Chapter 135: The Journey Home

Wu Qingsong’s mood was significantly better than Nina’s throughout their journey back.

This adventure had brought them through numerous ordeals, yet he only lost one subordinate. In this dangerous world, that was remarkably fortunate.

The treasures they had gathered were certainly a cause for joy. With such an immense sum of money, New Orgrimmar’s development was set to take a significant leap forward. Yet, what thrilled him most was the magic book he had been meticulously guarding and carrying on his back.

“The Book of the Dead,” as Xeila had called it.

Its material was a mystery. The cover seemed to be made of some kind of animal bone, extremely hard and almost comparable to metal, while the pages were crafted from a very durable type of paper.

Xeila had managed to interpret some of it, with the initial sections discussing topics related to the God of Death. It explored the philosophy and ethics between gods and mortals, the living and the dead, and eternal life, and death. After these extensive discourses, it finally began to delve into magical content.

Wu Qingsong had no patience for the dry, lengthy discussions at the beginning and requested Xeila to focus on teaching him the sections related to magic.

However, mastering necromancy wasn’t something one could undertake lightly. It required a foundational understanding of souls and bodies, or in other words, dissecting corpses to comprehend the anatomy. Clearly, their travels did not provide the conditions for such studies. He would have to wait until he returned to the Esola Hills and established a secret laboratory to begin in earnest.

Wu Qingsong decided to temporarily shelve his thoughts on necromancy to discuss their next steps with Nina. Strangely, Nina seemed somewhat distracted during their talk.

“Nina?”

“Hmm? Go ahead, I’m listening,” Nina responded, her tone slightly off.

“What’s wrong?” Wu Qingsong asked, noticing her demeanor.

“Nothing, I’m probably just tired,” Nina said, refocusing her attention on Wu Qingsong.

Wu Qingsong planned to secretly seek more information about the Ancestral Spirits, looking for any clues to understand how the power of Ancestral Spirits could be effectively utilized. His goal was also to find more individuals with innate magical talents, especially those inherently opposed to the elves, and forge alliances with them. Above all, his priority was to enhance his own strength and decipher the nature of his abilities.

Feya and Xeila’s presence showed him that the elves’ control over this world wasn’t as absolute as he had once believed.

Indeed, considering the primitive state of communication and transportation in this world compared to modern standards, it seemed an insurmountable task to entirely eliminate all children with special talents, destroy their lineages, and extinguish their familial bloodlines.

Wu Qingsong wasn’t familiar with Xeila’s background. Clearly, she was a person with a story, and her background likely meant she had undergone formal training and development, enabling her to skillfully utilize her abilities. However, for someone like Feya, who had never received any training and merely relied on her own awakening to possess such formidable powers, it begged the question–how much further could her abilities grow with the right training methods?

Finding an alternative method to awaken their latent abilities would be ideal. For Wu Qingsong, this might offer a more direct and expedient solution.

Crossing the Tecks Mountains once more, Wu Qingsong experienced a sense of déjà vu. Yet, this time, there was a significant difference in his status and power compared to his previous journey.

Out of the public eye, Nina finally began to think of ways for Ling to disguise her abilities for public use, drawing inspiration from what she had learned from Xeila.

“This is called a boomerang,” she introduced to Ling, presenting a novel weapon, at least to Ling. “Once thrown, it can travel a considerable distance in the air before returning to the thrower’s hand. A master can even throw it in many unimaginable trajectories to attack enemies.”

As she explained, Nina tossed the wooden boomerang in her hand. Since it was also her first time using it, the boomerang flew in an arc but didn’t return to her; instead, it landed a few meters away, and she had to jump to catch it.

“I think your ability could be disguised using this type of weapon. You just need to make the darts you control appear to move like a boomerang, which should fool most people. This way, you’d be able to openly use your ability in front of others. Sometimes, you could even mislead your opponents into believing you’re actually using this weapon, then suddenly change the flight path to attack them. Of course, this will need a lot of practice. Otherwise, if the controlled boomerang obviously flies in an unrealistic manner, it won’t serve its purpose as a disguise.”

“This is a fantastic idea,” Wu Qingsong said, visibly excited.

He immediately thought of a video game character he once played, a girl wielding a giant shuriken and boomerang, which now reminded him of Ling.

Encouraged by both of them, Ling started practicing, albeit awkwardly at first.

Beyond the ability awakened by Wu Qingsong, she was essentially just an ordinary mixed-bread dogwoman. Yet, the characteristic tenacity of a Tibetan mastiff in her nature inspired her to train vigorously once more. 

During the day, as the group marched on, she tirelessly practiced throwing the wooden boomerang, analyzing and noting its flight patterns under various conditions. At night, at their campsite, once Wu Qingsong activated her ability, she began simulating these trajectories using her powers.

A few days later, Ling mastered controlling three boomerangs to orbit her body in “logical” trajectories, integrating with her movements in such a way that it appeared not as a supernatural ability but as advanced martial arts. She was capable of controlling more, but doing so would defeat the purpose of hiding.

“You are truly a genius!” 

Wu Qingsong was always generous with his praise, genuinely impressed by Ling’s exceptional talent in this aspect. Encouraged by his compliments, Ling’s efforts intensified.

“She’s a good girl,” Nina couldn’t help saying to Wu Qingsong.

“Absolutely.” Wu Qingsong considered himself fortunate to have met girls like them. “Liuli is a good kid, too. It’s just about finding the right approach to make her happy.”

Nina shook her head, realizing Wu Qingsong didn’t catch the subtlety of her comment, and decided not to elaborate further.

A few days later, as they reached the border of the Silver Moon Wolf Clan’s territory, it was time for farewells.

“So…” Wu Qingsong struggled to find the right words, wishing for a graceful goodbye yet feeling a sense of loss.

Nina, however, took the initiative to hug him. Though still stiff, she was much more relaxed than during their time in the Temple of Death.

The wolfmen watched in surprise.

“I never had the chance to say it, but thank you,” she whispered to Wu Qingsong, “Treat Ram well, or else, I won’t forgive you.” 

Then she quickly released him, stepped back, and waved, “Take care.”