The Crazy Ticket / Floating Airship, All the Way South

Little Kajia the centaur was delighted by the praise. His eyes curved into crescents, and he let out a cheerful whinny before bounding toward the noisy bonfire in the square, tossing the silver coin in his hand.

Chen Mo turned and entered the inn. An attendant who had been waiting at the door for some time greeted him with a broad smile and ushered him inside.

The Hero's Inn had an air of age, as though it had been worn down by years of use. The wooden floorboards, polished smooth and curling at the edges, creaked underfoot. The air held a faint, mildly intoxicating scent, a mixture of old books and damp wood.

Fortunately, the room was quite tidy. The freshly laundered coarse linen sheets and bedding looked clean and crisp, with a faint scent of sunshine.

At three silver coins a night, the price was extravagant for such a simple camp. But with the centaur tribe guaranteeing his safety, Chen Mo finally felt it was money well spent. At last, he could rest easy instead of spending the whole night clutching his gun and listening fearfully for danger, as he had the previous few nights.

Yet that night, Chen Mo tossed and turned, sleeping terribly.

The terrifying scenes of bloodshed in the jungle and his desperate flight along the trail replayed in his mind like faded, poor-quality film, rewinding, stuttering, and playing over and over. Little Goldie's face, twisted by greed, alternated with Aili's pale, despairing one.

In his dream, Little Goldie let out a strange "heh heh heh" laugh and advanced step by step, then slashed at Chen Mo, who for some reason couldn't move. Cold light flashed, and Chen Mo's leg bone was chopped clean through. Strangely, Chen Mo felt he had lost a great deal of blood, yet the broken bone was deathly white, without a drop of blood on it.

Somehow, that young master used an unknown evil art. The ghastly white bone twisted and warped in his hand, finally becoming a vicious-looking bone staff that radiated an evil aura!

"No!" Chen Mo roared in his dream, but his throat felt as though it were clogged with mud, and he couldn't make a sound.

The scene abruptly changed, revealing Aili!

The girl seemed to still be running, but she could never get far. No matter how she moved her legs, she remained in the same place. She ran and ran, then Aili suddenly looked back with a sweet smile. "Brother Mo, you've become so capable. I can't escape, I just can't."

Then came Little Eleven. The scout's face was twisted as he roared and lunged like a crazed beast. The short crossbow in his hand rattled like a machine gun, firing a sky full of bolts and turning himself into a pincushion...

"Hah!!!"

Chen Mo shot upright from the nightmare, his clothes soaked through with sweat, his heart pounding so hard it felt ready to burst.

He reached beneath his pillow and gripped the pistol, warm from being tucked there. Its familiar metallic feel and reassuring weight acted like a powerful sedative, slowly calming his racing heart and taut nerves.

He pulled open the window covering. Seeing that dawn was about to break in the east, Chen Mo got up, packed his belongings one by one, and washed up briefly. Taking the woodenly silent Little White with him, he arrived early at the floating airship boarding point.

It was a crude platform made from enormous logs in a corner of the camp.

Then he heard news that struck him like a bolt from the blue.

No tickets were being sold to the public for this airship.

This wasn't like a high-speed train in Xia State, where missing one meant another would come along in a few dozen minutes.

The floating airship usually departed from White Stone Outpost on the other side of the Dark Forest at the beginning of each month. In good weather, it took six to eight days to reach Six-Leaf Woodland, where it docked for about a week before setting off again.

A round trip, including flight and docking time, took nearly a month. If he couldn't leave, wasn't he as good as dead?

Chen Mo tried to make his wishes known with words and gestures, but the scrawny little gnome across from him paid him no attention. He simply fiddled with a mechanical part of unknown purpose in his wrinkled hands, saying nothing.

The distant buzz of voices, the creaking of ropes tightening as the airship's gasbags swayed, the low mechanical hum of the core warming up... They pricked at Chen Mo's anxious nerves like countless tiny, crisscrossing needles.

Irritation spread through the otherwise beautiful morning like a thick, invisible fog.

Chapter 17: The Crazy Ticket

Chen Mo tried offering more money.

The little centaur guide had said that the going rate for a ticket to White Stone was two silver coins, or an equivalent value in furs, ore, or anything else that caught the gnomes' fancy.

Paying more was the most direct method he could think of, and it seemed to be his only option.

Chen Mo took out his heavy money pouch and stacked the silver coins one by one on the greasy wooden table in front of the gnome, each clearly visible and landing with a crisp clink.

Three, four, five... With each coin he added, the gnome's fingers curled almost imperceptibly.

There were plenty of wanderers and adventurers coming and going not far away in the camp. As the shining silver on the table piled higher, covetous, vulture-like gazes began to cling to Chen Mo's back, but he couldn't worry about that now. He continued piling up his stakes, betting everything on this.

Clink, clink! In the end, seventeen silver coins formed a small stack. Chen Mo tipped all the remaining copper coins from his pouch onto the table, where the brass-colored coins bounced and spun with a clamor that was both pleasant and piercing.

The sound seemed to hit the gnome's sweet spot, and a greedy light flickered in his eyes. But after only a few seconds, he closed his eyes with difficulty, even painfully, and shook his head firmly.

Chen Mo turned to look at the centaur guards standing nearby. The big fellows, each at least two and a half meters tall, were looking down at him. That was enough to make him resist the urge to pull out his gun and press it against the gnome's little head.

"It's no use, kid!" a slightly teasing voice called out.

"Cloudmist Territory booked this airship. Even if you gave him a gold coin, he wouldn't dare let you aboard!"

Chen Mo looked toward the voice. A group was making its way through the somewhat chaotic dock area toward the boarding ramp. Their fine clothes and orderly steps made them stand out among the travel-worn adventurers with their mismatched gear.

It was the noble-looking party that had treated him last night. No wonder they were wealthy enough to charter the entire floating airship.

For other adventurers, provoking such a visibly "luxurious" party would hardly be wise. At worst, they could wait a little longer and find some extra income around the Dark Forest in the meantime.

But for Chen Mo, this was a matter of life and death.

His gaze swept quickly over the party, soon settling on Captain Peiwen, the man who had dealt with Little Kajia last night and was evidently responsible for the group's external affairs.

"Excuse me... Mr. Swordsman! We met yesterday!" Chen Mo raised his voice. "Thank you for treating me last night! Thank you very much!"

"I have an extremely urgent matter and must take the airship to White Stone immediately! Could you... could you spare me a corner aboard? I promise I won't cause any of you any trouble!"

His shouts successfully drew the attention of the entire Cloudmist Territory party.

"Huh? It's yesterday's little skeleton again!"

Today, Commandery Princess Liushuang wore a well-fitted, light-blue swordsman's outfit styled like hunting clothes. Her hair was neatly tied in a ponytail, brought around her slender neck, and fastened at her chest with a small, exquisite silver clasp patterned with clouds.

Cloud and mist patterns embroidered in silver thread wound from her shoulders to her cuffs. A belt drew in her elegant waist, and her close-fitting riding breeches were tucked into knee-high leather boots. She looked spirited and heroic, a completely different person from the muddleheaded girl of last night.

She blinked her large eyes and looked excitedly at Chen Mo and Little White, who stood quietly beside him. "Why don't we take him along? He looks rather pitiful, and his skeleton is so interesting!"

"Your dear Highness," Lady Linda said, immediately stepping forward to stop the excited young lady.

"Please put aside your curiosity and kindness. A necromancer of unknown origin is hardly an ideal traveling companion."

"Captain Peiwen, please politely refuse him."

"Ah... all right..." Liushuang tossed her hair helplessly and muttered, "Then... when we get to Azure Mist City, could you find me a summoner who can summon skeletons to play with...?"

"Your dear Highness," Lady Linda said with a hint of helpless indulgence, "if the Marquis knew you were so fascinated by skeletons, I imagine he would be very, very displeased."

The young lady chattered and bickered with her attendant, while Captain Peiwen smilingly refused Chen Mo's offer of more money. Even when Chen Mo appealed to both his emotions and reason, the high-ranking swordsman merely shook his head and turned to board.

"Captain, sir, would it be possible if I added these?"

Chen Mo took two pressed pieces of pure gold from his robes.

Captain Peiwen paused and looked at the gold pieces, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

With the discerning eye of a high-ranking swordsman, he could naturally tell that the gold in the man's hand was exceptionally pure. Added to the silver and copper coins he had already emptied from his pouch, it was unusual in itself for a necromancer traveling alone to carry so much wealth.

In an instant, Peiwen imagined a long string of melodramatic stories.

Unfortunately, no matter how much the man offered, he couldn't allow even the slightest additional risk to his lady.

Out of respect for the status such wealth represented, Captain Peiwen prepared to refuse a little more politely.

Then something on the thin pieces of gold caught his eye.

A dozen seconds later, Old Locke, the healer and alchemist, arrived. The old man narrowed his eyes and carefully examined the designs on the pressed gold pieces from every angle in the sunlight.

It was a dragon baring its fangs and claws-a five-clawed golden dragon.

On such a small piece of gold, every scale, every strand of whisker and hair, and every claw was clearly visible.

There were even clusters of frosted cloud patterns behind it.

The gold piece itself was valuable, but not enough to move a master of Old Locke's caliber. A craftsman capable of carving such a design, however, was rarer than a master.

What was more, the designs on the two gold pieces were identical. Even when Old Locke stared so hard his eyes nearly watered, he couldn't find a single flaw.

Laser nanoscale engraving allowed no deviation whatsoever.

"Are you sure you want to exchange these for a ticket?"

"Yes, yes! I'm sure!" Chen Mo saw a glimmer of hope.

"Wait a moment."

Master Locke clutched the two pressed gold pieces tightly, went over to Commandery Princess Liushuang and the chief attendant, and whispered to them for quite some time, gesticulating excitedly.

A moment later, Chen Mo received his answer: he and his skeleton, Skeleton Xiaobai, could board.

"This is your cabin. You may move freely around this area at the stern, but unless there is something important, please do not approach the forward cabin."

"That includes your summon!"

"If you need anything, you may call an attendant aboard."

The other party had thoughtfully marked a conspicuous dividing line on the ship. The exceptionally valuable items Chen Mo had offered had led them to accept sharing the airship, but had also made the party deeply wary of him.

Chen Mo didn't mind at all. He was already perfectly satisfied to be aboard, so he stayed in his cabin, gazing at Little White as Little White gazed back.

Meanwhile, in the airship's VIP cabin, Old Locke carefully held the two gold pieces and excitedly explained their extraordinary qualities to Commandery Princess Liushuang and Lady Linda.

"I've never seen such craftsmanship. These two identical designs give me the impression that they were replicated by some kind of magic."

"But magical replication is terribly crude. It could never achieve this kind of precision."

"The details are too perfect. This is a top-tier gift. Present it to any lord, and the reward would be far more than mere wealth."

"Also, this design is very unusual."

"It looks a little like those big creatures in Crimson Tide Bay, but it has no wings, has five claws, and can fly through the air. It doesn't match the appearance of any creature we know, or even the natural laws governing the growth of living things."

"So I'm inclined to believe it's a totem."

"A totem from some ancient family or tribe. Only then would someone go to such lengths to carve it on an expensive metal as a symbol of inheritance."

Chapter 18: Floating Airship, All the Way South

Powerful monsoon winds howled across the Dark Forest, sending the endless treetops rolling back and forth like waves. A few birds of prey swept past the mountains, glanced up at the great black shape in the sky, and instinctively beat their wings and deftly changed direction.

All living creatures had an instinct to seek good fortune and avoid danger.

The enormous floating airship was a full twenty meters long, with two spindle-shaped gasbags, one at the front and one at the back, and a two-level cabin suspended beneath them.

The upper cabin was small and elegant, like a ship's bridge. It housed the airship's cockpit and a VIP section with only three lounges. The lower level was a broad, open deck, with several enclosed standard cabins along its outer edge and the remaining space designed as one large communal sleeping area.

During this time, Chen Mo stayed obediently near his cabin at the stern, leaning against the airship's railing and looking down at the vast mountains and forests below.

According to the large mercenary next door, deep in this forest lived "those pointy-ears," long isolated from the outside world in communities of their own. The thought filled Chen Mo with longing.

As for the central figure of the other party, the girl who seemed to be the center of everyone's attention was probably in the VIP cabin on the upper level. Chen Mo hadn't seen her once, which he found a little regrettable.

She was a beauty, after all. Who didn't like looking at one?