Chapter 183 - 180: Newbies Joining the Pit
Cui Ying and Mo Shaoge were not immediately taken to see Qin Xiaoxia.
After they were transferred via the power of the Secret Realm, Su Su had them rest for a night in a hotel in Qingzhen. It was the middle of the night, after all, and she worried they might wake Qin Xiaoxia.
On the second day, despite having a high opinion of Dawn and being mentally prepared to remain calm no matter what they saw, they were left in a daze from the moment they entered the Secret Realm.
All around them were Demonized Plants that seemed alive, small flowers that fluttered through the air like butterflies, and the air was filled with a fresh floral fragrance and magical streams of light.
Half the water of a nearby river floated in the air, as if defying gravity, while in the distance, a colossal Crystal Jungle shimmered faintly.
Without revealing its more terrifying aspects, the Secret Realm felt like a waking dream.
Although the silhouettes of modern buildings could be seen in the distance, this place definitely couldn’t be on the edge of town. Otherwise, visitors would have overrun it long ago, and the Special Security Team wouldn’t have to go to so much trouble.
SPLASH!
A spray of water suddenly erupted from the river, and the figure of the Red Demoness leaped out. Her fiery red hair and graceful silhouette, veiled by a curtain of water, mesmerized Su Su, Cui Ying, and even Mo Shaoge.
"Hehe... Su Su, so these are Cui Ying and Mo Shaoge?"
As she spoke, the curtain of water fell away, revealing the Red Demoness, who regarded them with curiosity.
’A constitution as strange as Cui Ying’s... she’d never seen anything like it. Neither Doudou nor Mumu had ever heard of such a thing. And if it was all just luck, the odds were absurd.’
’After all, genuine anomalies were rare in Earth’s current environment.’
"Hello there! I’m the Red Demoness, a Cursed Sea Siren from the Gorgeous Sea Shore in the Magson World over a hundred thousand years ago. I was recently revived by the Master Sage, Dawn’s current Wand-Holding Sage. Hahaha, it’s so nice to meet new friends!"
The Red Demoness gestured as if to shake their hands. As her pale arm and delicate, slender fingers reached out, not just Mo Shaoge, but even Cui Ying felt herself being enchanted.
But Su Su immediately stepped between them.
"Don’t, don’t, don’t! You really shouldn’t shake Sister Hong’s hand. Although she doesn’t mean any harm, without Magic Power to counteract it, you’ll be utterly enchanted and unable to pull away. And you two are a couple, aren’t you?"
"Oh, my apologies, I forgot. Master Sage warned me about that. It’s just, it’s pretty rare to have ordinary humans show up here with no powers at all, you know? Heh."
The Red Demoness tilted her head, smiled at them, and even playfully stuck her tongue out—a gesture she’d recently learned.
Cui Ying and Mo Shaoge exchanged a look. The implications of phrases like "over a hundred thousand years ago," "Cursed Sea Siren," and "revived" were almost impossible to fathom.
From the look in Cui Ying’s and Mo Shaoge’s eyes, Su Su decided it would be best to lead them away sooner rather than later.
"Sister Hong, is Mentor in?"
"He is, he is! He’s researching armaments with the Artisans. They’re trying to recreate the Association’s lost sacred armaments. Let’s go find him together!"
Several strands of her red hair danced forward, presenting three or four plump fish.
"Look! We have to get your Mentor to cook today. I’ve discovered his food is way tastier than Doudou’s, you know!"
The Red Demoness wore a mysterious expression, as if letting them in on a top-secret discovery.
’Just about any living person can cook better than Doudou!’
Sometimes Su Su was genuinely impressed that the Red Demoness could stomach the things Doudou cooked. After all, even Doudou could rarely manage to eat a whole bite of his own creations.
Sun Monkey shivered nearby, as if seized by a terrible memory.
Once, after watching Sun Wukong eat one of Doudou’s furry, roasted rat-cakes, an idle Qin Xiaoxia had smilingly asked him a question.
He asked if Wukong would rather have his neck snapped by a Demon again, or eat Doudou’s cooking. Wukong agonized over the choice for a good while.
He never gave an answer, but the very fact that he had to hesitate proved the two options were equally terrifying.
"Sister Hong, will we be disturbing Mentor if we go over now?"
"What’s there to disturb? It’s not like they can finish in such a short time. Those Artisans are absolutely world-class when it comes to shaping and carving, but they aren’t very good at forging!"
She remembered they were the ones who had sculpted the Statue of Comir, which had been the basis for her new body. She’d been very satisfied with their work, so the Red Demoness truly considered South Wind and the others to be master-level artisans.
In a spacious hall, Sheepskin Scrolls carpeted the floor, and a beam of light focused on each one.
Several people were scattered about, studying them and occasionally making notes.
The most conspicuous among them was a man with salt-and-pepper hair, dressed in simple, casual white attire. With an occasional wave, a Sheepskin Scroll would fly over to him.
"You’re here."
Qin Xiaoxia’s eyes first fell upon the Monkey that bounded in, then on Su Su and the others behind it.
"The fact that you came shows you are ready to join us. On behalf of the devoted members of our association, welcome."
His voice was gentle and reassuring, his gaze filled with gratification and encouragement. When he stood, his frame wasn’t imposing, but he had a presence that was impossible to ignore.
’So this is the Master Sage of the Dawn Association?’
He was calm and serene, making no effort to display his authority or cultivate an air of mystery.
They noticed the silver threads in his hair and wondered if they were from age or from exhaustion.
The subsequent interaction was not as grand and lofty as they had imagined. It was just a meal and a heart-to-heart talk, and the Master Sage had even cooked it himself.
This did much to dispel their nervousness and anxiety, and it also made them realize their own misconceptions.
’That’s right. It’s precisely because they know the darkness and fight within it that the people of Dawn long for the light more than anyone. They cherish a peaceful life all the more.’
They didn’t need to deliberately show off their power, because it was something they already possessed—the very power they used to maintain peace.
’And would a person of the Master Sage’s status need to put on airs for two nobodies like us? Does he need to have ’I’m very powerful’ written on his face?’
In their hearts, Cui Ying and Mo Shaoge scoffed at their own foolishness.
During the conversation, they learned about Dawn’s decline, but also about its tenacity. Under the leadership of this generation’s Wand-Holding Sage, it had begun a race to recover against the Dark Tide.
It was an organization rebuilding from ruins, yet it was vibrant and full of promise.
However, their newfound peace of mind didn’t last long, as they were soon daunted by the responsibilities about to be placed upon them.
Cui Ying hadn’t expected the Master Sage to place so much importance on her. He wanted her to take charge of organizing a portion of Dawn’s intelligence, and even to act as a Demon Hunter in the future, once sufficient protective measures were in place.
Furthermore, she was to take on a portion of the duties of the future "Dawn’s Spokesperson."
He would even help their editorial office find a larger, better location in Shen City and have it renovated into a branch Secret Realm.
Cui Ying was mentally prepared for the work of a Demon Hunter. After all, with her unique constitution, she could help Dawn find Demons more easily. But organizing intelligence and acting as a spokesperson... those were truly heavy burdens, even if she was only responsible for a portion of the work.
At the same time, however, she was secretly overjoyed—overjoyed at being acknowledged, and overjoyed that she wouldn’t have to go out of her way to ask for help for her colleagues at the editorial office.
Mo Shaoge, for his part, was inwardly shocked. The Master Sage actually wanted him to be Sun Wukong’s Martial Techniques instructor.
Though this Sun Wukong wasn’t the Sun Wukong of legend, based on Sun Monkey’s earlier words, it was hard not to connect him to the historical Monkey King. It was almost certain that the original had also risen from the ranks of Dawn.
’If this Monkey King grows up, it would be like the legend of the Beautiful Monkey King, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, is being revived and continued! And even if I’m insignificant, I’d still get to be a teacher to the Great Sage Equal to Heaven!’
Especially since this Monkey King already had hints of the Great Saint about him, revealing an uncanny spiritual resemblance.
Then again, while they might have tried to refuse before, after witnessing that look into the past... no matter the difficulty, could it be harder than what the original Nine Great Sages endured? Could any burden be heavier than the despair of the Darkest Hour?
Besides, they both had their pride and a certain amount of self-confidence. They truly believed they could rise to the occasion if they studied hard. The Master Sage had acknowledged them; if even they didn’t believe in themselves, then they truly weren’t worthy of joining Dawn.
Sun Monkey was the most overjoyed of all. He couldn’t even wait for lunch to be over before he dragged Mo Shaoge outside to start training.
Though the Monkey would certainly want to use a staff like his idol, Mo Shaoge wasn’t just an expert with the sword—he knew his way around staves as well. As the saying goes, "the master opens the door, but the student must enter on their own." Mo Shaoge was more than qualified to teach the Monkey the basics. And as for the principles of Martial Techniques, since they are all interconnected, there was no need to worry.
Cui Ying, on the other hand, said her temporary goodbyes. She was returning to the "Where the Nightingale Flies" editorial office in Shen City to review the piece titled "Darkest Hour" and to deliver the good news.
PS: Second Chapter for Friday.