“What exactly happened to you all?! “

The skeletal man knelt on one knee, and centered around him, the entire tide of skeletons knelt down in a spreading fashion.

He lifted his head, gazing with hollow eye sockets at the one who had once made this world beautiful.

{We obeyed the order, waiting for your return at the place from which you departed. }

After a pause, the man continued:

{Esteemed lord, I am… the captain who once sailed you out to sea. }

Yang Zicang was completely stunned.

-｛Distributor May·Valkyrie wishes to perceive the situation I am currently experiencing.｝

“How long has it been… now? “

The skeletal captain slowly turned his head, gazing into the boundless sea of bones. {Seven hundred and thirty-seven thousand, six hundred and fifty years. }

Two sharp gasps arose from beside Yang Zicang. He turned his head to look at Qiao Bing and Kaden, not knowing how to begin explaining, when the captain suddenly spoke:

{Merciful Master, we beseech you to grant us death. }

The entire legion of the skeleton was drawn in, every hollow gaze turning toward him.

The skeletal captain lowered his head, kneeling in silence upon the ground.

“You will. ” This promise drifted in the wind.

……

In the wind, the garments of the three were loudly whipped and snapped. The immense black-scaled dragon, as vast as a mountain range, occasionally circled above their heads, shielding the travellers descending below from the surging storms.

“Where are we going, old friend? Your world here is unbelievably cool, feels just as real as the real thing. “

“This is no joke. They are not fake. ” Yang Zicang turned his head to look at Qiao Bing, who had torn off a piece of cloth to shield his mouth from the driving sand. “As for where we’re going… I’m not sure myself. “

The Skeletal Captain had kept watch here for a long, long time.

It had waited so long that the vast ocean had turned to desert. It no longer knew where the one who had once tasked it was now. All it knew was that that person had come here once, tens of thousands of years ago, and never returned.

That person… If it’s him, I might still have a chance to find the ‘statue.’Yang Zicang mused, his brow furrowed in thought.

“How long are we going to stay here? “

Caden had been looking visibly anxious. By now, his spirit had undergone a complete and earth-shattering transformation. He could no longer muster any will to oppose Yang Zicang, or even the Fogfolk.

The secrets these people hid were not something one could claim to fully understand just by catching a glimpse of their uncanny abilities. It was laughable to think that acquiring a few methods to fight them meant you could control the situation.

They concealed secrets far deeper and darker, and this time, he had finally caught a mere glimpse of the truth.

Qiao Bing chimed in: “Yeah, we only have one day. How about you get that dragon thing up there to come down and carry us for a ride?“

“We have a lot of time. No—Ihave a lot of time. ” Yang Zicang turned to Qiao Bing, who was walking beside him. “Time in this world isn’t synchronized with reality. Even if we stay here for a long time, when we wake up, it might have only been a few hours—or at most ten or twenty. “

“There’s actually such a place?! ” Caden exclaimed in shock.

Qiao Bing paused for a moment, then caught on: “Wait a minute, you don’t mean we’ve ended up in one of those places, do you?! “

“What kind of place? ” Caden asked nervously.

“Aha, I get it now. I finally understand why you agreed to let this guy surrender. ” Qiao Bing smirked, turning his head to look at Caden beside him, making the native of Mutao feel deeply uncomfortable.

“You’re screwed, buddy. You’re in big trouble! “

“What’s wrong with me? “

“Heh heh, ” Qiao Bing’s face twisted into a sinister grin as he intimidated: “From what I know, every minute, even every second we spend in a place like this, chips away at our real lifespans, right, our hero? “

Caden’s mouth hung slightly open; he instantly realized what was being implied.

“It shouldn’t be a problem. The bugs inside his body neutralized quite a bit of my Sequence Clock. Even traversing this entire continent would take me, at most, less than twenty years. “

“Twenty years?! No, you can’t…! ” Caden’s fear turned to terror instantly. “Please let me out, sir. I don’t have that many years left. I just want to find Shirley. I swear I won’t cause you any trouble. “

Yang Zicang glanced sideways from under his brow.

“Those bugs… can’t extend your lifespan for you, can they? …Oh, I see. The lifespan belongs to them, not you, correct. From start to finish, it was them countering everything that imposed the Sequence Clock. “

“Yes, that’s right, ” Caden admitted, his legs trembling. Not a single thought of trying to hide the truth crossed his mind.

“As expected of you. ” Qiao Bing gave Yang Zicang a thumbs up. “It’s truly unbelievable that I was lucky enough to enter this world that requires a Complete Stamp Emblem to access. What a dreamlike experience, ha! Even if I were to die in reality, spending tens of thousands of years here in carefree comfort would be a kind of enjoyment. “

A shadow fell as the colossal dragon above blotted out the sky, blocking a rolling gust of sand. The air gradually grew peaceful, signaling the passage of day into night.

-｛Distributor Loki Tata Mingqi expresses “nostalgia. “｝

Items like the Holy Carpet, memoir, and business card still hadn’t been drawn into the focus field. They could only travel on foot. With Yang Zicang accelerating their pace, the three headed toward the shore the skeletal captain had pointed out.

As for the legion of skeletons, under his “orders, ” the captain began to teach them a new language.

……

Boboli drank down a glass of water, swallowing the capsule he held in his mouth.

Jaoma gazed at him affectionately by his bedside. “Darling, in the years to come, promise you won’t forget me. “

The curly-haired youth, tucked inside his blanket, snorted. “It’s just a dream. No matter how long it lasts, it’ll still be nothing but a dream when I wake. Don’t worry. Oh, quick—I’m getting groggy. Hand me the stuff and those scissors. “

Jaoma instantly turned and fetched a prepared little satchel and a specialized pair of gardening scissors from the table, handing them to the youth.

Boboli lay down, cradling them in his arms, but now that tension had set in, he paradoxically found himself unable to sleep.

“Damn it… “

He touched the things in his hands, remembering how excited Moli had been back then, to the point of making himself think of ways to make him drink to get him to sleep quickly.

“Captain… I can finally understand some of your anticipation… Ah… Don’t worry, we’re all fighting hard to stay alive. “

He squeezed his eyes shut. Jiao Xuan’s soft, tender hand grasped his, offering him encouragement. The boy silently began to count in his mouth:

“One sheep, two sheep, three… four, five, six… seventy… “

……

After spending many days walking, Yang Zicang arrived at what used to be a seaside. Surprisingly, there was still an ancient town visible here.

But all the buildings in this town were pieced together with various bones that looked like metal. The style was rough and wild, but a fine attention to detail was revealed in its shapes. Weapons bearing different kinds of eyes were stuck lifelessly in the ground. Occasionally, a skeleton would pass by; upon seeing them, the creature would only watch from afar, unapproachable.

They had long since lost the ability to speak the human tongue.

“This place is really huge. “

“Some of these bones have pretty massive bodies. It’s only natural for their houses to be that big. “

At dusk, on a palace-looking castle building, Yang Zicang caught sight of a familiar silhouette. The side of a somewhat broken wall was carved with an image of a figure sleeping with its eyes closed.

“Moli… “

Yang Zicang’s heart gave a slight flutter.

Kaden walked over. “Old pal Buchen, the statue born in some Postmark World—don’t you even know its exact location? “

“This place was invaded by one of my enemies. If I want to know where the statue is, I need to find someone. “

Yang Zicang deliberately said this, watching for his reaction.

“Who? ” Kaden instantly panicked.

“My former apprentice. “

“Looking for someone… That’s trouble. ” Qiao Bing looked curiously at the figure painted on the wall.

Yang Zicang strode toward the palace-like building. At the doorway, he heard faint, lingering whispers of consciousness coming from the dark room within, as if countless cold, living beings were praying in low voices.

Suddenly, the sound paused. In the darkness, dozens of cold soul-fire glimmers lit up at varying heights, like phosphorus flames the size of a fingernail.

{Ah… You… }

A voice struggled to adjust its pronunciation.

{You… are human… Could it be… the King? }

The hall rumbled thunderously, as if a giant, muffled iron canister was being rolled. Hidden there, an “iron drum ” larger than a bed rolled slightly, revealing two hollows bigger than washbasins.

{Ah-yaa-du… }

{Don’t cry out, children. } The shadow, who struggled to speak in human tongues, shuffled forward to the doorway, then jerked backward in shock, {It really is You… }

“Alright. Are you also one who survived from that era? “

{Indeed, I was originally a… a shoemaker from this city. }

It said this word with a hint of uncertainty. Yang Zicang thought, indeed, when he taught them to speak, this occupation didn’t exist yet.