Chapter 298 - Darkness Girl
Chapter 298: Darkness Girl
Back in the lively commercial district, lanterns that resembled all sorts of aquatic creatures were hung up in front of the stalls and almost half of all the stalls were decorated. It was a tradition for every Medley Sea Day.
Many people gathered at the commercial district just to admire the lanterns and they were very excited about the upcoming festival.
Medley Sea Day was a generous festival. Other than attracting trade and deals from people and providing a chance to the commoners to have a glimpse of all types of items, the festival also meant free food for everyone. Many poorer people would be able to get a satisfying meal.
However, amidst the lively and excited atmosphere, several men were shuttling across the crowd nervously. They were Higan’s bodyguards and they had somehow lost her.
The mistake was even more severe than failing to protect Tang Long. Everyone knew what Higan meant to Starstay City—she was their one true queen!
However, because of that, she was able to easily shake off five rank 3 Purple Moon Warriors at once.
“We’ve lost contact with Young Master Long too. His comms are offline.”
“What about the Young Master’s bodyguards?”
“We contacted them, but they say they are waiting for him and daren’t simply make a move. They are unable to contact him as well.”
“Why don’t we go back and wait? Even in Darkness Port, there are only a handful of people who could harm the queen…”
The last bodyguard to speak sighed helplessly. Despite the anxiety, he was not particularly concerned since the queen had shaken them off on her own. She left them mostly because she wanted some personal time to wander around the district and not because she was in danger or because she wandered off to cause trouble.
So, other than waiting for her return, what else could the bodyguards do?
After leaving her bodyguards in an anxious state, Higan shuttled across the crowd alone. She was not worried about her men at all. With her hands in her pockets, she sauntered around like an absent-minded girl who was curious about almost everything.
She walked past the stall selling the shell ornaments but was disappointed when she found out the toy was gone. She walked up to the owner, trying to ask where the toy had gone, but she somehow did not muster enough courage to talk to a stranger. All she did was stand further away as she stared at the stall for a while before leaving.
Where else could she go?
Without Tang Long’s guidance and care, Higan seemed to be clueless about everything. Nonetheless, she was not nervous and did not care. She hesitated for a while before she wandered around the commercial district. She had no destination in mind and did not need one. She would go wherever that caught her attention.
However, should it not be winter already? Should it not be snowing in winter?
Within Higan’s dry and depressing memories, every single day remained the same for her, but Darkness Port was a whole new place for her to discover.
It was winter. The sky was blue yet the sun was warm. The bright warmth covered the entire deck area, and there was the faint salty smell of the sea in the air.
There were the aquatic products on sale in the market, the fragrance of the food on sale at the store, the little toys on display, the different types of houses and buildings, the people who were arguing, fighting, loving, quarreling, shouting or even showing no expression at all. Everything impacted Higan’s perception with a dash of unusual realism.
The realism felt like it was alive with a vigorous power that shattered the silence and pain in her memories.
Higan curled her lips into a smile.
The windy sea breeze blew, lifting her veil and revealing her absolute beauty. Her stunning radiance caught the attention of a few rugged men further away from her. Since when did Darkness Port have such a stunning beauty? Why had no one noticed her until now?
Do note that in a place like Darkness Port, the beauty of women could not remain a secret forever. Beautiful women were either taken or they themselves were powerful. There was no in-between.
“Hey, pretty girl, why don’t we have a drink?”
‘Make a move whenever a pretty girl appears.’ That was the motto that a lot of men in Darkness Port lived by.
The few men who saw Higan’s face surrounded her.
Higan stopped walking. Devoid of any uncertainty, she sized up the men who surrounded her in a curious gaze through her veil. Were they inviting her?
Back in Starstay City, only a handful of men had the courage to even speak in front of her. Why were the men in Darkness Port so bold?
“What’d you say, pretty lady? I’m a sailor of the Transporter and I have plenty of Black Sea coins. Why don’t we find ourselves some fun?” another man spoke after he saw that Higan did not avoid them.
The men closed up on her, so they were now less than one and a half meters away from her.
Higan frowned slightly as a strong discomfort rose from her heart. Even though she was curious why the men had the courage to talk to her, it did not mean she accepted their presence. After all, she was still the cold-blooded queen that she was. She disliked talking to people, even more so when they came so close to her.
“Are you people talking to me?”
Right after she spoke, the men around her whistled excitedly. The lady did not just look enchanting, but even her voice sounded alluring. Her frigid voice had a tinge of naivety and squeamishness unique only to a girl, and it made the men want to own her.
“Yeah, of course, we’re talking to you. Come on, girl, we’ll buy you the best alcohol and sleep in the best hotel. You are going to have the best night of your life. What’d you say?” One of them could no longer hold back his desire. His face was full of frivolity and an obscene smile.
Disgust rose in Higan’s heart and what followed was coldness as she said, “Not interested. Move.”
After that, she wanted to walk away from the men, but one of them could not bear her attitude anymore and reached out to grab her. “Hey, girl, it’s not up to you to decide. Come with us. You’ll be interested soon enough.
Higan dodged the man’s grasp and stopped once more. Then, she turned around.
The wind lifted her veil up, and under the veil, her smile was like a blossoming flower, but her gaze was icy cold. It was so cold that it could freeze one’s bones at a single glance. Her black pupils under the cold gaze were like a bottomless well, and it felt she had no human emotions.
“You, did you just try to touch me?” Her smile grew more alluring and became breathtakingly enchanting.
The men, who claimed to be sailors, did not speak at all. Not one of them uttered a word. They were all stunned on the spot and their Adam’s apples were bobbing as if something was stuck.
What kind of smile was that? It was so enchanting that she looked like a fairy. Any man would easily fall for her smile and give his life to her in a heartbeat. However, what was with that gaze? It was so cold that it could freeze one’s heart in a single glance, so one could not help but be afraid of her.
Nevertheless, the men’s egos would never allow them to be afraid of a girl. One of them mustered up enough courage and said, “Yeah, we are touching you. So what? You’ll soon learn it’s natural for men to touch you…”
Before he could finish, his expression changed for the worse.
“Hot! Hot! It’s so hot!” the man screamed ceaselessly all of a sudden. The other men started to feel hot as well, and all of them hopped around madly. The heat was not something that they could endure, so despite everyone watching, they started to undress until not a shred of cloth remained on them.
Soon, a crowd gathered for a show. No one in Darkness Port felt ashamed of naked men, so no one was kind enough to put some clothes on them. They gathered just because they wanted to watch a monkey show.
Strangely, a few seconds after the men got naked, they started to feel cold.
They ran around madly and tried to snatch people’s clothes to wear, but their actions and movements somehow slowed down and were twisted in a strange way to the extent that none of them were able to dress.
They then covered their stomachs, screaming crazily that their stomach hurt. What followed was fierce coughing and ceaseless choking as big chunks of flesh and blood were spat out. In the end, their skin started to rot as they scratched their bodies furiously.
The men were tortured by the coughs, pain, and scratching for a full five minutes before they fell to the ground, absent of any signs of life.
“I know him. That’s York. Isn’t he a rank 1 Purple Moon Warrior?” someone in the crowd cried in shock though it was not because of sympathy but because he recognized one of the dead men as a rank 1 Purple Moon Warrior. A Purple Moon Warrior strangely died on the street! It was unbelievable and somewhat scary.
On top of that, the crowd soon distinguished the identities of all the dead men. They were rank 1 Purple Moon Warriors and one of them had reached the limits of rank 1 and could break through to rank 2.
What caused their strange deaths?
No clue was left at the scene, but one of them managed to utter something before he died. He coughed furiously and screamed his lungs out, “The girl…the girl with a veil!”
However, there were countless girls with veils over their faces in Darkness Port since the city was not a kind and safe place, especially for ladies.
The crowd discussed among themselves in shock as they viewed the deaths of the men as a supernatural incident.
The military police of Darkness Port arrived at the scene after seven to eight minutes to clean up the scene and carry the bodies away, but neither one of them was shocked or surprised. The dead men were sailors, and at the same time, the men of the Dark Judgement. If the folks from the Dark Judgement wanted justice served, they would have to pay the military police to investigate their deaths. Otherwise, they would have died for nothing.
No matter how big of a commotion she caused, Higan had already wandered onto a main avenue three streets away from the scene.
The main avenue was filled with restaurants and bars, it was as lively as the entire commercial district and it was filled with vitality as there were even more people here.
Curious, Higan strolled into the avenue, she loved the liveliness of the street, albeit she could never join them.
The few men were dead, but she had already forgotten about them before they even took their last breath.
“The Dreamy Visitor?” Higan stopped in front of a restaurant located in the center of the avenue.