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Ye Wen denied, "I'm not that petty. I'm just asking Ye Shi for her opinion. This girl has no stance and says to let Yellen and me decide. Yellen thinks Cao Yi is not bad, but compared to Ding Ze, he's even more of a jerk. However, Ye Shi can't make up her mind; as a girl, she can't just ask Ding Ze if he wants to marry her. I was thinking about whether to contact Cui Ming to subtly explain the situation and see if there are still feelings between Ding Ze and Ye Shi. If not, then naturally, the choice would be Cao Yi."
Ye Xin said, "Cui Ming hasn't been in touch for the past two months; it's said that he has gone into seclusion. Beiyue went to Zuan, and Li Qing is at the Ye Family, helping to guard Leopard Woman. Mi Xiaonan returned to Sakura Island to break through a bottleneck. Currently, only Feng and Ding Ze are in Dawn City."
After pondering for a moment, Ye Wen approached a female officer, who immediately stood at attention and saluted. He asked, "How long will it take?"
"At least half a month, General. We must calculate every detail precisely; if we don't sink Shadow Island, we will become a laughingstock."
"Understood." Ye Wen nodded and turned back to Ye Xin, saying, "I will make a trip to Dawn City."
Ye Xin nodded and asked, "Fourth Brother, the matter of Leopard Woman has been dragging on for too long. How should we handle it?"
"Killing her is not an option now. After we return, don't think about prying information from her; let's send her to the Savage Prison in Twilight City."
Ye Xin agreed and then asked, "Fourth Brother, won't you dislike someone as upright as Li Qing?"
"Haha, Ye Xin, if everyone in the world were like Cui Ming, we wouldn't have even one soldier willing to fight for us. On the contrary, I really appreciate upright and just people." With a sigh, Ye Wen continued, "What concerns me most right now is the exposure of Black Technology. After its revelation, all parties have surprisingly remained calm without any ripples. This worries me; the Fire Cult might shift their focus on it, and the Dawn Empire could strike first to seize it."
Ye Xin smiled and replied, "Fourth Brother is overthinking it. The Dawn Empire would also worry about us seizing the Black Technology. We hope they can be our vanguard in this matter. The Dawn Empire might not mind us leading the charge either. It's actually a good thing; with the research level of the Fire Cult, they can only reach a stage equivalent to a Half-Beast every five years with the Black Technology. By the way, Fourth Brother, have you considered your own matters? Mei'er is currently very well-regarded in the Three Continents, and the old patriarch has tacitly approved of this marriage."
"Let's talk about that after the situation with Ye Shi is resolved."
...
On the fourth day, Baor regained consciousness. This indicated that his condensation had ended and that he had broken through the threshold from being a potential practitioner to officially becoming one. Perhaps Baor was the youngest practitioner in history. The next steps would be gradual progress. Once condensation was complete, refining would not be an issue; extinguishing and practicing would also pose fewer problems. The biggest challenge remained comprehension. Unlike condensation, comprehension demanded higher levels of logical analysis and thought processes. Even with magic circles and various aids, Baor's age and mental development could not be rapidly accelerated. No one knew how much time it would take for him to overcome this hurdle of comprehension.
During this time, Cui Ming found himself with more leisure. The days grew longer, and he often went fishing with Big Twin. The female doctor no longer stopped them from being alone together. Ever since the two female reporters were killed, she realized that there was less and less she could do; not only could she not protect others, but she couldn't even protect herself.
The boat was indeed a boat, one that Cui Ming had salvaged from discarded vessels. It was a double-paddle boat, and if a propeller were installed at the rear, it could become a powered boat. The propeller was available, but there were no batteries or power sources. The boat wasn't too small; Cui Ming had built a bamboo frame cabin on it to escape the scorching sun when necessary.
Rowing was also a form of exercise. In recent days, Cui Ming and Big Twin had been training in rowing, using single paddles. Big Twin knew more than Cui Ming did. Under her guidance, Cui Ming dismantled the cabin and made a sail out of cloth and bamboo to place on the boat. He became enamored with sailing. No wonder he found those sailboats surfing in Dawn City so joyful; it was genuinely fun.
As a lazy person, Cui Ming also stored quite a bit of smoked and cured meat along with water on the boat, adding partitions to prevent direct sunlight from hitting them. However, he never consumed these foods or water himself and also prevented Big Twin from using them. As for why? Cui Ming wouldn't say; he could only help to this extent. Recently, there had been changes on Shadow Island, and whether they could escape depended on their own abilities. But Big Twin was too outgoing and didn't pay much attention to anything; Cui Ming worried that if something happened, she might forget about the boat in the bay.
Cui Ming told Big Twin that this boat was their secret and asked her not to tell anyone else. He also forbade the female doctor and Little Shuang from boarding the boat. When asked why, Cui Ming cheerfully replied that it was his love boat with Big Twin. Big Twin laughed heartily at this without taking it seriously, while the female doctor could only helplessly accept it.
Meditation had already begun, and time was running out—not just for Cui Ming but also for Yun'er.
Since Baor started practicing Six Elements, Yun'er had been all alone, often sitting by the lake in a daze, with no one knowing what she was thinking. Occasionally, Yun'er would come to the bay to watch Big Twin and Cui Ming rowing or fishing, sitting there for an entire afternoon until they returned.
Time was not on their side; Yun'er had entered a countdown to death. Based on Cui Ming's understanding of Baor, he believed that at most in a month and at least in ten days, Baor would complete his training in Six Elements. Would he immediately activate the Magic Circle afterward? Cui Ming wasn't sure because one requirement of the Magic Circle involved Baor killing Yun'er. This posed a dilemma for Baor; he wouldn't mind killing Big Twin or anyone else, but Yun'er had always been his superior over the years—could he bring himself to do it? Suddenly, Cui Ming realized why Lich had suddenly prohibited Yun'er from getting close to Baor: it was precisely because of this point. Although inexperienced, Lich wasn't foolish.
Yun'er watched Cui Ming and Big Twin while Cui Ming observed her as well. It seemed like Yun'er was looking at them but also lost in thought. The Force within her body fluctuated uncontrollably along with her emotions. Although she only possessed thirty percent of Lich's strength, it was still quite impressive; the golden Force represented its purity. Her body remained that of an ordinary person; perhaps her Force quantity was similar as well, but Yun'er's Force was Mercury while that of ordinary practitioners was Water—there was an enormous difference in density that ordinary people could never hope to match.
Cui Ming felt sympathy for Yun'er; she had countless opportunities to save herself—she only needed to kill Baor. Lich had no other choice but to make Yun'er the successor. One could say this last period was Yun'er's final chance. She had the ability to turn things around; now it just depended on whether she wanted to take that chance.
Cui Ming couldn't help but consider this possibility: what if Yun'er killed Baor?
If that happened, Yun'er would become the heir; even if Lich were much stronger than her, he wouldn't dare harm her. In such a case, Warden could still survive while Cui Ming would be in greater trouble—he might end up being killed or forced to stay on the island for life. With these thoughts in mind, Cui Ming recalled a series of idioms: indulging in distractions leads to loss of focus; playing with fire... living in a dream... In short, something needed to capture Yun'er's attention so she wouldn't be so entangled in her thoughts about death.
What could surpass one's perspective on death? After coming ashore, when Yun'er stood up ready to leave, Cui Ming quickly approached her and whispered, "If you truly want to understand Three Continents, I believe Flower Aunt frequently traveling between Three Continents might have some hidden knowledge."
"What kind of knowledge?"
"Something like a video recorder." Flower Aunt was not very old, having lived abroad for a long time, and it was rare for her to return to the Three Continents. Ha, I don't believe you're a saint.
Two hours later, Yun'er sat in her room, watching a small television powered by a battery-operated video recorder. Everything on the screen made Yun'er feel flushed and her heart race. On one side was Little Shuang, teaching her how to use the video recorder.
That night, while drinking fish soup alone in a cave, Cui Ming suddenly thought about whether his skills might backfire on him, especially since he was the only young man on the island. To be honest, if the female doctor insisted on being reckless, Cui Ming would try every means to refuse; he would be helpless but to comply. However, Yun'er was absolutely off-limits. He couldn't risk it; that girl might just lose her mind and drag him down with her. Who would he cry to then?
At eleven o'clock at night, Big Twin came to find Cui Ming, her voice choked with tears as she said that Yun'er had taken Little Shuang away and it had been seven hours without any sign of them returning. Cui Ming told Big Twin to calm down and explained that if something had happened to Little Shuang, there was no point in panicking now. Even if they could hurry, there was nothing else they could do.
Because someone from the Concubine Tribe had been running a high fever, the female doctor had stayed with them. Big Twin didn't want to go back alone; she would worry about Little Shuang if she did. So she stayed by Cui Ming's side, warming herself by the fire, chatting, and eating. During this time, Cui Ming asked an awkward question: Was Little Shuang still a virgin? Logically speaking, she should be, but sometimes reality doesn't align with logic. Big Twin paused for a moment before answering that she wasn't; Little Shuang had someone special before being captured.
Cui Ming sighed. Just how mature were kids these days? It seemed inevitable; Little Shuang was somewhat clever and knew how to read situations. She was used to clinging to someone powerful in unfamiliar environments; the female doctor was her first lifeline on Shadow Island, and now she had encountered an even bigger one. Cui Ming had met women like this at Charity School; they lacked certain independent skills but often lacked independent mental strength or simply put, they lacked a sense of security.
At one o'clock in the early morning, Big Twin fell asleep in front of the fire while Cui Ming covered her with a coat. As time passed, possibilities began to rise step by step. With plans approaching, Cui Ming found it hard to sleep. He had given Yun'er something that could attract her attention, but would Little Shuang become the spark? Clinging to Yun'er’s leg might not be as effective as clinging to Lich's leg instead.
On the first day, Little Shuang did not return. The second day came and still no sign of her. Finally unable to convince Big Twin any longer, Cui Ming made an excuse to visit the main house and saw Yun'er helping Little Shuang comb her hair by the lake while Lich remained oblivious at the main house. Cui Ming returned to inform Big Twin of this news; her mouth dropped wide open as if she could fit an egg inside.
Regardless of everything else, Yun'er no longer came to the beach or wandered around; she had found something she longed for. Baor's dark ritual finally completed on the seventh day of Little Shuang's "disappearance." All that remained was a simple four or five days of training for practice and elimination.
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