The Card Apprentice

‘Allah’ Gong’s bodyguard let out a sigh of relief in his mind. Those others were going to lose this time. He could face several dozens of that kind of slacker adversary alone, and it would still be relaxed and smooth. Yet what he hadn’t thought of was that the final factor determining who would win that time lay with those two slackers.

Chen Mu was both a little excited and a little taken aback, since he could tell that this bout was going to be different from what had gone on before. That feeling of controlling his power from his core was especially sharp.

What was taking him aback was a different matter.

In the moment when he had just wielded the chair, the movement of his adversary was sluggish in his eyes, just like slow motion. He almost didn’t have to concentrate, and could easily hit that unlucky student. He’d never had such a feeling – very strong, but it seemed to have come suddenly, and then left without any sign; with just a blink of his eyes, the world in front of him had returned to normal.

If he hadn’t considered that it was an academy, and that guy was a student and not some slacker, Chen Mu could have killed him with that blow just then.

He and Copper had been graced with an understanding of practical cruelty for a long time, and as those who have been out in the world all knew, you never want to give your adversary any opportunities.

It seemed . . . those few days of training seemed to have become a little bit useful. Chen Mu was also a little bit unsettled, and a little bit uncertain. He could feel that his control of his strength had become more accurate and smoother. If he was then as he had been before, there was no way that he could be so on-target.

That world which had suddenly become so sluggish and slow would always last only a split second, but Chen Mu was already deeply fascinated by it.

He was excited, without the slightest bit of fear. He then wished that those people would bring it on and let him reenter that magical world.

Seeing the look in Chen Mu and Copper’s eyes, a look of dread flashed across ‘Allah’ Gong’s eyes.

Those two people weren’t like Zuo Tingyi.

No matter if an even bigger conflict came up, no bodily harm could come to either him or to Zuo Tingyi. What they could lose would only be the power they controlled, which was also one of the unwritten rules of Eastern Wei Academy. Last time when there were rumors about him being taken in to the garrison office by Ceng Xinyi’s older brother, and getting all that kind of abuse, it was all about something that had never really happened. He was just given a warning by Ceng Xinyi’s older brother and that was it.

That was probably characteristic of conflicts among the princelings.

After they grew up they might become life-long enemies, such that it wouldn’t be ‘you die and then I forget.’ But at that time, when they hadn’t yet become completely independent, they would have to maintain their restraint, which was a characteristic of the society of the entire Heavenly Federation.

No one had ever given ‘Allah’ Gong the feeling he had just then. He believed that in only a few more minutes, whether everyone else had been knocked flat or if they had run off, those two ruthless devils would still smash the chair into him without the slightest hesitation. He couldn’t help gazing at that bodyguard of his, but it didn’t give him any more hope. That bodyguard and Hong Tao were both like two fighting cocks just then, staring at one another.

When he thought about that dear friend who’d just been knocked down and was still on the ground struggling in pain, it tore ‘Allah’ Gong’s heart out. His body was still bowed like a shrimp, and he’d been calling out miserably without stopping,

‘Allah’ Gong swallowed hard, with his forehead filling with sweat.

A brave and true man doesn’t take the present loss, but quickly balances it in his heart. Although the disciplinary office was scary, for him, apart from losing face, he wasn’t likely to experience any material harm from it. But it was different there; his gaze flashed over to the wooden chair in Chen Mu’s hand.

Looking carefully at the two, one was dressed garishly. All the shiny baubles on his body were cheap, but from the sharp radiance flashing from his eyes, you could tell that he was a rather clever person. The other looked more ordinary. He was of normal height with normal clothes, which, in the privileged eyes of ‘Allah’ Gong, were really a totally coarse kind of clothing. There wasn’t anything to get your attention in the way he looked; if he were in a crowd, you would never notice him.

If nothing were out of the ordinary, ‘Allah’ Gong would normally not have given a second look, but some real fear rose up in him that time, since he felt he couldn’t see through to that person. Nothing was happening with what he could see outwardly. Coming from a family of merchants, he had an excellent endowment regarding close observation, and he was also quite good with his intuition about things you couldn’t see, but what he hadn’t ever considered was that today he would run into someone he couldn’t read at all.

He decided to stand off temporarily.

“OK, I’ll go to the discipline office.” Those words from ‘Allah’ Gong made the gang of pals at his side heave a collective sigh of relief.

The matter having been resolved that way, Chen Mu and Copper were the first to leave, and no one dared to block them. Zuo Tingyi thought to call after them, seeing as the two were leaving without a goodbye, but both he and Hong Tao looked uncomfortable.

The looks on Zuo Tingyi and Hong Tao’s faces were naturally not within the realm of what Chen Mu was thinking about. Copper was originally going to make some greeting, since after all even a blind person could see that those two were influential people at Eastern Wei Academy. The comradery of fighting shoulder to shoulder that day should have made the two sides into friends and could have some positive impact on subsequent developments.

But looking at Chen Mu, he kept his mouth shut, although he regretted it.

Later, Copper had very quickly put any regret to the back of his mind, as he excitedly said, “Hey, we fought well today, bullying back the cowards . . . very nice!” But then he immediately realized a problem, asking, “Blockhead, did you take the wrong medicine today? What made you want to get into someone else’s business? This is definitely not your style.”

“That girl helped me out once.” Chen Mu’s response was simple.

“Ah.” Copper was startled, and then quickly became interested, “I say, you’ve never gotten into other peoples’ business, so why did you make a move today? Come on, do tell, ha ha, what kind of help did that girlie give you? I do see that no one seemed to know you, not even making any word of greeting.”

“It has to do with card making.” Chen Mu had that little bit to say about that day’s circumstances.

“Oh, so today was an obligation,” Copper suddenly got it.

The two street punks had well understood the ups and downs of people since being little, never really getting any help from anyone. So, when they did get help, they really treasured it. Even though the person had helped Chen Mu without realizing it herself, Chen Mu still felt obligated to return the favor, and was honor-bound to take his stand that day. They weren’t thinking of any utility from the favor in the end, but they did feel that they needed to take their stand on obligation, and so they stepped up with courage. It was just his simple and honest heart which made Chen Mu do what he did.

This might be laughable to ordinary people, but with Chen Mu – and with Copper who’d encountered the same ways – it would be understandable.

For Chen Mu and Copper, it really was a minor episode. No circumstance which would have the two of them fighting was likely to come up in Chen Mu’s mind. When it came to that girl and the matter of human emotions, everyone was the same. But with them it was still more about the ways of their world: Don’t covet anything, don’t have high hopes, live first, and when it comes to grievances and gratitude, if you have the ability to reciprocate, then reciprocate, but if you don’t then keep it calmly to yourself.

They didn’t know that ‘Allah’ Gong and Zuo Tingyi had already been turning the school upside down without finding the two of them during that time.

Chen Mu and Copper were in the middle of throwing their lives into making a card show. This didn’t only contain Copper’s longings, but it also contained Chen Mu’s life.