Chapter 269: Competition for Favor

Flying through the dark night was a delightful experience. Most birds had already settled into their dreams, and animals like bats rarely ventured to high altitudes, leaving the entire sky to them.

The exhilaration made Wu Qingsong shout and cheer near Ling’s ear, drawing a laugh from her.

However, along with the joy of flight came its own inconvenience.

Within Orgrimmar’s territory, it was easy to use bonfires as markers to guide their way. Wu Qingsong had done so in the past. But after leaving Orgrimmar, navigating became much more challenging.

After taking off from Orgrimmar along their planned route, they headed south, skimming over Esola City. However, they missed the city of Riniconia farther south entirely. Fortunately, they had chosen the Benaris River as a flight marker, which kept them from getting lost.

The two then turned southeast, following the Benaris River’s course. They watched the scattered bonfires of cities and castles below, and after about an hour, they finally spotted the trumpet-shaped estuary of the Benaris River and even caught sight of the faint lights of Phoenix Harbor.

They followed the river back but ran into trouble finding their way, forcing them to fly just one or two hundred meters above the ground to identify hills and buildings below. It took nearly two hours before they finally located Riniconia City and used it as a landmark to head north.

However, after leaving the obvious marker of the Benaris River, they lost their way again. They spent three full hours circling in the air before finally spotting the two rows of bonfires marking the runway in the hilly region north of Orgrimmar. By then, the sun was already peeking over the horizon in the eastern sky.

Most of the people had gone to rest in the houses near the runway, but a handful, including Ram, Nina, and Beck, had stayed by the fires, continuously adding fuel.

“It’s a bit more challenging than I expected,” Wu Qingsong said as he stepped off the Taegmos, holding Ling in his arms.

After concentrating intensely for eight consecutive hours to keep the propeller spinning at high speed, Ling was completely drained.

“While it’s possible to fly over the sea during the daytime, accurately locating Gale Island in the middle of the ocean won’t be so easy.”

“Wu…” Ram glanced at Ling, curled up in Wu Qingsong’s arms, and recalled her earlier conversation with Nina. Her heart twinged with a hint of bitterness, but she quickly fetched a thin blanket and carefully draped it over Ling.

“Go and rest. We can talk about everything else once you’ve had some sleep,” she said.

“You’ve worked hard too.” Wu Qingsong gently held her hand, unaware of her emotions.

Spending eight consecutive hours in a cramped cabin, constantly monitoring the surroundings, brought a level of exhaustion no less intense than the nights spent collecting soul fragments to revive the undead. The only advantage this time was avoiding the torment of soul backlash, but the mental strain from monotony was just as difficult to endure.

At first, flying had been a pleasure, but after two or three hours, it turned into a grueling test of patience and perseverance. The Taegmos didn’t use fuel, instead, it relied on Ling’s mental energy to stay in the air. If not for this, Ling wouldn’t be as drained as she was now.

Meanwhile, Ram and the others, though also staying up through the night, were much better off. They could move around, chat, eat, and take turns resting, making the ordeal far easier to manage.

“Let’s talk about it later,” Wu Qingsong said, hugging Ling tightly before letting out a big yawn.

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After a few hours of sleep, hunger woke Wu Qingsong and Ling, just in time for lunch.

“It’s my fault for not thinking everything through,” Wu Qingsong said as he ate.

Most of the time, the others couldn’t really follow what he was saying, as he was mostly talking to himself, summarizing the lessons learned from the trip.

“We need to bring binoculars so we can fly higher and expand our range of vision. We should also map out the terrain. We should identify landmarks that are easy to recognize from the air and record them on the map, Ram, do you know? Looking down from the air, everything looks completely different from usual, and recognizing things is harder than you’d think. But the night sky is truly beautiful, and so is the sea at night.”

Ling nodded in agreement beside him, but Liuli immediately protested, “Meow~ That’s not fair! Next time, I’m going with you!”

“Liuli? Your weight should be fine. But we’ll need to make another parachute for you,” Wu Qingsong said.

He was in a great mood. After all the time and effort he had invested, the outcome was better than expected. Even though they had gotten lost, the results proved that the endeavor was entirely feasible. This gave him an immense sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

He was also fully confident that, with more flights, he and Ling would gain enough experience to adapt fully to long-distance travel.

Ram felt a little melancholy. She had accepted the task Nina assigned her—something she didn’t oppose—but how was she supposed to bring it up with Wu Qingsong?

Since returning from the capital, their lives had been completely consumed by endless tasks, leaving them with barely any time alone together. It seemed Wu Qingsong had forgotten the promise they’d made during their journey, while she couldn’t find the right moment—or the courage—to bring it up again.

She couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed. Did it really have to be her to bring up something like this?

But Wu Qingsong didn’t notice Ram’s mood at all. Instead, he was enthusiastically planning their next flight.

However, Ling needed to rest, the Taegmos required a thorough inspection, and a parachute had to be made for Liuli. At the earliest, their next flight wouldn’t be for several days.

“Ram, Nina, go take care of your own tasks,” Wu Qingsong said. “This will probably take another month or two to see results. You don’t have to stay here with me and delay your own work.”

“Yes, yes! You two go handle your stuff, meow~ Ling and I can take care of things here,” Liuli chimed in, nodding vigorously.

Ram instinctively bit her lip, but she knew Wu Qingsong didn’t mean anything by it. Besides, she really did have a mountain of work to do. So, after exchanging a glance with Nina, she silently nodded.

“Meow~ Great! Wu is all mine and Ling’s again,” Liuli cheered as she clung to Wu Qingsong’s arm after Ram and Nina left.

“What are you scheming this time?” Wu Qingsong asked.

Liuli just grinned mischievously without saying a word.

But while Wu Qingsong busied himself inspecting the plane, Liuli quietly pulled Ling aside.

“Meow~ Ling, do you know? After you two flew off, Nina and Ram were secretly plotting how to claim Wu for themselves.”

Ling felt a slight pang in her chest but shook her head. “Why are you eavesdropping on people? Wu already likes Lady Nina, and Miss Ram is someone he cares for too. They’re supposed to be with him.”

“Ling, how can you say that?!” Liuli cried out in frustration.

Wu Qingsong glanced in their direction, but she quickly waved at him with a forced smile to show everything was fine.

“We were the ones who met Wu first and stayed with him from the beginning!”

“That’s not how these things work,” Ling said, shaking her head. “Wu can’t belong to just the two of us. As long as I can stay by his side, watch over him, and help him, I’m already content.”

“You’re impossible!” Liuli huffed, pulling a face. “Meow~ Anyway, I’m not going to let those two win.”

“Don’t do anything reckless,” Ling said hastily. “Wu wouldn’t want to see conflict or arguments between us.”

“Meow~ Don’t worry about it,” Liuli said with a grin.

“Liuli…” Ling said uneasily, but before she could say more, Liuli already darted off to Wu Qingsong’s side.