Embers Ad Infinitum

Shang Jianyao locked eyes with Zhao Shouren and stroked his chin as he asked, “They might not be strangers. What outsiders went over in the past few months?”

“None. Apart from a few merchants selling daily necessities who come regularly, there were no outsiders.” Zhao Shouren shook his head again. He paused and asked in confusion, “Why are you asking?”

“Gossip is part of human nature,” Shang Jianyao replied sincerely.

“What? Gossip?” Zhao Shouren clearly didn’t know what this term meant.

As Shang Jianyao looked Ashlandic, they naturally used Ashlandic in their conversation.

Shang Jianyao was just about to seriously explain what gossip meant and make clarification when Zhao Shouren waved his hand and said, “Let’s stop chatting. We’ll talk outside; it’s not suitable to chat here.”

In such a small room, the steam made it difficult to breathe. The high temperature oppressed every part of the body, making one’s head spin and chest heavy—it was indeed not suitable for chatting.

Shang Jianyao politely shut his mouth and occasionally scooped a spoonful of water to pour over the red-hot stone.

The two of them quietly listened to the sizzling sounds as if they were competing to see who could last longer in such an environment.

After a while, Zhao Shouren wiped his forehead and stood up with a wobble. “I can’t take it any longer. I’ll faint if I stay any longer.”

Shang Jianyao smiled. “Let’s go out then.”

Zhao Shouren then opened the steam bathroom’s door and walked to a hot pool not far away.

Shang Jianyao followed closely behind and mimicked him. He took off the towel around his waist, slid into the water, and washed away the various sensations he got from the ‘steaming.’

In just a minute or two, Zhao Shouren stood up and switched to the cold pool beside them.

He hissed, and his expression became very warped. But as he got used to the water temperature, his facial muscles gradually relaxed, and he seemed to be energized.

Zhao Shouren took a towel and wiped his forehead. He sighed with emotion and said, “Brother, there’s no tomorrow in the Ashlands. You should enjoy it when you have to.”

Shang Jianyao also soaked himself in the cold pool. He looked around as if he found everything novel.

“You have to return to the manor in the afternoon?” he asked.

Zhao Shouren nodded. “There’s still enough time. I’ll take a nap and get someone to serve me after waking up. After that, I’ll take a shower, have lunch, and go out to shop.”

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Shang Jianyao clapped for his arrangements. At the same time, he glanced below the water surface.

Zhao Shouren coughed twice and returned to the hot pool. This time, he only soaked for a few minutes before quickly getting up and wrapping himself in his large towel.

After washing his body and changing into a bathrobe, Shang Jianyao saw the Zhao family’s steward clearly.

He was likely in his forties. He had a thin figure, thin hair, and obvious swelling around his eyes.

After leaving the male bathroom, the two of them entered a lounge. They each occupied a recliner and covered themselves with a thin blanket.

As they chatted, Zhao Shouren closed his eyes and began snoring.

Shang Jianyao turned his head to glance at him and smiled as he took out an item from his bathrobe pocket—it was a night pearl that silently emitted a green glow.

Shang Jianyao held the night pearl as his eyes gradually turned dark.

Destiny Connection!

Destiny Connection from DiMarco!

In Zhao Shouren’s Sea of Origins, Shang Jianyao’s figure appeared in a white bathrobe.

Over the shimmering sea, a faint fog filled the air. There were islands that could be vaguely seen, but Zhao Shouren’s consciousness didn’t materialize.

This was the mind world appearance of an ordinary person who hadn’t entered Star Cluster Hall and opened the corresponding door.

Shang Jianyao then split into nine and sat cross-legged in midair.

Right on the heels of that, countless waves rose high in the Sea of Origins—which was affected by Destiny Connection. All kinds of scenes expanded one after another.

The nine Shang Jianyaos began to scan through all of Zhao Shouren’s memories in the past few months. They were each in charge of a particular segment.

A few minutes later, Shang Jianyao—who had a small speaker over his shoulder—said in surprise, “Found something!”

He quickly maximized the scene.

In a room with bookshelves and tables, Zhao Shouren was reporting to a young man who looked a little like Zhao Yide but was not fat at all.

Sitting in the chair behind the young man was a person with ordinary facial features in a black trench coat. With the other bodyguards standing around him, he appeared rather special.

“Why do you think there’s a problem with him?”

“How did you determine that there are clues to be had?”

“Is he not allowed to spend big sums of money on hiring Awakened?”

Three of the other Shang Jianyaos raised their questions.

Shang Jianyao—who held a small speaker—smiled. “This is part of Jiang Baimian’s train of thought—make bold assumptions and carefully verify them. Since this person looks relatively special, let’s focus on investigating all the scenes where he appears in Zhao Shouren’s memories.”

The other eight Shang Jianyaos agreed with this.

With their combined efforts, the memories of the black-robed man were quickly found.

He was a second-generation servant born and raised in the manor. He obtained the favor of Zhao Zhengqi’s second son, Zhao Yixue, and became his personal attendant.

However, Shang Jianyao acutely realized that the man in the black trench coat was nothing like his parents. Furthermore, this couldn’t explain why he had received special treatment.

Shang Jianyao and the others carefully observed the man in the black trench coat for a while and realized that he didn’t look well. He looked rather haggard.

This reminded them of someone: The fake Father.

…

It wasn’t too difficult to obtain a car in First City. As long as one didn’t pursue a car that was produced in recent years or one that could be used for long, there were plenty of cars of all kinds for one to choose from.

However, it would be more troublesome if one added the fact that they didn’t have much money, that people hadn’t committed crimes with the car, and that it was needed under short notice. At the very least, Long Yuehong and Genava couldn’t figure out where to start.

Fortunately, their team had Bai Chen, who knew First City well.

After 10 a.m., Bai Chen led them out of Ugo Hotel and arrived at a place near the Red River in the Green Olive Zone.

This place wasn’t too far from the hotel, and it was a 20-minute walk. However, the houses were increasingly dilapidated, and the roads were even narrower.

Sometimes, when Long Yuehong and the others walked along the streets, they could touch the outer walls of the houses on both sides when they stretched out their arms. The dense electric wires above them randomly divided the sky.

Along the way, what the small team encountered the most was dirty children. The adults either went to the factory district or were busy with other matters. Only a few stayed in this area.

Long Yuehong swept his gaze across the suddenly open area in front of him and the large number of derelict cars parked inside. He asked curiously, “Is this where cars are sold?”

After Ruin Hunters towed some of the vehicles discovered in the city ruins to First City, they often didn’t have the time to find a final buyer. They would directly trade with the old car dealers.

Although they would definitely suffer a huge loss in price, it at least saved them time. Many Ruin Hunters would starve the next day if they couldn’t sell their harvests on that day.

“Yes,” Bai Chen replied with a nod.

“But we don’t have much money left…” Long Yuehong carefully reminded her.

Bai Chen looked at Genava—who was carrying a sack—and calmly said, “They provide car rental services.”

“Rent?” Long Yuehong was a little surprised.

This wasn’t a house that couldn’t be transported away. Typically, merchants lacked the Old World’s various technological means. Weren’t they afraid that they wouldn’t be able to retrieve the vehicle after renting it out?

As they spoke, the three of them entered the dilapidated bungalow beside the parking lot and saw a few Red Coasters with dark-brown hair chatting behind a wooden platform.

“We’re here to rent a car,” Bai Chen said without waiting for the people to ask for the reason.

“We can only determine the price after you choose a car,” replied the tallest Red Coaster, who was still shorter than Long Yuehong. He then emphasized, “We also need collateral; otherwise, we’ll suffer a loss if you drive the car out of the city and never return.”

Bai Chen didn’t say anything and pointed at Genava.

Ah, we are mortgaging Old Ge here? This thought flashed across Long Yuehong’s mind.

The next second, Genava placed the sack on his back in front of him and took out the Death rocket launcher.

“Is this okay?” Bai Chen asked.

After exchanging looks with his companions, the Red Coaster in charge of receiving the small team nodded and said, “Sure.”

Such a heavy weapon was enough to exchange for an Old World car.

“Don’t lose it. We still have similar weapons,” Bai Chen warned calmly. “And we’ll soon replace them with other collateral.”

“Alright.” The Red Coaster hurriedly nodded.

The team quickly selected the vehicle they needed. It was a squarish, gray SUV. There were traces of after-repairs in some areas.

After signing a contract priced at 2 Oray a day, Bai Chen drove back to Ugo Hotel.

Due to the fact that some roads were very narrow on foot, making it impossible for cars to pass directly, she had to make a detour.

This allowed them to pass through First City’s West Port.

Ships that went up and down the Red River were docked there, where supplies were either being loaded or unloaded.

At this moment, Long Yuehong heard a few long wolf howls from the streets near the harbor. “Howl!”

These cries weren’t shrill or fierce, and they didn’t sound like real wolves. Instead, they sounded sad and indescribable.

“That’s?” Long Yuehong turned to look at Bai Chen. He felt uncomfortable hearing this.

Bai Chen looked ahead and said, “Ashlandic prostitutes.”

“Huh?” Long Yuehong and Genava couldn’t understand how this had anything to do with the howls.

Bai Chen’s gaze remained fixated at the end of the road as she said in an unchanging tone, “They were captured as slaves and were picked by the brothels. Nobody teaches them the Red River language, so they can only simulate the howling of a female wolf to attract passing clients and the sailors at the harbor. In First City, they are called She-Wolves.”

Long Yuehong opened his mouth but didn’t say anything.