Book 19: Chapter 21
The girls had heard the sound of the sea breeze for several days. The ship was a little too small for their lively natures and cheerful laughter. Their interest in the ocean soon faded. While the ends of the ocean were nowhere in sight, it was still boring. It was just a massive body of water. The ship was fast, but it was seemingly still too slow for the ocean. Though the sound of the ship tearing through the ocean waves was heard daily, they eventually found it boring. The girls were already so bored that they felt blue.
The youngster, to the contrary grew more and more eager. He went up to the watchtower and peered toward his nation every day. Of course, no matter how high he went up, all he could ever see was the blue ocean. The youngster probably already saw his homeland, the place he returned to with hope, nevertheless. Last time, the youngster’s departure almost qualified to be defined as an escape.
The closer they got to his homeland, the clearer the outline of his homeland. His confidence and hope rose as they closed in. As he said, he was akin to a ball of air that was being filled up bit by bit. He lacked courage before. He felt despair after rejection. He didn’t want to ever return again, but he was back with hope.
Liu Yue yawned. She wagged her tail back and forth behind her. She knew she wasn’t allowed to wag her tail, but there was nobody here to tell her off at the end of the day. The four sisters maintained their graceful mannerisms when they first boarded the ship, but their true personalities eventually came out. They were dressed in clothing similar to the youngster’s simple clothing for men. Ying and Tanya didn’t care what the girls wore. All they cared about was their well-being. Liu Yue still wore a skirt, but she poked a hole through the back of it, allowing her tail to hang outside. After all, it was hot and uncomfortable with it against her body.
“So bored. I wonder when we’ll arrive. I never thought it was this far. I want to get to shore already.”
Nona was also sprawled out to the side. She meekly looked at the water below and lazily replied, “Yeah. I agree. I want some sweets, too.”
There was a lot of food on board, but sweets took up too much space, and they didn’t bring any since it was worthless. Moreover, the temperature was gradually rising. A summer with no ice and no cold drinks bordered on a nightmare for the four sisters.
Thanks to being close to snowy mountains in the North, the girls had ice blocks even in summer. In addition, the snowy mountains functioned as an insulator of sorts; therefore, it wasn’t very hot in the North. The heat and moist aboard frustrated the four sisters, particularly Liu Yue. Her fox fur was moist.
“Fuu…”
They heard the sound of a door open and a cool breeze. Daisy came out wearing a simple camisole. She couldn’t offer the noble view that Nona could; but nevertheless, she had decent goods. Her assets perked up her black camisole, while the droplets of sweat on her collarbones would stir a man’s urge to commit a crime. She tied her hair into a simple ponytail, thereby revealing her neck. She gulped down a glass of water. The sword at her waist had just been used.
“I feel so happy after being freed from sea sickness,” commented Daisy.
An aforementioned statement required an amendment. The four sisters weren’t bored. It should be three sisters were bored, while one had yet to enter their mode. Said sister was Daisy, who had just recovered. She was literally reborn. She was in a fabulous mood, therefore lively. Her three sisters considered the view of the ocean a scene they’d been looking at for ages, but it was Daisy’s first time seeing it, and she was evidently livelier. Consequently, lively Daisy became her three sisters’ nightmare…
The three sisters were so bored they didn’t want to move, so they were in no mood to play with Daisy. Having nowhere to expend her energy, Daisy asked practiced her swordplay with either Ying or Tanya daily. She was the only one who could find the motivation to train in the heat.
“Please, can you please stop coming close to me. I’m as hot as can be already. Seeing you only makes me feel hotter,” whined Liu Yue.
Seeing Daisy was comparable to seeing a plague to Liu Yue. She took two steps back to maintain a distance from her youngest elder sister. Daisy giggled, and then tightly hugged her sister. She rubbed all of her sweat onto her sister. Liu Yue shrieked and tried to push her sister away, but Daisy wouldn’t let her have her way, especially since she recovered her energy.
Daisy laughed. She then snuggled up: “It’s fine. It’s fine. It’s just a little hot. You’ll feel a lot better after you break a sweat. Liu Yue, you won’t feel cooler lying here. How about doing some exercise with me?”
“You know, you convincingly look as though you’re trying to seduce my young youth from me. Unfortunately, I don’t have any energy right now. I just want to stay here alone, sunbathing and spacing out, so keep away from me. I feel all sticky with you touching me with your sweaty body. You’re a girl. Can’t you behave like one?”
Liu Yue desperately struggled free of her sisters demonic grip. Daisy released her, and then looked to Nona. Nona shuddered. It was just as her sister said. She had no motivation to move about. The once comfortable sun was mercilessly hot; hence, she couldn’t stay in her room. If it was possible, the four wanted to sleep on the deck.
The youngster strolled over from the watchtower. He froze when he saw the sisters. He quickly bowed to salute them: “Hello.”
“Oh, hello.”
Three of the sisters froze. The first to respond was Liu Yue. She had a good relationship with the youngster, relative to her sisters. At night, he’d sometimes go sit at her door, and the two would converse through the door. He never asked her to open up. Similarly, Liu Yue never opened up for him. The two enjoyed their conversations. He also told her of things she never heard of but piqued her interest, painting an exciting future Liu Yue looked forward to as well as reducing her hostility for him.
To be blunt, the youngster had no idea what to say. He was nervous when he saw the four sisters. Firstly, what happened between them couldn’t be considered friendly. Secondly, they were his saviours, so he couldn’t be rude. To just leave after being noticed would be impolite. Thus, after withholding it for a long time, he asked a very, very, very idiotic question: “Are you looking at something here?”
What else would there be to look at other than the ocean? Nothing. That was why three of the sisters looked at him as if they were looking at a moron. They soon realised he was just looking for something to say. The youngster scratched his head with a helpless smile. He had been called a block of wood that didn’t know how to socialise before, and he learnt just how pitiable his socialisation skills were. It was pointless to say anything in that situation, nonetheless. In saying that, the three sisters didn’t appear to mind. He, therefore, awkwardly stood there for two seconds then planned to leave.
“Your swordplay looks decent,” Daisy suddenly commented.
“Oh… I guess… I guess… I am a guard, after all. I can’t be too bad,” the youngster responded with a dry chuckle.
Daisy scanned the youngster. She discerned he was actually being modest. After all, he did defeat the two guards in the dungeon, indicating he could hold his own weight. Ying and Tanya were meaningless opponents to Daisy since she couldn’t defeat them no matter how she tried. As such, the only benefit she derived from them was sparring to exchange pointers. She didn’t feel the exhilaration of defeating a powerful foe.
“You ambushed me in the dungeon last time, so I don’t admit defeat to you. I hereby challenge you. At any rate, there’s nothing to do; how about a duel? We aren’t exchanging pointers but duelling. You, therefore, best be serious. You might get hurt, otherwise.”
The youngster was stunned. Daisy wasn’t tall, but her valiant aura let him know she was serious about fighting. Blades didn’t know mercy, however. How would he explain himself if an accident happened? Furthermore, getting injured would end up being a handicap once they reached the shore. Consequently, he wasn’t too keen. The young girl, however – Liu Yue in particular – nodded, hoping he’d agree. He hesitated for a bit, and then replied, “We can, but I think we better use wooden swords. It’s too dangerous with these swords. What do we do if an accident happens?”
“It’s fine. There aren’t any wooden swords on board anyway. Let’s just use our metal swords. Trust me. I’ve been training since I was young. I won’t get hurt, but I can’t guarantee the same for you.”