Chapter 30 Chapter 1 In the Cloud

Taxis lined up in the driveway waiting for passengers.Beautiful, bizarre, or a combination of both, these vehicles are eccentric beyond imagination.There are winged squirrels pulling gilded nutshells, diamond-encrusted pumpkins being dragged by teams of mice (a look that teenage girls love), and less conspicuous, more conservatively, griffins or unicorns. Beast-drawn carts, suitable for guild masters or guests who don't like to be too ostentatious when traveling.Joram was anxious to leave, and had planned to take the front car in the train—the lizard in that car had been cast into the shape of a dragon.But Simkin said it was a frightening piece of shit (a remark that made the owner furious), and he walked along the train, examining each car critically.

A black swan magnified dozens of times by Kenhana was finally declared a suitable choice after Simkin's careful examination and Joram's hasty and angry urging several times. "We have hired this car," Simkin announced to the driver majestically. "Where are you going?" The driver was a young lady dressed as a white swan, her eyes were magically decorated like the eyes of a bird. "To the palace, of course." Simkin said wearily, and then calmly sat on the back of the swan.He nestled in the glossy black feathers, sighed contentedly, and motioned for Joram to sit up too.When Joram climbed up to sit next to his friend, the lady driving the carriage carefully looked at the two young men, her dark eyes narrowed.

"You are to show an official invitation to pass through the boundary clouds," she demanded explicitly, eyeing Joram with particular displeasure, who would not let Simkin change him into clothes appropriate for the occasion. "My dear boy," said Simkin sadly to Joram. "What a sensation you would be if you would give yourself to me without worry! What chance would I have with you! You have such beautiful hair and such strong arms! Women would be like poisoned Down at your feet like doves!" Joram thought that might be inconvenient, but Simkin was not so easy to persuade.

"I have a color that's just right for you, and I call that Blazing Charcoal! A burning orange you've never seen. I can make it feel hot to the touch, and make tiny flames surround your ankles. Of course, you must Be careful not to burn your partner. There were guests on fire at the emperor's previous banquets. Jealousy burst from the hands..." Joram refused to wear the charcoal suit, opting instead for something almost identical to Prince Jarod's—a bare, flowing gown with a rather simple collar ("No wrinkle?" Simkin exclaimed in distress. .) Joram chose green velvet, and he remembered Anya's green dress, which she wore until the day she died.The tattered green suit was the only remnant of her Merilon happy life, and it was the perfect color for her son who was going to win back his place in the family tonight.Qiao Ran stretched out his hand to stroke the smooth velvet, feeling that tonight was the closest moment he had to Anya.Perhaps it was because she had appeared in his dream last night, and he knew that if her wrongs were not redressed, her restless wandering soul would not be at rest.At least that's how he interpreted the dream.She had stretched out her hand to him, put her hands together in a begging gesture, begged him...

"Well, if you plan to go to the palace with a wet blanket that can walk, I will do it." Xin Jin said despondently, and changed into a gorgeous dress, nothing else, just this outfit That six-foot-tall rooster tail feather is enough to show off.He waved his hand and put on a pure white robe for himself. "The name of Emin!" Mosiah stared at Sim Jin with disgust. "Change back! The one just now was scarier, but it's better than this one! You look like a funeral." "Really?" Simkin looked quite happy, and this remark inspired him. "Ah, then, it's perfect, don't you understand? The anniversary of the prince's death. I'm so glad I remembered what I was celebrating."

Nothing the others said could make him change his mind. The three argued for a while, and Simkin even added a white hat to his head, pretending to be the bearer who carried the crystal coffin of the dead to the final resting place. "I want to double the charge." The driver continued. "It's strange that people rent cars to go to the palace. Most of them are invited." She emphasized the word "invitation". "These people have their own cars and don't need to rent my car." "Oh, dear! But I'm Simkin," answered the young man, as if saying his name would explain everything.He adjusted his robe and waved the silk scarf at the drivers. "Go," he ordered.

The young lady blinked her swan-like eyes in astonishment, she stared at Sim Jin, she didn't know whether she was speechless in shock or angry, but no matter what the reason was, Sim Jin didn't care. "Let's go!" he urged impatiently. "We're going to be late." The lady hesitated for a while, then sat firmly on the neck of the giant bird, held the reins, and ordered the black swan to take off. "If we get stopped at the border." She started the ugly words. "It's all up to you. I don't want to lose my permission to cross the border for people like you."

Following her gesture, Joram looked up nervously at the clouds. "There are more eyes in those clouds than hailstones," Simkin said casually.At this moment, the swan spread its wings and jumped into the air with its pitch-black feet. "Look, there," added Simkin enthusiastically, grabbing Joram as he nearly fell. "Forgot to remind you. There was a bit of a bump in the takeoff, but there's nothing like a good swan flying in mid-air." "Dukesis?" Joram asked about the clouds, not the flight of the birds.Despite their fluffy, limp appearance, the pink and white clouds suddenly seemed as dangerous to Joram as the black, churning thunderclouds that annually wreaked havoc on the countryside. "Do you think they'll stop us?"

"My dear boy," laughed Simkin, putting his slender hand on Joram's arm. "Don't worry. You're with me anyway." Joram glanced at Simkin, and saw that the face with the mustache was calm and calm, and his attitude was so calm and calm that Joram no longer worried.As for relaxation, don't even think about it.The fire of excitement and anticipation burned in his heart, and the orange Simkin had planned to use paled in comparison.Joram knew that tonight he would face his fate, that he would surely regain his place in the family.Nothing will stop him, nothing can stop him.His dreams and ambitions ride on the wings of a swan, and with every beat of the wings, he is constantly beating.He didn't even worry about Duke Xis anymore, and looked at these pink clouds with a straight face and contempt.At the same time, the swan's black wings pierced the clouds, tearing the clouds into bunches of mist, and flung them behind.

The clouds parted, and Joram saw Emperor Merilon's Crystal Palace.The palace cast bright white light over them, reflecting the red clouds and purple mist at the end of the day, brighter than the stars at night. Joram was so excited by the sight that his heart seemed to jump out of his chest and stuck in his throat.Tears made his eyes sting, so he hung his head and blinked rapidly.He couldn't shed tears in such a shame.He bowed his head humbly.For the first time in his life Joram felt the pride seared in him being trampled underfoot like those sparks he had stamped out in a furnace.

He wiped his eyes, put his fingers in front of his eyes, and looked carefully.His fingers were slender and soft. These were the hands of a nobleman, not the hands of a serf mage.These hands have practiced the trick of stealing the sky and changing the sun.These hands, like tricks, can fool the eyes of onlookers.Looking closer, his palms were hardened from the use of hammers and other tools, and covered with burn scars.Black soot was embedded in every pore, and he felt he should have let Simkin cast a spell on it to embellish it. "My soul is like these hands," he said to himself in a sudden pain and despair. "Just like the Catalyst Saints were trying to make me understand—hard, scarred, tortured. I was after the unattainable." He raised his eyes to the palace, and saw not only the beauty of Marilon shining safely in the sky, but also Gwendeline shining in the distant sky.That dark feeling of depression, the negative gloom, from before was back again.It's been a long time coming, a feeling he thought he'd gotten rid of in his new life, but it's back, eager to swallow him into darkness. He moved uneasily, and a cold feeling rose from the feathered seat under him, throwing him into the smell of fireworks boiling uneasy in his mind.At that moment Simkin took Joram's arm and squeezed it tightly.Joram was taken aback, angry that he had shown his sincerity, so he glared at Sim Jin angrily, only to find that he was looking at him slightly annoyed. "I said, man, can you stop moving around? I'm afraid this makes the big bird that carries us a little angry. I saw it look back just now, and I could clearly see the flaming fire in that black eye. Anger. Of course I don't know about you, but being bitten by a taxi is not how I want to die, it's not touching or funny, it's not interesting at all." Xin Jin turned his head nonchalantly, looking at the other vehicles circling up towards the palace. "It's not good to fall to your death on a cloud," he said, holding Joram's arm firmly. "This way of dying may be worth a try. It's nice to see their expressions when they fly down gracefully from Duke Xisi's side, but I don't think the pleasure lasts long enough." Joram took a deep breath and Sim Jin let go of him. The two events happened almost at the same time, so Joram couldn't be sure whether Xin Jin Jin was trying to comfort him or talking nonsense.In either case, Simkin's words brought a smile to Joram's tight lips as usual, allowing him to regain control of himself from the beast's palm hidden in his heart, and to recover from a moment of weakness. Get back in the mood. Joram moved at the risk of another glare from the swan, nestled more comfortably in his feathers, and gazed out at the palace with increasing composure.He could see more detail now, and he looked at the walls and towers, turrets and steeples without awe.Seen from a distance, the imperial palace is beautiful, mysterious and unreachable.But now that he got close, in his eyes, it was just an ordinary building, shaped by skilled people. The only difference between those people and him was that they had the power of life, while he had none. As soon as he thought of this, he touched the Dark Sword behind his back to confirm that it was still by his side.At this time, the black wings of the vehicle beneath him trembled, causing the two young men to slide down the crystal steps of the Marilon Palace.