Frostflame Festival Night

He turned to the second picture, which was also a landscape with figures: a beautiful girl sitting on a rock in the sea, with a ferocious bone dragon behind her. The picture was exquisite, but the theme was still purely monastic.

It wasn't until the third page that the shopkeeper finally saw the cumbersome clothing on the figures disappear. But he was immediately disappointed to find that the shadows cast by the huge train and the bone dragon, the steam billowing from the locomotive, and the holy light emanating from the girl's hands completely obscured the core content!

Besides, the background content is drawn with excessive detail. It's a battlefield where motorcycles use strange projection devices to slaughter enemies, and bone dragons summon corpses into skeletons to hunt them down.

The shop owner walked over, his eyes lighting up when he saw the painting. He immediately took the sketch, examined it closely, and quickly confirmed, "It's ' The Melancholy Cavalryman '! This is the work of a master!"

The shopkeeper was surprised. "The painting skills are indeed superb, but the style is very different from the Cavalry Master's previous works!"

"No mistake, that brushstroke, that style!" the shopkeeper said confidently, then looked up at Qiluo, "May I ask who you are, Master?"

"It's me," Qiluo replied. She raised her elbow, only to realize she had accidentally cracked the elmwood cabinet surface, revealing the original wood color beneath the paint. "Oh dear, sorry."

Even the most oblivious of them would realize that what was in front of them was not human.

"Um, Melancholy Cavalryman Master, are these drawings for us to publish?" the shopkeeper asked cautiously.

"Certainly."

The shopkeeper and manager carefully examined the artwork; the back was filled with war scenes and detailed storylines. After defeating the first wave of enemies, the motorcycle and the bone dragon encountered an ambush by a large enemy force in another valley. In the pitch-black night, the bone dragon and the motorcycle were surrounded by enemy artillery and found themselves in dire straits. At this moment, several enormous blue ice dragons descended from the sky, unleashing Meteor Fire Rain that destroyed the enemy's artillery positions.

The mysterious couple remained as bystanders throughout. Their expressions were ambiguous, but all the specific details were cleverly obscured by the artist using various techniques—it would have been better not to draw them at all!

"Master of Cavalry, why don't you draw the main characters more clearly?" the shopkeeper asked, puzzled. The plot hole of the ice dragon breathing fire was insignificant; they weren't publishing a proper storybook.

Let's just consider it a metaphor.

"Have you forgotten Master Crystal Orchid's lesson?" Qiluo retorted to the shopkeeper.

Crystal Orchid is best known not only for her delicate and beautiful painting style, but also for her fondness for drawing inspiration from reality.

Legend has it that the master's stealth and concealment abilities were unparalleled. In her pursuit of materials, she did not hesitate to use the Moon God Technique to bring her chosen target together, ultimately provoking the Shattered Light Sword Saint Atiya, which led to her tragic end.

The shop owner's hand trembled slightly as he held the drawing, and he quickly asked, "Who are these two people in the drawing?"

"Does it matter who they are?" Qiluo asked. "I've blurred them out so much."

"That's true." The shop owner nodded, then suddenly realized, "But will any customers buy it like this? Why not paint it like your previous work, ' Phantom of the Temple'— "

"Shh!" Qiluo quickly stopped him, "Don't mention that!"

That's why we're all in the same boat, and individual styles can't be hidden from experts. Otherwise, Qiluo wouldn't even dare to reveal her pen name—who knows how much the bounty Katharine her is now?

The shop owner immediately fell silent.

"Don't worry, just focus on publishing, there will definitely be buyers!" Qiluo said confidently. "We can sign a revenue-sharing contract based on sales."

The shop owner didn't refuse again. After discussing the details, he had the shopkeeper draft a confidentiality agreement, which both parties then signed.

Qiluo added an extra requirement: the earliest release date must not be earlier than one month.

Finally, she remembered what Su Ming had asked her to do, "Get me some printing paper, a few sheets of each type. And some ink too."

"OK!"

The shopkeeper didn't charge her, but took a few sheets of each kind and carefully rolled them up together. The shopkeeper also packed some of each type of ink, wrapped them in cloth, and handed them to Qiluo.

****

The Northern Lands Stronghold of the Temple of Light in Bubing City, the Silent Dawn Church.

Katharine sat upright in her office on the top floor of the small auditorium, intently reviewing various documents, the magical light casting shadows on her slightly hazy profile.

A priest respectfully presented a letter, "Your Excellency, King Xialike has sent a message of condolence."

Katharine unfolded the message, which read: Are you alright? Are you safe?

The official situation had already been reported via communications. Katharine didn't want to deal with the letter, but she thought that nothing stays hidden forever. Besides, the Star Empire was very far away, and the communication would have to go through many transfers along the way.

So she had to maintain appearances. She could only pick up her quill pen and say, "My son and I are both well and safe, don't worry."

Just as she put down her pen, the head maid gently knocked on the door. "My lord, Yise and Jielusi request an audience."

"Let them in," said Katharine. She handed the prepared message to the priest and then gestured for everyone to leave. A moment later, Yise and Jielusi entered the room and bowed politely.

Jielusi turned and closed the door tightly, Yise immediately threw herself into Katharine's arms.

"Mother!"

Katharine gently stroked her daughter's hair and said softly, "It's alright, I'm fine."

Yise looked up and examined Katharine's face closely; she had sensed something was amiss as soon as she entered.

Katharine reluctantly dispelled the illusion, revealing six crisscrossing scratches on her face. The wounds were extremely gruesome, with the skin and flesh almost turned inside out.

Yise exclaimed, "Mom, you're so badly hurt!"

"It just looks scary," Katharine explained. "It's some kind of Pinkie Pie's handiwork; it takes a month to fade."

Why not get treatment?

Katharine shook her head and smiled wryly. She had already summoned several priests skilled in healing magic, but Zijin's improved Dragon Claw spell remained unmoved by the powerful healing Magic Power.

"Mom, what happened?" Yise asked. "How did you get attacked?"

"We have some suspicions, and we're still investigating," Katharine replied.

"So how did you escape? We chased them all the way from Galloping Horse Slope, and there were only traces of large groups of pursuers—" Yise pulled out a crystal and a strip of cloth with Su Ming's message from his pocket, "Mom, what happened back then? Was it this Graves who saved you?"

"Graves?" Katharine frowned slightly.

"An alchemist and gunslinger, isn't that him?"

"... No, it's him," Katharine said. "Graves is just an alias."

This wasn't unusual in the adventurer world, Yise relaxed a bit. "What a strange gunslinger. I was worried he was just lying to me, but considering this guy was recognized by the unicorn—thank goodness you really were saved!"

"How did you two meet?" Katharine asked.

Yise then told Katharine about his encounter with Su Ming in Shafeng'er Town and the rescue of Princess Dafulin in Lisi City.

"Graves made a sudden advance on us the first time we met, and then turned and left the second time," Yise recounted with great enthusiasm. "Is there something wrong with him?"

Katharine unconsciously clenched her fist, then relaxed it. She reached out and touched her daughter's head, letting out a long sigh.

"What's wrong, Mom?" Yise asked, puzzled.

Katharine reached out and the Sword of the Scales flew into her hand, which she then handed to her daughter.

Yise lit up with joy. "You got the sword back!"

But then she suddenly realized something: Katharine had just returned, and the fact that she carried a sword meant—

"You encountered Ailisha and Bone King Su Ming!" she exclaimed in realization. "That means Graves is from the White Bone Fortress!"

Katharine looked at her without saying a word.

"A strange alchemist, whose style of weapons and tools is completely out of place in this world," Yise said from behind Jielusi. "And he has absolutely no understanding of the common knowledge of the Church of Light."

Yise was struck dumb. She looked at her mother in disbelief, only to see Katharine with her eyes closed and her head bowed.

"I... I..."

The girl suddenly stood up and rushed out the door.

****

Jielusi was about to give chase, Katharine stopped her, "Let her have some peace and quiet. She probably wants to be alone for a while now."

"Yes, sir."

"Yise isn't that fragile; she's just having trouble accepting the fact that Su Ming played her for a fool." Katharine rubbed her temples, feeling a bit of a headache.

"The necromancer, second on the wanted list, brushed past her without her even noticing," Jielusi said. "That's even more of a blow to Yise."

Katharine scrutinized Jielusi, then suddenly frowned. "Is your situation worse?"

"Yes, my lady." Jielusi gave a bitter look. "Once I use Shadow Form, I completely lose control of the killing. But when I encounter a powerful enemy, I have no choice but to use it."

Katharine immediately checked on Jielusi's condition and was even more troubled. "A normal Mirror Soul Technique should have symmetrical dual souls. How did you manage to make it white plus black?"

By dividing and folding the soul into symmetrical mirror images, the strength and resilience of the spiritual sea can be enhanced. However, this system is difficult to master, requiring immense talent and perseverance, and few choose to practice it.

Jielusi has great talent, but for some reason, her training went completely wrong.

"We can't let this continue." Katharine thought for a moment. "In a few days, I'll seal your shadow abilities, and then you can become a healer."

Jielusi bit her lower lip tightly. She was extremely unwilling to give up on something she had been working so hard for all this time. But the problem she was facing now was a fact.

Lady Katharine is right.

"Thank you, Your Excellency," Jielusi said.

"Only those who endure the darkness of eternal night will know that frost is God's gentlest ribbon," Katharine encouraged.

****

After handling a few more tasks, Su Ming disconnected the mental connection and stretched his stiff limbs. Outside the window, the sun had already set halfway down.

"What would you like to eat for dinner?" Su Ming asked Zijin.

The scholar put down the half-finished Magic Crystal Core and array sketch, thought for a moment, and said, "I'm just doing it casually."

Su Ming headed towards the kitchen. Although the lunch he had prepared was plentiful, it had all been devoured thanks to the presence of a certain beast.

Zijin wanted to continue carving, but then put down her carving knife. "Su Ming," she hesitated for a moment, then said, "I want to go and see that village nearby."

Su Ming turned his head, only then belatedly realizing what he had overlooked. The Frostflame Festival Night in this other world was similar to New Year's Eve in his hometown; even villages would definitely have celebrations.

Zijin chose to stay on the White Bone Train, but today was a special day, and she couldn't help but have all sorts of feelings.

"Sorry." Su Ming tapped his head, feeling a bit dizzy from being so busy these past two days. "Let's go together."

The village is twenty kilometers away, White Bone Train is equipped with a mix of magical and modern security measures, so there's not much to worry about in terms of safety.

"Is your work alright?" Zijin asked.

"It's finished," Su Ming said. "You can rest for the rest of tonight."

"It would be good to go for a walk together," said Zijin. "We'll be quite busy later."

"Um."

****

Su Ming went to the kitchen first, chopped some minced meat, and then went to the storage compartment to feed the snow eagle.

After capturing it the day before yesterday, Su Ming entrusted it to Younier's care. At that time, the snow eagle was quite energetic, but now, when Su Ming looked at it, he found that the snow eagle was listless and its feathers were disheveled. Su Ming fed it food and water, but the snow eagle curled up and did not move, let alone open its mouth to eat.

"These birds of prey are very difficult to tame," Zijin's voice came, though she didn't come over, her gaze followed her. "We're not professionals; we can't keep them alive."

Su Ming originally intended to release the snow eagle, but seeing its condition and considering that it was the dead of winter when finding food was difficult, he figured it would just be a waste of its life.

"Why don't we bring it along?" Su Ming picked up the cage containing the snow eagle. "There should be hunters in the village; we can ask them how to raise it."

"That's one way to do it."

The snowmobile was driven away, but they happened to have captured a few Frostmane Giant Wolf from the battle two days ago. Zijin brought one over for Su Ming to try, and as expected, Su Ming had no idea how to control it. Before long, he fell off the wolves' backs.

Zijin giggled and reached out to pull Su Ming up from the ground. "Let's not bother anymore. I'll carry you there on a broom."

Zijin summoned a broom, then pulled Su Ming along and flew off. Having some experience, Su Ming was now able to sit quite steadily while holding onto Zijin. To reduce the risk of accidents, both of them wore magic-banned cloaks, so Zijin installed magic crystals on the broom, using their Magic Power to power it.

Watching the dozen or so gold coins worth of crystals being consumed so quickly, Su Ming felt that the planes in this other world were truly expensive.

As dusk settled, a cold wind swept across the snow-covered plains, whipping up a thin mist that swirled in the low-lying areas. The distant mountain ranges blurred, like ink wash paintings, merging seamlessly with the grey sky.

But Su Ming was in a good mood. For the first time in a long time, he finally felt real support from his hometown, which gave him more confidence for the challenges ahead.

But more importantly, the heavy burden that had been weighing on my heart for so long has dissipated considerably.

The snowfield gradually fell silent in the afterglow of dusk. The last trace of orange-red on the horizon was swallowed by the gray-blue clouds, and the fine snow fell silently, gleaming faintly with silver light in the dimming light.

A returning bird swept across, casting a fleeting shadow on the vast snowfield. Silence enveloped the land, with only the whisper of the wind, as if telling of the desolation and eternity of this frozen land.