Dark Moon Era

After going through the tunnels and shuttling through the Cliff of Hope, it was evening at the Hope Barrier and the sky was dyed red by the sunset.

It was the middle of summer.

The tunnel was connected directly to the cave. Right after he came out from the tunnel and stepped out of the exit of the cave, Tang Ling saw the blazing red sky.

He stopped. He knew that in a little while more, the red sun would fade and set. The dark blue night sky would then devour the red, replacing its vivid colors with a gloomy silence.

“Brother, what’s that?” San San’s little hand was holding the stem of a plant. On top of the stem was a flower with five white petals garnished with a pink edge. It looked cute like San San’s clean little hands.

“Bitter Baedin…” Tang Ling turned around, and before he could even finish, he saw San San pluck a white petal and put it into her mouth.

” Pui, pui, pui, pui…Bitter! Bad petal!” Her delicate nose crinkled as her googly eyes that were as clear as lake water squinted and her cheeks were puffed up.

Life was hard, but Tang Ling’s goal was simple: never starve San San.

Tang Ling smiled as he pinched her puffy cheeks. “You little glutton.”

“It’s bitter, isn’t it? Let me give you something sweet, okay? You see, the petals and the leaves of the Bitter Baedin are bitter, but its roots are sweet. Go on. Taste it.”

“Mm-hmm! Sweet! It’s so sweet!” San San smiled brightly as she put the root into her mouth and did not want to spit it out. Tang Ling carried her over his neck and walked home.

It was also sunset at that time, but they must get home before dark. Their grandmother was at home with a fire built, heated food and boiled water.

“Brother, the sunset goes away so fast.

“Brother, I don’t like the night. If the sun sets a little slower, I can play a little longer outside.

“Brother…”

Tang Ling wandered to the First Reserved Camp’s entrance in a daze. As for the setting sun, he did not want to look at it anymore. At least, the painful memories were less painful now. They replayed many times in his mind and he seemed to have somehow gotten used to them.

The reason why the memories came to him this time was that he was tired after hiding in the secret tunnel to cultivate his eating method, hence the memories seized the opportunity and reminded him of the past.

Tang Ling recovered his normal expression as he took a thorny sweet melon out from his backpack. He bought it in Safety Sector No. 17 as a gift for everyone. It was not expensive at all since it was quite common in the forest during the summer.

Tang Ling munched on the sweet melon, its juice splashing as he landed a bite. The gluttonous rascal was back.

However, the First Reserved Camp cave was very quiet, so no one was there to watch his show. The annual test of the First Reserved Camp was just around the corner, hence almost every New Moon Warrior decided to take the day off today.

“Am I too early?” Tang Ling simply wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Then, he heard soothing and beautiful singing from inside the cave.

It was great!

Tang Ling unconsciously lightened his steps and snuck over to the cave where the singing came from. It was their cave, the Fierce Dragon Squad cave.

It was actually Vian and Christina singing. They were smiling as they leaned on each other, harmonizing the melodious tune over and over again. They looked very happy as they were engrossed in singing.

Tang Ling did not barge in. Instead, he quietly backed off and leaned against the entrance, listening to their singing.

It was an era of mental draught. The cruelty of life forced people to move on and never stop, hence no one had the time to create any kind of mental wealth like literature, music and magical movies or television shows.

Tang Ling knew about those things through reading, but he did not have the time to listen to a full song from the old civilization.

In his memories, a song meant some old tunes that his grandmother hummed to put him to sleep. San San would also hum when she was happy though it was mostly some random squeaks without any actual rhythm.

It was the first time he heard someone singing, and surprisingly, he realized the song was effective at calming one’s heart.

Tang Ling was enjoying it alone at the entrance until he saw Amir walk in from outside. He saw Tang Ling standing at the entrance and was surprised.

“Shhhh.” Tang Ling signed Amir not to interrupt them.

Amir quietly stood beside Tang Ling while the singing continued inside the cave.

“Isn’t it nice?” Tang Ling whispered his question to Amir who also enjoyed it a lot. His eyes were gleaming as he nodded.

“Where did you come back from?” Tang Ling unconsciously asked. He just wanted to have a little conversation to kill the silence between them.

Everyone in the Fierce Dragon Squad was close, but Amir seemed to have built a wall between himself and the others. Maybe it was just him, but Tang Ling felt that Amir’s mental wall was very complex. He did not want that because Amir was from the settlement. Also, when Tang Ling faked being injured that day, Amir had strode over and offered his Hope credits to heal him. The sincerity on his face back then was authentic.

Unbeknownst to him, although it was just an unintentional question, Amir reacted differently. The complication on his face deepened.

A while later, he said softly, “I didn’t go anywhere. I stayed here in the Hope Barrier. I just went out for a stroll.”

“Ah, I’m sorry.” Tang Ling felt guilty all of a sudden. Should he not have known about it either? He was also from the settlement, and without Su Yao, he would have nowhere to go either.

******

“Don’t be shy now. Come on. Sing again. I insist.” Orston was loud with excitement in the cave.

Together with Orston’s exalted tone, Andy was also encouraging the girls to sing. He was jumping around and begging Vian and Christina to sing the song that Tang Ling and Amir heard in the evening.

Everyone looked forward to hearing the song of the old civilization.

It was considered a precious treasure. Since the era took a drastic shift, the video and vocal recordings of the old civilization were mostly destroyed while the remaining ones were somehow lost in transition.

Rumor had it that only a very few nobles could get their hands on those precious treasures.

As a New Moon Warrior, all they could access were some literary works from the old civilization, but they could never get close to a video or a recording.

“Come on, sing for us,” Yu also tried to encourage them.

Christina glared at Tang Ling. Who would have thought that Tang Ling would be that sick to eavesdrop on their singing when he came back and not even notify them of his presence? Furthermore, he even told everyone about it! Even Amir, who was always quiet, was influenced by Tang Ling.

Christina looked askance at Tang Ling but he ignored her. Orston, on the other hand, insisted and kept encouraging them to sing.

“Tina, why don’t we sing again?” Vian pulled Christina’s sleeve and said softly.

Christina glared at Tang Ling once more as she said, “Fine, we will sing, but everyone pays 1 Hope credits each. We aren’t singing without any pay!”

“Hehehe, we are always lacking resources during missions but definitely not Hope credits! I’ll pay 2 Hope credits for you to sing twice.” Tang Ling was not frightened by Christina’s glare. He held a cup of warm water in his hand and acted like he was immensely generous.

Amidst the laughter, Vian and Christina conceded, so the two girls started to croon the song that they sang in the evening a little embarrassedly.

They sounded great, the two of them could sing well, plus the melody and beautiful tune of the old civilization, one would easily be infatuated with their singing.

Even Yu and Orston who had heard the songs of the old civilization before felt that Vian and Christina sang better than the recordings.

As the singing echoed in the cave, the fire danced and generated warmth. The guys of the Fierce Dragon Squad sat down quietly and looked at the two girls with kind gazes and soft smiles. The two girls looked a little shy, but at the same time, they were proud as they held hands and sang for the group.

They had grown together for two months now, so they were closer than ever. They laughed and played around, having gone through tedious and tiring training and were still able to enjoy the tiny bits of life among themselves. They had just gone through a life-and-death battle, but now, they were infatuated by the singing. The scene would be carved in their memories for eternity like a painting.

After the first song ended, Tang Ling, who was leaning on the cave wall, asked the girls, “What does the song mean?”

Although he was able to understand several types of language due to his muddled and strange memories, he did not understand the song that they sang and was just attracted by the tune.

“Yeah, what does it mean?” Everyone else was also curious.

The language of the song sounded very uncommon. Even Orston and Yu, who were nobles and had to learn the language of the old civilization since young, had never heard of the language before.

“It is a type of language from some island country in the Dongsheng Continent. When the old civilization died off, the island country was completely cut off from the outside world, so their legacy and inheritance were harder to be preserved,” Christina explained.

During that time, the old civilization had achieved technological advancement, hence the distance between countries was closer than ever, and they should have a lot of ways to communicate.

Therefore, the song of the island country was somehow passed down among nobles, but no one was able to understand the language.

Christina found the song in her family collection by accident. When saw the lyrics, she was moved, so she dragged Vian into practicing the song since it was a holiday.

As for the meaning of the lyrics, Christina looked at Vian. It would be much better for Vian, a sentimental girl, to explain since she was too bold and rough. She would destroy the meaning of the lyrics if she explained it.

“The lyrics are about classmates parting ways with each other and the promise they made before they walk their separate paths. ‘Classmates’ is a term from the old civilization. I(t means people that learn together and live together like us here in the First Reserved Camp,” Vian explained what the song was about before she further elaborated word by word.

“I will not forget the promise I made at the end of summer,

“And the dreams and wishes in the future.

“I believe that we will meet again 10 years later at the end of summer.

“The best memories will linger in us.

“Meeting you was a thoughtless but precious moment.

“Ah, the fireworks that bloomed in the night sky felt sad.

“Ah, the wind flows along with time.

“The happiness and joy that we’ve been through, the adventures that we overcome, they were countless and precious.

“I believe that we will meet again 10 years later at the end of summer.

“It will be a little sad, but the memories will be the best.”

Vian’s sentimental and emotional voice read out the lyrics. Just like what Christina said, even the lyrics were touching.

Even Orston, the slowest among the bunch, understood why Christina and Vian would be moved by the song to the point that they learned it themselves. It was relatable to their current lives and how they spent every day together through thick and thin.

The boys would never express it verbally. All they did was look at each other and strengthen their thoughts for each other.

After Vian finished explaining the lyrics, she sat down and put her hands under her chin to look at everyone. Eventually, she asked Tang Ling, “It’s also summer now. Do you think we’ll still be together 10 years later at the end of summer? If we are together, will we be fighting for the sector? Or if we aren’t together anymore, will we see each other again 10 years later at the end of summer? What will we become in 10 years?”

Her question somehow jabbed at Tang Ling’s heart. It stung him, to be exact. He thought the pain and sorrow had died together with his grandmother and sister. He never expected to feel the same with someone else.

10 years later? Maybe it would not even take 10 years for him to break away from Safety Sector No. 17.

However, Tang Ling did not want to express his thoughts at all as if he did not want to remember all this, yet to his surprise, he remembered all of it.

Therefore, Tang Ling returned to his carefree and heartless self as he said with a laugh, “What are you thinking about? You’ll get fat in 10 years like that cooking maiden that deliver meals for the warriors on duty. Tsk tsk. Why would you still want to fight by then? You should live your life happily in the sector. Hahaha…”

What kind of answer was that? Only Orston chuckled with Tang Ling, both of them looking silly.

Vian hugged her knees with slight disappointment as Christina then glared at Tang Ling again. She could never communicate with Tang Ling spiritually, he was as dull as a rock other than being able to eat like mad.

******

“Why did you say something like that to Vian just now?” Yu was a little unhappy as he tossed a little pouch to Tang Ling.

Tang Ling peered down, not looking at Yu. He opened the pouch to find a few pieces of meat. Judging from the muscle patterns and intensity, it must be vicious beast meat although maybe not as good as Level 3 vicious beast meat.

“Level 2 vicious beast meat?” Tang Ling weighed the pouch with his hand. It was about 2.5 kgs and should last him for a while.

“Yeah, 2.5 kgs of Level 2 vicious beast meat jerky. It requires at least 10 kgs of fresh Level 2 vicious beast meat to produce that amount. That’s already half of the family’s savings. As for the Level 3 vicious beast meat, the family isn’t going to trade it for some crystals. Even the Level 2 vicious beast meat is something they thought that I needed,” Yu explained.

“That’s good enough.” Tang Ling was not calculative. Although Yu said that he would lose something in the trade, Tang Ling felt like he earned something.

“You didn’t answer me. Why did you discourage Vian like that.” Yu pressed on the topic.

“Did I? I just don’t have the heart to think about 10 years later, so I just spoke my mind.” Tang Ling looked at the battlefield ruins at the edge of the Patrol Ground under the Purple Moon. He felt like he was looking at the settlement ruins.

Who would think about 10 years later?