The Card Apprentice

“Commander, that geezer Tai-shu Yong is here,” Sang Hanshui said without a bit of respect while peeking his head into the room. To him, Tai-shu Yong was a man of little importance. He didn’t understand why Chen Mu wanted to stay with the Tai-shus, but he knew the latter must be plotting something.

Sang Hanshui’s almond-shaped eyes shone glaringly. His gaze was mostly set upon the newcomer, Xiaobo. When Chen Mu had brought a woman back, he had thought it was normal. To him, it would be weirder if a powerful man like Qiao Yuan didn’t have a woman beside him!

However, he was cautious about Xiaobo. He knew his fate would be connected to Qiao Yuan’s and didn’t expect to be able to leave his demonic hands. And, after getting the Bomb, he respected Qiao Yuan even more. As somebody who could obtain a card from the numbered series of cards, Qiao Yuan had to have unimaginable power.

In times of chaos, relying on a powerful person was a decent method of survival. Qiao Yuan had a calm mind, terrific talent, and mysterious technologies. There was also an unfathomable top fighter with him, with powers unknown to man. How could someone like him be a mere commoner? Before he’d met Qiao Yuan, he’d felt that with his own strength, he could earn his own standing in the world somehow. Now, however, he realized competition had arrived sooner than he’d imagined!

The newcomer didn’t seem weak, which put Sang Hanshui slightly on guard. Furthermore, Qiao Yuan seemed to be quite friendly with the new guy. Are they close? That stirred up his feelings of unease. He wanted to keep his spot on Qiao Yuan’s future team. He had come to impatiently report the old man’s arrival precisely because of that.

“Tai-shu Yong?” Chen Mu was confused and felt suspicious. What is Tai-shu Yong doing here? He had mostly familiarized with the situation in the Tai-shu household. Since Tai-shu Cheng had left The Garden Above the Center to his own place, Tai-shu Yong had never come by.

Sang Hanshui stood by the door. He looked back and said in a low voice, “Tai-shu Cheng is here with an old man, who’s probably Tai-shu Yong.”

Is he here for me? That thought flashed through his mind for a moment. He then heard Qiu Shanyu saying coldly, “Seems like this old geezer isn’t too dumb. This is so obvious, but he still reacted so slowly. Must be old age!” Sang Hanshui was surprised. Oh, my! This woman is fierce! If anyone else spoke to Qiao Yuan like that, they would be long dead.

Chen Mu ignored her and walked out of the training room while humming deeply. As he walked out, he saw Tai-shu Cheng respectfully accompanying an old man as they walked toward him. However, other than his gray hair and his white, slightly murky eyes, the man didn’t seem old at all. Another man walked on the other side of Tai-shu Cheng. Chen Mu was more concerned about that well-built man, who was tall and sinewy. The signature part of his body, his eyes, were a terrifying blood-red.

Connelly! For no reason, the name suddenly appeared in Chen Mu’s mind. He hadn’t seen that man before, but he felt he could be sure of his identity with just a look. Only a card artisan with level-seven perception could give him a sense of danger. He’d felt that from Rong Ming.

Tai-shu Cheng tried to suppress his joy, but the expression in his eyes gave him away. The old man had never been to any company of the three brothers’. That was a first! He was overjoyed but still tried to keep a calm face.

Tai-shu Cheng’s eyes brightened when he saw Chen Mu. “White Commander, please come here for a moment.” He wasn’t dim-witted; he clearly understood why the old man was there.

“How can you be so rude to Mr. White?” the old man rebuked. “We should go over!”

Of course, Chen Mu saw through their act. If he took it seriously and acted proudly, he would be a fool. His body flashed for a moment, and he appeared before the three of them. Sang Hanshui followed Chen Mu closely, standing behind him. Connelly squinted a little, but his eyes returned to normal.

“Old Master!” Chen Mu greeted respectfully.

Tai-shu Yong responded cheerfully, “Excellent moves, as expected from the White Commander! No wonder you are the talk of the town! Come; let us sit and talk.”

Tai-shu Yong and Chen Mu sat down, and the situation became somewhat strange. Connelly and Tai-shu Cheng stood behind Tai-shu Yong, and Sang Hanshui stood behind Chen Mu. Facing a powerful man like Connelly, Sang Hanshui wasn’t afraid. Although his perceptual level was below seven, he was almost there. Connelly wasn’t on the Black-Line Star Listing, but he was ranked 70th on the Heavenly Drum Rolls. Most of the card artisans on the Black-Line Star Listing looked down upon those on the Heavenly Drum Rolls.

The two of them made eye contact now and then. Connelly’s eyes appeared to be solemn. Underneath the mask, though, his eyes were cruel and cold like a snake’s, as if he were hiding in the dark, preparing to select prey to devour.

On the contrary, Sang Hanshui was less burdened. With the Bomb he had, he was absolutely confident. He believed he could get into the top 100 of the Black-Line Star Listing with his current capabilities. Moreover, the people behind him were also powerful. Qiao Yuan, Wei-ah, and the newcomer were all stronger than their opponent. With nothing to fear, Sang Hanshui showed unbridled arrogance.

Tai-shu Cheng also felt that. His face turned pale, and his teeth were gently shaking. But Tai-shu Yong was seated comfortably, chatting away happily like nobody’s business.

“I came here to thank you for helping my three awful sons, Mr. White! If it hadn’t been for you, I’m afraid the father would have had to attend his sons’ funeral!”

“You exaggerate, Old Master. Mr. Tai-shu Cheng is my boss; if I didn’t save him, who would pay my salary?”

“Ha ha!” Tai-shu Yong laughed profoundly. “Nevertheless, I have a small doubt. I wonder if you can solve it, Mr. White.”

Without batting an eye, Chen Mu responded, “Ask away, Old Master, but I am unlearned. I hope I won’t disappoint you.”

“Ho ho! How humble you are, Mr. White! Ah, excuse me; should I call you Mr. White or Mr. Qiao?” Tai-shu Yong’s eyes were open wide and full of vigor, making them lose all hints of old age at once.

Connelly coughed coldly and suddenly sounded aggressive. Sang Hanshui looked at him fiercely, not wanting to lose his own ground. Tai-shu Cheng’s face was still pale. What his father had said was too shocking! Qiao Yuan… So, the White Commander was Qiao Yuan all along!

The card artisans on the training ground stopped and stared at them in horror. Was their hired hand going to fight Connelly?

Chen Mu was surprised. Squinting, he commented with a smile, “Seems like you have ears everywhere, Old Master.”

His identity had been seen through! Chen Mu had his eyes locked onto Tai-shu Yong. If things went south, he would grab him at the first moment. But he was still shocked. Where did I fail to cover up?

“Ha ha!” Tai-shu Yong’s laugh was loud and clear. He waved his hand and said, “Calm down, Mr. Qiao. No matter what, it’s a fact that you saved my three sons. I do owe you a favor. But I don’t understand. With your capabilities, what can the Tai-shu family still do for you?”

At that point, Chen Mu no longer felt the need to hide. He’d wanted a chance to confront Tai-shu Yong directly anyway. Although the situation was far different from what he had imagined, the result was basically the same.

“I heard your family owns some gold-mottled liquid-soft fungus, so I came here to ask for it.”

“Gold-mottled liquid-soft fungus?” Tai-shu Yong was slightly confused. He looked at Chen Mu profoundly and laughed out loud. “Not even my three sons knew about this, but you knew! How surprising, Mr. Qiao!”

“I was just lucky.” Chen Mu felt a little better. It seemed like the Tai-shus really had the gold-mottled liquid-soft fungus! He had been worried it didn’t really exist. As long as they had it, he could either snatch it or could get it by negotiation, so he wasn’t too worried about what was next.

Tai-shu Yong nodded and drank his tea slowly, as if he didn’t know Connelly and Sang Hanshui were silently competing. After a long while, he said, “Since Mr. Qiao saved my three sons, I really should offer you what you want with both hands.” He put down his cup and continued solemnly, “But the gold-mottled liquid-soft fungus was handed down through the generations. For it, our ancestors sacrificed many people. Lives and blood were lost in order for us to keep it until today. Our ancestors passed down instructions to never use it other than in a crisis concerning the end of the Tai-shu bloodline!”

“Oh.” Chen Mu stayed expressionless. Tai-shu Yong couldn’t have come all the way there to tell him his family history, so he waited for the old geezer to reveal the secret himself.

As expected, Tai-shu Yong picked up his teacup again and took a sip. “Since we are indebted to Mr. Qiao, however, we can probably make an exception.”

“I think we should drop the pretense,” Chen Mu replied plainly. It was getting a bit tedious for him.

“Ha ha!” Tai-shu Yong laughed sneakily. “Surely, with your skills and your people, flattening the Tai-shu household would be a piece of cake. However, only I know where the fungus is. My old life isn’t worth much, but it would be a shame if Mr. Qiao’s important matters were… interrupted.”

Chen Mu was speechless. He’d never met a scoundrel worse than him! For an old man to be so obviously cunning was new to him.

“Oh, that was a joke! Just a joke! Don’t be angry, Mr. Qiao!” Tai-shu Yong laughed and continued, “The Tai-shu household is obviously willing to provide the gold-mottled liquid-soft fungus Mr. Qiao needs. But I think you won’t mind helping just a little. Of course, to show my sincerity, the fungus will be immediately sent to you.”

He is truly a sly, old fox! Chen Mu silently admired him. Tai-shu Yong’s words were intertwined with truths and lies. There was no opening at all, which was difficult to deal with. Seeing that the gold-mottled liquid-soft fungus would soon be in his hands, though, a rare wave of excitement arose in Chen Mu’s heart.

He inhaled deeply and stared at Tai-shu Yong with his eyes as sharp as arrows. “Your condition?”