Firefly Journey

The Principality of Bema, Ibiza, the Xu family.

Xu Penglong didn't tell anyone she was returning from school; otherwise, Xu Hanshan would have definitely sent someone to pick her up, as she didn't like that.

Compared to the young nobles who loved to show off and flaunt their status, she preferred quiet.

In front of the magnificent manor, several soldiers with long swords at their waists stood silently under the scorching sun, sweating profusely, like iron towers impervious to wind and rain.

The Xu family's gate was closed. If someone wanted to visit, they would naturally need to make an appointment, and if they came on short notice, they would need to ask the host for permission.

She was a member of the vast manor and did not need to go through any procedures. Before she even got close, the sharp-eyed guards had already opened a door made of some kind of heavy metal and greeted her respectfully.

As they passed the guard, Xu Penglong asked, "Grandpa...did you go to a meeting today?"

The guard said, "The Speaker returned early and specifically instructed us that if we see you, we should let you go directly to the study."

"I see."

Xu Penglong walked briskly and skillfully towards the study.

Today is the day the National Assembly holds its regular meetings, which often last from morning to afternoon. Xu Hanshan returned early and even informed the guards, indicating that he knew about his return early in the morning.

The Principality's intelligence services are comparable to those of the Papacy.

Or rather, she had always been under the watchful eye of the Xu family patriarch.

Pushing open the rustic wooden door, Xu Penglong easily saw the old man sitting in front of the bookshelf. He had a full beard and wore a long robe, naturally exuding the aura of a wise elder.

"Grandpa, are you looking for me?"

Xu Penglong was extremely respectful.

Xu Hanshan frowned slightly, put down his pen, and put on a kind smile: "Now that you're back, take a good rest. There's no rush to go to school."

"I just got back from school."

"With Cassius Bello?"

"Yes, we went to Torreg together."

Why didn't you tell your family? You know, we were all very worried about you.

Xu Penglong's expression remained unchanged: "Even if I don't say it, you already know, don't you? So there's not much point in saying it or not. I'm always lazy, so there's no need for me to go through all that trouble."

Xu Hanshan narrowed his eyes slightly: "I still have a picture of you when you were little hanging in my bedroom. You were much cuter than you are now."

Do you remember? Right here in this study, you always loved to come and bother me. Whenever that happened, I would hold you on my lap, teach you to read, and read stories to you.

It feels like we've become much more distant lately.

Xu Penglong walked to the desk and smiled gently at his grandfather: "With my current weight, I'm afraid you can't support me, Grandpa!"

"Hahaha!" Xu Hanshan suddenly burst into laughter. "Okay, I misspoke earlier. You're still just as quirky and mischievous as ever."

Xu Penglong tilted his head: "If there's nothing else, I'll be going now. I've been gone for so long, I need to go see my mother."

“Let’s go.” Xu Hanshan’s tightly furrowed brows suddenly relaxed, and he immediately said, “Cassius Bello recently made a deal with an organization. This is a very dangerous act. I learned about it from the Principality’s intelligence department.”

He attempted to gain a lower-level councilor position by doing favors for the other party, but this failed. The principality and the Papacy could not allow someone with no political background to act recklessly and had already issued warnings.

You're his student, so you have a lot of contact with him. Be careful.

Xu Penglong took two steps, then stopped upon hearing this.

“If he were truly endangering the Duchy, the Holy See would never have allowed him to remain a teacher; he would have been imprisoned in the Eternal Night Prison long ago. So I am safe. Thank you, Grandpa, for reminding me.”

After saying this, Xu Penglong quickened his pace without even turning his head.

Xu Hanshan's smile froze on his face.

……

……

A corner of the Kolumbutz Mountains.

The raging storm battered the dilapidated cabin, relentlessly bombarding it. The seemingly fragile cabin, threatening to collapse, remained steadfast.

The white-haired old man wore a thin, waist-cinching cloth garment, and the wind ruffled his disheveled hair.

He ignored the harsh environment and focused wholeheartedly on his own work.

He was sitting in front of a large rock, holding a test tube in his left hand and a beaker in his right. He was pouring the green liquid from the test tube, drop by drop, into the white beaker.

One drop, two drops, three drops...

The original white liquid in the beaker changed color to dark green due to the intrusion of the foreign object.

Orlando arrived with two swords. He slapped the hilts, and a wooden box appeared in his hand. With a clattering sound, something fell onto the grass.

The old man put down the test tube and beaker, looked up at the pure swordsman: "Respect the dead. His remains still contain magic that has not yet faded. Aren't you afraid of being backfired on?"

Orlando said, "I've tried it, and I can handle it."

"Okay, so what's in the wooden box?"

“The ear, but I can’t tell if it’s His. After all, time has taken its toll, and no one can be sure whether someone entered His tomb before me.”

"show me."

The old man took the wooden box, opened it, and was met with the same blinding light, but he did not flinch, as the light could not harm him in the slightest.

After a long silence, he nodded and said, "It's not fake."

Orlando breathed a sigh of relief. After all, it was just a guess before, and it might not be Krumbo's remaining organs. Only after the old man confirmed it did he feel at ease.

“I only promised you one of His relics, but now that there’s one more, does that mean it’s mine?” Orlando asked tentatively.

The old man claimed to be an old friend of Klenbo, and said he was at least a god-level expert. If the other party didn't agree, there was nothing he could do; he was lucky to have escaped with his life.

"Keep the bones, keep the ears, and keep the bottle of medicine," the old man said.

"medicine?"

Orlando was puzzled. His illness had already been cured, so why did he need medicine?

The old man explained, "This was specially prepared for you. When you attempt to break through to a higher realm, drink it and use it with your 'divinity'."

Orlando was surprised. He and the old man were complete strangers who had saved his life. He was doing the old man's favor, and it was all fair. There was no question of any personal relationship between them.

"Thank you, thank you."

"You're welcome. We're even now." The old man poured the medicine from the beaker into a bottle and handed it over.

Then he asked, "What are you planning to do next?"

Orlando took the medicine bottle and said with emotion, "Before, I was so focused on cultivation that I neglected the scenery along the way. It wasn't until I was covered in wounds that I realized there are many beautiful things in life besides cultivation."

Before that, I need to go to the East, to the Great Chu. I want to know where the gap lies between me and the greatest swordsman in the world.

Of the three and a half swords, the one ranked first is named Chen Qingchen, and he is from the State of Chu.

"Well, good luck. Freedom is wonderful, like the wind, you can go wherever you want."

The old man suddenly adopted a somber tone.

Orlando asked, puzzled, "Judging from your tone, you can't leave here?"

"Yes, if you hadn't suddenly barged in, I don't know how much longer I would have had to wait."

Orlando was puzzled: "These test tubes, beakers, modern equipment..."

The old pharmacist rolled his eyes: "It's true that I have a past with Klenbo, but being trapped here happened a hundred years ago."

"Okay, I was overthinking it!"

Orlando scratched his head awkwardly.