The Handbook for Completing Demi-Human Girls

Chapter 483: Gou Wen

Organizing Kakaro's Serpent-kin settlement was indeed very troublesome. Originally, Tsubaki intended to stay up all night to finish dealing with matters here, but as a Mythical Species, Tsubaki truly found it easy to overlook the gap between ranks.

The lower-ranked slaves already had frail constitutions and simply couldn't endure continuous exertion and long-distance relocation. Moreover, at this moment, no new districts had been developed within the Ideal State. Even if they were rapidly migrated there, there would be no place to settle them.

If they really followed Tsubaki's concept, the Ideal State would probably fall into chaos the moment they arrived.

Thus, under Gou Wen's advice, Tsubaki ultimately decided to proceed slowly, though his "slowly" merely delayed things by a single day.

By late afternoon of the next day, the last batch of slaves, Serpent-kin, and goods had mostly been cleared out. Because of this, the originally bustling beach also became extremely quiet, leaving only the Completely Empty buildings left behind by the Serpent-kin and the waves ceaselessly lapping against the sandy beach day and night.

Fisher hadn't returned all day, constantly helping them organize things. Naturally, he had to stay until the end, because he still needed to find a quiet place to attempt the method Gui told him. Furthermore, according to Helaire, the process of entering the Mythic Rank carried certain risks; he felt it was best not to do so within the Ideal State.

Watching the last group of people slowly leave under Mikhail's leadership, he also led the camel and looked around, preparing to find a quiet and safe place in the distance to enter the Mythic Rank.

He had already entrusted Mikhail to pass on a message to Helaire that he would return late. Of course, perhaps it was unnecessary, but he also incidentally had Mikhail tell her that he would bring a gift back for her upon returning.

Whether it was due to experiencing Renee's baptism, Fisher, who originally had zero feeling or awareness in this regard, now understood a lot more. For instance, he originally could have just passed the gift on now, but he ultimately felt it was better to give it personally.

How about it? Does it feel a bit like "the predecessors plant the trees, and the descendants enjoy the shade"?"Hum~ hum~ hum~"

The camel he led behind started singing again, prompting Fisher, who was preparing to leave temporarily, to pat its head, making it quiet down.

But right before leaving, he suddenly saw Gou Wen sitting alone in the middle of the Serpent-kin settlement, facing the Ocean.

At this moment, he was still wearing the same outfit made of some seaweed fabric from their first meeting. His long, pale blue hair draped over his chest, with the ends restrained by a golden hairband to prevent it from scattering casually. He just sat cross-legged on the sandy beach like that, gazing into the distance at the sinking sunset and the sea surface, a gentle smile on his face.

Fisher raised an eyebrow, led the camel towards that direction, and asked him,

"Mikhail has already left, you're still not leaving?"

Gou Wen glanced at him, the previously gentle smile instantly reverting to the sour face Fisher was most familiar with. Fisher always felt he held some sort of slanderous grievance toward him, though he still didn't know the specific reason. He only heard Gou Wen reply,

"Aren't you also still here?"

"I have matters to attend to."

"Going to pick up girls again?"

"Yep."

"Your mom..."

Facing the dark-faced Gou Wen, Fisher smiled faintly. Finally, he shook his head, not continuing the joke, but said,

"I just have matters to attend to; I'll return to the Ideal State later."

"I also have matters to attend to."

Upon hearing this, Fisher glanced at the Ocean. After a moment's hesitation, he didn't continue walking forward, but instead sat beside him. This sudden action caused Gou Wen to curl his lip and move back a bit. He said,

"What are you doing?"

"...Need help?"

"What?"

"Don't you have matters to attend to?"

Fisher's black pupils reflected Gou Wen's slightly surprised face at this moment, but he remained unfazed, stating,

"Pandora promised you some sort of remuneration, right? This matter is related to that remuneration, and also related to your purpose for ascending to the Sanctuary."

After a slight pause, Gou Wen smilingly shook his head and said,

"Discovered by you, huh. I thought I hid it pretty well."

"Both your reasons seem untenable to me. The first time, you said you ascended to the Sanctuary to study medicine under Raphael. This is indeed possible, but later when we went to the Second Heaven, you didn't display a deep yearning for Raphael's medical skills, including the previous time we went to the Tree Continent. You are indeed very interested in medical skills and enjoy exchanging medical knowledge, but you are absolutely not a medical fanatic or a truth-seeker willing to take such huge risks to explore theories..."

"As for the second reason, it's even more nonsense. You said that after moving, you suspected there were ghosts under your new home, so you came to the Sanctuary seeking answers. But the fact is, since that ghost could converse with you Whale-kin, how could you guys not know its origin? You already knew long ago that the true body of Chief God Ramastia was right beneath your dwelling place, and the one conversing with you was His true self."

Yes, actually Fisher had long discovered that Gou Wen's purpose in coming to the Sanctuary was not as he previously stated. At that time, Fisher didn't know the specifics, only deducing that at least his purpose was unrelated to their group, and in all probability, it was because the appearance of their group hindered him from achieving his goal.

And now, he roughly guessed a few clues, having some speculations based on many previous hints.

That purpose was related to Angel Sorobato.

Hearing this, Gou Wen smiled faintly, a touch of gentleness appearing on his handsome face. He sighed and said,

"You, truly, if it weren't for those few bad habits, you would really be a very nice person, both smart and friendly..."

As he spoke, his tone suddenly became eerie, and his gaze also began to continuously sweep over Fisher's lower body,

"Sigh, say, if the grand momentum is gone, would you not have so many bad habits? I think by then you might become a saint!"

Fisher's body shuddered. He stepped back a bit expressionlessly and replied,

"No need, thank you doctor... So, do you need my help or not?"

Gou Wen withdrew his dangerous gaze bit by bit. He looked toward the sea surface again, the gentle smile resurfacing,

"However, no need. This matter must be completed by me alone. The reason I didn't tell you my true purpose before was considering where you came from. I worried it would produce a certain impact, benefiting neither the people I cherish nor my purpose. I hope you won't take offense."

Fisher didn't mind much at all, merely replying,

"It's fine. After all, I also have many things I haven't told you. Knowing each other inside out isn't a necessity for weighing the quality of our relationship. You are the first person I met after coming here, and you have helped me a lot."

Gou Wen raised an eyebrow, turned his head and asked,

"Things you haven't told me... Wait, you have other women?"

"..."

Great, this guy is acting up again.

Questioning once more: not knowing why this guy always loves to care about his private life so much.

Fisher didn't reply, simply staring at him expressionlessly, allowing Gou Wen's doubts to dissipate on their own.

After a moment of silence, Gou Wen still said smilingly,

"Forget it, forget it, you go on, bye-bye."

"...Are you serious?"

"Have you picked up too many girls or something? I said yes, do you think I still need to be polite with you?"

Gou Wen laughed out of exasperation. Sitting cross-legged on the ground, he waved his hand at Fisher, jokingly scolding him as if shooing him away.

After confirming repeatedly and seeing Gou Wen so certain, Fisher had no choice but to slowly get up, patting the sand off his clothes,

"Alright, then I'm really leaving."

"Go, go, I'm fine here..."

After hesitating for a moment, Fisher still led the camel. Then, while turning to leave the place where Gou Wen sat, he waved his hand at him, heading in another direction under the gradually deepening moonlight, and quickly vanished silently into the graceful distance of the sunset.

Gou Wen smilingly watched him go further and further away, until he was completely out of sight before turning his head to look at the quiet sea surface.

The sunset slowly disappeared, stars dotted the sky like a backdrop, and the moon rose again, casting ripples of light upon the gently rippling sea surface.

Yet Gou Wen still made no other movements, merely looking quietly at the sea surface.

It was only after a good few hours had passed since Fisher left, from sunset all the way until Midnight when all was silent save for the ocean waves, yet he still maintained his posture sitting cross-legged facing the Ocean.

Not until a certain moment, a certain second, did he finally let out a long breath. His entire person seemed to come alive as he wriggled his body. Subsequently, his hand reached into his robe, fumbled for a bit, and quickly drew out a slightly curved, glowing Horn.

This Horn was exactly the one obtained from the Serpent-kin yesterday, the Horn they used to contact Angel Sorobato.

Gou Wen weighed this Horn, then without any hesitation aimed that Horn at his mouth. After taking a deep breath, he forcefully blew the Relic Horn in his hand,

"Woo! Woo! Woo!"

The blown Horn seemingly produced no sound, yet that Horn violently trembled, as if sounding toward the sky a tune only certain existences could perceive.

"Woo!! Woo!! Woo!!"

As the Horn's trembling grew increasingly violent, Gou Wen finally exhausted that long breath, then gently tossed that Horn onto the sandy ground nearby.

He remained sitting cross-legged, facing the gently rising and falling ocean waves, seemingly waiting for something.

Time passed minute by minute, second by second. It felt like fifteen minutes had passed, or perhaps an hour. In short, under the rhythmic lapping of the ocean waves before him, the originally bright night sky above abruptly gathered gloomy clouds.

And the sand grains on the surrounding ground seemingly broke free from gravity's shackles, floating upwards by about a decimeter, quickly attracting Gou Wen's gaze.

He made no other movements, looking up at mid-air. He only saw a moderately-built, androgynous Angel with short orange-yellow hair, clad in a white robe, slowly descending from amidst those clouds. Behind that Angel, a pair of dark gray illusory wings grew out of thin air. An elliptical halo spun continuously atop his head, seemingly condensing the heaven and earth of this time and place to its single point.

His face wore an indifference no different from other Angels. But when he slowly descended to the front of the sandy beach and saw this place Completely Empty, leaving only a Whale-kin sitting cross-legged on the ground, his brows couldn't help but furrow slightly, generating an extremely apparent fluctuation.

And when that Angel finally appeared in the sky, more joy and relief finally manifested on the face of Gou Wen, who had been sitting cross-legged on the spot for a long time. He seemed to finally heave a sigh of relief, also resembling the excitement prior to the commencement of a difficult surgery.

"A pleasure to meet you, Angel Sorobato."

Pausing for a moment, Gou Wen below smilingly looked at the Angel in the sky. Subsequently, he greeted quite politely.

Hearing this, Sorobato raised an eyebrow. He ignored Gou Wen's greeting. At the same time, his aura—approaching the Fifteenth Tier bordering on the Sixteenth Tier—quickly swept across this area. Following that, he swiftly discovered that the Serpent-kin, slaves, materials, scrap Holy Artifacts, and the unfinished product he left behind here had all vanished without a trace at this moment!

A faint feeling of annoyance rose within his heart; consequently, the halo atop his head at this moment also began to emit a dangerous red glow.

Sorobato's gaze quickly zeroed in on the sole lifeform in this area. His aura projected downward, pouring down from the sky carrying the pressure of a Mythical Species as he asked,

"You are?"

"Ah, me..."

Hearing this, Gou Wen clapped his hands, then slowly stood up, likewise shaking off some of the sand grains clinging to his body,

"I wonder if Lord Angel Sorobato in the Third Heaven has heard that recently a Whale-kin was captured in the Sanctuary? Previously, he was convicted alongside that group of Transferred Persons, so he had no choice but to run errands for several Lord Archangels?"

Sorobato narrowed his eyes, quickly thinking of the corresponding person,

"Oh, the Whale-kin who was with that group of Transferred Persons... So you mean to say, the fact that everything here is completely gone and the Serpent-kin are nowhere to be found, is related to you and that group of Transferred Persons?"

"No, it's only related to me."

"Related to you?"

"I wonder if Lord Sorobato still remembers the events in the Ocean six and a half months ago?"

Gou Wen's tone remained gentle, the massive whale tail behind him swaying slightly, drawing a shallow semicircle on the sandy ground.

Yet under Gou Wen's reminder, Sorobato's pupils twitched slightly, and even the halo atop his head flickered with crimson brilliance. He sneered and said,

"Six months ago... Oh, you mean that crazy female Whale-kin who ran out while I was forging a Holy Artifact in the sea previously? Wasn't she beaten half to death by me and fell into the Ocean Trench? What, turns out you're here for revenge?"

"So Lord Angel Sorobato still remembers... But to tell the truth, it is indeed so, I am here for revenge."

Sorobato looked at Gou Wen below, then seeming to recall something, he let out an "Ah," and subsequently said,

"So that's how it is, I understand. I am an Angel of the Third Heaven which presides over punishment, so from the very beginning, you trespassing into the Sanctuary was to be captured by the Angels of the Second Heaven, because the place of judgment is in the Third Heaven, so you would be able to see me. Because you didn't know the base of my activities in the mortal realm, that's why you thought of directly going to the Sanctuary to find me..."

"In that case, that group of Transferred Persons actually ruined your plan. That group of Transferred Persons happened to appear in the Sanctuary at that moment, so you were implicated as well, thus not being judged by the Third Heaven, but directly taken to the Seventh Heaven to accept the judgment of the seven Archangels, right?"

"You are absolutely right."

Gou Wen nodded with a bitter smile. In fact, it was indeed so. He went round and round in such a big circle entirely because Fisher and Asuka Karasawa, these two sudden variables, appeared.

His deduction affirmed, Sorobato was directly amused into laughter. He scanned the Gou Wen before him up and down, then sneered,

"But, I would like to ask, you are only Fourteenth-Tier, not even reaching the Mythic Rank, and there is no one else here. Even if you faced me at this moment, you would have zero chance of winning. How dare you run to the Sanctuary to be captured, hoping to see me at the moment of judgment? Have you lost your mind? Thinking seeing me means you can seek revenge? That crazy female Whale-kin was an idiot with no IQ, are you, who came for revenge, also brainless? Or is it that all you Whale-kin are just like this?"

Accompanying his mocking words, the crimson color within the halo atop his head grew increasingly dense. It even caused the entire Ocean to faintly generate visible swirling winds. The surrounding wind grew increasingly urgent, leaving profound scars on the sandy ground like a barrage of blades.

The clothes on Gou Wen's body were also whipped wildly by the wind, dancing incessantly behind him like fluttering butterfly wings.

Yet he himself remained entirely unmovable. He merely gave a somewhat helpless smile,

"The Whale-kin you beat into severe injuries is called [Xuan Can]. The commotion you made forging a Holy Artifact in the Ocean back then was indeed very big, just like roasting the creatures on the seafloor over a fire. But it was roughly too far from where we live; she probably couldn't sense it, right? Maybe it was just because you disturbed her sleep? Or maybe because when she went out to play and came back, she found you displeasing to the eye so she struck, who knows..."

Only, exactly at the same time, in his hand, a Blade of Gold thin as a cicada's wing was slowly gripped by his slender fingers.

Facing the fierce gale whipped up by the Mythical Species in the distance, he aimed that Blade of Gold, which resembled a scalpel more than a weapon, at Sorobato in the sky. Because of the other party's figure blocking it, the moonlight couldn't reach Gou Wen's face, thus casting a terrifying shadow over his face that currently bore a gentle smile.

"But regardless of the reason, Xuan Can was beaten into severe injuries by you, an Angel, and until now is still lying in the Ocean Trench recuperating. Her mouth is very tough; losing a fight is losing a fight. Even if her teeth were shattered, she'd swallow them into her stomach without speaking a single word of grievance. But quite unluckily, her Childhood Sweethearts, early-married husband is not such a person. He is rather narrow-minded and seeks revenge for the smallest grievance, so that's why he secretly hid it from her and came over to seek revenge..."

Gou Wen's smile faded bit by bit, until finally, that gentleness entirely transformed into a bone-deep coldness, appearing diametrically opposed to the frantic, swirling wind in the distance.

He merely said,

"Her husband is called Gou Wen, and he is a doctor."