Chapter 119: Underlying Currents
It was a burning night. Peiya lay in bed, turning from side to side.
She didn’t know if it was because the sleepwear felt uncomfortable, or because too many things had happened today.
In any case, her heart felt like a group of hedgehogs had rolled through it, pricking and hurting, making it impossible to sleep.
Would she regret what she said tonight?
Not really.
In fact, if she hadn’t said it, she might regret it for the rest of her life.
Maybe… she really wanted Elise to understand that she cared about her too.
Don’t do anything reckless, okay?
But such simple words, why was it so hard to say them directly?
If full score was one hundred, she would probably give tonight just a passing score.
Maybe next time would be better.
…Forget it, she was too sleepy to think anymore.
Peiya lay on the bed. She didn’t even notice when the blanket covered her during the night. She only felt something soft pass over her body, very light, like cotton candy.
She reached out and hugged the blanket, then rolled it into a ball.
Elise gently spread the blanket out again and covered Peiya properly.
After finishing, she stood in the moonlight, lightly pulling the curtains closed, leaving only a small gap.
Maybe she wanted Peiya to sleep a bit longer.
Then Elise closed the curtains fully, carefully sealing even the small gaps with extra cloth so no light could come through.
She quietly walked to the door and took one last look at the girl’s sleeping face.
With a soft click, she closed the door.
The moment the door shut, a pair of eyes slowly opened, staring at the empty ceiling, silent for a long time.
…………………………
“Move it, stop wasting time! If we delay the cargo, the bosses won’t let us off!”
At the dock, under dim lights and a rain shelter, several workers in short sleeves climbed up from the bottom of the ship, gripping the wooden boards as they struggled to reach the second level.
The wooden planks creaked under their feet.
One of them glanced down and saw iron cages being slowly moved, along with a few dark-skinned men beside them. Under the blazing sun at sea, their skin looked almost like it had been soaked in oil.
The group struggled to carry out a box.
Suddenly, someone cried out in pain.
Everyone turned to look.
Inside one of the cages, a strange creature covered in white fur, shaped like a wolf, stretched out its dirty claws and bit the man.
The worker gritted his teeth in pain, shaking his hand and shouting.
“Monster! You like biting people, huh?!”
Several workers got angry and started kicking the cage. The loud banging noises seemed to scare the creature inside.
It kept backing away, almost pressed against the edge of the cage.
The workers laughed loudly.
A middle-aged man with a dark beard walked over and kicked the white wolf-like creature hard.
The loud noise made the creature suddenly open its eyes wide. The others were still laughing, not knowing what would happen next.
The creature suddenly grabbed its head and began to howl. Under the blood-red moon, its scream was sharp and terrifying.
The people around stepped back in fear, not daring to get close. One braver man stepped forward and pointed at the creature’s head.
“Boss, has this thing gone crazy?”
“Let me punch it. It’ll behave.”
The man was about to step forward. But in the next moment, the creature suddenly rushed forward.
To everyone’s shock, it broke the cage open with brute force. In its madness, it struck people in the stomach, arms, and legs, breaking through the crowd and creating a gap. Then it ran straight into the dark night.
“What are you standing there for?! Don’t let it escape!”
The workers on the deck stamped their feet and pointed into the distance, but the others were already scared stiff, sitting on the ground.
“What… what kind of monster was that? The cage… he broke the cage?!”
“Yeah, I saw it! He tore the cage open with his bare hands. So scary… I thought he was just ugly, but he’s really a monster.”
“What exactly are we transporting? And now that he escaped, won’t we get blamed when we go back?”
“Stop thinking about useless things. First, gather the other creatures in the cages. The rest of you go report to the second boss. Just say it’s like that tiger last time, went crazy and ran off. If you’re lucky, they won’t blame you. Go, hurry.”
“O-Okay, boss…”
The workers scrambled up from the ground, not caring about the mud on the deck. They hurried down to the lower level.
Fortunately, the half-human creatures in the cages there were still calm and showed no signs of going crazy.
After what just happened, they were much more careful this time. While one person carried something, several others watched closely to make sure no creature suddenly attacked again.
After all the “cargo” was unloaded, a few people wearing leather jackets got down from a carriage in the distance. They handed out some rolled tobacco to the leading workers.
“So, any damage to the cargo?”
The man who had been shouting the loudest earlier took the tobacco, lit it with a small flint hidden in his sleeve, took a deep puff, and sighed.
“One of them went crazy and attacked the crew. Just like that stupid tiger last time, it ran off. We’ve already reported it to the second boss. Someone should be looking for it by now.”
“Fine. As long as the rest of the cargo arrived. You know what to say to the kingdom guards, right?”
“Of course. We’ll say they’re monkeys for a circus. If that doesn’t work, we’ll say they’re goods requested by the Church. There’s no way they’d refuse us passage. Just sorry to trouble you all to come here.”
“No trouble.” One of the leather-clad men cracked his knuckles. “But what about later? What if someone can’t keep their mouth shut?”
“Huh? You’re worrying too much. We’ve done this so many times already. If there’s any rule we don’t understand, please just tell us clearly. I’d be happy to learn.”
“Heh, just joking. Why would I doubt you? But recently, the boss said there might be spies from other groups among us. Be more careful. Even the Church isn’t united. If anyone asks you questions, be smart. Just because they’re from the Church doesn’t mean you should say everything. Got it?”
“Got it.”
The man shook off the ash from his cigarette and said impatiently,
“Alright, get lost.”
“Yes…”
The man returned to the carriage. A companion beside him spoke up.
“Sir William, we moved so much cargo this time. Won’t the king’s side notice? I feel like someone is already watching near the Beast Tamer Association.”
William smiled.
“Let them watch. Right now, it’s a test of who can endure longer. And I know those nobles well, compared to vague ideas like justice, money is far more convincing.”
His subordinate nodded, understanding immediately.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure those fat rats get enough payment. But I heard that old man Saines has returned. It won’t be easy for us to act.”
William chuckled.
“Doesn’t he still have a son? Saines is hard to deal with, but that’s his problem for having a foolish son. We just need to package our plan well and lure him in. Once everyone is on the same boat, even if things go wrong, Saines won’t dare act easily. As far as I know, he only has that one son.”