Chapter 717: Extra Chapter 6 (I) Lady Calico’s Modern Travelogue (Part One)

At Qingbai Airport in Lingquan City of Yizhou Prefecture...

In the departure lounge sat an exceptionally beautiful young girl. She looked youthful, dressed casually in a loose hoodie with a pocket and comfortable loose pants. Most striking were the cat-ear headphones perched on her head, highlighting both her youthfulness and liveliness.

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Perhaps lost in music, the girl wore a composed, expressionless face. She looked cool and focused. Beside her lay a simple brocade pouch, which contrasted with the modern environment yet aligned surprisingly well with recent vintage trends, giving a sense of simplicity and warmth.

“

Bzzzz

!”

She lifted one hand from her hoodie pocket and pulled out a small phone.

Old Daoist: Where are you?

She raised her head, still expressionless, glanced around, then looked down again and began typing.

Lady Calico: At the airport.

“

Bzzzz

!”

Old Daoist: It’s good that you’re experiencing it for yourself.

Old Daoist: Let me know when you reach Langzhou.

After reading the messages, she returned the phone to her pocket, sighed slightly with her stern face, and continued scanning the surroundings. She then removed her noise-canceling headphones from her head.

“

Whoosh...

”

The sudden rush of surrounding noise hit her ears like crashing waves, filling the space.

The evening flight meant a crowded lounge: some complaining about delays, others explaining on the phone, some asking staff about arrival times and compensation. Conversations, children crying, and the roar of planes taking off and landing outside created a cacophony.

So noisy.

Lady Calico remained expressionless. Not only was it noisy, her flight was delayed. If only she had splurged on first class... No, if she had really known, she could have ridden her own immortal crane for free.

“Experiencing it for herself”... No, this was no fun at all.

Just then, a faint sound came from the side. It was a child’s soft murmuring in sleep that caught her attention. The girl turned her head.

Next to her sat a mother and child. The mother was gently dressed, patient and composed, while the four- or five-year-old child was sleeping soundly against her, making no fuss.

“Mmm!”

The child slowly opened his eyes. The little boy’s eyes were clear and bright, like black gemstones. Just waking up, he looked a little dazed, turning his head and glancing around.

“Mom, has the plane come yet?”

“Awake already? Not yet.”

“I’m so thirsty!”

“Thirsty? Mom will get you some water.”

“My legs don’t move! They hurt!”

“Your legs are numb? Wait, let mom get your water first, don’t move too much.”

The woman picked up her water cup and stood to leave, leaving the child sitting alone in the seat, his face showing both the drowsiness of just waking and the discomfort of numb legs.

Sensing her gaze, he rubbed his eyes, turned his head, and met her eyes.

Attractive people naturally draw attention and exude a sense of warmth, especially to children. This boy was obedient and sitting quietly without crying or fussing, and he simply turned to meet the gaze of Lady Calico. His eyes lingered on her face, then on her eyes, occasionally drifting downward to the cat-ear headphones around her neck, while one hand continued gently rubbing his tingling leg.

For some reason, seeing him seemed to awaken long-buried memories in Lady Calico.

It had been a very long time ago... A very, very long time...

Her eyes flickered.

When she met the boy’s clear, black, shining eyes again, she hesitated, then almost instinctively said, “I know a good way to fix numb legs.”

Her voice was the kind that children immediately liked.

“What way?” The boy was completely unguarded around her.

“Numb legs happen because little sand-like dots got in them while you were sleeping. Stand up, stomp your foot, and shake them out, and it’ll be fine.”

“Huh?”

The girl sounded very reasonable. It made perfect sense.

The boy stared at her for two seconds, then slowly stood with support from the chair. Encouraged by her gaze, he didn’t hesitate further and lifted his numb leg, stomping it hard on the floor.

“

BANG

!”

“

Ahhh

!”

A sharp cry of pain drew the attention of nearby passengers, all turning their heads in unison.

The girl, however, smiled to herself and turned her head back.

He’ll feel better now.

After a while, when the boy, still feeling sore, was on the verge of tears, she calmly turned her head again and blew gently on him.

“

Whoosh...

”

“Huh?” The boy’s expression froze. Suddenly, there was no more pain nor numbness.

At the same time, his mother returned with a cup of water, walking over and sitting beside him. She asked with concern, “What happened just now?”

The boy didn’t answer and instead just leaned forward to drink, still glancing sideways at Lady Calico.

“

Vroom...

” A plane slowly touched down belatedly.

Finally, they started boarding the plane. Except for first class, the cabin seats were divided by an aisle into left and right, with three seats per row on each side.

Lady Calico had a window seat. Coincidentally, the mother and child sat beside her. Although the mother hadn’t gotten the window seat, she wanted her young child to see the sky, so she had him sit next to Lady Calico. That way, the child could glance out the window occasionally.

“

Vroom...

”

The plane gradually took off.

The brief feeling of weightlessness made many passengers uncomfortable, but the girl remained entirely composed, occasionally glancing at the child beside her before returning her gaze naturally.

The plane climbed higher and higher, soon rising above the clouds.

Below, the ground had already darkened, but above the clouds, light remained. Fluffy, cotton-like clouds rolled beneath her, sunlit at their peaks, shadowed in their valleys, with a streak of fiery red in the western sky.

It wasn’t convenient to use a phone on the plane, and since it was already late, many people had gradually fallen asleep. The child beside her, however, had just woken from a nap. He was not the least bit drowsy, but instead brimming with energy.

But his mother was well-mannered, speaking softly to him the entire time. She told stories suitable for a child his age and listened to him explain his newly learned method for treating numb legs, keeping him calm so he wouldn’t disturb anyone.

The girl continued staring out the window. Yet the gentle voice of the mother nearby gradually drew her attention, telling stories that piqued her interest.

“Once we land in Lan’an, we can not only see the sea, but also play by the shore, out on the water, and on islands! In ancient times, the sea was full of strange places and strange things, like yaksha, monsters, and even immortals...”

“I know about monsters!”

“Shh, lower your voice...”

“What’s a yaksha?” The child had clearly lowered his voice, and even in the quiet cabin his voice didn’t sound out of place.

“Legend says that out at sea near Langzhou, not far from the coast, there’s an island called Yaksha Kingdom. The people there look like demons or monsters, they’re tall, strong, with green faces and fangs. They’re called yaksha.”

“Really?”

“Of course. So when you get to the island, you must never wander off behind my back. You might meet a yaksha. And you must behave, as yakshas love to snatch disobedient children and eat them.” The mother’s voice remained low. “Besides yaksha, there’s also a Little Kingdom at sea. The people are shorter than chopsticks, but the cats and dogs there are the same size as ours.”

“Ah?”

“Those people can ride rats as horses. It takes many people to handle a single crab, and one fish could feed many people...” She continued slowly, painting an imaginative picture.

The tales of the sea were fantastical.

Especially as she described them, they felt lived-in, a journey connecting strange phenomena. Beyond yaksha and the tiny humans, there were Cat Kingdom, Dog Kingdom, Lobster Kingdom, waves as tall as mountains, dragons as high as lightning, spirits and merfolk, flying fish in the sky, and whales guiding the way. The tales were a blend of wonder and childhood delight.

The boy’s eyes were wide open as he was absorbed in the stories, his mind painting vivid images.

From time to time, he glanced at the pretty young lady beside him, then quickly returned to being lost in his mother’s gentle storytelling.

Lady Calico couldn’t help but turn her head to look at them.

“Are these all true?” The boy didn’t dare believe it, but wanted to.

Lady Calico understood that feeling.

“I’ve never been to the seaside either, and I haven't seen any of these things myself. But these stories, these wonderful adventures, are recorded in a book called

The Tianpin Diary

,” the mother said, her tone still soft and patient.

“What diary?”

“Tianpin means the sea. It’s someone’s personal account of their sea travels, but it was from ancient times. The writer lived in ancient times.” She continued, “There’s a version just for kids with illustrations. Once you learn more characters, you can read it yourself. Reading it in your own hands is even more fun.”

Ancient times... The writer lived in ancient times...

The young girl beside him felt a fleeting disorientation, as if transported far back in time.

“The White Rhino God of the seaside, I’m sure you’ve heard of it. It appears in many TV shows and animations. Even today, coastal people still revere it. According to scientists and researchers, among all records of the ‘White Rhino God,’ this book mentions it first and also explains its origin,” the mother paused. “Whether the book is true or not, whether the magical countries in the stories are real or not, I don’t know. But when you get to Langzhou, never say the White Rhino God isn’t real, as the people there consult it for everything.”

To be precise, it’s according to literary historians and researchers...

The girl thought to herself.

How wondrous... how utterly wondrous...

Even the two white rhinoceroses, now, had become household names. They were figures widely recognized in literature, films, and animations as divine beings.

“Who wrote that book?”

“I don’t know anymore,” the mother shook her head. “Some say it was a Daoist, others say it was a child. In any case, in the book, the author seems to have imagined themselves as a demon.”

“A demon? Really?”

“Anyway, it’s a very interesting book. It’s so fun and unique. Every child and adult should read it at least once. Xingyue, you need to study hard and learn how to read quickly so you can read it sooner.”

“Oh...”

The Tianpin Diary

, one of the famous works of the Great Yan Dynasty, had survived through later periods of turmoil and reform. Despite storms of history, its content had remained largely intact because it was written relatively close to modern times and had been widely circulated. Unfortunately, due to ancient prejudice against miscellaneous books and their authors, the writer’s name was lost, leaving only a few different versions.

The boy named Xingyue[1] gradually grew quiet, lost in thought, or perhaps immersed in boundless imagination.

The girl withdrew her gaze and continued staring out the window.

The sky darkened a little more, making the western horizon appear even more fiery. The rolling sea of clouds hid the land below, and listening to the mother and child’s conversation, one couldn’t tell how many li they had traveled.

They seemed to have entered the borders of Langzhou.

“So fast...” Lady Calico continued to watch outside.

1. The character 星, meaning “star,” evokes images of brightness, hope, and the vastness of the night sky, while 悦, meaning “joy” or “delight,” suggests inner happiness and serenity. To me, the name conveys a sense of radiant joy, as if one’s presence could shine like starlight and bring warmth to those around them. ☜