In the dark room, the door and windows were tightly locked. Most importantly, my hands and feet were bound, and my mouth was gagged with a cloth. I could only squirm like a worm. It seemed futile to cry for help now.
Of course, if that were the only problem, it would be fine. After all, I had been caught before.
The real problem was...
Thump, thump, thump.
Dragon's acute hearing allowed her to hear her own heart beating uncontrollably, even through her clothes and flesh. It was as chaotic as a mischievous child playing the piano recklessly.
It was not common to encounter such a dangerous presence in the world, but unfortunately, it seemed that that was exactly what was happening right now.
It was an entity called the Predator, and Dragon was probably its prey... or even just its food.
Dangerous.
Feeling the cold, venomous gaze of the viper, Aya felt goosebumps all over her body and could only shrink back as much as possible.
Why did things end up like this?
...
As the sun set in the west, the sky grew darker. The clear sky turned into a canvas of gradients, ranging from orange-red to gray-blue, with a few wisps of clouds as embellishments, casting shadows on the sky.
Unlike the serene and distant scenery in the sky, the bustling city of Beacon's Beacon came alive as the night fell, with a greater flow of people than usual.
Today, both tourists and locals took to the streets, as the merchant guild of Beacon's Beacon had reached an agreement with the authorities to temporarily rent the entire street from the main city gate to the port for a festival.
A spacious avenue, several kilometers long, wide enough for eight carriages to pass side by side, had been transformed into a night market venue with booths lining both sides of the street. Thanks to the natural advantage of being a port city, there might not be a larger night market in the entire kingdom.
To prepare for such a large-scale night market, cargo ships from around the world had been docking at the port since three days ago. There were even several flat-bottomed sand ships with distinctly different styles, belonging to the Easterners who had traveled a long way—a fleet in its own right.
Although there was an increasing frequency of communication between the East and West continents, the inherent differences in appearance and cultural distinctiveness made it rare to see so many Eastern merchant ships in the Western continent, particularly those with black hair and black eyes. Even with trade, it was difficult to encounter such a large number of Eastern merchant ships.
As for why there were so many today, it was obviously because they were here to prepare for tonight's festival and the night market called the "Qi Qiao Market".
Today was a festival known as "Qi Qiao" or "Qixi" in the Eastern continent.
The origins of this festival had many explanations. Originally, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, Eastern women would put fruits and melons on display in their courtyards, and in a symbolic way, puncture seven needles into the back of their clothes, praying to the stars for dexterity. Eventually, this evolved into the sale of Qi Qiao items in the Qi Qiao Market.
However, not many people remembered this anymore, as a story about a certain "Cowherd and Weaver Girl" emerged, turning Qi Qiao Festival into a Valentine's Day-like occasion, and the Qi Qiao Market transformed from a simple sale of Qi Qiao items into a grand night market celebration.
With the expansion of trade routes and the communication between the East and West continents, the Qi Qiao Festival from the Eastern continent had spread to the Western continent. Coincidentally, there was no existing "Valentine's Day" in the Western continent, and the arrival of this festival from a different continent instilled a sense of mystery among Westerners, thus leading to its popularity.
This was not the first Qi Qiao Market in Beacon's Beacon, and each time, it grew larger and more popular. Eventually, even some local Easterners came specifically to experience the Qi Qiao Market, which blended two distinct cultures that were worlds apart.
Of course, there are more tourists from Western countries and locals.
"Senior Aya! This is so delicious wuu wuu..."
"Swallow before speaking, hey, you're ruining Angel's image..."
"Mommy, Chirp wants to eat too!"
"Good girl, this is not good for your teeth, can you wait until you're a bit older... hey, don't cry! Buy buy buy! Can't we buy it?!"
In front of a nougat stall, Aya hurriedly comforted Chirp, who was about to cry with a pouting mouth, while taking out a silver coin and throwing it to the vendor, then got a small bag of freshly made nougat.
Seeing Chirp happily opening the bag and putting a piece of candy into her mouth, Aya's expression became complicated. Just a second ago, this child was about to cry, her ability to change moods rivals Tiran, and given time, she might become a menace like Princess.
Beside them, little Angel was calmly watching them, silent and seemingly back to her cold demeanor when she first came down to the mortal realm.
But if you looked closely, you would notice a faint flush on Angel's cheeks, and her cheekbones moved slightly, as if she was chewing something.
"Xiao Feizi?"
"..." Uncharacteristically, Angel didn't respond and turned her head away.
Glancing at the empty bag that Angel was trying hard to stuff into her pocket, Aya sighed, "I told you to swallow it... is it stuck in your teeth?"
After a stubborn pause of less than three seconds, Angel reluctantly nodded.
"Well, just keep it stuck then, I can't do anything about it." Aya spread her hands, "See, Chirp? Eat slowly, don't swallow it all at once..."
When Aya turned her head, she noticed Chirp was also puffing up her cheeks and looking at her with big eyes, holding an empty paper bag. Aya could almost hear the sound of her heart seizing.
Are you two sent by the goddess to mess with me, the ultimate clown?!
The shopkeeper from the Eastern continent, watching the three girls in front of him as if it were a show, sighed deeply and prepared another small bag of nougat, which he handed to Aya with an expectant look.
"Take it, it's free."
Hey! What's your deal! Why are you looking at me with such expectation! Do you think I'll just gulp it down like these two idiots?!
Leaving the stall, Aya looked at little Angel and Chirp, each holding one of her hands, and felt a sense of melancholy for some reason. Me, the mighty Serpent Dragon, here with children, and then looking at the one on my left, the Heaven's Incandescent Angel, and the one on my right, the precious relic of the ancient magitech civilization, they all look like **...
After strolling for a while, Aya bought sugarcane juice from a nearby stall and used all her strength to finally help Angel and Chirp swallow the nougat in their mouths.
"Phew, I thought I was going to die..."
Little Angel held the bamboo tube containing the sugarcane juice, panting with a straw in her mouth, with an expression of lingering fear.
"Chirp..."
"If only we knew it would end up like this..." Aya sat wearily on a bench and lost her focus while staring at the passing crowd. When she turned her head, she found that the two little ones had disappeared again.
Fortunately, she had set the magic mark in advance, and it didn't take long for Aya to find them easily.
But when she found their figures, they were running towards another stall.
Above was written in Eastern script, and below it was the translation in Western language: Taffy.
"Don't go! Come back!" Aya shouted like she had seen an abyss.
...
In the end, it was only by offering to buy fireworks that she managed to pull them back. Aya didn't want a repeat of what happened before. Chirp could be excused, but Angel, who had lived for hundreds of years as an Angel, acted like a child!
"Because I've never seen those things before..."
Little Angel felt wronged.
"Chirp, Mommy, are fireworks the kind that can make the whole sky colorful like they write in books?"
"Um... if you buy them yourself, it's probably hard to achieve that effect... But if you want to see, there is a fireworks display later in the evening, around 8:30. It might take a while, so why don't we go see the wishing tree first?"
Aya suggested.
"Wishing? Can't we just pray to the Goddess for something like that?" Little Angel frowned and shook her head in refusal.
"It's just for fun. Besides, it won't really come true," Aya shrugged. "I brought you here to experience the festive atmosphere of the mortal world, and this is part of it."
There were a total of three wishing trees along the street, with intertwined roots. They were old trees transplanted from elsewhere, not only tall and strong, but also lush with branches and leaves that could hold many little pieces of paper for wishes.
Aya went directly to the largest tree in the middle and squeezed into the crowd to buy three pieces of paper and an ink pen.
"That should do it." Little Angel wrote reluctantly. Aya glanced at the wish written on the piece of paper... "May the glory of the goddess last forever." Well, Little Angel was truly Little Angel in this regard.
"Chirp, are you done?" Chirp handed her finished piece of paper to Aya to hang on the tree. Aya curiously asked what Chirp's wish for the Tanabata festival was.
Curious about what her own daughter would wish for, Aya casually asked when she took the piece of paper.
"I hope Mommy and Daddy will always be together." Chirp tilted her head cutely and thought for a moment before saying.
"That's a bit..." Aya's expression turned annoyed. It had been so long, she herself had almost forgotten.
She was brought back by that jerk Tiran and made a deal at the beginning. After a year, Tiran would release her from the contract and set her free. And now it was already August, leaving only three months until the promised time.
Initially, Aya naturally wanted to get rid of the contract as soon as possible, but as time went on and after going through so many things with that foolish princess to save her daughter, she didn't seem so eager for the contract to be released.
Rather, it might be a bit difficult to adjust without the contract. After all, after losing the contract, she and Tiran no longer had the master-servant relationship, and it seemed like they had no other connection.
Thinking about this, Aya walked to the tree and hung the three pieces of paper on its branches.
Just then, a breeze blew and turned Chirp's piece of paper around, exposing the side with the written wish to Aya's view.
"I want to see Mommy and Daddy doing naughty things tonight."
... WTF
Is this what you mean by wanting Mommy and Daddy to always be together?!!!
Aya hesitated whether to hang this thing up or not.
After thinking about it, she decided to let it go. After all, it's just as she said, just for fun. Hang it up, who's afraid of whom?
