Chapter Forty-Seven: Those Who Leap Die Young

“Human boy, are you in a good mood?”
The story had ended and the hour was late; as Ruby silently rose to leave, Dragan suddenly spoke.

“Yes, I’ve always wanted to understand Moyuna a bit more. I think I caught a glimpse of another side of her.”

“Oh? And why do you want to understand her?”

“To analyze her patterns of behavior, so I can gain the upper hand when she tries to bully me.”

“...Do you think we should tell them that the white-haired layabout spends all day being a useless parasite?”
Dragan’s single eye widened in surprise. After a moment’s thought, he decided he didn’t want to lower his intelligence any further by continuing such a conversation with Ruby. Just thinking of those ignorant people admiring her made Dragan unhappy—after all, that white-haired troublemaker bullied the two of them for fun whenever she felt like it. The great Dragan absolutely had to find a chance to ruin her reputation.

“We’d probably get thrown out for that.”
Ruby shook his head. He was already halfway out the door when the storyteller, Huba, spoke up again.

“The storytelling session has ended, and now it’s time for the daily joke contest. Ladies and gentlemen, if you’ve heard or thought up any interesting anecdotes, do share them with me. After all, my own stories are limited, and I want to bring you something fresh every day. The grand prize today is a tier-three magic beast—the Twin-Claw Beast, imported at great expense all the way from the Tides Empire!”

At some point, a large block of ice had appeared beside Huba. Through the crystalline surface, one could clearly see a bizarre magic beast frozen within—at least a meter and a half long, with two enormous, menacing pincers.

The name “Twin-Claw Beast” rang a bell for Ruby. Sure enough, it was just a lobster from Earth, though in a world where real dragons existed, no one would ever link such a creature to them, hence the scientific-sounding name.

“These sea beasts are ferocious and hard to catch. One snap of their claws can break a grown man’s arm, but their meat is absolutely delicious. In inland empires like the Sacred Continent, only the nobility ever get to taste such delicacies.”

Huba patted the ice block. The audience was stunned by the boss’s extravagance—a Twin-Claw Beast this size would fetch at least a thousand gold coins, if not more, and yet it was being offered in exchange for a single story. Only professional storytellers could truly appreciate the allure of tales spun from words.

“Oh! This gentleman looks quite confident.”
Huba was growing disappointed as the eager audience hesitated to step forward, but then he saw a spiky-haired youth approach, clutching a stack of papers, and brightened immediately.

“I’ll take the lobster.”
Ruby handed his papers to Huba and gestured for Dragan to stash away the great block of ice. He couldn’t help but think poorly of these people from another world—their storytelling skills were truly lacking. Most were too obsessed with magic to let their imaginations soar and write novels. There was no way they could surpass the national treasure he held in his hands.

The work he presented was none other than the legendary “Journey to the West”—albeit in this world, an exotic story. Ruby had long noticed that the literary development here was rather unimpressive. In the early days, he’d planned to write something to make a living, but got distracted by other matters. Fortunately, he’d kept the manuscript safe inside Dragan all this time, and now it could finally serve its purpose. Of course, he wasn’t foolish—he only handed over the first twenty chapters, which was more than enough for this exchange.

“Wait...”
Huba’s first instinct was that this man had come to disrupt the event, but before he could call out to Ruby, his eyes were drawn to the writing on the page. Unlike the usual magic-infused paper, this sheet was far more ordinary, and the words were handwritten, perfectly legible without the need for magic.

The moment he read the title, Huba found himself unable to look away. His hands turned the pages of their own accord, and for the next several hours, no one could rouse him. He was utterly engrossed in the story, carefully reading through the first twenty chapters. By the time he came to, it was already past midnight, and the one who had presented this masterpiece had long since disappeared.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ruby! Where have you been? It’s long past dinnertime!”
When Ruby returned to the grand cathedral, he was greeted by the sight of the sorceress’s cheeks puffed in annoyance. She pointed furiously at the pitch-black sky, venting her displeasure, while beside her, Tinasha looked utterly content—as if simply being near Moyuna was enough to make her happy.

“I went to get ingredients. We’re having seafood tonight.”
A strange sense of regret welled up in Ruby’s heart. It was hard to reconcile the person before him with the great figure described by the teahouse storyteller.

“Seafood?”
Moyuna repeated the word, her eyes lighting up. She’d seen seafood listed in Dragan’s recipe book, but there was simply no way to obtain sea produce in Derys. The only aquatic creature available was Aqua—and the sorceress certainly had no desire to find out what mermaids tasted like.

“Are we cooking here?”
When it came to lobster, grilling was the obvious choice. But given the size of this beast, several cooking methods were possible. In any case, they would need a clear space.

“What do you take the Holy See for? Even if the Pope wouldn’t mind, let’s head home.”
“Home?”

“Yes, my house in the imperial capital.”
Moyuna nodded. Preoccupied with thoughts of food, she didn’t feel like walking back, so she simply grabbed Ruby’s hand and teleported them both away.

“This is your house?”
Ruby gazed in silence at the manor before him. A vast expanse of emerald lawn stretched out, with a path of glittering magic crystals leading up to the house. The building itself was only three stories tall, but its width was astonishing—there were over twenty windows lined up side by side.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that the sorceress had tricked him somehow—and done so quite thoroughly.

“Mm.”

“You said you were homeless...”

“I was. But I donated this place to His Holiness. He hasn’t made use of it yet, so staying a few days won’t matter.”

Moyuna flashed a mischievous grin at Ruby, clearly having prepared her excuse well in advance. Ruby was powerless against her.

“Ruby, come with me for a moment.”
Without giving him a chance to object, Moyuna gently took his hand and led him behind the house, where a gentle mound of earth rose from the otherwise even ground, as if something had been buried there. A bouquet of white flowers lay before the mound.

“Your teacher?”
Ruby quickly surmised the truth, and, noting the faint sorrow on Moyuna’s face, ventured a question.

“Yes. I insisted on burying her here, so at least I could see her every day... It looks like His Holiness has already been to visit.”

Moyuna bent to pull away the weeds sprouting atop the grave. As a final resting place for a saint, it was rather humble, but no one had dared oppose Moyuna’s decision at the time—no one wanted to provoke a sorceress on the brink of collapse.

“Was His Holiness close to your teacher?”

“They were childhood friends, nothing more.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------

PS: Please bookmark and recommend!
PS: Ruby—Once there was a legendary thief; now, the grass on her grave is two meters tall.
PS: Thanks to Mo Yu Xiao Mo for the 5000 coin reward, Mr. Mantou for 500, and Qiu Feng Ye Ying, Global Cold Weather, and Xiao Meng Chen for their 100 coin rewards.