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墨書 Inktalez
The journey was not easy. The nearest residents across the river were only five kilometers away, situated on higher ground. Some of the inhabitants might be too full to focus on spotting Otherworldly Creatures, which increased the risk of being discovered. Therefore, the two needed to use the trees for cover and minimize their movements. Cui Ming had even spotted a messenger through his telescope, patrolling the area. This made Miss Fortune feel uneasy; they should not have been moving together. She was not worried about herself and Cui Ming, but rather about Feng and Turtle, fearing they might be discovered by the messenger.
"That's a magic circle. If I remember correctly, it should be a warning magic circle," Miss Fortune said as she crouched behind the Rainforest, brushing aside the leaves with her hand. "This river must have been set up with an alarm system. If anything crosses this waterway, it will trigger the alarm. This magic circle is beyond what the messengers can set up; it must have been arranged by the elders of Silent City or the residents."
Cui Ming replied, "It makes more sense that it's the residents. The ordinary inhabitants in this warning area felt threatened by the Otherworldly Creatures from the Rainforest, so they set up this magic circle for protection. I believe they are not only guarding against threats from this side of the river but also against nearby lunatics. These five wooden houses are built quite neatly and look similar; they must be a small group formed spontaneously by five ordinary residents."
Miss Fortune nodded. "Humans are social creatures. According to what I've read, this type of magic circle has a range of three kilometers and can be monitored using magical crystals. However, it requires a considerable number of scouting guards. They have planted a patch of flowers needed for creating scouting guards over there. Hmm... there aren't just five people; there are couples among them... This group should be the strongest in this area. We must avoid them."
"Agreed."
"Let's go." Miss Fortune bent down and crawled back, leading the way.
The riverbank was not long, only twenty kilometers, but movement was difficult; they could only advance three kilometers per hour and nearly got discovered several times. The reason was that not only were there people living across the river, but they also kept eagles. Fortunately, it wasn't Ye Ying's Force Eagle that flew overhead two days ago. This made both of them think that although the wizards had exiled Otherworldly Creatures to the Rainforest, they still cared about their survival situation at times; it could even be part of an experiment.
Because of this, they suppressed their Force while traveling. If danger arose, Cui Ming could handle it first; Miss Fortune's offensive capabilities were mostly reliant on her gun rather than her Force output. They had barely traveled five hundred meters when they stumbled upon a small magic circle—a Rune Magic Circle capable of sensing Force Creatures within fifteen meters of its perimeter. Faced with so many scouting methods, Miss Fortune regretted her earlier decision even more.
Just one and a half kilometers away from the cliff, they suddenly came under attack early in the morning after waking up from sleep. Wrapped in Stagnant Water Pool energy, they hadn't even exchanged morning greetings when they heard a sound coming from a kilometer away. Cui Ming quickly climbed a tree to look eastward and saw a black barrier appearing in the sky above—a circular barrier with a diameter of about three hundred meters. Within three seconds, a stone flew out from inside the barrier at an incredibly fast speed and large size, crashing into a tree with enough force to create a large pit while barely altering its trajectory.
The barrier was moving toward them. Miss Fortune took a risk and reached the riverbank to take a look before quickly returning. "Someone is setting off fireworks! There are four wizards controlling this spell by the river; it should be an offensive summoning spell." This was closer to magic rather than Force.
"The frequency is increasing," Cui Ming noted as stones crashed down around them with noticeable force. "Running at full speed will likely get us discovered. If we don't run, we might get crushed."
"Then let's move at half speed." Miss Fortune led the way forward, her body’s Force slicing through obstructing vines like a sharp blade as Cui Ming followed closely behind. The barrier flew swiftly; they dared not linger and ran quickly until they burst off the cliff, plummeting toward the sea hundreds of meters below.
Falling from such heights was challenging; Cui Ming concentrated his Force into what felt like a hand grasping onto the cliff face, but this pull couldn't hold his body back—it merely slowed his descent as he spread his Force out like an umbrella. Miss Fortune did likewise; both glanced toward a Stone House perched on the edge of the cliff with smoke rising from its chimney—unclear if it was cooking smoke or something else entirely. At that moment, if anyone stepped out of that house and looked down, they would surely spot them both.
At a height of four hundred meters, their descent was somewhat slow. The two of them did their best to protect themselves while managing to gather some Force. Fortunately, they landed in the water. As Cui Ming entered the water and prepared to surface, he saw a massive rock crashing through the surface, sending countless bubbles flying as it struck Miss Fortune on the head. Miss Fortune was sent spiraling downward, and due to the shallow water, she collided violently with the coral reef below, shattering it upon impact. She lay motionless, the Force uncontrolled and rebounding against her.
Cui Ming swam over, and as a skeleton appeared, he wasted no time using his life force to flash beside Miss Fortune. This was the first time Cui Ming had used a Fate Card at such close range. Just as he reached her side, a giant rock came crashing down where he had just been standing. Damn it, for this alone, I would have no regrets killing him.
Cui Ming wrapped his right arm around Miss Fortune's waist and swam forward until they reached the rocky wall above water. The entire area was a sheer cliff with no place to land; the cliff had been smoothed by the waves, making it impossible to find a foothold for the time being. Cui Ming could only hold Miss Fortune up and quickly try to wake her from her unconscious state; otherwise, the Force would kill her.
The Force dissipated; there was breathing and a heartbeat, which meant Cui Ming couldn't perform CPR. If there was no heartbeat, he could apply chest compressions; if there was no breathing, he could perform artificial respiration. But with the Force dissipating… he could only rely on himself. Cui Ming slapped Miss Fortune's face twenty times in quick succession until her cheeks were swollen, finally waking her up. Miss Fortune felt her body and said, "I need to condense."
How could she condense? The waves were constantly crashing here; how could she possibly condense? Yet Miss Fortune seemed very confident in herself as she entered a state of condensation. Cui Ming felt helpless and activated his Force to create a hollow shield around her; Miss Fortune lay on this cushion of Force. As the waves crashed against it, the large surface area quickly drained Cui Ming's Force due to the impact. At this moment, it was all about how much Force he had left.
Cui Ming felt uncertain; he wasn't sure if he could hold on much longer or if his Fate Card was depleted. There was a Stone House on the cliff above; surely there were people living inside.
Cui Ming couldn't abandon his companion. He entered a meditative state to replenish his consumed Force more quickly. In this state, Cui Ming felt something shift within him; instead of conserving his Force, he released it and doubled its output. When the waves crashed down, Cui Ming absorbed their impact with gentle force, causing the cushion of Force to dip inward slightly before quickly returning to its original shape as the wave's impact dissipated.
This method proved more efficient than using hard barriers; Cui Ming recalled how many people he had seen—those whose Force acted like armor—if the armor remained intact, their bodies would not be harmed. Why couldn't it work like soft armor? By expanding its range and using elasticity to reduce damage? The operation was somewhat complex; one must first ensure there was hard armor because soft armor could only absorb force but not block it entirely. To create soft armor that worked effectively required instinctual responses—like breathing—one couldn't predict how strong an opponent's attack would be or control their Force based on that strength; one could only find ways to layer soft armor over their protective shield.
"Alright." After an unknown amount of time, Miss Fortune's voice broke through.
Cui Ming immediately remembered his situation and snapped out of meditation to check on her; Miss Fortune still lacked sufficient Force. He dragged her toward the cliff's edge and punched two holes into it with his fists. With one hand gripping Miss Fortune and one foot pushing off, he used his other hand to grab onto one hole while kicking out another hole with his remaining foot. Using this method, they ascended over twenty meters in one go and slipped into a crevice in the cliff. The crevice had height but was relatively shallow; both of them still had ample space inside. This way, they avoided being spotted by anyone looking down from above.
The two entered meditative states simultaneously—Cui Ming continued to cultivate his thoughts while Miss Fortune focused on healing.
When Cui Ming emerged from meditation, he found that Miss Fortune had already fallen asleep; she had exhausted too much energy. He closed his eyes for a brief rest as well since he too had drained much of his strength.
"Are you awake?" Miss Fortune's voice called out.
Cui Ming turned his head to see that Miss Fortune's face was just a few centimeters away from his own; instinctively, he recoiled in alarm—oh no, I'm going to fall… Thankfully, he steadied himself just in time. "Am I really that scary?" Miss Fortune asked angrily.
"Ha ha..."
Cui Ming chuckled lightly, preparing to change the subject when Miss Fortune unexpectedly turned and sat on Cui Ming's lap, saying, "I owe you my life, and I can only repay you by offering myself."
"Hey, you're repaying kindness with malice," Cui Ming said as he pushed Miss Fortune aside.
"I find it hard to believe that someone of your age, appearance, and status as a practitioner would refuse me... unless you are..."
"We can't. We're too familiar with each other; we're friends, and it would be awkward to meet again in the future." Unfortunately, Lank had left himself a big meal, and Beiyue was present. He had no opportunity to find a chance, and whenever he thought about it, there was never a good moment.
"That's true," Miss Fortune replied. "We shouldn't be this close. We should have met by chance at Hero City Hotel. I would have found you appealing, and you would have thought I was nice too, then we would go our separate ways the next day. But I must tell you, both abstinence and indulgence are not good for practitioners. You can look through the professor's literature; it could even lead to a bottleneck. After we leave here, find yourself a woman."
"Ha ha, don't you think discussing this is a bit awkward?" Cui Ming glanced outside. "It should be noon now. I can't sense if there are any practitioners far away on the cliff. I suggest we wait until dark to go up."
"Okay." Miss Fortune suddenly asked, "Is it really not because of my bad luck?"
"No."
"Then is it because of my looks?"
"Absolutely not," Cui Ming replied with utmost certainty. (To be continued.)
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