Chapter 23: A Hundred Days of Enchantment

Beyond the floating land, above the void, lay a battleground where the mightiest fleets of Evernight and the Empire converged. Each day, fierce battles raged.

However, due to their evenly matched strength, both sides were cautious in marshaling their forces. Even the reconnaissance vessels on the periphery were fast and fragile, so that any loss would not be too painful. Both sides feared dispersing their troops, only to be devoured by the enemy.

For this very reason, breaking through the void was surprisingly smooth. By the time the Imperial fleet received news, it was too late to send an interception force; they could only command the few reconnaissance boats in the area to attempt a blockade.

A short, fierce battle ensued. After two reconnaissance boats were shot down, the remaining ones finally retreated, watching as the silver floating boat hoisted three sails of primordial power and vanished into the distance.

Qian Ye gazed back, seeing through the fiery wreckage, he could faintly make out the floating land.

He had not spent much time there, but he had been involved in the war that decided the fate of a nation, even participating in the prelude battles. It was a place where he had fought and bled, where his brothers, sisters, and friends, as well as his foes, both open and hidden, had all gathered.

Now, all of it was fading into memory.

Even now, a question lingered in Qian Ye’s heart, or perhaps, a sigh: “Why can such a vast empire not accommodate me?”

But everything had passed, and brooding over it was futile. Qian Ye entered the cabin, ensuring the floating boat maintained its speed and course, before carrying Nighteye into the resting chamber and placing her on the bed.

“It might hurt a bit, bear with it.”

Nighteye, lying on the bed, looked quite comfortable and said, “It’s fine. Just do what you must.”

Qian Ye gently touched the long nail and asked, “What are the functions of this nail?”

“It seems to burn blood energy with the refined silver inside… Ah!” Nighteye gasped softly. In the midst of her contemplation, the long nail in her shoulder had been pulled out by Qian Ye with lightning speed.

Qian Ye examined the nail and carefully placed it aside. Nighteye’s wound was a charred black, the flesh already seared, and no blood flowed after the nail was removed. However, there was no sign of new flesh growing and merging.

Qian Ye felt a pang in his heart, but outwardly, he remained composed. With Nighteye’s lineage, her regenerative ability should be close to his, if not as strong. But the complete lack of regeneration indicated that she had been severely weakened.

Nighteye let out another light moan as the long nail from her other shoulder was also extracted.

The nails in her wrists and ankles were more difficult to handle. Qian Ye supported her calf, gently feeling the ankle, and meticulously sensed the internal condition. As he checked, he asked, “Aside from these refined silver nails, is there anything else bothering you?”

Nighteye thought for a moment and said, “Other than the Chaos Mill, there’s nothing else.”

Hearing the words “Chaos Mill,” Qian Ye’s heart tightened slightly. He asked, pretending to be indifferent, “What exactly does it do?”

“It hurts, really hurts, incredibly hurts. Many times, I almost couldn’t bear it and wanted to kill myself. But with these nails in my body, I couldn’t use the power in my blood core, so I couldn’t die. As for the rest, let me think, I seem to have forgotten many things…”

As Nighteye concentrated, Qian Ye swiftly pulled out the nails from her ankles. This time, he used a small amount of primordial power, causing the nails to vibrate rapidly and break the thin layer of flesh adhered to them, allowing him to extract them smoothly.

Nighteye’s brows furrowed, clearly in pain. But perhaps the pain helped clear her mind for a moment, and she said, “Most of what I’ve forgotten seems unimportant. However, I can’t remember anything from before a hundred days. And now, my memories are becoming fuzzy, as if… I can only remember things from the past hundred days.”

“Only a hundred days?”

Nighteye sat up, encircling Qian Ye’s neck with her arms, and looked at him earnestly, saying, “Only a hundred days. It seems I can only retain so much memory. But I won’t forget you.”

Qian Ye gently embraced her, saying, “I won’t let you forget me either.”

Nighteye smiled suddenly and asked, “How do you plan to keep me from forgetting?”

“Simple. I’ll court you every day. Even if you only have one day of memory, you won’t forget me.”

The cabin was silent, except for the occasional crisp sound of the nails clinking against each other on Nighteye’s wrist.

A moment later, there was a knock on the door. At this moment, besides Qian Ye and Nighteye, the only other person on the ship was Zhu Ji.

“Come in.” Before Qian Ye could finish speaking, there was a loud bang. The cabin door was kicked off its hinges by something, flying towards Qian Ye.

Qian Ye reached out to catch it, and the force was so great that his arm trembled slightly. This blow could have dented the external armor of a floating warship.

Outside the door, Zhu Ji stood there, her mouth agape, looking shocked. She held a metal box in her arms, and there was a small red mark on her forehead.

Qian Ye turned the deformed door around and indeed saw a dent on the surface, perfectly matching the size of little Zhu Ji’s head.

Qian Ye felt a bit lost for words. This door, made of high-strength alloy, designed to be fireproof, explosion-proof, and to fend off enemies, had been destroyed by little Zhu Ji’s head. Yet, the only mark left on her was a small, rapidly fading red spot.

Thinking back to how she had shattered the punch of a god general, even though it was only a fraction of its full power, Qian Ye suddenly felt a headache coming on.

Back then, not knowing how to handle Zhu Ji, he had unscrupulously handed her over to Song Zining. Zhu Ji, with the nature of a spider demon, would see the first non-hostile and powerful being at birth as her mother. Using this nature, Qian Ye successfully made Song Zining into little Zhu Ji’s mom. But who would have thought, in the cycle of events, when he fled the Empire, Song Zining would pass Zhu Ji back to him.

“Zhu Ji, what happened?”

Zhu Ji looked at the destroyed door, her small face showing fear, and said in a small voice, “I, I broke something again.”

Qian Ye couldn’t help but laugh and gesture for her to come in, asking, “What do you have there?”

Little Zhu Ji glanced at Nighteye and handed the box to Qian Ye, saying, “I think the pretty sister needs this.”

Qian Ye opened the box and found it contained a row of high-quality blood crystals. For Nighteye, who was extremely weak at this moment, these were indeed better than any medicinal remedies.

Qian Ye’s heart stirred, and he asked, “Where did you find these?”

“Right here on the ship. The smell was obvious, and I could detect it right away. There are two more boxes over there; I’ll go get them.”

Without waiting for Qian Ye’s response, little Zhu Ji ran out. The floating boat vibrated violently, and the sound of crashing grew distant. Clearly, the little one was either breaking down more doors or tearing down walls. Fortunately, she didn’t create a new path, or Qian Ye wouldn’t know if the floating boat could hold up.

Little Zhu Ji returned, holding one box in her hands and biting down on another. The metal box in her mouth was as soft as fresh bread, leaving deep tooth marks.

Qian Ye took the box and pointed to a corner, telling Zhu Ji, “Stand there, don’t move, and don’t make a sound, understand?”

Little Zhu Ji nodded obediently and stood in the corner.

“What are you doing?” Nighteye was visibly displeased.

“Lie down and behave!” Qian Ye tapped Nighteye lightly on the head, laying her down, then took her wrist, gripping the long nail, and slowly channeling primordial power.

The nails in her wrists were the most troublesome, as they had fused with the bones over time.

Qian Ye released and retracted his Dawn Primordial Power, causing the two nails to crack and reveal the refined silver cores within. Instantly, a hissing sound and two wisps of green smoke emerged from Nighteye’s wrists. As the fused flesh seared, Qian Ye, with lightning speed, extracted the nails.

Nighteye let out a soft moan, her face paled, and her smile seemed weak. With the bindings removed, fatigue washed over her, and she struggled to keep her eyes open.

Qian Ye laid her down on the bed, placing two blood crystals in her hand for her to absorb during her sleep.

As soon as Nighteye lay down, she fell into a deep slumber. The best way for a vampire to heal was through deep sleep. Qian Ye pulled the blanket over her and then beckoned Zhu Ji, leading her to the control room.

Upon entering the control room, Qian Ye was on high alert, fearing that the little one might break something else. But Zhu Ji was unusually well-behaved, like a different person in the control room.

Qian Ye sat down opposite Zhu Ji and asked, “Why did you open the door like that?”

Little Zhu Ji looked confused, “Mom never taught me!”

Qian Ye felt a wave of dizziness. This little one really didn’t know how to open a door! Calming himself, he asked, “What did Mom teach you then?”

“Many things, a lot of things. I learned so much, and I never got a break!” Little Zhu Ji pouted, trying to recall.

Qian Ye listened and realized that Song Zining had filled Zhu Ji’s schedule with intensive courses, from the use, maintenance, and care of primordial power guns, to the structure and operation of warships, and the use of various weapons. In between, there were various combat techniques. Apart from that, Zhu Ji’s life consisted of eating and sleeping, which was what a young spider demon should do.

A noble and inherently powerful spider demon in its early years needed to eat, sleep, and repeat. As they grew, they naturally became stronger. In the eyes of the spider demons, Zhu Ji’s early life was undoubtedly miserable, as she had to learn so much!

However, Qian Ye silently criticized Song Zining, who had trained Zhu Ji into a fighting machine. She was proficient in everything related to warfare, equivalent to several years of Qian Ye’s experience condensed into a year. But apart from that, she knew nothing, not even how to open a door. In her mind, doors and walls were equally fragile, so there was no need to take a detour to pass through a door.

After a few more questions, Qian Ye discovered to his surprise that little Zhu Ji could even pilot a floating warship, not just civilian airboats, but military warships as well. He couldn’t help but mentally criticize Song Zining again.