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墨書 Inktalez
Cui Ming believed there was a seventy percent chance that South Reef was the magic circle set up by the Lich. He only glanced at it for a moment before descending, avoiding detection by the Lich while observing the magic circle from afar. If it was indeed at South Reef, it would be good news for Cui Ming.
The Lich's domain encompassed all the hidden islands and land, extending thirty kilometers into the ocean. If he could teleport south from South Reef, Cui Ming could throw out a leopard and directly escape the Lich's territory. Of course, that depended on throwing the leopard. Sigh… if only he could control the dice, he wouldn’t need South Reef; he could just roll a six and potentially escape the Lich's domain right from the center of Shadow Island.
But then again, how could he control the dice? Cui Ming was no gambler; he despised gambling tools that couldn’t be manipulated or cheated. He had successfully modified Card Play, and now he wanted to delve into dice modification. However, he knew the prospects were grim. Although he had managed to alter Card Play, it was nearly impossible to draw divine cards. Dice could certainly be modified, but like Card Play, they might yield high numbers but never roll a leopard. With double his strength, Cui Ming would be formidable in the Three Continents, but against the Lich, it would mean nothing.
As polar night approached, darkness began to envelop the sky by five o'clock in the evening. Cui Ming found an open space in ten minutes, and soon after, it was completely dark. He set up his tent and then went three hundred meters away to bring the doctor back to camp. There was no water at this campsite, so taking a shower was out of the question. Even if the female doctor undressed completely, she wouldn’t entice Cui Ming; after all, he had been crawling through the mountains and forests all day in humid heat and felt quite dirty. This was where Cui Ming’s lack of compassion showed—when the female doctor slipped and instinctively grabbed a vine, her body slid down into the mud for several meters due to thorns everywhere. By day's end, she had numerous bleeding spots on her body. Cui Ming could have easily prevented all this but chose to watch instead.
When the female doctor arrived at camp, she first took some antibiotics; wounds were prone to infection in humid weather, and antibiotics were scarce—most were stored in the Lich's main house. She began cleaning her wounds, primarily removing thorns; forest thorns were small and sharp—not very painful—but they made her acutely aware of foreign objects in her body.
Bamboo rice had been finished yesterday; today’s meal consisted of a wild chicken. Cui Ming stripped off the meat to grill on skewers and boiled the meaty bones for soup with some seasoning—it tasted incredibly delicious. At that moment, he recalled Beiyue’s words about being closer to women while being more like a man herself. This statement wasn’t derogatory but rather self-deprecating. It also explained why Cui Ming told Mi Xiaonan that Beiyue would make a good wife—because Beiyue recognized her own flaws. Cui Ming disliked people who treated their shortcomings as personality traits.
The female doctor had nothing to say to Cui Ming; after last night and this morning, she felt her powerlessness keenly. It was her first time seeing a dragon and witnessing the Lich in action. At that moment, she deeply understood that in the eyes of the Lich, she was like an ant; her rudeness towards him stemmed only from her perceived value as a tool. The Lich and practitioners like Cui Ming never truly regarded her as significant.
Realizing this made the female doctor much more obedient; Cui Ming sensed this change. He suspected that the Lich intended to dominate her now, and she might not have the courage to resist even unto death—though for her, it would all lead to death anyway. Absolute power brings absolute pressure and fear. Much like in totalitarian states where many would rather suffer unjust deaths than resist with their lives because they viewed themselves as ants and their oppressors as gods—losing any courage to fight back.
Cui Ming climbed a tree and lay down, glancing at the bamboo basket beside the doctor by the fire. Today there seemed to be something wrong with her; although Cui Ming wasn’t an expert, he noticed she had collected some non-medical items—like pine resin for nighttime illumination. He suddenly thought of Little Twin; they had crafted bamboo rafts…
Cui Ming realized that although her bamboo raft-making skills weren’t professional, they weren’t amateur either. The doctor and twins lacked the ability to construct bamboo rafts; thus it could be inferred that she was quietly learning how to make sturdy bamboo rafts in preparation for escaping Shadow Island. Escaping Shadow Island wasn’t simple—it was close to the Arctic with very low water and air temperatures; first, she needed to address warmth issues while preventing water from entering her raft. The female doctor should be building not just a raft but rather a boat. By collecting pine resin and other combustible materials, was she planning to use polar night as cover for her escape?
Cui Ming suddenly became curious about what items the female doctor had on hand—did she have any boat propulsion devices? It was possible since there were several boats on Shadow Island; if any were decommissioned or damaged, perhaps she could acquire a propulsion device from them. Cui Ming figured that she likely started contemplating escape only after obtaining such equipment—it seemed more logical that way.
Shadow Island also has batteries, and the Lich's residence is equipped with electric lights. Flower Aunt and the Warden go to the Western Continent periodically to replenish supplies and charge up.
I don't know; it's possible that the female doctor, in a moment of impulse, built a bamboo raft to escape from Shadow Island. Regardless, Cui Ming has developed a bit of fondness for her; at least she knows how to fight against her fate.
...
On the third day of their ascent, the doctor was still busy. Cui Ming couldn't help but remind her, "We agreed to stay for two nights, with the goal being the volcano. Why are we just wandering around down here?" This place was nowhere near as comfortable as their own home. Moreover, the Warden had returned, indicating that serious matters were about to begin.
The female doctor replied, "Just one more day at most."
"Haven't you already gathered plenty of herbs?"
"Seventy percent of the world's medicines come from tropical rainforests. The medicinal plants here are abundant, and I want to gather as much as I can. I won't have another chance to come here."
Cui Ming was puzzled. "Don't fool me; I remember that Western medicine is all chemically synthesized." The earliest non-herbal medicines appeared in the Dawn Empire and were referred to as Western medicine because they originated in the West.
"That's not entirely accurate. Western medicine can be divided into three categories: organic chemical drugs, inorganic chemical drugs, and biological products. A significant portion of medications are organic chemical drugs derived from organic materials through chemical synthesis. For instance, Penicillin..."
Cui Ming took the opportunity to learn something new. There is a significant difference between Western medicine and herbal medicine. Western medicine is highly effective; after clinical research, their drugs are very targeted. For example, for stomach pain, herbal remedies may provide gradual relief, possibly due to one's own recovery. In contrast, Western medicine can quickly alleviate pain but may come with side effects. Many people mistakenly believe that herbal remedies are harmless and have no side effects; some even use them for beauty and wellness, which is a grave misunderstanding. On one hand, some herbs are inherently toxic and are used for healing through their toxicity; on the other hand, all medicines have some degree of toxicity.
One perspective suggests that the side effects of Western medicine stem from rapid reactions, while herbal remedies seem to lack side effects because they accumulate long-term toxicity that harms internal organs. Long-term use of herbal remedies can be more damaging than short-term treatment with Western medicine. As for whether this view is right or wrong, who knows? Even if one knows, they might not say it; after all, they believe in their own recovery.
"All medicines have some toxicity," Cui Ming acknowledged thoughtfully. "I remember seeing movies where characters grew up immersed in potions and developed steel-like bodies."
"Unless it's some chronic illness requiring medication, if a child comes into contact with detoxifying herbs, it might improve their health in some aspects, but their immune system will be very weak, and overall health will suffer. If the liver isn't functioning well and can't effectively detoxify, it could lead to death."
Cui Ming understood. "I see. It seems children should take as few medications as possible; otherwise, their bodies won't be able to handle it."
The female doctor paused, deep in thought, and then spoke to Cui Ming, though her mind seemed elsewhere. By three in the afternoon, she suggested they head down the mountain. Cui Ming looked at the sky and told her that it would be dark in two hours, and they wouldn't make it in time. So they decided to stay another night. That evening, Cui Ming was more talkative than usual, sharing stories about a friend of his—a con artist who possessed many skills, including reading people's expressions.
The female doctor listened for most of the night, speaking little and occasionally asking questions. Cui Ming pointed out that to deceive others, one must first deceive oneself. If one believes their own lies are the truth, then what they say won't be easily recognized as deception. This requires practice; one can even practice in front of a mirror.
"Alright, the water is boiling; you can see how to cook it yourself," he said, subtly advising her not to trust even those closest to her. He used his friend's story about being a con artist to illustrate that sometimes deceivers and bad people hide among those we consider absolutely trustworthy. When deciding whether someone can be trusted, it's best to consider from the perspective of self-interest.
A practitioner shouldn't let their guard down; if Lich were to consume something questionable, it could potentially harm him severely. Killing him? That felt unreliable. In tonight's story, Cui Ming also gained insights. He thought about his dice—if one wants to deceive others, they must first deceive themselves. But who does one deceive first when trying to trick the dice? Can he manipulate the dice himself? Like controlling one's actions in a lucid dream?
He pondered over it: leopard, leopard... No good. Try again.
Cui Ming played all night and then began to tally results. As a card master in long poker games, calculating probabilities is crucial. By morning, he concluded that deceiving oneself is indeed effective; the probability of rolling low on the dice is only 35%, while rolling high is 60%, with a 5% chance of rolling a triple. However, there was a problem: improving this performance was difficult because it wasn't related to training but rather mindset. He couldn't enhance his ability to continue deceiving himself.
"Hey, you're an idiot," he thought. "But I'm clever." Yet he was just one person—how could he split himself? The idiot said: "He's deceiving me." The clever one replied: "He knows I'm deceiving him." It was impossible to play this game. He decided to take it slow.
However, he had a card called Switching Heaven and Earth—a conspiracy card that could hide small objects within a twenty-meter radius for a certain period or even swap one object for another. For instance, if he had a beer at a bar and used Switching Heaven and Earth on it, he could instantly exchange his beer with another drink nearby. The advantage was that it was easy to pull off; the downside was that it could only swap inanimate objects—like a knife carried by the wind couldn't be swapped because of its connection with the force of the wind. Switching Heaven and Earth was essentially a joke card.
If he had a six-sided die and exchanged it with the die in his mind... could that work? Or could he subconsciously create a six-sided die first? (To be continued.)
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