Wu Ma stared at the figure before him— he couldn’t tell if it was a man or ghost.
Joy, rage, disbelief— an avalanche of emotions crashed together into a tangled mess, finally dissolving into two streaks of tears.
And one bone-crushing hug.
“You bastard! You goddamn bastard!” he growled through clenched teeth, the veins on his forehead throbbing.
The bastard in front of him had been missing for thirteen years.
Thirteen years ago, Wu Ye had stepped into the Forbidden Zone and vanished without a trace.
Everyone thought he was dead.
And now, here he was, standing in front of him like nothing had happened.
With a daughter, no less!
“You—”
“Hey, got any candy?”
Wu Ye leaned in and whispered by Wu Ma’s ear, blinking innocently.
“Candy?” Wu Ma was stunned.
“Any kind, really never mind, we’ll talk later!”
Wu Ye tucked the little girl under his arm, casually covering her eyes.
“Go ahead.”
Only then did Wu Ma lift his spear— blood spurted into the air.
The low-ranking bandits on the ship were disorganized from the start.
Even with someone backing them with gear and summoners, they were still, at their core, just bandits.
Once their leader dropped dead and the tide turned, their will to fight collapsed almost instantly.
“Tch—”
Wu Ma actually found it disappointing how fast they crumbled.
He thought maybe they’d get to fight side by side again— back to back, slicing through waves of enemies like in the old days.
Show the world the deadly glory of the spear-and-sword duo, taking on thousands with just the two of them.
Guess that wasn’t happening today.
……
Wu Ma methodically sliced the ears off the pirates and stuffed them into a pouch.
Unfortunately, his subordinates and the deserters had long since vanished into thin air— too late to give chase.
Not that it mattered.
You can run from the monk, but not the temple.
“Here. Candy.”
Because Wu Ye had mentioned candy earlier, Wu Ma had taken the trouble to search the ship’s cabin for some.
“For her,” Wu Ye signaled furiously with his eyes, jerking his chin toward the little Loli in his arms.
“Hmph.”
Wu Ma was confused, but handed it over anyway.
“Candy man grandpa~!” Xiao Qi beamed from ear to ear, planting her hands proudly on her hips like she’d won a major victory.
“Well, I guess that makes Wu Ma the candy-giving grandpa. I lost~” Wu Ye raised an eyebrow.
Wu Ma had no idea what was going on, but he was grinding his teeth in frustration.
So all that candy business… was just to feed your kid?
“Where the hell have you been these thirteen years?” Wu Ma growled.
“It’s a long story,” Wu Ye gave a bitter smile.
“Well, you’ve got a kid now, so yeah, I bet it’s long. Who’s the mom?”
“It’s the earth.”
“…Man, you’ve gotten old. I can’t even keep up with your fetishes anymore. What, elves are not hot enough now?”
“There is no mom,” Wu Ye sighed, exasperated.
“These kids… grew from the ground. That vine on my ship. They came from that.”
“You…” Wu Ma inhaled sharply, doing his best not to punch this lunatic in the face. “Do you think I’m that easy to fool?”
“Er, okay, okay,” Wu Ye raised his hands in surrender. He knew it sounded crazy—no normal person would ever believe it. “She’s adopted.”
“Then why didn’t you come back?”
Wu Ma’s anger reignited.
This deserter!
If Wu Ye had stayed back then, if he’d fought beside him for Princess Wu Yi, maybe they wouldn’t have lost so many in that war against the gods.
Wu Ye fell silent, melancholic.
He understood his old friend’s rage.
He could guess what he was thinking.
But… if the one who came back was Wu Ye, who could’ve stopped the God-King’s blade?
“I was trapped in the Forbidden Zone,” Wu Ye said softly, guilt weighing down his voice. “I’m sorry.”
“Then pay up!” Wu Ma’s eyes widened. “Seven elves, eight beast-eared girls, nine vampires, ten witches, eleven succubi…”
“Wait, what the hell is that supposed to mean?!”
Wu Ye turned pale with shock at the sudden extortion.
“You trying to bill me for your years of whoring!?”
“No! Those were your offerings. Burned for you!”
What the hell—
Even worse!
“Paper dolls!” Wu Ma rolled his eyes.
“But those paper dolls were super detailed, and expensive as hell! And that’s not all. Every month, I get you an issue of Cross-Species Companion Girl Review Magazine…”
Wu Ye quickly covered the little girl’s ears.
“Big bro! Can you not say that out loud? Just give me a number, I’ll earn it back for you, alright?”
“Five hundred thousand.”
“That’s daylight robbery! Do I look like I’m worth five hundred thousand?!”
“With that rotten conscience of yours, even if you paid me five hundred thousand, it’d still be overpriced.”
Wu Ma landed a heavy punch on Wu Ye’s shoulder.
Wu Ye winced, but the two of them laughed, eyes meeting.
“You’re back. That’s what matters.”
No amount of anger could outweigh the joy of an old friend’s return.
“How’s Long Ye and the others doing?”
“No idea. Probably living better than me,” Wu Ma shrugged.
“After you disappeared, we fought alongside Princess Wu Yi for three years. In the end, she personally slayed the God-King—she’s… terrifyingly strong.”
“Oh, the God-King’s dead? That’s good,” Wu Ye replied, feigning ignorance.
“Funny thing is…” Wu Ma narrowed his eyes slightly, “I’ve always seen a shadow of you in Her Highness.”
“Haha, r-really? That’s… flattering,” Wu Ye scratched his head awkwardly.
“Your sword-handling habits, your food preferences, even the occasional slip of the tongue…”
As the one who knew Wu Ye best, Wu Ma had harbored suspicions ever since those early days working under Princess Wu Yi.
“Certain little quirks and gestures—you just can’t fake that,” Wu Ma’s tone grew more and more pointed.
“The Princess shares so many little similarities with you. You really think that’s all coincidence? Two people in the world with identical names, even their names almost the same?”
“…Alright, you got me.” Wu Ye pressed a hand to his forehead.
“Spit it out!”
“Wu Yi… is my little sister.” Wu Ye said flatly.
A long silence.
“…Haaaaaah??”
Wu Ma’s scream nearly blasted a hole in the sky.
“Are you serious!? That Wu Yi, the unmatched, peerless Princess, is your sister?!”
The revelation hit like a thunderclap and Wu Ma wasn’t the only one who heard it.
Wu Ye didn’t notice, but the moment he said Wu Yi is my sister—
The little girl in his arms suddenly jerked her head up.
Even the gourds on the prow of the ship gave a little shake, as if stirred by something very exciting.