The Devil’s Cage

Bain did not come back even when the sun rose and the restaurant closed.

Bain finally came back with Huai Cuike in the afternoon of the second day.

Although he had his injuries treated, the swollen cheeks and bruises on Bain’s face remained, especially the lips and around the eyes, the bruises making him look like a panda.

Even though he came in with a serious look, his injuries made him look funny.

Amy even laughed out loud at his swollen look.

“You won’t get a boyfriend like this!” Bain told Amy in a serious manner.

“What rights does a single dog have to criticize me?” Amy pouted at Bain in disdain.

Bain was heavily impacted by her words, starting to wobble.

The facts were indisputable.

He, too, didn’t want to end up single all his life.

The girls he liked did not like him and the girls who liked him, he did not appreciate.

“I am single because I can and it’s my freedom! Right, Teddy?”

Bain looked at Teddy, who was watching in the corner quietly. He hoped to rope Teddy to his side so that he could have a more powerful stance.

“I have a girlfriend though,” Teddy said after a little hesitation.

“WHAT?!”

Not just Bain, even Amy, Huai Cuike, and Kieran behind the counter looked at Teddy in astonishment.

No one could imagine a person like Teddy, who viewed the force as his home and solved cases all day long, had a girlfriend.

“Is it that surprising? Can’t a police officer have a girlfriend?”

The surprised gazes from the crowd made Teddy grumble, especially the gaze from Bain. Teddy really wanted to punch his swollen face.

“Keep your doubts away! She’s not a cup with water, not a sex doll! I don’t go to clubs and don’t have a so-called VIP card!”

Teddy blasted his complaints at Bain before he strode to Huai Cuike. He didn’t ask his question right away though, he looked at Kieran, and after Kieran gave him the signal and a ‘please’ gesture, Teddy then asked Huai Cuike, “Mr. Huai Cuike, is there any requirements to join the Herders?”

Huai Cuike smiled at Teddy’s question.

“It may be hard for others, but not for you.”

“So can I still be a police officer?” Teddy asked the burning question.

“I don’t see a conflict in that. In fact, more than one third of the Herders aren’t full time. Other than the person in charge of each sector, most of the members are usually busy with their daily work and will only come out when needed,” Huai Cuike explained.

“Does it mean that I can become a Herder right now?” Teddy asked with joy.

“Of course not. You’ve just joined us, and you aren’t exactly a Herder yet. You are currently a ‘Weireist’ rank, and you would need a veteran to lead and guide you for at least 10 to 15 weeks. After all that, a test will be carried out and when you pass, you can finally be a Herder, an official one. If you don’t mind, I can become your guide, I’ll teach you about the knowledge of the mystical side,” Huai Cuike looked at Teddy with anticipation.

Teddy’s potential was self-explanatory, he could at least rise to ‘Eckerist’ in no time, and with a little more guidance, he could grow to become a decent, independant Herder.

Even so, Teddy wouldn’t actually require Huai Cuike’s personal guidance, anyone else could fit the criteria but with what happened with Bain earlier, Huai Cuike was more worried than ever. He had lost a potential candidate like Li Jiajia. Should he lose another, like Teddy, Huai Cuike would stab his own heart.

Huai Cuike couldn’t help but glare at Bain when the thought came into his mind.

Bain, who was doubting his own existence, shuddered, feeling cold all of a sudden.

‘What’s wrong?

Did I catch a cold?

Sigh, I guess it’s a cold.

Even if I got a cold, no one is here to take care of me.

Even Teddy has a girlfriend, but not me, life is meaningless…’

Bain shrunk deeper in the corner.

His pathetic reaction made Huai Cuike’s blood pressure rise.

Huai Cuike really wanted to beat him up again.

‘Single, so what? I’ve been single for 55 years, did I complain to anyone before?’

Huai Cuike grunted deep in his heart and kept his glare away.

He didn’t want to look at Bain anymore for it was an eyesore.

“Really? This is great!” Teddy heaved a breath of relief.

Teddy was really worried that Huai Cuike would let Bain guide him or something similar.

He was really determined to become a Herder, but that didn’t mean he would simply want Bain to become his guide this upcoming path.

Although the East had a saying, “The master initiates the apprentices but their skill depends on their own efforts”, Teddy knew how important it was to have a good and reliable master.

Bain?

Bain was anything but reliable.

Lazy, reluctant to work, greedy, taking advantage of people, and always complaining.

If Bain really became his guide, Teddy’s world would have been shrouded in grayness, but thankfully he wasn’t.

“Teacher, I’ll wait for you outside.”

Teddy then walked out of the restaurant on his own. He knew Huai Cuike still had matters to discuss with Kieran.

Huai Cuike saw Teddy off with a gaze of admiration and satisfaction.

Teacher, the term had a special meaning in the Herders, but Huai Cuike did not correct Teddy.

Maybe Huai Cuike really needed a heir.

Delighted, Huai Cuike turned to Kieran.

“The Herders are in dire need of fresh blood,” he exclaimed, but Kieran did not respond. He knew why Huai Cuike said that: Huai Cuike wished Kieran could join them too.

However, the thought never crossed Kieran’s mind.

He and the Herders maintained a very simple relationship: working together.

He had no plans to change it at all.

This elderly man wasn’t the one who called the shots in the Herders, he was just an overseer in one of the sectors of the East Sector. In the whole East Sector of Ai City, there were another 11 more overseers like him, so there were a lot more throughout the whole city or even the whole region.

The Herders was a very large organization without a question and in such a large entity, even though it claimed it had a lot of freedom, how much freedom would there be?

The answer was obvious with a little thought: very limited.

Kieran wouldn’t want to be exhausted by order after order. He preferred to hold the initiative in his hands.

Huai Cuike sighed helplessly at the quiet Kieran, taking out a sack from his pocket.

“This is our compensation to you,” he said.

He really hoped that Kieran could join the Herders, but he would not want to force him against his will because he knew what kind of person Kieran was.

Should Huai Cuike forced him, the friendly relationship between them would shatter to pieces.

“Em,” Kieran nodded and took the sack.

10 Crossing Silver Coins.

He poured them out and put them into the money sack Mian Yi gave him earlier.

Kieran had a total of 20 Crossing Silver Coins now but he didn’t want to simply use them. He wanted to save up the silver coins to exchange for a gold coin.

Huai Cuike allowed Kieran to keep the coins first before he continued.

“The changes to the Battle of Winter Night this time are unpredictable, every other party has reacted accordingly. The 4 major sectors of Ai City are discussing whether or not we should team up. Similar discussions are going on as we speak in other sectors as well, and…”

Huai Cuike lowered his voice, to the point that only the two of them could hear, “I’ve heard that the winner of this Battle Winter Night can get a total of 100 gold coins, a number 5 times larger than the previous winners and on top of that, a shard from the Philosopher’s Stone!”

Philosopher’s Stone shard?!

Kieran squinted his eyes.

He didn’t touch the shard which he kept in his jacket pocket but he was more alarmed and suspicious than ever.

A shard of the Philosopher’s Stone had just appeared in the North Sector of Ai City and now the ultimate prize of the Battle of Winter Night was another sharp of the Philosopher’s Stone?

So much coincidence?

“What else? Tell me more details,” Kieran asked without showing any excessive emotions.

“Other than the ultimate prize, the Philosopher’s Stone shard, I’ve also heard that there will be all kinds of prizes given out, not after the Battle of Winter Night but during the battle!” Huai Cuike said.

“During the battle itself?” Questions rose in Kieran’s mind.

Prizes given after and during battle were two entirely different concepts.

The simplest example was, if a participant acquired a decent item during the battle, the other people, or monsters, might very well give up in competing and would just try to survive until the end instead.

7 days might not be a lot to these people but whosoever acquired a decent item would have a high chance of being ganged up on.

A man’s wealth is his own ruin by causing another’s greed!

“Seems like this Battle of Winter Night is much more interesting than expected,” Kieran said.

“That isn’t what I am concerned about. The more concerning point is the venue for this coming Battle of Winter Night will not be held in past places, but in an entirely new location. Meaning, no one will know where it will be. The past experiences are all useless now, we wouldn’t be much help even if we wanted to be,” Huai Cuike couldn’t hold back his bitter smile.

“You guys might not know where it will be held but is there someone else, or monsters, that might now about it?” Kieran asked.

“Impossible! The lord who officiates the whole event knows everything but he will not spill any details about it. He is fair and just, the world knows him for that,” Huai Cuike said in a firm tone.

Kieran didn’t say anything, without experiencing for himself, he would not simply judge people and tend to be cautious.

“Then, when are we departing? Is the place somewhere close to Ai City?” Kieran asked.

“This may be the only good news. The alleged venue is not far away from Ai City, probably around 3 hours by car. So we would just have to depart a day before. Tune yourself up Royan, we will make sure no one disturbs you for these two days,” Huai Cuike assured Kieran.

“Okay,” Kieran nodded.

After some more simple chatting, Huai Cuike stood up and left.

The elderly Herder went to the corner, picked Bain up, and went. Bain, who had been waiting, greeted Kieran before he went after his new teacher.

After the Herders left, the curtain in front of the kitchen fluttered and Starbeck came out.

“Big brother.”

Starbeck pulled Kieran’s sleeve and pointed at the kitchen.

Kieran knew what Starbeck was referring to, so he signaled the Elite Hound and walked into the kitchen.

“Danger! The voice tells me this Battle of the Winter Night is dangerous!”

Li Jiajia in her apron said anxiously right after Kieran stepped into the kitchen.

“Any details?” Kieran asked.

“Blood, death! Fire, destruction! The voice kept telling me all these, but when I asked for details, the voice kept quiet,” Li Jiajia spoke her mind.

She would not want anything to happen to Kieran.

She didn’t really care about Kieran, but because Kieran was her teacher’s big brother, should something happen to Kieran, her teacher would be devastated.

Whenever one falls into sorrow, all hopes would be shattered.

Once all hope was shattered, the dream of becoming a cook, which she had just started, would perish prematurely too!

“Did you ask the voice where it would be the safest?” Kieran asked after some thoughts.

“Yes! The safest is to get away from the Battle of Winter Night, the farther the better!” Li Jiajia answered.

“Is that so?” Kieran muttered softly.

“So you are going to forfeit the Battle of Winter Night?” Li Jiajia looked at Kieran with anticipation.

“No! I am looking forward to it!” Kieran said with a smile and then he looked at Starbeck.

Starbeck also showed a smile to Kieran, seemingly understanding what his ‘big brother’ was thinking, he wasn’t at all surprised.

Quite the contrary, Starbeck showed support in his eyes, or more accurately, whatever Kieran wanted to do, Starbeck would fully support him, despite the danger that followed.

Though, everything in the game was dangerous.

Those who were afraid of danger would never survive in the big city.

Fearlessness was the only right way to live!

If you backed away once or twice, a third time would surely follow, and when one noticed there wasn’t any ground left to back away, it was already too late for the situation, it was too dire for redemption.

Starbeck had fallen into such a dilemma before, and fortunately he had met Kieran.

Starbeck knew he was breathing because Kieran saved him many times.

Otherwise…

The wronged souls in the big city couldn’t even spare a cry, so despite how cowardly he was, Starbeck chose to deal with the problem head on.

‘Never putting himself in a desperate situation’, that was Starbeck’s truest thought.

Of course, the reason why he was able to do it was because he had a ‘big brother’ around him who kept encouraging him, allowing him to be worry-free.

“Master, please dissuade your brother, he…”

“Go ahead! I’ll wait for you here.”

Starbeck stopped Li Jiajia with a wave of hand, and looked into Kieran’s eyes with his bright eyes, his gaze giving a solemn promise to Kieran.

Kieran reached out to Starbeck’s forehead and caressed him.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be prepared,” Kieran then walked out of the kitchen.

After the kitchen curtain was laid down, Starbeck turned around with a red face, preparing food for the day while he pondered upon his thoughts.

‘7 days, I wonder what kind of environment it will be? Will it affect the quality of food?

If it’s beef jerky, it can pull through the majority of the harsh environment.

Even dried vegetables would do the trick but it will not be as fresh.

But if it’s canned food, it lacks nutritions.

What should I do?’

…

Li Jiajia watched Starbeck pondering upon the questions while he prepared the ingredients, unable to keep her shining eyes down.

She noticed even when her master’s heart was somewhere else, he’d never make any mistakes while cooking.

The chopping skills whipped up a flurry.

The spices made her drool.

That little lily in her heart bloomed again, but Li Jiajia got used to it.

In this place, she had come across every kind of strange thing.

Her face would not change even if a man-eater plant bloomed, let alone a lily.

Li Jiajia widened her eyes at Starbeck’s cooking, watching every step in the process.

Meanwhile in the villa deep in the South Sector, Song Shi smashed her plate into pieces.

“This is shit! It tastes like this! Is this soup some washing water from the tap? Not even a dog would eat this!”

Song Shi was throwing a tantrum. She changed her attire and wanted to go to Leaf Dining as soon as possible.”

“My lady, please wait for a moment! The East Sector Herders have told you not to disturb Royan these two days, he is preparing for the Battle of Winter Night…”

“Who the hell cares about that icy refrigerator? I’m going there for Roye!” Song Shi argued.

“That is not an option. Roye is in the restaurant and he is also Royan’s brother, you…”

“What? What is not an option? Roye is Royan’s little brother, but Roye is my future husband! I’m just going to see my future husband, what is wrong with those guys?”

Song Shi stopped Mian Yi and grabbed her coat before she ran outside.

As she ran, she turned around to the dumbstruck Mian Yi and shouted, “Tell them this is a family matter! Stop butting into people’s business!”