Volume 6: Stealing is Plundering - Chapter 12: Trace of the Moonlit Night (Part Two)

Chapter 12: The Scar of the Moonlit Night (Part Two)

Mad-Big-Pi had obviously just taken a trip through that mist, and judging by his expression, he was still quite excited.

Seeing the Blade Sovereign beside him frown, Mad-Big-Pi added, "The Young Master's second divine martial beast is a giant man-eating flower, at least ten meters across, with a massive mouth and sharp teeth. Truly an ugly sight."

Little Flower suddenly chimed in from the side, "Little Black says that if you call him ugly again, he'll swallow you whole."

Everyone was stunned for a moment. After a brief pause, the Blade Sovereign looked at Crazy-Eat with a rather strange expression and asked, "Young Master, is your second divine martial beast anything like this little flower here?"

Although the question seemed a bit out of nowhere, Crazy-Eat understood what the Blade Sovereign was getting at and quickly replied, "Although Little Black has a huge mouth, it cannot speak. Only Little Flower can communicate with it. Its intelligence isn't low either; whenever it has any thoughts, it expresses them through Little Flower."

At that moment, a man called Mad-Three-Pi suddenly asked Little Flower a strange question: "Do you eat food?"

Little Flower curled its lips with a very human-like expression and said, "I don't eat food. My mouth is only used for talking. Little Black's big, foul mouth is the one used for eating."

Crazy-Eat suddenly let out a long sigh, then pointed at the nine-headed baby turtle that seemed to be fast asleep right atop his head. "That fellow Little Black is nothing but trouble; it actually swallowed this little guy. I didn't even discover it was still inside its egg until I returned to the Berserk Star from the fortress. If not for that giant mouth of its, I wouldn't have been chased all the way across space by those nine-headed turtles."

Beside him, Mad-Big-Pi wore an expression of deep envy as he said, "If I could have a little darling like that, I'd gladly let myself be chased by ten cosmic-grade beasts." Several others nearby also cast envious gazes at the top of Crazy-Eat's head; clearly, quite a few people shared Mad-Big-Pi's sentiments.

An innate cosmic-grade beast like the nine-headed baby turtle was the kind of treasure that could make even a God of War's eyes turn red with jealousy, let alone a Martial Sovereign's.

Just then, Ah-San's voice came from outside the cabin: "Young Master, Senior Ghost Immortal has arrived."

The moment Ah-San finished speaking, the Blade Sovereign frowned once again. He looked at one of the men nearby and said, "Didn't you send someone to notify that brat and tell him to wait for us outside the God's Grief Star Region?"

That man quickly stammered, "I just sent someone to relay the message to him."

Seeing this setup, Crazy-Eat realized that the relationship between this Ghost Immortal and his own family was somewhat complicated.

The Blade Sovereign let out a cold snort before turning to Crazy-Eat. "Go see what business he has here. Leave Little Flower right here; I have some questions I'd like to ask it."

Crazy-Eat nodded and hurriedly stepped out of the cabin, following Ah-San to the chamber where the Ghost Immortal was waiting. The Ghost Immortal looked exactly as he had the last time they met, draped in the distinctive hooded cloak of the Demonic Sect, sitting quietly on a sofa.

The moment the Ghost Immortal saw Crazy-Eat enter, he pointed to the seat in front of him. Ah-San withdrew, closing the cabin door behind him, and a moment later the Ghost Immortal spoke: "What are all the old fogies in your family up to? I've been here for so long, and I haven't seen a single one of them."

Crazy-Eat couldn't help but chuckle, asking with some puzzlement, "Senior, what kind of relationship do you actually have with our Berserk Clan? Why do those seniors seem to have such a..." Crazy-Eat smiled good-naturedly and left the sentence unfinished.

The Ghost Immortal let out a cold huff and snapped irritably, "None of those old bastards are any good! If you want to know why, go ask them yourselves. A bunch of old ghosts!"

He punctuated this with another heavy snort.

Then, seeming to collect himself, he looked at Crazy-Eat and continued, "I received word that you've become Princess Jing-Er's backer. Is there any truth to that?"

***

Crazy-Eat was momentarily stunned. After a long pause, he smiled and said, "How on earth did I become her backer? Do I even have that kind of capability?"

He paused for a second before adding, "Even our Berserk Clan probably lacks that kind of capability."

The Ghost Immortal let out a scoff and said, "That's just what you think."

He then waved a hand. "Fine, let's drop it. Whatever you think, it has nothing to do with me. Besides, you certainly don't look like the useless brute the rumors make you out to be. Handle it however you see fit."

Pausing once more, he suddenly asked, "I heard from the Great Elder that you have a beast identical to his, is that true?"

Crazy-Eat nodded nonchalantly.

The Ghost Immortal let out a string of bizarre, cackling laughs before continuing, "Say what you will about yourself, kid, your luck is truly astonishing. I spent decades failing to wheedle a single one out of those stingy old Moke bastards, yet you managed to get your hands on one! First the Star Void Formula, and now the Tyrant Moon Body-Refining Art—things that are impossibly hard for anyone else to get, and you've somehow acquired all three."

With that, he let out a long sigh.

Crazy-Eat truly didn't know whether this was meant as a compliment or an insult, so he could only stand there and offer an awkward, dry chuckle.

After a moment, the Ghost Immortal sighed deeply and abruptly asked, "Have you ever heard of the Scar of the Moonlit Night?"

Crazy-Eat shook his head directly. "No. What kind of thing is that?"

The Ghost Immortal let out several strange cackles before replying, "A bizarre metallic substance. Something those old Moke elders refer to as the God's Stone."

Crazy-Eat found it rather odd. Why on earth was the Ghost Immortal suddenly bringing this up to him?

After laughing for a bit, the Ghost Immortal said, "Show me that Gold-Devouring Shark of yours."

Crazy-Eat quickly unhooked the tiny creature from behind his ear—it had remained completely motionless like a lifeless object all this time—and handed it over to the Ghost Immortal.

The Ghost Immortal didn't take it, merely gazing at it in silence for a long while before finally letting out a long, drawn-out sigh. "For this thing, I spent fifty-six whole years disguised and lurking within the Moke Clan, mimicking that old bastard of a Great Elder." Another heavy sigh followed.

Crazy-Eat turned the completely unresponsive Gold-Devouring Shark over in his hand and asked with a puzzled expression, "Senior, is this little thing really that precious? Ever since it hatched, it has barely moved a muscle. Normally, it's just like a dead object."

The Ghost Immortal let out a cold hum. "Of course. If not for it, could that old bastard of a Great Elder have become the Great Elder? The reason this one of yours hasn't moved is simply because you don't have the foggiest idea how to nurture it. If you don't put in the effort to help it grow, how could it possibly show any signs of life?"

Just as Crazy-Eat was about to ask more, the Ghost Immortal cut him off impatiently. "Alright, enough babbling. Come with me to a place tonight, and you'd better ask those old fogies if any of them are willing to tag along."

"Where are we going, and what are we doing?" Crazy-Eat pressed.

The Ghost Immortal let out a series of weird laughs. "To fetch the Scar of the Moonlit Night, of course."

Hearing that tone, Crazy-Eat felt something was amiss and quickly asked, "Fetch it from where?"

***

The Ghost Immortal chuckled darkly. "The secret treasury of the Wu family in the Drifting Wind Empire. You seem to have a rather unusual friendship with the Wu family, don't you?"

Who breaks into someone else's treasury to *fetch* things? Judging by the tone the Ghost Immortal used, Crazy-Eat understood all too well what kind of "fetching" this actually entailed.

Without waiting for Crazy-Eat to reply, the Ghost Immortal continued, "Go talk to that old codger of a Blade Sovereign. Have him pick a few fellows who won't be easily recognized to come with the two of us. If he asks what the reason is, just give him the name: the God's Stone."

Crazy-Eat hurried right back to the large cargo hold.

The moment he stepped through the door, Mad-Big-Pi, who had been lingering around Little Flower, loudly demanded, "Young Master, what did that punk Ghost Immortal want coming to find you so eagerly at this hour?"

Crazy-Eat pondered for a moment before turning his gaze toward the Blade Sovereign. "Senior Ghost Immortal said he wants to take me to fetch something called the God's Stone."

Mad-Big-Pi and the others clearly had no idea what the God's Stone was, but upon hearing the name, the Blade Sovereign suddenly snapped his eyes wide open—so wide that it made Crazy-Eat feel as though a flash of golden light had sliced across the entire room.

Staring intently at Crazy-Eat, the Blade Sovereign demanded, "What do you need the God's Stone for?"

Without a word, Crazy-Eat simply opened his palm to reveal the Gold-Devouring Shark he had been clutching.

Most of the people present had either witnessed the Demonic Sect Great Elder's Gold-Devouring Shark with their own eyes or heard tales of it; veterans like the Blade Sovereign and Mad-Big-Pi had even experienced its terror firsthand.

Someone gasped aloud, while another person lunged forward, grabbing directly toward the Gold-Devouring Shark in Crazy-Eat's palm.

Just as it seemed Mad-Two-Pi was about to snatch it, a flash of red light cut through the air, and Mad-Two-Pi grasped at empty space. Leaving behind a string of afterimages, the Gold-Devouring Shark darted out of Mad-Two-Pi's reach and settled upon Crazy-Eat's left shoulder.

The Blade Sovereign let out a loud, heavy sigh: "A Gold-Devouring Shark... ahh~~!"

Then, the Blade Sovereign asked, "Where did that brat say we're going to get the God's Stone?"

Crazy-Eat's face flushed red. Even though he often blustered about wanting to become a thief, actually being forced into the role of a thief still made him feel rather embarrassed.

After a brief hesitation, Crazy-Eat muttered, "Senior Ghost Immortal said he'd take me to the secret treasury of the Wu family in the Drifting Wind Empire."

Silence instantly descended upon the entire cargo hold. After a long while, everyone turned their eyes toward the Blade Sovereign. The Blade Sovereign kept his head bowed in silence until Mad-Big-Pi finally couldn't hold back any longer. He turned to Crazy-Eat and blurted out, "Young Master, what on earth do you need that damn God's Stone for? Though the Wu family might be a notch below our Berserk Clan, they've produced a God of War in their history, and their Martial Sovereigns aren't few in number either. If that God's Stone isn't of any earth-shattering use, we'd be better off not raiding their treasury!"

Before Crazy-Eat could reply, the Blade Sovereign suddenly gritted his teeth, turned around, and roared toward the back of the room, "Old Poison, you and the Seventh Brother's crew stay behind! The rest of you, come with me and the Young Master to the Wu family! No matter what, we are making them hand over that God's Stone!"

Everyone was dumbfounded. Aside from the Blade Sovereign, no one else here knew the true purpose of the God's Stone; the rest remained completely in the dark about what kind of treasure it truly was.

At that moment, someone finally voiced the question on everyone's mind: "Boss Blade, what kind of unholy ghost-thing is this God's Stone anyway? What's it used for? Care to enlighten the rest of us?"