“Where did you go last night?” Charles inquired in his mind.

  Since Lily had seen someone, it must have been Richard.

  “Hey, I’ve been into fishing lately. I figured I’d use my own time to try out a new hobby. What’s it to you?” Richard replied.

  Hearing Richard’s response, Charles fell silent and continued working on his new painting.

  Time passed slowly, and when the last details were added to the canvas, Charles checked his pocket watch and relinquished control of his body, allowing another personality to take over.

  Richard hummed a tune as he pulled out a new notebook, beginning to draft his work titled *Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea*.

  The scratch of the pen glided over the dry pages, leaving behind smooth lines of text. The content told a lighthearted story about a boy named Mire exploring the sea, filled with humorous anecdotes and absurd jokes. Each time he reached a punchline, Richard would burst into a fit of manic laughter.

  Although only four hours had passed, Richard had already completed more than half of his whimsical novel.

  “Hey, buddy, what do you think of this joke? Let me tell you! One day, Mire accidentally let out a series of loud farts at home, and his grandma, who was knitting, jumped up and said, ‘Quick, go open the door! Your second uncle is coming back with a tractor!’—hahaha!”

  Before he could finish the joke, Richard collapsed onto the table, laughing uncontrollably.

  After a while, as his mind quieted, Richard’s wild laughter turned into a smug smile. He tossed his pen aside, pushed open the window, and jumped out.

  Dressed in a deep blue captain’s coat, he leaped across the rooftops like an acrobat, landing swiftly on the dock crowded with various ships.

  Spotting a black and red steamship that was twice the size of the Unicorn, he took a few steps forward but quickly pulled back his foot. “No, no, that guy wouldn’t do that.”

  Richard rubbed his hands over his face. After a few seconds, the brash, disdainful Richard disappeared, replaced by Charles’s long-standing expression of resolve tinged with fatigue.

  “Cough, cough…” Richard cleared his throat, stepping forward toward the ship.

  As soon as he boarded, he was greeted by Elizabeth, who wore a crisp white captain’s coat, linking her arm with his. “Charles, why are you so late today?”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  “Um… I got held up with some matters. How did that thing go?” Charles replied coldly.

  “It’s in the cabin. I heard there’s been progress with what you asked. What are you two up to, being all mysterious, keeping to yourselves?”

  “Nothing. I’ll tell you once it’s resolved.” Charles led her toward the adjacent cabin.

  The ship was enormous, with three levels, each boasting a different style. The people inside weren’t dressed like typical sailors; most wore purple robes and pointed soft hats.

  Their expressions toward Richard were a mix of respect and curiosity. This guy had been working on something with their leader for days, but no one knew what it was.

  Under their watchful eyes, Richard and Elizabeth reached the top level.

  The entire level was filled with books, haphazardly piled in heaps everywhere.

  An elderly man with deep lines etched into his face sat behind a desk cluttered with books, seemingly engrossed in reading.

  As he noticed their footsteps approaching, he looked up over his reading glasses, a smile spreading across his wrinkled face. “Ah, it’s Mr. Charles. I have good news for you regarding the other—”

  “Cough, cough!” Richard suddenly interrupted with a few coughs.

  The old man glanced at Elizabeth beside him and quickly retracted what he was about to say.

  “You should step outside for a moment,” Richard said, pulling his arm from Elizabeth’s embrace.

  Elizabeth exchanged curious glances between the two men before nodding. “Alright, you two handle it. I’ll wait outside.”

  As Elizabeth’s distinctive high-heeled boots faded away, Richard eagerly approached the old man. “So, what’s the progress?”

  The old man nodded and turned to a stack of books. With a wave of his left hand, the disordered books began to flutter open like birds, revealing a hidden door behind them.

  With a clatter, Charles followed the old man through the door.

  Inside was a small room, no bigger than half a bedroom, filled with jars and bottles, and it also held a man—a figure wearing a mask reminiscent of the infamous 096.

  His limbs were tightly bound by chains, and no matter how he shook his head, the mask remained in place.

  “Look,” the old man gestured with his left hand, and a translucent blue figure detached itself from the masked man. “This artifact you provided, I’ve studied it for quite some time and discovered that it alters the rotation of the soul’s star chakras, and it—”

  “Wait, wait, I don’t want to know all that. I just want to know how to get rid of the other personality without affecting the primary one.”

  The old man regarded Richard meaningfully. “Has Mr. Charles used this artifact as well? Then which personality is speaking to me?”

  “Whether he has or not is none of your concern. What you need to know is that if you solve my problem, Elizabeth will give you an additional five percent of the island,” Richard said, grinning.

  The old man studied the young man before him for a moment, then began to chuckle.

  “I’ve already deciphered how the artifact alters the soul. Next, I can concoct the elixir. Don’t worry; in the field of soul knowledge, no one in the Sea Realm is more adept than the head of the Gant family.”

  “Great! How long will it take?” Charles’s eyes gleamed with urgency.

  “In fact, to demonstrate my sincerity in our collaboration, I’ve already prepared the Soul Binding Elixir. I know you need this very much.” The old man raised his gnarled left hand, and a palm-sized glass vial floated slowly from his robe’s sleeve into Richard’s hands.

  Inside the vial, a dark copper liquid mixed with strands of black fluid swirled gently.