Lucian breathed desperately, his hands clenching as hard as he could, even the rough ropes grinding through the flesh. Finally grabbed the rope. The weight on the rings dragged him forward.

He kicked hard under his feet, and the heels of his boots cut two small grooves in the sand before he stopped. Both arms trembled under the weight of the weight. He gradually exerted his strength, and felt that the joints in his shoulders were about to dislocate, but the rings barely moved.

A sharp pain erupted between his ribs, causing him to cramp again. He barely held on to the rope, looking around for something, whatever to tie the rope. There was nothing but himself.

His hands began to twitch as well. Lucian looked out to sea. His lover is still trapped in a cage beyond the horizon. If he dies here, he'll break his promise. It's too costly.

Lucian shook his head and relaxed his palms. The rope slid an inch outward.

Almost at the same time, he felt his heart tighten. If it were her, she would never let go. The stubborn woman would keep her promise to Mila, especially after seeing her desperate search for her father.

In desperation, Lucian no longer hesitated. He curled the vine around his forearm. The rope clamped violently like a rabbit's trap, twisting his body. Lucian stomped his heel into the sand again, but to no avail. The weight of the dead dragged him step by step into the abyss.

A bloodied hand suddenly reached out from the edge of the cliff and grabbed the edge. After a few moments, Mira flipped over and rolled to Lucian's side and grabbed the rope. Together, the two dragged the body up.

8

As soon as it was dark, the two of them saw the fire. They dragged the body down the hill and saw a dozen fires burning in the valley.

The two sat and rested under a banyan tree. Lucian stroked his ribs and straightened out his new bandage. Mira stared at the flames. She exhaled with a shuddering breath and wiped the corners of her eyes.

"Your hands." Lucian said.

She looked at her wrapped palm, a patch of scarlet oozing from the bandage.

"Nothing."

"Bleeding again. Let me see. She held up her palms for Lucian to carefully unwrap the bandage. The wound on the palm of the palm worn by the rope was already bloody and fleshy. He couldn't help but feel resentful of the suffering that Milla and the others had suffered.

He opened his kettle to wash her wounds and broken blisters. Then cut off a piece of clothing and re-bandage it.

"They cremated the body along with the soul, and it was completely destroyed." Her eyes were fixed on the fire in the distance.

Lucian was unaware of their beliefs, but he knew it was a promise to the dead.

"It's time for us to go." He said.

Lucian and Mira each grabbed a piece of rope and wrapped it around their shoulders. The two of them dragged the heavy stretcher together and set off. They trudged to the top of a hillside, the rubble clattering under their feet.

Before they reached the top of the mountain, they heard the chanting of the crowd.

Lucian motioned for Mira to bend down and led her into the bushes. Sheltered by the dense vegetation, they saw a group of Natu gathered in the valley by the river.

Although the group was standing in the shade of a tree, Lucian recognized the priest. He raised his scepter, a bright vermilion glow pulsating across the obsidian. The light illuminated a corpse in the meadow, then set it on fire in an instant.

The chant of the Natu grew stronger and stronger as the flames burned. The priest lowered his scepter, and the light on the stone dimmed. The crowd fell silent again.

Lucian drew his pistol.

"What are you doing?" Mira said.

"Let's wrap it up."

She shook her head: "It's over." ”

He didn't look at her, got up and was about to leave. Mira grabbed his arm.

"Why bother?" There was pleading in her eyes. "Even if you kill them all, the corpses will have turned to ashes."

The Natu people gathered around the next corpse along the riverbank.

"They're in Hedong now." Lucian said.

"I know that!" Mira raised her voice abruptly, her tone full of resistance. She took a step back, her hands outstretched. "Do you think I'm willing to do that? They're my people! ”

She looked down at her father's body, and her eyes began to moisten.

"But I can't ......help it," said Mila, in a trembling voice. I had to send my father home. That's all that matters. I don't care about the Natu people, or what they do. I only care about him. ”

Without waiting for Lucian to reply, she bent down and picked up the rope and slung it over her shoulder. She leaned forward, dragging her father's body with all her might. Finally, the stretcher moved on the rough stone floor. Mila dragged her father alone and walked slowly forward.

The Natu began to chant again.

Lucian watched as they gathered around another corpse. The priest lifted up his scepter and lit a fire. A wave of anger swelled through Lu Xi's body, but Mila's words still echoed in his heart. The anger gradually subsided, and only a sad feeling remained. He gathered his weapon and joined Mira.

9

It was midnight when the two arrived at the village. The whispers and peeps of the villagers accompanied them back to the empty house. Exhausted, the two lowered their ropes and sat down outside the door. Torches were lit in several nearby houses, but most of the cottages sat silently in the dark.

"Let's take him into the house." Mira said.

The two of them cleaned the antechamber and placed the body on a bed made of fern leaves. Mira poured water into a pot and placed it on the stove to make a fire. The room was filled with warmth.

Mira sat on the ground leaning against her father.

"Daddy, this is Lucian. He was the one who helped me take you home. ”

The words made Lucian's stomach tuddle. He had wavered on the edge of a cliff. It was entirely because of Mila's determination that the two persevered to the end.

She slowly unbuttoned the shells from her father's clothes, unwrapping his worn shirt. She burst into tears. His arms and chest were stamped with black wounds. Mira held out her trembling hand to help him remove the rest of his clothes. But she stopped suddenly, her eyes glistening with tears and her eyes empty.

"Let me do it." Lucian said.

"Thank you." Her voice was barely audible.

He nodded, staring at the corpse, as if he had seen his last moments before he died—unspeakable horror, and the pain was terrible.

The floodgates of memory burst open, almost drowning him in grief. He pushed those thoughts away, focused his mind, and tried his best to soothe Mila.

Lucian took off the man's boots and unbuckled his belt. He tried to roll his pants down, but the leather was soaked with seawater and became very tight. He pulled the dagger from the inside of his coat. Mira nodded. So he cut his pants open from the side stitches.

Mira removed the iron pot from the stove and added some camphor oil to the water. A sweet aroma mixed with steam rises.

The two wiped the body with linen, erasing the dirt and sea salt, as well as the usual filth on the deceased. Mila grabbed her father's hand and carefully cleaned her nails. When it was all done, she hugged her father deeply. Her eyes glistened with tears, full of love and grief.

Mira stood up and walked into the next room, pulling out a silver hairpin with agate and coral decorations. She put the hairpin in her father's hand and folded it over his chest.

"This is my mother's. She gave it to him on her wedding day. ”

Lucian looked at the pistol in the holster on his left. It was hers, and the brass parts were more delicate and elegant than his own.

"I was just born, and she died before the summer. Later, my father worried that after so many years, he was so old that she would not recognize him when she saw her again. ”

Mira shuddered and smiled bitterly: "I always think he's so stupid." Her eyes lit up with a smile. Of course she would recognize him, and she would definitely take him home. ”

Lucian remembered the countless souls imprisoned in the black mist. Her father may now be among them, suffering untold amounts of torture and suffering. But he didn't have the courage to tell her.

"You kept your faith. That's the key. He said.

Mira was silent for a long time.

"So you're chasing the black mist, are you also keeping your word?" She said.

He leaned back: "It took everything from me. ”

"And you're here for revenge?"

Lucian stared at the fire: "Your mind changed when you saw the black fog......"

Mira looked at her father.

The two fell into a long silence, immersed in their respective thoughts. The only sound in the room was the crackling of the fire. Finally, Mira spoke first.

"I wasn't there...... I don't know what he went through...... Including everyone. Her voice trembled, and her voice was gentle. But even if they take revenge, it is impossible to bring them back to the world. ”

She wiped tears from her eyes and continued to stare at her father.

Lucian's gaze fell on his own. He rested his hands on the gun, his fingers caressing the cast brass.

He remembered how many times he had tried to save her, and why he had failed each time. Over the years, he felt that he was no longer motivated by revenge, but the thought always swirled in his mind.

Hammerstone's laughter echoed all the time, drowning out everything...... Including her voice.

He closed his eyes and recited in his heart the eulogy he had learned many years earlier. "Chisel away the idle quality, and leave the holy stone alone...... Chisel away the idle quality and leave the holy stone alone......"

But prayer neither suppressed the laughter in his head, nor did it steady his hands. He clutched the pistol until his fingers ached and his own heartbeat remained in his ears.

Memories come flooding back. From the moment he lost her, after so many years, to his most recent failure. All of this buried him like blinding flashes and deafening roars. His heart began to beat faster. Every heart-rending scream...... The madistic laughter of every time...... Every furious charge...... His breathing became more and more rapid. Suddenly, the pattern he had been searching for became clear in his mind.

The truth was like a boulder pressing down on his chest. It was his anger that kept him chasing her, haunting her in his heart, and keeping him from sinking into the bottomless abyss of grief. To abandon anger is to betray. However, it was precisely because of this anger that he could not send his beloved to eternal sleep. He had promised to give her a rest, but all he did was add to her pain.

He had been failing her since the day she died.

10

Lucian stood on the deck of the ship and watched the funeral take place. Mira and her people carried their loved ones out in a palanquin decorated with turtle shells. The body was wrapped tightly in white linen and buried in a public grave on the beach.

"They will be reborn and return to the sea. The deceased will take them home. Mira once said.

Lucian was ready to set sail. He unfastened the halyard and pulled up the mainsail. The canvas sprang up the mast and filled in the sea breeze. He was tethered to the rope when he saw Mira coming up. He beckoned to her.

"The funeral was good." He said.

"Thank you. Thank you for everything. ”

Lucian nodded, looking out to sea. The calm sea reaches up to the sky.

"Do you still want to chase the black fog?" She said.

He shook his head: "I also have the dead to be buried." ”

Mira smiled weakly. "Maybe when you're done, you can come back. There's room for you. ”

"Maybe." He said so, but he wasn't convinced.

Lucian watched her walk onto the beach. She stopped halfway to pick up a ripe gourd, shook it a few times, and continued to walk forward with it in her hand. When she reached the edge of the woods and stood at the intersection of the path leading to the village, she turned and waved.

Lucian waved at her, and he knew it was goodbye.

Shadow Island would be the end of his journey. There's no need to lay down a new pushpin or wrap a thin thread around it. He will gouge out the anger from his heart and fulfill his vow. The only important thing was to put her to a long sleep. He knew in his heart that this would also be his end. He just wanted to hear her one last time.

If there was any good fortune in the world that would favor him, she would be there, waiting to take him home.