Chapter 3: Helping Huo Yuhao
Time is a slippery thing—when you stop paying attention to it, it bolts right past you. Furina couldn't tally up on her fingers how long she'd been on this Douluo Continent. In any case, her Church of the Water God was taking shape more and more by the day—even if its headquarters was still a shabby little courtyard that, after two expansions, still felt cramped. People flocking to beg for cakes... ah, no, to seek the Water God's shelter came in droves, nearly trampling the doorstep flat.
Her own level shot up like a rocket. Before she knew it, she'd reached rank 30. Three soul rings spun beneath her feet: purple, purple, black! Any food-type soul master who saw this configuration would have their eyeballs pop out. People who didn't know better would think she ate soul beasts for breakfast.
Her first soul skill was still that strawberry cake—the trusty basic model. It worked wonders on headaches, fevers, cuts and scrapes. The second soul skill was blueberry. Reciting the line "Blessing of the Water God, body light as a swallow!" could make a person run like the wind. According to the boast of one believer who ate the cake and then chased down a purse-snatcher, the speed nearly sent him straight into flight.
Her third soul ring gleamed a glossy black, gifting her with a flashy, fruit-laden mixed fruit cake. The incantation was absurdly long and mortifying to recite: "In the Water God's name, purge all corruption, may grace prevail!" But the effect was ferociously potent. It could dispel a whole slew of negative conditions—poison, weakness, dizziness, you name it. After eating it, not only did the ailments vanish, but you'd feel a surge of vigor on the spot, your strength would rise, your eyes would brighten, as if you'd been pumped full of stimulants. All attributes would soar.
She was just smugly calculating whether this third soul skill could fund another deluxe upgrade for her shabby courtyard when a ding sounded in her head. That blasted system had popped up again.
[New Mission: A Glimmer in the Darkness]
[Details: Star Luo Empire, territory under the White Tiger Duke's Manor. Target: Huo Yun'er (long-term illness, in critical condition). Related individual: her son, Huo Yuhao (young, a pivotal point of fate).]
[Requirements: Provide effective treatment and ensure Huo Yun'er's survival.]
[Special Note: This matter must be handled with absolute secrecy! The Host and any members of the Church of the Water God must not directly or indirectly reveal their identities! Absolutely no traceable clues must be left behind! Failure will result in a massive deduction of points! Severe consequences!]
Furina's heart lurched at the sight of the names Huo Yun'er and Huo Yuhao. These she recognized! Wasn't this the bitter, vengeance-driven male lead of Douluo 2 and his terribly ill-fated mother? In the original story, Huo Yun'er hadn't made it through this very period—she'd passed away! Was this mission... asking her to rewrite the script?
But the subsequent lines—"absolute secrecy," "do not reveal," "massive deduction"—made her scalp prickle. The White Tiger Duke's Manor! That place was a dragon's pool and tiger's den! Her little Church of the Water God with its tiny arms and legs would barely be a morsel for them if it came down to it.
She absolutely could not go herself. That conspicuous head of white-blue hair, combined with her "outstanding" aura (in her own opinion), would be no different from announcing her name upon arrival. The followers under her? Forget it. They were all ordinary folk who at best had gotten a bit healthier from the cakes. Send them on a covert operation around the Duke's Manor? She might as well hand them over on a silver platter.
Her eyes darted, and her gaze landed on the three "senior employees" nearby.
Mademoiselle Chevaleyda's crab claw gave a sharp click, glinting coldly. Lord Usher's tentacles curled and coiled as if adjusting a nonexistent bow tie, striving to appear dignified. Madame Hevmayer floated a bit higher, bubbles around her refracting subtle gleams of light.
Hmm... these three, by no stretch of the imagination, looked like normal people. Theoretically, they shouldn't be easy to trace back to anyone, right? And their combat ability seemed... passable? At the very least, they should be able to flee without trouble... right?
"Ahem," Furina assumed her Papal stance, though it looked more like she was trying to negotiate. "Everyone, there is a difficult and glorious task to entrust to you."
She lowered her voice and explained the situation: they needed to go to a very formidable, very dangerous place, secretly rescue a gravely ill woman, absolutely must not be discovered, and bolt immediately once done.
The three non-human beings displayed little reaction. Mademoiselle Chevaleyda's claw opened and shut once, as if signaling no problem. Lord Usher seemed to find the term "covert operation" quite distinguished; his tentacles straightened a bit. Madame Hevmayer... well, she was the same as ever, just floating.
Furina hurriedly whipped up several super-potent fruit cakes of her third soul skill on the spot. This cake had absurdly strong effects—hopefully enough to keep life tethered.
Just in case, she also made a strawberry cake of her first soul skill. Carefully, she handed the cake to Mademoiselle Chevaleyda (since her claws looked the most stable of the three).
"Take this. Find that woman named Huo Yun'er and find a way to make her eat it. Remember! Absolutely, under no circumstances, get seen! Come back immediately once it's done!"
The three strange creatures "looked" at one another (perhaps they had a unique communication method of their own), and then Mademoiselle Chevaleyda carefully clamped the cake in her claws. Lord Usher produced a miniature top hat from who-knows-where and set it daintily upon himself. Madame Hevmayer drifted ahead to lead the way. Thus, the three characters formed a task force of remarkable eccentricity, slipped silently out of the courtyard, and vanished into the crowd.
Furina watched the direction they'd gone, her heart pounding uneasily. Sending a crab, a bubbly seahorse, and a suit-wearing octopus on a transnational covert medical rescue mission... how was it that this plan sounded so completely unreliable?
She could only silently pray that the White Tiger Duke Manor's guards were a bit more lax that day, or that they'd dismiss this odd trio as some bizarre mutated soul beasts and ignore them.
Never mind, no point dwelling on it. She still had to distribute (plain) cakes to the new followers. Being the Pope was busy work!
Several days later, the three came sauntering back. They looked no different on the outside, except that Lord Usher had a smudge of mud on one tentacle, which he was trying, somewhat disdainfully, to wipe off.
Mademoiselle Chevaleyda's claws were empty. The cake must have been delivered.
[Ding! Mission "A Glimmer in the Darkness" complete. Reward points have been distributed.] The system's notification chimed right on time.
Furina let out a long sigh of relief. Done! Even though she couldn't begin to imagine how those three had infiltrated the Duke's Manor, located Huo Yun'er, and fed her the cake. The process was undoubtedly filled with unspeakable mysteries.
Whatever. The mission was done. No need to delve into the details.
What she didn't know was that that very night, in the most remote and damp servants' quarters of the White Tiger Duke's Manor, a woman on the brink of death, drifting in and out of consciousness, had felt something sweet and soft carefully fed into her mouth, carrying a rich fragrance of mixed fruits.
After swallowing, a gentle yet potent warmth rapidly spread through her limbs and all her bones. The pain and weakness that had tormented her for years miraculously receded by a wide margin, pulling her back from the brink of death.
On the floor beside her bed, a small patch of faint moisture lingered. A trace of an exceedingly faint, sweet buttercream fragrance hung in the air. And from beneath the window outside, was that the shadow of a blue-glinting crab claw swiftly retracting into the corner?
A few more cakes had also been left by the bedside...