'System, where exactly is this Forbidden Island?' Ning asked.
A piece of information was delivered to his mind and it matched where Ning had thought the Origin would be.
'Is this the Origin of this planet?' Ning asked. Now that he had figured out the location, he could ask the system about it.
<Yes>
Ning smiled. 'Not bad,' he thought.
Saphandra saw Ning lost in his own little world and frowned. "So you are willing to destroy your son's life for just a 'chance' to bond with a spirit?" she asked.
"It's not just about the spirit, young lady," the Emperor said. "The place itself is so dense with spiritual energy that anyone who enters gets to absorb a lot of it and improve their rank."
"Even so—"
"You're not very useful," Ning said suddenly. "I thought you would help change this man's mind, but it seems you are quite greedy yourself too. Time to go back."
Ning grabbed the Emperor and the both of them vanished. Ning returned back after the Emperor was gone and looked at the group.
"One moment, I will fix this thing right now," he said and disappeared.
The group remained there, wondering what he was going to do now.
* * * * *
A carriage rattled in the evening as it made its way away from Mooncrest city. Having left 2 hours ago, they were already far away and in just a couple more hours, they would reach the port on the other city, that would take them back to the school.
The Vice Headmaster of the First Bond school sat in this very carriage, looking through a stack of papers. He was supposed to work on them, but his mind was entirely on the marriage of his little girl.
His daughter, Yelena, was injured as a child and could never live a normal life. She couldn't support herself, so he and his wife had to support her forever.
However, when the duke came in saying that he would have his son marry his daughter, he had felt a little happy and a little sad.
The Vice Headmaster was getting old, and if he soon didn't find a way to have someone take care of his daughter, they would be in trouble. Which was why he had accepted the Duke's proposal.
He knew what the duke was trying to do, but he didn't care. If for a measly spot of his, he could give his daughter an easy life, he would accept it.
Or so he thought, but he couldn't help but feel bad about the situation. Yes, his daughter was 36 years old, but mentally she was still a child. Having a child marry off just didn't sit right with him.
Not to mention, the duke's son apparently had no idea who he was marrying to and had run off the moment he learned about it.
'Maybe this is a sign to not do it,' the old man thought. He might be closing in on being 60 years old, but he was sure he could still take care of his child for another 10 or even 20 years.
Besides, who knew what sort of development the world would see in the medical sector. Maybe one of those strong healing beasts would also agree to his conditions and give him its powers.
He wasn't sure if that would help his daughter, but he sure would hope that was the case.
The carriage slowly came to a stop, bringing the old man out of his thoughts. "Karl? What happened?" he asked the driver.
"Sir Haymond, there's a man stopping the road out here. He says he wants to meet you," the driver said from outside.
'Someone in the middle of the road not only knows I'm here but also wants to meet me?' The old man immediately got ready for a fight.
"Who is it?" he still asked the driver, who passed along the message.
"He says he's someone who came from the Duke's palace," the driver said.
The old man frowned. 'Why would the duke send someone?' he thought and opened the door to come out. By now, he had already finished summoning some powers and was ready to let it loose if need be.
Ning saw an old man with a bald head, wrinkled skin, and gray stubble walk out of the carriage.
"Who are you, young man? Are you one of the Duke's sons?" the old man asked.
"I'm sorry to disappoint, but I'm just a bystander in what is going on between your and the duke's family. I'm a friend of the son your daughter is going to marry,' Ning said.
"Oh, so… you are not here under the Duke's orders?" the old man asked.
"No," Ning said. "I'm here for my own reasons."
"What might that be?" the old man didn't let his powers disappear and kept them up.
"I want you to cancel your daughter's marriage with the duke's son," Ning said.
The old man frowned. This really didn't seem like something the duke would send someone to say. Maybe it was the son that sent this man.
"And why should I listen to you?" the old man asked.
Ning smiled and said, "Because I can heal your daughter."
The old man thought he heard wrong for a few seconds before realizing he had indeed heard the young man say he could heal his daughter.
"Why do you say you can heal my daughter?" the old man asked. "I have tried many times, and I still can't do it."
"Trust me, I can heal her," Ning said. "If you can't, at least trust in this."
Ning tossed something towards the old man's direction, who caught it instantly with the terrifying reflex he had summoned up.
The old man checked what it was and was a little surprised when he saw it. "Rank 8? You?" he asked.
"It is indeed I," Ning said. "Vice Headmaster, you don't need to marry your daughter away. I can heal her. Instead, however, I will require something from you."
