Chapter 791: The Pyre

Watching the rabbit growing more and more like Gelmán Spáro, Jianna asked cautiously:

"What do you need this time?"

Is it one of the later volumes of The Great Adventurer, or something else?

Since few knew she was the messenger, and Zaxo Rabbit delivered messages very infrequently, Jianna hadn't yet considered acquiring other knowledge.

Zaxo Rabbit lowered his paw holding the revolver and said in a thoughtful tone:

"Give me a pair of gloves a rabbit can wear."

What kind of request is this? Lu Mi laughed and said:

"I don't remember Gelmán Spáro ever wearing gloves."

This imitation doesn't fit the character!

"Yes, but Gelmán Spáro has 'Flame' Dániáz, and I need my own Dániáz—I want to develop one within our kind." Zaxo Rabbit explained seriously, "Dániáz has gloves."

For a moment, neither Fúlánkǎ, Jianna, nor Lu Mi knew how to respond.

After several seconds, Jianna nodded and said:

"I'll have a pair custom-made for you."

"Hmm, made to the size of an ordinary Knowledge Rabbit, not yours?"

"Yes." Zaxo Rabbit happily raised his right paw and blew gently on the muzzle of his small revolver.

Though, this gesture didn't suit the current scene… Fúlánkǎ realized Zaxo Rabbit was still just a Knowledge Rabbit not fully grown, still stuck in imitation and repetition, not yet truly mastering many things.

…………

Under the night sky, Banamo Port had only a few scattered candlelit streetlamps; pirates huddled in bars, gulping down strong liquor or embracing women as they climbed to upstairs rooms, savoring pleasures impossible to find aboard ships.

With the departure of the "Nüyins" and the disappearance of the unknown adventurer, pirates gradually forgot the incident—after all, everyone felt embarrassed, so no one would mock themselves.

As pirates, perhaps the next voyage would end in death from a storm, robbery, or infighting; worrying about past matters was meaningless—only indulging in the present was the sole choice.

Of course, they still discussed it: the unknown adventurer's strength, what exactly had happened aboard the "Nüyins," and why the "Deep Sea Admiral" had fled in panic.

"I think that adventurer was waiting for the 'Deep Sea Admiral'!"

"He wanted to recreate Gelmán Spáro's great feat?"

"Pfft, bastard—what great feat? We're pirates!"

"He succeeded, but not completely? He defeated the 'Deep Sea Admiral' but let him escape?"

"Does he have power approaching that of the Kings?"

"What's happening on this sea? Every so often, some incredibly powerful adventurer appears! There was that Louis Béry before."

"…"

Mason, not dressed as a pirate, moved among several bars, listening to pirates discuss the earlier events, hoping they'd start arguing and fight each other on the spot.

On his way to the next bar, Mason turned into a quieter alley and saw a figure standing ahead, as if waiting for him.

The figure had black hair, blue eyes, sharp features, and handsome looks—he was unmistakably the unknown adventurer who had challenged every pirate in Banamo Port and forced the "Deep Sea Admiral" into a humiliating retreat.

Mason suddenly heard his own heart pounding wildly and blurted out:

"I'm not a pirate!"

Lu Mi strolled forward with a smile and said:

"I have a task to entrust to you."

Hearing this, Mason felt somewhat relieved and said carefully:

"What can I do for you? I'm not sure my abilities meet your requirements."

He feared the task might be simple but the aftermath terribly dangerous—once the man left, he might be torn apart by pirates.

Lu Mi said bluntly:

"A very simple, very secret task: keep watch over Banamo Port. If you see the 'Nüyins' return or spot the whereabouts of Jórg the 'Great Shark' or others, immediately summon my messenger."

Upon hearing the word "messenger," Mason's heart stirred suddenly.

He remembered his last commission:

He performed a ritual and summoned a terrifying messenger!

Mason couldn't suppress his expression, asking in slight terror:

"You… are Lu Mi Li, sir?"

The master of that terrifying messenger?

"Quite perceptive," Lu Mi replied with half-hearted indifference.

Mason immediately connected the dots:

The true purpose of that commission was to bring Lu Mi Li to Banamo Port?

And Lu Mi Li's goal was to confront the "Deep Sea Admiral" Hal Constantine—for the "Lost Nüyins"?

My spiritual intuition was right about part of it—the messenger ritual did bring something bad to Banamo Port, though it didn't become a disaster…

Lu Mi added:

"The reward is five thousand Fěi'ěrjīn."

The task was indeed simple, and normally no pirate would suspect I was the one who brought Lu Mi Li—the reward was generous… If I refuse, what might happen to me now that I know the task's content? After weighing it for over ten seconds, Mason said:

"No problem. I believe I'm capable of this commission."

Lu Mi nodded slightly, paid a thousand Fěi'ěrjīn as deposit, and turned to leave the quiet alley.

Watching his silhouette vanish into darkness, Mason silently repeated his name:

"Lu Mi Li, Lu Mi Li…"

Mason finally remembered where he'd heard the name—he'd seen the wanted poster for him on a ship!

The poster labeled Lu Mi Li as the sole survivor of a demonic ritual that destroyed an entire village, severely tainted by demonic corruption.

…………

Tèlǐěr, Prison District, Luówa Comprehensive Execution Ground.

Having returned to Tèlǐěr for two days and feeling ready to ascend to the "Witch of Pain," Fúlánkǎ decided to perform the ritual immediately and enter the Fifth Rank.

—The "007"'s clue about the "Mirror Person" was from a mineralogist of the Tèlǐěr Cave Society; the "Purifiers" had planned to investigate all mineralogists in that society, but one vanished mysteriously before they arrived. Recently, someone claimed to have encountered her in underground Tèlǐěr—likely the mineralogist Jiasimin, the "Mirror Person."

Fúlánkǎ gazed at the pyre and sighed:

"When I became a 'Witch,' I wondered if I'd one day be bound to a pyre and burned alive—never thought I'd have to tie myself up."

As she spoke, she pulled from her "Traveler's Satchel" the brown-red wooden case given to her by Clarisse, the "Black Witch," and unfastened its metal clasp.

Next, she took a wine glass, shattered the crystalline ice encasing the alchemical ingredients, and poured in the blood of the Flower-faced Bat and the blood of a critically ill human—both dark red, blending into a blackening sludge.

Then, Fúlánkǎ added the bat's head, the gallbladder and tail tip of the Double-tailed Black Snake, and ten drops of the blue Zhen Eucalyptus oil she had prepared.

As the ingredients entered the glass, the dark red, nearly black blood turned pitch black, occasionally bubbling with nauseating green foam.

"Like pouring a cup of untreated sewage from a sewer," Lu Mi remarked neutrally.

"Fuck, stop talking!" Fúlánkǎ found the "Witch of Pain" potion increasingly repulsive.

She handed the potion to Lu Mi first, then leapt lightly onto the pyre, and with Jianna's help, swiftly bound herself.

During this, Fúlánkǎ muttered under her breath:

"Shit, this feels weird…"

After adjusting her mindset for dozens of seconds, she nodded to Lu Mi:

"Ready."

Lu Mi immediately passed the "Pain" potion to Jianna and thrust his right palm forward.

Clusters of crimson-white flames shot out, landing on Fúlánkǎ's body—she immediately felt searing pain, her body instinctively recoiling and curling, yet bound tightly by ropes.

Jianna leapt beside her, one hand gripping the ropes, the other pressing the "Pain" potion to Fúlánkǎ's lips.

Fúlánkǎ forced herself to swallow the black-green sludge, thick as a pathogen cluster.

Whether from the fire or the potion, her head rapidly heated, her mind clouding with fever.

Unconsciously, she recalled past pleasures—not only her own experiences, but also the feedback from her partners.

In this moment, Fúlánkǎ was both giver and receiver of pleasure, sinking utterly into delight, like a spring stream dissolving into mist.

Her thoughts drifted, her will plunged deep, her self dissolving, lost in overwhelming pleasure.

Yet the pain accompanying those pleasures preserved a sliver of clarity—the mental resistance from Gardener Martin, the spiritual turmoil, the emotional distance with Jianna, as if soul and flesh could never truly merge…

And the excruciating pain from the flames acted like invisible threads, tugging at her self, pulling at her consciousness, keeping her like a kite, swaying in the storm of oblivion without fully losing control.

Amid the swaying, Fúlánkǎ instinctively cursed inwardly:

Shit, so painful, truly so painful!

Does this ritual want me dead?

Cough cough cough, hot smoke's in my trachea and lungs, unbearable—am I dying…

Fuck, I can say now I smell good—food-grade good, like roasted meat…

Lu Mi, Jianna, and Anton stood before the pyre, watching Fúlánkǎ's body gradually char black, her expression twisted beyond any beauty.

They and Lù Jiàn-uó, who had been specially summoned to provide medical aid, all unconsciously grew warm, unable to suppress fleeting, inappropriate fantasies.

Faced with this horrifying scene, they felt untimely lust.

Fortunately, it wasn't severe—still bearable.

After another dozens of seconds, the crimson flames on Fúlánkǎ's body abruptly turned pitch black, then shattered into glistening ice shards, falling one by one.

These carried away the charred skin; beneath, Fúlánkǎ's body revealed new, pale, tender flesh, glistening as if bathed in water.

Even with the "Ascetic's" endurance, Lu Mi instinctively averted his gaze.

(End of Chapter)