The Card Apprentice

“Brother White must still be blaming me up until this moment,” A ghastly voice broke the silence as it came from behind.

Chen Mu, without turning his head back, found it unfathomable. He really wanted to say that we don’t really know much about each other. He was not close to Caesar and there was nothing more to be said about him and Tan Yumin. Caesar’s request for him to fight Tang Hanpei had already caused him enough troubles. He had zero interest for Caesar’s previous grudges as it had nothing to do with him.

He could not understand why Tan Yumin would announce his identity. But everything was over and with the dust settled, he did not want to know anymore.

What was on Tan Yumin’s mind and the purpose of her thoughts had nothing to do with him. He also did not care. In this period of time that he came in contact with Tan Yumin, it had greatly increased how dangerous Tan Yumin was in his mind. He did not want anything to do with this dangerous woman. Otherwise, he might not even know when she decides to betray him.

“If Miss Tan wants me to do anything, please tell me,” Chen Mu could not suppress his impatience anymore as he slightly emphasized on the last three words.

She sighed softly as if it raised from the deepest parts of one’s heart, causing others to feel sorry for her. Tan Yumin, with a slight sign of sadness spoke, “It looks like the White Commander has some deep misunderstandings about Yumin.”

She walked to the front of Chen Mu with deliberate steps and sat down slowly. Only then, did Chen Mu realize that she had changed her clothes completely. Her pretty eyes which were like clear autumns water now carried a hint of faint sorrow.

“If Miss Tan has nothing else to say, then I will leave now,” Chen Mu’s impatience was at its peak. He was genuinely irritated and annoyed by the woman before him.

It was as if Tan Yumin was poked by needles, her beautiful but sad eyes started to water and her tone sharpened all of the sudden, “Are you that irritated to have to converse with me? Do you dislike me this much?”

Chen Mu was too lazy to care. He stood up directly and walked towards the main gate.

“White! Don’t you dare walk out of here!” That sharp tone of her’s turned cold suddenly, “Producer of numerical series cards, if you walk out now, I can guarantee that everyone in the Heavenly Federation will know this identity of yours tomorrow!”

Chen Mu halted his steps. He turned back and looked at Tan Yumin coldly.

“Want to kill me?” Tan Yumin walked in front of Chen Mu and lifted her pointy chin, revealing her snowy white neck that was as elegant as a swan coming out of the water. She said proudly and smirked with contempt, “Go ahead, kill me. I tell you what, I always thought that there’s nothing to live for. Dying means there’s nothing left to think of and it’s like falling asleep. How good would that be!”

Staring at Tan Yumin’s eyes, Chen Mu sensed not even a single trace of fear. He hesitated. Obviously, it could not be an easier task for him to kill Tan Yumin, but he should not even think of being able to leave the Yuzi Military Force’s station today. He even suspected that tons of Card Artisans were surrounding the exit, moreover if it was a super master like Meiji who was in command.

“What do you want?” Chen Mu forced the words out from his teeth, and the look on his face was not good. He never thought that Tan Yumin could unravel this identity of his. To outsiders, this identity was nothing bad. To him, however, it would stir a lot of troubles had this secret been exposed.

“What do I want?” Tan Yumin chuckled in a weird manner. She only stopped gradually after a total of five minutes. The smile on her face disappeared little by little until her expression returned to normal, “Talk with me for a while.”

Chen Mu was confused. Qiu Shanyu was already troubling enough, and now comes this Tan Yumin who was even worse.

Tan Yumin did not look at him. Looking lonely and sad, she then murmured, “I hate this world, I really do. I have never met my mother, I have not even seen a video of her. Father didn’t like me mentioning my mother, I don’t like him either. When I was little, all that I knew was my mother. You see, it was because my mother left me a notebook and there were many things on it that I did not understand. Dad, on the other hand, hehe, where was he? Hehe, when I talked about these things in the past, I would normally cry, but now I don’t anymore.”

She smiled, and there was an indescribable feeling behind it.

Chen Mu remained silent. He used to be an orphan who lived a long nomadic life. There were some things he could comprehend.

“Back then, life was very difficult. But I wasn’t afraid,” There was a sign of toughness in Tan Yumin’s expression, “Because I believed that my mom was always looking after me. As I grew older, I found out that it was like someone was always looking out for me from afar. I knew that these people must have something to do with mom and dad. That’s why I stirred a lot of troubles in an attempt to lure these people out but never did I succeed. It was only until that one time when some people ambushed me that I finally saw them. Later, I found out that these people were from Faya. Many people think that I hate Faya very much. In reality, I don’t hate them at all, instead I am grateful for them.”

Tan Yumin’s tone became grave, her gorgeous face also became gloomy, “Only because of them, I found out that I still had a dad and a grandpa. However, I also found out how my mom died.”

She suddenly lifted her head and stared at Chen Mu.

Tan Yumin’s staring gave Chen Mu the creeps, for her gaze was full of hatred and annihilation.

“Now that I’ve mentioned it, it was quite a funny affair. Even for such a smart person like my mother, she would never have thought that one day she would die in the hands of the two people she loved the most. One was her husband and one was her father! Since then, I decided that I will, with all of my power, destroy them!” Tan Yumin grit her teeth as her beautiful face changed into one that was filled with an indescribable atrocity.

Chen Mu did not answer, but certain things were clearer in his mind.

“I had investigated you. From the first time I saw you, I already knew that you are very strong,” Tan Yumin smiled as she felt proud of herself, “However, I never thought that you would be even better than what I’ve imagined! You are the disciple of Caesar, you have excellent moves, and, you are excellent at producing cards. Who would’ve thought that the famous producer of the numerical series card is actually a card artisan? But the one characteristic of your’s that really appeals to me is your calmness. You are always so calm and decisive. You are not ruthless, but you are not afraid of pushing yourself to the extreme when it is necessary. I am even more certain now of my judgment after your fight with Qi Feng today.”

Tan Yumin’s tone turned more and more relaxed, “Other than that, you also understand military strategies. That is what truly amazes me. When I used up all my resources to obtain the training plan that you made for the Tai-shu family and took one part to show it to the instructor responsible for the training of our force, oh, the look on his face when he saw it, that was how I understood your value. If I took the training plan to my father, what do you think will happen?”

Chen Mu was staring coldly at Tan Yumin but the fear within him was enormous. When did she start to notice him? How could he have not noticed it at all?

“I will let you know. My father will visit you immediately and invite you to the Star Court. If you say yes, then both parties will be happy. However, if you say no, I can assure you that my father will, without a doubt, kill you on the spot! Your existence would be a threat to the Federation. Unless you join the Great Six, no one will help you. Even if you are the disciple of Caesar, they would not hold themselves back because of it!”

Chen Mu understood that Tan Yumin was not exaggerating. However, upon seeing how proud Tan Yumin felt about herself and the confidence on her face, he suddenly wanted to laugh. He wondered what Tan Yumin would look like if she found out that this plan was not made by Chen Mu, but rather somebody else.

“And, if I am not wrong, you are a master of Card Appliance! True, why would a numerical series card producer not know a single thing about card appliance? In addition to that, you’ve even bought the raw materials of Card Appliance before!” Tan Yumin’s grin was absolutely gorgeous.

Upon hearing this, Chen Mu finally realized how Tan Yumin found out about his identity.

“Is what I’ve told you not enough to move you?” Tan Yumin stared at Chen Mu, “Only you are capable of making these Card Appliance designs that I have. Together, we can build a strong and powerful Card Appliance Military Force! Look at the Faya Federation, they are on par with the Great Six with just the lowest level Card Appliance. I don’t want anything but for you to destroy the Bitter Solitude Temple and Star Court. You can be the leader and I won’t mind! You are the disciple of Caesar and the grudges between you and the Comprehensive Federation Academy will never be over. Why don’t you build your own force to defeat them, and put an end to this grudge once and for all? You’ve seen the design of the Card Appliance and you know how powerful they are! Also, I know that you don’t have all the Card Appliance designs. My mom recorded it clearly that Sir Caesar had left after staying in the ruins for a day. He then moved into the forest for his training, up until the time he needed to meet my mom. In such a short period, Sir Caesar could not possibly have possessed the designs. In other words, you and I have to work together!”

Chen Mu’s eyes which were showing through his mask showed no sign of interest, as if this had nothing to do with him.

“I can see that you are still very calm, but I like it. If this is not enough,” She suddenly took a look at the bracelet on Chen Mu’s hand. As she stopped, she said gravely, “I am willing to marry you!”

Upon seeing Tan Yumin’s serious look, Chen Mu did not know what to do. He removed the bracelet from his hand and shook his head, “I think that Miss Tan must have been mistaken. The reason why I wear this bracelet is to gift it to a friend of mine. However, come to think of it now, if he knows you, he would not like this gift. So, I should just return this bracelet to you.”

After saying that, Chen Mu placed the black and white bracelet on the table beside him.

Tan Yumin’s face was not looking good all of a sudden.

“I am not interested in your targets. And the truth is, you were mistaken in that I am not capable of making the Card Appliances. Besides, please do not threaten me, no matter how strong the Yuzi Military Force is, even if it was as strong as the Great Six, there is still a weakness. Of course, I can’t fight Sir Meiji, but the other Card Artisans, hmph!” Chen Mu said calmly. However, the ‘hmph’ at the end of the sentence was accompanied by a murderous aura.

Tan Yumin gazed at Chen Mu deeply. Her expression returned to normal, “Looks like Brother White is not going to agree with this?”