The Card Apprentice

By the time he’d finished, Xiaobo’s face was pale, though his eyes were surprisingly bright. Once he’d turned off his apparatus, he strode straight over to Chen Mu and said with a fawning face, “I’ll be hanging with you, big brother! I’ll kill whomever you tell me to kill! I’ll be the spear in your hand, the whip you hold…”

With no expression on his face, Chen Mu put out his hand. “First, give me the card.”

“No!” Xiaobo’s cry of grief really had an impact on those around. He sounded like he was spitting blood and would die. Xiaobo’s left hand was tightly covering the apparatus on his right wrist as though he were a fierce woman guarding her chastity.

Seeing Xiaobo’s expression, Chen Mu unconsciously raised his fists. Xiaobo was startled to see Chen Mu’s clenched fists, and he plunged down to grab Chen Mu by the leg.

“Big brother, take Little Bo with you. You have conquered my body and my heart! As long as you feed me, I won’t take any pay—no bonus, no subsidy. I’ll be at the front of any charge and the back of any retreat. I can pour your tea, make your bed, and fold the sheets…”

Hearing his emotional declarations, Xi Ping couldn’t help but cough. Among everyone there, only he had understood what Chen Mu was doing. Chen Mu’s idea of making Xiaobo give him the Wheel was nothing more than to draw Xi Ping into the bargaining. That had become a habit Chen Mu had been developing for a while by then. Whenever they had to do transactions, he would certainly have Xi Ping do the bargaining. Xi Ping was a worthy bargaining expert who was really sharp with his quick words. Chen Mu would sometimes be seen lamenting those.

“Ah! No! Big brother, so long as you take me along, I’ll do anything!” Seeing Xi Ping about to say something, Xiaobo plaintively added those few words.

“Little Bo!” Xi Ping stood, pushing up his glasses and speaking slowly. They were taking in crazy amounts then, and he had picked out a pair of glasses especially to identify all the materials.

Xiaobo was looking at Xi Ping in a daze.

Xi Ping said affably, “You say you don’t need any pay?”

Xiaobo’s spirits were jolted, and he repeatedly nodded. “Right, right!”

“You say you don’t need any bonuses? Subsidies?” The smile on Xi Ping’s face became more pleasant.

“Right, right!” Xiaobo saw his hopes about to be realized, nodding to the point that those around him were afraid his neck would snap.

“Oh, so that’s how it is. As far as being at the front of any attack and being the last to retreat, those are tactical matters, which I can’t consider. So, Xiaobo, how many years do you plan to serve the boss?” Xi Ping was all smiles.

“Three years? No, five!” Xiaobo had held out three fingers at first and immediately stuck out two more.

Xi Ping took a look at him and drew out his words earnestly. “Has your perceptual strength reached the sixth level, Little Bo?”

Xiaobo’s heart skipped a beat. “It hasn’t, but I’ll break through right away. Half a year. In half a year, I’ll be able to break through.”

“Oh!” Xi Ping dragged out his exclamation before tailing off to continue on, smiling. “Well, Little Bo, you’ve tried this card. Tell me, if we were to use it to recruit card artisans at the fifth level of perceptual strength, how many could we recruit?”

Xiaobo crumpled. “Five? Ten?” For Xiaobo to get so tangled up like that, of course he would have to understand the card quite well. Its value was enough for them to recruit dozens of level-five card artisans. There was no way he could even estimate an accurate value for the card.

“Ah, well then let’s make a conservative estimate. How about five?” Xi Ping maintained his smile. “So, tell me, Little Bo; where would you find the other four level-five card artisans?”

Xiaobo’s head drooped. Although there weren’t so many level-five card artisans, there also weren’t so few. He knew how slim his hopes were if he wanted the card to himself. He also knew that if the card were to be used to attract card artisans, it would be easy to attract card artisans at level six and above. They could even recruit higher-level card artisans. A card at that level would be something only the Big Six would have. Moreover, the highest-level cards of the Big Six were impossible for outsiders to get.

“Still,” Xi Ping said languidly, “seeing that you are so devoted to our boss, and the boss is rather appreciative of you, perhaps we could consider something.”

Xiaobo’s eyes lit up as he rushed to say, “Please, do tell. What are the conditions?”

“Tell me, Little Bo; if we were to give you the sole use of a card that could attract five or more card artisans, wouldn’t we take a great loss? Considering our sincerity, now wouldn’t you like to express yourself?” Xi Ping still had that smile on his face.

“Just tell me what your conditions are!” Xiaobo was grinding his teeth and speaking straightforwardly. Watching the mild smile on that big uncle was upsetting him.

“Quick and straightforward! That’s the sort of person I like dealing with!” Xi Ping praised before calculating on his fingers. “Since it’s only you right now, Little Bo, shouldn’t your term of service be extended? Oh, let’s see… If it’s five years per person, and we’re counting five people, then we would be eating quite a loss. I believe 25 years would be more fair!”

“Twenty-five years!” Xiaobo was dumbfounded.

So were Xiao Liqian and Bogner. Even Chen Mu was a little dumbfounded! Everyone’s gazes toward Xi Ping immediately changed. That old crook was really something! Xiao Liqian was secretly glad, thinking it was a good thing they didn’t transact much business. In any case, she felt a lot of sympathy for the petrified Xiaobo.

Twenty-five years wasn’t very different from a lifetime of service. Such a length of service was hardly ever seen. Xiaobo’s face kept changing colors as his eyes showed how much he was struggling with the decision.

Xi Ping kept smiling, not having changed his expression at all, as though he hadn’t taken note of everyone’s gazes. “We would still be taking quite a loss. We only counted five. If we were to count ten, it would be 50 years, and 20 would be 100 years.”

What Xi Ping said made Xiaobo’s expression change as he gritted his teeth and decided, his voice sounding like it was being squeezed out between his teeth. “Ok!”

“Ho ho, Little Bo is a discerning youth, after all!” Xi Ping’s expression was full of praise. He then pulled out a stack of paper as though he were a juggler. “Oh, we have to take care of some office work. This is a contract. Just sign your name, and provide a fingerprint.”

Everyone was looking at Xi Ping, stunned silent. When had he prepared the contract?

Once he had agreed, Xiaobo simply signed his name on the contract and left his fingerprint without saying another thing.

“Little Bo is straightforward, after all!” Xi Ping jogged the contract square and smiled. “We are now in the same group. Oh, the contract is recognized and protected by the most authoritative bodies in the federation. If you were to default, the aftermath could be miserable. Furthermore, although Little Bo is a fifth-level card artisan, you will still have to take orders from our chief of security, Bogner. Ah, and in our team, only Mr. Wei-ah doesn’t need to recognize Chief Bogner’s jurisdiction. If Little Bo would like to enjoy Mr. Wei-ah’s good graces, you only need to hold out for ten minutes with him.

Bogner was looking at Xi Ping as though he were some monster, a chill rising steeply from his heart. That old crook is… is really too crafty! I can never fall out with him. Otherwise, I’m afraid I wouldn’t even know how to die without him. Still, in order to prove that what Xi Ping said was really true, Bogner coughed lightly. “Right. That’s the rule.”

The expressions on Crow Feather, Happy Padding, and the rest turned abruptly strange.

“So? Would you like to give it a try, Little Bo?” Xi Ping’s voice had a note of devilish enticement.

Hearing that, Xiaobo took a jolt to his spirit and jumped up from the ground, saying proudly, “Which one is Wei-ah? I challenge him to a fight! Hold out for ten minutes? What a joke. Watch me defeat him!”

Everyone looked at Xiaobo as though they were looking at an idiot.

Seeing Xiaobo’s lowly appearance, Chen Mu said to Wei-ah, “Don’t kill him.”

The expressions on Crow Feather and the rest all got a little bit richer.

Xiaobo looked upset. What Chen Mu had said made it clear he didn’t think Xiaobo had any chance of winning. That really upset him! He decided to prove his worth. After he got that new card, he felt like a tiger that had grown wings; even if a card artisan with a level-six perceptual strength were in front of him, he would defeat him!

Xiao Liqian was full of doubts. Which one was Wei-ah? She really didn’t have any impression of him. She had seen everyone’s reactions, which made her feel that the evening had really turned upside down. When Bogner and Xi Ping had previously shown such an expression for the first time, she hadn’t believed it. Afterward, the brawl with Chen Mu surprised everyone. Now, they were showing the same expression again! Could that Wei-ah truly be so awesome?

Everyone shouted and spread out to open up some space. The crowd wanted to let the two of them have a good match-up, but they never thought a man’s shadow would suddenly flash by. They only felt a light wind across their faces.

That was how Wei-ah made his very direct entrance!

So fast! Xiaobo’s eyes were popping. Just as he was about to say something, a hand pinched his neck.

Chen Mu’s requirements were simple—just don’t kill him. Wei-ah was lifting Xiaobo by the neck with his right hand. Without warning, his left fist was sinking into Xiaobo’s belly.

Xiaobo’s eyeballs were sticking out to where they looked like they would leave their sockets. There was no sound coming out of his mouth. His expression froze.

Wei-ah loosened his right hand and pulled back his fist to return to where he had been. After a couple of seconds, the blank-faced Xiaobo slowly plunked to the floor, unconscious.

Wei-ah’s agile move was as fast as lightning. The fight was already over before anyone could react. No one had thought Xiaobo could win, but that was really just too quick!

Everyone gulped, feeling lucky that they weren’t Xiaobo. How heavy were Wei-ah’s fists? Those who hadn’t tried it naturally didn’t know. Those who had, apart from Chen Mu, hadn’t been able to remain awake long enough to tell how strong he was!