Night Journey

Chapter 107 A History Riddled with Holes

After half a month of salvage and purification, the bodies piled up on the Huahe River were finally cleared away.

The river surface became clear, and as always, it was covered with flowers. But this time, no citizens were admiring them nearby, and no couples were dating there.

No one can be sure whether a severed limb or the filthy blood of sin is hidden in the soil beneath their feet.

The horrific scene of that day has been deeply ingrained in the minds of the citizens, like an urban legend, and they privately call it the River of Blood or the River of Corpses.

To avoid panic among the citizens and to maintain public order, the city council would certainly not admit that there is a chaotic lair hidden deep beneath the city of Hel... and perhaps more than one.

Under pressure from all sides and through the media's various artful maneuvers, the truth has been distorted beyond recognition, resembling an impatient and perfunctory response.

Some citizens accepted the lies told by the city council, while others remained skeptical, protesting endlessly and spreading various conspiracy theories, even though some of their guesses were correct.

The city of Hull became increasingly turbulent. Sheriffs worked overtime to patrol the streets and prevent riots from breaking out. The curfew, which had just ended, was reinstated, and an atmosphere of unease permeated the streets and alleys.

However, none of this had much to do with Cirion.

Despite the tense atmosphere in the city-state, Ciri still appeared relaxed and carefree.

"Come to think of it, I'm an adult now."

Cillian stood in front of the mirror and muttered to himself.

From the destruction of the vertical farm to Tania's complete death, Cillian lived out his coming-of-age ceremony in its entirety.

Cillian is no longer a child, but a grown-up.

Upon realizing this, a memory from the past involuntarily surfaced in Cillian's mind.

Young Mick once asked a question innocently.

"What exactly defines an adult?"

Tim patted his arm and said.

"When you grow up to be as strong as me."

Ava stroked Mick's blond hair and explained.

"When you are no longer naive and are full of responsibility."

Cillian gave a very standard answer.

"When you reach a certain age, you become an adult."

Finally, the question came to Nunn, who didn't offer any grand pronouncements or paint a picture of the future.

Nunn simply squatted down, straightened Mick's collar, and combed his messy hair.

"When your collar is straight, your back is upright, and even when death is close at hand, you still look as dignified as if you were going to a wonderful date, then you have become an adult."

So much for the memories.

Cillian examined himself in the mirror, straightened his back, his clothes were neatly arranged, a sunflower brooch was pinned to his chest, and his hair was combed meticulously, making him look like a serious and important person.

"What do you think, Bruce?"

Bruce turned his head, glanced at Cillian in the glasses, and commented.

"Not bad, looks like a respectable person."

"That's good."

Cillian wasn't sure if he was a decent person in terms of behavior and mindset, but at least he wanted to maintain a certain level of elegance in appearance.

Bruce, of course, knew about Valerie's incident and remarked with emotion.

"What, is it some unlucky guy asking you out again?"

Cillian smiled. "Does having dates necessarily mean I have to live this way? Can't this be my lifestyle?"

Bruce recalled his encounter with Cillian. In that scorching wilderness, Cillian was anything but dignified, looking as wretched as a wounded wild dog.

Thinking back to Cillian now, beneath his refined exterior lies a morbid, antisocial personality.

"..."

Bruce really didn't know what to say.

"By the way, Bruce, is that all you know about the Colossus Sleeping Lord?"

After composing himself, Cillian got down to business.

Of all the information obtained from Tania, the existence of the Giant God Sleeping Lord was undoubtedly the most important.

After the incident, Cillian told Daelin and Anya about its existence, allowing them to cross the veil of oblivion and become aware of its presence.

In their subsequent investigation, they encountered difficulties once again.

Even after searching through countless books, Cillian could not find a single description of the Sleeping Lord, as if this giant god existed only in people's memories.

Cillian asked Bruce about it without much expectation, but it turned out that Bruce knew a thing or two. "What I told you before is all I know."

Bruce wagged his tail and began to tell the story from the beginning.

"The Lord of the Destiny of Return to Silence, the Giant God, the Sleeping Lord."

Even in the distant Golden Age, the Sleeping Lord was the most mysterious and least noticeable of the many giants.

If it weren't for the inscription of the Path to Oblivion on the Bound Source Long Staircase, even the vast majority of giants would likely have been kept behind the veil of oblivion, unable to recognize the existence of the Sleeping Lord.

Bruce spoke eloquently, “However, the power of the path of returning to stillness, rather than erasing memories and forgetting the past, is more like a meme-like nihilism of existence.”

"Nullification..."

Ciri felt a sudden heaviness.

“And then…and then I don’t know anymore,” Bruce said helplessly. “If I had to say something more, I vaguely remember that the extraordinary beings who are destined for oblivion are called the illusory ones.”

Bruce suddenly fell silent, scratched his ear with his hind leg, and started spinning in circles.

“I remember…I remember…Yes, it was something.”

It started talking to itself.

Cillian pressed anxiously, "What did you remember?"

"I vaguely remember that the power of the Destiny of Return to Silence is too strange and mysterious, which caused this destiny to have a huge flaw from the very beginning. This flaw is something that even the Lord of Sleep cannot escape."

No matter how hard Bruce thought about it, he couldn't find a solution and could only keep repeating it.

"What exactly is it...?"

Cillian didn't force Bruce to continue recalling; he was already very grateful that Bruce had been able to provide this information.

"Damn it, how did I know so much... What kind of person was I in the past?"

Bruce turned his doubts back to himself, but still couldn't figure it out, so he simply lay down to the side and basked in the sun.

To some extent, Bruce has accepted his identity as a dog and has even begun to get used to and enjoy this life.

What else could Bruce do but enjoy it? He really had no other choice.

"By the way, Cillian, what's the matter with you considering?"

Bruce asked without turning his head, "You've caused such a big mess in Hull City. Once you're caught, those people in the city council definitely won't let you off the hook."

"You need to be prepared to flee Hull City at any time."

"Of course I do."

Cillian looked in the mirror one last time to make sure he had no flaws.

"Why do you think I dress so smartly?"

Bruce turned around abruptly, his gaze froze for a moment, and then shouted.

"I still want to go on my date!"

Cillian said seriously, "I just want to fully utilize my charm to facilitate subsequent transaction negotiations."

What's the difference?

"The difference is..."

Cillian, too lazy to think about it, threatened, "Bruce, don't forget, we're tied together. If something happens to me, do you think you can escape?"

Bruce came to the realization of reality in a few seconds.

For his own sake, and also for Cillian's, Bruce decided to do his part.

"Spray some more perfume, or bring a bouquet of flowers. Damn it, is there something wrong with my sense of smell? I always feel there's something bloody about you."

It circled around Ciri, sniffing around.

Cillian looked confident of victory. "Alright, is there anything else you want to say?"

"When traversing the wilderness, we can save money on the small torch array thanks to your blood, but we can't skimp on the power frame. You don't want to have the wheels stuck in a pile of corpses if we collide with a demon horde, do you?"

"Don't think that fixing cars is easy just because I'm a craftsman!"

After Bruce gave a few more instructions, Ciri, fully armed, left the house.

The streets remained noisy, with people arguing endlessly. The walls were covered with strange graffiti, the most common of which was the pale six-eyed falcon.

However, none of this had anything to do with Cillian, since he wasn't the real Reverse Falcon anyway.

"My valley, how lush and green it is!"

Cillian hummed a song as he walked away into the distance.

(End of this chapter)