After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 81.1

In the morning, Xiu Si felt a bit drowsy, his gaze lowered as he recalled last night’s events.

Was that… a dream?

He seemed to have dreamed of his second cub’s human form, very real, standing by the bedside, watching him, and even smiling at him, saying “good night.”

But when he reacted and tried to get a clear look, the figure disappeared like a reflection in water.

Then, he was swept back into sleep by drowsiness, slumbering until just now when he woke up.

…What exactly was going on?

Sunlight slanted into the bookstore entrance as Xiu Si groomed the cat’s fur, feeling like he had overlooked something.

He looked at the cat cubs on the table. Spring was coming, and his cat cubs were shedding a bit. With scissors in one hand and a comb in the other, he skillfully trimmed and groomed his children.

The red cat was fine, being a short-haired cat, but the little munchkin cat was a long-haired version of a Munchkin, so it needed some trimming.

As he stroked the little munchkin cat’s back, a thought occurred to him mid-way, and he said, “Indeed… I feel like Agares is right beside me.”

Hearing this, the pupils of the two cats on the table quivered.

The little munchkin cat immediately raised its head.

Xiu Si lowered his eyes and asked softly, “Did you see your second brother?”

The little munchkin cat and the red cat shook their heads in unison.

As for the white cat in the cat bed, He hadn’t even woken up yet, so He definitely hadn’t seen anything.

Of course, They weren’t completely unaware of anything unusual.

Usually, the little munchkin cat wouldn’t sleep, keeping its eyes wide open to guard its father at night, but last night it had mysteriously fallen asleep, as if affected by some magic.

Like a sleep spell… Come to think of it, wasn’t Brother Agares very skilled in sleep magic? Could it be that Brother Agares really came last night? But why would he put Them to sleep?

The little munchkin cat and the red cat exchanged glances, sharing the surprise in each other’s eyes.

The little munchkin cat didn’t understand, but reported to Xiu Si, “Didn’t see meow, don’t know where Brother Agares went meow.”

It was the truth. The red cat agreed.

“Is that so…”

Xiu Si thought for a moment and said, “But it’s a bit strange.”

The little munchkin cat’s eyes widened. Its father was usually slow on the uptake, had he noticed something now?

Xiu Si analyzed, “Agares is a very smart child. If he wasn’t held up by something, he wouldn’t appear in that form.”

The little munchkin cat was stunned.

“He might be in some kind of trouble, unable to get away immediately.”

Xiu Si’s expression suddenly became serious, his eyes changing as he said in a deep voice, “Father needs to get stronger quickly, to find your second brother as soon as possible and rescue Him from trouble.”

The red cat was a bit dumbfounded. Although it didn’t think its second brother was likely to be in any trouble, if Father said so, could it really be true?

Xiu Si nodded, as if more determined to become stronger. His gaze fell on the alchemy book as he slowly said, “I can’t just work in isolation. These books are limited in their level and are no longer suitable for me. I need to go look at higher-level books.”

He seemed to have made some decision and told his children, “Father is going out for a while, I’ll be back today. You all behave at home, okay?”

The two cats felt nervous inside and meowed in unison, both wanting to go along.

Xiu Si smiled faintly, patting each head with a hand, “Then you need to stay close. Don’t run around when we go to the Roman Kingdom, there are many bad people there who like to catch cats.”

“Meow!”

The two cats’ eyes shone brightly, very determined.

Xiu Si then took Them with him.

Isolation was not a good path for upgrading, he realized after a night’s dream, gaining some new insights.

He needed to look at the most cutting-edge knowledge and challenge the most difficult things.

Only by pushing his own limits could he progress.

Half an hour later.

Francis, who had been contacted, rushed to the bookstore and exclaimed excitedly, “Mr. Yi Xiusi, have you agreed!”

Francis had seemed very concerned about his appearance yesterday, but today his eyes were sunken with bloodshot eyeballs, and he looked very haggard. He clearly hadn’t slept well last night, having been overly anxious.

Xiu Si, carrying the cat basket, nodded and said, “I will do my best to help remove the curse, but if I judge there to be any risk, I will withdraw even if I’m on site.”

Francis scratched the back of his head and smiled, “That’s fine, that’s fine. Mr. Yi Xiusi being willing to come take a look is already a great hope.”

His obsession with that Duke Luo Ke was indeed profound.

Xiu Si felt something, wondering if he himself had a similar obsession, inevitably resonating somewhat with Francis.

“Mr. Francis may be overestimating me.”

As he spoke, he turned to lock the bookstore door. The morning sun shone on his back, warm and comfortable.

Francis smiled and said, “Not at all. I knew you were extraordinary from the moment I saw you, Mr. Yi Xiusi.”

Of course an ancient being who had lived for over 8,000 years would be extraordinary. Xiu Si changed the subject, “How is Duke Luo Ke?”

It had been three days, a normal person would have died by now.

Francis’s expression stiffened, his tone heavy as he said, “Duke Luo Ke’s condition is not optimistic. He has nearly been cursed to death multiple times. Holding on until now, he’s left with only his last breath and a final shred of will.”

Duke Luo Ke was truly a powerful person, Xiu Si sincerely thought.

Will could create miracles. What kind of will was Duke Luo Ke clinging to that allowed him to persevere?

Xiu Si glanced at Francis from the corner of his eye, wanting to say something but holding back.

Just then, the space behind Francis distorted, and a tall woman walked out.

“Hello, Mr. Yi Xiusi. I am the magician Eilenna.”

She had short hair and dressed practically. A magician’s robes were usually inconvenient for movement, but she had tailored hers, changing the wide sleeves to narrow ones, and wore several bracelets that were clearly magic artifacts. The belt cinching her waist also seemed to be a magic item, made of metal with ten large magic stones in a row, glowing and sparkling.

Perhaps due to her national culture, she had an innate cheerfulness and enthusiasm about her.

Xiu Si nodded, “Hello, pleased to meet you, Lady Eilenna.”

Eilenna smiled politely, not saying much, and turned to open a spatial portal.

“This portal leads to the imperial city of our Roman Kingdom.”

She turned to look at Xiu Si, explaining, “Spatial magic is considered an unstable form of magic, often causing accidents, especially when transmitting over long distances. But Mr. Yi Xiusi, please rest assured, my magic has never had any issues. If any accident were to occur, I would prioritize your safety above all else.”

Francis also said, “Mr. Yi Xiusi is our important hope. We will do our utmost to ensure your safety.”

As the power holders of a country, it was truly rare for them to humble themselves like this to ask for his help.

Since they had said so much, Xiu Si couldn’t question anything further.

As for the two cats he carried in the cat basket.

They didn’t have much to say.

The only issue was that one of Them was a well-known stupid demon, and the other had at most a slight increase in intelligence. They were strong, sure, but it was still a bit worrying.

The red cat had a sudden idea to tell Amon.

However, to its surprise, Amon already knew.

At that moment, Amon was sitting in an armchair, legs crossed, body slightly lowered, eyes narrowed.

“I know everything that’s happening on your end.”

The red cat was shocked, “You know everything?”

Amon said matter-of-factly, “Before I left yesterday, I set up surveillance… I mean, protective magic, so I know what’s going on over there.”

The red cat’s eyes widened, “You clearly just said surveillance magic, you’re actually monitoring and stalking Father, you perverted stalker demon!”

Amon’s face darkened, and He retorted, “Where on earth did you learn such outrageous words? I’m worried about Father. You two are unreliable, Vassago has a sleepy constitution and is even less reliable, Aelioge and Beelzebub aren’t around, so who else but me?”

At this point, Botis behind Him, His vertical pupils brightening, almost shouted out “There’s me too!”

But the red cat and the little munchkin cat on the other side thought it made sense when they heard this.

Although Amon was a demon among game demons, His intelligence was top-notch.

Amon: “Don’t leave Father’s side for even a step. If anything happens, tell me immediately.”

Amon could have easily gone along too. The reason He didn’t go was because He seemed to have other ideas.

****

It was a beautiful day in the imperial city of the Roman Kingdom, bustling with traffic and crowds. Wandering poets from all over the world seemed to have gathered in the Roman Kingdom. In a few days, the imperial city would host a grand event dedicated to wandering poets.

As everyone knew, the kings of the Roman Kingdom throughout generations loved poetry, music, and art. Only they would be willing to invest in hosting such a grand event that might have no benefit to the country’s strength.

At this time, laughter and cheer could be heard from every street and alley. Wandering poets were stationed on the grass in every major park, reciting their heroic tales, attracting countless passersby to watch.

Restaurants and teahouses were lively. On stage, wandering poets narrated age-old stories, while the audience below was enthralled, squeezing together chest to back without realizing it.

Wandering poets were spread all over the world, traveling through mountains and seas, going everywhere, and thus knowing everything. Whether first-hand stories or second-hand stories, they knew them all like the back of their hand, and could travel the world with half truth and half fiction.

There was also a ranking among wandering poets, and it was a ranking created by the God of Ranking.

Although the wandering poets didn’t respect each other’s rankings, the order of the rankings had spread throughout the world, and many people knew about it, using the rankings to verify their abilities.

In a certain tavern, foreign adventurers were discussing.

Someone asked the tavern owner, “Are there any new activities for this year’s event?”

The tavern owner was a know-it-all, aware of all the big and small affairs in the imperial city, but recently…

He shook his head, “I don’t know either. Usually, the king would stir up something by now, but he hasn’t even left the palace these past few days.”

The foreigner was shocked, “Really? I hope nothing’s wrong.”

The tavern owner frowned deeply, thinking for a few seconds before saying, “I heard that Duke Luo Ke returned from an expedition, gravely ill, and about to—”

But a local nearby heard this and was very displeased, “Owner, how can you speak of our Duke Luo Ke like that? Duke Luo Ke will be fine. He’s the pillar of our country. If anything happened to him, our country would be in great turmoil.”

The foreigner was stunned. The atmosphere in the tavern changed, and a group of people turned their gaze towards them.

The owner realized he shouldn’t have said that and quickly added, “Ah, sorry, I must have overthought it. Duke Luo Ke is our country’s war god, with a level as high as 97, and a rare master of both magic and martial arts. How could someone so powerful and versatile possibly be in trouble? I must have made a mistake!”

“That’s right, Duke Luo Ke will be fine.”

“The last time we lost to the Divine Kingdom of Light was because Duke Luo Ke wasn’t here. As long as Duke Luo Ke is with us, our country is invincible!”

Someone had clearly drunk too much and started rambling.

Amidst the laughter and cheer, there were also some anxious discussions.

The tavern owner smiled apologetically to everyone, but his eyes held a hint of worry.

Was Duke Luo Ke really alright? That curse…

****

Meanwhile, at the Continental Human Alliance.

After the incident with the Divine Kingdom of Destruction, the Alliance was still busy day and night dealing with related work, such as the subsequent management of the divine kingdom and the removal of curses.

Early this morning, as soon as Norman Til had some free time, he went to find Eve.

Eve was in the library, with Simon and Lia in front of her.

They were grouped together mainly for one mission.

— To find the heroes.

And Norman Til had come precisely for this reason.

He walked to the door and knocked, “It’s me, Norman Til.”

The three people in the conference room all jolted simultaneously.

Eve hurriedly went to open the door, surprised again to see Norman Til in person, and blurted out, “I thought you went to investigate the subspace.”

Norman Til laughed and nodded, “The subspace is indeed a bit off, but I’m still human after all and need to rest for a while. So I took this break to come find you all.”

He walked into the room, his powerful presence seeming to upgrade the entire space.

Simon had the respect of facing a strong person towards Norman Til, and couldn’t help but tense up a bit.

Norman Til looked at Simon and smiled, “Elder Simon’s sword is not yet old.”

Simon was inwardly startled and politely said, “His Excellency Norman Til is a born talent.”

If two polite people start talking, it could be troublesome, so Lia interrupted, “Your Excellency Norman Til, what brings you here?”

Norman Til spoke directly, “I want to know your current investigation progress.”

Lia was inevitably surprised and asked, “Are you also concerned about the heroes’ matters?”

Eve and Simon both looked at Norman Til.

Norman Til nodded, “Yes, they are heroes who once saved the world. Wandering poets all over the world are reciting their stories. I grew up listening to their stories and have an innate curiosity about them.”

Lia pressed further, “Just personal curiosity to know?”

Simon’s expression changed, worried that Lia’s question might be a bit presumptuous.

Norman Til didn’t mind and added, “It’s personal curiosity. Besides the heroes, I’m also curious about the relationship between the Lord of the Abyss and them.”

What an honest person, completely beyond reproach.

Lia didn’t ask further, thinking to herself that Norman Til was both powerful and humble, almost perfect.

And people who are nearly perfect often have one characteristic: they are easily disliked and ostracized. Any small flaw would be infinitely magnified, and if he happens to be a noble person, such criticism targeting poor character and improper behavior would follow him throughout his life.

There have been many such incidents in history, where weak and short-sighted mobs slander heroes, eager to knock them off their pedestals and inscribe them on the pillar of historical shame. Later, the cases are revisited, and their innocence is restored to the world.

As for now, such incidents are probably not uncommon either.

Lia had once suspected that Norman Til’s character was a facade, but after observing these days, she had to admit that Norman Til was indeed a genuine human hero.

For such a person, what reason did she have to conceal or not cooperate?

Lia glanced at Eve.

Eve nodded slightly.

So Lia looked at Norman Til and said, “We have compiled all the heroes’ life stories, historical records, and collections of stories about them from various wandering poets around the world.”

After speaking, she stood up and gestured to the large number of books on the table beside her.

Not just books, but also scrolls, illustrations, and comics.

These days, although most people were busy with the Divine Kingdom of Destruction affair, the Alliance’s Historical and Cultural Research Association was also in action, doing what they should do.

These materials were all compiled by them.