DKIE CH94: Foreign Land

Amidst the blessings coming from all over, Quill suddenly looked further south.

A place clearly filled with a damp and cold aura, where a few wisps of malevolent energy from the bone fragments were mixed in.

“Over there.” He was the first to head towards that place.

As they were getting close, adhering to the principle of not using magic if he could avoid it, Quill glanced at the Saint, one of the only two in human form present. “You use your face to attract attention, I’ll climb the wall.”

Many people entering seemed to be taking out IDs. He didn’t understand this world, so climbing a wall seemed more convenient.

The Saint closed his eyes, feeling that this trip was actually a test of his mental fortitude.

How?

Stand at the main entrance and shout for everyone to look at his face?

Under the big sign of the First People’s Hospital, the Saint sighed helplessly, walked up to a child in a wheelchair, and said with a smile, “Look.”

With a point of his hand, the realistic legion of figurines flew silently to the left. With another point, they flew wherever he pointed.

This scene immediately attracted the attention of passersby, and even the security guard couldn’t help but look over.

Quill took the opportunity to circle around to the back where there were fewer people, following the malevolent energy from the bone fragments, and made his way forward.

…

Hospital.

Very numb.

A feeling of paralysis all over.

Luka opened his eyes. After an unknown amount of time, this tingling numbness finally disappeared. He managed to support himself on the handrail and get out of bed.

His atrophied muscles were slowly regaining strength, and the horrifying scar from his left waist to his thigh was fading with a faint golden light.

“The lightning struck correctly this time.”

As the vessel carrying his consciousness, this body, which had lived in this world for over twenty years, was obviously more compatible, and the pressure he felt was relatively less.

“But…”

Luka felt a little puzzled. Why, after changing planes, could he still feel the power of faith flowing through him?

It wasn’t particularly strong, but it was definitely a supply.

As a former C-list celebrity, he shouldn’t have any fans left in this world.

“I don’t know how long I’ve been unconscious.” Luka prepared to find a place to check the time.

Footsteps suddenly came from the hallway.

“I understand the well-wishes from outside, but it’s best to be mentally prepared. To put it bluntly, even if the patient wakes up, he’ll never be the same again. It’s very likely he won’t be able to walk for the rest of his life…”

The doctor was explaining to his former agent when he pushed open the hospital room door and was stunned.

“You, you…” The former agent, who visited regularly, was incoherent. “How are you on your feet?”

Luka stared at them, but was actually looking at the cold figure behind the two.

A short while ago, Quill had successfully entered the twelfth floor, following the direction of the malevolent energy all the way here.

Used to bantering with his agent, Luka blurted out, “Love helps us walk upright.”

In their mutually stunned state, the doctor seemed to sense something, turned his head, and jumped in fright.

Where did this living person pop out from?

His professional instinct didn’t allow him time to ask too many questions. He quickly had Luka get back into bed, asked him if he felt any discomfort, and swiftly arranged for tests.

Considering his limbs were still recovering, Luka didn’t refuse.

After half an hour of fussing and various tests, his vitals were bizarrely normal.

By now, his sensitivity had mostly recovered. Luka said at the right moment, “I want to be discharged.”

The doctor suggested staying for observation, but he refused.

Luka said with a profound look, “Actually, before I woke up, I dreamt of my parents. They sent me a dream asking me to go burn incense for them.”

Miracles plus theology. Faced with such a ridiculous statement, for the first time, the doctor didn’t know what to say.

Only the former agent fell into thought. Wasn’t he an orphan who didn’t even know his parents’ names?

Luka quickly packed up and said seriously before leaving, “Please don’t announce the news that I’ve woken up for now. I want to rest quietly for a while.”

The doctor was still worried. “At least stay for one more night of observation.”

Luka held up the perfectly normal test reports. “No, my dad can’t wait another moment.”

“…”

In the end, it was his former agent who drove Luka back. On the way, Luka didn’t forget to pick up the Saint.

Driving a car full of faces that could debut on the spot, the former agent was at a loss for words. There had been too many confusing events today; he even suspected he was in a dream.

It wasn’t until they were outside the large house in the city center that the former agent managed to regain some sense of reality.

“Thanks.” Luka got out of the car briskly. “I’m going to pay my respects… at the grave, I mean, burn incense. I’ll contact you later.”

The former agent finally came to his senses. “Please offer a stick of incense and my regards to your uncle and aunt as well.”

His eyes grew warm. “Thank them.”

Perhaps it really was their spirits in heaven protecting them. One of them had been fired and the other shelved, and now things were finally getting better.

Luka: “Will do.”

Entering the residential complex, under the security guard’s look of someone seeing a ghost, Luka quickly closed the elevator door and immediately asked, “What time is it?”

Quill told him the current time and the time they had arrived, all while watching Luka from the corner of his eye.

Very handsome. Good-looking from any angle.

A few stray strands of hair fell on his forehead. The short hair gave Luka a unique and refreshing look.

The elevator was a novel object for them. The Saint observed for a moment and quickly figured out its operating principle. He chuckled and said, “Interesting.”

The Dragon Clan commented, “Interesting.”

The Elf King: “Interesting.”

At the door, Luka unlocked the password lock with his fingerprint and smiled, inviting them into his gorgeous large apartment. “We’re home.”

No magic runes, yet it extracted biological information. The Saint: “Interesting.”

The Dragon Clan: “Interesting.”

The Elf King: “Interesting.”

Enough with the interesting! It’s okay, there’s still one normal person here.

Luka turned his head, his gaze meeting Quill’s, who had been staring at him for a long time. The latter said gently, “Luka, this is the first time you’ve brought me home.”

Quill, ever the formal one, slightly straightened his clothes.

Luka: …This guy is nuts.

Everything in the house was unfamiliar. With time being tight and a great enemy ahead, everyone suppressed their desire to explore.

The place was covered in dust. Luka opened a window to air it out. The cool summer night breeze rushed in, not cold, but quite comfortable.

When he took out the Mandarin Duck Jade Pendant, the Saint’s expression relaxed slightly.

Compared to tracking the aura on the chess piece, the Mandarin Duck Jade Pendant was obviously much faster.

His concentration had been poor at the hospital. Luka didn’t delay any longer, infusing his divine sense into the jade pendant and closing his eyes to perceive.

Extending his divine sense across different planes always brought a slight stinging pain, but fortunately, this body’s rejection wasn’t strong. In the blurry spatial outline, the shape of a small island seemed to faintly appear.

“Damn, he’s left the country.”

The island’s outline was unfamiliar; it was definitely not in this country.

Luka pulled out a dusty globe and tried to locate it.

A few palm-sized dragons teamed up and curiously circled the globe. They quite liked the look of the predominantly blue sphere.

“The climate is consistent, so it’s the same hemisphere. Broad-leaved forest, mango-shaped…”

Luka quickly scanned various regions. The best method would be to wear the jade pendant and track him directly, but unfortunately, as they got infinitely closer to the Demon King, he would also sense them.

Quill: “We just need a general location.”

The world’s origin was hidden in an extremely secret place, but as long as they got close, it wouldn’t be hard to find.

“Here.” After a moment, Luka squinted his eyes and pointed to an island with a long name.

Luckily, it wasn’t too far.

Then came the problem. He turned to the others, “How is a group of undocumented individuals going to get there?”

Quill: “I’ll just make a flying machine.”

Luka shook his head. “This world has air traffic control. We might get shot down by another country’s missiles.”

Quill was silent for a few seconds, then said with extreme seriousness, “You must have had a very hard life before.”

Luka was full of question marks.

Not being able to fly around freely = a hard life?

But when he looked up, he saw the same expression on the faces of the figurine legion.

They all generally believed that in a world with so many restrictions, Luka must have had a very difficult life.

Rio: “You don’t even have your own piece of land or a single building.”

Grover: “And you have to live in a bustling downtown area, surrounded by schools and shops. It’s too crowded.”

The Elf King: “The hospital is just a few streets away. It’s not close enough to nature.”

The Saint: “The roads are also too well-connected, and the buildings aren’t tall enough to overlook the entire city.”

Luka: “…”

Enough. You bunch who don’t understand the value of a city center.

He quickly paid the overdue utility bills. Luckily, the broadband hadn’t expired. Luka found his old phone, charged it, and searched for information about the island.

Although there was only a very low probability that the Demon King would use the Mandarin Duck Jade Pendant to set up an ambush, he aimed for absolute certainty. It was only after seeing news of frequent natural disasters and environmental anomalies near the island that Luka was completely sure.

Quill suddenly said, “When I was looking for you, I saw something fly across the sky.”

Luka explained, “That’s an airplane. It’s a transport vehicle similar to an airship. It doesn’t require magic, but it needs identification.”

Quill: “Not difficult. We’ll just possess two new sets of puppets. You can pack us in your luggage.”

That seemed feasible! Luka checked the flights and found there was a passenger plane in the early morning with empty seats since it was the off-season.

While Quill was making the puppets, he quickly changed into casual clothes.

On a dark and windy night, using his complimentary VIP lounge passes, Luka arrived at the airport and used a special channel to minimize attention.

Along the way, he was a bit absent-minded, feeling like he had overlooked something.

When the security officer saw Luka, they thought they had seen a ghost. But the next second, the security equipment started blaring sharply.

A crowd immediately gathered.

Luka: “…”

At this point, no one cared why he was at the airport. His suitcase was opened on the spot, revealing a box full of his companions.

There wasn’t a single piece of clothing inside, only bizarre little objects.

Wooden carved dragons in various poses—some coiled up, some hugging a blind box with an innocent look… Nearby was a wooden lark, its neck craned as if it were doing vocal exercises.

One of the dolls was very crudely made, looking like a duo-act performer, holding a chess piece in each hand as if it had been playing chess just a second ago.

The only relatively normal thing was a pen, provided you ignored that it didn’t look like a good thing.

The lark’s eyes rolled slightly, a tremor caused by straining its voice too hard.

This was hardly the equipment of someone going on a trip.

Instantly, everyone’s gaze towards Luka became suspicious. Their first reaction was that he had contraband.

Luka: “Don’t take them apart. Fine, if you do, remember to put them back together.”

He turned his head. “Don’t touch that!”

What’s so special about a pen that it can’t be touched?

The staff became even more suspicious. Luka was temporarily taken to a small dark room for causing a scene.

Outside, other staff quickly brought over more professional scanning devices. The officer in charge of watching Luka turned to get him some water, secretly checking his ID again and again. He had just seen a marketing account post that today was the anniversary of Luka’s fan club—no, the anniversary of his memorial service—no, that wasn’t right either… anyway, it was some anniversary event.

And now the person himself turns up at the airport.

But this guy had really spent a lot of time in the ICU. They couldn’t let him faint and claim they’d pushed him while they were on duty.

Luka was feeling frustrated when he felt a slight movement in his cuff.

There was a dragon that had slipped through the net!

Berlanie was secretly flipping through the safety manual with his small claws.

“Page 13 mentions that passengers have been stopped at security for carrying items with excessive radioactive energy before boarding a plane.”

“…According to your ‘Chinese Dictionary’s’ entry on radioactive materials, I believe the branches of the Wisdom Tree, the gears used by necromancers, and so on might not pass inspection.”

It wasn’t that the vessels for their divine sense contained harmful substances, but that the special materials could generate strange magnetic fields and energies, with a certain probability of being confiscated.

Berlanie finally said, “Or you could just tell them you’re going to save the world.”

Luka: “…”

Go from a small dark room to a mental hospital?

He quietly looked at the clock on the wall. It actually wasn’t difficult for Quill and the others to shield the puppets’ aura; he just had to wait patiently.

Sure enough, before long, the security officer came in with his suitcase.

The officer looked bewildered and asked again, “Going on a long trip, why did you only bring some handicrafts?”

And they were very strange handicrafts at that.

“They’re gifts from fans. I just woke up after a long time and want to see the world. Someone is picking me up there.”

Bringing fans into it somehow made it sound logical.

After repeatedly confirming there was no problem with the luggage, the security officer carefully arranged the figurine legion back into their original positions.

“Welcome again.”

Luka: “…”

The officer made a small joke to ease the tension and pointed him in the right direction. “You can still make your flight. Have a smooth journey.”

Luka nodded.

After that fiasco, everything went smoothly, and they successfully boarded the plane on time.

“It’s fine. After extreme misfortune comes bliss.”

Luka comforted himself. Just as he finished muttering, he turned his head, and the sky outside was dark and gloomy.

Due to the deepening mutation, a spatial rift had appeared high in the sky.

The chaotic airflow was impossible for the naked eye to see and impossible to guard against. The wings began to shake, and the plane entered severe turbulence.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please be advised! Due to airflow disturbances on our route, our aircraft is experiencing turbulence…”

Before the announcement finished, the plane took a huge plunge. The decompression caused the oxygen masks to drop down in front of them.

Someone had already lost control and started screaming.

Quill emerged from the luggage on its own. “You really do have a hard life in this world.”

Such poor flying conditions.

Luka expressionlessly made it inhale oxygen to keep quiet.

The big brother next to him was so scared his face contorted. Heavens, a living person was giving oxygen to a pen!

Luka turned his head, looking like a transcendent master, and said, “Don’t be afraid. If the plane crashes, I will intervene.”

The big brother’s head lolled to the side. It was unclear if he didn’t want to hear him talk or if he had actually fainted.

In just a few seconds, the screams and sobs of the passengers filled the cabin. Finally, in a state of resignation and fear, they scrambled to take out their phones to leave last words. In daily life, everyone had different personalities and experiences, but at this moment, their words were basically all the same.

After coming back from the brink of death, the big brother next to him was crying and snotting into his phone, yelling “Mom, I love you.” The female passenger behind him was leaving a last message for her sister, which was just her bank card PIN and “I love you.”

Even a crying child, while his mother was leaving a message for her elders, was shouting “Grandpa, Grandma, I love you all.”

Luka rested his head on his hand, calmly watching the red light in the rift outside.

Perhaps influenced by the surrounding atmosphere, amidst the chaos, his lips suddenly moved slightly, almost silently mouthing, “I love you.”

In the enclosed cabin, tears and sobs were endless, but those three barely audible words were clearly perceived by Quill.

The oxygen mask slowly slipped from the tip of the pen.

In that instant, from its perspective, it was as if the plane had already crashed and exploded.

Quill could no longer hear any other sound; the whole world was reduced to those three words.

Then, its life began to flash before its eyes, all the past moments of their time together replaying endlessly.

Seeing Quill’s body had gone rigid, Luka helplessly put the mask back on it. He hadn’t forgotten the important task at hand. A faint golden glow appeared on his other hand and silently spread outwards.

The fierce airflow erupting from the rift was successfully blocked by the protective barrier. Coupled with the pilot’s superb skills, they finally flew out of the high-risk area.

“That was pretty smooth.”

Luka glanced at his hot palm. When using magic with his original body, the backlash was less than he had imagined.

There were pros and cons. This body had once carried a split soul, which meant his use of divine sense was now very limited.

Luka gently tapped the oxygen mask. “You need to be my strong backup.”

To prevent him from being sneak-attacked because he wasn’t using his divine sense.

Quill seemed to finally come back to its senses, and said softly and solemnly, “I love you too.”

Luka: “…”

Heavens, are you still stuck on the previous channel?

Four hours later, the plane landed successfully, and the passengers hugged each other in celebration.

Luka was the fastest to deplane. Amidst the excited shouts, he quietly carried his suitcase to a secluded spot.

After opening the case, his expression was a little strange.

The Saint and Berlanie were in the middle of a chess game. What surprised Luka was that even when the suitcase had been standing upright earlier, it didn’t affect their game.

“How did you do that?”

The rest of the figurine legion were mostly resting with their eyes closed. The Elf King took out his storage ring and produced new branches from the Wisdom Tree.

The puppets used to deal with the Demon King couldn’t be as slapdash as the current ones.

The Saint’s chess piece, the Wisdom Tree’s branches, the special gears provided by the Dragon Clan—finally, Quill used mist threads as chains to personally assemble them.

After recalibrating the time they could stay in this plane, the Saint looked at Quill, who was working silently, and noticed something unusual. “He seems very happy.”

Luka’s ears burned slightly as he recalled himself murmuring sweet nothings earlier.

Quill’s movements were swift. He first completed his own assembly, his appearance no different from usual.

Soon, the other puppets were also brought to life.

The scene was silent for a moment.

Rio pointed at his puppet with the tip of his wing, his face expressionless. “Why is there no hair?”

Quill: “Limited materials.”

He used his own short hair, which was the same style as Luka’s, as an example, stating that he had no selfish intentions and hadn’t kept his original long hair either.

The Elf King beside them said nothing, just silently sent over a death glare.

He experienced the value of the Demon Ancestor for the first time.

“…” Luka cleared his throat. “There’s a very strong anime character here called Bald Qiang. Being bald makes you strong.”

In the end, even he couldn’t keep up the story. He coughed suggestively a couple of times. They couldn’t have internal strife in their small group over a few strands of hair.

“Fine.” Quill had no choice but to sloppily add some hair for them.

With everything ready, Luka looked towards the volcano still faintly smoking in the distance. “Let’s go. Time to close an account.”

Luka’s Diary Guide:

All troops, attack—

We’ll be going back in about two more chapters. Since we’ve already come back as a group this time, it’s complete enough, so I’m not planning to write any more extras set in the modern era [cat paw]

Support me on Ko-fi