Pillar of Yita

”Take care of each other, young man, may the Flame of the Holy Fire illuminate your path,” the old man gave one last glance at the sunset in the distance, as if it were the last afterglow over the Sand Sea: ”I am old, this may be the last time I walk this road, it may also be the last time I see such a sight, I just hope that one day after I die, Istania will remain peaceful for a long time—”

’After I die, Istania will remain peaceful for a long time—’

Fang Hong suddenly remembered where he had heard such words before.

And the solemn face of the King of Sand, Barbaltan, once again appeared in his memory, only to disappear in a moment.

...

After bidding farewell to the old man, he entered the city alone.

As he passed through the city gates, he removed his headscarf and wind-blocking neck wrap, glancing around — Miss Ship’s Officer had said they would come to give him a welcome. But before he found anyone, he heard a voice coming from one side of the street:

”Ade!”

Fang Hong looked up and saw it was Aleph, who was wearing a gray checkered robe, waving at him.

”I heard from Lavali that you were returning today,” Aleph came over and patted him hard on the shoulder: ”I was too busy these past few days to leave the Royal Palace, wanted Afeifa to send you a message, but she said she was too busy.”

Fang Hong thought to himself that she was indeed too busy, Princess Afeifa probably didn’t want to see him, although Luo Yu should have returned to Quistack by now, he wondered if the Little Princess had gone to see him. Just thinking about the confrontations between her and Tianlan made him shake his head.

Hopefully, those two won’t meet again.

Looking at this prince, he was a bit surprised: ”I thought you wouldn’t be able to leave these days, I was planning for Miss Lavali to say goodbye to you in my stead.”

”Goodbye?”

”We are leaving this place,” Fang Hong replied: ”We are building a ship in Tansnier, it will be ready soon, and then we will leave this place.”

Aleph was slightly taken aback: ”Ade, are you sure you don’t want to stay a bit longer?”

”The Seven Seas Travel Group has other matters to attend to,” Fang Hong replied: ”Next, we are heading to Scepter Coast to take care of some business.” He looked at the prince: ”Aleph, rest assured, if there is an opportunity, we will come back. After all, Istania is the departure point of the Seven Seas Traveler, for sailors on the Sky Sea, it’s like a second home.”

”We will remember this place, it holds a special meaning for us—”

Aleph added: ”Is it because we are friends?”

Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile: ”You will become the King of Istania in the future, of course, with a prosperous friend like you, I won’t forget.”

After saying that, he nodded again: ”Yes, we are friends.”

Aleph laughed heartily: ”I knew it.”

Fang Hong also laughed and asked, ”But you haven’t told me why the King of Sand let you out, is he very satisfied with your ’studies’?”

”Not really,” Aleph shook his head: ”Normally, I wouldn’t be able to come out. But Father is going to the Garden of Illusions, and Colin Ishurian has dispatched an envoy group, so he doesn’t have time to manage me, giving me a chance to get out. But it’s just today, once today is over, I have to return to the Royal Palace.”

By the end, there was a tinge of regret in the prince’s tone.

”Colin Ishurian sent an envoy group?”

Fang Hong looked around, no wonder he saw more northern attire on the streets earlier — it seems many people from Colin have arrived, how many envoys did Colin Ishurian send? Although exchanging envoys between Colin and Istania is quite common, at this moment, Fang Hong couldn’t help but have some thoughts about it.

Barbaltan going to the Garden of Illusions also surprised him, he recalled hearing about the Garden of Illusions from the Grand Princess before, it is the royal garden of the Royal House of Penelope, located in an unknown place in the desert. Is the King of Sand going there because of his ’plan’?

Suddenly, he remembered something else. The matter about the Sand Thieves that Mayer Hill told him about had seemed familiar, but only now did he recall that the Grand Princess had also mentioned the Sand Thieves not long ago—

It was the King of the Sand Thief, who had stolen a batch of Abyssal Sea Manuscripts from the Garden of Illusions. The Grand Princess had also mentioned at the time that there was a traitor within the Royal Family, but it’s uncertain whether they have found out who the mole is by now.

And the ’information peddler’ he connected with, Mayer Hill said that person was also in contact with the Sand Thieves, what connection could there be?

Such thoughts flashed through his mind.

Because at that moment, Aleph interrupted his train of thought:

”By the way, Ade, your friends are here too.”

”Friends?”

”Yes, they’re over there—”

Aleph said as he winked at him playfully: ”Ade, I never thought you were hiding such a beautiful Miss Ship’s Officer, no wonder you hurried to Quistack. Lavali already told me about your matters, don’t worry, your crew members have returned, and Count Nulman has also received them—”