Su Ming's Little Report

"What are you doing?" Yise's voice came, full of refreshing feeling.

Su Ming turned his head and saw that the girl had finished washing up and was fixing her hair.

On the fair skin of her collarbone, faint traces of an incompletely healed wound, along with lingering red marks, could be seen.

But if there's anything wrong with it, it's that the girl has a black choker around her neck.

Su Ming knew it was that damned side effect again.

He felt it necessary to explain to Katharine, otherwise, if she saw these things together, it would be easy for her to misunderstand.

Su Ming briefly explained the reason to Yise.

"I'm testing a mechanical mouse."

Two half-cat people ran past, their paws pattering as they ran up to the attic.

"Sister, this one is pretty too!" Yuye exclaimed.

"Yes, that's exactly what I thought, so I made one for myself too!" Yise replied with a smile.

The two little figures disappeared around the corner of the stairs. A tuft of white was mixed into Yise's blond hair.

She tidied herself up, once again concealing the white within her hair.

The sounds of the siblings playing joyfully came from the attic.

"Oh dear, there's one!"

"It's running so fast, stop it!"

Upon hearing this, Yise's eyes lit up; he was clearly very interested and wanted to join the "test" as well.

That's for catching mice!

Su Ming quickly called out to her.

"I gave a warning to a local theft gang called ' Black Claw ' today."

"But there's more than one local tyrant."

"You need to be careful; someone might come to your door causing trouble or demanding protection money."

Yise didn't quite understand. "Has a powerful figure come to our door?"

Su Ming shook his head.

"They're just a bunch of thugs and hooligans."

Yise raised an eyebrow.

"So even if there are a hundred of them, I can easily take them all down with one hand, without a weapon, right?"

"No, what I mean is, don't kill him. We can't stand out too much," Su Ming said.

Yise clenched his fist, glanced at Su Ming, and then threw a punch.

Su Ming raised his hand to catch it, his palm colliding with Yise's fist, producing a crisp sound.

Su Ming took a half step back.

"Too heavy."

He gave a knowing look.

"Those people aren't combatants at all." "If you punch them like that, they'll definitely die."

Yise then adjusted himself, releasing the tension in his shoulders and back, and his arms were no longer so tense.

Then she threw another punch.

This time, Su Ming's hand gripped Yise's fist directly.

"That's good enough. He could probably cripple someone in two or three punches," he commented.

"I'll make a target and practice tomorrow," Yise said.

"Let me know when you're done," Su Ming added.

He also needs to control himself.

To stay here peacefully, one must maintain the persona of an "ordinary orc".

Otherwise, even a fool would know something's wrong!

"What should I do next?" Yise suddenly asked Su Ming.

"... What do you mean?" Yise looked somewhat angry.

"Mr. Hebana, please schedule my rehearsals to start tomorrow!"

Preparations are just beginning; the script hasn't even been compiled and copied yet.

Hebana let Yise enter the arrangement immediately, clearly because he was very worried about Yise's acting skills.

Su Ming began to ponder.

You can't perform too badly.

"Yes!" Yise quickly replied.

"I am currently a 'teenager who dreams of becoming an actress.'"

"If you act completely clueless and lack enthusiasm—"

"They'll doubt our sincerity, and consequently, the authenticity of our plan to reopen the theater!"

"Then you should read the script more and practice a bit," Su Ming said helplessly. "Anyway, once we've dealt with this Blackstone Mine, we should start thinking about how to leave."

"Alright!" Yise smiled slightly.

****

Su Ming returned to his room and started working on his tablet.

The sound of Yugan came from upstairs again.

"Alas, sister, we've caught one!"

"You guys' skills are lacking," Su Ming clicked his tongue in the chat.

Fengshou requires gritted teeth.

You win!

"The half-cat people are the best at catching mice," Su Ming laughed, "Far superior to those Hajimi from Earth."

The Fengshou organization's technical staff analyzed the problems and made continuous adjustments.

"So, if we can handle this brother and sister, dealing with those orcs in the mines will be a piece of cake?"

"Of course," Su Ming said. He whistled and called out to the upstairs:

"Take a 15-minute break every 15 minutes to give the other side some time to adjust."

"Okay!" Yuye replied.

His tone, however, betrayed a lingering sense of unfinished business.

Playing and frolicking are truly distant concepts for these siblings.

"I'll trouble you to work overtime tonight," Su Ming continued.

"If you're hungry, you can go get some hot pot pancakes. I also have some fruit and snacks here."

"Don't worry, Mr. Graves."

"That Corn is delicious even eaten raw," Yuye replied.

Su Ming shook his head; this was much easier to care for than any cat he knew.

He remembered something, opened Katharine's private chat, and sent a text message.

**** In the room next to Su Ming's, Yise closed the door.

She took off the thin coat that was draped over her shoulders and hung it on the hanger.

The night outside the window was deep and dark.

Jinxiu held out a wisp of flame with both hands, which flew around and lit the five candles scattered in the room.

The candlelight immediately spread out like a soft veil.

Yise's exposed shoulders, revealed by her slip dress, were surrounded by warm colors.

She smoothed her half-damp hair, picked up the script of "The Cangxiao Dynasty: The Flame of Succession Arc," found the section she had read earlier, and continued reading.

Jinxiu also joined in.

The two girls were completely engrossed in the watch, and at the most touching moments, they both wiped away tears.

The phone vibrated; it was a video call from Jielusi.

Yise answered the call.

At a glance, Jielusi noticed the stark difference in her friend's living conditions. "Your life is so comfortable!" she exclaimed enviously.

Yise also saw through the screen that there was still a forest background behind Jielusi.

"And you, what are you still doing on Immortal Spirit Peninsula?"

"Let's continue learning about Psionic Power manipulation," Jielusi said.

"The orcs' warning totem is used to distinguish orcs from other living beings through Psionic Power fluctuations."

She explained to Yise.

"I've practiced enough to impersonate an orc and fool the warning totem."

Yise immediately understood.

"Are you planning to infiltrate Water Chestnut Island to provide support?"

"Yes!"

"If Su Ming knew how dedicated his security supervisor was, he would be very moved."

"No, it's because of you, you silly little thing!" The two joked around for a while.

The conversation quickly turned back to what Yise was reading.

"The play ' The Cangxiao Dynasty '?"

Jielusi thought for a moment.

"Yuya seems to know something about this."

Yuya enjoys reading these kinds of books; it's said she's currently writing some kind of biography.

She was said to be very popular, but when Jielusi asked her in detail what her work was, she was vague about it.

Yise readily agreed and immediately added Yuya to the chat, turning it into a group chat.

"Night Song Comes from the West!"

When Yuya saw the cover of the manuscript in Yise's hand, her scream almost pierced her eardrums.

"I'm a huge fan of this lady!"

The other two quickly muted her. Only after Yuya frantically typed a promise never to do it again did Yise unmute her.

"Cough cough!"

Yuya cleared her throat.

"The ' Cangxiao Dynasty ' series is a collection of biographical stories compiled and written by later generations based on historical materials."

"It records the major events of the thousand-year period during the Cangxiao Dynasty; it is an epic that moves the heart."

"So there are a lot of stage adaptations of it?" Yise asked.

Yuya nodded.

"Indeed, but one regret is that the story of ' The Cangxiao Dynasty ' has always been missing a part."

She told Yise.

"The last period of the Cangxiao Dynasty was around the time of the massive eruption of the Water Chestnut Island volcano 1200 years ago."

"Due to the turbulent times, many historical records were lost."

"There's no description of this period of history in the compiled stories." Yise waved the manuscript in his hand.

"So this literary script I have, called ' The Flame of Succession Arc,' is completely new?"

"Yes!" Yuya cupped her hands to her heart, her eyes shining brightly. "Night Song Comes from the West, it fills the void."

She introduced them as if they were her own treasures:

"Night Song Comes from the West Xilai is very interested in the Cangxiao Dynasty."

According to her own account, she grew up reading this.

"Over the years, she has been diligently collecting relevant information, determined to complete the poignant account of the Cangxiao Dynasty's nationwide effort to control the volcano, thus bringing the story of this Legendary dynasty to a close."

"You seem to have seen her before, haven't you?" Jielusi asked.

"Yes, it was at the scholars' annual meeting two years ago, at the arts and literature section," Yuya replied.

"Although her face was partially concealed, she looked unexpectedly young."

She continued to recall.

"She told me about her plans for this project back then, and even said she wanted to do some site visits." "I didn't expect the work to be finished now; she's so hardworking!"

Jielusi raised a question.

"Yise is holding is a handwritten manuscript."

"Shouldn't Night Song Comes from the West's works be sent to a publishing house for printing?"

Yuya was stunned.

"Then this must be a preliminary copy that Night Song Comes from the West hired someone to transcribe."

"Let's see if the Water Chestnut Island Theater is willing to stage her new play."

"This is her dream."

Yise sighed, feigning difficulty in his tone.

"I'm now being forced to start rehearsing the role of Princess Aivila."

"They might even be forced to perform on stage."

"Wolf Fang Princess!" Yuya screamed again, the high-pitched voice of the Feather Race girl piercing through the air. Yise reacted swiftly, effectively silencing her.

After she finished clicking, she even stuck out her tongue and licked the back of her hand triumphantly.

This action startled Jielusi.

****

One minute later, Yuya was finally freed from the restrictions and allowed to speak again.

"The ' Flame of Succession Arc ' mentions that Princess Aivier is the holder of the Wolf Fang Key," Yise said.

Do you know the specifics?

She herself possessed a Raven Key and instinctively suspected there might be some connection between them.

Yuya dared not call out again and answered honestly.

"Legend has it that the highest ruler of the Cangxiao Dynasty possessed a total of six keys with mysterious powers."

"However, the accounts in literary works are not very detailed."

Yuya thought for a moment. "I'll try contacting Night Song Comes from the West; she's an expert in this field."

"And I'll go find out which publisher is printing her work right now."

"That's not bad," Yise said.

****

A new communication request popped up; it was from Katharine.

Yise pulled her in as well.

"Mom!" the girl said in a slightly coquettish tone.

"Lady Katharine!" the other two said.

Katharine was very pleased to see that Yise's condition had improved significantly.

She immediately glanced at her daughter's neck and, sure enough, there was a black collar there.

Yise wore only a thin nightgown, her shoulders, neck, and collarbone exposed, her smooth skin reflecting the candlelight.

The warm light cast a pale golden glow on her, which, combined with the remaining scars on her neck, created an indescribable and subtle atmosphere. Katharine's gaze darted back and forth, her expression gradually becoming complex.

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

"Su Ming messaged me saying you were wearing a collar," Katharine replied truthfully.

Why would he tattle on me?!

Yise was very dissatisfied and lowered his head to stroke the leather around his neck.

"And what's wrong with wearing a collar?"

Katharine sighed deeply.

"You're dressed like that."

"Su Ming is still only concerned about the collar!"

"..."

(Below are the character images I painstakingly created, during which various AI programs refused to follow the prompts. It seems this is only visible on the Qidian app.)