Chapter 279: Kuzan

Chapter 279: Chapter 279: Kuzan

One afternoon, after hesitating for a long time, Kuzan, dressed in a pretty pink outfit, found Charlotte Linlin sunbathing on a deck chair.

"otousan..." he said reluctantly. This term felt awkward every time he said it. "I... I want to go ashore."

"Oh? What for? Trying to run away?"

Charlotte Linlin lifted her gaze from under her newspaper and glanced at Kuzan, who was wearing women’s clothing, her eyes filled with amusement. How cute~

"No!" Kuzan quickly denied, a flash of complicated emotion crossing his face. "I... I want to go see Grandpa Mo. Before... he gave me food. Now... I..."

He clutched a small cloth bag in his hand, which contained the Berries that Charlotte Linlin had previously "lent" him. He wanted to give this money to the old man who had helped him.

Charlotte Linlin looked at the expression on his face, a mix of gratitude, guilt, and a hint of stubbornness, and a flicker of understanding flashed in her purple eyes.

"Fine, knowing how to repay kindness, not too bad." She said in a flat tone. "It just so happens that This lady also wants to go to town for a stroll. Let’s go, I’ll ’accompany’ you."

Kuzan’s heart sank; he knew that the so-called "accompanying" was actually surveillance. But he had no choice.

On the cluttered road, Charlotte Linlin followed behind Kuzan, her massive figure looking somewhat out of place on the dirty, messy path.

"Hey, my big son," she suddenly said, her voice lazy. "Just a reminder. Your travel expenses and bodyguard fees for this shore ’visit’ will be ten million Berries. Adding that to the previous ten billion, you now owe your father a total of ten billion and ten million Berries. Remember to pay it back~"

Kuzan, walking in front, stumbled and nearly fell.

He turned around abruptly, staring wide-eyed at the smiling "female demon" behind him, his face flushed with anger: "You... you’re robbing me! There’s no way to calculate it like that!"

"Who told you I’m stronger than you?" Charlotte Linlin just waved her hand.

Kuzan was instantly silenced. Remembering that terrifying slap and the icy seawater, all his protests were choked back. He turned his head away, gritting his teeth and muttering in a low voice: "...Got it! I will definitely pay it back! With interest!"

Although he had no idea how he would pay back over ten billion, he couldn’t lose his momentum.

To divert his attention from the suffocating financial pressure, Kuzan walked silently for a while before suddenly asking: "Hey... otousan, what is your Pirate Crew... actually called?"

He only knew they were very strong and their flag was a bit strange, but he really didn’t know their specific name.

"The Heavenly Punishment Pirates." Charlotte Linlin answered casually.

"Heavenly Punishment..." Kuzan repeated it silently, his brow furrowing slightly. This name... he vaguely felt like he had heard it somewhere before.

Maybe... from a down-and-out pirate or an intelligence peddler passing by a tavern? Was it from the New World...? No, that’s impossible. How could a Great Pirate from the New World come to the South Blue? It must be a mistake, or just a shared name.

He shook his head and temporarily pushed these doubts aside, because Rust Nail Nest was already right in front of him.

However, the scene before him made his heart skip a beat.

Several sallow and thin paupers, dressed no better than beggars, were carrying a person on a makeshift stretcher made of a broken door panel, walking out of Rust Nail Nest.

But Kuzan recognized the person at a glance, as well as the black and white circle pattern on the corner of the clothes!

The money bag in Kuzan’s hand hit the ground with a "clatter," and a few scattered Berries rolled out.

An ominous premonition instantly gripped his heart, making his limbs go cold.

"Wait, wait a second!" His voice trembled as he rushed forward to stop those people. "Who... who are you carrying?!"

Those people were startled by Kuzan, and they also recognized this kid who often hung around the slums and was close to Grandpa Mo.

They stopped and showed expressions of sympathy and helplessness. "It’s... it’s Kuzan..." a middle-aged man sighed and said in a low voice, "It’s Grandpa Mo... he... sigh..."

"What happened to Grandpa Mo?!" Kuzan’s voice rose sharply, carrying a fear he hadn’t even realized himself.

"When the pirates came before..." another person said helplessly, "Grandpa Mo was digging for things outside... and was... shot by a passing pirate ship... When we found him... it was already..."

Kuzan was struck by lightning, staggering back a step, his face as pale as paper.

The Blood Claw Pirates! It was those animals! They were at sea, saw Grandpa Mo by the edge of Rust Nail Nest, and then, just like a hunting game, fired their guns casually!

For some reason, this thought popped into Kuzan’s mind. Anger, grief, hatred, and a deep sense of powerlessness erupted within his small, thin body.

He gritted his teeth so hard that his gums bled. Yet tears welled up uncontrollably.

The few people looked at Kuzan’s devastated appearance, shook their heads, said nothing more, lifted the wooden board, and silently walked around him, continuing toward the wasteland.

In this abandoned land, death was too common, and compassion had long since been worn away to almost nothing.

Kuzan stood blankly on the spot, watching the old man gradually move away, and the whole world seemed to lose its color.

The old man who had given him the last shred of warmth in his cold world had died silently under the muzzle of a pirate’s casual amusement.

A warm, huge palm gently pressed onto his trembling head.

Charlotte Linlin had walked up to him at some point. She squatted down and looked at him, her purple eyes devoid of their usual mockery and playfulness, replaced by a calm depth.

"In my hometown," she said slowly, her voice not loud, but carrying a strange, soothing power, "people believe that the dead should be buried and returned to the earth so that their souls can find peace and go to where they belong. Instead of... being casually discarded in the wilderness, left for birds and beasts to gnaw on, becoming lonely ghosts."

Kuzan looked up at her through tear-blurred eyes.

"Do you want to see him off on his final journey yourself?" Charlotte Linlin asked.

Kuzan nodded vigorously, fiercely wiped away his tears with his sleeve, bent down to pick up the scattered coins and stuffed them back into the cloth bag, then took a deep breath, turned, and chased after the direction those people had left.

"Wait!" Kuzan called out to them hoarsely. "Please... give... give Grandpa Mo... to me."

The few people were stunned for a moment, looked at Kuzan, then at the tall, pink-haired woman with a strong presence behind him. They hesitated, but still gently set down the stretcher.

"Kuzan, my condolences..." they said in a low voice and hurried away, seemingly not wanting to get involved in any trouble.

Kuzan wiped away his tears with his sleeve. He struggled to stand up, took a deep breath, bent down, and carefully hoisted Grandpa Mo’s cold, light body onto his own still-slender back. It was very light, but it felt incomparably heavy.

Charlotte Linlin didn’t help, just followed silently behind him.

Carrying the old man, Kuzan walked step by step, difficultly yet firmly, toward a small hill outside the town that overlooked the sea.

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