The Helpful Unicorn and the Unlucky Puppeteer

Youth Civilization.

The train had already arrived at the location designated by Su Ming, and Hansite and Younier even took turns sleeping for a while. When he opened his eyes again, he found that the unicorn was still stretching its neck, looking in the direction Su Ming had left.

"They won't be back so soon," Hansite advised Qiluo. "You won't be able to have lotus root fritters tonight. Go to sleep first, I'll keep watch."

If Su Ming is busy, I'll do it for you.

Qiluo was unwilling, but she had no choice but to agree. She looked up at the snow-covered night sky, took out a small bottle, and said, "I'll first perform a ritual to help Alessandro pass on to the afterlife."

Hansite glanced at the bottle; inside was a tiny, fragmented sphere of light.

"A fragmented soul?" the old man asked curiously.

"He just died during the day, how could he be crippled?" Qiluo picked up the bottle and examined it carefully, only then noticing that the soul fragment inside was much smaller than normal. Upon closer inspection, the eerie light of the soul fragment was still changing, like the rhythm of breathing.

"It's still beating, the person isn't dead!" Hansite said.

"Wrong? Is that so?" Qiluo was very surprised.

She reverted to her original form, her single horn glowing. Soft moonlight pierced through the clouds, enveloping Alessandro's soul. Under the influence of the moonlight,

A fragment of Alessandro's soul resonated with a distant being.

"It really is!" The unicorn was dumbfounded; this was the first time she had ever encountered something like this.

She told Hanstries what had happened.

"This Alessandro is unusual," Hansite said, stroking his beard. "Some professions allow for the splitting of the soul, such as Mirror Soul Priests and Doppelganger Warriors." He picked up the bottle and shook it. "I've also heard of some puppeteers using split souls to control alchemical golems."

"You mean, I shouldn't have grabbed him back then?" Qiluo scratched her mane.

I'd guess so.

Qiluo released the soul fragment from the bottle, only to find it floating motionless in the air. She waved her hoof fan, and the soul fragment swayed slightly before slowly coming to a stop.

How do I put this thing back in its place?

"Ask me?" Hansite turned to look at the unicorn. "Aren't you the Moon Prayer Master?"

"I'm familiar with the dead, but when have you ever seen a Moon Prayer manipulate living souls?"

The man and the beast studied it for a long time, but couldn't find a solution. After all, they had never encountered this before; it was a complete blind spot.

"How do you Moon Prayer Masters deal with normal spirits of the dead?" Hansite asked.

"There are many methods, but they are mostly about being guided by the moonlight or ascending to heaven after death."

"Hmm, if you really send it away, wouldn't the owner of the fragment lose that part of their soul?"

"That's why it won't work," Qiluo sighed. She racked her brains, then suddenly her eyes lit up. "There is a high-level guiding spell that can send a soul to where it's meant to go."

"Then use it." Hansite gestured for her to hurry up.

The unicorn sighed, "It's an ancient spell I mastered by chance, and it's incredibly difficult to use." She looked at the ball of light floating in the air; despite the main soul's calls, it remained motionless. "That's all we can do. We can't really harm this puppeteer of Alessandro."

Qiluo focused her mind, her spiritual power unfolding as if it were tangible. Calmly, she began to chant a prayer, "All things are intertwined, cause and effect are the natural order!"

Cause and effect? What kind of prayer is this? A jolt went through Hansite's mind.

Something unusual appeared in the void above his head as he was summoned, and the old man felt a sweet taste in his throat. He wasn't physically injured; it was simply a helpless surrender. He unconsciously looked up, but the moonlight had been stripped of its color, and the once-filled snowflakes had vanished without a trace.

Younier, left on the motorcycle, fainted without any resistance.

Even though he couldn't see anything, Hansite sensed an endless river emerging from the depths of the night.

Alessandro's remnant soul slowly rose and floated upwards.

"Huff!" Qiluo said, her forehead glistening with sweat. "This should do it. The dead are reborn, the living return to their rightful place, and the long river will take him to where he belongs."

No, what kind of river is this?!

Before the unicorn could finish speaking, an inexplicable darkness suddenly descended. The two looked up simultaneously and saw countless streams of black energy surging from the river, transforming into Nether Butterfly that swept down like a tide. They merely swept past, tearing the fragments of souls in the air to shreds.

The appearance of these Nether Butterfly seemed somewhat familiar to Hansite.

The swarm of Nether Butterfly did not give up; guided by cause and effect, they continued their pursuit towards the horizon.

Soon the existence of the main soul in the distance dissipated, and a faint sense of satisfaction came from the air. The Nether Butterfly shattered, and the karma that had been repaid was released.

The faces of a human and a beast are similar.

"What you've done... isn't it actually a curse?" Hansite asked.

****

The snowmobile side.

The search process was long and tedious. After searching back and forth for half an hour, they moved 20 kilometers north and began a new round of searching.

Another half hour passed, and the second area was also searched. The wind gradually picked up, the night deepened, and the temperature began to drop sharply, all indicating that a blizzard was imminent.

Su Ming took out some maltose candy, and he and the girl each started eating one. In the cold wilderness, the two of them needed to replenish their energy.

He checked the trajectory of the vehicle's gyroscope and found that the error was small; the accuracy of the snowmobile's route was within 100 meters.

"Let's end it here. It's unlikely that Katharine can run any further," Zijin said. "We've done our best and left the rest to Destiny. That's enough."

Su Ming glanced at the multi-functional wristwatch on his wrist. It was already 1 a. m., and his eyelids were starting to droop after riding his bike for so long.

Based on the air pressure drop data on the meter, he calculated, "There's still some time before the blizzard arrives." Su Ming said, "Let's search again twenty kilometers north, then return to the train."

Zijin nodded.

The snowmobile restarted. After an unknown amount of time, just as Su Ming was about to fall asleep, a magical signal flare suddenly rose up behind him.

It was an extremely rare bluish-brown color, not very dazzling. The small orb of light rose slowly over the vast white snowfield, casting its flickering light towards the biting wind and the night sky.

"It must be her!" Zijin exclaimed with delight, patting Su Ming on the back. "Let's go quickly!"

The light brown color was the same as the color of Zijin's hair. The newcomer not only sensed the ghostly energy but also recognized her. This must be someone who knew her well.

****

Su Ming turned the car around, drew his shotgun, disengaged the safety, and checked the magazine.

Zijin cast Shield Spell on both of them at the same time. This was the first time Su Ming had enjoyed the scholar's buffs in actual combat.

It took them nearly ten minutes to reach the location where the signal flare was to be launched. Zijin jumped out of the car, and the Divine Favor Scepter appeared beneath her as if summoned, lifting her into the air. The Bone Staff of the End also returned to its original form and was held in the scholar's hand.

"[I'll go first!]" The girl Mind Synchronization communicated with Su Ming.

Su Ming nodded, slowed down, and stopped the motorcycle. The engine noise disappeared, and the snowfield fell silent.

Suddenly, a snowdrift not far away was lifted, and a figure stood up from inside.

Zijin landed quickly, assuming a battle stance, while Su Ming also became alert to the scholar's flank.

The woman raised one hand, while the other was placed protectively against her chest, where something seemed to be bulging. She approached slowly, her voice slightly hoarse, "Long time no see, Lady Ailisha."

Zijin breathed a sigh of relief. She cut to the chase, "Katharine, don't be wary of me. You helped me last time, this is just repaying you—what about those pursuers?"

As Katharine approached, Su Ming noticed that her steps were unsteady, indicating that she was in very poor condition.

"If we get out of here in ten minutes, there will be no pursuers," she said.

"Then we'll leave in ten minutes," Zijin said, turning to Katharine. "Can you still hold on?"

Katharine was surprised by Zijin's behavior; she made the decision directly, showing more freedom than she had previously imagined. She looked at Su Ming standing behind her, "This is your new master, Bone King?"

Although it was well concealed, Su Ming still sensed a familiar hostility.

"Ailisha, kill her!" Su Ming suddenly shouted.

"Huh?" Zijin looked at Su Ming in confusion. After realizing it was a joke, she glared at Su Ming, who made a helpless expression.

Watching the interaction between the two, Katharine subtly breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry, I had preconceived notions," she apologized to Su Ming. "I didn't expect you two to be partners."

Su Ming is the controller of the White Bone Mark, so logically Zijin is under his control. No wonder Katharine only released a signal flare to call for help when she saw Zijin was about to leave. She had obviously hesitated for a long time, and was truly in a desperate situation with no other choice.

The air on the snowfield was exceptionally clean, Su Ming detected a scent that shouldn't have been there. He suddenly put away his gun and walked towards Katharine. "You brought a child?"

Zijin looked at the alumna in surprise, only then realizing what she was carrying in her arms. "You actually brought a child here!"

"I saw the child crying before leaving, and I softened and took him with me," Katharine said, her expression somber. "It's my fault."

"How is he?" Su Ming asked.

Katharine loosened her clothes, revealing the head of a one-month-old baby boy who was wrapped up tightly. "He's fine. He just didn't have any milk right now, so he cried himself to sleep."

Su Ming reached out to help Katharine up. She initially struggled, but eventually gave up her guard and let him support her.

"Let's go," Su Ming said to Zijin.

The scholar looked south; all she could see was darkness, but she knew someone was approaching.

"Thirty seconds," she said to Su Ming.

Su Ming nodded and led Katharine toward the motorcycle.

The former saintess put away her Divine Favor Scepter, placed the bone staff in front of her, and then chanted softly. A magic circle appeared beneath her feet, rose into the air, and transformed into a stream of light that shot into the distance.

Su Ming glanced back and felt that in just half a day, the girl's Magic Power had gained an indescribable allure.

He took his backpack from the snowmobile rack, pulled out a thermos, opened the lid, and handed it to Katharine. The thermos was steaming, and the sweet aroma emanating from it seemed particularly strong in the monotonous snowy air.

The fallen Empress of the Stars took a sip; it was probably milk mixed with rice cereal and oatmeal, with a lethal dose of sugar added. Considering this was an extremely cold region, and that it was essential to carry a high-sugar diet as emergency rations, she thought...

However, contrary to its status as an emergency food, it also has a strawberry aroma.

Ailisha's love for strawberries was common knowledge at the academy, because if you gave her one, the former saintess would always accept the accompanying love letter. Katharine was somewhat resentful, considering that during the naval battle she had been racking her brains to figure out how to kill only the Controller and rescue her.

Those two scoundrels!

****

Katharine drank the contents of the cup in one gulp and immediately felt her stomach warm up considerably.

In the distance, a dark, cold wind brought a muffled rumble, accompanied by a slight tremor of the ground.

Su Ming couldn't help but glance sideways. Using terrain magic to create an avalanche? Miss Belladonna really went all out.

"They're lucky." Zijin had already returned, her expression clearly dissatisfied. "I reckon a small group managed to escape."

"That's enough. You still need to leave some for Katharine to settle her own accounts," Su Ming said.

He helped Katharine into the snowmobile, and Zijin looked at the cramped cabin before jumping into the back of the vehicle.

"You sit in the front and drive," Su Ming said.

"I just used a large-scale terrain spell, I'll dig myself into the trench," Zijin sighed.

She lifted the newly installed tarpaulin by Su Ming, found a comfortable position, and nestled inside.

Su Ming took off his winter coat and gave it to Zijin, using it as a blanket. He then climbed into the snowmobile, started it, and began speeding through the night. The wind picked up, and began to carry small snowflakes.

Su Ming quickly noticed that Katharine was in worse condition than she appeared.

"Give me the child," Su Ming said. "I will take good care of him."

"Thank you." Katharine didn't insist and handed the baby to him as instructed. He immediately tucked the child into his sweater and wrapped him in his arms.

The baby smelled of milk and a bit sour, clearly indicating that he hadn't been properly cared for in the past couple of days.

He noticed that Katharine didn't have any luggage, so he contacted Miao Xin, "[Get me a baby bottle.]"

[Now?] Miao Xin checked the time; it was midnight here on Earth too.

[There are others too.] Su Ming quickly named a few medicines.

Miao Xin was having a bit of a headache. She was quite skilled at stealing, but getting attention for something as trivial as this would be troublesome.

But it's easy to solve.

When snowflakes appeared in the air, Su Ming and his group returned to the Youth Civilization.

Qiluo glared at Su Ming with resentment, her saliva freezing at the corners of her mouth. "Lotus root cake!"

"You didn't stay up until now because of this, did you?" Su Ming was somewhat surprised by her persistence.

He entered the carriage and took the baby out of his arms. "Younier, go get the formula and some hot water."

Younier immediately went to the warehouse and got a can of formula. She looked it over and over but couldn't find the label. "Is this suitable for newborns?"

"Don't worry, it's just baby formula," Qiluo replied. "Su Ming told me to remove the label when he placed the order."

Upon hearing this, Zijin, who was carrying Katharine in, glared fiercely at Su Ming.

"This type of milk powder has the best quality assurance," Su Ming said.