Chapter 39 Falling into Wenrou

After staying on Puke Island for three days, Cheng Xi was in the room flipping through the famous tourist islands recommended in the magazines, trying to find a destination for the next trip. However, after flipping through several books, she still hadn't found the ideal place. She was a little uninterested, so she threw the magazine on the table and went out to eat.

When she walked to the hotel lobby, she happened to meet Mihawk. So she didn't know what she was thinking, and she blurted out and asked him that he was now homeless and drifting freely on the sea. If he also wandered around the world, could he take her with him?

To put it bluntly, she asked him if he needed a travel partner.

Mihawk looked at Cheng Xi, his pair of golden eyes thoughtful, and he didn't know what he was thinking. He pursed his lips, was silent for a moment, and finally nodded in agreement.

They set sail together inexplicably but naturally.

Mihawk's boat is not even a small boat. It is just a large wooden board with a cross inserted on it and a sail tied on it. It is even simpler than Cheng Xi's boat. She has seen this boat before, but she only thought it was Mihawk's temporary boat at that time. Unexpectedly, it is his daily boat.

There is only one seat on this small coffin boat. Before Mihawk gave up his seat to her, Cheng Xi sat on the cross-shaped mast with foresight.

She has eaten the devil fruit now, and the boat is so small. Any slightly larger wave can overturn the boat. When there are waves, she can easily fly to the sky and save her life by sitting on the mast.

She was curious before, how did Mihawk's boat sail on the sea with a simple structure and no power drive device? Could it be that he relied on him to row the boat with a black knife?

Now I finally know the answer. Mihawk actually condensed his domineering aura into a physical entity and used it as a power to drive the hull to sail.

This is really cool, but it is a bit life-threatening for the devil fruit ability user.

This voyage was normal during the day, except for the strong sea breeze, which was no different from the feeling on the warship, but at night, the unbearable part became apparent.

At ten o'clock in the middle of the night, a large patch of dark clouds blocked the moonlight, and the vast sea and sky were both pitch black. The rolling waves merged into the darkness and could not be seen. The night was already a bit scary, but there was a candle-shaped small lamp installed on each side of the coffin ship, emitting a green glow.

The ghost Cheng Xi was not afraid, after all, she used to be a professional ghost catcher, but the scene in front of her was really full of unknowns.

Mihawk wore an exquisite white shirt and black coat today, coupled with his angular, three-dimensional face and cold temperament. In this terrifying atmosphere, it is difficult not to associate him with the elegant vampires in the West. He

is also a master vampire who can release domineering rowing for more than ten hours in a row.

She jumped from the mast to the deck, hugged Shi Qing tightly to her chest, and then began to stare at the vampire in front of her, no, Mihawk. If he dares to bite me, I will draw the Fiery Sun Talisman to expose him to the sun.

But, he is still pretty handsome.

Feeling this burning gaze, Mihawk shifted his gaze and looked at Cheng Xi who was holding the sword. He misunderstood her intention and thought she was looking at the black knife Night behind him, so he said to Cheng Xi: "Your sword looks very powerful too."

Based on his understanding of swordsmanship over the years, this sword has a restrained and deep aura. It is definitely a good sword, but it is not in the category of famous swords. Moreover, no matter from the shape and pattern of the sword, it seems out of place compared with the famous swords in the sword atlas, like a sword from another world. 

Hearing him mention his sword, Cheng Xi couldn't help but stroke Shi Qing and said proudly: "Of course, this is Shi Qing that I forged myself. It's like my child and loves me the most." 

Mihawk was a little surprised: "You can also forge swords?" 

Cheng Xi: "When I was young, I grew up in the mountains. I watched my elders forge swords when I was free. I became familiar with them after watching them for a while. Later, I tried to forge one tentatively, and I didn't expect to succeed in one go." 

"Shi Qing contains my flesh, blood and essence, so it only listens to me and is connected to my blood. It can cut whoever I tell it to. If someone else wields Shi Qing, it will not only be of no help in the battle, but will hurt themselves." 

After hearing her words, even though Mihawk is knowledgeable, he couldn't help but sigh: "What a good sword." 

On this dark sea, he said to Cheng Xi: "I can feel the surge of swordsmanship in your body. It is a warrior's pursuit of becoming stronger. You have great potential. In time, whether in terms of strength, speed, or reaction ability, you will definitely be my biggest opponent on the road to becoming the world's number one swordsman." 

Cheng Xi joked: "Isn't I your opponent now?" 

"It's not the same. For you and me, in repeated competitions with the masters of the sea, at the critical point of life and death, we will get more growth and become stronger. Now is not the time." " 

Actually... I'm not really interested in being the world's best swordsman. Maybe one day in the future I'll get excited and talk about it, but that's just a joke." 

Hearing this, Mihawk was a little disappointed. In his heart, Cheng Xi was not only his opponent who could help him reach the highest level of swordsmanship, but also his partner. Sometimes he would be eager to see the two of them grow and understand, but now this person whom he regarded as a confidant said that he had no ambition. 

Anyway, there were still a few hours of sailing time, so Cheng Xi simply chatted with Mihawk unilaterally and told him all his experiences in kendo. 

"When I was young, I held a sword for the first time. It was a wooden sword that my elders cut for me out of peach wood. It was not sharpened. At that time, I was full of pride and thought that I was extremely talented and unparalleled. But later, the facts gave me a big slap in the face. I found that my talent was ultimately inferior to those true geniuses. However, my proud self-esteem was unwilling to live a mediocre life and be an idler. I was sad for a long time because of this." " 

But later I found that my opponent was never the world's number one, but myself. As long as I am a little better than yesterday, and can protect the people I want to protect, it is not a failure." " 

Thinking about it later, it's actually not bad to be the third in the world that no one pays attention to." 

Mihawk understood her thoughts a little. If her goal is to become the world's number one swordsman, then her goal is to keep working hard and always surpass herself the day before. 

One is to surpass the world, and the other is to surpass herself. 

Both are extremely difficult goals to achieve in the world. 

The coffin ship docked, and when it arrived at the destination, the moonlight was still dim. The two parked the boat and went ashore at 2:30 in the morning. Cheng Xi dragged his suitcase and followed Mihawk. 

This island is called Swart Island. As the name suggests, it is inhabited by many swordsmen who are famous in the Grand Line and even the New World. The swordplay is so popular that if you hit ten people with a brick, eight of them are swordsmen, and the other two are swordsmiths and weapons shop owners. 

Cheng Xi thought Mihawk was as poor as himself, but he was completely stunned when he saw his big villa that was comparable to an ancient castle, and it was messy in the wind. 

It is impossible to find out who the first owner of this castle was. Specifically, the previous owner defeated the previous director and robbed the castle and moved in, and then Mihawk defeated him and moved in. 

But it is only a temporary stay, he will not stay here for long. 

Cheng Xi asked with full curiosity and hope in his eyes: "Mihawk! So if I defeat you, can I also get the right to live in this castle!?" 

Mihawk: "No need."

Cheng Xi was puzzled: "Ah!? What do you mean unnecessary?"

Mihawk: "You can stay here as long as you want. There is no need to fight with me because of this."

Cheng Xi gave him a thumbs up: "You are very loyal."

There was a sense of life in the castle. After entering the door, Mihawk turned on the lights and saw a magnificent hall. There was a dazzling and gorgeous crystal chandelier on the ceiling. There was only a simple black sofa and coffee table, which looked particularly empty.

While Cheng Xi was visiting, he took out a set of neatly folded sheets and quilts from the storage room and handed them to Cheng Xi. They were also low-key black, soft and comfortable to the touch, and very textured. 

"This has been washed. Other daily necessities are in the storage room in the basement. If you need them, go and get them yourself. It's very late. If there are no other problems, go to bed. Your room is on the second floor. You can pick any one on the right side of the stairs." 

Cheng Xi asked: "Why not on the left?" 

Is there any secret similar to Bluebeard in the fairy tale? 

The man was helpless by her meaningless question: "Because I live on the left." 

Cheng Xi raised his hand weakly: "I have another small question." 

"What question?" 

"Where is the kitchen?" She touched her stomach, "I'm so hungry." 

"Go straight and turn right." 

His voice was still flat as usual, and the temperature could not be heard. Cheng Xi originally wanted to go to the refrigerator to find some instant food such as bread and milk to fill her stomach, but her wish was dashed. Mihawk was away from home for about a month on this voyage, and the bread had expired long ago. 

She stood at the door of the refrigerator and was struggling whether to eat expired bread or heat up the oil in a pan. As a result, when she turned around, she found that Mihawk had found two handfuls of fresh and crispy green vegetables from nowhere, and boiled water in a pan to cook noodles for her. 

This... is really amazing action. 

In less than ten minutes, a bowl of clear soup, delicious, fragrant, and steaming noodles was served on the table. Cheng Xi guessed that Mihawk must be a perfectionist, otherwise why even the roundness of the egg was very perfect, and it was not burnt at all. 

She finally understood why the overbearing CEO in the novel liked to imprison the heroine in his own Dabie Wilderness. If she could have someone cook such a bowl of noodles for her every time she got home late at night after sailing, who wouldn't be confused! ? 

Cheng Xi praised the deliciousness again and again, and wolfed down the bowl of noodles. 

The man asked very kindly, "Can we go to bed now?" 

"Yeah." She washed the empty bowl and put it back in place, went up the stairs with Mihawk, and then separated on the second floor. Before leaving, she said good night to him. 

"Good night, Mihawk." 

"Good night." 

I don't know if it was because the noodles tonight were too heartwarming or because the voyage was too tiring, Cheng Xi fell asleep less than half an hour after changing the sheets. When she woke up the next day, it was already bright, almost ten o'clock. After washing up and going downstairs, she found that Mihawk, the king of curling, had already started to exercise. 

He was doing one-handed push-ups, shirtless, with broad shoulders and narrow waist, smooth muscle lines, strong and powerful. Perhaps this level of physical training was nothing to him, and he didn't sweat. When he saw her coming down, he didn't stop training, and told her: "Breakfast is on the table, and there is milk next to it. If you want to drink hot, go to the microwave to heat it up." 

"Okay." Cheng Xi was a little confused. Is Mihawk so considerate? 

After heating the milk and eating breakfast, she picked up the newspaper on the table and sat on the sofa to read it. At this time, a familiar and steady voice sounded in her ears again: "Sit on my back." 

"Ah!?" This time Cheng Xi was completely confused. It took her a long time to realize that Mihawk was increasing the weight of the training. She often did this when doing physical training, but the weights on her waist were different weights. 

She sat on Mihawk's waist and back with the newspaper. The content of today's newspaper was really boring. She read it over and over again several times, and finally realized a problem. 

Have I been a little lazy these days? 

In fact, she had never thought about this problem at the beginning. She had asked for leave just to go out and relax, but there was a curler who kept curling next to her, which made Cheng Xi a little uneasy. 

So she got off Mihawk's back, took off her coat, picked up the 200kg dumbbells next to her and started physical training. You curl me, then I curl you. 

Mihawk asked her while exercising: "Didn't you just recover from a serious illness?" 

Cheng Xi: Yes, so I have to double my training. I want to let the cells and nerves in my body know who is the real owner of this body. " 

Mihawk: ... 

What a sudden competitive spirit. 

His spirit of the King of Rolls deeply infected Cheng Xi, and made her cheer up. She no longer indulged in the past, and wanted to rush to a better future and work hard to become stronger. Before, Mihawk always came to Cheng Xi to spar, but now it's just the opposite. Cheng Xi took the initiative to spar with Mihawk, and the fight would last for a whole day. 

Mihawk is the most exciting opponent she has ever met. Although she comprehended Ryuo on Cake Island, it is obvious that he has been getting stronger during this time. In just a dozen days of strong confrontation, Cheng Xi's strength has risen rapidly. 

And this island deserves to be called the Island of Swordsmen. She learned a lot of sword skills here that she had not comprehended before. 

In addition to sparring, staying in this castle for a long time , Cheng Xi was not willing to be an idler who only ate and did not work, so she would often help clean up or take turns to cook dinner. 

Occasionally, she would show Mihawk her knife skills, making dishes that test knife skills, such as Wensi tofu and squirrel mandarin fish, and then pretend not to care on the surface, but in fact, she was looking forward to his praise. The man also saw her little thoughts, so every time he ate, he would praise her with words like "it tastes good" or "it looks beautiful, with good color, fragrance and taste". 

One day, Cheng Xi and Mihawk went out to buy together. When they passed by a cake shop, the clerk sold them today's new product, the cherry blossom and mango double cake. Cheng Xi had long forgotten the nightmare feeling of eating three desserts a day at the cake island, and said, "Mihawk, I want to eat this cake." " 

No, I have eaten too many sweets recently." 

"My birthday is coming soon!" 

Mihawk looked at Cheng Xi, and his golden eyes were bright and dark: "Isn't your birthday in two months? " 

Cheng Xi said in a rogue manner: "Two months will go by quickly, and I only have one month of vacation left. Don't you want to celebrate my birthday in advance?" 

"At worst, I'll share a piece with you then." 

The clerk reached out to take the Bailey that Cheng Xi handed to her, but was stopped by another bony hand. The man paid before her, holding the packaged cake box and asked her: "Is there anything else you want to eat?" 

Cheng Xi shook her head: "No more." 

After arriving home, Mihawk pushed the cake on the table, thought for a moment, and finally said to her: "Happy birthday." 

Although it was a bit early to say this now. 

Cheng Xi: "Then will you light candles for me again?" 

Mihawk couldn't help but say what he was thinking: "Childish." 

Although he said childish, his fingers still honestly inserted the candles into the cake, and then lit the flame: "Cheng Xi, happy birthday." 

There was a hint of tenderness in his tone that he himself did not notice. 

Cheng Xi: "Hehe, you are the best."

Mihawk: "Don't say such ambiguous words to others casually."

As an adult male who is normal in all aspects, I really have misunderstandings.

Cheng Xi casually said: "Okay, okay, I won't say it next time."

Mihawk: ...

A few days later, Cheng Xi and Mihawk set off again, leaving Swart Island and going to a place called the Kingdom of Sizkaal. The visibility here is very low, and it is shrouded in thick fog all year round. There are several huge vines of strange shapes in the center of the island, almost extending to the sky. It is not a good tourist destination in any way. Of course, their purpose of this trip is not to travel.

According to Mihawk, although this island is called a kingdom, it is actually a war in private, with serious separatism. There are many strong, sturdy and aggressive baboons living on it. They also have a name called "human imitators". As the name suggests, they have a strong learning ability and can imitate human moves. 

As the saying goes, when you beat the young, the old will come. After Cheng Xi beat all the invincible hands and beat these human imitators one by one, the strongest baboon king finally made a move. It was indeed very smart and could imitate most of Cheng Xi's sword moves. Occasionally, she had an illusion that she was fighting with another self. 

When she easily cut the baboon queen with a knife, she had a hunch that she had successfully upgraded again. Her strength was improved to a higher level compared to when she was on Cake Island. If she only had a little understanding of Ryu Sakura Haki at that time, now she can use it skillfully and attach it to the sword, tempering Shi Qing all the time. 

Cheng Xi's tone was filled with unconcealed joy: "Yokata! Easily take down this monkey king." 

Looking at Cheng Xi who was so happy, Mihawk hesitated for a second, in order to avoid wiping away her joy, he still did not tell her that monkeys and baboons are not the same species. 

And, compared to becoming stronger, Cheng Xi also discovered something that made her hesitate for a long time. 

That is, she seems to have fallen in love with Mihawk. 

It was an afternoon three days ago. The thick fog in the Kingdom of Sizkaal had dissipated after a long time. Mihawk was sitting on a chair reading a newspaper with the sun shining on him. Reading a newspaper was obviously just a very ordinary action, but it looked particularly elegant when he did it. It might be because he had a handsome face and long legs. 

At that moment, Cheng Xi realized that she seemed to have some inexplicable feelings for him. 

She didn't care too much when she realized this, but secret love is like wine in a cellar. The longer it is, the deeper it ferments, the more it falls into the vortex, and it is difficult to forget. 

After leaving the baboon group, they walked side by side on the street. They had just come out of a famous weapon store on the Grand Line. There were no weapons here that would satisfy Mihawk. 

At this moment, Cheng Xi took the initiative and suddenly stepped forward to hold Mihawk's arm. She could feel his surprise. The two were very close. Cheng Xi looked up at the man's golden eyes, looked at her, and asked tentatively: "Hey, Mihawk, are we dating?" 

The obsidian eyes were full of expectation and eagerness, and the light was flowing. As 

calm and steady as he was, his reason was inevitably impacted. His breathing became hotter. He didn't drink alcohol, but he seemed a little drunk. Pretending to tidy up her hair, Mihawk's fingers gently stroked Cheng Xi's forehead, eyebrows, and ears. 

"I guess so." 

Dinner was eaten in a restaurant on the island. Candlelight, roses, music, it was a romantic couple's restaurant no matter how you looked at it. Cheng Xi guessed that Mihawk should have some feelings for her. 

She sat at the table in the room, holding a pen in her hand and writing and drawing on paper. 

She was struggling. Was it because she was too depressed and felt empty inside, and she happened to have spent a relatively warm time with Mihawk, so she regarded him as the salvation of her life, mistook dependence for love, or did she really like him like a couple? 

Thinking carefully, Mihawk was gentle, considerate, strong and handsome, and could take care of her little emotions in various ways. He was simply the best candidate for a boyfriend. 

It was normal to fall for tenderness. There 

were two choices written on the paper. 

1. I don’t like Mihawk, it’s just a wrong judgment after being sad. 

2. I like Mihawk and have already fallen for him. 

In the end, she checked the second choice and decided to buy a flower tomorrow and confess to him in a slightly more tactful way. If successful, then he would be her boyfriend. If failed... well, in fact, she had never thought about the consequences of failure. 

Because she was upset, she messed up the paper on the table like playing mahjong, and began to rub her hair, and only let it go after it became a messy chicken coop shape. She began to roll around on the bed again, and tossed until the second half of the night before falling asleep. 

After getting up the next day, she put on a white dress and used her fruit ability to put on light makeup. She looked at herself in the mirror and narcissistically exclaimed, "Cheng Xi, you are so beautiful!" She 

got up and went out. Before leaving, she deliberately approached Mihawk and whispered in his ear, "Good morning, Mihawk." Then she quickly fled the scene. 

Feeling the warm breath in his ears and the faint fragrance of the girl, Mihawk's cheeks were red again. He pretended to be calm and replied to her, "Good morning." 

Looking at her cheerful back as she left, the man unconsciously smiled. 

The weather on the island has always been gloomy. Not long after Cheng Xi left, a heavy rain poured down, and the environment was full of humidity. 

Maybe she left in too much of a hurry, Cheng Xi didn't even close the doors and windows. When Mihawk passed by Cheng Xi's room, he saw dense rain dripping through the window frame onto her desk. In order to prevent the rain from wetting the books on the desk, Mihawk walked into the room and wanted to close the window for her, but he accidentally saw a line of words written on the messy paper on the table. 

Not liking Mihawk is just a wrong judgment after being sad. 

The heart that was just full of passion is now like falling into an ice cave. 

He went out in the heavy rain and found Cheng Xi in a flower shop. Through the glass window filled with water droplets and mist, he saw her carefully picking in front of a bucket of roses with the word "Discount" on it. 

Mihawk turned and left the street. 

In the flower shop, Cheng Xi searched carefully and finally found a dark green clay puppy toy less than half a centimeter long in the flower bucket full of stems and leaves. He took it out and handed it to the owner. 

The shop owner was a nearly 100-year-old white-haired grandmother who looked very kind. He took the mini clay puppy from her and thanked Cheng Xi repeatedly: "Thank you so much, little girl. If it weren't for you, I would have taken all the flowers out of the bucket and looked for them." 

"Pick a few roses from here, just as a gift from grandma to you." 

"No, grandma." Cheng Xi refused with a sweet smile on her face, "I'm going to confess to the person I like, and this feeling can't be discounted, so I have to buy a bouquet of full-priced roses to express my love." 

Grandma also smiled and blessed: "Little girl, be happy." 

"Of course." 

Of course, this confession interspersed with two misunderstandings ended in failure. 

Cheng Xi left the Kingdom of Sizkaal in the heavy rain. On the way, he threw the bouquet of roses full of his love onto the hard rocks, letting the raging raindrops beat and crush its delicate and fragile petals into red mud. 

These days she had a dream about romance and roses, and when she woke up, she smashed the roses to pieces, and the romance was gone. 

What love? Those were all illusions.

At least it is a fact that during these days with Mihawk, I strengthened my two-color domineering and mastered Ryuo, and my swordsmanship has reached a higher level. Feelings may disappear, but strength will always be my own.

This wave is not a loss.

Fishman Island, 10,000 meters under the deep sea, is called the "Underwater Paradise" because it is full of beautiful female mermaids. It is also called a dreamlike paradise, but few people know that there is a fortune teller, Xia Li, who can predict the future with a 100% accuracy despite her young age.

Fortune tellers cannot calculate by themselves, so Cheng Xi had to come to Fishman Island to ask her when the real opportunity that everyone talks about will come.

Although Xia Li could not calculate the specific time, she could see the future scene.

"That scene is... you saved a black-haired boy, and then... then..."

The young Xia Li was embarrassed to continue. Is this woman shameless? In front of so many people...

"Then what!?" Cheng Xi was almost driven to death by Xia Li's slow tone.

Xia Li subconsciously skipped that scene: "Then you sang a song, and then the uprisings broke out in various places on the sea."

A black-haired boy? Cheng Xi thought to himself. He knew many boys, and many of them had black hair, but it seemed that only one person met the condition of a black-haired boy - Mihawk. He

had just been completely rejected by someone and had a quarrel. When he thought about saving him in the future, Cheng Xi couldn't help but shudder.

And why did he sing? ? Isn't the first reaction after saving someone to run for life?

It was really a strange divination that made people puzzled.

Just as she was about to leave, she heard Xia Li behind her say to her in an angry tone that didn't belong to a child: "You will destroy this island!"

She saw the future in the crystal ball. The person in front of her and a boy wearing a straw hat walked out of the ruins of the destroyed Fishman Island, and a group of people followed them.

Cheng Xi: "I don't believe it!"

"You're talking nonsense!"

She grabbed a handful of green grass from the lawn as yarrow, and counted it as a death.

"I don't like to owe favors to people. To thank you for your divination, I also did a divination for you. The divination is quite sad."

"It shows that the compassionate Princess Otohime died young, and the murderer... is not a human, but a white fishman. As for the specific species, I'm sorry, I can't figure it out."

So, is it fair?

After saying that, regardless of Charlie who was still in shock, he went out and left Fishman Island and went to O'Hara.

There she saw new hope and more than one good news.

Sauro did not die. Although he was hit by a shell after being frozen and had some burns on his body, he at least survived.

The barrier on the Tree of All-Knowing also withstood the attack of artillery fire. After meeting up with Olivia and Dr. Clover, they planned to take Sauro's ship to Elbaf to avoid the disaster.

Cheng Xi handed Calvin over with a Den Den Mushi and returned all the books to them.

When he came, Calvin also brought a bounty order, which was a bounty order for Olivia's daughter, and the amount was 80 million Baileys.

"I have a feeling that your daughter will meet a group of good partners in the future and make a big fuss on the Grand Line."

Thinking of her daughter, Olivia's face showed a warm look.

If one day, I see Robin's bounty rising, I will be happy for her to find a reliable partner.

Seeing that the ship of the Giant Pirates was getting farther and farther away, Cheng Xi pulled Calvin back to Marinford.

The holiday is over, and it's back to work.