Over the sea

Without hesitation, this stranger just broke the precious statue in front of Kiyu's eyes. But why? Had they done something wrong? But why were they still allowed on the ship?

'What's going on here?'

Kiyu no longer understood the world that was unfolding before her eyes at that moment.

"It was just a fake anyway," the man replied to her disturbed look with a shrug.

"Xianzhu hid the original somewhere else."

'A fake?'

Good, they hadn't put their lives on the line to get this ornament. After all, there were only 14 simple guards, which hardly stood a chance against a Spiritformer. Still, all that effort for nothing but a fake? Why?

"I... don't understand.", Kiyu replied, still a bit confused. "Then why would we steal it in the first place?"

"That was your aptitude test," the stranger laughed out. "But if you want to know for sure....."

He rummaged in the inside pockets of his vest with his left hand.

"Ah, here they are," he said, pulling out two letters.

One letter was in an open envelope, but the second was closed and even sealed. Whatever was in there had to be important.

"The open letter is from Slim, the old rapscallion," the man explained. "Left it with me for you. You should find your answers there."

"And the other letter?" Kiyu inquired.

"That's for .... Well, it's all in Slim's letter. Just read it and you'll understand."

Without waiting for another question from Kiyu, the man started moving and got on the ship.

"And now hurry. We're leaving!" he called down to the still stunned group.

Kiyu left the sealed letter with Zhèngyi for safekeeping, while she kept the open letter with her.

Together they entered the merchant ship that was to take them out of Oras and the north of Purista.

It seemed like an ordinary merchant ship and not at all like a smuggler's ship. But if Kiyu had understood the captain's statement correctly, there was never anything to smuggle, anyway.

So it was more like it was legal goods and only the small group around Kiyu was the special cargo. And they were treated just like cargo, because the cargo hold was supposed to be their own personal cabin for the rest of the trip.

For Laki, this should not be a big problem. As always, when curiosity got the better of her, she asked everyone about many things.

Kiyu, on the other hand, used the time to look at the letter that old Slim had sent them.

"To the devil-girl, the feisty pain in the ass, and the permanently bad-tempered, grouchy, talker," she read the first line aloud.

"Grouchy Talker?" roared Zhèngyi, beside himself with rage. "Grouchy, my ass! If I ever see that old, doddering old man again!"

He grumbled to himself for a few more moments before Kiyu continued with the letter.

"As you have probably already discovered, the ornament I set you on was a fake. However, your mission was not in vain, if that is what you are thinking now. The Lonely Night is more than just a seedy tavern in Oras. It is a network. A smuggler's network, to be exact."

'A smuggling network?

Zhèngyi and Kiyu looked at each other. Neither of them had expected this. First, who was the network made up of? Old Slim and this burly host? Or were there more?

"The Lonely Night belongs to an organization, an association of such smuggling networks united under one leader. A down-and-out bunch, if you want my opinion on that. The number of members is stagnating, and as soon as the first old farts of this troop die, this grouping will also die out. As long as there is no fresh meat, that is."

Kiyu already suspected where this was going. This is where she, Laki, and Zhèngyi would come in. Three fresh members for the lonely night. She glanced briefly at Zhèngyi.

Judging from his reaction, it wasn't exactly his favored idea either.

"Probably the best thing to do once we're off the ship is to go into hiding." He suggested.

An idea Kiyu had no objection to. But first it was time to finish reading the letter.

"Oh well," she continued, "should you have the grandiose idea of refusing the beautiful gift I gave you, keep one thing in mind. Not only did you antagonize Xianzhu, but you also tried to steal from him. And although the item itself was only a fake, he will find out that you were after this item. He will investigate you, and who knows, maybe he will find out your source. After all, the dragon falcon ornament really exists."

Kiyu and Zhèngyi could well imagine the old geezer's dirty grin. With the gaps between his teeth, he grinned cheekily at them and made fun of them.

"It looks like we have no choice," Kiyu sighed.

This should have been her chance to escape Xianzhu for good and build a new life. While she hadn't counted on getting away without something in return for Slim, this was a whole different ballgame.

"Haaa.... I could have expected this," she sighed.

"So now what?" hesitated Zhèngyi.

"I guess what. We join the lonely night. Either that, or we face the dangers we'll be exposed to. I choose the smuggling organization."

'From there, we can still plan how to get out of all this.'

Slim might have put them in this predicament, but that didn't mean Kiyu would just take it lying down. For now, there was nothing she could do about her situation. So it was easier to accept the circumstances.

However, if they were smart about it, they could impact their future fate.

"Well, we've gotten ourselves into something." Zhèngyi sighed. "Do you want to tell Laki?"

"Hm... not yet," Kiyu replied timidly. "I want her to at least be able to enjoy the sea voyage in peace."

'After all that effort, this carelessness will do her good, I think.'

The last lines were dedicated to the sealed letter they had received from the captain of the merchant ship. According to the instructions, they were to keep it secret and reveal it only when they arrived at the Lonely Night hiding place.

To all appearances, this letter was not intended for the organization to which the Lonely Night belonged.

A few blank lines followed before a single small line could be read.

'P.S. In the envelope is a small training instruction.'

Unobtrusively, she took out a small folded piece of paper and silently read the words Slim had left her as training.

'An instruction on how to divide and join the body....'

At the sight of the words, she widened her eyes and tried to understand every single word hair by hair. The title of her training alone sounded strikingly dangerous.

But the instructions and especially the meaning of the training surprised her the most.

"Kiyu? Are you all right? You seem so.... Tense?" said Zhèngyi.

"Huh? Oh, yeah everything's fine." Replied, throwing him a smile. "This is nothing. Slim is really a weirdo."

Still maintaining the put-on smile, she tore the piece of paper in her hands into many small pieces, making the instructions illegible, before stuffing the remains into one of her vest pockets.

"Come, let's get some fresh air and see what Laki is up to," she continued, making her way back to the deck of the ship.

One thing was certain for her: wherever they had gotten themselves into here, it was too big for her to comprehend in a few days. Slim's training session had made her aware of that.