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墨書 Inktalez
Cui Ming felt a bit worried beside them, as he was hoping that the female doctor would poison Baor or Lich, which is why he recommended her to become a teacher. Now, it seemed uncertain who would meet their end first. Baor was a very stubborn person; once he wanted something, he would cry and make a scene if he didn't get it.
As expected, once Baor got hold of the blowgun, he wouldn't let it go. Yun'er didn’t stop him; instead, she quietly helped him load the darts. The blowgun shot towards Big Twin again, but Cui Ming, who was prepared, knocked the dart down with a Poker card. He sighed inwardly. Warden, Lich, and Yun'er could have easily intercepted the dart, yet they didn’t. Why was that?
When the dart was knocked down by the Poker card, Baor became furious and cried incessantly. He aimed the blowgun at Cui Ming and, seeing that Cui Ming was unharmed, he even tried to hit Cui Ming on the head with it. It wasn’t high enough; under everyone’s gaze, Cui Ming had no choice but to lower his head and give Baor a few taps. Only then did Baor stop crying and start to smile again. Well, it seemed they had spoiled him. Perhaps in their eyes, making Baor happy by eliminating Big Twin was worth it.
This was a good thing; when it came time to eliminate Baor, there would be countless obstacles in his way. Cui Ming didn’t like hypocrisy, but sometimes he needed it to convince himself. After all, taking action against such a small child was a psychological challenge.
Once they confirmed what Baor desired, they needed to take it away from him. All ranged weapons were put away, and Yun'er began to play with the blowgun but made sure that Baor couldn’t get his hands on it or use it.
Cui Ming didn’t like this kind of training that involved manipulation and coercion; however, this was Lich's area of expertise. Lich had learned divination through similar methods of inducement and coercion and had since entered the world of practitioners. In this regard, Lich had more authority than Cui Ming.
This part was left to Cui Ming while Lich had his own matters to attend to. The next steps would be gradual. Baor, Yun'er, and Cui Ming temporarily stayed on the beach, but the polar night disrupted their training plans.
The polar night was a difficult time for ordinary people; depending on geographical location, its duration varied. Shadow Island experienced a month of polar night before transitioning into prolonged daylight during the polar day.
Ordinary people could hardly go outside. Cui Ming realized he had overthought things; the female doctor collected pine resin not to leave Shadow Island during the polar night but for lighting purposes. Although there were kerosene lamps and other lighting tools in their residence, the female doctor still needed to go out to places like the Concubine Tribe, making torches made from pine resin extremely important.
A few days before the polar night began, when Baor saw the blowgun, he cried loudly for quite some time. Unable to bear it any longer, Cui Ming advised him gently: “Uncle He, wouldn’t it be better to strengthen your resolve?”
Lich replied seriously: “No way! One must endure hardship to rise above others. Cui Ming, you don’t need to follow me for now; see if Dr. Lin Bing needs assistance.”
“Understood.” Following Lich's suggestion, Cui Ming left the main house. The main house was quite nice; it had electric lights and various modern appliances. Warden wasn’t around; during this month each year, Warden could borrow the Soul Stealing Scroll to attack large creatures near the Arctic and collect their soul energy to enhance himself—this was one of the fundamental reasons Warden could continue serving Lich.
Cui Ming was experiencing the polar night for the first time. If it weren't for his watch, he could easily lose track of time. Fortunately, Cui Ming had a larger area to move around in than most people, and the night did not hinder him much; he fished when it was time to fish and hunted when it was time to hunt. He did not relay Lich's message about helping the female doctor, but he still gifted the three of them some game.
Little Shuang's desire for closeness had intensified. Cui Ming was certain that Little Shuang had many thoughts on her mind; she wasn't particularly scheming, but rather just trying hard. She yearned to be close to Cui Ming to achieve a sense of bonding. Unfortunately, Cui Ming was no fledgling and would not accept such favors. He preferred Big Twin, who was cheerful and optimistic. In conversations with Little Shuang, one would hear countless exaggerated tales of melancholy—stories about leaves on trees, mice in holes, and so forth. Big Twin, on the other hand, had almost no memories; she did not look to the future but lived only in the present moment, filled with excitement and joy when traps caught prey, which was completely different from Little Shuang's tender protectiveness over their catch.
Big Twin was quite strong-willed; she did not like taking food from Cui Ming but hoped that he could teach her how to hunt. Cui Ming knew little about hunting but was quite skilled at fishing. So often, the two of them would take a bamboo raft out into the bay to fish.
Finally, the polar night came to an end. On the last day of the polar night, a concubine and an eliminated concubine committed suicide. They were a mother and daughter pair who had been captured when the daughter was only six or seven years old. They were not sick nor in any physical pain; they were simply overwhelmed by despair as the darkness of the polar night deepened their hopelessness.
On the first day after the polar night ended, at eleven in the morning, the Concubine Tribe, along with the female doctor and the twins, held a funeral for them. A simple bamboo raft was prepared; their bodies were placed together and doused with kerosene before being set alight and pushed out to sea with the tide.
Three days later, Warden returned with two female reporters he had captured. These reporters had followed the Dawn Empire's Research Vessel out to sea; there weren't just two young women on board—the Warden could only bring back two people. Both reporters were interns and quite young; compared to others, they were fortunate because everyone else had perished.
Cui Ming thought of Little Lu; Little Lu's wife was a member of the research team. Unlike others, she was a practitioner, though just an ordinary one—not a match for Warden at all. Warden and Lich had been here for many years; they knew well when Arctic expeditions were worthwhile and which waters would encounter Research Vessels. The two female reporters were like sacrifices; if any ships sank near Shadow Island in the following year, similar incidents would not occur again.
Cui Ming pondered something: how come no one from the vast practitioner families within Dawn Empire had thought of eliminating Lich over hundreds of years? Was it because Lich was too powerful? Cui Ming didn't think so; even having only lived here for a month or two, he believed he could make Lich's life difficult.
...
This time Warden seemed to have captured the wrong people—though they were young and beautiful, they were not from Dawn Empire but reporters from Twilight City who had accompanied Dawn Empire's joint Research Vessel to the Arctic. During the month immediately following the end of polar night, most large animals remained dormant or resting—a relatively safe period.
The claim that Warden had captured the wrong people became evident five days later when someone came looking for them. This person was reportedly named Yellen and had released carrier pigeons from forty seas away to send messages to Shadow Island. At that moment, Cui Ming was sitting in the main house having dinner; today marked Baor's six-week birthday. Baor was progressing rapidly and already showed signs of having a Transformational System; soon he would need to control his discovery and use of Force while waiting until he grew older to begin Six Elements cultivation.
Cui Ming sat while Warden stood; after reading the letter, he said, "The Ye Family wants us to return their people."
"The Ye Family?" Lich asked. "They're still around?"
"Warden," he said softly, "the Ye Family is very firm. They issued an ultimatum, stating that if we do not send the people out to sea, they will consider launching an attack."
The Lich laughed. "Attack Shadow Island? That's simply ridiculous."
"Master, I don't know what gives them the right to say such things, but the Ye Family is very composed in their actions and thoughts; they wouldn't send this letter without reason."
"Read it out loud," the Lich replied, his tone still somewhat impatient.
Warden read the letter, which was relatively polite. It stated that two female reporters had accidentally trespassed onto Shadow Island and requested that the Lich return them. However, there was an underlying threat: since the Lich resides on Shadow Island, why should he make enemies of the Three Continents over two weak women? If the individuals were not returned within 48 hours, Twilight City reserved the right to launch an attack on Shadow Island.
The Lich's anger turned to mockery. "Very well, very well. Shadow Island has existed for thousands of years, and now we must watch others' faces for approval. Excellent, Warden."
"Yes?"
"Return them to them."
"Understood."
Warden left, while Cui Ming couldn't help but wonder why the Lich would yield. The answer was clear: Warden would deliver two corpses to the Ye Family. Cui Ming thought this was unwise. On the other hand, the Ye Family was being unreasonable; if they wanted the reporters back, why not compromise a little? They had been polite enough, but their firmness exceeded their courtesy. If these two reporters were so important, why not let Wandering handle it? At least the Lich would give Wandering some face.
The two female reporters were still detained near the bamboo hut. The female doctor and Flower Aunt were working on both psychological persuasion and physical examinations. After Warden stepped out for a moment, Cui Ming heard the doctor's screams—piercing cries followed by sobbing.
The Lich said, "Cui Ming, tell them to be quiet."
"Yes." Cui Ming stepped outside and walked a few meters to the bamboo hut, where he saw two pools of blood. He helped the kneeling and crying doctor up and said, "Stop crying; you should go back now."
Cui Ming helped the female doctor out of the house, watching her walk in a daze toward the beach before turning back to the main house. Baor was already playing in the side room, and Lich nodded as Cui Ming took a seat. Lich looked at Yun'er and asked, "Yun'er, have you been undergoing Force training for the past ten days or so?"
Yun'er replied, "It was Cui Ming's request."
Lich glanced at Cui Ming, who looked somewhat puzzled. "What's wrong?"
Lich asked sternly, "Why did you ask Yun'er to undergo Force training?"
"It's not training; it's usage," Cui Ming explained. "Baor is quite sensitive to blood. He doesn't like targets that are lifeless; he prefers living creatures. I took advantage of this by having Yun'er take him hunting, allowing him to experience the sensory stimulation of a prey's death. Uncle He, is there anything wrong with that?"
Lich nodded in understanding. It made sense why Baor had quickly grasped the threshold of the Transformational System. This meant that Lich would need to step up his own pace. He asked, "Why don't you replace Yun'er?"
Cui Ming responded, "Baor admires Yun'er; everything she does captivates him. Baor is also very good at mimicking Yuner's actions and habits. So, Yun'er has the greatest influence on Baor, and the results are best with her."
Lich nodded again, pondering for a moment before asking, "Is Baor's comprehension strong?"
This was about to lead to the Six Elements. Hah, forcing you into it; if you don't step up now, Yun'er's strength will surpass yours, rendering your magic circle useless. Well... actually, it could be a way to sow discord. If Lich didn't trust Yun'er, then the activation time for the Magic Circle would need to be pushed forward again. After much consideration, Cui Ming said, "Uncle He, to be honest, Baor is an exceptional talent in terms of both his Archer aptitude and intelligence. I can't say he's one in a hundred years, but he certainly qualifies as a prodigy."
"And then?" Lich asked.
Cui Ming continued, "But Yun'er has had the most contact with Baor; she is essentially his mentor. The problem is..." Cui Ming's expression turned troubled. (To be continued.)
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