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墨書 Inktalez
Above the cave was a small mountain, densely forested. Cui Ming went up to chop some wood and bamboo, transporting it back to the cave as the sun set. He began to arrange the walls; although he was unfamiliar with construction, he managed to make do. Around nine in the evening, Cui Ming started a fire, then jumped into the bay and caught a fish to roast for dinner. He had brought a backpack from Stone Mountain to Shadow Island, filled with abundant supplies and tools for living. This richness made the Lich unable to help but ask the Warden if Cui Ming had planned to come to the island to settle down from the start. The Warden explained where he had captured Cui Ming and how he had been carrying items for seclusion and cultivation. The Lich then understood and instructed the Warden to go out to sea with Flower Aunt the next day to procure more supplies. Flower Aunt and the Warden were the two outsiders the Lich trusted most. Flower Aunt worked almost like an employee; the Lich had given her a lot of money, which she used to ensure her children and grandchildren could live well in the Dawn Empire. Before being taken by the Lich, Flower Aunt already had children.
Cui Ming felt no visible fluctuations in his Fate Card, but he sensed someone was watching him—neither the doctor nor the twins; it was either the Lich or his daughter. Logically, it had to be the Lich; he wouldn’t fully trust Cui Ming yet. The Lich thought himself cautious, but unfortunately, this caution differed greatly from reality. Cui Ming was confident he could gain the Lich's trust quickly, especially with Warden's help. However, that wasn’t part of his plan; instead, he intended never to let the Lich feel completely at ease while having Warden report minor issues as a way to solidify Warden's trust in the Lich's eyes.
Taking out his results, it was time for the activation of the Magic Circle... This was when one would gamble on luck. Although his hand wasn't as strong as the Lich's, he had Warden as an ace up his sleeve... Of course, Warden could just as easily turn against him.
Being on Shadow Island, with no one trustworthy around, every move could be scrutinized by others. Yet Cui Ming felt no fear; instead, he experienced a flicker of excitement and anticipation. He recognized this as a gambler's mentality—a dangerous mindset that could cloud objective judgment—so he tried his best to suppress it.
The first night passed quietly. Cui Ming hated mosquitoes; even with Force protecting him, their buzzing was too annoying. He woke up early and set up a tent inside the cave, making things much clearer. Cui Ming prepared for a long stay by arranging his cave before meeting with the Lich.
With Force at his disposal and a knife in hand, work was simple. Cui Ming laid down a bamboo floor and hunted a wild boar, drying its skin for use inside his tent while smoking its meat. It wasn’t that Cui Ming held any grudge against wild boars; it was just that by afternoon, he realized that this bastard Lich didn’t provide food.
In the afternoon, Cui Ming diverted spring water from the mountain using bamboo; now he could bathe and boil water for tea. By evening, after bathing and sitting on his bamboo floor in the cave while watching the tranquil sunset over the bay with a cup of tea in hand, he felt quite comfortable. This made him think of Beiyue, who was heading into the harshest natural conditions of Zuan Region to forage for food on her own—he wondered how she was faring.
As darkness fell, one of the twins arrived at Cui Ming's cave below and timidly asked, "Big Brother, can you spare some meat?"
"Eh?"
It turned out that Lich treated doctors well; rice and other supplies were plentiful while vegetables could be grown themselves. However, meat was scarce due to lack of refrigeration. Supplies came every half month or so—mostly smoked meat—but since twins didn’t receive rations either, three people shared one portion of meat which always left them short. Hearing this, Cui Ming took down half a smoked wild boar from above the fire pit and jumped onto the beach to hand it over to the twins. They thanked him as they left with their heavy load, but Cui Ming didn’t offer any help; instead, he returned to his spot and pulled out Tarot Cards for some entertainment.
The twins interrupted him again; one of them brought two pieces of bamboo and said, "Big Brother, this is from Little Aunt."
Cui Ming came down, thanked them, and took away the bamboo. It was Bamboo Rice, two sections of bamboo filled with rice, topped with processed wild boar meat, some vegetables, and a sauce that made it look and smell delicious. Cui Ming didn't like this kind of exchange because it would soon be cooked, and he had no intention of getting close to anyone. Undeniably, many here were kind-hearted people suffering from misfortune, and as a cultivator, he could potentially become their savior. But right now, he was just a clay Buddha crossing a river; he needed to take care of himself first. The more he interacted with others, the more likely he would be swayed by subjective emotions that could cloud his judgment. Normally, Cui Ming wouldn't mind, but on Shadow Island, he didn't want to complicate matters.
On the third day, Cui Ming left the cave. He moved within the allowed range and went to the sea to bask in the sun. He brought fishing line and hooks, finding a small piece of bamboo from the mountain to play with in the water. Although the hooks were small and the fish were big, if they couldn't be caught easily, Cui Ming could always dive in to catch them. Fishing was purely for fun; if the fish didn't follow the rules, neither would he.
For three days, he felt as though someone was always watching him, which made him uneasy. Logically speaking, although the Lich was old, his experience was shallow; two days of surveillance should have been enough. Then Cui Ming realized that not being interested in women was a big mistake. The doctor was attractive and had a pair of twin sisters living nearby. Instead of getting close to them, he had even shown signs of rejection. It seemed that the Lich wasn't naive either; there was a reason for placing him at West Beach.
Before arriving at Shadow Island, the Warden had introduced him to the island's inhabitants. He wasn't familiar with the doctor and had barely exchanged a few words with her. He knew even less about the twins and hadn't been given any details about them. At his age, the Warden could overlook young and beautiful women; but for Cui Ming at his age, that wasn't quite right.
So Cui Ming did something...
Around eight o'clock in the evening, he sneaked a peek at someone taking a shower... He wondered if practicing his eyesight would make him like President? Cui Ming even perversely stole the female doctor's underwear and hugged it while sleeping through the night. As expected, on the fourth day, the feeling of being watched disappeared; although it lingered somewhat, there were now intervals—about two or three hours of observation before it resumed.
Cui Ming was surprised by his perceptiveness but connected it to his Fate Card and felt reassured. Although he didn't know how it related to the Fate Card, there must be some connection since this feeling wasn't just intuition but came from deep within him. Of course, trouble also found him; on the fourth day at noon when he returned from fishing, he saw the female doctor in his cave holding his underwear with disdain.
Cui Ming glanced around and suddenly lunged forward, covering her mouth with one hand while tearing at her clothes with the other. The doctor had no idea Cui Ming would be so bold and offered no resistance; in just ten seconds or so, her top was in tatters. Just then, a voice came from behind—the Lich's voice—tinged with irritation: "Cui Ming, stop! Dr. Lin Bing is a guest on Shadow Island."
Cui Ming turned to see the Lich standing at the cave entrance with his back to him. Reluctantly, he let go and stood up again; the female doctor clutched her clothes and ran away crying, stumbling several times along the way.
The Lich said: "If you want women, next time I'll have Warden bring two back for you. Don't force Lin Bing; she's not only a guest but will also become a permanent resident of Shadow Island. I don't want her unhappy—she has a fiery temper and might even commit suicide if she feels sullied by you."
"Understood," Cui Ming replied quietly.
The Lich transformed into a thin shadow and vanished onto the beach.
Damn it! When did this become a lesson? He felt bored. However, this hurdle seemed to have passed; over the next few days, surveillance decreased significantly—sometimes only lasting a few minutes each day. But Cui Ming knew he couldn't leave Shadow Island; surveillance and sensing were different things. If he left Shadow Island or destroyed Force, Lich would sense something was off immediately.
Cui Ming proved this point with facts. On the seventh day at Shadow Island, Cui Ming eliminated the Force while bathing in the sea. Sure enough, within three seconds, he felt someone watching him. He continued to soak, pondering why the Lich could instantly locate his position.
Shadow Island was teeming with life, including many large creatures, even tigers roaming about. In his eliminated state, he was no different from these large beings. Why could the Lich pinpoint his location? There was only one explanation: the Lich tracked him from the last known position of his Force. Conversely, if he eliminated the Force, theoretically, the Lich would be unable to sense his existence.
Teleporting away and hiding after eliminating the Force wouldn’t work; there was still a time lag. After eliminating the Force, he couldn’t teleport. Although the Fate Card and Card Play required very little Force, without any Force, they couldn’t be activated. Unless he used a misleading tactic—like teleporting into the mountains, eliminating the Force, jumping off a cliff, and landing in the sea. The Lich and Zhir were different; it took several seconds for the Lich to arrive. If he could evade detection for those few seconds, he might escape.
However… it was fraught with difficulties. The location had to be chosen carefully; without Force, how could he possibly navigate out of the Lich's territory? Did he really want to live as a nameless wild man on Shadow Island for the rest of his life? It seemed impossible! How did Mages deal with Zhir? How did they escape from Zhir's domain? First was speed; second was deception. He could set up traps, but he lacked speed—except for teleporting with the Fate Card, his legs were quite short.
Suddenly, he spotted a shark nearby. Cui Ming quickly regained his Force as a shark swam past just two meters away from him, startling him into urgency. This was real danger; fortunately, the shark had no intention of attacking him. Otherwise, while he might not die from an encounter, losing a limb or two was certainly a possibility.
Then it struck him—there were boats on Shadow Island! Boats didn’t require Force and thus wouldn’t be sensed by the Lich. There might still be a way out; although it was extremely risky, if things went south, he still had a chance to fight back. Of course, first he needed to learn how to operate a boat… Cui Ming regretted not learning a few tricks from Miss Fortune and had been too lazy. Thinking of Miss Fortune inevitably led him to recall that night. When people were bored, their minds wandered; from Miss Fortune to the female doctor—what a downfall!
As Cui Ming’s thoughts drifted aimlessly, he heard commotion near the shore several dozen meters away. Standing on the water’s surface and looking over, he saw a pair of twins struggling in the water while another twin knelt on a makeshift bamboo raft. Saving someone? He decided to help as long as it didn’t endanger himself—that was his bottom line.
He moved closer and used his Force to scare off the shark first. Then he pulled Little Shuang out of the water and placed her onto the bamboo raft before dragging it toward shore. “What are you two doing?”
Big Twin and Little Shuang hugged each other and cried for a while before Big Twin said, “We wanted to catch fish.”
“I can teach you how to fish.” Of course, this didn’t mean Cui Ming would go into the sea to fish; catching some shallow-water fish would suffice with just hooks and lines.
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