Transtor: der Transtions

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  The size of this city exceeded the Fatty's imagination. Even as he stepped on the uneven cobblestoreets, he still wore an expression as though he had seen a ghost. The buildings were mostly made of stone, and it was clear they had endured a long passage of time.

  Some of the ers and edges had even bee smooth.

  Two deep wheel tracks were left in the ter of the street, formed over the years by the transportation e quantities of goods. It was like a boundary line, dividing the ey in two.

  Jiang g walked along, his surroundings.

  Time seemed to have left its marks on this stray by the sea, much like a carving kg its uraces.

  Aside from the weight of time, ahing that made a few of them unfortable was the city's excessively dazzling lights.

  When they first ehey could barely open their eyes.

  The Fatty could only squint as he walked, almost slipping at a er because he didn’t see the path clearly.

  Luckily, Jiang g was quid pulled him up.

  At the moment the Fatty was lifted, Jiang g noticed a yer of dark green something under his feet, very small and fine, like moss.

  “You must be tired too,” said the blonde man, turning around and speaking in a not-so-warm tohe people in our town know you're ing, so we've prepared some food. If you don't mind..."

  "Then thank the town chief," Ran said, hands in his pockets, his to exactly filled with surprise.

  The blonde man looked at him a bit more ily, then nodded. "Please follow me."

  The three of them, surrounded by a crowd of burly men, arrived at a rge pza. It was quite spacious, and the Fatty roughly estimated that it was more than half the size of a standard pyground.

  The pza was filled with people—men, women, the elderly, and children—some women were holding babies, watg the se like it was a rare spectacle.

  Curious eyes were all over them.

  "Doctor," the Fatty whispered, "Do they look like they're watg us like animals at a zoo?"

  He paused and tinued, "If I’m not mistaken, they’re probably going to throw food at us soon and watch us fight over it for fun."

  Ever since meeting the doctor, the Fatty had developed a new habit. In teuations, his mouth often became untrolble, spitting out nonsense, something he suspected he had caught from the doctor.

  But the good side was that it greatly alleviated his tension.

  "Fatty," Jiang g replied in the same low voice, "What if I told you that they might tie you up, roast you on a fire, and cook you until you’re sizzling with oil, then slice you with a knife? Would that affeood?"

  The Fatty immediately shut up, and the color drained from his face.

  At the blonde man's signal, the crowd dispersed, and everyone found a pce to sit. It was then that the Fatty saw that behind the crowd were many stoables made from circur stones.

  They were not high, just enough for people to sit cross-legged, with various bowls and dishes on them, filled with fish, shrimp, and sea crabs and shells.

  "Please," the blonde man said as he walked to the ter of one of the stoables and sat down.

  The three of them sat down opposite him without hesitation.

  Each of them had a grass mat beh them, and Ran maintained his usual rexed demeanor. The Fatty g him, feeling even more wary of him.

  It wasn't until a woman arrived holding a jar and began filling their bowls that the weling ceremony officially began.

  The Fatty stared at the rgest crab in the middle of the table, swallowing saliva. But no oe first, and he dared uhe blonde man did.

  Because if the food were poisohe blonde man would surely have the antidote.

  Ran casually cracked open a crab and ate slowly.

  Then, ity’s line of sight, a hand appeared. It grabbed the right cw of the rgest crab, shook it, and tossed it in front of the Fatty.

  "Eat," Jiang g said calmly.

  The Fatty immediately ate without hesitation.

  Behind them, two women were always serving them—whehe wine in their bowls ran out, they filled it again. Fish and shrimp were plentiful, but the only downside was the ck of vegetables or fruits.

  After gulping down a rge mouthful of wihe Fatty frowned. He couldn’t tell what the wine was made from, but it had a strange, fishy taste that was hard to describe.

  After eating two crabs, Ran discarded the crab legs and squi the silent blonde man. He said, "The town chief didn’t bring us here just to eat and drink, did he?"

  At these words, the blonde man put down his wine bowl. He haden much, mostly just silently drinking, appearing troubled.

  "You are the ones chosen by it. Only you help us break the curse," he said, raising his head with a solemn expression.

  "Of course," he tinued, "this is also for your own good. If the curse isn't lifted, you won’t be able to leave here."

  Ran leaned back casually and tinued, "Then please tell us about the curse."

  The mention of the curse made the Fatty stop eating his crab.

  "This story begins decades ago," the blonde man exhaled deeply. "Our aors lived by the sea, hat forest, mostly relying on fishing to survive."

  "Of course," the blonde man added, "the forest's game and berries were good as well."

  "But one day, a family in the vilge gave birth to a boy," the blonde man’s expression began to ge as his voice trembled. "No, that wasn’t a human child. It was a monster! A monster!"

  At the mention of the word "monster," Jiang g narrowed his eyes slightly, while Ran’s fingers lightly tapped the table and paused for a moment.

  "Monster" didn’t seem like a word someone who lived by the sea would use; it sounded more like something from the church.

  Jiang g’s mind slowly jured up the image of that strange spire-like building.

  "Ever sis birth, everything ged. Our ships started having frequent acts. Sometimes, even on calm days, storms would suddenly rise and capsize our ships, even tearing them apart!"

  "People who ehe forest to hunt or pick berries started disappearing as well. Those who ehe forest never came back!"

  "Later, we gathered the most experienced hunters ahem into the forest to find out what was going on, but... they too disappeared, just like the others. o return."

  "Until... until a few days ter!"

  The blonde man seemed to recall aremely terrifying se. His whole body started shaking untrolbly, and he didn't even notice when the wine spilled over him.

  (End of the Chapter)

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