Chapter 50 - Role Playing the Dark Horse Character

Chapter 50: The Father's Debt, The Son Repays? Yi Ming felt the shift in his emotions almost immediately, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "Brother!" Tang, standing beside him, looked on in surprise, but Yi Ming had already fixed his gaze on that direction, leaving her behind as he sprinted away. In the golden glow of dusk, the homing pigeons soared across the sky while Yi Ming’s feet pounded against the ground, his legs propelling him toward the shadowed alley across the street. The ground beneath was firm, yet it felt as if he were running on clouds, unable to find his balance. His entire being seemed light and airy. The alley loomed larger in his view, his breath echoing in his ears: inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Through the trembling vision, cloaked in sunset shadows, he thought he glimpsed a figure standing still. Is it you? Are you still alive? Are you hiding from me? These questions floated through his mind, but they seemed more like the chaotic ramblings of a frenzied brain. Finally, he extended his right hand, fingertips brushing against the shadow. The face of the brunette boy had begun to show signs of gauntness, yet a look of surprise and delight emerged on his face. He parted his lips, his blue eyes reflecting a hint of a dark figure. "Brother." In the next instant, a stranger’s face emerged in his vision, a boy unfamiliar and unknown stepping out from the shadows. He appeared to be waiting for someone, golden eyes quietly watching from the darkness at the mouth of the alley. Yi Ming uttered an apology. He turned on his heel, attempting to swerve around the stranger. As he moved past the boy, turning sharply to the right, his left hand swung back, causing his denim jacket to flutter in the breeze, failing to conceal his waist. And then. "Rip!" The sound of fabric tearing filled the air, the dagger stabbing into his waist. Yi Ming turned back, bewildered. He saw the unfamiliar red-haired boy, eyes alight with excitement, as he thrust the dagger forward. Then he exclaimed joyfully, "Got you!" A spectral figure stood within the thick foliage of a tree outside the alley, the shadow flickering like a poor television signal. A blue pendant shimmered slightly under the sunset. [Target update detected.] [Opening passage for you...] [Welcome back to reality.] ... Back in reality, after witnessing the sudden event through the illusion, Li Li sat at her desk, staring at her laptop. She slowly raised her hands to cradle her face. She couldn't help but recall An Huyu’s plan when they first met about approaching Hei Ge and stabbing him once more. And he actually did it, though the victim was Yi Ming. Li Li: Is this a modern interpretation of 'the father's debt, the son repays'? Poor little corgi! Even Li Li’s usually unshaken conscience felt a pang of sympathy. Wiping her face, she mused at how the young master truly was a genius, and at the same time, how incredibly bold he was. An Heyu hadn't told him that Hei Ge had already been baited out. During her initial discussion with An Heyu, An Huyu was consigned far from the scene at a remote residence, which enraged him, prompting him to take matters into his own hands to find Hei Ge. Then An Huyu managed to lure out a small corgi. And An Huyu stabbed the small corgi. Li Li had previously considered whether An Huyu might appear in the comic, but she could never have predicted such a dramatic entrance. Sighing deeply, she returned to working on her assignments—after all, university students still had to submit their papers. She hoped that the next time she entered the comic world, Yi Ming would be fine. She thought to herself. ... Time passed through a blur of assignments and study, and once Li Li managed to submit her work just before the deadline, she leaned back in her chair, exhaling a long breath. After freshening up and heading to bed, she glanced at the time, realizing several minutes had passed since the latest update of the comic. Tonight, her roommates were still striving in the library, so Li Li turned off the dorm's main light and settled in for some late-night reading. The comic picked up from the last chapter, showing Yi Ming and Tang joining the Ability Guild, becoming bounty hunters, and embarking on their first mission. The first half of the comic depicted their adventures, showcasing Yi Ming's developing abilities alongside Tang’s healing powers. Although fraught with danger, they eventually completed their mission. Li Li browsed through the comments, noting praises for Yi Ming and Tang, as well as battle power enthusiasts analyzing Yi Ming’s current potential compared to Hua Yizhi in Desolate Dragon. Once this segment concluded, the narrative shifted focus, featuring Sunfish, who had disappeared for several days. The seemingly innocent boy blinked his wide eyes, wandering aimlessly along the street. In the next frame, an aristocratic carriage appeared at the end of the road. In the twilight of this monochrome comic world, cars did exist, but nobility preferred the primitive charm of horse-drawn carriages to mechanical ones. These ‘horses’ were also products of biotechnology, their upper halves resembling real horses while their backs bore bat-like wings. They were called winged horses. Nobles loved decorating their winged horses, adorning them with lavish jewels and silks to flaunt their wealth. At this moment, the winged carriage ahead of Yu Xiao was just such a vehicle. In the next panel, the person riding in the carriage was revealed to be Yue Qing. Walking beneath the winged carriage were Yue Fu and Rao Yue. Li Li noticed that Rao Yue showed no sign of injury at this point, suggesting this event occurred before that night. In the ongoing storyline, Yu Xiao continued walking forward, like a clueless goose, seemingly watching ahead but oblivious to the approaching nobility. He was on the sidewalk, so there was no real collision with the noble's winged carriage. But Li Li suspected things wouldn't be that simple. As she turned the page, Yu Xiao was seen in profile, moving right, while the winged carriage veered left. In the subsequent panel, Yue Qing turned his gaze to the side. Two directions diverged. It seemed over. But then, the winged carriage behind Yu Xiao suddenly came to a halt. "Wait." A white speech bubble floated in a solitary black panel, followed by another panel where Yue Fu turned, his gaze locking onto Yu Xiao. In the black-and-white depiction, thick vines sprouted from between the cobblestones, swiftly binding Yu Xiao and suspending him upside down in the air. Yu Xiao’s face exhibited puzzlement, his hair dropping with gravity to reveal his smooth forehead. Yue Fu sauntered over, casually lifting his head, and said, "This unfortunate commoner, come with me." "But why?" Yu Xiao swung in the air, utterly baffled. "My cousin dislikes your eyes," Yue Fu replied. Yu Xiao’s bewilderment deepened, "Huh?" [Whoa, tragic but LOL!] [Darling, are you having an unlucky streak again?] [Damn, Sunfish, you always surprise me.] [Out of nowhere disaster, poor fish!] [Yi Ming! Save Yu Xiao!] The dorm was shrouded in darkness, and the phone’s glow illuminated Li Li’s face, etched with contemplation yet yielding no answers. Yu Xiao’s luck oscillated between extremes, swaying radically from great fortune to dire misfortune. This time, he was simply unlucky. However, Li Li pondered what Yue Qing's grand display intended. Recalling the situation from that day, she speculated, "Is he planning to invite the Qu family nobility?" If Yue Qing were fetching someone, it’d be irrelevant; if meeting someone, then An Heyu's information was significantly delayed. What An Heyu mentioned was that Yue Qing intended to invite the Qu family, not that they’d already reached an understanding. Li Li mulled it over briefly before continuing. The next page unfolded a twilight scene in monochrome, showing Yi Ming and Tang leaving the Ability Guild. As commenters hoped, the two discussed Yu Xiao, but Yi Ming insisted they shouldn’t worry. [Wait, little corgi! Sunfish really did crash this time!] [Corgi! Save the fish!] [Yu Xiao, darling, if only you weren't so absurd normally, someone might rescue you now!] Yet quickly, they moved past whether anyone would save Yu Xiao. Following the comic’s progress, Yi Ming noticed a silhouette. Where Yi Ming easily recognized the figure, the readers, a layer removed, couldn’t identify anything from the back. The comic provided a close-up shot of the figure, a side profile. As Yi Ming chased after it, a familiar anime-like character materialized on the page. Dark hair and eyes, a choker around the neck, with his flat-lined mouth headed forward, his eyes in the comic mysteriously omitted, left unillustrated. The area where the eyes would be was instead covered with shadow. Yet this was more than enough for the comic's readers. [!!!!] [Cowlick Li!!!!!!] [Aaaah! It's my hero! It's my hero!] [Running laps downstairs, my roommate's yelling that I'm crazy, and I am!] [Waaa, catch up, little corgi!] Yi Ming pursued the figure. And just like Li Li witnessed, he fell victim to An Huyu's unexpected stabbing from behind. [Huh??? What's happening???] [Where did this guy pop out from?!] [Aaah, the poor corgi!] [Cowlick Li! Your brother got stabbed right behind you!] The comic concluded there, posing questions like "Who is he? Who is he again? Friend, foe, or someone from the past?" It didn't reveal Li Li's presence nearby. Li Li felt satisfied because Li Baige took the high road, appearing rarely, yet his presence was felt everywhere like a legend. Flipping through the pages casually, she didn’t encounter a comment section but rather stumbled into the next chapter. "Double updates?" Li Li found it peculiar, then remembered this issue included an interview with the mangaka. "I was so buried in last-minute deadlines that I forgot," Li Li remarked, and then she turned to the interview segment to read on. This particular interview was styled in a Q&A format, the questions highlighted in bold white text against a black background, making them stand out prominently. The mangaka’s answers were displayed with black text on a white background, occupying the largest space. Li Li glanced at the first question. Q1: The Four-Way City Arc has concluded. Are you satisfied with your work? Answer: Not entirely. According to my original vision, You You was supposed to die. Question: So why did You You survive in the end? Answer: It was a sudden inspiration. A sudden inspiration? No, it was Li Li's sheer effort that turned the tide! Reading this, Li Li couldn't help but reflect: her earlier suspicions were confirmed. This mangaka indeed intended to take the narrative down a brutal shonen path, drenched in sacrifice, where teammates perished heroically. But she refused to allow it. What followed were questions about character settings, sequenced by the significance of roles, starting with Yi Ming, Tang, and Yu Xiao, then moving on to the key supporting characters in the Four-Way City Arc, Momo and You You. Checking the time, Li Li flipped ahead to the section concerning herself. Q61: Recently, Cowlick Li, a popular character, met a tragic end. The reaction from readers was intense. Do you plan to revive him under this pressure?