Su Ming’an caught on.
The old lady had said, "I should have let him finish drinking before leaving," not "I shouldn’t have let him leave."
Even though they knew the journey might be a one-way trip, neither she nor her son had any regrets.
She simply kept that rembrance of the departed in her heart and then continued to live her life well.
Living on this land that her son had protected.
"Look at , starting to talk about the past again." The old woman dabbed the corners of her eyes with her palm, just about to say sothing more when the door behind her opened.
A woman dressed in a lightweight bodice ca out; she bore a resemblance to the residents of Pulaya, with hair as black as black sesa and healthy wheat-colored skin, her face sprinkled with freckles, walking as if she carried the breeze with her, exuding a certain valiance.
"Grandma, rember today is ssenger Day; we need to set off in the afternoon to get the letters from the church..." Her voice abruptly stopped.
Upon seeing Su Ming’an next to her grandmother, she looked a bit guarded and her hand moved toward the dagger at her waist.
"Lele, you’re here." The old lady smiled, then turned to Su Ming’an, "Young man, this is my granddaughter Lele. Lele, don’t be so tense; this young man has been helping out, he’s a good person."
Su Ming’an glanced at this Lele; her expression was clearly cautious, it appeared she was quite uneasy about him as a stranger.
"ssenger Day is..." He had heard a new term.
"ssenger Day, oh, it’s a special day for us here in Pulaya, about once a year," the old lady said. "So people who have ascended to Yun Shang City send ssages down through the church in the Southern District regularly, allowing us, their families, to know how they’ve been."
Su Ming’an was sowhat surprised; he had originally thought that once people went up to Cloud City in the sky, they would lose all contact with those below, but it turned out they could still send ssages.
"My old man, over thirty years ago, earned the chance to ascend for his ritorious actions on a mission," the old woman cheerfully said. "His latest letter was from last year; he said he’s been doing well in Yun Shang City and is looking for a cure for Jiajia’s illness, and he might even be able to return in a few years. By the way, Jiajia is my daughter, Lele’s mother."
She glanced back into the room, and through the glass, Su Ming’an could vaguely see a woman lying in bed, her face unclear, seemingly in a deep sleep.
...This was a hero’s family.
The husband was a Soul Hunter, who ascended to Cloud City for his achievents. Their son also a Soul Hunter, had fallen in the line of duty.
There was a daughter with an incurable disease in the family, and a granddaughter who had not yet grown up.
Yet despite all this, the old lady’s smile remained as comforting as a spring breeze.
"By the way, young man." The old lady wiped her hands on her clothes, "Would you like to join us this afternoon? The church in the Southern District is open these days, but only relatives of those from Yun Shang City can enter."
"Grandma!" Lele called out, seemingly with so discontent.
Su Ming’an looked at the two of them and shook his head.
"No need," he said.
He was indeed very interested in this "ssenger Day," which must have had clues about Yun Shang City. But he didn’t need to go with these two.
Since relatives of Cloud City residents were allowed entry, he, as a descendant of Su Rin who was among the first to ascend to Cloud City, certainly wouldn’t be stopped.
"Ah, indeed, the scenery in Pulaya is quite nice; there’s no need to go to a place crowded with people." The old lady echoed, "Young man, I won’t keep you any longer. It’s not that interesting to chat with an old lady like for so long."
"Not at all," Su Ming’an said. "You are the mother of a hero, after all."
The old lady grinned.
Even in her old age, her neat rows of teeth were on display in her mouth as she smiled with her eyes squinted—the wrinkles on her face bunching up together.
"Go on, young man, you must have matters to attend to outside," she said with a smile. "Hurry along now."
Su Ming’an nodded and turned to leave.
The warm breeze of Pulaya t him face on as he boarded a small boat, heading straight for the Central District of Pulaya.
The Central District wasn’t far from where he lived. On the boat, he saw the architectural style of the buildings gradually beginning to change in front of him.
The initially flat-roofed houses were slowly getting taller, and their rooftops started to co to points. The stone-brick buildings had a certain ancient charm to them.
Through these buildings, he could see a brightly lit structure in the distance. It was like a golden needle piercing the clear and bright sky.
...That must be the so-called Cloud Church, where believers of the Cloud City God gather. It was also the bridge connecting Pulaya to Cloud City.
Compared to White Sand Paradise, the scenery here was indeed much better, reminiscent of exotic island landscapes.
The barrage of online comnts also expressed amazent at this, and a group of people began to complain that they had missed the opportunity, stating their intentions to enter the event in the Ninth World.
People had gradually discerned a pattern—the World Replicas are arranged in a sequence of one from the living world and next from the Underworld. As long as the Seventh World is bright and lively, then the Ninth World probably won’t be too bad either.
As for the Eighth World, previous system announcents ntioned it, still akin to Terrily Town, would be a competitive world for peak players. It’s just not clear if it will still only include the top twelve players in the world or if there will be more.
Following the gently flowing current, Su Ming’an arrived at the Central District of Pulaya.
The Central Soul Hunter Departnt was the most conspicuous and imposing building in the area—much larger in size and volu than the Soul Hunter Departnt of the Eastern District. The building was at least six stories high, with pointy red brick roof tiles. Several large doors saw a continuous flow of people entering and exiting, a scene that reminded Su Ming’an of the rcenary guilds in fantasy stories.
He noticed that even the pedestrians walking by wore the Soul Hunter dal, representing both first and second tier Hunters. These people were different from the residents who were content with peace; they had an air of sharpness like a sword and walked swiftly.
He walked into the building, and a man imdiately stopped him.
"Hello, this is the Central Soul Hunter Departnt. Please wear your Soul Hunter dal to enter," the man said politely.
Su Ming’an had no choice but to put on his S-rank Soul Hunter dal.
The mont he put it on, sure enough, a string of discussions about an "S-ranked Soul Hunter appearing at the Central Soul Hunter Departnt!" popped up in the lower-left chat channel. The Soul Hunter Faction had been infiltrated by players—in areas filled with Soul Hunters like this, it almost felt like the players were dominating and surrounding the place.
Seeing him don the S-rank dal, the man imdiately led him inside. The fourth-grade catastrophes along the way seed eager to throw so props at him, to test whether Su Ming’an was an NPC or a player.
Amidst countless gazes, Su Ming’an made his way to the fourth floor of the Soul Hunter Departnt, which was much more private and quiet than the lobby on the first floor. However, as he approached an office at the end of the hallway, he heard a sowhat flustered male voice coming from inside:
That voice, audible even through the closed door, revealed the full lung capacity of the yelling person inside.
"The situation is completely different now, do you understand, Karocha? Those Soul Clan maniacs are rushing out of the sewers like mad dogs, desperate for their lives. They seem to have mastered a kind of explosive tactic recently, and ordinary weapons simply can’t stop them!"
Su Ming’an deliberately slowed his pace.
"But no matter what, we cannot risk the safety of the residents. The defense line must not retreat, Karocha. I know my demand puts you in a difficult position, but as a S-rank Soul Hunter from Pulaya, you should be prepared for this."
"In short, do whatever it takes, take your elite squad, and carry out the assassination mission. I refuse to believe that after killing their high-level Soul Clan mbers, a group that knows only internal strife and is utterly undisciplined, can still pull any tricks..."
"Thud, thud." The man leading the way knocked on the door, and the roaring voice inside ca to a sudden halt.
A mont later, a voice that had noticeably cald down and carried an elegant tone ca through: "Co in."
Su Ming’an entered alone.
He was greeted by a desk covered with papers and file folders, behind which sat a middle-aged man with blonde hair combed back.
Upon seeing Su Ming’an enter, he put down the communicator in his hand.
In front of him lay a naplate that read "Aelas."
Clearly, this man was the legendary leader of the Soul Hunters of Pulaya, Aelas, the leader of nearly three thousand workers in the Soul Hunter Faction.
"So you’re the new S-rank Soul Hunter from Pulaya, sit down, please take a seat," Aelas said.
Su Ming’an sat down across from him.
"A descendant of Su Rin, huh? Looking closely, you do resemble him nearly exactly as he ascended to Yun Shang City." Aelas’s gaze carefully swept over Su Ming’an, his voice filled with emotion, "I hear you’re only twenty-four years old? To have beco an S-rank Soul Hunter at such a young age is quite impressive..."
"I’ve co to Pulaya to find my grandfather," Su Ming’an had his own reasoning in his heart.
"I understand, I understand," Aelas fumbled around: "The great deed that Su Rin did sixty years ago brought a new hope to Pulaya... The Soul Hunter Faction kept it very confidential at the ti, but, since you’re his descendant, you have the right to know."
He placed a yellow file folder in front of Su Ming’an.
Su Ming’an opened the file folder.
As he did, he heard Aelas’s sowhat emotional voice: "The year Su Rin ascended to Cloud City, I wasn’t born yet and don’t know what the situation was like, but the text has faithfully recorded everything."
Su Ming’an took out the papers from the file folder and began to browse through them.
According to the contents of the papers, he roughly understood the matter concerning Su Rin’s actions.
...From the description, Su Rin indeed had been a hero.
The great hero who saved the entire Pulaya.
All this ti, Pulaya, as an island city, had been facing the threat of tsunamis and storms.
And sixty years ago, a long-accumulating crisis finally erupted.
At that ti, Pulaya was extrely poor in resources and also threatened by storms. According to the asurents of the people at the ti, once the storm fully made landfall in Pulaya, everything here would be subrged under the sea, leaving no survivors.
People lived in constant fear, unprepared and powerless to resist the impending doom.
However, the tide of tis creates heroes.
At this juncture, a man nad "Su Rin" stood up, proposing a "Cloud City" plan akin to Noah’s Ark.
He was an astronor, and according to his observations, the crisis of Pulaya was not unsolvable—a floating city seed to exist in the sky, inhabited, people suspected, by gods who overlooked everything.
Under the leadership of Su Rin and other leaders, people devoted themselves to their work and within a re three years, created vast airships, taking half of Pulaya’s people to seek fortunes in the city in the sky.
People could temporarily shift their gaze to the heavens and move their habitat into the sky, allowing Pulaya to conserve its survival resources and continue to exist.
However, due to limited scientific and technological research in Pulaya, the airships they created could only ascend, not descend. After reaching the city in the clouds, they completely lost contact with Pulaya on the ground.
But within a year, barriers capable of warding off storms appeared around Pulaya, and from then on, Pulaya was no longer troubled by natural disasters.
Everyone said it was the contribution of those who ascended; they had moved the omnipotent gods dwelling in Yun Shang City, who then created a defense barrier for Pulaya.
Years of information blockade between the two continued until the establishnt of the Cloud Cathedral in Pulaya.
The Pope of Cloud Cathedral was born with the ability to communicate with the Cloud City God, able to convey ssages from the heavens to Pulaya.
Through the annual "ssenger Day," the people of Pulaya learned that Cloud City was abundant in resources, laden with treasures, and that the gods living there had sheltered them, and the ascended lived well.
Moreover, the Lord of the gods also blessed the Soul Hunters of Pulaya, granting them the strength to contend with the Soul Clan. And declared the annual "Mariti Banquet," regularly selecting heroes who could ascend to Yun Shang City.
Cloud City also stated that once Pulaya’s situation stabilized, it could periodically send down a group of people to bring wealth to Pulaya.
From then on, Pulaya was spared from the ravages of natural disasters and gradually prospered.
The Soul Hunters, blessed with strength by the gods, also continuously guarded this land, greatly enhancing Pulaya’s foreign trade, and treasure seekers ca in droves...
The information on the file ended there.
Su Ming’an put the papers back into the file folder and handed it back to Aelas.
The contents of the file should contain no errors; this is information that will be included in the history of Pulaya, and should not have major discrepancies.
But if combined with the fact that he was Su Rin himself, the history beca sowhat intriguing...
After so thought, Su Ming’an himself started to doubt whether his initial judgnt was mistaken.
Could that Su Rin from sixty years ago... really be himself?
Seen from the current point of view, it seed more logical to say he was the nasake grandson of that Su Rin from sixty years ago. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain how he ca down from the isolated Cloud City and how he ended up in the Yate Empire.
"Your grandfather was a great man," Aelas comnted solemnly: "If he hadn’t stepped forward in ti then, proposing the airship plan and leading half the people to Yun Shang City to plead their case, Pulaya would have been destroyed by the storm long ago.
— He saved the entire Pulaya."
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