The Trap in the White Bone Mark

Su Ming and Zijin began to dress up. Although the wanted posters in this world were rather abstract, they were going to the bustling city in broad daylight, so they had to hide any easily identifiable features on their bodies.

Zijin was indeed very skilled in this area. She took out some alchemical tools and changed her appearance and hair color. Then she helped Su Ming change his hair and eye color to brown.

She continued applying dark foundation to both of their faces, trying to make their skin look dull and rough. For travelers in cold conditions, skin honed by long hours in a heated train car is far too smooth.

"We can't hide the fact that we're from out of town, so we need to pretend to be a couple traveling here," Zijin said to Su Ming.

Su Ming thought about it and agreed; traveling to the ice field in the dead of winter, especially as a couple, was indeed the least suspicious explanation.

"Got it, darling!" He immediately got into the zone.

Zijin then painted his face an even darker shade.

Hansite walked over and said, "Lord Su Ming, could you help me buy a six-string guitar?"

"Are you a bard?" Zijin asked.

"I used to be," Hansite said, pointing to the scar on his neck. "I lost my voice in a battle, and that's why I lost the ability to manipulate sound and cast spells."

"And now?" Su Ming, somewhat puzzled.

Hansite glanced at a distant statue of a singing deity. "It's just an idea, maybe pairing it with something would work. If it could be done, it might be of some use in battle."

Musical spellcasting— Hansite was previously a bard in combat.

"The strings won't work at this temperature," Zijin pointed out the problem. "Could you use a percussion instrument?"

The strings in this other world are all made of animal materials, and they become incredibly brittle at temperatures of minus twenty or thirty degrees Celsius.

Hansite shook his head. "I'm only good at strings."

"Hmm, I'll get you an instrument from Earth later," Su Ming said. "Metal strings aren't afraid of low temperatures."

"That's it."

****

After the interlude ended, the two boarded a snowmobile and set off, with Zijin volunteering to drive. The first half of the journey followed the smooth ice, and as she became more skilled, the snowmobile easily exceeded seventy kilometers per hour.

Su Ming wasn't idle either. He connected half of his vision to Miao Xin, opened his email, and downloaded a file filled with various symbols. Millet Studio had submitted the calculation results on schedule.

Su Ming carefully checked the documents, making minor adjustments from time to time.

"Zijin, I have a question for you," Su Ming asked the girl beside him, "You said you rely on me and the White Bone Mark for support, so what if something happens to me, like I die?"

"I should have told you I would be severely injured," Zijin replied.

"But Galio didn't die like this." Su Ming recalled what happened when he first transmigrated to the other world. At that time, with the help of Zijin, he killed Galio, and the White Bone Mark was separated from the other's soul. At that time, Miss White Bone, who was still in the Bone Dragon Form, was completely unharmed.

"You released all the restrictions on me, and I've been liberated even more deeply," Zijin explained. "Activating the Ailisha form, all seals broken, power level elevated—this is completely different from before when I was merely a spirit of White Bone Fortress."

Su Ming tried to understand, "So, the bond between us is deeper than I thought?"

"No, that's not it." The scholar shook his head. "It's just that I'm dependent on you. My death won't affect you at all."

The pen in Su Ming's hand snapped in two. "I always thought we were good partners!" he said angrily.

"I'm simply stating the facts about our parasitic relationship," Zijin replied.

The driver's cab was quiet for a short while.

"There's something I need to confess to you. The White Bone Mark hides a trap," Zijin broke the silence. "During the battle on the Plain of Despair, while the two Saint Mages were plotting against me, I also inserted a backdoor into their forbidden spell—that's how I counterattacked Russell."

"That's somewhat predictable," Su Ming said. He had been prepared ever since he learned of Bai Lou's identity. After all, given Scholar Li's personality and abilities, it would be unreasonable for him not to have a backup plan.

"Galio is Saint Rank; he knew about the trap and took specific defensive measures," Zijin said. "But your mental strength isn't that strong; I can counter it at any time."

"I should be glad that I haven't used my authority as the controller to do anything excessive to you," Su Ming said casually.

"It's not just not excessive, you've never controlled me at all," Zijin said. "Oh, that time when I was drunk doesn't count."

"Wait a minute." Su Ming remembered this incident. "Back then, when you were drunk and about to throw a tantrum at me, you could have done it at any time—" He gestured to his neck, "Give me a beating?"

Zijin glanced back at Su Ming but didn't say anything.

"Are you serious!" Su Ming broke out in a cold sweat. "No, you are absolutely forbidden from touching alcohol again!"

"A little drink is fine, right?" Zijin said, dissatisfied. "Anyway, I was so out of control back then, you even put a tube down my throat, and I didn't fight back." She pouted, "When I was little, Xiwo saw me eat poisonous celery and tried to make me vomit, but I chased after him and bit him. When I woke up that day, I was actually quite surprised to see you safe and sound."

"..." Su Ming that he had given her a bottle of 96% concentrated water of life, which she had hidden somewhere, and suddenly felt that the future was bleak.

"My initial assumption was that I could accept anything as long as you didn't go too far," the scholar continued. "Although I could sense through our Mind Synchronization that you're a nice person, this equal treatment still surprised me."

"Not bad, friend card received," Su Ming thought to himself. "Your mental strength is growing very fast; it'll exceed the limits of the trap's control sooner or later. Besides, the loophole in the spell is hidden behind the fifth layer; I estimate you'll figure it out soon." The girl continued, "I think I need to explain these things to you."

"I see." Su Ming nodded. "The mesh circuitry of the White Bone Mark is quite difficult; I don't plan to waste any more time analyzing it."

"After all, it's a forbidden-level creation," the scholar said. "Dozens of mages participated in its research, and it underwent two hundred years of upgrades and iterations. The number and structure of the runes have piled up to the point that no one can fully understand it."

"You guys have shit-mountain code here too?" Su Ming complained.

Zijin smiled but didn't reply. But a few minutes later, she suddenly slammed on the brakes and stopped the snowmobile. Su Ming wasn't paying attention and his head hit the front frame.

Su Ming rubbed his forehead. Zijin turned around and looked at him, her expression incredulous, "How did you know it had a network structure!"

He'd let it slip! Su Ming sighed inwardly. He'd completely forgotten that the first few layers of the White Bone Mark were just multiple cycles.

The girl continued to press, "Tell me the truth, how far have you gotten from solving it?"

"Alright, I did unlock the fourth layer of the White Bone Mark," Su Ming had no choice but to admit. "And I also saw the confusion spell you planted."

Zijin remained completely unmoved, staring intently at Su Ming. "You've unlocked all seven layers, haven't you?"

The girl wasn't using her Omniscience now; her eyes were a beautiful, clear brown. Su Ming felt a little guilty under her gaze, and he gave up trying to hide it. "Yes."

Zijin punched his shoulder lightly with her fist, a hint of annoyance in her voice. Then, the scholar took a deep breath, closed her eyes to calm herself, and after a moment, slowly said, "You really can always exceed all my expectations."

"I used tools you're unaware of," Su Ming explained. "There are things on Earth called neural networks, which are best at analyzing complex but repetitive groups of spell patterns. I hired a team to help me filter out a large number of redundant spell patterns in the rune sea and find the key paths within them."

Su Ming Su Ming no specific idea about the computing platform the team rented. The further expansion of available funds allowed him to unlock more assistance from Earth. The power of industrial civilization could, in some ways, rewrite the rules of this other world.

"When did it start?" Zijin asked.

" On Brown Gold Island, that Magic Power resonance further expanded my spiritual power," Su Ming recounted. "When I woke up, I found I could see the entire White Bone Mark."

The starry nodes that appear when the White Bone Mark unfolds are only the surface; the dark starry sky behind it is the ocean of information.

"Shortly after leaving Brown Gold Island, I cracked the fifth level. The last two levels were completed a few days ago with the help of a larger computing platform."

There are two traps with the White Bone Mark placed by the Zijin; besides the fourth layer, there is another one on the fifth layer.

"So it was from that moment that I completely let my guard down around you." Zijin couldn't quite describe her feelings. "The day before yesterday, when you told me you'd cracked the third level, you were deliberately reminding me, preparing me for what was to come." She closed her eyes, pressing her hand to her hair. "How ridiculous! I struggled for so long, trying to convince myself to trust you more—but all of this was just your deliberate manipulation to mislead me because you were worried about my feelings!"

"-This is a disaster," Su Ming said sullenly. "I got stuck on the fourth layer, so I don't have much of an understanding of the shallow structure."

9

The scholar glared at him. "In your world, this is called Versailles, right?"

"Okay, I'm being shrewish."

Zijin calmed herself down, restarted the snowmobile, and slowly moved forward along a ridge.

The snow-covered slopes stretched out under the clear sky, like a silver-white canvas. Sunlight pierced through the cool air, gilding the snow crystals with diamond-like sharpness. The snow line at the horizon undulated with the mountain's contours, outlining undulating silhouettes against the sky.

The two quietly watched the snow scene for a while.

"Su Ming, you are the most terrifying master of the White Bone Mark," Zijin suddenly said. "Fortunately, you are too good."

"I promised—" Su Ming was interrupted before he could finish speaking.

"I know you want to regain control of the White Bone Mark," Zijin interrupted, "But there's no such thing as having it all—not solving my flaws, but also maintaining my freedom." She bit her lip, her voice strained, "It's not your fault; it's something I need to learn to accept."

The complete deciphering of the White Bone Mark signifies that Su Ming has gained absolute control over Zijin. However, Su Ming has not found a way to change Zijin's parasitic and dependent nature at the soul level.

Directly removing the mark will only cause more damage to the Zijin.

****

The snowmobile suddenly veered towards Su Ming. Zijin's distraction caused the snowmobile to deviate from its course and slide down the slope. She checked the terrain on both sides of the snowmobile, adjusted its direction, and continued driving forward at an angle on the slope.

She turned to look at Su Ming, who was shorter than her, and was about to speak when she noticed that he turned his face away uncomfortably. "What's wrong with you now?" Zijin asked, puzzled.

"What do you think?" Su Ming thought to himself. The angle of the car's tilt brought them too close; strands of Zijin's hair almost brushed against his cheek. Not to mention her lips, which she had unconsciously bitten just now, the rosy hue spreading from the faint teeth marks, involuntarily reminding Su Ming of that moonlit night a few days ago—

He pushed the Zijin aside, turned the steering wheel, and maneuvered the snowmobile back up the hill.

"If you walk diagonally like that, you'll get out in a bit." Zijin asked, puzzled, "Did I make a mistake?"

"No," Su Ming replied, seemingly the only one who cared about these things from beginning to end. After a moment's thought, he decided to be clear, "I am a young man, and you are a very beautiful girl, please understand that."

The Zijin testified for a while.

She thought she had established a pretty good understanding of human gender, after all, even dragons have gender concepts. But recently, Zijin.

"So, if you don't have any intention of developing a relationship with me beyond just being partners," Su Ming continued, "Please be mindful of that."

Zijin nodded somewhat blankly. After a moment, she looked up and said, "Could you please remind me again, like before?"

"Good."

Zijin turned back to focus on driving, while Su Ming continued to verify the runes.

She suddenly remembered something, "Su Ming, should I not sleep with you either?"

"Even with the little Tuanzi in between, I actually slept quite soundly," Su Ming replied.

He thought to himself that it was nice to be able to steal a few glances at her when he woke up.

"So when you feel you can tolerate it, you won't point out my overstepping boundaries, right?" Zijin narrowed her eyes.

"You found out."

****

Fishermen began to appear on the lake; they were some villagers from the nearby area. They were wrapped in thick cotton-padded clothes, and they used dry grass to pave the ice, chiseling holes in Nuoxia Lake before using poles to lay nets under the ice. Some fishermen were already pulling in their nets, and the net lines were immediately covered with ice chips as soon as they came out of the water.

Even with all kinds of protective gear, their hands were still frozen red.

Su Ming was surprised by Yan Dong's active production.

"After nightfall, the Youth Civilization will pass through this area again," he decided. This was the first time since entering the ice field that he had seen a large number of local people on the train's planned route.

"There's a salt mine near Turkmen City, where thousands of miners live," the scholar explained to him, explaining the reason for this phenomenon. "The town has a huge demand for food from the surrounding area. Rare fresh meat like live fish can fetch a good price."

Su Ming realized that the economic ecosystem was different. The reason why this region was so bustling in the dead of winter was simply because the industrial and commercial economy had completely overwhelmed the small-scale agricultural economy.