Chapter 19: A Confident Facade is the Deadliest Weapon
Needless to say, this kind of silent stalemate did not last too long. Soon after, one of the guards buckled under the pressure and he shot a meaningful glance towards his partner before running back into the exquisite three storey mansion. At the same time, his partner could not help but swallowed hard and said to Baiyi, “Mr Andrew, please wait a moment, my partner is fetching the butler.”
Baiyi remained silent as he s.h.i.+fted his disguise inwardly and stopped exuding the terrifying aura. Sensing the withdrawal of the invisible pressure in the air, the guard let out a sigh of relief. Waves of cold sweat appeared on his back and drenched the clothing under his armour. With that expression on his face, people would have thought that he had just escaped the Holocaust.
The guard was certain that he would have been close to death if he had been disrespectful towards this powerful being. Perhaps he would never be able to see his wife and kids again. This man who called himself a wandering sorcerer was no doubt a person that he could never afford to cross in his entire life. It would be wiser to pa.s.s this problem on to the butler to resolve instead.
Baiyi did not have to wait too long because soon after, he could see the previous guard trotting back with a middle-aged man who was wearing a standard butler uniform in tow. This man had a kind of shrewd and capable aura around him which was similar to gold-collar workers on Earth.
Looking at Baiyi up and down before he bowed, the butler said to Baiyi courteously, “Pleasure to have you here, Master Andrew. I’m Morris, the butler of this mansion. Welcome to Dole’s manor. Can you follow me please?” He waved his hand elegantly in a polite gesture as he showed Baiyi the way.
“Hmmph ~!” Pretending to be arrogant, Baiyi caught up with the butler’s pace. As they were walking past the garden that was elegantly furnished, he did not forget to study those expensive flowers and all kinds of potted plants as he stated his approval, “What a beautiful garden! Very luxurious as well!”
“Only a person with taste would be able to appreciate the charm and value of this place. Master Andrew does have quite a good eye!” The butler exclaimed proudly but at the same, his eyes were discreetly tracking Baiyi’s every single movement and reaction. Baiyi’s every step and pace and even all the minute details were all carefully observed by him.Through these simple movements, it was more than enough for him to form a preliminary understanding of this mysterious cloaked person.
At first, he was somewhat skeptical when he heard the guard’s description of this exuberant person but out of cautiousness and formality, he had decided to go out and see for himself, this wandering sorcerer who could intimidate two Advanced Level Warriors. After being a part of the Dole family for so long now, those two people had been in many different situations and had seen all kinds of things and people. Their judgement should not be too bad.
However, when the butler first saw this man, a great deal of his doubt vanished from his heart. Although, the wandering sorcerer, Andrew, no longer had that substanstial amount of pressure that the guard had first described, there was still an inscrutable sense of mystery emanating from his person. The butler concluded that the man was not a simple and ordinary person.
Morris was no stranger to that kind of aura. He had met with many powerful beings with similar aura before. This was something that no disguise could fake. Of course, he also did not think that anyone could fool his eyes that easily.
Obviously, he had never heard of the Charlatan before. He would never have thought that such trick that had been lost for thousands of years would reappear again and successfully fooled his discerning eyes.
Baiyi who noticed the change in the butler’s eyes could not help but say to the Charlatan, Wow, your tricks are quite useful! Just a few simple tricks and it’s already working smoothly. There’s no need for us to use those high end illusions at all.
“Of course! In my past life, I had even successfully fool the King, Prime Minister, Archbishop and so many other people. Just a mere butler is no match for me at all,” the Charlatan responded proudly. “After all, a confident facade is the deadliest weapon one could have.”
As expected from the person who managed to become a Voidwalker through mere deception, his tricks were not seen through by Morris the butler at all. When they were walking quietly through the garden into the small western-style building, most of the suspicion in the butler’s heart had already been put to rest. When he saw the ox leather gloves that was exposed by chance underneath Baiyi’s cloak, not only did he not feel skeptical but his suspicion was completely dispelled from his heart.
Yes, gloves were a common item of clothing but yet, this common item often revealed a lot of information about the wearer. A person who was trying to conceal his ident.i.ty would not reveal his hands because this would expose his age and the nature of his employment. As for the type of gloves, the most commonly seen ox-leather gloves were the most suitable one for Baiyi’s current disguise. The gloves were cheap, solid and wear-resistant. When it comes to dealing with corrosive magical ingredients and carrying out manual labour, this type of gloves were much more fitting and convenient than a pair of silk gloves. It was the perfect gloves for a dest.i.tute wandering sorcerer.
Therefore, Morris was filled with conviction that his conjecture towards Baiyi’s ident.i.ty was correct. He had encountered many cases like this before. A wandering sorcerer with an exceptional talent but poor at the same time? Well, he had a lot of experience when it comes to identifying one.
At that point, the two had pa.s.sed through a narrow corridor and came to a living room on the second floor. On the simple yet luxurious walls of the corridor, Baiyi saw four portraits and so he stopped to have a clear look at them.
” Shylock, Harpagon, Grandet and Plyushkin. 1 These are the four ancestors of the Dole family who had made outstanding contributions to the family. It was also because of them that the Dole family could have the prestige that they have today,” Morris explained lightly.
Tsk tsk, these four names.. Now I kinda have an idea why your family is so rich now. Baiyi asked the Merchant, Which one are you?
“I’m that Grandet… uh.. no… I- I mean, my name is Grandet. This is a misunderstanding. It’s just a coincidence.” The Merchant quickly explained, “Our family is very, very generous!”
Baiyi immediately sat down on the long couch in the living room and stretched his four limbs as if he was the owner of the house without the least bit of modesty. Appearing to be accustomed to this kind of lifestyle, he proceeded to use his Psychic Energy to do some rough exploration. Just as he had expected, he detected two forces in the next room.
Oh! A Master Warrior and a Master Sorcerer. Hmmph! This butler is quite vigilant, isn’t he? Baiyi said inwardly to the Walkers.
“E-err…. this is a necessary precautionary measure. Please understand, Sir Hope.” The Merchant quickly explained in embarra.s.sment. Baiyi could still accept it if the guards were two Legendary beings but just two Master Level guards to stand against a Voidwalker? What a frugal and ridiculous arrangement! He even felt a little sorry for them.
However, the butler who was clueless about Baiyi’s background appeared to be satisfied with his own arrangement. After he had commanded the servant to serve them the famous black tea from Mars, he directly asked, “I wonder what level you are at right now, Master Andrew? Don’t get me wrong, I have no other intention. I’m just wondering about how much funding we should provide for you?”
Instead of answering the question, Baiyi took the teacup from the servant and asked, “Do I look like someone who would stand for such a boring test?” While he was speaking, he did not take off his hood that was covering his face. The butler had intended for Baiyi to lift his hood up when he was drinking his tea. Instead, Baiyi used his Mana to lift the hot liquid up from the cup and condensed it into a small brown sphere floating in the air.
He then divided his Mana and cut the sphere into thin slices that looked like brown pennies. Without pausing, he gathered each slices with Mana again and let them float back into the cup while maintaining their shape.
Morris looked horrified as he watched the cup of hot black tea turned into a cup of what looked like brown pennies. Using Mana, Baiyi lifted the cup up and pa.s.sed it to the butler as he finally confided, “I need some money. I’ll remember to return them to you.”
Taken aback, the butler looked down at the teacup in his hand, he could still feel the lingering heatfrom the tea on the ceramic cup. He could even see the slight ripples of brown liquid. And yet, they remained in the shape of coins in the teacup. It was a challenge to the butler’s so-called vast experience.
He had to admit that he had never seen such a trick before. Although it was merely a trick, the innate capabilities that was displayed was more than enough to impressed him. He nodded immediately as he took a bag of money out from his pocket and respectfully handed them to Baiyi.
Baiyi took the money bag using his Mana and kept it in his pocket without making any sound. In truth, he was criticizing Morris inwardly, WHAT? Just a meager sum of 50 gold coins? Did he think he was brus.h.i.+ng a beggar off?
In all fairness, 50 gold coins was not a small amount of money at all. It was actually half a year of income for a middle cla.s.s family. But that amount of money was not even sufficient to pay for the appearance fee of a Voidwalker.
It was still a little insufficient to be used as a start up capital. This would deeply limit the subsequent capital turnover rate later.
But what could he do about it anyway? Whose fault was it that his ident.i.ty right now was Andrew, the wandering sorcerer? That amount of money was actually quite large for a wandering sorcerer.
“Thank you for your generosity. I’ll see myself to the door now,” Baiyi stated as he stood up and left without so much as a glance back. He did not utter another word, making the whole process simple and neat.
The butler Morris hastily got up and sent Baiyi out. With tacit understanding, he did not say a word either.
Not that he needed to say anything. That amount of 50 gold coins was calculated intelligently. Even though they were not enough to buy over a real strong powerful being but they were more than enough to show the generosity of the family and to support the current needs of a wandering sorcerer. This person would most likely come back again in the future to ask for more money for his expenses. And that would be the time for both sides to sit down and have a discussion.