Chapter 5: Searching for Targets
“Alright, alright, I was just joking,” Ji Ma said, the firelight dancing on her face as she laughed. “Besides, I can’t wait to rescue Shuang Ye. By the way, do you know who kidnapped her?”
George shook his head, “No.”
“Think positively; maybe she’s safe already,” Ji Ma said. “After all, she’s the illegitimate daughter of the Elven Queen, so you could say she’s practically a princess. Her father is an Osuan guard, and her uncle is the strongest mage of this era. The resources available to her are not less than those of a mere little succubus like me, right?”
“I hope we can confirm her safety.”
“So do I,” Ji Ma said. “Not only do I hope she’s safe, but I also wish that tomorrow I could have my dream palace, and everyone gathers there happily.”
That was all well and good, but Ji Ma didn’t mention the worst-case scenario. If, just if, Eve Shuang Ye was kidnapped by the infamous Seraph.
Ji Ma didn’t dare to imagine it.
If that were the case, seeing Shuang Ye again would shatter any beautiful memories, and perhaps leave her with a little psychological scar.
Unable to suppress her imagination, Ji Ma pictured Shuang Ye’s fate. Perhaps she would fall into depravity, with a grotesquely large mouth, needing to drink steel juice to satisfy her spicy cravings, becoming a monster with seven or eight arms.
The two exchanged information.
They needed to find a target related to dream powers, preferably another succubus, as a sacrifice. Under this premise, the stronger the target, the better.
“According to the pre-war code, let’s list all our combat powers.”
George laid the Holy Sword on the ground and placed his helmet next to it, saying, “These are the only extraordinary items I have.”
“How poor,” Ji Ma said, wrapping an arm around her chest and producing a straight branch, an oval ice block, a bloodstained songstress, and a lucky gold ring. “This is all I have, and I’m still missing one thing.”
Lian Xi was sweating profusely on her forehead as she arranged the neatly folded clothes and said, “Master, your clothes are dry now.”
She was very concerned about the drying progress, watching closely, just to prevent George from gaining an advantage for even a second.
Ji Ma placed her hand on the warm clothing, “Then I’ll get dressed.”
George stood up, “I’ll turn away.”
Ji Ma straightened her long legs, slipping into her black stockings, and remarked, “You blockhead, I was naked just a moment ago, and during the dressing process, my skin exposure is still less than before.”
Lian Xi whispered, “Hmph, at least he understands.”
Once Ji Ma was dressed, she sat down in a chair beside the campfire, the flickering flames casting shadows on her, creating a partially veiled beauty.
Lian Xi kept glancing at Ji Ma, who appeared calm.
Lian Xi felt as if she had left this perilous and barren wilderness to return to a luxurious palace on Earth, with Ji Ma leisurely tending to the fire by the fireplace while she served her calmly by the side.
But this illusion ended abruptly when George’s tall figure entered her line of sight.
Ji Ma crossed her legs, and with her skirt hiked high, revealing a touch of her snow-white thigh, she extended her hand toward George, saying, “Give it back to me.”
“What?”
Ji Ma pointed at the four items on the ground, saying, “One more is missing.”
George took out a bracelet. Without confirmation, he directly threw it to Ji Ma, the bracelet flying over the campfire, glimmering.
Lian Xi looked at it, remembering that Ji Ma sacrificed one of her most beloved witches for it.
“Is that all?”
“Yep,” Ji Ma slipped the bracelet onto her arm. “Shall we share our abilities?”
“Of course.” George’s azure eyes reflected the campfire’s light, and in Lian Xi’s view, his eyes shot fire, directed at her.
He spoke, “According to the code, we should try to avoid having unrelated personnel present during battles.”
Ji Ma waved her hand, “Lian Xi, take a few steps back.”
“Yes, Master.”
That smelly man.
Lian Xi gritted her teeth and stepped back a few paces, only able to see Ji Ma’s back and her pair of glossy black horns, a sense of loss swelling in her heart, unable even to catch a glimpse of her profile.
Ji Ma waved her hand and unleashed the “Tranquil Veil” to isolate them from the outside world.
“Conviction, trial, and increased damage to oath breakers,” George said. “You know about these, right?”
“Of course.”
“I can also legislate and restrict people and objects within certain limits,” George said. “Including the range of dream movement.”
“Was that what you used to prohibit my dream walking last time?”
“Including making it so that you couldn’t escape after contact,” George said. “A month ago, in your state, we enacted a law prohibiting spatial traversal, cleverly hidden within complex texts, which enhances my abilities.”
“What’s the effect of going live then?”
“It’s the wrath of justice,” George corrected. “The more people support me in carrying out justice, the stronger I become.”
“Hmm, anything else?”
“If I can represent the order of goodness, punishing those who disrupt the order would make me even stronger.”
“No wonder you had so many positions last time you came to chop me,” Ji Ma rolled her eyes. “A check revealed you were even the Forest Administrator of Florida. Is that because I burned down a patch of forest?”
“Could we stop talking about that? I’m in a bad mood.”
Ji Ma joked, “Hahaha, is it because the famous Chosen One was defeated by me?”
“I always think of the moment you ran into my sword,” George said. “It makes me very sad.”
“Okay, okay.” Ji Ma’s eyes twinkled. “Since you’re sad, I won’t bring it up. Oh dear, what can I do? I am, after all, a virtuous wife!”
Knowing that George felt guilty about this matter, she decided to mention it less, so that it could be used against him at a crucial moment.
After exchanging information, Ji Ma began to scry. She tossed a bone from a magically enhanced hound into the fire and danced gracefully beside the campfire, showcasing her elegant moves.
Lian Xi gazed at Ji Ma’s dancing, unable to resist inching closer, as if drawn to the flames. But recalling Ji Ma’s order, she stepped back.
Lian Xi could only see the dance from a distance, but couldn’t hear a sound from Ji Ma’s feet hitting the ground. Ji Ma’s full red lips were moving, yet she heard not a single sound.
Everything was exclusive to the man by the campfire. Even after serving and loving her master for so many years, it felt…
Lian Xi felt a pang in her heart as she looked at George’s face.
George looked somewhat weary; he didn’t even gaze directly at his master, showing no signs of appreciation.
Lian Xi gritted her teeth in anger, feeling a lump in her throat.
If she were in George’s position, she would surely watch attentively and listen!
Her master’s good intentions were all wasted on that smelly man.
George was usually very patient, but couldn’t help asking, “Are you done with the divination?”
Singing, Ji Ma shook her head, leaping up again, her right leg sweeping over the campfire, stunningly beautiful. But the problem was she had a big mouth and was singing.
As her soaring voice, reminiscent of a rasp cutting through steel, rang out, the four pieces of wood in the campfire snapped simultaneously.
Finally, Ji Ma managed to close her mouth.
In a daze, George felt a year older.
Ji Ma retrieved the charred bone from the campfire with her bare hands:
“Alright, I’ve found a few targets. The strongest is a succubus, who is also my kin, leading a legion of sordid beings, about four hundred kilometers from here… and there’s also a divine beast of depravity…”
Ji Ma listed four or five names along with their characteristics, and George noted them all down, exclaiming:
“Ji Ma, you are so good at divination, is it due to singing witch songs?”
“Witch songs?” Ji Ma replied. “I was just singing a deeply profound song. I’m testing you, did you catch what it’s about?”
“A walrus giving birth to a plow?”
“You really have no taste. This is a high-class Earth song.”
“Are you saying the song is not a necessary part of the divination?”
“Of course not.”
“Can you refrain from singing during divination in the future?” George said, “I even suspect the bones cracked because of your singing.”
Ji Ma insisted, “I sing when I’m happy; doesn’t that make the divination go smoothly?”
After a small argument, they returned to the main topic.
George said, “I vote for the succubus; she’s the strongest and will have the best effect.”
“I agree. If the opponent can also dream walk, your ability could target that. But honestly, your ability doesn’t seem that effective,” Ji Ma said. “Since after you ‘drew the earth as a prison’, I found that the prison you drew was still quite large. I could just land far from you, then use my wings to create distance and conduct guerilla warfare.”
“Then we shouldn’t overly rely on ‘drawing the earth as a prison’,” George said. “We should be prepared to deliver a powerful strike against the opponent.”
