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墨書 Inktalez
The Prophet was momentarily taken aback by Cui Ming's words. Indeed, the person across from him was a petty opportunist, but that very fact made it clear that they would not act unless they had something to gain. The Prophet sighed and said, "You're right. What can I do at this moment? But what about a month from now? Three months from now? Three years from now? Do you wish for Beiyue to perish before me, refusing to yield? Do you want me to soak her body in blood, creating a soulless specimen?"
"That's a threat," Cui Ming retorted.
"Yes."
"I don't respond to threats. I'm only interested in what benefits I might gain. If there's no benefit, you could flay me alive and it wouldn't matter. If there is a benefit, I could sell the alliance in an instant." He added with a smirk, "Don't play games with me; I'm still a virgin."
The Prophet fell silent for a long moment before asking, "What do you want?"
"I want the research on Strategy, information about Beiyue's father, and one Spectral Cloak."
"You're truly a petty person. The Spectral Cloak is only useful to assassins who possess stealth abilities. That's not an issue; if you want it, I can give it to you." The Prophet continued, "However, I can't fulfill the other two conditions you mentioned."
"You're not in a hurry, are you? Three years is plenty of time to wait, right?" Cui Ming replied. "Saying you want the results of the Strategy research is too vague. Here's what I need: I need Crow's personal insights on practicing Strategy."
"But..."
"Let me finish. And I also need information about Beiyue's father's disappearance." Cui Ming stated firmly. "Once those two matters are settled, Beiyue can accompany your envoy to the Lost Civilization. If you're planning to take a hard stance, feel free to try." The insistence on going to the Lost Civilization despite breaking an oath indicated how crucial this matter was. It was evident that the other party was not skilled in negotiation; their cards were already on the table. Currently, only three people knew the location of the Lost Civilization: Cui Ming excluded himself from that list, leaving Ding Ze and Beiyue as options. Ding Ze had some ambiguous ties with the Ye Family, making Beiyue the preferred choice. Of course, if Beiyue were truly captured, Cui Ming would undoubtedly take his envoy to the Lost Civilization. But was this negotiation? It was merely a game of revealing cards. Cui Ming had to maintain his stance of prioritizing profit over life and death.
After a moment of silence, the Prophet said, "It's impossible for Crow. Setting aside whether we can even find him or not, even if we do locate him, I can't guarantee who would be his match. Even if I were to intervene personally, I wouldn't dare claim victory. As for Beiyue's father, I did hear something about him ten years ago. Here's the deal: first, you must keep everything confidential; all details discussed today must not be revealed to outsiders. Second, I can find Master Bei's whereabouts in exchange for Beiyue accompanying my envoy to the Lost Civilization as part of our trade agreement. Thirdly, I'll give you the Spectral Cloak as a deposit; although you may not use it yourselves, it can be exchanged with others. This will signify that we are starting our transaction; if you breach our agreement, I will wipe you all out."
"Give us some time," Cui Ming added. "It's precisely because we have credit that we need to consider carefully."
"Compared to a hypocrite, I trust a true villain more," First Know said. "Give me the messenger's phone; contact me in an hour. Someone is coming soon, and I must leave first."
...
The messenger left the room and stood outside, waiting for the outcome of the discussion inside.
Cui Ming said, "From our conversation, I think we can extort a bit more, but I'm not familiar with him and don't know what treasures he has, so extorting him is difficult. These are secondary... Mi Xiaonan, you will keep this a secret, right?"
Mi Xiaonan nodded. "I stake the honor of my York Clan on it; I will keep my oath." Keeping promises was the most fundamental tradition of the York Clan, which is why Cui Ming would burn the contract without fear of Mi Xiaonan backing out.
Cui Ming continued, "Beiyue, it's up to you now. I will tell him that Ding Ze stays at the camp, and you are the only one who has truly reached the Lost Civilization."
Beiyue asked, "Why?"
"If he knows that three of us have been there, he might kill one of us first without hesitation. The second would lose a leg and an arm before being killed. If you don't speak up, we will have to negotiate again. This kind of negotiation puts us at a disadvantage, so you must be the only one who has been to the Lost Civilization. Now that we have conditions set, Beiyue, I really can't offer this suggestion because I don't know how important my parents are to me or how crucial the truth is. Mi Xiaonan, let's go downstairs for some tea."
Cui Ming and Mi Xiaonan went out and pulled the messenger along for tea. The messenger spoke very little; he shook his head at every question and when pressed for an answer, simply replied that he didn't know. Cui Ming was unaware that messengers were bound by a vow spell that granted them power to serve their master; any thought of betraying their master would violate this vow. The vow spell had to be a willingly established contract between two parties, with the mage materializing the incantation and merging it into the vow taker's Force. As long as one possessed Force for a day, the vow would remain unbroken.
There was no vow spell between Beiyue and the prophet, but Cui Ming believed that the prophet took the consequences of breaking a vow seriously. If the prophet violated his oath, he was willing to endure the pain that came from it. Such individuals were never lenient towards those who broke their promises. Cui Ming was curious about what lay in the vast desert of the Lost Civilization. As for the annihilation of the Classical Exploration Company, he had no interest in pondering that matter. Was the prophet telling the truth? He would find out back in Dawn City whether that old monster and his son were already dead; telling such lies about a long-term contract would be very foolish.
Would Beiyue agree? Cui Ming didn't know; what he had just said was true—he himself did not feel an urgent need to find his biological parents and did not understand how important parents were to their children. In contrast, Beiyue had closed himself off for over ten years in pursuit of truth, working tirelessly toward a single goal while rationally rejecting any emotional distractions. It was easy to imagine how significant finding out about his father's whereabouts and his mother's death was to Beiyue.
...
An hour passed quickly. Cui Ming and his companions returned to the room where Beiyue nodded at them. The messenger connected to the prophet's phone; upon answering, the prophet asked, "Give me your results."
Beiyue answered the phone, while Cui Ming leaned in to listen. The room was very quiet. Beiyue said, "I have thought it through. I can only say I'm sorry. Finding my father is my own business; I don't want anyone else to do it for me, and I won't make a deal with you." That last sentence was the key point: not making a deal with the devil. Many people know this saying, but few can actually live by it. The devil knows what you need, what you want, and what you take for granted. Even though Beiyue's personality had changed somewhat over the past six months, she remained true to herself; she would always stick to what she believed in.
Li Qing had spirit, Mi Xiaonan had honor, Beiyue had conviction, and Ding Ze had ambition—these were all positive traits. But what did Cui Ming have? Cui Ming had interests and habitually analyzed problems rationally, often overlooking the subjective emotions of people.
However, Cui Ming was not surprised by Beiyue's choice. He reached out to take the phone and said, "Prophet, I must tell you a few truths. Beiyue's refusal has an important reason: she does not remember the way to the Lost Civilization. You speak so seriously; Beiyue does not want to deceive you."
"Is that so?"
"Yes," Cui Ming replied. "The second truth is that I went to the desert with Beiyue and Ding Ze. Out of fifteen prisoners, only I survived; this can be easily verified. You have dealt with the Classical Exploration Team and should know they keep their routes confidential to monopolize them. When you attacked the Classical Exploration Company, you should have discovered a route map from Kama Town to the oasis. As long as you find the oasis and head north for over a hundred kilometers, you can reach the Lost Civilization."
The Prophet pondered for a moment. "Your second truth is indeed true; as for the first..."
"Whether the first truth is true or not is unimportant. Regardless of why Beiyue refuses to help you, the three of us will keep it confidential. Don't misunderstand; this isn't a threat. We're simply offering you a deal. We will keep this matter secret in exchange for your promise not to attack us or Ding Ze—unless it's a bribe."
"Your words seem unfinished."
"Yes. As part of the deal, I can tell you who might have that route map."
"Who?"
"Is the deal successful?"
"Dead or alive?"
"Alive."
"Alright, the deal is done. Please continue."
Cui Ming said, "We participated in this year's Alliance Assessment, with a registration fee of fifty million. Beiyue only had forty-two million, so we borrowed eight million from the professor, which led to our financial difficulties. At this time, Beiyue mentioned the Classical Exploration Company and their offer for further exploration of lost civilizations, with a reward of ten million."
"Go on."
Cui Ming continued, "Then a mysterious person approached me. He was willing to pay with a piece of High-Quality Force Ore for me and the expedition team to accompany him and draw up a route map."
"Who?" First Know asked. "Don't lie to me; someone who can afford High-Quality Force Ore wouldn't need to hire you."
Cui Ming replied, "I was suspicious at the time. He didn't answer me directly and only said it was for special reasons."
The Seer suddenly asked, "What did he look like?"
"He was tall and thin, almost emaciated, looking sickly, and his voice sounded very tired."
The Seer was taken aback. "Could it be him?" Was Cui Ming lying? No, Cui Ming wasn't lying; the flaws in his story were too obvious. There was indeed someone who might be interested in Lost Civilization and possessed High-Quality Force Ore wealth—someone who needed to hire others for their expertise. Cui Ming definitely didn't have the status to know this person. In the Alliance, there were only a handful who knew of him. This person was the Lich from Shadow Island. He had signed a contract with the God of Death to protect Shadow Island; if he left Shadow Island, he must eliminate Force or face immediate death. Because of this, Shadow Island was an absolute forbidden zone for the Alliance. If the route map fell into this person's hands, it would be disastrous.
Cui Ming sighed inwardly; he could tell from the Seer's tone that even the Seer feared this Lich. Cui Ming questioned, "Do you know who he is?"
"Continue."
"A few days later, we were attacked. Joker Jack ambushed our friend Mi Xiaonan and launched an attack on us as well. One of our friends named Li Qing was struck by fear but managed to force Joker Jack to retreat using Ding Ze's blind energy shot. This isn't a secret; the police in Dawn City have already reported it to Force Alliance." Cui Ming detailed the true parts of the story: "Joker Jack is very dangerous; we don't know why he attacked us, so we pursued him. I found his hideout and tracked him down to Kama Town before he entered the desert. I can't guarantee it, but I believe there are no coincidences in this world; Jack likely went into the desert with the cavalry."
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