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墨書 Inktalez
Bai Yujing felt as if he had truly become the legendary figure of "Nine Times a Night," boasting to others during his school days. No matter how much he exerted himself, his body showed no signs of fatigue, as if he would never experience weakness. Holding Emma's slightly twitching body, his palm brushed against her taut skin, savoring the lingering sensations. After a long while, Bai Yujing got up and picked up the phone by the bedside, asking the hotel staff to bring dinner in. After all that exertion, he felt an emptiness in his stomach.
Just as Bai Yujing hung up the phone, Emma emerged from under the covers and wrapped her arms around him from behind. "Oh my God, I almost thought I was going to die just now. You're much stronger than I imagined. Are all Chinese men this amazing? It's not what I heard at all."
"So, don't provoke me!" With Emma's praise, Bai Yujing's already hard-to-hide vanity exploded at that moment, and the curve of his lips couldn't be concealed.
Putting on a bathrobe, Bai Yujing continued with the unfinished work from earlier. He finally completed processing the images, and the text on the stone wall appeared in black and white on his computer. Bai Yujing's laptop wasn't high-end; when the workload increased, the fan emitted a loud whirring sound. He had just thought it might explode.
The waiter pushed the meal cart into the room. After Bai Yujing opened the door without paying much attention, Emma also got up and began searching for something on her computer. Once Bai Yujing obtained the results he wanted, he immediately transcribed them by hand. Then, using his knowledge of Lilliputian Language, he gradually filled in the strokes that had been completely worn away and finally managed to translate it.
"Success!" Bai Yujing exclaimed excitedly, immediately catching Emma's attention.
Emma quickly ran out in her pajamas and flopped onto the sofa beside Bai Yujing. "Have you restored it? Hurry up and translate it; let's see what it means!"
Bai Yujing picked up the paper and read through it but frowned. "Many characters are missing; some have been completely worn away. This language seems a bit incoherent... 'The fairy in the lake comes from the land of gods... The fountain of eternal life... The chains of desire have been broken; the location of the Fountain of Youth must not be revealed; otherwise, a great disaster will... death... my child, mother... loves you—Annie!'"
Bai Yujing and Emma exchanged glances, seemingly having discovered a significant secret.
"The fairy in the lake? The Fountain of Youth, this is a legendary existence; it actually exists." Emma couldn't believe it. However, having already encountered Leprechaun and Gulliver's notes, she had become somewhat desensitized to these impossible things and found them not so hard to accept.
Bai Yujing's focus was different: "Who is this Annie?"
Due to this seemingly left-behind letter resembling a will, Bai Yujing couldn't determine its credibility because ancient people often exaggerated things they didn't understand. Who knew what really happened? Perhaps they just encountered a beautiful farmer by the lake and called her a fairy; maybe the great disaster was just a cold infection—something that wouldn't be considered a big deal in modern times. So the main question was: who exactly was this Annie?
Bai Yujing pointed at the computer screen where a large number of doodles were displayed, "What is this?"
Bai Yujing shook his head, "Who knows? It's unclear. I didn't think it was text; I initially thought it was some kind of symbol, but now it doesn't really look like that either. It seems like random scribbles."
Emma nodded, "I found some information on my end; take a look."
Bai Yujing had previously asked Emma to research the history of the McLeod Family and the Fairy Flag. He took the pink notebook from Emma and placed it upright, seeing a large section of English text about the McLeod Family.
The McLeod Family is a very ancient lineage, descended from King Godred Sigurdsson of Mann. Following that were some records about the McLeod Family, which essentially read like a history of wars—expansion, survival—nothing particularly extraordinary. Although filled with the grandeur of epic tales and the vicissitudes of a thousand-year-old family, it was essentially a serious account of traditional nobility.
However, the legend regarding the Fairy Flag immediately captured Bai Yujing's attention. It was said that around the Thirteenth Century, Ian MacLeod, the fourth head of the McLeod Family, encountered a woman of extraordinary beauty in a small cottage by the lake. Ian MacLeod was astonished and brought this beauty back to his family, proposing to take her as his wife.
"Ian, this head's name is just like yours," Emma teased Bai Yujing.
Bai Yujing shrugged, "It seems that every man named Ian has a fairy by his side."
Bai Yujing's compliment made Emma feel appreciated; her eyes conveyed that he was quite perceptive. The two continued reading, "However, the woman rejected Ian's proposal and explained to him that she was actually a fairy who would not age or die; unlike humans, who would eventually perish. To avoid being burdened by the pain of losing her beloved, she had no choice but to refuse."
"Nevertheless, the fairy lived by Ian's side for a year before leaving but gave birth to a son during that time. This son became the fifth head of the McLeod Family, Diana McLeod. When Diana McLeod turned one year old, the fairy reappeared and wrapped a beautifully crafted flag radiating holy light around the child. She then turned to Ian and told him that whenever the family faced danger, waving this flag three times would summon her protection. However, there were only three chances; once those were used up, the flag would disappear."
This is how the legendary Fairy Flag came to be. Regardless of its credibility, legends often arise from certain events; while reality may differ significantly, it suggests that something similar likely occurred at that time.
Emma picked up the text Bai Yujing had previously deciphered from the stone wall of Deng Weigen's dungeon: "Fairies, also known as celestial maidens or lake spirits, have many legends surrounding them in England. The will left behind by Annie is for her child. Can we infer that this Annie is likely the fairy from legend—the one who left behind the Fairy Flag—and also Diana McLeod's mother? This will is meant for Diana McLeod."
Bai Yujing nodded, "Your deduction is very likely, and indeed there are many legends about fairies on Skye Island. However, we still need to verify the specifics."
Emma immediately said, "I feel like we've become adventurers. If our discoveries were made public, it would probably shock the whole world. My goodness, could we be the next Indiana Jones?"
Bai Yujing nodded, "But not yet. These matters are still just speculation, and much of the information relates to Leprechauns. You wouldn't want Alice and Kaka to be captured by those who come seeking fame and locked away in a cage or sent to some research institute or zoo."
"Oh no, that would be terrible. Alright, I won't disclose this information until they are returned to Lilliput." Emma couldn't imagine such a thing, shaking her head repeatedly and abandoning the idea of quickly gaining fame. After all, according to the game's setting, Emma and Bai Yujing were considered the good and lawful side.
Bai Yujing organized the information with a pen, linking some important clues together: "After sorting through the information, let's make some assumptions. Lemuel Gulliver should have been hired by the McLeod Family, and it's very likely that the McLeod Family learned of Sky Island's existence in the Thirteenth Century and continued searching for it into the Seventeenth Century. What was their purpose?"
"The Fountain of Youth?" Emma suddenly recalled information recorded in Annie's will.
Bai Yujing lifted his pencil, "That's very possible. So they hired Lemuel Gulliver and his group for this expedition, but in the end, only Lemuel Gulliver returned alive. Their objective was not achieved; many people died and a significant amount of resources were wasted. This is also why Lemuel Gulliver later feared attracting their attention. Years later, when Lemuel Gulliver returned here, he didn't want to take his secrets to the grave. He left clues on how to reach Sky Island and chose a burial site that must have been very meaningful to him."
Emma asked, "How can we find out where this site is? It's been so many years."
Bai Yujing thought for a moment: "Perhaps we should seek help from another person, Will Hackman. He has lived here all his life and discovered Lemuel Gulliver's notes in his home. It can be inferred that his family is likely connected to Lemuel Gulliver. If we find him, we should be able to locate this place."
Finally untangling a mess of clues, Bai Yujing and Emma were both excited. After running around aimlessly for days like headless chickens, they finally had some reliable leads.
"Alright, that's enough for now; we should have dinner." Bai Yujing closed his notebook. He had been so busy earlier that he hadn't noticed it; now seeing the plates on the table made his stomach growl.
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