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Cui Ming asked Little Lu, "Is there any other information?" It had been decades, maybe forty years? About that long.
"He has a back problem, the cause is unknown, so he takes hot baths every day as much as possible. If he goes two or three days without one, he won't be able to stand due to the pain."
"Oh?" Cui Ming blinked, finding this interesting. He could temporarily disperse his Force, but to reach the level of soaking in a bath, he would need to extinguish his Force completely. Cui Ming asked, "Anything else?"
"That's all." Little Lu smiled wryly. "It's been many years. If it weren't for the fact that the Warden is an outsider and Mundo's Mentor took him in, who would remember him? Do you have any plans?"
Cui Ming replied, "I can't make any arrangements. As long as I don't confront the Warden directly, he won't act. So I need to ask you for a favor."
"What kind of favor?"
"Stay in Dawn City for a while. Beiyue might head to the Zuan Region soon, and then you can leave."
Little Lu pondered for a moment and understood what Cui Ming meant. He nodded and said, "Alright, no problem. By the way, Cui Ming, if you get caught by the Warden, the best approach is to yield. The more you struggle and resist, the more interested he will become in you; he'll torment you until you surrender. He has great perseverance and patience and will analyze you thoroughly. If you give in, he'll lose interest."
"Got it."
"Do you have a plan?"
"Honestly, no. But I can't keep hiding because he'll always be watching me. I'm different from him; I want to live my life. I hope for a bright future with Beiyue and don't want to constantly be on guard against him. Don't worry; he's looking for me because he wants to take me to Shadow Island. There are others there too; I might not be in danger."
Little Lu asked, "So you're planning to go to Shadow Island?"
Cui Ming shook his head and smiled bitterly. "If I can avoid it, I definitely don't want to go." Internally, Cui Ming was struggling with whether to take this risk. He had always calculated ways to keep himself and his friends away from danger, but this time presented an opportunity—a chance to resolve his greatest threat. Logically speaking, the Warden must have ill intentions toward Lich Father and Daughter; there was room for him to exploit that situation. Lich Father and Daughter had been on Shadow Island for years, pure as fresh snow. Although the Warden had committed crimes across the Three Continents and had seen much in his youth, Cui Ming was confident he could keep him in check. Perhaps they could cooperate; why not? He wanted to survive and break free from the Lich's entanglement while the Warden needed the Death Hat and Soul Stealing Scroll.
It was unwise to gamble with a tiger. Thus, Cui Ming felt very hesitant about whether or not to take this chance. Currently, his hand was a flush; he believed he had an advantage, but the dealer might have a straight flush. Should he enter this round? There was no escaping; sooner or later, he would have to play. How should he play? How could he ensure his flush would win? This was a gamble; even if the dealer had a straight flush, would they dare accept his bet?
Of course, it would be best if he could eliminate the Warden—that would be ideal—but not everything goes smoothly, especially since the Warden was a very patient hunter and Cui Ming had no leads or information about his whereabouts.
...
Beiyue needed to make some preparations and seek advice from experts on how to survive in the Zuan Region, as the environment there was extremely harsh. As for Cui Ming, he had to find a way to raise one hundred million. He didn't care about the situation of Wandering and Fire Cult Practitioner in the desert; he was simply waiting for a result.
How could he raise one hundred million? In a country like Double Bridge City, that amount would be easy; even village chiefs were embezzling billions. But in Dawn City, it was a different story. There were indeed wealthy people who lacked compassion, but they operated within the bounds of law and regulations. Cui Ming believed that being rich didn't necessarily mean being kind, but one shouldn't be malicious either. They already occupied enough social resources, and lacking humanity was unacceptable.
How could one raise one hundred million in Dawn City?
He could go on television; TV stations had money. Of course, it wasn't Cui Ming who would appear on TV, but Feng. Feng would attract attention while Cui Ming would reap the financial rewards. They also needed to develop Feng's commercial value—like dining together for five hundred thousand or challenging extreme sports with guaranteed safety, such as experiencing the feeling of free-falling from a cliff for one million, while also selling the rights to the TV station. Once Feng gained fame, he could endorse advertisements. Finally, they would auction a giant banner signed by all practitioners, starting at fifty million.
Great! In just a week, the money would be secured, and Feng would become a celebrity, with fans clamoring for his autograph everywhere. Feng would continue his shameless antics: telling men to get lost and only signing for young girls who were attractive. If they were particularly beautiful, he might even join them for late-night snacks and indulge further. The media would criticize Feng's character mercilessly, but that only increased his exposure and skyrocketed his popularity.
Cui Ming counted the money behind the scenes and established a company with a businessman on the seventh day to develop Feng's residual value.
On the Ninth Day, Beiyue was set to leave for Zuan alone. This journey was crucial for her—not only to search for her father but also as a brave first step into independence, marking a breakthrough in her spiritual journey. Cui Ming accompanied Beiyue to the boat and handed her a small pouch. "Open this if you find yourself in danger. Promise me you won't open it casually; it could save your life."
Beiyue took the pouch. "So mysterious."
Cui Ming smiled. "Just for fun; it's not heavy anyway."
Beiyue nodded and glanced back at Evelyn, who was also seeing her off. She whispered, "I'm leaving."
"Okay."
"Wait for me to come back."
"Okay." Cui Ming nodded.
Everything was unspoken as Beiyue and Evelyn waved goodbye and boarded the ferry. Cui Ming watched as the ferry departed, and Evelyn said, "Let's go."
The two got into the car, and Evelyn said, "I received some bad news. The countries in the Northern part of the Eastern Continent are mostly quite backward and plagued by wars. Recently, there has been a civil war in an Altar City-State in the North. The government forces accused the militia of massacring thirteen hundred refugees, while the militia claims it was the government forces who did it. The Eternal Alliance's peacekeeping mediation team conducted an investigation and found that these thirteen hundred people did not die from modern weapons like guns and cannons. They were in a refugee camp, and it seemed as if they were struck by a meteor; the shockwave of the meteor seemed to have swallowed them whole. The Force Alliance sent three observers and investigators three days ago to check the scene and see if it was caused by practitioners."
Cui Ming asked, "How long ago was this news?"
"Forty days ago," Evelyn replied with a wry smile. It had been more than thirty days before the Force Alliance finally sent someone out. It was complicated; the Force Alliance first needed to receive an invitation or have direct evidence before they would intervene in an investigation. Both sides of the conflict accused each other of killing the refugees, so the Eternal Alliance's mediation team had to conduct their own investigation first. They were not skilled at investigations and needed to send detectives from the Eternal Alliance. The detectives would have to compare testimonies from both sides, inspect the scene, look for witnesses, collect evidence for analysis, and so on. Finally, they would report back to the Eternal Alliance, which suspected that practitioners were involved. Only then did the Eternal Alliance notify the Force Alliance, prompting them to send people over.
Cui Ming asked, "Thirteen hundred people—why hasn't there been any media coverage?"
Evelyn replied, "That's what's interesting here. The government forces aren't sure if it was their own men who did it, and neither is the militia. Killing is common for them; it's just that this time the number is a bit higher. So one of the conditions for allowing the mediation team to intervene was that they couldn't provide information to the media. They cooperated very well on confidentiality and controlled several witnesses completely. There have been reports saying that a massacre of refugees might occur in Altar City. However, this country frequently experiences civil wars, and every civil war tends to lead to massacres. The government forces want to kill civilians supporting the militia, while the militia wants to kill civilians supporting the government forces. The media has become somewhat numb to such news, especially since 'Alliance Competition' is currently airing; all news focus is on practitioners, so there hasn't been any in-depth reporting."
"It confirms that Warden is indeed very clever," Cui Ming said as he closed his eyes and rubbed his neck; he felt fatigued from focusing too much on making money lately. "He has arrived; I can sense him right here in Dawn City."
Evelyn asked, "Has Little Lu left?"
"Yes."
"Jayce has also left."
"So you specifically came to accompany me to see Beiyue off."
"Heh heh, I didn't want to be a third wheel," Evelyn said. "Are you sure you've thought this through? Do you really want to challenge Warden?"
Cui Ming pondered for a while before responding, "Not right now; it's not a good time. I think we'll hear news from the desert in a few days. Let them leave first. After they go, I plan to retreat alone into the volcano where Stone Man Mott used to live."
"Actually, if you live normally in Dawn City, Warden might not dare to touch you," Evelyn said. "He hasn't reached Crow's level yet."
Cui Ming replied, "No, he definitely wants to confront me. If I don't give him a chance, he'll target my friends and those around me instead. If I guard too tightly, he might even go to the Eastern Continent or Western Continent to cause trouble for my friends, forcing me into a situation where I have no choice but to meet him alone for a talk. I don't want to give him any despicable opportunities. Furthermore, once it reaches that point, I'll have less initiative in my hands. Since I'm certain something will happen anyway, why not seize some initiative?"
Evelyn asked, "Certain?"
"Yes," Cui Ming said. "He doesn't have many choices; he has to capture me. Since he can't get to me, he can only target my friends to force me out. This is the best solution I can think of."
Evelyn remained silent for a long time. "We're all adults. Since you've made your decision, I won't say anything more. What about Feng?"
"He has been enjoying his time as a star lately, so I let him go have fun. He's currently preparing to shoot his first movie featuring cultivators. He even wrote to his junior sister, asking if she wanted to be the female lead, and he reached out to Raefus and Eva to see who was available to shoot a pure cultivator film."
Evelyn asked, "Does anyone else know that you feel Warden approaching you?"
"Besides you, no one else," Cui Ming replied. "Feng knows, but he's quite oblivious and often overlooks such details. He always thinks that if a friend is in trouble, they should just speak up instead of beating around the bush. If I don't mention it, he won't remember it. Once I do, he'll keep it in mind."
Evelyn nodded as the intercom crackled to life. "Head, High Configuration has returned."
"Got it."
Cui Ming curiously asked, "What does High Configuration mean?"
"It's a term for cultivators—high-level experts working together. High bad means a bad expert," Evelyn explained. "I'll drive you over; Wandering and the others are already back."
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