CHAPTER 1017: CHAPTER 210: THE COLD WINTER

It is no secret that Vena Ice-Free Port and Midnight City have had their differences.

Or rather, the intervention of the Judiciary has made Vena Ice-Free Port incompatible with this world.

The only link between these two human cities is their respective embassies, and they are specially targeted at their locations.

For instance, Midnight City’s embassy was placed adjacent to the slums on Queen Street by Vena Ice-Free Port. Midnight City’s counteraction was to put Vena Ice-Free Port’s embassy on Yinhu Street—

Vena Ice-Free Port mocks Midnight City for mingling with ghosts and weirdness, while Midnight City mocks Vena Ice-Free Port for being extreme and unaware—many churches have this kind of extreme exclusivity.

The difference is that their gods truly exist.

Vena Ice-Free Port, however, believes in vain, never responding, indistinguishable "gods."

Despite their severe divergences and frequent targeting of each other’s embassies, the two cities align on human interests.

Except when the incident of Exorcist Lu Li’s wanted status fermented.

Midnight City’s newspapers published news of various members of parliament, nobles, and scholars ridiculing Vena Ice-Free Port with headlines like "They are more foolish than imagined," "Legendary Exorcist refused entry and wanted by Vena Ice-Free Port," "Mayor Matteus is a coward who dare not resist the Judiciary," "The Judiciary Guard are a bunch of useless quarrelers."

More extreme headlines included "Vena Ice-Free Port is a gathering place for heretics," "False gods command their believers to hunt Lu Li," "Next on the wanted list will be an outsider," "Vena Ice-Free Port has been controlled by the church."

"Vincent Rumors" gained prominence in this incident as they ventured into the old sewers to interview local weirdos, recording their sayings like "The Exorcist made them fear," "That human resembles weirdness more than they do," "The shattered Spiral Hall and the unhealed city-like exposed ground are a disgrace to the old sewers, no human has ever dared or managed to do such things," "We many weirdos respect him." They included pictures of the Spiral Hall and damaged mainline and weirdness to prove Lu Li remains a legendary Exorcist, and Vena Ice-Free Port is merely old fossils in youth.

Regardless of truth or bias, this indeed bolstered the confidence of many humans, leading some members of parliament to propose establishing a new church devoted to Lu Li—only to find more people share this idea but can’t implement it—since Lu Li had not consented.

Thus, recently having made contact with Lu Li, Klein Manifested University faced another surge, regrettably not by throngs of students.

Disregarding stance issues, Midnight City undeniably appears less extreme, detached from humanity than Vena Ice-Free Port. For instance, allowing the existence of the old sewers and accepting weirdness that embraced human civilization.

Yet, Vena Ice-Free Port is not as extremely controlled as Midnight City claims—it is only manipulated by the Judiciary. City Hall and general populace stand neutral or indifferent, as the harsh cold and hunger are more daunting.

As the squabble persisted, away from the vortex’s center, Lu Li was preparing for the Puxiu New Year.

Under the Anne Tree’s lush branches, blocking the cold’s mild chill, Lu Li quietly read today’s fresh Midnight City newspaper.

Puxiu hopped around at his feet. "There’s more than a month to go until New Year, Mr. Luli, will you give me a gift? I want books! Lots and lots of books!"

"Wishes... should not... be spoken." Ophelia approached the shade, Annie gently swaying in response to her arrival.

The donation rekindled humanity in Annie, and she thrived over the past twenty days. Though still slender like a sapling, she’s more luxuriant than ever, weakly shielding the ground beneath with emerging leaves.

She can now only express simple emotions: gratitude, joy, intimacy, but over time, she will grow stronger and more intelligent, gradually mastering Elm Forest.

"Is that so? Then what is Miss Ophelia’s wish?" Puxiu asked again.

"Wishes... should not... be spoken," Ophelia repeated.

Puxiu hesitantly asked, "But if you don’t say, Mr. Luli won’t know..."

"I hope... my... gift is—"

Merchant Anthony’s appearance interrupted Ophelia’s words. "A letter from Matteus of Vena Ice-Free Port."

He opened the envelope, revealing his recent encounters inside; Knight Vino’s return; the news just obtained by Lu Li from the newspaper: his wanted status by Vena Ice-Free Port; and the firewood shortage crisis Vena Ice-Free Port faces, where wood prices have risen nearly seven times since the start of winter. Poor people unable to afford wood are scavenging for cow dung on the streets or dismantling uninhabited houses for burning, with citizens struggling to find warmth amassing in church cafeterias and other places. Surrounding trees have already been felled, and to prevent citizens from venturing out for wood, risking death by weirdness or freezing on the road, he had to deploy many soldiers to guard them.

The lack of firewood in Vena Ice-Free Port is something Lu Li can help with—the Shadow Swamp has stored large quantities of dead fallen wood that giant trees couldn’t bear to discard.

He wrote a letter for Merchant Anthony to deliver to Mother of the Marsh, and shortly after, Lu Li received a handwritten parchment with beautiful penmanship and meticulously worded simple content that hardly reflects its preciousness: The wood is still here, do you need it?

Lu Li replied with a confirmation, writing a letter to Mayor Matteus that he can supplement part of the firewood shortfall, preparing warehouses for storage, and asked Merchant Anthony to transport firewood from the Shadow Swamp.

When the matter of price arose, Lu Li said it was free because Mother of the Marsh had gifted it to him at no cost. Mayor Matteus thanked Lu Li for his generosity but still offered him some money under the guise of transportation costs—from City Hall’s finance department.

Lu Li passed this money to the merchants for circulation, but if he wants to expand trade scope, finding missing merchants becomes imperative.

"Can we merge Elm Forest and Shadow Swamp together?" Puxiu asked. Perhaps because Seaview Cliff was a cliff close to the sea, lacking a strong presence to oversee it, it lacks the sense of security compared to Shadow Swamp.

Nor is it as bustling.

Feeling Ophelia’s unfavorable gaze, Puxiu retreated with an embarrassed grin behind Lu Li’s legs.

"Annie isn’t mature enough," Lu Li simply replied.

She might become a subsidiary to Mother of the Marsh.

Anna would not accept such a thing happening, and neither would Lu Li.

Merchant Anthony returned quickly, but what he brought was not a letter from Mother of the Marsh, but a letter from the fugitive cult.

They said the ocean-going ship was ready, inviting Lu Li to the farewell ceremony.

...

"His Excellency Lulian is finding ways to fill our firewood shortage... Prepare empty warehouses." Mayor Matteus breathed a long sigh of relief upon receiving the letter.

Everything was getting worse, he could only barely make things less terrible.

"Will the Judiciary obstruct?" Valendo asked.

"They dare not, without firewood many citizens won’t survive this winter."

Facts proved Mayor Matteus wrong. The Judiciary became more aggressive and cold than he imagined.