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墨書 Inktalez
Cui Ming remained silent, slowly recalling every word spoken by the Crow. How many of those words were lies? Which lies could lead to serious consequences? After a long contemplation, Cui Ming said, "Let’s make a deal."
"A deal?"
"I want to record a video where you explain certain matters, including the segments on how you mastered the Half-Beast technology. You know that once this video is released, the Force Alliance will inevitably declare war. But I won’t release it unless your plan fails." Cui Ming added, "In addition, I want to cut off your other arm."
"You’ve realized that the restraints and tortures must be inflicted through my hands?" The Crow's tone remained calm.
"The wind has cut you several times without causing much harm, but it only takes one strike to sever your hand. You should understand the fragility of your hands, yet in battle, you didn’t protect them. I believe you had no other choice but to use your hands to attack." Cui Ming shrugged. "Perhaps so. Regardless, if you deceive me, then you win. Let’s get back to the main topic; I believe someone who is willing to seek survival through the Initial Magic Circle wouldn’t care about losing another hand." Without restraints and torture, simply absorbing Force was no longer terrifying.
The Crow pondered for a while. "If I speak and record this video, along with the numerous witnesses proving my identity as part of the Fire Cult, once this video reaches the Force Alliance, they will take immediate action."
"Correct."
"You certainly wouldn’t keep the tape with you to avoid being killed for it."
"Of course not. If I die, the tape will be made public." Cui Ming analyzed. "Assuming what you say is true, you can only trust me if you want any chance of achieving your ideals. Let me introduce myself; I have some influence over Wandering, the top expert. If you refuse our agreement, I believe a group of masked experts will soon appear in Fire Cult Nation. There’s no distinction; one is an open declaration of war while the other is a covert conflict. You know very well that you've leaked some information; you must leak more because only then can I trust you enough to spare you and give you a chance to fulfill your ideals. By the way, I admire your ability to endure and adapt; that’s what makes a true man."
The Crow stared at Cui Ming for a long time before finally making up his mind: "I agree to this deal."
Cui Ming sighed in relief: "I’m glad you agreed." Why was Cui Ming willing to take the risk of trusting the Crow instead of opting for a 'better safe than sorry' approach by informing the Force Alliance? That would be discussed later.
Was the Crow merely buying time? It was possible, but this was a risk Cui Ming was willing to take. At the same time, Cui Ming believed what the Crow said—that creating Half-Beast practitioners wasn’t so easy; otherwise, the Fire Cult would have unified the world after enduring for eight or ten years. Cui Ming thought that this was the Crow's last gamble; if he died, then all hope would be lost. The Fire Cult and Eternity Alliance would continue their opposition and never reconcile. If reconciliation could allow the people of the Fire Cult to live with dignity—even if there was only a glimmer of hope—the Crow would fight for it at all costs.
...
More than two hours later, Little Lu and Feng finally arrived at Training Island. As soon as they stepped onto the island, Feng began complaining loudly, "Damn it! You guys didn’t even wait for us! Little Lu and I ran all over the Dawn City sea islands!"
Little Lu looked grim as he scanned his surroundings. Seeing Feng bickering with Cui Ming, he couldn’t help but ask, "Where’s the Crow?"
Cui Ming pointed to the edge of the cliff not far from the campfire. Little Lu and Feng walked over and saw a neatly severed arm resting on a rock. Little Lu recognized it as the arm of a crow and asked in surprise, "What happened?"
Cui Ming replied gloomily, "I didn't expect the crow to have such a secret technique. Using Blood Magic, it severed its own arm to escape the Force Lock."
Feng shrugged nonchalantly, "That's ruthless. Everyone knows that someone handcuffed can cut off their hand to regain freedom, but I've never seen anyone actually do it. This is quite an eye-opener."
Little Lu looked at Beiyue and asked, "Did it run away?"
Beiyue, not good at lying, instinctively glanced at Cui Ming and nodded, "It ran away."
Cui Ming quickly added, "Beiyue, don't blame me. How was I supposed to know it had this trick? I even used teleportation to chase after it... and caught a shark while I was at it."
Feng spotted a shark on the floor of the house and immediately drew his knife. "Brothers, should we eat sashimi or make shark soup?"
Little Lu tugged at his hair in disbelief. He picked up the crow's hand and examined it for a moment while Cui Ming continued, "But there is some good news. I think the crow's bindings and tortures require both hands to use. Now that it has lost both hands, it will no longer be invincible."
Well, what else could they do? Should they drag Cui Ming off to pay for his debts? Little Lu wasn't foolish; the ship was wrecked, Feng was directing them around aimlessly, and the crow had escaped... there had to be a connection. But what was the truth? He didn't know; there was no evidence to make wild accusations. Even if there were evidence, what would it matter? They could escort Cui Ming before Wandering, but Wandering would just let him go anyway. Forget it; let Wandering handle things with Cui Ming himself.
Beiyue helped Feng deal with the shark; comforting people was left to Cui Ming. As expected, Cui Ming was skilled. He brought two cans of beer and sat down with Little Lu at the cliff's edge, which helped stabilize Little Lu's mood. Beiyue looked outside in surprise and said, "I always thought Little Lu was hard to get along with. Why wouldn't someone who pushes others away just leave directly?"
Feng replied, "Don't try to guess Cui Ming; doing so will only hurt your own pride and elevate his status."
...
In fact, Cui Ming and Little Lu were discussing serious matters.
"I have a feeling that Warden is nearby, waiting for an opportunity. I believe you know something about Warden; can we share information?"
Of course, there was no problem. Little Lu shared what he had gathered about Warden. True to his name, Warden was indeed a warden. He spent his childhood in a backward war-torn country on the Eastern Continent's Northern side. Warden's father was an ordinary man who opened a prison in the chaotic border area of three countries. Don't laugh; he really did open a prison. For various reasons, some prisoners from these three countries were sent there to serve their sentences. Some of these prisoners had connections with Nobles and were imprisoned due to public pressure; Nobles used the excuse that these prisoners had too much influence domestically and sent them to border prisons. In this prison, these commoners enjoyed treatment akin to that of kings—except they couldn't leave.
The border prison was favored by corrupt officials because today it's someone else's turn to stay there; tomorrow it could be yours. So for officials, whether schools were good or bad didn't matter since they wouldn't be going back to school anyway; however, prisons were important because one could end up incarcerated at any time.
Another type of person sent there were those who offended Nobles for minor offenses or even those falsely accused of minor crimes. They were transferred to this prison where they would be tortured and abused according to Noble demands. If someone needed to be eliminated, arrangements would be made for an escape attempt followed by their execution.
The Warden had witnessed the guards tormenting and feeding the prisoners since he was a child, until he encountered a practitioner. This practitioner, disheartened by his wife Red Apricot's infidelity, killed the Adulterer and chose not to flee, willingly accepting punishment. The Adulterer's father was a Noble who sent him to prison with the intent to have him killed.
Soon, the Warden's father realized that this man was no ordinary person and that he could not afford to offend him. After understanding the man's needs, the Warden's father arranged a fake scene to appease the Noble, allowing this practitioner to begin his preferred isolated life within the prison. The practitioner discovered that the Warden was a potential practitioner as well and, grateful for the Warden's father's arrangements, began to teach him the Six Elements.
Unfortunately, this practitioner became a sacrifice for the Warden. After becoming a practitioner himself, the Warden started to keenly observe those who were tortured; he developed a fascination with pain, death, and the concept of souls. Consequently, his pursuits leaned toward these dark interests. He even managed to collect energy from ordinary people's deaths, but this energy was too fragile and dissipated quickly. Thus, the Warden set his sights on his own teacher.
Years later, Twilight City could no longer bear the influx of refugees. After multiple warnings to neighboring West Lake City went unheeded, Twilight City finally received permission from the alliance to send troops to overthrow the Dictator ruling West Lake City. Initially, after being overthrown, this country faced significant challenges; however, it had since transformed into a relatively prosperous nation. In its early days of chaos, various factions sought their own interests, prompting Twilight City to help maintain order to ensure that the country could progress in their desired direction. To stabilize the populace, they first targeted the border prison.
Originally a no-man's land, Twilight City's strong intervention made it so that the other two countries dared not protest. The prison was surrounded by special forces and subsequently exposed by the media. The Warden's father was executed, and while the Warden initially planned a prison break, he did not anticipate that a practitioner from the Ye Family happened to be nearby. The Warden was defeated and fled from the Eastern Continent, arriving in the southern regions of Dawn Empire—a vast wilderness jungle where Mundo resided. This area spanned over a million square kilometers, and there he encountered Mundo's Mentor.
Mundo's Mentor appreciated the Warden's wickedness and imparted much knowledge related to human anatomy. The Warden dedicated himself to training and soon began capturing practitioners' energy and souls to enhance himself. From that point on, he made it onto the first-class wanted list.
This is merely the public story of the Warden. No one knows what kind of person he truly is—his character or what he likes or dislikes.
Upon learning that it was the Warden who had killed his wife, Little Lu began gathering information about him. Due to geographical reasons, Little Lu was very close to Mundo's area. Mundo's Mentor lived in a tribe where the Warden had also resided for ten years. Because Mundo was a first-class wanted criminal, he could only move further south to live in Toxic Swamp territory. Some elders in the tribe still remembered the Warden.
"Smart, good at learning, respectful of others, polite," Little Lu relayed the elders' evaluation of the Warden.
Cui Ming was astonished: "A model youth?"
"Cui Ming," Little Lu replied, "most people who can be labeled as bad yet roam free possess four characteristics: intelligence is obvious; being good at learning is essential. Respecting others and being polite are basic elements; if one offends everyone around them, it's hard to survive here. After all, humans are social animals. Those qualified for great evil often wear another mask to conceal their true selves." (To be continued.)
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