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The two of them got into the car, and Zhao Wei said, "Cui Ming, something doesn't feel right. Jinjin has true love for her idol, and she's been taken by him. It's true that the embassy people will find Jinjin and immediately take her away. But sooner or later, Jinjin will find out about her idol's demise, and there's a high chance she'll investigate. That means she might come back to Dawn City to cause trouble."
Cui Ming replied, "First, she needs to survive long enough to return to Dawn City."
Zhao Wei paused and asked, "How would she die?"
Cui Ming thought for a while and said, "Maybe she'll encounter pirates on the ship back to Dawn Empire. Come on, don't look at me like that. I can't say too much; you're a police officer after all, and I have to respect your position, right? By the way, what's it like being a police officer?"
"Sometimes it's boring, sometimes it's interesting," Zhao Wei was diverted by Cui Ming's question. "It depends on how you see it. If you're just in it for the paycheck, being a police officer can be exhausting—there's a lot of work and unexpected situations every day. But if you enjoy the job, then it's quite fun because every day is different; the situations you face and the people you meet are never the same."
Cui Ming chuckled, "It's really all the same."
"Yes, it's mainly about your mindset. Also, try not to work overtime; that drives me crazy. When I'm frustrated, my mindset gets worse," Zhao Wei said. "Evelyn carries more responsibility; her internal pressure is relatively high."
...
Accompanied by two embassy staff members, Jinjin boarded the ferry heading to Purple Moon City. Throughout the journey, she did not engage with her companions; instead, she wore headphones listening to heavy metal music while staring out the window. After changing trains in Purple Moon City, she finally took another ferry back to Dawn Empire. The two staff members worked hard to cater to her needs along the way, pleading with Jinjin not to cause any trouble or leave midway. Jinjin was relatively obedient—not out of respect for them but simply because she couldn't stand their endless coaxing.
While still in the waters of Eastern Continent, pirates appeared. This area was on the fringes of Pirate King Ronk's territory. However, in recent years, the Pirate King had begun developing tourist islands, which had reduced his territory by half. This location was only a hundred nautical miles from the Navy's base in Dawn Empire, making the sudden appearance of pirates quite baffling.
The pirates had only one medium-sized modified fishing boat and claimed they were looking for someone rather than robbing anyone. The captain played for time by insisting that only one person could board their ship while simultaneously calling for help from the Navy. Sure enough, they sent only one person—a regular guy—who drove a small boat over to the ferry and boarded it to find Jinjin. He handed her a letter. After reading it, Jinjin jumped onto the small boat, leaving the two staff members helplessly watching her depart.
As the ferry set sail again, the busy staff members connecting with Dawn Empire wore worried expressions; they knew they would face reprimands upon returning and might even become scapegoats.
At that moment, the pirate ship was only four miles away from the Ferry, and a passenger shouted, "Something's being thrown down!"
Curiosity about the pirates wasn't limited to him; another person remarked, "It's a person, the woman who just boarded."
The crew member panicked and pressured the captain to stop the ship under diplomatic pretense. Then the two of them took a small boat over. The pirate ship had already left, and in the spot where it had vanished, several sharks were feeding on a headless corpse. A crew member held a gun in his left hand and poked his companion with his right finger. The companion turned to look and saw a head bobbing in the water, with a pair of beautiful eyes wide open—it was none other than Jinjin.
...
A few hours earlier, on the pirate ship, Vlad, Ding Lan, and Ding Wen were on deck. Vlad said, "It's simple. Once she boards, Ding Lan will ambush her, and Ding Wen will strike." This wasn't a legitimate pirate ship; it was merely a vessel belonging to Vlad and the Ding Family, flying a pirate flag.
Ding Wen had a complicated identity, but no matter what, she always hoped for the prosperity of the Ding Family. Vlad had noticed this early on and brought Ding Wen into the plan to establish their allegiance. He analyzed the situation for Ding Wen, explaining that for the Ding Family to continue developing, they must not be tied to the Dawn Empire or the Elder Council. Currently, Ding Nuo's group could almost be considered lackeys of the Elder Council, which was very detrimental to the Ding Family because the Dawn Empire would inevitably eliminate the Elder Council within two years. At that time, there would be a reckoning and judgment. If the Cao Liu Family were clever and the Ding Family were muddled, then it was likely that the Cao Liu Family would become a supported sect by the Dawn Empire.
Without imperial support, it would be very difficult for any family to operate since they were all human beings reliant on food and shelter. Moreover, given the dominance of the Dawn Empire, if they wanted to elevate the Ding Family's status, they would have to rely on it. The decline of the Cao Liu Family was partly due to their lack of talent and partly because they lacked strong national backing. The Ye Family and Ding Family thrived together; their industries were substantial, forming a complete family system that was inseparable from national support.
Take Ding Tai as an example; there were many branches with numerous children. With support from the Dawn Empire, it would be easy for Ding Tai to live a relatively respectable life in any country. Although Ding Tai might not be a practitioner himself, his children could be practitioners. However, despite having imperial support, the Ding Family focused solely on lineage, leading to difficulties in talent replenishment. In contrast, members of the Ye Family—Ye Xin as an outsider, Ye Ying as a branch member—were willing to go through fire for the Ye Family.
Due to Jinjin's alliance vote during this time and the collective leniency shown by families, their actions had caused them to lose points in reputation. Ding Wen was quite dissatisfied with this; elevating the Ding Family wasn't about making them strong but rather about honor and status—now they risked being ostracized by other practitioners. Vlad agreed with Ding Wen's thoughts and suggested that killing Jinjin would yield multiple benefits; most importantly, it would force Ding Nuo away from supporting the Elder Council and instead back the president.
Ding Wen was clever as well and asked if there were any other reasons behind this plan. Vlad did not hide anything from her; he revealed that he initially intended to use Cui Ming's hand to eliminate Jinjin. However, Cui Ming did not act; he told Vlad that Jinjin might guess that the Ding Family was after her. Cui Ming apologized for speaking too much after capturing Jinjin in an attempt to suppress her arrogance. As for not killing Jinjin, it was because of Beiyue; Cui Ming confessed that he loved Beiyue and she was very insistent—he had no opportunity to act against Jinjin. He could only leave that choice up to Miss Fortune, who ultimately chose not to kill Jinjin.
Cui Ming worried about potential retaliation from Jinjin afterward and contacted Vlad with a pleading tone for help. Vlad exploded at that moment. Regardless of whether Cui Ming's fears were genuine or not, this bombshell had been dropped in his lap. In such circumstances, Vlad knew he didn't have time to understand everything fully; for the sake of preventing internal strife within the Ding Family and ensuring they could get back on track, he had to eliminate Jinjin. Deep down, Vlad firmly did not believe that Cui Ming would actually fear retaliation from Jinjin. However, he couldn't comprehend why Cui Ming wanted him to take action; killing Jinjin would actually benefit the Ding Family by forcing Ding Nuo into opposition against the Elder Council.
Vlad was also clever enough to turn this crisis into an opportunity by bringing in heavyweight figure Ding Wen from the Ding Family. Killing Jinjin would serve as an oath of allegiance for Ding Wen; thus Vlad, Ding Wen, and Ding Lan officially became allies. This didn't mean Vlad sought power for himself; rather he shared with Ding Wen a desire for the Ding Family to dominate in cultivation circles—Ding Nuo lacked that capability to lead them.
Vlad opened up completely with Ding Wen about his intentions. After pondering for some time, she asked if Vlad wished to become head of the family. Vlad replied that neither he nor Ding Nuo was suitable for that role—it should be her instead. He expressed his willingness to remain behind-the-scenes forever and do any dirty work as long as it meant prospering the Ding Family. Ultimately, Ding Wen agreed to participate in this oath of allegiance.
Jinjin had no doubts about Vlad. Completely inexperienced in this regard, she willingly boarded the pirate ship and, following the instructions in the letter, did not inform the crew and took the letter with her. As soon as she stepped onto the ship, Jinjin saw Vlad, who was already arranging beach chairs on the deck, surrounded by various fruits. Vlad greeted Jinjin with a servile demeanor, which pleased her. She sat down and requested the ship to head to Pirate City, wanting to have some fun. At that moment, Vlad excused himself to notify the captain, and Ding Lan struck. Following that was Ding Wen's rolling knife technique, which severed Jinjin's head. After taking the letter, they tossed her body and the rocket launcher that had turned to stone into the sea.
The ship had nine people onboard. Half an hour later, it sank, and those on board transferred to several speedboats waiting for them. These individuals were all part of Vlad's faction; as the overseer, Vlad had cultivated a group of ordinary confidants whom Ding Nuo did not care about.
A few days later, Miss Fortune received news of Jinjin's death, which shocked her. If Jinjin had died in the Eastern Continent, Miss Fortune would not have been surprised; perhaps it was due to Cui Ming and Zhao Wei's deep involvement that necessitated silencing her. However, being killed near the waters of the Western Continent was intriguing.
The message came from Wandering. After letting Jinjin go, Miss Fortune bid farewell to Beiyue and traveled over a hundred kilometers to a hot spring resort near Double Dawn Highway. Wandering had not left the Eastern Continent; he was enjoying the hot springs at the resort. Eliminating Fire Cult Practitioners was also something Wandering wanted to do. The most direct reason was that as long as their strength diminished to a certain extent, there would be no war over the Eternal Sphere.
Months ago, during the border conflict between Twilight City and Sharon City, it was Lord Shalong who provoked matters, leading Wandering to feel that at least Fire Cult believed their practitioners could now rival the Ye Family.
Wandering informed Miss Fortune of Jinjin's death through a telegram sent by a hunter at headquarters. Soaking in his clothes in the hot spring while gazing at a distant volcano, he said, "I told you before that Cui Ming is very cautious. Since he stepped in to help you offend Jinjin, he must have intended to silence her. I don’t know why he didn’t act directly; thinking back now, this kid is cunning—using others to do his dirty work."
Miss Fortune asked, "Whose knife did he borrow? Lank?"
Wandering shook his head. "No, Lank has some connections with the Elder Council behind the scenes and has done plenty of dirty work for them. Lank would never attack Jinjin; however, those from Dawn Empire might think otherwise. Don’t overthink it; whoever killed Jinjin had their reasons. You should be grateful to Cui Ming—he made all this happen."
"I never intended to kill Jinjin."
"Haha, little girl full of lies! You just don’t want me to be put in a difficult position or violate my principles for you." (To be continued.)
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