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墨書 Inktalez
Cui Ming was directly transported next to Beiyue, and with the Life Stone fully charged, everyone immediately understood that Cui Ming had been eliminated. Li Qing looked puzzled and asked, "Am I wrong? Or are you just not ruthless enough?"
Cui Ming introduced the Holy Arrow.
Li Qing nodded in realization. "This girl is getting more and more cunning." He couldn't help but reflect on how the students who entered the Alliance Academy were divided into two types: the first type consisted of children of practitioners who had sacrificed themselves for the Alliance, usually growing up to be less capable. The second type was high-potential practitioners selected by the Alliance, who tended to be much stronger than the first group. At that time, Li Qing was also a standout at the Alliance Academy. However, ten years had passed, and his friends had not only become Alliance Hunters but had also surpassed him in strength. Li Qing did not lament his fate; he had changed his path midway and had lost his eyesight.
"Are you familiar with her?"
"Yes." Li Qing casually nodded, but it was more than just casual familiarity. Their teachers were old friends who often fished, chatted, drank, and played chess together. The two students following them had spent a lot of time interacting with each other. Wei Wei had a tragic past; she was from an inland city-state in the Eastern Continent. During a four-year drought, she fled with her parents to Purple Moon City. On their way to Double Bridge City through the Grand Canyon, their family was killed by bandits because they could not afford train tickets. She was only six years old at the time. The bandits, seeing her young and pretty, decided to keep her for sale to human traffickers. She could serve many purposes: as a child bride or as a maid for wealthy families.
Half a month later, Wei Wei was sent off with a caravan heading to Twilight City. While passing through West Lake City, she found an opportunity to escape and sought help from passersby. West Lake City had no laws; clan rules were law. The locals were very enthusiastic and not only rescued Wei Wei and twelve other children but also hanged seven traffickers on trees by the highway until they starved to death.
Wei Wei was sent to an orphanage in Twilight City by members of the Zhao Family from West Lake City. The Ye Family discovered her while helping Twilight City search for one in fifty million. However, eight-year-old Wei Wei refused to serve Twilight City because she had been bought by a wealthy family there.
At that moment, Bald Wanderer happened to be in Twilight City. After encountering the ungrateful little girl, he took her away. Wei Wei then became a student of Bald Wanderer's friend within the Transformational System. At sixteen, Wei Wei received a special grace: she could seek revenge in Double Bridge City, and Li Qing accompanied her at fifteen years old. Faced with her enemies, Wei Wei ultimately refrained from taking action; she vowed not to harm innocent people. She buried this seed of hatred deep within her heart and dedicated herself to justice in the world. Not choosing swift vengeance tormented her constantly, motivating her never to slack off and preventing others from experiencing a fate like hers.
As for how familiar they were... The girl cried; the boy would naturally offer comfort... They spent their time chatting, reading books, playing games—well, it was a feeling of first love that should have led somewhere. Unfortunately, at sixteen, she made a grave mistake.
Cui Ming observed and said, "Senior Brother, your smile is quite..."
"Ugh." Li Qing quickly shook off his memories. "Be careful; this girl is serious. She might be on her way to Labyrinth Mountain right now and could soon be lying in wait for us somewhere."
Beiyue asked, "If we encounter an ambush, should we pursue or retreat?"
"That's a good question," Li Qing shook his head. "I don't know." He genuinely didn't know; Ding Ze could keep up with them if they pursued, but Li Qing wasn't confident in his own abilities, and Mi Xiaonan's speed was still lacking. Now that Holy Arrow had appeared... How could they chase? If Ding Ze caught up and got hit by a Holy Arrow, he'd be immobilized and then taken out by three consecutive shots? But if they didn't pursue... they'd get hit by arrows coming from both sides—there would be no escaping that either.
Cui Ming said, "Wei Wei is different from others. She rarely gets angry and it's hard for someone like Trickster Ghoul to trick her."
With a stronger hatred inside, of course, he wouldn't get angry over trivial matters. However, Beiyue and the others were heading to Twilight City. The wind had taken down their leader, and Wei Wei's enemy was that very leader. Forget it, it's too shameless to say it outright; let her carry on with her strength. Li Qing thought to himself.
Just then, a voice came from the mist ahead: "A leaf knows autumn; it is the wind that brings you to me. Are you a leaf? No, you are autumn..."
A figure emerged from the fog. Cui Ming and the others slapped their foreheads; it was that scoundrel Wind, accompanied by a dark-faced Eva. Judging by Eva's expression, she was struggling to suppress the urge to stab him with a dagger.
"Wind of Inconstancy, Cloudless," Wind said, glaring at Cui Ming. "Where the hell are we supposed to go?"
Eva also noticed Beiyue and the others. Her dark face relaxed as she placed her left hand on her lips and blew a kiss to Cui Ming while throwing him a flirtatious glance. Cui Ming immediately blushed and looked down: "Dina, I'm going to file a complaint."
Li Qing sensed the situation and Mi Xiaonan was whispering embellishments into his ear. Li Qing thought: There's a story here. As a roommate, how come I didn't know anything about this? Listening to Mi Xiaonan describe Eva's demeanor, it seemed like she would pounce on Cui Ming if he gave her the slightest approval. Looking at Cui Ming, oh, teasing him—it's because of his cowardly demeanor that people bully him like this. But it seems like Eva has some history with Cui Ming...
Suddenly, Wind knelt on the path, raising his hands towards the sky in a prayer-like gesture: "Wind, if you don't tell me where to drift, I won't let you pass."
Everyone felt like crying; they couldn't say anything to him. Besides, whether they were lost or not was still uncertain. Could he be a little more composed? Just then, Li Qing raised his left hand: "Retreat."
Eva immediately tensed up and entered stealth mode.
The surrounding mist began to swirl and gather towards the path. Beiyue warned, "Scarecrow."
As soon as he finished speaking, countless stalks of straw shot out from the mist like arrows. Beiyue spun his Greatsword in his hand to block all the incoming straw. Cui Ming said, "They want to separate us." In the mist, visibility was no more than five meters—even for practitioners.
Just after Cui Ming spoke, two scarecrows burst forth from the mist. They were wrapped in metal from head to toe, with only their heads made of straw, wielding long knives that slashed downwards. Cui Ming immediately dodged sideways; he threw out his Poker cards—three light ones and one heavy one—destroying the scarecrows. Once these scarecrows appeared, they moved slowly with low defense but strong attack power. Facing Beiyue head-on with their blades, they were knocked back into the mist but managed to push Beiyue back two steps as well.
"More and more," the mist from all directions gathered together.
"Beiyue," immediately said, "head south, at least in pairs."
"Where is south?" Mi Xiaonan, transformed into a lightning ball, darted through the fog, feeling Beiyue's voice fading in and out.
"Li Qing," Beiyue mentioned.
At that moment, Li Qing maximized his ability, using sound to locate Beiyue and flew directly to his side. Beiyue jumped up, and Li Qing kicked him up over thirty meters high. As Beiyue's body burst through the mist, he looked around upon landing and said, "This way is south."
Mi Xiaonan's voice came from afar: "Which way is this? Beiyue, where are you? Oh no... Ninjutsu, Chidori..."
Li Qing shouted, "Cui Ming, Ding Ze?"
The wind called out: "Eva, Eva..." Each time he swung his katana, he could disperse a patch of mist, but he could only hear the voices of Beiyue, Li Qing, and Mi Xiaonan; everyone else was completely lost. Scarecrows kept rushing out of the mist, forcing them into a chaotic battle where one careless move could make someone disappear instantly.
Even Beiyue and Li Qing had separated. However, their separation was intentional; being together served no purpose, while splitting up might lead them to find their companions. Both had high survival skills.
Beiyue had already slain more than ten scarecrows in the mist. It was very quiet around him. When he stopped, he felt a sense of loneliness and isolation. He shouted loudly but received no response, as if his voice were trapped by the fog and unable to carry beyond it.
At that moment, Cui Ming's voice rang out: "I'm here." He landed beside Beiyue just as his Fate Card expired. Cui Ming grabbed Beiyue's hand tightly: "It's hard to find a living person."
Beiyue paused for a moment and gently moved Cui Ming's hand from the back of his hand to his forearm, changing the subject. "What about Li Qing and the others?"
Cui Ming didn't think too much about it; it was just nice to find someone alive. Holding hands was better than losing each other again. However, Beiyue's action made him sigh a bit, though it wasn't enough to turn him into a melancholic youth. Cui Ming said, "I've activated the Fate Card three times; you're the only Force point I've found. Beiyue, if I'm guessing correctly, there must be a key location in this Labyrinth Mountain that can disperse the mist."
"Where?"
"We were fine all the way, and then suddenly the mist closed in on us, so I believe there must be something crucial near where we were just now."
Beiyue sighed, "That's no different from saying nothing at all. Can you find that little path we took earlier?"
"I can," Cui Ming replied.
Beiyue was greatly surprised. "How will you find it?"
"Bread crumbs," Cui Ming said proudly. "As a Magician, how could I let such a simple illusion defeat me?"
Cui Ming grabbed Beiyue's arm and crouched down, using one hand to feel around on the ground. With a flick of his wrist, he sent cards flying towards the ground at a rapid pace, one after another. As he touched the ground, half of a card embedded itself into the earth while the other half remained exposed. "This way," Cui Ming said.
Now holding onto Beiyue's arm made things a bit inconvenient. Cui Ming crouched forward and pulled, while Beiyue felt a bit flustered. She gently pulled her hand back, gripping with both hands. Beiyue couldn't quite describe her inner thoughts...
The world around them was quiet as the silent Beiyue followed the equally silent Cui Ming. They walked for an unknown amount of time until their palms were sweaty. Finally, Cui Ming said, "Right here." He stood up and pulled out a card—one with a corner folded down, the Queen of Spades. "We should be right in the center of the mist now. Anyone who leaves the mist won't be able to break through any mechanisms or pass any tests. There must be something important nearby."
In the mist, a figure appeared; it looked like wind, slowly approaching them with a knife handle in its right hand, expressionless. Unable to greet each other, they drew closer until suddenly the wind drew its knife. Cui Ming threw out a Yellow Card: "Kill!"
Beiyue launched her Greatsword with her left hand, spinning like a windmill as it sliced through the wind, reducing it to a pile of scattered straw. As she caught her Greatsword with her left hand, she naturally positioned herself in front of Cui Ming to protect him, vigilantly watching their surroundings. "An illusion?" (To be continued.)
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