Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
In the following days of sailing, Beiyue and Feng hardly exchanged a word. In such a small space on the ship, their silence indicated a strained relationship. Cui Ming chose to ignore it; if they weren't friendly, so be it. After all, when the time came to unite, they were both sensible enough. Besides, any attempt at mediation seemed pointless; neither wanted Beiyue to fall for Feng or vice versa. The only real trouble was the awkwardness during their march.
After disembarking, they advanced across the sea and ice, with Beiyue always in front and Feng at the back. Cui Ming felt conflicted—if he walked alongside Beiyue and chatted, he felt guilty for taking away his helper. But if he walked with Feng, it felt like sidelining Beiyue. Ultimately, he preferred chatting with Beiyue. The phrase "seeing beauty forgets friendship" is neutral, not derogatory; it simply describes a normal behavior of men. There are indeed many who forget their friends in the presence of beauty, but if a woman has such a boyfriend, she should consider her own importance in his eyes and friends should gauge this guy's sexual orientation.
So it went: Beiyue in front, Cui Ming in the middle, and Feng at the back, silently making their way for a day. It wasn't until Cui Ming called for a break to camp that the three gathered together to look at the map.
Leaning against an ice pillar to rest, Feng sat off to one side, hugging his sword and closing his eyes. Beiyue moved over and sat beside Cui Ming, whispering in his ear, "Am I being too much? Feng is here to help me."
Cui Ming replied, "It's fine; he's doing it for me. Don't let his silence fool you; he's not as pitiful as he seems. His mind is always racing with imaginative thoughts about happy things. Sometimes he fantasizes about becoming a superhero who saves the Eternal Sphere from invasion by Otherworldly Creatures and charges into enemy lines to rescue his beloved girl. He starts crafting different endings—like one where he gets gravely injured while saving her and ultimately dies or another where he selflessly leaves her behind to destroy the Otherworldly Creatures, perishing together with the main villain."
Beiyue couldn't help but ask, "Why are all the endings tragic?"
"He says life is short and should end with its most spectacular moments so that people will remember it forever," Cui Ming explained. "Then I told him he could continue his fantasy where he and that girl live in seclusion in the mountains until a beautiful woman finds him and informs him that the Eternal Sphere is once again under threat. Despite his reluctance, his girl firmly supports him in saving humanity, so he goes with the beautiful woman to save Earth again. Driven by love for his girl and faced with the beautiful woman's advances, he tries to refuse her but ultimately has to join forces when she gets injured because of his principle of saving lives. After the war ends, he brings the beautiful woman back home, and his girl accepts her while expressing gratitude for rescuing him; they get along very well. Then comes the third invasion from another world..."
Beiyue bit her lip to suppress laughter. "You're really something."
"In the desert, loneliness is more terrifying than hunger; wanting something isn't necessarily bad," Cui Ming said.
"What do you want?" Beiyue asked.
"I'm not that bored," Cui Ming replied.
The two closed their eyes and continued talking until they drifted off to sleep. A few hours later, Beiyue woke up and immediately saw Cui Ming just twenty centimeters away from her. Instead of being startled or shocked, she simply gazed at him until suddenly Cui Ming opened his eyes. Startled, Beiyue quickly shut hers again. Cui Ming didn't notice; instead, he looked through Beiyue toward the distant sky where a light blue creature soared.
"Beiyue," Cui Ming whispered.
"Yes," Beiyue feigned grogginess.
"There's something," Cui Ming said.
Beiyue turned her head and saw the flying creature. Cui Ming extended his right hand while Beiyue used her left hand for support to stand up and effortlessly pulled Cui Ming up as well. Cui Ming kicked up his backpack and took out binoculars before handing them to Beiyue. She observed the creature and said, "It's entirely light blue; its scales or feathers look like ice. It's large—about five meters long—and its head resembles that of a bird. It looks similar to a phoenix."
Cui Ming took back the binoculars and said, "According to records, phoenixes are usually Fire Phoenixes with feathers like flames wrapped in fire."
Feng chimed in from several meters away, "Then Antarctica would melt."
"Don't worry if it's a Phoenix," said Beiyue. Like dolphins, Phoenixes are among the friendliest of large creatures towards humans. As long as you do not invade their territory or raise their suspicions of an attack, they will not harm you. Moreover, they often lend a helping hand when humans are in danger.
Phoenixes are rare creatures, primarily because a pair of them may only lay one egg in their lifetime. They are referred to as immortal birds because upon death, they transform into a Phoenix egg and then hatch anew. However, centuries ago, many practitioners sought to raise dragons and Phoenixes as pets, particularly interested in their eggs. Due to improper methods or other reasons, the population of Phoenixes drastically declined. According to the Alliance's records, the most recent sighting of a Phoenix was thirty years ago in the highest peaks of the York Mountains. The Alliance reached an agreement with the York Clan to designate the highest peak of the York Mountains as a forbidden zone, prohibiting practitioners from entering to provide a good habitat for the Phoenixes.
"I read a book that said Phoenixes appear with a mission; they are meant to protect humanity. When humans become strong enough not to need protection, the Phoenixes will disappear or leave," Beiyue continued.
"If that's the case, my fondness for them has increased tremendously," Cui Ming replied. "The location in Antarctica isn't unvisited; why has no one discovered it before? Brothers, should we go take a look?"
"Alright," Beiyue said. "It's located eighty kilometers to the left of Witch Island; let's be cautious."
Feng interjected, "All these stories about Phoenixes are hearsay without real evidence. What if they're not like that? Wouldn't it be foolish for us to run over there and end up as their snacks? That would be quite tragic."
"If it has malicious intent, I'll cover your retreat while you escape," Beiyue assured them. "The sudden appearance of a Phoenix in the sky suggests it needs help or something has happened there. Even if we can't do anything, we can inform the Alliance about the situation. We can't just stand by."
"What I mean is..." Feng started.
"I am an Alliance Hunter," Beiyue stated firmly.
With no other choice, Feng nodded. "Let's go, North Hunt."
...
They found themselves in a glacial basin with only one iceberg at its center. A Phoenix soared through the sky and spotted Cui Ming and his companions. It landed atop the iceberg, quietly resting without showing any hostility.
As they entered the basin area, Cui Ming used binoculars and noticed something green near the iceberg—small in size and about as tall as a York Clan member—with large eyes. It appeared to be human but was entirely wrapped in green Shroud. "Force Creature," Cui Ming remarked. "It looks like a Yorkian but also doesn't."
Beiyue and Feng were unable to make a judgment. Beiyue stepped forward and got closer, discovering that it was indeed a Subhuman with hands and feet but not alive; it resembled a corpse. Its eyes were gone, replaced by two glowing purple orbs with a small black dot in the center resembling pupils. Its knees did not bend; it walked stiffly.
The Green Subhuman turned its head towards them, its purple eyes glistening with tears, exuding profound sadness.
"Who are you?" Beiyue asked.
The Green Subhuman shook its head at the three of them. "I don't know who I am; do you recognize me?"
Feng drew his Katana. "Stop playing tricks."
Cui Ming asked gently, "Little one, where is your home?"
"Home?" The Green Subhuman was stunned for a long time, tears streaming down from its eyes. "I don't know if I have a home." After saying this, it began to sob uncontrollably, appearing extremely sorrowful. Its body started to tremble irregularly, striking against the ice surface, which emitted a crisp sound.
"Pathetic," Windmouth sneered, "You look like you were just dug up from a grave."
"Wow!" The Green Subhuman was touched on a painful point and burst into loud wails. Its Force suddenly surged like a volcano erupting, with energy bursting forth in all directions. The three of them quickly retreated as the only ice mountain cracked loudly. The phoenix spread its wings and took flight, and soon the ice mountain collapsed, burying the Green Subhuman beneath the ice.
Just when the three thought the Green Subhuman was dead, a more sorrowful voice came from beneath the ice. The pile of ice that had accumulated on top of the Green Subhuman exploded outward in all directions. Beiyue spun his Greatsword to protect the rear, while Wind raised a Wind Wall to block the flying shards of ice. Cui Ming said, "Logically speaking, although this ice mountain isn't very tall, it could still be deadly if it fell. But I can't hear any signs of injury in its voice."
Beiyue looked at the Green Subhuman and said, "It is a Zombie, not a human. I remember reading in a book that three thousand years ago, there was a large island near Antarctica where a civilization lived. Their highest leader was known as Pharaoh. When a Pharaoh died, they would remove his internal organs, wrap his body in Shrouds, and place him in a tomb. It is said that this method can prevent the corpse from decaying. Pharaohs firmly believed that one day they would awaken from their tombs. When a Pharaoh died, there would be accompanying burials; some were the bravest warriors, some were favored consorts or sons, and some were commoners offered as sacrifices. Without exception, all corpses were treated this way. Three hundred years ago, an Antarctic expedition discovered coffins on the sea surface and found such bodies inside; they referred to them as mummies. According to scientific investigations, there are traces of artificial structures beneath the sea, especially triangular tombs that are very conspicuous. However, due to geographical reasons, no scientific research has been conducted on mummies or Pharaoh civilization yet."
Feng Dao asked, "What I'm more concerned about is how long he will cry?"
Cui Ming replied, "What I want to know is how long he has been crying to turn this glacier into a basin. This guy is like a ticking time bomb; should we kill him?"
Feng Dao said, "That's one way to handle it. If he cries down all the glaciers in Antarctica, then our home on the Three Continents will be submerged by seawater..."
Cui Ming glanced at Feng and said, "That excuse seems a bit exaggerated."
"Then I'll change my excuse; I just don't like him."
Cui Ming nodded, "That excuse is simple and practical." He pulled out a Poker card. (To be continued.)
Comment 0 Comment Count