Chapter 24: Cicada

The courier rushed back into the city at full gallop, calling out to the townspeople.

Xiao Qi came bouncing back from the intersection, the innocent little girl completely unaware of what fear was. 

She thought Auntie Ah Miao had simply taken her out to play.

As soon as her little feet stepped through the front gate, Wu Yi heard her chattering away mysteriously.

She was shaking the bell in her hand as she chanted with great ceremony.

“Heaven la la~ Earth la la~”

“Ghosties behave~ Houtu give orders~”

“PaPa~ PaPa… Come back to life! Transform!”

“……”

She shook the bell a few more times.

Nothing happened.

In the end, the little girl could only slump down in the courtyard in disappointment.

“PaPa, this sucks.”

“……”

Where did she learn that from now!?

Wu Yi held the little girl on her lap with a headache.

Where had Miss Ah Miao taken her this time—was it down the River of the Dead? 

Every time they sneak out, the girl comes back knowing some bizarre underworld nonsense.

No, this won’t do. 

She had to find a proper school for the kid.

As soon as she got paid, she’d go.

……

Holding Xiao Qi in her arms, it was a peaceful night.

Early the next morning, Wu Yi wiped the drool off her chest that Xiao Qi had left behind in her sleep—something she was getting increasingly used to.

Who knows what the little one dreamed about, but every night her appetite seemed insatiable.

“Knock knock knock—”

Someone was at the door.

“Priestess, it’s me.”

Oh! The Deputy High Priest!

“Are you here to deliver my salary?” Wu Yi suddenly felt a spark of hope.

“Well, this morning we found a little note at the temple gate, probably slipped through the crack under the door by Lady Kefulu…”

“What did it say?”

“‘Bring the priestess.’”

Another divine oracle, huh… But then again, if she can slip notes through the door, what does she need the priestess for?

Just for the ritual, maybe?

Pfft, a great and mighty dark god crouched at the door passing notes to her followers, it really didn’t fit the image…

Well, good timing—Wu Yi had also been wanting to go to the island and talk about getting an advance on her wages.

“Let’s go.”

Thankfully, she didn’t have to be bound hand and foot this time.

The deputy helped her onto the boat. 

The wind was strong and the boat fast—it reached the island shore in the blink of an eye.

“Huh? The island’s really lively…”

Even though she couldn’t see, Wu Yi could clearly hear the joy in the voices of the nearby followers. 

Even their footsteps were full of cheer.

“Lady Kefulu has manifested!”

“Long live Lady Kefulu!”

They were all spreading the miracle that had occurred the night before—under Cheng Yi’s command, over thirty thousand pirate followers had vanished without a trace overnight.

Not even bones were left behind.

For the followers of Dagon, who held deep hatred toward the pirates, this was undoubtedly the long-awaited vengeance finally fulfilled.

“Heaven has eyes.” The deputy high priest, with tears in his eyes, knelt and bowed toward the temple.

“Feeling better now?”

“Much better. Ever since the pirates destroyed our lives, until yesterday, it felt like we were trapped in the shadows of the past. The memories tormented us from dawn to dusk—we lived in a hatred so hopeless it was worse than death…

Now, even if it’s just a small victory, it’s enough to lift everyone’s spirits.”

It was like a beam of light piercing through the clouds, shining down on this unremarkable little island.

They cheered and celebrated, even wanting to name today “Vengeance Day,” to commemorate Lady Kefulu’s first divine manifestation.

“The underwater city of R’lyeh is about to return. Lady Kefulu is summoning it, and in a few days, it will rise to the surface,” the deputy said solemnly, “When R’lyeh returns, the cult will enter a new era.”

Everything was moving in a positive direction.

“So this time, did Kefulu summon me because of R’lyeh?”

“Maybe. Lady Kefulu didn’t say,” the deputy replied with a cheerful smile, “Who knows? Maybe she wants to appoint a queen for R’lyeh… Whatever the case, if it’s Lady Kefulu’s oracle, we just follow it obediently.”

True enough—no point overthinking it. 

Just go inside and find out.

“By the way, it’s really hot today.”

“Didn’t you hear, Priestess? The weather bureau just released a new update. It’s the subtropical high pressure that looks like we’re in for a heatwave over the next few days.”

“I see…”

Thinking of the cicada chirps in the prophecy, Wu Yi silently grew more alert.

—There’s not much time left. I’ll need to speak with Kefulu soon.

But even as that thought crossed her mind, she didn’t notice—

Beneath a nearby coconut tree, a thumb-sized insect broke free from its earthen cocoon, slowly crawling out of the soil.

It climbed up the trunk, its beetle-like form beginning to shift.

Its wings stretched open.

“Chirrrp—”

The first cry of spring, sharp and resolute.

It was a cicada.

A stubborn cicada, dead set on starting its song today.