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墨書 Inktalez
Yes, people are indeed complex. Cui Ming wholeheartedly agreed with this statement. On one hand, he yearned to confront Beiyue and was striving hard for that confrontation. On the other hand, he was not mentally prepared for what might come after. From an objective standpoint, Beiyue's pursuit of the truth using various resources was understandable; however, differing perspectives and stances led to different opinions. Cui Ming was more concerned about whether Beiyue would accept the Hunter Organization's demand for her to leave once the truth was uncovered.
For instance, everything he aimed for today was for Beiyue—not just for himself, but for both of them to confront their feelings. It wasn't about considering Beiyue's perspective but rather his own. Because of this, he wondered if putting himself in danger was worth it.
"Thank you, Miss Fortune, for accompanying me here; this place is not safe," Cui Ming said.
Miss Fortune shrugged nonchalantly. "I didn't come to Silent City just to help you. The Mage, the Fire Cult, Silent City—these are all things we Hunters try to avoid escalating. Of course, we're friends now, and if you need me, I’d be happy to accompany you back to Silent City." Among ordinary people, there are children who don’t particularly enjoy activities like swimming or boating; however, they endure them just to spend time with their fathers. Miss Fortune felt the same way; she found joy in traveling with Cui Ming.
...
Waiting was a tedious affair. This place was remote, with no one else around—not even passersby. Miss Fortune and Cui Ming took turns resting, and with the constant rain, their days of lurking were quite challenging. Moss, though timid, still managed to bring them warm food.
The first day passed without Wind stepping outside. The second day came and went without any sign of him either. If it weren't for Cui Ming's Fate Card, he would have thought that Wind had already perished.
Finally, on the morning of the third day, Sadin appeared. Li Qing had described Sadin's appearance before; Miss Fortune had seen countless portraits of Sadin and immediately nudged the resting Cui Ming with her finger. "She's here."
Cui Ming instantly perked up as Miss Fortune slipped into the water and left the area, using the cover of the trees to circle around and flank Sadin from behind. Upon seeing Sadin, Cui Ming noticed that her Force was a light blue color—just like that of a prophet—indicative of Void Power. Sadin wore a dress that had pants underneath; it simply had a wide hem. Judging by her appearance, she seemed to be around forty years old, with black hair and a scarf wrapped around her mouth to shield against the wind and sand—clearly someone who had come from the North. Her gaze and movements were quite capable.
Sadin stood still about ten meters from Stone House, waiting for a moment until Spider opened the door and Wind appeared alongside her. Sadin looked at Wind as they exchanged words; Wind tossed an envelope which Sadin caught and opened to read. Cui Ming noticed that Wind seemed to have lost some agility and walked somewhat unsteadily... Had he been poisoned? No, Spider was poisonous—how chilling.
After reading the letter, Sadin folded it up and turned toward the river. Cui Ming entered the water and retreated back to their temporary camp about a hundred meters from the riverbank. Within thirty seconds, Sadin appeared, walking steadily toward Cui Ming. Unperturbed by her presence, Cui Ming continued boiling water and placed a bamboo cup opposite the fire. Sadin observed him closely; sparks seemed to flicker in her palms like lightning.
Cui Ming remained unfazed as Sadin stood by the fire only three meters away from him. After watching him quietly for a while, she sat on a stone and took a sip from her tea before discarding it. She then pulled out a small bag of tea leaves from her pocket and tossed it to Cui Ming. He poured out some leaf water, changed it out for fresh water, added the tea leaves, and leaned forward to pour tea for Sadin—now less than a meter apart. Watching him pour water steadily without shaking or showing panic or fear impressed Sadin.
Cui Ming settled back down and poured himself some tea as well. Sadin took a sip from her bamboo cup before setting it down and saying, "You must be Cui Ming—the champion of the Competition Match from North Moon Group."
"Just luck," Cui Ming replied politely.
"What brings you here?" Sadin added: "If you're willing to risk coming to Silent City, it must be something significant—and not something trivial; otherwise, the Alliance could have contacted me directly." Silent City had communication with the Alliance; generally speaking, elders in Silent City ignored such messages since they were always about similar matters: characteristics of Otherworldly Creatures or managing summoned beings.
"Cui Ming," he said cautiously, "please don't harbor any hostility."
"My lack of hostility depends on your willingness to clarify matters first."
"Of course," Cui Ming said. "I have come at the behest of the deity."
"Oh?"
"The Sun God," Cui Ming added. "The Sun God of Dawn Desert."
Sadin frowned, deep in thought. He picked up his tea and took a sip while looking at Cui Ming. "What does your god want with me?"
"The Sun God needs you to break the seal on the Mage."
"Haha..." Sadin laughed. "I, Sadin, am not a good person, but I will never be an accomplice to evil. I know very well what kind of being the Mage is. Since you are the Mage's minions, you can only leave your lives here in Silent City."
"Wait, we are not the Mage's minions," Cui Ming said. "Let me be direct: the Mage already has the ability to break the seal; he hasn't done so to protect himself. Because once he breaks the seal, my boss will eliminate him. To avoid this from happening, he needs a helper. This helper must possess Void Power. In Eternal Sphere, there are only two people with such ability: one is you, and the other is the Prophet. My boss wants to ask you to break the seal and release the Mage, rather than waiting for the Mage to prepare fully and escape on his own."
Sadin asked, "Why should I believe you?"
Cui Ming replied, "We are facing a dilemma; the Prophet is preparing a magic circle that can open a passage from Eternal Sphere to the Void. Originally, there was a difficulty with this magic circle: it required a Void Creature as a sacrifice, but the Prophet found one months ago—a Giant Bug with four legs and purple-blue coloration. Once the Prophet fully masters the magic circle taught by the Mage and sets it up near my boss's territory, the Mage will escape through the Prophet's Void Gate into that passage, evading my boss's pursuit and ultimately vanishing into the Void."
Sadin said, "Isn't that good?"
"Good? You should know that the Mage's nature is quite malevolent."
"Perhaps," Sadin replied. "But that's not enough to convince me."
"Alright, let me reveal one last secret: the Mage needs a vessel; he only has two options—yours or the Prophet's. He will definitely take the Prophet's vessel and then enter the Void. But he won't spare your vessel either because the Prophet's vessel will shatter due to entering the Void through that passage and won't hold up for long. You should understand that he can move freely in the Void and appear anywhere in Eternal Sphere. His power is comparable to that of a deity; even Silent City may not withstand him." Cui Ming explained, "He borrows the Prophet's vessel to evade my boss's pursuit while taking yours for long-term survival and cultivation in the Void. One last point to clarify: the desert is my boss's territory; outside of Dawn Desert, my boss is nothing—like a Lich, merely watching as the Mage runs rampant."
Sadin did not answer immediately; he remained silent in thought for a long time before saying, "I do not recognize the characters of the seal; even if I did, breaking it would require considerable time for research. The Mage must know what I intend to do; if what you say is true, then the Prophet will likely act before me..."
Cui Ming said, "As my boss's underling, I have already contacted Wandering Hunters; they also do not wish for the Mage to appear in Eternal Sphere, so you need not worry about the Prophet. Sadin, I have told you everything honestly; there is no need for me to deceive you. You can come with me to meet my boss first."
Sadin asked, "Is it urgent?"
"The sooner, the better."
Sadin asked, "Do you know Lord of Quiet City?"
"Ah? I don't know him." It seemed that no one was aware; the topic was off.
"He is my savior. Right now, there is a man-eating Otherworldly Creature in Silent City, and the other three elders don't care at all, so I can't leave."
Cui Ming asked curiously, "Why doesn't the city lord show up?"
"He hasn't made an appearance in twenty years. Many people speculate that there is no city lord in Silent City; perhaps it's true." Sadin replied, "Don't ask me why, and don't say I lack judgment. I'm willing to meet your boss and help him eliminate the Mage. But before that, I must find out about this man-eating Otherworldly Creature."
"Maybe I can help."
"On what basis?"
"Although I don't think so, many people believe I'm quite clever."
...
Attacks in Silent City occur every half month, with a total of five incidents so far. There have been residents out for a stroll, those living alone away from others, and one of five households living together. Each of the five attacks left behind a leg and a large pool of blood, then nothing. Since no bodies were found, it was concluded that the corpses were likely eaten.
Silent City is divided into northern and southern regions by a mountain range. The Northern area is larger than the south and is a desert region. The south receives more rain, while the Northern area near the mountains has a better environment than the south, which is why it has many more residents. All five victims were from the Northern wilderness, specifically from the desert region.
Beneath the Northern mountains of Silent City lies a cliff, and below that is where the Northern residents live. The environment here is excellent; there is one month of rainfall each year, and many green desert plants grow. The temperature isn't too high; the only drawback is the sandy soil layer. Due to seismic activity, sandstorms have begun to invade residential areas in Northern. However, even so, Northern residents have no plans to migrate south because the humid heat there leads to an abundance of mosquitoes. The Force can protect against the humid heat of the south, but it cannot interfere with mosquito disturbances; it can only kill them. Additionally, due to the unique weather in the south, mosquitoes can infect stored food, making it impossible for practitioners to defend against internal invasions from bacteria and parasites. Therefore, most mages still prefer Northern. (To be continued.)
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