"Should we call them?"
Wet Trash Can asked as everyone was eating together.
"Better not. Let Siegfried clear things up with Chang Long first!"
Oliang replied, shaking his head.
"Clear things up? Why? Did Siegfried do sothing to upset Master Chang?"
Peach Blossom asked, tilting her head in curiosity.
"We don't know for sure. Maybe Siegfried is apologizing on behalf of soone who really did make her angry!"
Draco suggested, looking at Peach Blossom with a sly smile.
"W... Why would Master Chang be mad at ? I didn't do anything to make her angry!"
Peach Blossom exclaid, her eyes widening in panic as she thought Chang Long might have discovered who the real stone thrower was.
"Hehehe, too bad for you if she found out about that!"
Oliang said, his voice tinged with satisfaction.
"Huh! (How does he know what I'm thinking!)"
Peach Blossom cried out.
"Chang Long will definitely hate you now, Peach Blossom!"
Draco added, helping to scare her further.
"No! I don't want Master Chang to hate . I can't let Siegfried explain this, who knows if she'll ever understand? I have to explain it to her myself!"
Peach Blossom jumped up from her chair, causing the three guys to scramble to stop her.
"Why are you going, Peach Blossom? It's so dark, you'd get lost even in the city. Look at how thick the fog is!"
Wet Trash Can quickly stood up to block her, afraid she would interrupt whatever sweet mont (?) that was happening between Siegfried and Chang Long.
"True, we're just speculating. Maybe Siegfried really did do sothing to upset Chang Long!"
Draco added, pitying his friend whose romance seed to be getting nowhere.
"Right. Peach Blossom, you're so beautiful and cute, there's no way Chang Long could hate you!"
Oliang said, trying to pull her back to the seat. His words seed to work, as Peach Blossom sat back down, her cheeks tinged with a slight blush.
"Really..." Peach Blossom asked in a soft voice.
"Absolutely! Here, have so of this. The server said it's the best!"
Oliang said, serving her a spoonful of fish stew.
"Thank you,"
Peach Blossom replied with a sweet smile, seeming much happier with soone's attention.
"Wow, Oliang's true colors are showing,"
Wet Trash Can remarked, shaking his head at his friend's behavior.
"True colors?"
Draco echoed.
"Yeah, Oliang is quite the charr. Since we started playing the ga, I've never seen him act like this with a girl. Usually, he sticks with in-ga, but outside of it… I better not say,"
Wet Trash Can explained.
"Hey, tell Oliang not to overstep any boundaries. Siegfried is very protective of his sister, even though they argue all the ti. Otherwise, the Pendragon Guild mbers will definitely co after him!"
Draco warned, aning well, as no one had dared to court Peach Blossom yet.
"Oliang knows better than that. He won't make a move on his friend's sister!"
Wet Trash Can defended his friend.
"Alright, let's get back to eating before those two finish everything,"
Draco nodded, heading back to the table with Peach Blossom and Oliang.
"I hope he is..."
Wet Trash Can muttered to himself, returning to his seat as well.
Kitsune and Davy-chan were sitting with their heads in their hands. Their heightened senses were useless against the fog that blanketed the Samurai Cetery. The atmosphere grew colder and more eerie, causing Kimhant to huddle close to Hulu, who kept hitting his head with its chin, clearly uncomfortable.
"It's no big deal. We'll just camp here for the night," Chang Long said, pulling out a tent, seemingly unbothered.
"This is a cetery, full of graves. How can we sleep here, Master!"
Kimhant exclaid, shocked by Chang Long's nonchalance and even more so when she actually pitched the tent.
"Why not? It's quiet and peaceful,"
Chang Long replied cheerfully.
"Then I'll go gather so firewood,"
Siegfried offered, looking around before heading off to find dry branches in the cetery to make the fire.
"Wait! Let Kitsune do it. He has better instincts,"
Chang Long quickly grabbed Siegfried's wrist, worried he might get lost.
"Understood. If it's nearby, I can find my way back. You all rest here,"
Kitsune agreed confidently, disappearing into the thick fog.
"Co, sit here!"
Chang Long said, pulling Siegfried down to sit on a blanket she had spread out. Siegfried could not take his eyes off her hand; it was the first ti she had touched him first.
"Missy, this fog is not normal. The spirits in the cetery created it,"
Davy-chan, who had left with Kitsune and returned first, explained, having discovered the cause of the dense fog.
"Spirits?"
Siegfried asked, intrigued.
"Yes, the fog helps to obscure the spirits in this cetery from the eyes of people like you, missy. That's why you can't see when I'm invisible,"
Davy-chan explained.
"But there's one spirit that appeared. It seems to be talking to that little dog. Ah, they're back,"
Davy-chan's words made Kimhant, who was trying to divert his thoughts from the fact that he was trapped in a cetery by rewriting his manuscript freeze in fear, dropping his pencil when he heard it.
"B... b... b... Back? Th... That ans boss didn't co alone, r... r... right!"
Kimhant stamred, eyes fixed on the faint silhouette appearing before them.
Kitsune returned ten minutes later, carrying an armful of firewood. Though the wood was damp from the thick fog, it still caught fire after so effort. As the fire blazed, the atmosphere ward up, much to Kimhant's relief, as he no longer had to endure the eerie atmosphere. He quickly moved closer to the fire as soon as it was lit.
"Davy-chan, you were just joking. You said there was a spirit following boss. You scared half to death!"
Kimhant complained, pouting at Davy-chan, who was enjoying the food Chang Long had offered him.
"Is that so? I'm a spirit too, so why aren't you scared of ?"
Davy-chan asked, still chewing his food.
"Well, you look normal, Davy-chan, so I'm not really scared. But if you looked like the ghosts from this morning's quest, I'd be running away like crazy too!"
Kimhant replied, no longer worried about spending the night in the cetery with hundreds of invisible spirits.
"Oh? What if I appear like this?"
Davy-chan said, disappearing and reappearing as a rotting corpse with patches of decaying flesh, exposed bones, tattered clothes, and maggots crawling all over.
Ahhhhh!
Kimhant scread at the top of his lungs, completely forgetting his manliness and fainting instantly. Chang Long, Kitsune, Siegfried, and even Hulu were quite startled by Davy-chan's grotesque appearance, but none of them scread as loudly as Kimhant.
"Enough, Davy-chan. We're eating here. You'll make us all throw up."
Chang Long scolded, looking quite queasy. Siegfried also turned pale. Luckily, Davy-chan's ghostly form did not have a sll; otherwise, they would not have been able to bear it.
"Hehehe, this kid is hilarious. I've got to prank him more often!"
Davy-chan laughed, returning to his original handso form.
"Let's hope he doesn't die from a heart attack,"
Chang Long said, chuckling as she looked at Kimhant.
"Don't worry, he's just fainted,"
Kitsune said, shaking his head as he checked on Kimhant.
"Chang Long!"
Siegfried, sitting next to Chang Long, gathered his courage to call her once more.
"Co on, Hulu, let's go to bed,"
Kitsune said, grabbing the unconscious Kimhant and heading into the tent, knowing what Siegfried was about to do. Davy-chan, understanding the situation, disappeared as well.
"What is it?"
Chang Long asked, turning to Siegfried and taking a sip of water.
"Well... about what I said earlier but there was a loud noise, so you might not have heard everything. I wanted to tell you again,"
Siegfried said seriously. Despite the inappropriate setting, he had no other choice. There always seed to be obstacles between him and Chang Long.
"Hmm? Who said I didn't hear everything?"
Chang Long replied with a smile.
"So, I want to tell you that... Huh! What did you say just now?!"
Siegfried looked at her in shock, his face, which was slightly red before, now turning bright red like a ripe tomato.
"I said I heard everything you said. I just didn't catch it clearly,"
Chang Long said, laughing at Siegfried's flustered reaction.
"You heard everything! What did you hear, Chang Long..."
Siegfried asked, holding his breath, wanting to know if she had understood his intentions correctly. Why was she not blushing or anything? He was so embarrassed that he felt dizzy.
"Eh! You said it yourself. Can't you rember? You told you were afraid of getting lost, didn't you?"
Chang Long replied, looking confused. He had said it himself, so how could he forget his own words?
"Huh!?"
Siegfried was utterly stunned by her response, his mouth agape, unable to say a word. His confession had turned into a concern about getting lost.
"I understand that the fog in the cetery is thicker than outside, so you're worried about getting lost. And now, we really are lost. But don't worry, I promise I'll get us out of here by tomorrow. Trust !"
Chang Long reassured Siegfried, patting his shoulder without noticing the corner of his mouth flinching. She thought he might be scared to spend the night in the cetery. After speaking, she went into her tent to sleep.
In the middle of the night, the sound of clashing swords woke Chang Long. Despite the darkness, she noticed Kitsune, Hulu, and Kimhant were all fast asleep and had not heard the noise. She stepped out of the tent, trying to find the source of the disturbance. The white fog swirled with the wind but did not dissipate. The campfire was almost out. Curious, Chang Long decided to follow the sound without fear, wanting to know who would be fighting at such a late hour.
As she walked, the sound of swords slicing through the air and trees being cut down grew louder. The fog thinned, revealing an open area with a well in the center. Near the well, a tall, slender man with long, neatly tied hair was practicing his swordsmanship, bare-chested.
Chang Long was a bit startled, puzzled as to why soone would train at night without any light. His determined and focused deanor captivated her, and she watched him for a while until he finally noticed her presence.
"Who are you?"
The young samurai pointed his sword at Chang Long, his voice stern.
"Uh… My na is Chang Long. I got lost and ended up sleeping in this cetery. I heard the sound of sword and ca to check it out,"
Chang Long explained, unfazed by his aggressive stance.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Uh... I didn't think anyone would dare sleep in a cetery,"
the young samurai apologized, sheathing his sword.
"It's alright. By the way, who are you, and why are you practicing swordsmanship in the cetery at night?"
Chang Long replied and asked.
"My na is Tokura Hisa. I'm a naless samurai who died after being betrayed by my lover. And you, how did you die?"
The samurai introduced himself somberly.
"I'm not dead yet,"
Chang Long blinked, surprised.
"Huh! You're not dead. Then how can you see ?"
Tokura Hisa exclaid, looking at her in disbelief.
"I'm a shaman, so I can see spirits."
"Oh, I see. That's fortunate. At least I'll have soone to talk to. None of the other spirits in this cetery will speak to ..."
the young samurai said with a sad smile, sitting down by the well, looking dejected.
"Why won't anyone talk to you?"
Chang Long asked, sitting down next to him.
"As I said, I'm a naless samurai, unattached to any clan. The spirits here are all samurais from prominent families. They are arrogant and care a lot about social status,"
Tokura Hisa explained, pointing to the various tombstones in the cetery.
"But you seem skilled. Why didn't anyone take you in?"
Chang Long asked, genuinely curious.
"Soone did. On the day I was to be officially recognized as a samurai of a great family, I was betrayed and killed by the woman I loved. Actually, I enjoyed being a ronin, traveling freely, but I fell in love with a woman, so I..."
Tokura Hisa paused, looking at the starless sky with sorrowful eyes.
"...She asked to settle down and find a stable occupation. So, I decided to join the Sanada clan as a samurai because I didn't want to leave my beloved sword to rust away. I passed all the tests, but on the day I was to be appointed by the head of the Sanada clan, she poisoned !"
"Do you... still want to go on adventures?"
Chang Long asked after a mont of silence, unsure of how to comfort the spirit of the young samurai.
"Of course. That's what I desire above all else. But I can no longer go anywhere. My spirit is bound here for eternity,"
the young samurai's spirit said with a mournful tone. Freedom was what he longed for, even though his body had beco just a pile of bones.
"You can go. If you beco a spirit under my command, I'll take you on adventures throughout the world of Adventure World Online,"
Chang Long replied with a bright, sincere smile.
"Do you an it? Will I really be able to go on adventures again?!"
The young samurai spirit asked with hope, his once dull face now surprisingly lively. His semi-transparent spirit form seed to regain so flesh montarily, causing Chang Long to be taken aback.
"I swear. Will you agree?"
Chang Long took out one of the spirit tablets that Elder An had made her buy, and showed it to Tokura Hisa.
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Read 'Adventure World Online (AWO)' before anyone else with more chapters at sjinovel/en
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