Chapter 185: The True Book of Witchcraft
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
If Consultant Zheng had not exposed the sinister intentions of Old Man Xu, the middle-aged woman might have felt that the emergence of Zhang Lisheng who was waiting in the hotel lobby downstairs was suspicious. However, she no longer had any suspicion.
The team she was leading was originally a motley of people who were forcefully grouped together, so having one additional person did not matter much to her. However, in order to show her authority, she still pondered about it expressionless for a moment before expressing her judgment. “Old Xu, your situation this time is indeed special. I’ll make a special exemption today and will allow your junior nephew to join the team. However, this case should be made clear to the entire team. It should not be repeated ever again. How did your junior nephew come to South Africa?”
“Through working, or to be more accurate, he was an export of labor services.”
“Working? In that case, he must know many Chinese labor friends here in South Africa and have his own circle of life. Alright, Old Xu. Ask him to make a call later to bid goodbye to the other workers and say he must go back immediately for he has some family matter at home. Team Leader Cui, I’ll also a.s.sign Old Xu’s junior nephew into your little team. Later, ask him about his specific details and make registration of him as the procedure of entering the team. It’s a critical period right now, so we can’t take the risk of making any contact with our country over some small matters. We must simplify everything, and we’ll a.s.sign him to protect Old Xu’s safety. Remember, he’s different from your other teammates. After all, he’s a team member who has not received any training or mindset mobilization before. You better monitor him carefully. From now until the end of our mission, don’t let him get in touch with the outside world by himself.”
“Yes, leader!” Cui Xiaodong nodded solemnly.
“That’s awesome, Captain Hu! Thank you for your magnanimity!” Old Man Xu replied while rubbing his hands together in glee. “Consultant Zheng, will you still take a look at him?”
“No. He practices witchcraft and even martial arts. He has a quick temper and has already taken on a wrong path at such a young age. There’s no need for me to deliberately take a look at him since I’ll still have more opportunity to do so in the future.”
Upon hearing Consultant Zheng’s reply, Old Man Xu who also practiced martial arts could not help but feel gloomy and annoyed right away. However, he had no choice but to wear a pleasant facade. “In that case, I’ll take my leave first, Consultant Zheng, Captain Hu.”
“Alright, you may leave now. You too, Team Leader Cui.” The middle-aged woman nodded. Old Man Xu and Team Leader Cui immediately walked out of the room in relief.
Despite some twists and turns, the matter finally came to a satisfactory ending. As the two of them came down in a relaxed manner, they saw that Zhang Lisheng was sitting on the sofa, in the hotel lobby designed for its guests to rest on. He was lost in his thoughts, thinking about something.
Lu Qing and the few others, on the other hand, had a few ranges of expressions on while surrounding the teenagers as they watched him coldly.
“How is it, Team Leader Lu? My junior nephew is not easily bullied right?” Upon seeing this situation, Old Man Xu walked up to Zhang Lisheng with a smiling face and patted his shoulder. “Boy, this face of mine is still usable at the moment. Report your background to Team Leader Cui later. From now on, you’ll become a part of us. You better work hard…”
The reason Zhang Lisheng was willing to follow Old Man Xu and Cui Xiaodong back to the hotel was because first, he had his eyes on that vague secret cultivation technique the old man mentioned. Second, he knew he could fully demonstrate his strength and turn the situation to his favors in this circ.u.mstance where n.o.body knew about him.
In such a situation, of course, he would never give out his true background. Instead, he casually lied, “My dad’s surname is Hu and my mom’s surname is Li. They named me Hu Lisheng. I’m from Hama Village at the mountain outer suburb of the Western Sichuan. When I was fifteen years old, ever since my dad died and my mom remarried, I’ve stopped going to school and had always been working since then. That’s all to my background.”
“T-This is too simple!”
“That’s enough already, oh great Team Leader Cui. Did you think everybody practicing Witchcraft would be like you? Like how you managed to catch the Golden Bull Gu that possesses the omniscient power the moment you became a wizard?! You have the luck of winning the lottery, but most of the ordinary witches don’t have such luck in their lives. Speaking of it, an old man like me who has both a son and a daughter could already be said as blessed enough as well.”
“Lu Qing is also the same as me! Didn’t he manage to catch the Mountain Carrier that possesses an omniscient power as well, at the instant he became a wizard?”
“Well, isn’t that because Lu Qing is not an ordinary person as well? Enough, enough! All of you, Young Masters, will not understand the suffering of the civilians. That’s why not all people have the same fate…” Old Man Xu replied as he patted Zhang Lisheng’s shoulder with a sad face again. “Stop making things difficult for my junior nephew, Captain Hu has already said to simplify everything…”
Zhang Lisheng, on the other hand, ungratefully shook his body and relied on the strength of his body by shaking off the old man’s hand while he was still sitting. With a smile, he asked, “Uncle, I might be joining your gang already now that I’ve reported my background, don’t you think you should give me some of my rewards first?”
“Erm joining our gang… T-This is to serve the government and our country, so how can you make it sound so terrible as entering a gang? Not only that, it’s necessary for us to complete the mission first before we can receive the rewards, boy,” Old Man Xu froze and stuttered in reply.
“The emperor will not starve his army. If you want me to risk my life to serve without any repayment, you’re basically dreaming! Uncle, if you still refuse to give me any payment, I’ll definitely walk away. If you try to stop me and block my way, I’ll kill all of you altogether. Once it has really come to that stage, a dead person will no longer be resurrected. What’s with all the fuss anyway?” Zhang Lisheng responded nonchalantly.
His arrogant words, of course, caused all of the young men in the hotel lobby, who tried to be preeminent, to grow enraged at him. Lu Qing roared in anger, “Y-You! You’re too arrogant! What a high sounding sentiment! Don’t think you’re above us just because you have some petty advantages over us. If we really had used our spells just now, you’d have long kneeled down…”
“Have you guys seen my wizard gu then? Ah forget it, it’s merely just a little bit of trouble and n.o.body here knows me anyway…” Zhang Lisheng mumbled incoherently and stood up from the sofa. The wyrm dragon that had been wrapping around his waist softly opened its mouth and loosened its tail.
Just as the wizard gu was about to swim out and puff its way to display its ferocious posture, the expression of Old Man Xu who was at his side changed repeatedly and abruptly, he called out forcefully, “Don’t get emotional! Don’t get emotional! S-Sure! Boy, you want the secret technique, so I’ll give you my secret True Book. This item is rare and very few people own this. It’s because of this that it’s difficult to be obtained. However, before I give you this true spell, you must first promise me. This item is my own belonging and once you’ve obtained this benefit from me, you must protect me with all your might! You must swear by the Maiden Oath!”
“Oh, Uncle, wouldn’t it have been nice if you said this earlier? Well then, give the secret spell to me, and I want to see its value first before I make my decision.”
The reason Old Man Xu came to terms with Zhang Lisheng’s forceful request and planned to use the witchcraft secret spell he had obtained by fate when he was young to appease him was not because he had lost his mind and really believed the teenager would really kill everybody like how he said. Instead, he was worried that the secret would be exposed once a dispute had arisen. In that case, Zhang Lisheng would most likely be killed, and he would be greatly implicated for being the one who recruited him into the team.
Seeing how the teenager was still a.s.suming on airs, the old man grew anxious and frustrated. He started to feel giddy, so he loosened his suit and opened his s.h.i.+rt to expose his chest. Spitting a huge mouthful of saliva onto his palm, he rubbed it on his chest and soon, a transparent thin skin was uncovered. “I’m unexpectedly bested by my quarry. Here, take it, take it! Use your wizard power to activate it, and you’ll see some drawings and writings appearing. Don’t blame me if you don’t understand it though.”
“A still tongue makes a wise head, this looks like a rare book instead…” Zhang Lisheng reached out a hand to s.n.a.t.c.h the thin skin and used his wizard power to glance through the contents in a flash. His brows raised unnoticeably, but his mouth uttered regrettably, “Unfortunately, this is only sorcery and not a secret cultivation method…”
“What use does a cultivation true spell have these days? The remote thick forests have all become tourist areas, and the tourists there are greater in number than the animals that used to live there now. The barren hills and turbulent rivers are not good tourist spots, so the government would gazette the place and hang a signboard and changed it to become a commercial land. The wastes released by the large factory built there would then kill all of the poisonous insects at the radius of several dozens of miles. Do you still expect some good true spell in such an environment in this society? What’s so bad with this Shed and Restore? Do you even have that one in a million innate talent?! It’s enough already, boy! Stop pretending! I’m used to drifting in the River and Lake and it’s only today that I’ve finally hit the wall. Did you really think I didn’t see through your plan? If you still want to say that this book is not a good item, return it to me and go have a fight with them.”
Looking at the way Old Man Xu burned with impatience, Lu Qing, Cui Xiaodong, and a few other young men who had always been fooled by his words and who could not have any comeback every time they talked to him snickered. They could not help but feel as though they had been avenged. Chuckling out loud, they said, “Old Man Xu, you finally have found your match! The junior nephew you found is actually much greedier and more sly than you! You really deserve it!”
“Old Man Xu, you should be happy instead. Your junior nephew has an eagerness to learn, and if he continues till the end, he’ll definitely have great achievements in the future! Who knows, he may even make a breakthrough in a few days time…” As mockeries continued to rise around them, the hotel lobby that was originally covered in a tense atmosphere began to turn warmly.
If it was forcefulness against forcefulness, of course, Zhang Lisheng who had transformed had no ounce of fear at all. However, now that they had already given him their witchcraft True Book, of course, he could no longer annihilate them all.
“Alright, uncle. You’re right. Although this True Book is not a secret cultivation technique, it’s still very valuable. I promise you that no matter where you go, I’ll accompany you and keep you safe.”
When Old Man Xu heard the teenager saying so, his plague-like expression eased a bit. He no longer insisted Zhang Lisheng make an oath. “Alright, boy! You said so yourself. You don’t seem to be a person who talks that much, but when you do, even your saliva can drown a person. I’ll believe you unconditionally this time. Remember, don’t cause any problem again for you’re also a citizen of our country…”
“Rest a.s.sured of my trustworthiness, please.” Zhang Lisheng smiled as he nodded before asking, “However, Uncle. You keep mentioning ‘the citizen of our country’, what actually did you mean by it?”
“What did I mean? Let’s go to the hotel cafeteria and eat while we talk about it. The food in this hotel is quite good though I’m getting a little bored of it for always eating it. However, now that I’m hungry, I can still endure it. Team Leader Cui, since my junior nephew has already agreed to join the team, he’s considered as someone on our side, so I’ll tell him about our missions later, okay?”