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墨書 Inktalez
The crow is part of the Fire Cult? It's unclear; there are too few clues. Currently, it is known that the crow likely kidnapped Master Bei, and it resides in the Starfire Desert region. Cui Ming's plan is entirely based on the assumption that the crow is affiliated with the Fire Cult. Otherwise, if they capture a leader for exchange, but the Fire Cult has no Master Bei on hand, it would all be in vain. Because of this, Cui Ming needs help—lots of high-level assistance.
Now, only one person remains, and they are the most difficult to find: Zhir.
Despite living in the desert for nearly three years, Cui Ming still hasn't adapted to traveling alone in the silent expanse of sand. He understands now why the wind can lead one to daydream. It’s too monotonous and lonely, even a bit frightening.
Cui Ming carried food and water into the desert, and after several days, he reached Bean Sprout Spring. The spring had noticeably expanded, with new saplings thriving. The green area had increased, and the rectangular waterway had been widened and deepened; schools of fish now swam within it. Once the oasis expands another time, it could directly connect with the underground lake beneath Bean Sprout Spring, becoming a true oasis.
Another six days passed before Cui Ming arrived at Moon Lake, an oasis suitable for permanent residence and abundant in food and water sources. It was almost indistinguishable from six months ago—still quietly nestled in the desert. Cui Ming rested at Moon Lake, caught some fish to cure for food supplies, and then set off for Zhir's home—Pearl Lake.
Pearl Lake was quite lively—wind, wood, Zhir, and a beautiful girl who was petite and delicate, wearing a cowboy hat with twin guns at her waist. Cui Ming had seen this girl once at Hunter Headquarters; her gaze was aggressive as she interacted with Magic Doll Anna. When Cui Ming and his companions looked over, she turned her head, hands on her hips, tilting it slightly without speaking. But her unspoken words were clear: "What are you looking at?" Indeed, it was unmistakably a challenge.
Now she stood with one foot on a dune. Tilting her head lightly with hands on her hips around her guns, she fixed her gaze on the approaching Cui Ming. At that moment, he thought of a phrase: "This mountain is mine..."
The woman had an interesting name— Miss Fortune. She preferred to be called that despite being only twenty-three years old. Miss Fortune had quite a story; she was born in a fishing village on the Western Continent. Due to a prophecy by a shaman, she was deemed a disaster star—a harbinger of misfortune. After her grandparents died in accidents shortly after her birth, her father disregarded her mother’s objections and abandoned two-year-old Miss Fortune on an uninhabited rainforest island.
The monkeys on the deserted island did not attack her but took her in; the first to discover her was Bufon, who found six-year-old Miss Fortune among the monkeys. Later, Bufon learned about Miss Fortune's background in the fishing village. Her father had abandoned her while her mother returned to her family in West Lake City and divorced him. Her father remarried and refused to approach Miss Fortune or take her in.
Bufon brought Miss Fortune to Dawn Empire. He found Miss Fortune's mother's new family there; using some simple language she had just learned, Miss Fortune asked Bufon not to disturb her mother. Ultimately, Bufon took her away from the Western Continent to Ye Family's orphanage run by a charitable foundation.
At eleven years old, Miss Fortune became the queen bee of the orphanage—a big sister figure who led several orphans into bars at night to drink until they were drunk. Thanks to Bufon's influence, Miss Fortune was not expelled; instead, she became a server at that bar. Ye Family used this method to teach her responsibility for her actions. Unexpectedly, Miss Fortune enjoyed working at the bar and quickly became a bartender herself. When Bufon passed through Twilight City and thought of Miss Fortune, he went to check on her at the bar only to find twelve-year-old Miss Fortune —standing just five feet tall—taking down two burly men outside.
At that moment, everyone inside called her Miss Fortune.
Bufon realized that Miss Fortune might be wild because she exhibited basic Force abilities. He restrained her for four days during which he observed signs of madness developing in her. At this point, he should have sent Miss Fortune to prison; however, out of pity for her background, he sought help from old friends Wandering and a professor. Eventually, Wandering used a magic circle that inflicted great pain on those trapped within it—especially ordinary people—who would die from torment within three days if they were wildlings; it was an extremely inhumane method but currently the only way to deal with mild wildness.
Over several decades, this magic circle had been used five times; Wandering presided over three of those instances—all five subjects failed to last even twelve hours before dying; one begged for death after just two hours of suffering.
Miss Fortune passed this test and gained a new life; although the process was incredibly difficult, thanks to her strong survival instinct developed during those two years alone on an uninhabited island, she became a practitioner and eventually an adept disciple. At sixteen years old she passed assessments to become a member of the alliance and at eighteen became the youngest Alliance Hunter ever recorded. It was she who twice stormed Pirate City alongside different hunter companions and forced Lank into retreat.
"Kid, what are you doing?" Miss Fortune asked.
Cui Ming sighed, "You know me well enough. The airship had an accident and landed here, where I discovered a beautiful woman, as stunning as a celestial being, and thus I couldn't help but come."
"Sounds reasonable enough. Go ahead."
Cui Ming noticed that Miss Fortune had a carpet and some food beside her and asked, "It seems you haven't gone inside?"
"..." Miss Fortune didn't want to discuss the topic. The creature named Zhir inside was somewhat annoyed with her because she had shot the fish in Pearl Lake. Come on, let's be reasonable; is there really a difference between catching and shooting? All she did was turn the water in Pearl Lake red. Was it really necessary to make such a fuss over it?
Well, those weren't the key points. The key point was that she couldn't defeat him. A wall of sand had appeared out of nowhere and sent her flying out of the oasis. Tragically, she only had this little food, lost in the desert, and would have to wait for the wind to guide her. Despite her misfortune, she needed to maintain her composure, acting as if nothing were wrong.
Cui Ming observed her; although he didn't know what Miss Fortune had done, being expelled by Zhir meant she was somewhat capable. He rummaged through his bag and tossed a bottle of wine to Miss Fortune before shouldering his pack and entering the oasis.
Wood sat on the grass while Zhir stared blankly at Pearl Lake. The wind was standing upside down by the lake and looked very pleased to see Cui Ming: "You have a conscience; I like that."
Cui Ming casually bumped fists with the wind: "What's going on? Haven't resolved things with Wood yet?"
The wind took the bag and began rummaging through it while saying, "Everything's normal. Zhir has no objections to multiple companions. I'm instructing Wood to help me cultivate Bean Sprout Spring; he's digesting knowledge about plants and water."
Zhir turned to look at Cui Ming and nodded lightly as a greeting. Cui Ming responded and sat down beside Wood: "Come on, Wood, I have some Go and chess here... let me teach you." Teaching Wood how to play chess was flattering Zhir since he still had an interest in games. It was hard to say how smart Wood was; it was purely for fun. Once he learned how to play, he could have a match with Zhir whenever they wanted.
The wind noticed Wood curiously watching Cui Ming set up the pieces and muttered, "Damn it, how did your partner end up with such a foolish woman? What’s with this Miss Fortune? She came into the oasis for just half an hour and killed over forty fish in one go, making Zhir furious."
It was understandable; Zhir would tolerate some things as long as they weren't excessive, but when it became endless, he didn't want to explain himself anymore and simply kicked Miss Fortune out. Given Miss Fortune's personality, she would definitely demand an explanation with her gun drawn, and after a few encounters like that, she'd obediently stay outside. It was rather reckless to engage Zhir here.
Cui Ming let the wind teach Wood while he took out a bottle of wine from his pack and walked over to sit beside Zhir, offering the wine: "Try this; does it suit your taste?"
"Eh?" Zhir did not take the wine.
"In the records of Dawn City, when the envoy visited Dawn City, he brought with him the local specialty, Tequila. This Tequila is brewed from the agave of Dawn Desert by the distillery in Dawn City." Commercial trade made it available in many City-States.
Zhir took a sip of the drink and lightly shook his head. "Poor quality. Speak your mind."
"Ah?"
"Go on."
Cui Ming nodded. He had been preparing his words all along the way. "Zhir, first of all, whether you consider me a friend or not, I regard you as one. You are my savior; you may not care, but I do. I have a bottom line: I won't betray my friends. I don't know the specifics of the situation, nor do I know if my requests are unreasonable."
Zhir remained silent, simply listening to Cui Ming. Cui Ming began by introducing the origin of the matter, then explained his plan, and finally clarified Zhir's role in it. Cui Ming genuinely did not want to put Zhir in a difficult position. "I am unclear about the seal and also unaware of the prophet's influence on it. From my perspective, I hope that once the Mage establishes a connection with the prophet, the prophet will continuously assist the Mage in breaking the seal, but this plan might inadvertently lead to the prophet's demise."
Zhir's expression was calm as he replied, "The seal cannot forever confine the Mage. Over time, the energy of the seal gradually weakens while the Mage's power remains unchanged. My responsibility in the desert is to eliminate the Mage; he is not my opponent—he knows it, and I know it. It can even be said that he already has the ability to break free from the seal, yet he chooses to endure."
"And what does he want?" Cui Ming asked.
"He needs someone to set up a magic circle that leads to the Void. Once freed from the seal, he can use this magic circle to escape my pursuit. He can move freely in the Void and appear anywhere within Eternal Sphere. When his power reaches a certain level, he will be able to break free from constraints and wander through the universe, becoming a divine being." Zhir explained, "This magic circle is one that the Mage created himself and requires many components. Most importantly, it needs sacrifices—Void Creatures—as offerings. There are three steps: First, the main caster must tame a Void Creature and make it willingly become their slave. Second, the main caster must possess the ability to wield Void Power and set up a magic circle according to specific requirements. Third, they must place the sacrifice into the magic circle; with its death, a Void Passage will open."
Cui Ming pondered for a moment. "Based on my judgment, it's possible that the Mage spoke with the prophet about taking him into the Void to aid in his cultivation."
Zhir replied, "Spirits cannot cultivate or become divine beings. The Mage must seize the body of someone who possesses Void Power." (To be continued.)
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