Chapter 39: The Death of the Poet (4)
Magic is a discipline that isn’t particularly difficult, but it isn’t simple either. Tang Cuo closed his eyes and successfully perceived the magical elements scattered between heaven and earth, following the “Moonlight Meditation Method” taught in the book.
Unlike the natural awakening of superpowered individuals, mages focus on elemental affinity. With so many magical elements, the one with the highest affinity to the mage is the easiest to absorb, and spells of that element can be cast much faster.
Tang Cuo sensed his surroundings and discovered that all the magical elements were quite aloof. If magical elements had expressions, theirs would exactly match his: expressionless.
Once magical elements are absorbed into the body, they become magic power.
Ten minutes later, Tang Cuo sensed an almost equal amount of each element in his body and remained expressionless. All his attribute points were allocated to Force, while his Intelligence was zero. Even with his original foundation, the amount of magic power he could store was meager. Divided equally among all the elements, it was unknown if any single element had enough to cast even one spell.
With this step completed, there was still the incantation.
Spells were obscure and difficult to pronounce. Simple beginner-level spells were short, just a few syllables. But the moment Tang Cuo opened his mouth, the magic power in his body began to surge, sending sharp pricks of pain through his mind.
His expression remained unchanged. He tried a few more times and finally, haltingly, finished reciting the incantation for a Fireball spell.
As his words fell, a small fireball appeared in front of him. It bounced and flickered a few times, appeared with a pop, and vanished with another pop.
Expressionless, Tang Cuo looked down at the staff in his hand.
This walnut wood staff was the one Jin Cheng had swiped from the magic shop. His fireball disappearing so quickly must definitely be because the staff was of poor quality.
So, he condensed another fireball. This time, he saw it clearly: his magical elements were completely unenthusiastic, sluggish and lazy, immediately going on strike.
Hearing the sound, Jin Cheng looked up from his book, meeting Tang Cuo’s eyes perfectly. Tang Cuo looked at him quietly, waiting to see what else this instructor of his would say.
Jin Cheng said, “That fireball of yours is quite bright.”
Tang Cuo: “…”
When Jin Cheng finally figured out Tang Cuo’s problem, he didn’t say much, only: “You really are suited for close combat.”
Tang Cuo narrowed his eyes. “Are you laughing on the inside?”
Jin Cheng: “Do you know what the penalty is for slandering an instructor?”
Tang Cuo: “There is no such crime in Yong Ye City.”
Tsk, this little rascal is getting harder to fool.
Jin Cheng closed his book and said, “Haven’t you read fantasy novels before? The male protagonist is just like you—an omni-elemental mage unable to specialize. Everyone thinks he’s trash, mocks him, and insults him. But then he makes an epic comeback and reaches the pinnacle of life.”
Tang Cuo: “…”
What Jin Cheng didn’t mention was a saying in Yong Ye City regarding these omni-elemental mages and omni-elemental superpowered individuals: A flurry of action fierce as a tiger, but up close, it’s all made of paper.
Tang Cuo would be an idiot to believe his nonsense about reaching the pinnacle of life. But he hadn’t planned on becoming a mage anyway, so he wasn’t disappointed.
“Did you find the bookmark?” he asked.
“Not yet, but I saw Lancelot’s name on many library checkout cards.” Jin Cheng pulled one out, clamped it between two fingers, and tossed it to Tang Cuo.
Tang Cuo caught it, glanced at the name on the front, flipped it over, and found a line of text.
[When I grow up, I will definitely find the most beautiful flower in the world and bring it back to the Kingdom Hidden in Moonlight.]
The handwriting was identical to Lancelot’s signature, and it looked quite old. He must have written it while studying here. Did the bard Lancelot finally achieve his wish?
Tang Cuo couldn’t help but look out the window. White climbing roses bloomed under the moonlight.
Whether Lancelot’s message on the checkout card was useful was still uncertain. Jin Cheng quickly flipped through the remaining books and finally found Eve’s bookmark.
It was tucked inside a travelogue, and there were words written on the bookmark as well.
[If you want to be a great adventurer, you must be brave, Eve.]
The small handwriting was crooked and misaligned, with typos. It looked like something Eve had written to herself, perhaps words hidden in her heart, never spoken to anyone.
A child born in the desert, yearning for the vast continent, wanting to be an adventurer. That was probably why the bookmark was tucked inside a travelogue.
While Jin Cheng was looking for the bookmark, Tang Cuo also learned the remaining beginner spells from the book: Illumination, Waterball, Wind Blade, Lightning, and Earth Tremor. The spells of the other elements didn’t seem very suitable for beginners, nor were they very practical, so Tang Cuo set them aside for now.
Regrettably, they still hadn’t found a map of the Kingdom Hidden in Moonlight, making it impossible to confirm the location of the Well of Time.
Leaving the school, the two walked and walked, eventually finding themselves back at the watchtower on the west side of the city. It was around one or two in the morning, and the moon hung high in the sky. Jin Cheng lit the lamp in front of the tower and leisurely walked up.
The west watchtower was the highest point in the Kingdom Hidden in Moonlight, offering the best view of the entire city.
Under the cold moonlight, the world quieted down. The vast yellow sands completely transformed into an ocean. On the solitary island in the sea bloomed countless pure white flowers, dotted with specks of fireflies.
These fireflies weren’t all warm white; they shimmered with dreamy colors like stained glass, weaving a brilliantly colored dream alongside the gentle night breeze.
Before such beautiful scenery, even Jin Cheng became a pure, elegant observer. Holding the glazed lantern rewarded from the quest, he agilely climbed to the very top of the watchtower. Standing on the slanted tiles, he hugged the tall spire with one arm and gazed into the distance.
“Look, when all the lights turn on, it looks just like a flower,” he said, his voice carrying a hint of joy and satisfaction, made melodious by the night breeze.
No matter the environment, he could always find a bit of leisure, such as lighting up the entire city.
The Kingdom Hidden in Moonlight was a circular city, and its streets weren’t straight but gently curved. It wasn’t obvious during the day, but now that the streetlights were lit, one could see the interconnected streets resembled a blooming flower.
In Blind Billy’s quest, the previous king had told his people: “When the lights are lit, the colorful glass will bloom like a flower, and my people will no longer have to look at the sand and wind all day.”
It was indeed true.
“Bang!” A sudden noise came from above. Tang Cuo looked up to see a streak of light ascending into the night sky, brushing past the crescent moon, and blossoming into a firework amidst the starry canopy.
Tang Cuo was momentarily stunned, then asked, “A Flower Festival firework?”
For the side quest “Mr. Toke’s Little Toys,” his toy box contained many strange toys meant to amuse children, as well as various fireworks prepared for the Flower Festival.
Jin Cheng lit another sparkler and said, “Since today is the Flower Festival, it’d be a pity not to set off fireworks.”
Tang Cuo offered no comment. Although various signs indicated that time in the city had stopped on the day of the Flower Festival, it didn’t mean today was the Flower Festival. When the two of them, travelers from a foreign land, intruded here, who knows if hundreds of years had already passed since that particular Flower Festival. But Tang Cuo wasn’t always a buzzkill, so he didn’t say anything, merely watching quietly.
He thought of all the side quests.
The beautiful Cecilia, secretly in love with Lancelot; Aunt Anna, who worked hard doing laundry to send her son to school; Blind Billy, who still yearned for the light; Eve and Little Jack, who harbored dreams, and so on. Although they hadn’t seen the people themselves, traces of their existence were everywhere.
How many more side quests like these were hidden in the Kingdom Hidden in Moonlight?
“Aren’t you coming up?” Jin Cheng poked his head out from above.
“Why should I go up?” Tang Cuo replied.
“I still have two sparklers left. Don’t you want to come light one? Maybe this is the key to triggering a mission.”
“Oh.”
I totally believe you.
Tang Cuo didn’t believe him, but a few minutes later, he still climbed to the top of the tower, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Jin Cheng to set off fireworks. Jin Cheng hung the glazed lantern on the spire. It swayed gently in the night breeze, casting flickering, dreamy shadows.
With beautiful fireworks overhead and hazy lamplight beside him, Tang Cuo remained silent. Catching a glimpse of Jin Cheng’s profile from the corner of his eye, he couldn’t quite understand how someone so capable could remain single at his age.
When Jin Cheng died, he was thirty-two.
When Tang Cuo was in the military camp, he often heard others whispering about who had a crush on the instructor, or which superior officer wanted to play matchmaker for him. Jin Cheng had a good background, high education, good looks, and a bright future; Tang Cuo had always assumed he would one day marry someone equally outstanding.
Who would have thought this person would suddenly die at thirty-two, leaving nothing behind?
“I remember telling you this the day we met.” Jin Cheng propped his chin on his hand, turned his head, and smiled. “Looking at me like that easily leads me to make vulgar associations.”
Shut up, straight guy. Your flirting is going to kill us all.
Tang Cuo decided to teach him a lesson. After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly said, “I have my eye on you.”
Jin Cheng raised an eyebrow, genuinely caught off guard, freezing in place. Unexpectedly, Tang Cuo took a deep breath and added expressionlessly, “…’s points.”
Jin Cheng laughed out of exasperation. Shoving the last sparkler into Tang Cuo’s arms, he said, “Save it. I won’t give you a single one.”
Tang Cuo didn’t care and casually lit the sparkler. In the hazy light, neither of them saw the corners of his mouth curl up slightly before quickly falling back.
“Bang!” Another firework blossomed. They both looked up; it truly was beautiful.
Meanwhile, in the Zone G prison of Yong Ye City.
Because of the recent upheaval in Zone F, the prison, which was usually at least half-empty, saw its occupancy rate skyrocket to over 80%. There was a high chance that anyone crossing paths with someone from another cell would turn out to be an old acquaintance.
Furthermore, because the prison didn’t assign cells based on players’ zones, the elites of Zone A were mixed with the “trash” of Zone F, living in the same cells and eating the same food. No one was nobler than anyone else.
Jiang He and Chen Liu, both members of Tianzhi, were assigned to adjacent cells. In the same block was the Grand Mage Leng Miao, along with two familiar Zone A players. As for Chong Yanzhang and the Puppeteer Yao Qing, they were placed slightly further away.
The players from Zone F and other zones mixed among these big shots huddled in corners, wishing they could turn invisible. However, Zone G consisted entirely of solitary confinement cells, and the big shots, with their dark expressions, showed no inclination to fight.
Jiang He’s cell was at the end of the corridor, with a wall on his right and Chen Liu on his left. Leng Miao was diagonally across from him. And in the cell directly opposite him lived a barefoot little girl.
The little girl lay on the ground with her back to them the entire time, her body curled up. She wore a comical green dinosaur hat, seemingly torn from a piece of clothing.
Jiang He kept watching her because, since entering, the little girl hadn’t moved an inch. Her clothes were covered in dark, dried bloodstains. It took him a long time to realize she was wearing a hospital gown.
Chen Liu kept spewing nonsense, annoying Jiang He to the point of murder.
“Jiang He, tell the truth. Did you see through Jin Cheng’s conspiracy from the very beginning? You did it on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Did you dislike me from the start, deliberately keeping it a secret to oppose me and make me take a huge fall? That way, I would—”
Jiang He finally ran out of patience and said in a deep voice, “Do you even deserve that?”
Furious, Chen Liu stood up. He couldn’t see Jiang He through the wall, but that didn’t stop him from venting his anger. “Jiang He, don’t think I don’t know what you’re scheming. Don’t you just want to be the second-in-command? You haven’t even weighed your own seniority. What right do you, someone who joined halfway, have to compete with me?”
Hearing this, Jiang He closed his eyes, suddenly losing all desire to argue with him.
Chen Liu, however, was relentless. “Why aren’t you answering? Feeling guilty? Ha! Let me tell you, Jiang He, as long as I’m here, don’t even think about playing any tricks! Do you think you’re the only smart one? Weren’t you also played for a fool by Jin Cheng—”
Before he could finish, a magical attack suddenly struck from the opposite cell, passing through the iron bars and directly tearing the skin on Chen Liu’s arm to shreds. Chen Liu hastily dodged, his furious gaze stabbing toward the opposite cell. But upon meeting Leng Miao’s face, he forcefully suppressed his anger.
“Too noisy,” Leng Miao said, his expression icy.
Chen Liu let his arm hang limply and stopped talking. Without Chong Yanzhang here, he didn’t dare clash head-on with Leng Miao.
Leng Miao had no desire to pay attention to this fool either. Catching a glimpse of Jiang He, who looked as deeply meditating as an old monk, he felt extremely irritable. This irritability wasn’t directed at Jiang He but naturally at Jin Cheng. It was only because Chen Liu mentioned Jin Cheng again that he had lost his composure.
The smell in the prison was foul. The stench of blood from the next cell had probably lingered for days, so thick it was nauseating.
Leng Miao didn’t want to endure it anymore. With a wave of his hand, he cast an Air Cage, sealing the adjacent cell. With this Air Cage in place, he finally felt a bit more comfortable, regardless of whether it was just psychological comfort.
A while later, Jiang He suddenly looked over and said, “If you do that, the person inside will suffocate to death.”
Leng Miao sneered, “You pity her?”
Jiang He: “I imagine the great Grand Mage Leng Miao, even in his desire for the Twelve Movements, is not someone who kills players randomly for amusement.”
“Tianzhi poisoned people in Zone F, sending who knows how many in here, and you’re lecturing me about this?”
“Poisoning them only sent them to prison. Killing someone here is true murder.”
Jiang He’s tone was completely flat, as if merely stating a fact.
Chen Liu’s arm trembled with pain. Hearing his words, he gritted his teeth in hatred. He hated this about Jiang He the most—how he acted neither servile nor overbearing no matter who he faced. Chong Yanzhang even said he possessed the demeanor of a great general. When plotting against Jin Cheng this time, Chen Liu had suggested using BS101, and Jiang He was the first to object.
They were all veteran players of Zone A; everyone knew exactly who everyone else was. Pretending to be a moral guardian was hypocritical and disgusting.
Chen Liu only hoped Leng Miao also despised such hypocritical people. Leng Miao was famous for his cold, hard temper; very few could earn his favor.
But Leng Miao took a deep look at Jiang He and actually dispelled the Air Cage. Jiang He nodded at him in acknowledgment, and neither spoke again.
Chen Liu was so angry he nearly fell backward, his face turning green and white. But in the end, he didn’t dare question Leng Miao. He turned and glared resentfully at the little girl, only to see her suddenly cough convulsively before falling silent once more.
“Ring, ring, ring—” A frantic alarm bell suddenly rang.
Chen Liu’s heart skipped a beat, instantly forgetting about the little girl, because—the bell ringing meant the Warden was on patrol.
The nightmare of Yong Ye City’s Zone G prison had descended once again.
