Chapter 2779: Starry Night Clear Sky
The sound of the flute was as beautiful as the starry sky, seemingly adding a touch of color to the story between Xingye and Lin Qing!
Jiangnan closed his eyes, feeling the gentle whisper of the wind. Amidst the flute's melody, he listened to Lin Qing's narration:
"Me? I'm a child of the Lin Feng Clan. My parents passed away early, and I was practically raised by the neighbors. Originally, I had an older brother at home~"
"But my brother left to explore the starry sky when I was very young. He yearned for the wonders of the starry sky and often told me about the outside world. But once he left, he never came back..."
"What could a little child know about dreams? My brother's longing became my own longing!"
"I always thought about growing up quickly, then like my brother, going to the outside world. The starry sky is vast, and wherever the wind blows, that will become the distant place I will eventually reach, right?"
"Thinking back now, how foolish I was. There really are people who look forward to growing up..."
Saying this, Lin Qing laughed to herself!
"I'm not bragging, but my talent is pretty good, so my strength was decent. I quickly grew to the point where I could explore the starry sky. I was the hope of our village, you know! In their eyes, I was a celebrity!"
"I still left my hometown, following my brother's footsteps into the starry sky, wanting to witness its wonders!"
"Ahhh~ The outside world was so wonderful, so amazing! Everything I saw was new to me, fresh things I'd never seen before. It felt like every day I woke up there would be new surprises!"
"I also saw many races other than the Lin Feng Clan—all kinds of aliens. I always felt like I didn't have enough time. I wanted to go everywhere, try everything..."
Hearing this, Jiangnan couldn't help but laugh. He still remembered the shock and thrill he felt when he first entered the starry sky and saw the Thousand Stars City!
Lin Qing must have felt the same way, right?
Lin Qing smiled: "When I was little, I had no worries. As I grew up, worries multiplied. Only after stepping into the starry sky did I learn that the Lin Feng Clan was very weak—like an insignificant star among the countless stars, surviving in the cracks between the great clans!"
"I couldn't just wander around for nothing. The Lin Feng Clan raised me, so I had to give back to my family properly. But working step by step and training like a commoner—that's not the style of this Lord Lin Qing!"
"The starry sky world is so wonderful, I wanted to see it. So I set off on a journey. As a starry sky rookie, it was only natural that I'd step on some landmines and fall into some pits, right? Fortunately, this Lord Lin Qing is clever, so I quickly grew into a starry sky veteran~ Traveling while training, while scraping together resources for the clan..."
"Things like smuggling, fighting fire with fire, highway robbery, mercenary work, bounty hunting, treasure hunting—I've done it all. This Lord Lin Qing knows plenty!"
Jiangnan's forehead was covered in sweat. Damn, you're not exactly a good person either, are you?
You've never done any honest work, have you? A starry sky drifter—is that okay?
Lin Qing chuckled: "Although there were many small incidents and plenty of annoyances, I still love this starry sky world, this prosperous and brilliant Eternal Era!"
"It always brings surprises. You never know what tomorrow will bring or what kind of surprises await you. I still love this era!"
"Until one day, during a routine educational activity for newbies, I met Xingye..."
Jiangnan's mouth twitched. Did you have to describe that fishing operation in such a refined way?
And thus began their encounter!
Unwilling to accept it, Xingye went back to confront Lin Qing to demand an explanation. But as a newcomer to the starry sky, how could he understand Lin Qing's tricks?
Lin Qing smoothly tricked him into joining her team with excuses like "increasing your experience," "learning the rules of the starry sky," and "veteran crash course"!
Not only did he fail to get his stuff back, but he also had to pay tuition!
So Xingye became Lin Qing's free labor, and the two of them started their venture from scratch!
Over time, the two became familiar with each other. Lin Qing was very interested in all new things and wanted to try everything!
Xingye, new to the starry sky, found everything fresh too. They hit it off immediately and soon became inseparable friends!
Lin Qing's ideas were always unconventional. She felt that running more "educational" activities for newbies had no future, so she took Xingye on a journey of wandering, adventure, and treasure hunting across the starry sky!
They never stayed in one place for long—mainly because they were afraid of being hunted down for revenge or something...
The starry sky was so vast that one could never finish exploring it in a lifetime. There were too many wonders to see, too many places to go!
When it came to treasure hunting, that was Xingye's specialty. Lin Qing discovered that although Xingye didn't know much about the starry sky itself, he was an expert on its history!
He knew exactly where ancient big shots' inheritance sites, treasure vaults, and legendary figures' tombs were!
With that, the two were set. Xingye and Lin Qing went treasure hunting everywhere, gathering resources, and when they encountered injustices on the road, they would vent their anger!
It had a bit of a chivalrous swordsman roaming the world feel to it!
Lin Qing was quite curious about Xingye's background, but whenever she asked, he would stammer and hedge!
So Lin Qing stopped asking. It was fine like this!
Along the way, Lin Qing followed Xingye to pick up too many inheritances and treasures from big shots, and her strength grew rapidly. Before they knew it,
the two had made a very loud name for themselves in the starry sky!
They were known as "Starry Night Clear Sky" by the world, because the two always appeared together. Wherever Lin Qing was, Xingye was sure to be by her side!
And in a daze, the two found themselves at the center of the storm of the Eternal Era. Lin Qing finally no longer had to worry about resources!
The Lin Feng Clan also took off as a result. Although they couldn't compare to the great clans, their life was passable!
Lin Qing became a hero-like figure in the clan, a legendary character!
At one auction, Lin Qing really liked an extremely expensive long flute. But it was the heritage treasure of a giant, and its price was very high!
Even though Lin Qing didn't have to worry about resources, she couldn't spend a fortune on such a thing—it was too wasteful!
But she kept muttering about how nice that thing was...
Xingye curled his lips in disdain:
(︶～︶'' "That crappy thing? What's so good about it? I wouldn't even want it for free!"
Lin Qing rolled her eyes at Xingye and said nothing!
After that auction ended, Xingye disappeared. Lin Qing was frantic, thinking he might have been ambushed or something—they had quite a few enemies after all!
She searched everywhere for three whole months, without any news!
Just when Lin Qing was about to despair,
Xingye rushed back, covered in dirt and grime, even with smoke rising from his body!
Seeing Xingye return, Lin Qing was furious and demanded loudly where he had gone, scolding him for making her so worried!
Xingye, cowed by Lin Qing's anger, shrank his neck!
He pulled out a crystal long flute from his arms...
(#◔◠◔ิ) Here~ For you! Don't you like this kind? That piece of junk at the auction? What's so good about it? Mine is the best!"
"This material is Primordial Source Crystal Marrow, a very small part of which was born during the Big Bang. I dug up three big shots' graves and emptied two secret treasure vaults just to gather enough material!"
"I carved it myself following the shape of that long flute. It can play. To save time, I didn't bother taking anything else. Didn't you say today is your birthday?"
"This is a gift for you. It's the best long flute in the entire starry sky! I wanted to surprise you..."
Lin Qing was dumbfounded. She stood there frozen, finally realizing that Xingye had been busy for three whole months, gathering the materials!
He had remembered all along...
Lin Qing's eyes reddened, seeming to shimmer with starlight!
Xingye scratched his head:
୧(#◔◠◔ิ) "What? You think it's ugly? If you don't want it, give it back..."
But Lin Qing grabbed Xingye's shoulders, snatched the long flute, and whacked him over the head more than a dozen times!
"You disappear without telling me! You vanish off the face of the earth! I thought you were dead out there!"
Xingye covered his head:
୧(#≥益≤)୨ "Why are you hitting me? I worked so hard on this! Dead? Are you kidding? Who could kill me, Xingye?"
Seeing Xingye's aggrieved look, Lin Qing couldn't help but burst out laughing!
"You just said... you didn't clean it out thoroughly?"
"Yeah? I was in a hurry, you know? There were too many things, I really..."
"Let's go! Together! This time we're not in a hurry!"
"Haha, let's go!"
Lin Qing never said whether she liked the long flute or not. But from then on, the crystal long flute never left her side!
She carried it everywhere...
The two became more and more famous. Hardly anyone in the starry sky didn't know the name "Starry Night Clear Sky"!
But the times were subtly changing. The old atmosphere was gone. Every clan was competing at full speed, striving to reach the Cosmos Realm, all wanting to be the first to taste the forbidden fruit!
The tension in the starry sky grew increasingly intense. Small-scale conflicts and wars had already broken out over resource disputes!
Lin Qing and Xingye also felt this instability. Lin Qing's heart was uneasy. She loved this era so much!
But this era seemed to be irresistibly heading toward its end!
And finally, with the birth of the Cosmos World, Qing Jie Dazun became the first to taste the forbidden fruit!
He ignited the entire Eternal Era. War was about to break out!
No one was willing to watch Qing Jie become eternal and suppress all races, leaving no hope for others!
The only solution was to kill Qing Jie Dazun, no matter the cost!
But not all races wanted to fight. There were those who advocated war, and those who advocated peace!
The situation in the starry sky was already in dire straits!
For some small clans, they had no power to influence the starry sky situation. They could only make all preparations, hide and avoid war, hoping to survive this calamity!
The Lin Feng Clan was one such clan!
But Lin Qing, who had always been free-spirited and submissive, this time chose not to back down!
She insisted on her own opinion!