Ashes Of Deep Sea

If she could, she wouldn’t come back—maybe even steal a ticket to flee to Frost to dodge the bullet.

The thought of fleeing crossed Sherry’s mind, but she immediately felt as if eyes were piercing through the floorboards from the second floor onto her. She instinctively shrank her neck, “I… I’ll come to visit if I have the chance, I don’t live that far, haha, ha…”

Nina tilted her head, not sure why, but she felt Sherry’s reaction just now was a bit odd. However, she didn’t think much about it and was soon cheery again, satisfied with the promise of “visiting whenever possible.” She waved happily, turned, and ran out the door like a gust of wind, disappearing into the street outside the antique shop.

Sherry watched Nina run off like a breeze and only snapped back to her senses after a moment when she realized a figure was standing on the nearby stairs, watching her calmly.

She hurriedly turned around and bent in a bow with a politeness that was rare for her, “Good morning, Mr. Duncan!”

“You’ve become much more polite, which suits a girl your age,” Duncan said lightly, descending the stairs slowly, “Did you clear things up with Nina? You’re going home today?”

“I… clarified it,” Sherry said, her head bowed low, her voice barely audible as if afraid that the boss might retract the settled matter, “You agreed too; I can leave today.”

“Why have you become nervous again? You were fine yesterday. Does your nervousness reset every morning?” Duncan shook his head, half amused, half exasperated. He stepped forward and gently patted Sherry’s slender shoulder, “Relax, I never said I’d confine you to a particular place; it was merely an invitation to stay as a guest for two days. You can go back whenever you want—and come back whenever you wish.”

“I… I understand,” Sherry nodded repeatedly, then slightly helplessly added, “Actually, I’m not that nervous. It’s Ah Dog that’s always on edge. Whenever you’re nearby, it instinctively gets nervous, and then its nervousness transfers to me.”

“Ah Dog, huh… well, that can’t be helped. Its nervousness seems to originate from Profound Demons’ keen senses,” Duncan shrugged, then looked at Sherry, “But are you sure you don’t want to reconsider? You could stay here. The place you and Ah Dog stay doesn’t seem very comfy and it’s not safe at night either. Comparatively, this is a safe place.”

A Subspace Shadow claiming its lair was a safe place was a statement with both plausible and absurd features. Yet, after pondering for a while, Sherry found no point to argue against it (primarily due to lack of courage), thus, she ended up with a silly laugh, “Ah… aha ha… that…”

“Never mind, I was just saying; don’t dwell on it,” seeing her reaction, Duncan knew what was happening, and he waved it off, “Go if you want to go, but you know how to reach me now. If you find new leads on those Sun Cultists, remember to call me anytime.”

Sherry silently nodded.

After what felt like a dreamy two days, she had finally obtained permission to leave this place, and the chance to distance herself from this formidable presence. But when the opportunity truly arose, she suddenly found herself somewhat at a loss.

Chatting happily with a “friend,” living under the care of an “elder,” enjoying the warmth of the bedroom, the bright lights, tasty food, and a peaceful life free from the fear of nightmares and the need to hide from the guardians.

She had been permitted to leave now.

For some reason, Sherry suddenly had an absurd thought—

A bright world had briefly opened its doors to her, and now, those doors were about to be closed.

Just recently, this was what she had longed for—in fact, it still was; she was just… somewhat conflicted.

In the psychic link, she suddenly heard Agou’s low murmur, “Our lives are going to be back on track, Sherry.”

“Yes, back on track.”

Sherry murmured softly in her mind, then lifted her head, intending to say goodbye to Mr. Duncan.

But at that moment, Mr. Duncan’s expression subtly shifted.

In the depths, he sensed a flash of an aura far away, one of the marks he had left!

“Mr. Duncan?” Sherry noticed the sudden seriousness on his face and immediately became a bit nervous, “You…”

“I sensed an aura,” Mr. Duncan interrupted Sherry softly, looking into the distance, “It seems to be coming from that direction.”

Sherry was momentarily at a loss, “An aura?”

“It’s a small flame I left for that ‘little bug,'” Mr. Duncan slightly lowered his head, gazing into Sherry’s eyes, “Do you remember the umbrella-wielding assailant who attacked you at the edge of the Dreamscape?”

Sherry paused, then her eyes widened, “The fragment you sent ‘home’? But… but that was in the Dreamscape world…”

“Yes, that was an assailant that appeared in the Dreamscape,” Mr. Duncan’s voice became suggestive, “But now I’ve sensed that mark in the real world.”

Sherry stared wide-eyed. She suddenly remembered what Mr. Duncan had told her in that nightmare:

Perhaps, it was more than just a dream.

“Sherry,” Mr. Duncan’s voice suddenly came, breaking the girl’s reverie. He slightly lowered his head with a smile, “Before we head home, do you want to come scout with me one more time? Of course if you don’t…”

“I want to go!” Sherry immediately responded before he could finish, so decisively that she even startled herself. Then, as if to ease the awkwardness, she explained, “That… ‘thing’ appeared on the street after the great fire, it must be related to that fire from years ago…”

Mr. Duncan pressed on Sherry’s shoulder, “Then let’s go together.”

“How will we get there?” Sherry inhaled softly. “Are you certain of the exact location of that thing? Are we going to take the bus like last time…”

Mr. Duncan shook his head with a smile, “Now, I have a more convenient mode of transportation.”

Sherry paused, about to ask what this convenient mode of transportation was, when from the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw a shadow swoop down from the second-floor staircase, accompanied by a series of shrill, strange female voices: “To Erxianqiao, take Chenghua Avenue… Plenty of seats! Seats in the back… Seeds, beverages, mineral water! Tuck in your feet on both sides!”

The sudden appearance of the swift shadow and the strange voices startled Sherry, but once she could see what it was, her eyes widened even more than before: It was that bizarre pigeon! The pigeon that could eat nearly its own size in fries in one meal!

The next second, under Sherry’s astounded gaze, Ai Yi quickly circled in the air, and green flames rose around it. In the blink of an eye, the clumsy-looking white dove transformed into the terrifying Spiritual Body Bone Dove.

Sherry: “…?!”

Her neck stiffly turned as she seemed to want to confirm something with Mr. Duncan, but before she could speak, her vision blurred…

Amidst Ai Yi’s continuous chirping of “Plenty of seats, seats in the back,” a vortex resembling a fiery doorway flashed past, and the next second, a swift white dove burst out of the antique shop and flew straight into the distance.