The Card Apprentice

Those entrancing, luscious lips were split open, and fresh blood was shockingly winding down her white chin. Chen Mu let go of her and turned around with no reluctance, walking toward the door to the training room. His pace was slow, and his body was tottering as though he could fall to the floor at any moment.

All of the onlookers were transfixed by that scene!

The man with the bronze mask was furious and overflowing with murderousness, completely ignoring the terror in the gazes of those nearby. He flew to the Madam and said through gritted teeth, “I’ll kill him!”

Staring at that back covered in blood, the Madam said emotionlessly, “I’ll take care of this account on my own.”

The bronze-masked man seemed to be about to say something, but he didn’t open his mouth. His gaze toward Chen Mu had a biting desire to commit murder.

The big door to the training room seemed so far away to Chen Mu—so far that he would never reach it. The scene in front of him started to gradually blur, and his body started to not obey his commands. But he knew he couldn’t fall down at that time, no matter how!

The reason he hadn’t chosen to go to the training field before was that the spot of the battle had been put where it had. It was the escape route he had prepared for himself.

Everyone watched in a daze as Chen Mu walked step by step toward the training room with great difficulty. No one knew why Qiao Yuan would walk toward the training room at that time. What was he trying to do?

No one knew that when Qiao Yuan did anything, it was always unexpected. He had agreed to begin the two-on-one in the first place and had bitten his adversary’s lips afterward, and he was now stubbornly walking toward the training room while severely wounded. No one understood! But no one stopped him since they all knew something might be about to happen.

He walked so slowly that everyone held their breath. They couldn’t take their eyes off of him, staring at his unforgettable back. Qiao Yuan then finally arrived in front of the training room door.

Chen Mu vaguely perceived the door to the training room in front of him and laboriously raised his left hand. Just as the tips of his fingers touched the door, it slowly opened.

In the eyes of everyone else, it was as though Qiao Yuan had opened it himself. They stared blankly at him entering the training room and immediately closing the door. No one could wrap their mind around it. With such serious injuries, the most urgent thing just then would be to heal. What was he doing running into the training room at such a time?

A cold look flashed past Wen’s eyes, his desire for murder looming. He rose into the air without hesitating and flew like lightning toward that lonely training room to take it over! Qiao Yuan would absolutely become the mortal enemy of Constellation. He had never seen a card artisan so fiercely eager to fight. If Qiao Yuan didn’t die from the battle that day, he might be able to break free of the current situation. Once he let him break out, he would become the mortal enemy of Constellation, which wouldn’t be as good as killing him now!

The energy was wildly concentrated on his hand, and the powerful energy fluctuation made everyone on the field pale with fright. Just about all the card artisans hurriedly retreated, and the bronze-masked man was also surprised to see Wen demonstrating such power.

The Madam’s gaze abruptly darkened as she snapped, “Stop him!”

Who knew whether deliberately or not, but the bronze-masked man hesitated. During that bit of time, the energy on Wen’s hands nearly finished concentrating. The blow that would follow would undoubtedly be devastating! That training room would be leveled, and Qiao Yuan could never survive inside it.

Wen’s body suddenly froze in midair! His eyes beneath that silver mask abruptly exuded a look of terror as though he had seen some kind of monster when he looked toward the training room. At almost the same time, his body receded, moving even more quickly than he just had! The energy in his hand disintegrated in the first instant. He couldn’t bear so much, and he cut a sorry figure that looked like some terrifying thing was after him.

He fled to beside Yuchi Bai, where Wen could only get out the single word, “Go!” He never even turned back to look and disappeared into the distance. Yuchi Bai was taken aback, though he still reacted quickly and rushed in pursuit. Everyone was stunned.

The energy fluctuation just then was terrifyingly powerful—even more so than the energy fluctuations when Qiao Yuan had been fighting. That mysterious person wearing the silver mask with the ruby on his forehead was certainly an ace, and one who was even more impressive than Qiao Yuan! His sudden move completely surprised everyone. However, his sudden escape as though he had seen a ghost stunned people even more.

The gaze from the man with the bronze mask looked like he had something on his mind. When he turned it back to the training room, it abruptly sharpened. But he still didn’t move, remaining vigilantly at the Madam’s side. Still, given the way Wen had been messed with, no one dared to get near the training room.

The time went by second by second. After half an hour, there still was no movement in the training room.

Ah Sang’s eyes were full of concern. Qiao Yuan had received such serious wounds that if he couldn’t get treatment, he would be in danger for his life. Qiao Yuan had taken her by the hand at the most critical moment, and she felt full of gratitude toward him. After some hesitation, she walked toward the training room.

Ah Sang’s actions drew everyone’s gazes. Even the Madam from Faya was staring at her closely.

Walking over to the door to the training room, Ah Sang was suddenly a little nervous. She composed herself and lightly knocked on the door. “Are you okay, Mr. Qiao?”

There was no response, and Ah Sang felt even more nervous. She knocked harder and raised her voice a little. “Mr. Qiao! Mr. Qiao!”

There was still no response.

Ah Sang’s heart abruptly sank, and she used her strength to push the door, not being able to take it anymore. The door responded by opening, and Ah Sang rushed in.

Once she entered, she was dumbfounded. There was no one in the huge training room.

* * *

There were three people’s tracks in the wilderness as they advanced at high speed through the blizzard.

Sang Hanshui was looking at Bu Mo with some pity. To go forth in the wilderness in such nasty weather in the snowy Outer Reaches was really hard; even card artisans would mostly want to ride in a shuttle car. Little Bu Mo’s face was frozen red, but he kept his teeth gritted and kept advancing step by step. Sang Hanshui had no sympathy for Wei-ah, even though he was carrying someone on his back.

They had already been away from Zargan for half a month, having been trudging through the Outer Reaches during that time. After Wei-ah had unleashed his murderous aura to scare off Wen, he had led Chen Mu and Sang Hanshui away, along with Bu Mo. They had left silently through the water pipes under the training room. Once out of Zargan, they had then disappeared into the Outer Reaches, where the amount of snow would quickly cover any tracks.

Chen Mu had been wounded very seriously that time, and he had been in a coma for seven days before he came to. Even though he’d come around, though, he still remained obediently on Wei-ah’s back, unable to budge.

Seeing Bu Mo’s breathing becoming coarser and coarser, Chen Mu couldn’t quite take it. He suggested, “Let’s rest for a while.” That sort of training was really too much for a child of only 12. The thing that most amazed Chen Mu was how unusually tough Bu Mo was. No matter how hard it got, he could always take it. So long as he was given enough food, he had shocking resilience.

In order to provide Bu Mo with enough food, poor Sang Hanshui had to fulfil the role of hunter. Wei-ah was basically not worried that Sang Hanshui might escape. In that vast, snowy forest, where it was hard to tell the direction, the chances for Sang Hanshui to survive alone were pitifully small.

Especially after Wei-ah had killed several wild beasts that were known to be exceptionally terrible, Sang Hanshui became completely honest. When they encountered wild beasts along the way, without exception, they would become the food wrapped up in little Bu Mo’s belly.

Hearing Chen Mu talk, Wei-ah took a look at Bu Mo and stopped. Sang Hanshui also let out a sigh of relief. Even though he was flying and also had a heating device, he still felt incredibly tired. The four of them found a place out of the wind and sat down.

After he sat down, Chen Mu activated the Thousand Kilometer. They would connect with Bogner and the others every day through the Thousand Kilometer to get the news from them.

When they had first pulled it out, Sang Hanshui had been struck dumb. During the previous period, when the Central Island Firm had the technology to communicate in the forests, it had caused quite an outburst! He never thought Qiao Yuan would actually have the same kind of thing on him. Where had that guy come from, after all? That mystery had been lingering in Sang Hanshui’s mind all along. What chilled him was that his counterpart didn’t even keep such a deep secret from him, which made him worry about his situation. He lamented to himself that it was still a good thing the situation was a lot better than he’d imagined; at least his counterpart hadn’t killed him to keep him quiet.

So, Sang Hanshui became still more honest.

Xi Ping, Bogner, and Sue Lochiro appeared on the screen. First, Sue Lochiro asked about the situation with Chen Mu’s health. She gave Wei-ah verbal instructions about what to do. Those last few days, Wei-ah had been helping Chen Mu to treat his wounds that way.

Chen Mu was in such pain that he was calling out. When Sue Lochiro took a look at him, she gave a cold grunt, and her powdered face went frosty.

“So, now you know what pain is? Why didn’t you feel it when you gave someone a kiss?”

Chen Mu lagged when he heard that, having gotten back his reason those last few days. Remembering the situation at the time, even he was rather surprised. He didn’t know why he had done it, but it had caused him a lot of pleasure and had made him feel a lot better. But he didn’t know how to retort to what Sue Lochiro said. When his gaze made contact with Bogner and Xi Ping, who were next to Sue Lochiro, the two of them were obviously gloating a little in his misfortune.

Those last few days, he had gotten quite a bit of that kind of sarcasm. He was already rather experienced with it and sensibly kept his mouth shut.

Sue Lochiro gave another cold grunt and seemed to look right through Chen Mu before turning to leave.

Bogner and Xi Ping were laughing with vulgar expressions. Seeing that left Chen Mu pretty speechless, and he could only ask, “What’s the situation like in Zargan now?”

“How would it be?” Bogner shrugged. “Moon Frost Island has taken a big loss this time. If it hadn’t been for Zeng Yushan finally exploding onto the scene, I’m afraid their reputation would be scraping bottom. But Zeng Yushan is pretty powerful and was finally able to get even with Yuchi Bai, which must have pushed him way up in the rankings again.”

Xi Ping took over the talk to the side. “Still, you really made it big this time, Boss.” He looked at Chen Mu with a gaze full of pride. Of course, he knew why Chen Mu had accepted that challenge. As an old hand from the Yang Clan Auction House, Yang An’s death was something rather painful to him.

“Guess what rank you are on the Black-Line Star Listing, Boss,” Bogner said mysteriously.

Bu Mo opened his eyes and pricked up his ears, afraid to miss a single word. Sang Hanshui also showed an expression of interest.