235: Chapter 235 Octopus Hachi, Reunited with an Old Friend!

Lin Xiao watched the octopus monster crying uncontrollably, his brow furrowing slightly.

Xiao Ba.

The name flashed through his mind, feeling inexplicably familiar.

He quickly searched through his memory.

A few days ago, when he drew event cards, there was one called [Deep Sea Convenience Store] that mentioned this name.

He had only glanced at it then and hadn't paid much attention, but now...

Lin Xiao re-examined the simple-looking creature.

His upper body was a somewhat rounded human torso, wearing an old vest whose original color was indistinguishable, with pockets bulging and stuffed with small items.

Despite his honest appearance, those large eyes were excessively lively, moving with a sharpness unique to merchants.

"You know this mon..." Lin Xiao paused, changing his phrasing, "...this octopus guest?"

Princess Xiyao, squatting beside Xiao Ba, nodded heavily.

One of her hands was still resting on his tentacle, stroking it gently.

"There are other tribes in the ocean, not just the Merfolk."

Her voice was a bit lighter than usual.

"But the vast majority of tribes live a migratory life, moving with the ocean currents and schools of fish without a fixed residence. Xiao Ba's tribe is like that."

She looked down at Xiao Ba, her lips curving into a shallow smile.

"I've known Xiao Ba since I was very small. Back then, he followed the elders of his tribe, traveling between various undersea tribes to sell supplies. They sold everything: ironware that sank from the land, Bio-Armor discarded by the Merfolk, and even porcelain and glassware dropped from human ships..."

Selling supplies.

As expected!

A flicker of joy flashed through the depths of Lin Xiao's eyes.

In that case, the event card [Welcome to the Rotating Market] should be referring to Xiao Ba's convenience store!

These traveling merchants, who had wandered the deep sea for who knows how many years, might not even remember the origins of the old items passing through their hands.

A legendary artifact might very well be buried at the bottom of some dust-covered chest, treated as worthless junk.

Just then, Jing Hua walked quickly from the carriage connection, a hint of urgency etched between her brows.

She walked to Lin Xiao's side, stood slightly on tiptoe, and whispered into his ear:

"I'm sorry, Lord, Princess Xiyao ran too fast, and I couldn't stop her..."

Then, she noticed Xiao Ba in the crowd, was momentarily stunned, and then asked: "I hope we didn't disturb you?"

Lin Xiao shook his head and asked, "Why did Princess Xiyao run over here?"

To this, Jing Hua was quite helpless:

"The Princess heard that I was adjusting the rooms for the clansmen and pleaded to move to Carriage 7. I really couldn't refuse, so I had to agree."

"While moving things, the Princess heard people in the corridor talking about an octopus monster that had slipped onto the train. She seemed to remember something and ran over."

She looked at Xiao Ba nearby and said softly, "That is a very good friend of the Princess. I didn't expect to meet him here."

At this time, Princess Xiyao, who was reminiscing with Xiao Ba, stood up and looked past the surrounding crowd toward the empty floor behind him.

"Xiao Ba, why are you alone? Where are your clansmen?"

"They..."

The smile on Xiao Ba's face vanished bit by bit.

His drooping tentacles wriggled uneasily, the suckers making a faint 'pop pop' sound against the floor.

"They're all dead."

His voice was very calm, unnervingly so. "They died in the invasion of the Black Tide. When that thing surged over, we were camping in a kelp forest. The attacks from the Black Tide monsters were too fierce; the clansmen couldn't hold them off at all."

The suckers at the ends of his tentacles closed tightly, as if grasping something invisible.

"I was the only one who escaped."

He was silent for a few seconds, then shook his head hard, as if trying to shake something heavy out of his skull.

"Sigh, let's not talk about that."

Xiao Ba forced a smile again, which bunched up on his round face, squeezing his eyes into two slits.

"Over a hundred years ago, when my clansmen and I went to the Di Peoples Kingdom for refuge, I heard Lady Jing Hua say you had disappeared. Everyone said you had met with misfortune. I even secretly had a good cry back then."

"By the way, how did you get back?"

Princess Xiyao didn't answer immediately.

She turned her head and looked at Lin Xiao.

There were still traces of tears in those eyes that hadn't fully faded, but soon, the tears melted into a sweet smile.

"It's all thanks to Brother Lin Xiao."

Xiao Ba followed her gaze.

"A human?"

His tone carried an undisguised confusion.

In his understanding, humans were a short-lived species with lifespans of only a few decades.

They were like foam on the sea's surface, vanishing after a single surge.

Moreover, human strength was very weak, relying entirely on those sturdy ships and powerful cannons to show off their might at sea.

But...

Xiao Ba looked at the equipment on Lin Xiao.

Eh?

His round eyes suddenly widened.

That armor looks so familiar!

Then he looked at the giant axe in Lin Xiao's hand, which shimmered with a dark red luster.

Hiss...

This set of armor, this weapon, and the faint sense of pressure emanating from this human caused all eight of Xiao Ba's tentacles to tremble slightly, his suckers involuntarily contracting.

He had lived for so many years; he still had a keen eye for things.

He immediately changed his expression, crossing his tentacles in front of him in a tribal gesture of respect.

"Mr. Lin Xiao is indeed exceptionally heroic and extraordinary!"

Lin Xiao ignored this flattery.

He lowered his axe, the blade making a soft clink against the floor.

"How did you find this place? The train is traveling at high speed; boarding it is no easy task."

Xiao Ba hurriedly waved his hands, his tentacles drawing a series of panicked arcs in the air: "It was all an accident, really, purely an accident!"

He took a deep breath and began to explain, gesturing with his eight tentacles.

"Not long ago—I can't say exactly how long, as there is no day or night in the deep sea—I saw the dark matter in the seawater gradually dissipate, as if its power had been drained by something."

"So, I crawled out of the cave where I was hiding and tested several places. After confirming there was no danger, I intended to take all my belongings and head to the Di Peoples Kingdom for protection. But then..."

His tentacles swung violently in the air, making a gesture of being swept away.

"Halfway there, I saw a gargantuan object traveling through the deep sea. It was pitch black and dozens of times larger than the biggest whale, with massive turrets on the roof."

"I wanted to get closer to observe, but I was sucked in by the surging currents around it. For a moment, the world spun, and I had no way to control my body."

"By the time I regained my senses, I had passed through a strange membrane and crashed onto the roof of the carriage."

Xiao Ba gestured with his tentacles as he described the scene, looking quite comical.

The crowd burst into laughter.

Meanwhile, Princess Xiyao quietly listened to Xiao Ba's story.

Then, she said softly, "Xiao Ba, the Di Peoples Kingdom is no more."

Her voice carried a faint sadness.

"Ah?"

Xiao Ba's tentacles froze mid-air.

"The Black Tide destroyed our nation, but Brother Lin Xiao led the humans on the train and repelled the Black Tide."

"Brother Lin Xiao also personally sealed the Lord of the Abyss. The darkness surging from that rift, that terrifying existence that even Emperor Xi could only fill with his own body—Brother Lin Xiao sealed it!"

Princess Xiyao described the battle from the day before.

In truth, she didn't understand many of the details; Jing Hua had told her everything.

How Lin Xiao had charged into the darkness alone, how he had maneuvered through the surrounding tentacles, how he had been chosen by a trident that appeared out of thin air, and how he had channeled the power of the entire sea to condense into the Nail of the Cold Heavens.

Then, she added her own embellishments according to her imagination.

Xiao Ba listened, completely stunned.

His eyes grew wider and wider, and his tentacles unconsciously curled into a ball.

When Princess Xiyao finally finished, he remained silent for a long time.

"Humans are so strong!"

He looked up at Lin Xiao.

"Mr. Lin Xiao—no, Lord of the Nation—everything you have done for this sea..."

This time, there was no shrewdness or flattery in his eyes, only a pure sense of gratitude.

"Though my clansmen are no longer here, if their spirits are watching from above, they would surely be grateful to you too."

With that, Xiao Ba sighed and spoke of current matters.

"As Princess Xiyao said, there were originally many tribes in the deep sea—the Octopus Tribe, Crab Tribe, Seahorse Tribe, Jellyfish Tribe... dozens of them, large and small, scattered in every corner of this sea, migrating with the currents and bartering goods."

"But after the Black Tide overflowed, everything changed. Many tribes were attacked by monsters; some even perished entirely, leaving not a single descendant."

"The remaining tribes all went to the Di Peoples Kingdom for refuge. Emperor Xi opened the gates for us, allowing us to settle within the capital. He not only personally distributed food and clean water but also allowed everyone to set up markets there. That period was difficult, but at least we had hope."

Xiao Ba's voice lowered.

"But later, Cang Ming took power. He ordered all outsiders to be violently expelled from the capital. My clansmen hurriedly fled to the kelp forest, and it was then that we were attacked by the Black Tide on the outskirts of the capital..."

The atmosphere in the carriage became somewhat heavy.

Princess Xiyao squeezed Xiao Ba's tentacle and smiled. "It's all over now. We will all get better."

She looked up at everyone present, then her gaze fell back on Xiao Ba.

"My father passed the jade slip of the Di Peoples Kingdom to Brother Lin Xiao. Now, Brother Lin Xiao is the new Emperor of the Di Peoples Kingdom."

"Although only about three hundred of our clansmen remain, and we are no longer as prosperous and powerful as before, as long as one person remains, the Di Peoples Kingdom has not perished."

A human had actually become the new Emperor of the Di Peoples Kingdom?