Chapter 344: The Big Tree in Space
The spaceship carrying Jiang Qin and the others had stopped in space for a long time for no apparent reason.
Noticing the ship hadn’t moved in a long time, the passengers finally grew puzzled.
"What’s going on? Why have we stopped? Is it a ship malfunction? Or a power failure?"
"I don’t know. We haven’t moved for several hours now, have we?"
"Is anyone going to ask what’s happening in the cockpit?"
One of the warriors escorting the soothing masters went to check.
He returned with news a few minutes later, but he deliberately avoided the main group, speaking only to a few other warriors whom he pulled aside.
The spaceship started moving again, but the endless, dark space outside the windows filled everyone with a sense of unease.
Suddenly, Jiang Qin thought she saw something.
But when she leaned closer to the window to get a better look, there was nothing out of the ordinary.
Just as she began to think she had imagined it, a long object suddenly shot out from the darkness, lashing out and binding the spaceship tightly.
"AHH!!"
As the ship jolted, one of the women lost her footing and screamed.
"What’s going on? Did we hit some turbulence?"
However, the shaking grew increasingly violent. The entire vessel was flipped over, sending everyone tumbling as if they’d been thrown into a washing machine.
"AHHHHH!!"
"We’re in trouble! It’s a Cosmic Beast!"
"Everyone, be careful! Warriors, protect the soothing masters!"
Lan Yuyan and Lan Yan shielded Jiang Qin between them, one in front and one behind.
She could only hear their bodies slamming against the ship’s interior. She felt no pain, cushioned by their bodies instead.
Their chests were warm yet firm, making her feel incredibly secure.
As absurd as the situation was, Lan Yuyan was beginning to understand.
His expression darkened as he looked at Lan Yan, who met his gaze with unnerving calm, but he didn’t push him away. Not now.
Lan Yan, however, only held her tighter.
He was so close that Jiang Qin could clearly smell his scent and feel his warm, lime-scented breath on her skin.
The ship continued to shudder as they felt something outside dragging it along at an incredible speed.
Despair was evident on everyone’s faces.
No one who encountered a Cosmic Beast in space had ever lived to tell the tale.
Perhaps because they had all witnessed so much death and separation recently, when the jolting finally stopped, Jiang Qin saw neither despair nor fear on their faces.
Instead, there was only calm and a sense of detachment.
After all, they had mentally prepared for this possibility the moment they set out for the battlefield.
This was merely one of the outcomes they had already envisioned.
An older woman was the first to break the silence. "This isn’t so bad. At least we get to see a Cosmic Beast in our lifetime."
"That’s right. I’ve always heard these ancient behemoths hidden in space are terrifying, but you can rarely find any footage of them."
"It’s a shame there’s no network connection here. Otherwise, I’d record some footage to send back for the scientists to study."
Perhaps their collective calm was contagious.
Even the women who had been panicking earlier started to calm down considerably.
Wen Xueli even had her partner carry her over to Jiang Qin’s side.
Jiang Qin had a good impression of her biggest fan, so she didn’t resist her approach. She shifted slightly, signaling for the two men protecting her to loosen their grip.
"Lili."
"Qin Bao, this is nice. To be able to spend my last moments with the man I love and my favorite idol," Wen Xueli remarked with a sigh.
’The people she cared about most were here on the ship. It seemed she had no regrets.’
Jiang Qin didn’t know what to say. ’Should I say I don’t want to die? Or promise that we’ll definitely make it out alive?’
’Making a promise she couldn’t keep would be like lying to herself.’
A woman in the crowd suddenly looked at Jiang Qin with hopeful eyes.
"Qin Bao, waiting for death makes time pass so slowly. Could you sing a song for us?"
At her words, everyone turned to look at Jiang Qin with anticipation.
Jiang Qin remembered that whenever she sang, her Spiritual Body not only soothed others but also received comfort from the Spiritual Bodies of the other women. She agreed.
She tapped her Light Computer and played a newly acquired backing track.
After composing herself, she began to sing:
"The wind that blows across the plains,
Please slow your pace,
I’ll tell you with my silence,
That I am drunk..."
An ethereal, lonely rendition of "Night of Ulaanbaatar" echoed through the void of space.
The reverberating notes made the silence of space feel even more profound.
Wen Xueli closed her eyes, listening quietly.
She could feel a peaceful yearning within the song.
The world they all yearned for was one of open plains, of freedom, of quiet nights, of peace.
No bloodshed, no Alien Beasts, no Cosmic Beasts, no threat of death...
At some point, the spaceship, which had been dragged along, seemed to have stopped.
Everyone was immersed in the song. A few Spiritual Bodies circled around them, emitting a soft white light that soothed their chaotic Spirit Seas.
No one looked out the window.
When the song ended, silence once again fell over the ship’s cabin.
This particular silence felt almost unbearable.
Lan Yuyan suddenly spoke up. "We’ve stopped moving."
"He’s right!!"
"Come on, let’s get to a window."
All the men crowded around the windows to see.
The women stood on tiptoe, but the tall figures of the men completely blocked their view.
One woman grew impatient. "What do you see? Say something, will you?"
"Yeah, move aside when you’re done! We want to see, too!!"
Their partners quickly picked a window and started pushing aside the men who were blocking the way.
"Excuse me, let us through. Our female master wants to see."
"Hey, buddy, let us through! Give someone else a chance to look when you’re done!"
With Lan Yan’s help, Jiang Qin also managed to squeeze her way to the front.
What she saw was a giant tree!
And its roots were what had bound the spaceship.
The giant tree was ’holding’ the spaceship, looking at it. Even though it had no eyes, Jiang Qin could feel its gaze.
It was like the curious stare of a child with a new toy.
Suddenly, the ship began to shake violently again.
The roots binding the vessel were shaking it with all their might.
"AHH!!"
"Here we go again, here we go again..."
"Quick! If you’re not holding onto anything, curl up and protect your head!"
Jiang Qin didn’t have to; she was once again shielded between the two brothers.
Suddenly, she felt a soft warmth press against her right cheek.
When she turned her head to look, that warmth landed on her lips.
Her eyes met a pair of deep blue ones, burning with a restrained fire.
Realizing who she had just kissed, she quickly turned her head away—only to brush her lips against the corner of Lan Yuyan’s mouth.
With nowhere to turn her head, she simply buried her face in Lan Yuyan’s chest and refused to look up.
Finally, the shaking stopped.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"What is this tree trying to do?"
"Who the hell knows what a monster like this is thinking. Maybe it’s trying to shake us out so it can eat us."
’For some reason, Jiang Qin was reminded of shaking a Jell-O cup...’
A moment later, the tree started shaking them again!
"Fuck! If it’s going to kill us, can’t it just get it over with? It’s going to shake my brains out."
"BLEGH—"
The shaking made everyone vomit, and Jiang Qin was no exception.
She hadn’t experienced any morning sickness with her pregnancy, but after just a few shakes, she was throwing up bitter bile.