Dark Moon Era

Chapter 279: Ding Ling And Ding Dong

What was the rule in Darkness Port?

It was simple. Power, power, power! Money, money, money!

It was corrupted and dark but also straightforward.

There were many people who noticed Tang Ling and the old fox along the way because the old fox stepped on somebody’s shoulders to launch himself up onto the roof. Strangely, when they realized it was the old fox, the people decided to keep quiet.

So, is this the leeway of being powerful?

Tang Ling admired it. He relished the freedom that came with power, but he had something more important that he branded in his bones: using his power to achieve his dream and not exchanging it for freedom.

As for what his dream was, it was a blurred concept. Even he himself had no idea what it was, yet it felt like something that was in his bones, his soul and his heart. It would pop up from time to time to remind him that he had something deep and meaningful to pursue. Was it his dream to shatter this damn era and build a new one atop of the ashes of the old, achieving real hope and new order?

Just then, the old fox finally landed after jumping off the roof with Tang Ling. The landing was abrupt and ended Tang Ling’s vague thoughts.

The old fox sprinted ceaselessly all the way. He traveled across half of the huge deck area in less than 13 minutes despite having a burden with him! Tang Ling gained an initial impression of the old fox’s strength from the little feat, but he did not care as he was planning his own ideas while he sized up his new surroundings.

Before him was a rather secluded alley. The road was blanketed with colorful shells and the walls were covered in coral fragments. Small pieces of raw reef were used as embellishments here and there, making it quite unique from the other alleys.

Despite its unique presence, the absence of people in the alley was unusual for the crowded and merry deck area, and describing it as empty was considered euphoric.

The old fox jumped up. Maybe because he sensed the disdain in Tang Ling’s eyes, he tapped the back of Tang Ling’s head when he spoke, “What are you looking at? This whole alley is mine. It’s my backyard.”

“I hate it when people tap my head.” Tang Ling turned around and glared at the old fox.

“Oh, okay.” The old fox nodded lazily, but he tapped Tang Ling’s head again.

“Hmph!” Tang Ling chuckled in anger. I’m born ready. Just you wait, you old fox!

Since Tang Ling did not argue, the old fox sauntered into the alley. Tang Ling followed quietly as he continued sizing up the place.

There was nothing much to the alley either. As Tang Ling got a better look at it, the alley seemed old and lacked proper maintenance, but after they made a turn at the end of the alley, a five-story building appeared before them.

The buildings in the deck area of Darkness Port were all unique but other than that huge castle in the middle, all the other commercial and residential buildings along the way were short. The tallest among them was just a three-story building.

Compared to the other buildings, the five-story building looked grander than the common ones. Unlike the other buildings which were either constructed in the shape of aquatic creatures or with creations of the sea, this building was made with wood. The huge wooden pillars and beams retained the appearance of unprocessed logs and some parts of the building even had branches with leaves and tree bark.

As for the roof, it was unlike anything else because instead of tiles, the roof was built with leaves of some kind, so the entire building overflowed with a faint refreshing fragrance. Other than that, some smaller parts of the building were decorated with products of the sea such as a big shell as a window or conch shells as wind chimes, and so on.

In conclusion, this building had its own unique presence. It was raw and rough yet meticulously built with the most intricate details. Upon first glance, it was bound to leave an impression.

“What do you think? I designed it myself.” The old fox delightedly kicked the door open, then glanced around as if he was paranoid about being followed before going in. He then called out to Tang Ling, “Stop standing there. Come in.”

Skeptical, Tang Ling did not do as he was told because the door that the old fox kicked open was the back door. Who would go into his own house via the back door? And that paranoid check of the surroundings? What was that about?

He started to suspect that the old fox might have taken advantage of the fact that he now worked for him and would make a thief out of him.

“Why are you still standing there?” The old fox got a little upset at Tang Ling’s skeptical gaze, so he pointed at Tang Ling, trying to scold him, but at that very moment…

Bang!

A loud and sudden clank exploded and a black wok dropped on the old fox’s head. It frightened even Tang Ling who shrunk his neck in shock.

“Boss, you are back? I am sorry. The wok slipped from my hand.” As the wok fell off the old fox’s head, the youthful voice of a toddler followed, and then a round, plump figure jumped out from the back door.

The moment Tang Ling saw the figure, he could not help but snicker in silence. The figure was no taller than 120 cm with a big head and a round face. His eyes were white and mushy as though they were a cultural snack from ancient Huaxia called tangyuan.

Despite the short and tiny body, the figure claimed that the wok slipped from and hit the old fox’s head. Was that a joke? The old fox was taller than 180 cm.

“Little Ding Ling, did you do that on purpose?” The old fox rubbed his head and grunted but there was no tinge of anger on his face.

The little plump fellow known as Ding Ling grunted before picking up the wok and wobbling into the house.

The old fox looked around like a thief again and said, “What are you looking at? I don’t bully kids! It’s not suitable for us to go home together, so just follow me.”

As he spoke, the old fox was about to walk out of the house, but a broomstick suddenly sprung out from the door and almost tripped him. “What the hell!?” He twisted and jumped, holding onto the beam of the first floor to prevent himself from falling.

It was then that another stout figure holding a mop taller than herself came out and said with a youthful toddler voice, “Boss, you are trying to run away again? Little Ding Ling and I have to deal with the flowery sisters from the Hai family again!”

“Yeah, Boss, did you purposely slip out this morning? The three flowers from the Hai family came knocking and grumbling that they wanted to marry you.”

At the same time, Little Ding Ling came out again with the wok, appearing serious with a plump hand on the waist while berating the old fox.

Two little fatties that look exactly the same? Tang Ling blinked his eyes at the eccentric scene.

Although the two little stout creatures ignored Tang Ling, the one with the mop continued, “Yeah, they buzzed Little Ding Ling and me for the whole morning! People say hopping rabbits don’t eat grass by their burrows, but, Boss, you just have to go and flirt with the three flowers of the fishmonger neighbors!”

“Little Ding Dong is right! Our boss doesn’t just eat grass by his burrow. He ate a whole bunch of them! Thankfully, the mother of the fishmonger only has three daughters. If she had a dozen and strapped them into a bundle, our boss might have to eat every one of them!” The little plump with the wok was good with his words.

“Pfft! Ahem…” Tang Ling’s face flushed as he was having a hard time holding back his laughter, especially when he saw the old fox hanging over the beam helplessly and getting scolded by the two little fellows. They claimed that there were three sisters asking for his hand in marriage and that he flirted with a bunch of girls around his place, so he might have to accept a dozen more…

The joke went over Tang Ling’s limit. Finally, he realized how hard it was to hold back his laughter at something so funny.

Tang Ling barely had any existence throughout the conversation, but as his peals of laughter escaped his lips, the two little plump fellows turned around to Tang Ling at the same time. “Who are you?”

Tang Ling was very confused by the situation, but he was happy when the old fox got some scolding from them. He replied, “I’m no one, little brothers. Please continue.”

“Little brothers?” The two little plumps gasped in utter shock.

“Uh…big brothers?” Tang Ling scratched his head. He felt like his opinion should not be limited by his sight. He should not judge a person by their voice and height or determine how old they were by their looks.

It was already the Purple Moon era, so the limits of evolution were broken. Maybe being short was also a sign of evolution.

Right after Tang Ling’s voice subsided, he sensed a pitiful gaze from the old fox. A bad feeling rose, and the next thing he knew, a wok and a broomstick flew towards his face.

The wok and broomstick really tore at him!

Even with his Precise Instinct, even if his control over his body was far better than any one of his peers, he still could not dodge the wok and the broomstick. All he did was blink and the wok hit his face with a loud clunk, followed by the broomstick.

“We are ladies!” the two little fatties roared angrily at him before they waddled into the house.

L-ladies?

The wok and the broomstick did not harm Tang Ling at all since they were thrown lightly at him. Still, the two plump figures with a bun on each of their heads were girls?

Tang Ling was a little hurt.

The two plump people bore no features of a girl. If they said they were daughters of seashells, he might even believe them since pearls mostly came from shells and pearls were round and genderless…

…

After that little farce, Tang Ling finally joined Dvesha Moha and officially became a servant to Boss Huang.

The old fox’s name was Huang Dao, and everyone in Darkness Port called him Boss Huang. Dvesha Moha might sound like some otherworldly establishment, but it was just a blacksmith with some profound name.

The twins known as Little Ding Ling and Little Ding Dong had been adopted by Boss Huang. Their background was a mystery, but since everyone revered Boss Huang, no one really talked about them.

Life in Dvesha Moha was simple. Boss Huang handled the blacksmith business while Little Ding Ling was the cooking maiden and Little Dingdong was the cleaner.

Ding Ling and Ding Dong were the bosses of the establishment. In Boss Huang’s own words, ‘Don’t ever get on their bad side. If you do, you won’t get dinner and you’ll have to live in a messy pile of trash. They are the bosses here, get it?’

Tang Ling understood none of that, and until he reached his room, his mind was all blank and muddled. He once had countless thoughts about how he should settle down in Darkness Port, but never did he expect that he would start his life here in such a way!