Chapter 410: Ji Ming, who exactly are you?

Gazing at the twinkling stars in the night sky, Te Ni Si first pointed ahead, then, even though the holy mountain before them still radiated brilliance in the darkness, he pointed again behind, at the giant city covering the horizon.

After living a long time, setting aside other things, I've seen plenty of messy troubles; I've wandered between these two sides for over five hundred years, witnessing too many rises and falls of those in power.

In short, it's three sentences: it's ugly to climb up, not necessarily pleasant to be on top, and definitely ugly to roll down.

So, as her teacher, I actually don't want Elinor to meddle in any royal assessments, any damn princess, laughable fief—those aren't anything good at all, it's unnecessary! Anyway, I've saved up plenty over the years; it's absolutely enough for her to live happily for the rest of her life.

But there's no way around it—who made her the daughter of the Chang Ge Family? She has responsibilities she must bear; even if she tries to escape with her tail between her legs, that fate is inescapable; she has no choice but to face it head-on with all her might.

But you're different.

Saying this, Te Ni Si's tone shifted.

Ji Ming, you're just an ordinary person with nothing you need to bear; even if Buluowa has something, it's her duty as an Elf Sage that remains unfulfilled, and these things won't fall on a human like you, so you don't need to get involved in such complicated, disgusting matters—you just need to……

I have.

This sudden interjection left the mid-lecture Te Ni Si stunned for a moment.

——"Ah?"

Thus Ji Ming emphasized it again.

I said I have—I have things I need to bear, must bear, and also want to bear.

He pretended to be thinking with his head down, but was actually secretly scrolling through his friend list.

And who knows, maybe it's even more than Elinor's.

Te Ni Si still didn't understand his riddle, but after calming down and thinking carefully, she realized she actually knew very little about Ji Ming as well.

……

Ji Ming, probably in his mid-twenties, was once an obscure little doctor in the Outer City of Sunlight City; he learned a bit of elf fighting skills from Buluowa for self-defense, and with the increasingly effective ancestral miraculous potion he successfully started his business.

Later, relying on a bit of internal connection with the Business Union, he moved to the Inner City, steadied himself amid the chaos, finally completed the transformation from pawn to chariot-horse-cannon, and became one of Sunlight City's many notables.

Originally his life might have stopped there, but after going to the Sheng Guang Jiao Tang he suddenly became a Holy Light Divine Chosen, skyrocketing straight from chariot-horse-cannon to a player on both sides of the board, even qualifying as a disinterested spectator.

Then came the Sunlight City War, relying on Divine Descent to defeat the Shadow God's avatar; afterwards he went north with himself, and midway presented a new field of study; now he is about to ascend Chasing Sun Peak to become a genuine Church Divine Chosen.

It looks like everything follows a traceable path, advancing step by step, except for the term 'Divine Chosen'—which she always curses as a shameless luck whenever she encounters it—there's nothing unexplained.

But that's the problem, because all this happened in less than five months.

For an old succubus like me, it's practically the blink of an eye; I don't know what happened, but he just popped out with a 'pah' sound.

What's even more frightening is that someone who can transform into a Sky-Soaring Monkey in just over four months came from an unknown 'East'.

His past is completely a mystery; the only clues—his master, being expelled from the master's door, crossing deserts and seas—are all his vague hearsay.

Including that highly suspicious Soul Spirit Holy See that somehow earned the trust of the Holy Light God and agreed to ally; Ji Ming seems to have an indistinct relationship with it as well.

Among the Pioneers who only handle external dispatch but not subsequent actions, there are many similar to Ji Ming—'Easterners'—who also possess their own civilization and culture.

In summary, amidst Te Ni Si's tangled thoughts, a wavering thread finally surfaced; she hurriedly grabbed it and pulled outward, discovering that attached to it was……

With a muffled hum, the Archbishop seemed to shift his aura in an instant; she adjusted her right hand's position as if preparing to grasp something, while using her bangs to cover her eyes, all silently.

Yet her mouth showed no reaction.

Um, Ji Ming, you said you're from the East, right?

Uh……

To be honest, Ji Ming actually regrets casually making up that background for himself back then.

Because every time someone mentions it, he feels like he should be playing some high-difficulty bullet-hell shooter, and his 'little brother' has already run away from home.

However, since he himself spoke those words, they've become an objective fact constituting his identity; trying to swallow the setting from this entry point would likely cause the lie to collapse completely.

So even though it's strange why the other party suddenly asked this, Ji Ming can only admit it.

Yeah, I'm from the East.

The Archbishop nodded slightly, then immediately asked.

Hmm, so you said this East……where is it?

It's……

Now Ji Ming got stuck again.

Old lady, you really are a Holy Light succubus, you're too despicable—this big problem, wow, I almost didn't get my alter ego to kick open the thread.

After all, aside from the larger main continent and smaller subcontinent, Yangyue Star only has some desolate barbaric big and small islands scattered across the vast ocean as land's dots.

Although there are still a few small settlements, they're all primitive tribes still watching gorillas and crocodiles bare their teeth; understanding what human morality is would already be a relief.

Thus, with their average prenatal education completed, they're actually quietly waiting for the Age of Sail to arrive; fortunately, under the advanced civilization's great lack of virtue, they live a happy life belonging to the mule-horse kneeling tribe, at least having nothing to do with civilization whatsoever.

However, Ji Ming initially didn't know what Yangyue Star was roughly like, and still thought it would be like some traditional fantasy worlds, adding a mysterious Eastern Empire to the backdrop to bring out cultural components like silk and porcelain.

Who knew this could exist, but Yangyue Zhen doesn't have it, leaving him now without a suitable explanation to make sense of the 'East's existence.

【If really impossible, refer to the legend of Atlantis on Earth—back in ancient times, the islands to the east had a sea god; you could say you're under his protection, living generation after generation in underwater cities, and then……】

The little boss was still teaching Ji Ming how to salvage this lie; meanwhile, Te Ni Si, seeing him not answer for a long time, suddenly said.

Ji Ming, I've lived so many years and consider myself well-read, but I've read many books lately and found no records or legends about the Eastern State or black-haired, brown-eyed peoples.

Wait, this opening……

Holy crap, no way!

However, fear what may come, the Archbishop's next words are.

Ji Ming, you guys couldn't possibly not be Yangyue People, right?

She's clearly probing, so her speech keeps getting slower.

Where exactly do you come from? Other spaces? Other planets? Or……

By this point, having already shown a hint of succubus nature, Te Ni Si—whose tone could be described as gently persuasive—suddenly fell silent.

It's not that she wanted to display some blank or riddle art; rather, after a dizzy spell in her head, she found she'd lost control of her own body!

Yet Ji Ming before her remained unfazed, as if nothing had been discovered, one hand tucked in his pocket pinching something, chatting away.

You say, why is this old lady still getting angry? I didn't question the importance of Eleanor's responsibility; I just don't like you excluding me.

I fought alongside her at least twice, and Jueqiao Pass even saved her life, so we share a bond forged in battle; saying that really chills me.

But he was just complaining leisurely, dragging the rapidly deteriorating topic back to a safe domain.

Meanwhile, he had already deployed a vast amount of mental power, beginning to transmit information into Tinisi's mind.

【Don't mention those two words; it has always been observing this place from outside Yangyue World. If you say it, we will definitely be watched—very dangerous!】

He actually hadn't completely restrained Tinisi's thinking ability, yet upon hearing that, she showed not even the slightest reaction, not even a meaningless thought.

???

Could it be that I was too harsh and damaged the old lady's brain?

No way, if Lao Nv Shi finds out she'll definitely beat me to death!

But fortunately, not long after, a response came from Tinisi's side.

【You jerk… you've rebelled! Take back your mental power! Really impolite!】

Normally, demons use mind magic to toy with their prey's brains to achieve their various goals.

Although Tinisi doesn't have this need, she naturally used such a method to gather information before retiring.

So she never imagined she could one day be subjected to reverse mind control, especially after enduring centuries of hardship, already preparing to settle her final affairs.

Therefore, just now she wasn't actually thinking or feigning death to observe; she was genuinely frightened silly.

——Oh no, what if he flips through and reads my secrets? What if he controls my body to do something bad?

In an instant she even realized why the demon race, though nearly maxing out charm, is still both loved and hated by people, making it hard to enter refined society.

Because this feeling of utter insecurity is truly terrifying, even more frightening than a public execution in broad daylight.

She even had to thank this innate talent for increasing charm, which gives them more options whether in daily socializing or escaping danger in critical moments.

After all, the eye demon, which is equally skilled in mind magic but comes with a charm debuff, is nearly extinct in Yangyue World because of its lecherous-looking large eyes.

However, the old lady knew the priorities, so she didn't continue to harp on this matter openly, but instead went along with Ji Ming's line of conversation.

Only after they had jumped to several other topics did they resume voice transmission.

【How's it going?】

【I hit the brakes quickly, so the Machinery Moon didn't notice we were discussing topics about outside Yangyue World.】

She let out a small sigh of relief, then continued her inquiry.

【I know the Machinery Moon exists and I know its purpose, so I still have to ask: are you really from outside Yangyue World, and what is your purpose?】

Before Ji Ming could speak, he saw the little boss frantically spamming 【QWQ】 in his field of vision.

【Good heavens, turns out there are sentient beings in this world who care about their mother's survival too? I'm going to take this good news to show off to the Earth adults!】

... sigh.

【The Lord of Sentient Beings is actually not a native deity; He is an existence from a high-dimensional universe, and I, along with those Pioneers, are beings He drew down from the upper realms.】

【Yangyue: Well, still lying, I knew it.】

【Ji Ming: Yangyue, shut up.】

【As for our purpose, whether you believe it or not, we came here because an important figure invited us, hoping we would save this fantasy world on the verge of collapse.】

Tinisi obviously didn't expect such a bizarre answer, and only after a while did she send back another sentence.

【You mean, to oppose the Machinery Moon?】

【Of course, this is our ultimate goal.】

"I see..."

Coincidentally, the surface conversation was also ending, so Tinisi used a single sentence to signify the conclusion of both topics.

She slumped onto the stone, sighing heavily for a while.

"Ji Ming, come over a moment; I have something to say to you."

But when Ji Ming approached, what he heard was not the archbishop's orders, but the old lady's self-narration.

"Ji Ming, ah, I may have pure bloodline and basically be a royal-blooded demon, but even the uncanny will eventually perish, so I am now old and won't live much longer."

"In this life I've worried about many people, but in the end only two remain: one is Buluowa, I truly fear that foolish girl will exhaust herself to death; fortunately you're here, so she should be able to live a few more days."

"The other is Eleanor; who asked those two silly kids to entrust her to me? Fortunately, her major affair will be settled this May, making her a wealthy little lady who won't suffer in this life."

"So..."

Ji Ming hurriedly assured.

"Don't worry, Lao Nv Shi is my mentor; I will certainly honor her well. Eleanor is my close comrade through life and death, and I definitely won't let anyone harm her."

"No... uh, okay, having your words does put my mind at ease, but mainly..."

Saying this, Tinisi suddenly grabbed Ji Ming's collar and pulled him to face her.

"Since I've settled those two, I have nothing left to worry about in this life! My final wish is to live out these remaining days, breathe my last, and then, in glorious fashion, be buried on the Holy Mountain as some unknown number of court elders, enjoying incense offerings alongside the younger generations."

"So hey, if you dare to mind-control me again later, the Gobi Desert will make my later years unfortunate, I swear! You… remember! I am a great demon, hey! Don't think you're so steadfast you won't be tempted; I tell you, I have plenty of ways to make your name go down in history, hey! Remember hey!"

(End of chapter)