A Stand-In?

The next morning, Su Ming was woken up by his alarm clock.

The sky outside the window was just beginning to lighten, and the air was damp and cool.

Su Ming glanced at his phone and found no urgent messages, just routine CCs.

He got up and casually opened the duty personnel channel.

"What's the situation with that half-werewolf?" Su Ming asked.

"Everything is normal," the staff on duty reported. "She's been sleeping until now."

A medical expert interjected:

"The target's vital signs are also stable."

"Her physical condition is much better than Ximina's."

Yise only used the "Holy Spring Key" to heal for an hour, and the half-werewolf was basically fine.

Of course, it's also related to the "Prisoner Brand," which was completely absorbed by the Jinxiu.

Su Ming sensed the state of the Star Fairy on his forehead. The tiny starlight was curled up in a ball, with uniform brightness and a long, drawn-out breath. Su Ming even had a feeling that he could vaguely hear a soft snore.

He strongly suspected that he had used Magic Power to feed Jinxiu too much.

****

Su Ming picked up his toothbrush and brushed his teeth.

"May I ask the werewolf a question?"

Medical experts assessed Lang Yefu's condition.

"You can wake her up; a shot of an stimulant will do the trick."

"Okay, prepare the medicine for me immediately," Su Ming said.

This is Cloud Fang City, where a half-werewolf who looks remarkably like Yexiya has suddenly appeared, and is also a wanted criminal from the Plundering Clock.

Su Ming needed to figure out the situation as soon as possible.

However, Su Ming had barely stepped out of his room when he was caught by Yise, who had also opened his door.

The girl had changed into sportswear and was holding her hair tie in her teeth, gathering her long hair behind her head with both hands. "Perfect timing, let's go downstairs and practice," Yise said to Su Ming.

"Why?" Su Ming asked, puzzled.

"Sister Bay Owl sent a message saying that you were slow to react when you encountered ' Yexiya ' last night," Yise replied.

Su Ming sighed and rubbed his wrist.

"I watched helplessly as Yexiya's body and soul vanished."

Although it was actually swallowed by the Dawn and Dusk Bracelet, this was a secret known only to Su Ming and a few Titled Scholar.

"So at the time, I had absolutely no idea what kind of situation it was."

The two walked downstairs together, the stone steps making a soft sound under their feet.

"What Bay Owl means is that you should have launched a suppressive attack back then, and then figured things out," Yise said.

Su Ming clearly disagreed with this.

"You're the archer, shouldn't you be the one to initiate the probe?"

Yise tied her hair up tightly. "So the Bay Owl said that we two clumsy birds need to practice."

"Maintain basic combat reflexes."

"That's true," Su Ming said.

Since arriving in Cloud Fang City, the two of them haven't had any combat training.

****

The two entered the courtyard, where Yise donned a breastplate and finger guards, activating the hazy runes surrounding the courtyard walls.

A light curtain of water vapor drifted along the base of the wall, enveloping the entire courtyard.

Then Yise took out Leoni's longbow, tried drawing the string a few times, and it produced a soft hum.

Shall we warm up first?

Su Ming was also moving his hands and feet. He rotated his shoulders and neck, and lifted his legs to stretch a couple of times. His body was still a little stiff after waking up.

I've been staying up late a lot lately.

"How do we fight?" he asked. "Just like usual," Yise replied.

Su Ming asked questions when he didn't understand.

What are the conventions?

Although he and Zijin often practiced sparring, he was 100% certain that Belladonna's training methods had absolutely nothing to do with the usual practices.

"We each announce an attack method, and the other side announces a defense method."

Yise explained.

She brandished the bow in her hand, along with a quiver of training arrows without metal tips.

"I'll naturally shoot arrows."

Su Ming raised his hand and conjured a universal magic orb.

"Then I'll use a magic bullet."

Yise continued.

"My chosen defensive strategy is to dodge."

"Then I'll dodge too." Su Ming followed suit.

"Alright." Yise slung the quiver over his shoulder and assumed a half-bow position.

Su Ming drew out Thorn Long Whip.

The vine-like patterns converged, and the thorny spikes at the ends retracted, transforming into a staff.

The next moment, Su Ming fired in rapid succession, and more than a dozen magic balls left shallow marks at the same time, like a handful of marbles being thrown out.

Yise also quickly drew his bow, and an arrow shot out.

One of them was more, and the other was faster.

Yise quickly drew an arrow, nocked it, drew the bow, and then released it.

Su Ming moved quickly, dodging the first arrow, but as expected, he was caught off guard by Yise's second arrow.

With a sweep of his staff, he deflected the arrows, which spun and bounced away.

On the other side, after dodging some of Su Ming's attacks, Yise had no choice but to use his bow arm to shatter the remaining magic orbs, turning them into a shower of tiny Magic Power specks. After all, it was just a courtyard; the space was too small, and the reaction time was too short.

"That's interesting, let's do it again!" Su Ming said, his interest piqued.

****

Arrows and magic orbs flew through the air, only to be blocked by the surrounding barriers.

The two primarily practiced physical skills and reaction techniques, limiting the level of power they could unleash.

The surrounding orcs, hearing the commotion, didn't find it strange that the extraordinary brother and sister were engaging in "morning training."

Yuye Yugan, like siblings, peeked out from upstairs.

"They're amazing!" Yugan exclaimed.

"This is just for fun," Ximina interjected.

She was brushing her teeth.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Ximina asked.

"Pork liver," Yuye replied. Ximina thought for a moment.

"I have a cooking method; judging from the elves' reviews, it should be delicious."

Su Ming dodged the arrows back and forth, seizing every opportunity to counterattack.

The two fought back and forth.

The magic ball struck the barrier and dissipated, while the training arrows bounced back and scattered, covering the ground.

Because they relied too much on physical skills, both of them were covered in sweat after just over ten minutes.

Su Ming had been waiting for Yise to launch a surprise attack, but in the end, he found that they were just honestly exchanging fire.

"You actually followed the rules of the declaration," he gasped.

Yise didn't understand.

"It's just practice, why not keep your promise?" She was also breathing heavily.

Although her physical skills are better than Su Ming's, she suffered a much greater physical disadvantage in the last battle against Prism Shadow.

"... Nothing." Su Ming pouted.

The phone vibrated, and Su Ming raised his hand to signal it to pause before answering.

"Hmph, are you talking behind my back?" Zijin's voice came.

Su Ming quickly tried to explain.

"I was clearly doing this face-to-face."

Yise came over and handed Su Ming a towel to wipe his sweat. She also tidied the damp stray hairs on her forehead.

Zijin pushed over a spell formula.

"You've finished warming up, it's time to begin the regular lesson."

Su Ming and Yise examined it carefully.

The purpose of this procedure is to fix a thin layer of air film on the surface of the body.

Su Ming immediately understood.

"For rapid underwater movement?" Water is 800 times denser than air, so the difference in drag is just as significant at the same speed and shape.

Covering it with air bubbles can isolate it from friction with water, effectively reducing water resistance.

Zijin nodded.

"Go down into the cave in a few days; this spell can greatly increase underwater movement speed."

Su Ming memorized the spell and began to attempt to release it, and it quickly took shape. A transparent membrane of air floated up against his arm, constantly breaking and closing again.

Yise frowned; she had absolutely no idea where to begin.

"This spell is too complex, beyond my casting capabilities."

Yise is indeed a jack-of-all-trades, but what Bay Owl developed is exceptionally difficult. Maintaining a non-standard curved surface in the air layer requires a very high degree of precision in Magic Power manipulation.

Especially since its ultimate application scenario is high-speed underwater movement.

Zijin explained:

"They're making 'cavitation amulets' here, to cover the surface of the wetsuit."

"You just need to understand the principle." Yise was delighted; as a user of magical artifacts, she had an advantage in manipulating magical items.

Su Ming, however, was dissatisfied.

"Since there are amulets to use, why should I learn spellcasting?"

Zijin said matter-of-factly:

It's always better to be prepared.

"What if the 'cavitation amulet' breaks while underwater?"

"Moreover, a spellcaster's magic is always more flexible than a fixed magic circle."

When Su Ming barely mastered casting the spell, Zijin began to increase its intensity. She had Yise attack with fire arrows, while Su Ming tried to intercept them with air bubbles.

The bow in Yise's hand was immediately engulfed in flames, and he fired without an arrow, a small ball of orange-red flame instantly leaving the bowstring.

Su Ming was caught off guard and became flustered.

****

About an hour later, Yise and Su Ming finished their practice and went upstairs. The orc staff arrived one after another. The theater's front yard gradually filled with voices, people moving props and sweeping, quickly filling the yard.

Su Ming took a shower and changed into a cat disguise outfit.

As I left the room, Yuye brought me breakfast, carrying a tray.

It was a bowl of millet porridge and a piece of boiled pork liver about the size of a plate.

Its edges were grayish, and a little moisture remained on its surface, giving it a simple yet cruel sense of nourishment.

Su Ming sniffed the fishy smell of pig liver and sighed helplessly.

High in protein, high in iron, and high in vitamins.

Regardless of the cooking method, it is indeed a good food.

Su Ming picked up the pig liver, took a bite, and found it extremely fishy; he barely managed to swallow it.

Fortunately, he had been pickling some radishes these past few days.

Su Ming ate the crisp radish from his plate as he walked into the room where Lang Yefu was imprisoned.

An IV stand was set up beside the bed, and an intravenous syringe was dripping fever-reducing medication. Several cables extended from Lang Yefu's arm and chest to the monitoring equipment. Su Ming put down the tray and was about to call for the wake-up medication when he was stopped by the expert.

"Try waking him up directly first."

Su Ming nudged Lang Yefu's shoulder, shaking her until she trembled.

But the person didn't react.

Su Ming then tried a different approach. He picked up a water glass and splashed some cold water on the half-werewolf's face.

Sure enough, the electrocardiogram monitor showed a rapid increase in readings, and Lang Yefu slowly woke up, opening her eyes.

Water droplets slid down her eyelashes and cheeks; her pupils first dilated, then quickly focused.

"The orcs have really good physiques," the expert team remarked enviously.

"She has a great figure too," someone whispered.

Then that person was muted by the administrator for ten minutes.

****

Lang Yefu was quite surprised to see Su Ming. She sensed her physical condition and discovered that she had received a fairly high level of medical care.

This is not how criminals are treated.

Lang Yefu quickly glanced at the room's furnishings, not seeing any typical torture tools.

But the tubes attached to his wrists, the wires connected to his chest, and the small, pulsating box that occasionally beeps were all so unfamiliar, bringing with them a profound sense of unease.

These must be new forced confession equipment!

****

Su Ming was unaware of what Lang Yefu was thinking.

"Hello, what's your name?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

Lang Yefu gritted her teeth and decided to give up entirely.

"I'm very hungry, can I have some porridge?"

She stared intently at Su Ming's plate, her gaze unwavering, completely ignoring his question.

The live chat immediately flooded with expert advice. "Force her to answer the questions first."

"We need to give them a taste of their power and seize control!" someone chimed in.

Su Ming glanced at Lang Yefu's chapped lips and her haggard face.

During last night's treatment, it was discovered that the half-werewolf's body bore layers upon layers of torture marks, with bruises crisscrossing each other.

Su Ming walked over, untied the restraints binding her body and the chain on one hand, and then helped her sit up.

Finally, Su Ming handed her the bowl of millet porridge that had been targeted.

This action caused Lang Yefu, who had been calculating and observing silently, to pause in her tracks.

She seemed not to grasp the situation; her fingers froze beside the rim of the bowl, catching it only a beat too late.

Lang Yefu looked at the bowl and plate in her hands.

The rice grains were cooked until they burst open, and a thin layer of rice oil floated on the pale yellow surface of the porridge. The temperature was not hot; when held in the hand, only a slight warmth traveled along the bowl to the fingertips.

For someone who is imprisoned, interrogated, tortured, and waiting to die on a street corner, it is almost too good to be true.

Lang Yefu lowered her head and carefully took a sip. The porridge slid down her throat, and she swallowed slowly, as if she couldn't believe she could actually eat it.

Then came the second bite, and the third bite.

Even though she knew it was a trap set by the other party, two tears still uncontrollably streamed down Lang Yefu's cheeks.

****

Su Ming pulled up a chair and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I've seen you before," he said.

Lang Yefu did not resist and answered truthfully.

"What you're seeing should be Yexiya."

"My name is Lang Yefu, I'm just her substitute."

This answer was completely unexpected for Su Ming. He had originally assumed that the person in front of him was either Yexiya's sister or something similar.

He didn't understand at all.

"Why would Yexiya, a top-tier expert, need a substitute?" Lang Yefu shook her head.

"My role as her double isn't to defend against assassination attempts, but to help her build up her experience and qualifications."

She steered the conversation back on track.

More than a decade ago, the Plundering Clock landed on Water Chestnut Island.

Under Abigai's infiltration of the "Thread Puppet Prison" and Hairspring's manipulative tactics, the leadership of the Orcs on Water Chestnut Island was quickly dismantled and taken over.

"Back then, I was just a country girl."

"I work in the fields with my parents every day."

"Life is getting harder and harder, and everyone looks worried, but I don't understand why."

Lang Yefu's gaze fell on the bowl of porridge, as if the pale yellow surface of the porridge reflected the paddy field ridges of many years ago.

One day, a squad of orc guards suddenly broke into my house and arrested me.

"They said the sheep on the neighboring farm were stolen and eaten."

"It was our family who did it, the evidence is irrefutable, and they should punish me and my family by cutting off our arms." "I was terrified!"

A mocking smile appeared on Lang Yefu's face.

"At that moment, the bell-ringing priest, dressed in white, descended from the sky like a ray of light and came before us, rescuing us with a benevolent expression."

"He told everyone that the family was innocent, and so we were released."

Our hearts are filled with gratitude!