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After inquiring about the address along the way, the three of them took a donkey cart to the natural village. Mi Xiaonan's friend was not there; they only had the landlord's contact address. The landlord walked with them deep into the mountains and pointed to a hill ten kilometers away, saying, "Your friend is down there. You might want to check on him; he hasn't come out in a month."
"Okay, thank you," Mi Xiaonan nodded in gratitude and said, "Let's go."
The mountain path stretched straight for ten kilometers. Cui Ming exhaled and asked, "What kind of friend? A wanted criminal? Is the village of West Lake not remote enough that he has to hide in the depths of the countryside?"
"It's really necessary," Mi Xiaonan explained. "My friend's name is Mi Xiaoji, known as the Bomb Maniac. He is currently in seclusion training, and in a few months, he will duel with the Bomb Demon."
Beiyue and Cui Ming had never heard of them. "Who are Bomb Maniac and Bomb Demon?"
"I've heard of an intelligent race similar in height and build to us Yorkians."
Cui Ming nodded. "Goblin, but weren't Goblins supposed to have gone extinct hundreds of years ago?"
Goblins and Goblins are quite similar, yet one is good while the other is evil. Hundreds of years ago, a Goblin tribe living on the western islands produced a Force Leader, an evil practitioner of the Magic System. Ultimately, this leader's conspiracy to incite war was exposed, inciting public outrage. Twilight City and Dawn Empire sent troops, along with practitioners, to eliminate all Goblins. This event marked the origin of the Force Alliance and Eternity Alliance; after exterminating the Goblins, the two nations formed the initial structure of their alliances. This is common knowledge among practitioners.
Mi Xiaonan explained that like Mote, this Goblin was also summoned from another planet by mages from Silent City. According to Eternal Sphere classification, he belonged to the Transformational System as a Force Practitioner. He showed no respect for his summoner and tricked him with a false front. When his summoner invited friends to talk with him, he detonated a Force bomb that killed four practitioners. Silent City immediately launched a citywide manhunt for him, but he could not escape capture.
Imprisoned in a Force cell while awaiting discussion on his fate by the city lord, he utilized his immunity to Force Lock as a Goblin to forcibly blow open his cell and escape from Silent City. He encountered a traveling Yorkian—Mi Xiaoji. They shared similar professions and hit it off well; Mi Xiaoji invited him to visit York Clan. However, upon discovering that he was a Goblin, York Clan was somewhat wary of him. Sure enough, three days later, the Goblin stole treasures from York Clan and fled.
Unexpectedly, the elders of York Clan had prepared for this; during his escape, the Goblin experienced several hours of pain each day and had no choice but to return to York Clan. After reclaiming their treasures, York Clan decided that Mi Xiaoji and the Goblin would duel due to this mistake. If the Goblin won, York Clan would lift the curse and gather practitioners' strength to send him back to his home planet. The time limit was set for one year; during this year, the Goblin was kept under semi-house arrest by York Clan while Mi Xiaoji trained elsewhere. When the time came, they would return to York Clan for a duel against Bomb Demon.
Cui Ming walked while saying, "I remember that the York Clan isn't this extreme. They treat their own people fairly, and the elders rarely punish clan members. Plus, bringing friends back to the York Clan, who can guarantee that they aren't bad people..."
"For example, Cui Ming," Beiyue remarked, feeling a sense of accomplishment at Cui Ming's helpless expression.
Mi Xiaonan replied seriously, "There are two reasons. The first is that the treasure is the only relic of the warriors who sacrificed themselves to protect our York Clan. The second reason is that practitioners from the York Clan must undergo basic theoretical training before leaving. Among those teachings, there are prohibitions against befriending certain individuals, and Goblin is one of them. Hundreds of years ago, a Goblin practitioner caused a war on the Eastern Continent due to his schemes and traps, which almost spread to the Western Continent. That's why Twilight City and Dawn Empire joined forces to eradicate the Goblin race. Befriending a Goblin is the biggest mistake. Mi Xiaoji and I, along with Mi Big Head, are friends who underwent basic theoretical training together. Mi Xiaoji hardly paid attention; he was just sleeping. In his words, he gets sleepy whenever he touches a book."
...
On this trip, Cui Ming brought a tent because many areas in the Eastern Continent are wild and untamed. After arriving at the Grand Canyon last night and spending the night at an inn near the guards, they traveled all day today. By five in the evening, realizing they were still quite far from their destination, they searched for a flat area to set up camp.
The cold winter combined with dew made it uncomfortable despite the protection of Force. Setting up the tent, starting a fire, and enjoying some cooked food was what truly felt like enjoyment. Mi Xiaonan took on the tasks of hunting and gathering firewood since he was quick on his feet. Beiyue disagreed with this; she believed that practitioners could travel through the night without issue and could reach their destination in three or four hours at most.
Mi Xiaonan and Cui Ming answered together, "Tired." Of course, those who practiced reinforcement wouldn't feel fatigued standing around; not to mention the power of Force, their physical enhancements were much stronger than those of other types, leading to the stereotype that reinforcement types were more violent. Social studies have shown that stronger individuals tend to adhere less to order.
They were indeed tired; climbing with Force was fast, but their bodies still had to work hard, making muscle soreness quite normal. However, Mi Xiaonan didn't seem worried about Cui Ming's fatigue as he dragged back a wild boar that was three times his size. Cui Ming stared in astonishment as Mi Xiaonan effortlessly carried the boar back and said, "Couldn't you have caught a little rabbit instead?"
Mi Xiaonan replied, "We can take what's left over with us."
"Cui Ming," he said with exasperation, "the key point is that killing a pig is troublesome... Forget it; guests are guests. Since it's here, not eating it would be unfair to the rabbit that died in vain."
Nearby their campsite was a small ditch fed by mountain spring water; Mi Xiaonan assisted while Cui Ming took charge of butchering. If they didn't bleed out the boar first, its meat would be very gamey. Cui Ming had only seen members of the Thieves Guild do it before; he couldn't manage it himself without help from Force. Fortunately, Beiyue didn't just stand idly by either; she helped out as well. Amidst the wild cries of the boar, they finally managed to deal with it.
Cui Ming only took one hind leg and sliced it with a dagger. He marinated the meat slices and used portable iron tongs to grill them over the fire. The flavor was incredibly rich; even Beiyue couldn't resist licking her fingers as Cui Ming grilled and explained, "The wild boar meat should be grilled until slightly charred and cut thinly so that the outer meat becomes dry while trapping the fat inside. When you take a bite, it's bursting with flavor."
Mi Xiaonan praised while eating, "Cui Ming, you really know a lot. Our York Clan often goes hunting, but nothing we make is as delicious as what you prepare."
Beiyue nodded, "It's truly not bad." It wasn't that he was indifferent to the food; he just didn't want the delicacies to sway his resolve. The more one indulges, the more one thinks, and the less steadfast one's will becomes. But damn Cui Ming, although his skills couldn't be considered exceptional, his variety in cooking was endless. One chicken prepared five ways, one fish four ways...
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