TYMIMA Chapter 118

T/N: End of Tasman Arc

 

On the sixth day of treatment, Lance and Lily had completely recovered.

 

January 27th happened to coincide with Tasman’s annual Rosa Roxburghii Festival.

 

People living in the sea all knew how precious vitamin C was. Rosa roxburghii was called the king of vitamin C, capable of preventing scurvy at sea.

 

But this plant typically grew on mountain slopes or valleys above a thousand meters elevation—something Tasman’s marine environment couldn’t cultivate.

 

So Tasman Pirate Nation imported large quantities of rosa roxburghii from Pacific Island Nation every year.

 

Out of love for rosa roxburghii, they celebrated Tasman’s grandest festival during the island nation’s rosa roxburghii harvest season.

 

On this day, Tasman entered a national holiday. Sandro invited High Tower and Ghost Eye Guilds to Peach Blossom Spring Village to attend the grand celebration.

 

At the first cock’s crow in the morning, the red sun leaped from the horizon. The sky seemed like a painter’s palette, colors layering and blending, enriching people’s eyes.

 

Early in the morning, the festive atmosphere was especially thick.

 

The elderly of Peach Blossom Spring Village would get out of bed at dawn, put on brightly colored new clothes, take cattail sticks from their home warehouses, stuff them into stone jars by their doors, then light them with fire.

 

Soon, wisps of smoke overflowed from the jars, emitting the unique fragrance of cattails, floating up to heaven.

 

The elderly brought over small stools, sat by their doors, and chatted and laughed with neighbors amid the curling smoke.

 

The streets were filled with warm and harmonious conversation.

 

Lance and the others landed at Peach Blossom Spring Village from the dock and were instantly shocked by the atmosphere here.

 

They hadn’t been able to follow tourists here before and didn’t know Tasman still preserved such simple and warm customs.

 

The houses on both sides of the street had various styles—castle style, fairy tale style, neat style, traditional style. At first glance, buildings of different styles placed on one street seemed somewhat abrupt and out of place.

 

But Tasman people originally came from different races and skin colors. They wouldn’t interfere with others’ preferences or comment on others’ aesthetics. They lived harmoniously and relaxedly together, forming today’s thriving Peach Blossom Spring Village.

 

Probably because young people rarely got up so early, as soon as Lance and the others entered the streets, they received enthusiastic greetings.

 

“Happy Rosa Roxburghii Festival! You young people are so energetic!” The devil ray grandfather with a walking stick smiled at them.

 

“This is fried rosa roxburghii fruit grandma made fresh last night—very sweet and delicious. Try some quickly.” The mandarin duck grandmother was nimble, bringing a fruit plate from her home table, insisting they taste it.

 

“The early bird catches the worm. Old lady’s embroidered festival pouches, one for each person.” The swallowtail butterfly aunt opened a red cloth bundle, taking out exquisitely embroidered, small and cute pouch keychains, stuffing one into each person’s hands.

 

“Red-haired little Omega, what kind of fish are you?”

 

An elderly person asked curiously while burning cattail sticks.

 

Lance still had a fried rosa roxburghii fruit in his mouth and couldn’t answer.

 

Zhan Pingchuan pointed at him and answered for him: “Little fox fish.”

 

Lance glanced at Zhan Pingchuan.

 

The elderly person’s eyes lit up: “Fox fish! They’re so beautiful after transformation. My nephew has a son who’s a swordfish Alpha, works in the royal palace with a government position—very compatible with you.”

 

Zhan Pingchuan said regretfully: “No good, grandpa. He’s already married. His husband is extremely possessive and bought him a hundred-square-meter bath… aquarium, afraid he’d run away.”

 

Lance looked at Zhan Pingchuan with amusement, listening to his nonsense.

 

The elderly person believed it and sighed: “His husband isn’t local.”

 

Zhan Pingchuan said seriously: “From outside, from the highland desert area.”

 

The elderly person felt sorry for Lance: “Aiya, how could he marry so far away?”

 

How could their little fox fish from the sea endure such harsh desert conditions?

 

Zhan Pingchuan spread his hands: “His husband is rich. After marrying, the whole city belongs to him. What need for a government position? Every day eating and drinking well, just lying on his back and acting cute with his husband.”

 

Lance couldn’t bear to listen anymore.

 

Keep bragging—the whole city? The kingdom of bicycle tires?

 

The elderly person was shocked: “Lying on his back—wouldn’t that kill him?”

 

“Cough.” Zhan Pingchuan quickly coughed, rubbing his nose. “Well, grandpa, you sit. We’ll go look ahead.”

 

As soon as he finished speaking, without waiting for the grandfather’s reaction, he grabbed Lance’s hand and ran.

 

The elderly person shouted behind them: “Hey! You can’t just grab a fox fish’s hand—his husband is very possessive!”

 

Lance swallowed the fried rosa roxburghii fruit and said teasingly: “If you keep talking nonsense, we’ll become public adulterers.”

 

“What’s wrong with that? He doesn’t know me anyway.” Zhan Pingchuan didn’t care at all. Forget Tasman’s old grandfather—even the little fox didn’t know his true identity yet.

 

When the king sent a ship to take them back to Phobos Bay, he’d take the little fox straight to Desert City for a one-stop operation of meeting parents and proposing.

 

After wandering the streets for over an hour, they finally found a place to eat breakfast.

 

Tasman breakfast mostly consisted of fish balls, fish cakes, and fish soup—light flavors with fresh ingredients.

 

Several people drank a bowl of fish soup and ate two fish cakes, their stomachs warm and comfortable, pleasant and leisurely.

 

Lily didn’t want to mix with these adults. As soon as her body recovered, she couldn’t sit still. Hearing that there was an underwater speedboat track in the northeast corner of Peach Blossom Spring Village, she begged money from Dream Witch and ran off in a flash.

 

Lily stepped onto the underwater speedboat, chewing bubble gum in her mouth, gripping the steering wheel in her hands, and sped away in a cloud of dust, leaving the honest boss fish shouting behind her: “The instructor hasn’t boarded yet!”

 

Lily excitedly dove into the seabed, startling a school of sardines into scattering in all directions.

 

A blobfish with poor eyesight lay on her window for a look, found itself uninterested, and was about to leave with its thick lips pouted.

 

Lily started the engine and chased after it.

 

Blobfish: “!”

 

One boat and one fish caused chaos in the sea. Just as Lily was playing excitedly, her mother called from home.

 

“You child, you’ve been in holiday training camp for so long without calling home.”

 

Lily held the steering wheel with one hand and the phone with the other: “Mom, it’s all because physics is so wonderful—I’m completely immersed.”

 

“Really?” The woman’s voice was delighted, but soon she worried again, “Don’t overwork yourself. You’re still growing, so pay attention to rest.”

 

“Mm-hmm, the teacher also told me to balance work and rest,” Lily said obediently.

 

Woman: “Is the teacher beside you too?”

 

Lily had a sudden inspiration and pulled the phone away, then lowered her voice to imitate Oliver’s: “Hello, Lily’s mom.”

 

The signal was poor underwater, so the woman couldn’t hear clearly. She quickly said: “Oh my, teacher, please continue with class. I’ll call Lily at noon.”

 

After hanging up, Lily’s mom couldn’t help wondering.

 

Since when did physics also include spatial geometry?

 

Fulunla ran to the famous spice shop in Peach Blossom Spring Village, Abaddon detoured to the food street, Mudeli played chess with a spirited old man, and Wu Peng heard that an elderly person couldn’t open a popcorn machine, so he flexed his robust muscles and rushed over to help.

 

Lance and Zhan Pingchuan checked in at various internet-famous spots around the city, leaving behind mushy couple photos.

 

Dream Witch and Adrian, afraid they wouldn’t find their way back, had to sit in a café near the central fountain square and wait.

 

Dream Witch sipped her Blue Mountain coffee and glanced sideways at Adrian: “Hey, let me ask you something.”

 

Adrian maintained his upright sitting posture, even the range of his cup-lifting was just right: “Hmm?”

 

“Did you really abandon Lucas and run away back then?” Dream Witch was truly curious. Every time Lucas mentioned Adrian, he would curse and swear, calling him a coward, a fleeing weakling, a defective product of elite education. But after spending time together, she felt Adrian wasn’t actually that bad.

 

Adrian lowered his eyes and remained silent for a long time before saying: “I thought his mother would protect him well.”

 

Adrian wasn’t someone accustomed to complaining or grumbling. He wouldn’t go around telling people what Lucas’s mother had done to him.

 

He just really thought back then that after she ruined his reputation and drove him away, all problems would be solved, and Howard would be tolerant toward Lucas, his only son.

 

“But you still ran away.” Dream Witch couldn’t be bothered with hidden details. In any case, Adrian had left Lucas alone with that violent man.

 

“My leaving was good for him. All his suffering was because of me,” Adrian said flatly.

 

If he hadn’t been so excellent since childhood, getting perfect scores in every subject and meeting all of Howard’s requirements, Lucas wouldn’t have become the target of Howard’s venting and disgust by comparison.

 

“But he doesn’t think so,” Dream Witch turned to face him. “He says you betrayed the Howard Resistance Alliance, disappointed his trust, and he must dig out your heart to see if it’s really cold and heartless.”

 

Adrian’s fingers paused, somewhat dazed.

 

So in his eyes, they were the Howard Resistance Alliance? He considered him an ally rather than an enemy?

 

Adrian drained his coffee in one gulp and smiled faintly: “Then let him come dig it out.”

 

The Rosa Roxburghii Festival’s liveliness continued all day and reached its peak at night.

 

A huge firework bloomed in the central fountain square. Colorful cold flames fell like meteors. The moment the fireworks completely extinguished, music resounded through the sky!

 

Floats rolled on the stone streets, fluorescent lights flashed, everyone sang and danced, and dolphins leaped and called on the sea surface.

 

Amid the cheers and laughter, young Alphas painted their faces with oil colors, quietly approached their secret crushes, mustered courage to confess their feelings, then ran away bashfully, both hoping the other wouldn’t recognize them and hoping they would.

 

Children ran and shuttled through the singing and dancing dragon parade, their pockets stuffed with various candies, unable to tell which kind elderly person had given them which.

 

Smoke curled from the food street, aromas filled the air, and free dishes and fruit plates formed long lines that anyone could sample with a fork.

 

“The king’s float! Look!”

 

“The king is here!”

 

King Sandro arrived at the central fountain square on a float at exactly nine o’clock. Unlike before, this time his float was accompanied by a pale and handsome sea dragon.

 

Ryan wrapped his webbed hand around Sandro’s waist, his tail curling up a beautiful sparkler from a roadside child’s hand and presenting it to Sandro.

 

“Beautiful, give you.”

 

The child looked at his empty hands and burst into tears with a “wah.”

 

Sandro didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He accepted the sparkler, leaned down, and gave the child a crystal ore from his wrist.

 

The child stared blankly at the king’s beautiful double pupils and immediately stopped crying.

 

At quarter past nine, Sandro stood up, spread his arms, and his body emitted bright white light. Gentle tentacles floated in the deep night.

 

The Tasman people looked at Sandro devoutly, instinctively raising their hands to catch that snowflake-like radiance.

 

The bright white energy gradually floated toward the statue holding a torch in the center of the square. As soon as the light touched the torch, the【Solidification】ability was released. Instantly, fresh beer turned into a fountain, gushing out endlessly.

 

Sandro smiled: “Happy Rosa Roxburghii Festival, Tasman!”

 

“Happy Rosa Roxburghii Festival, Your Majesty!”

 

“Happy Rosa Roxburghii Festival, everyone!”

 

Rich aromas spread, wine sprayed, crowds rushed under the beer fountain, boiling with excitement. Strangers put their arms around each other’s shoulders to sing and dance. Young people opened their mouths to drink their fill of beer. Children were drenched and refreshed, couldn’t help licking their lips, then immediately stuck out their tongues from the spiciness.

 

Lance also joined the fun, catching a handful of beer and taking a light sip at his lips—bitter, spicy, and crisp with a unique flavor.

 

Sandro was surrounded by crowds heading toward the food street. Ryan occasionally used his tail to hook things as gifts for the little jellyfish.

 

The sea was gentle and embracing at this moment, taking the quiet stars, brilliant lights, and joyful crowds into its arms, smoothing over past frictions.

 

Lance and Zhan Pingchuan kissed under the silver-leaf tree, long and lingering. The flickering lights gradually painted this scene of celebrating with the people in his eyes.

 

The lights never ceased, the singing and dancing never stopped. Between the four great trenches with towering waves, there was a true Peach Blossom Spring.

 

A smile appeared in Lance’s eyes. He seemed to have found the meaning of completing his mission.

 

He hoped these scenes before his eyes could happen everywhere in the Federation, and he only needed to watch the excitement from the sidelines.

 

##

---

 

 (advanced chapters available on kofi)