Versatile Mage

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The sky was slowly lighting up. The Salamander Demons floating on the surface of the lake were diving into the water. Most Salamander Demons preferred to show up at night; the surface of the lake would glitter like it was covered with pieces of copper under the moonlight.

When the dawn broke, most of the Salamander Demons would leave, allowing boats to travel across the lake once again. The Salamander Demons were relatively slow compared to many Warrior-level creatures; it was effortless to shake them off when traveling enough across the lake quickly enough. Their numbers were significantly higher, so it was easy to be surrounded by them.

Mo Fan waited patiently for Little Flame Belle to bring Lu Zhuo and Jiang Hua back to the Minghu Outpost. Gu Ying and the Flying Creek Snow Wolf arrived afterwards. They were in a pretty bad spot. It felt like they were struggling to even keep their eyes open.

Gu Ying briefly explained everything that had happened. Mo Fan subconsciously glanced at Lu Zhuo, who was terribly burned by Little Flame Belle.

“Oh, I see. I was wondering how I should explain to Lu Zhuo that Little Flame Belle actually meant no harm,” Mo Fan murmured after realizing the truth.

Yang Ning was utterly shocked. How bold was this Lu Zhuo to do these things when he was under the lead of a Seven Stars Hunter Master? Was he not afraid of being punished by the Hunter Union?

Yang Ning recorded the information in detail. She immediately contacted the Hunter Union to send someone to investigate the matter.

The investigators came pretty quickly, arriving at the outpost by noon. They took Lu Zhuo into custody and started investigating by interrogating Jiang Hua first.

To speed things up slightly, Mo Fan asked Apas to inject Jiang Hua with terror. The man told the investigators everything Lu Zhuo and he had done without any hesitation.

——

“I’m sorry that something like this has happened under our jurisdiction. We will deal with this Lu Zhuo right away,” an investigator said.

“Did you bring back the people that were drugged on the island?” Mo Fan asked.

“We’ve recovered them back safely. Among them, an Advanced Hunter called Li Yumei says she wants to expose Lu Zhuo’s crimes. She has requested a meeting with you in person,” the investigator told him.

“Alright, bring her to me,” Mo Fan agreed.

When Li Yumei came, she looked terrible, as if her face was painted with a layer of lime. Perhaps she never thought she would have a chance to open her eyes. She had fallen asleep in the grips of great terror.

Mo Fan was having a headache, too. Something like this was just bound to happen when he was hiring people to run errands for him. They were meant to be looking for the Great Salamander Demons, yet their progress was currently hindered by this incident. Luckily, Little Flame Belle had the perfect ‘scum-detection’ ability. She had simplified the situation by taking out Lu Zhuo!

Li Yumei soon confessed how their negligence of duty had cost the lives of the Cangjin Hunter Squad. She also told Mo Fan everything that Lu Zhuo had told her.

Mo Fan was initially not that interested in Lu Zhuo. He had seen far too many scum, and this Lu Zhuo was only a mere feather compared to the others, but his eyes flickered menacingly when he heard that Lu Zhuo was one of the first people to discover the fake blood serums!

“I thought he was just scum, but he’s nothing but trouble instead!” Mo Fan glanced at the bound Lu Zhuo.

He was rather curious why he kept stumbling into scum like Lu Zhuo wherever he went. It was similar to how pure and innocent girls always ended up meeting playboys!

“You can say whatever you want, but you shouldn’t be too pleased with yourself. It’s only a matter of time until your crimes are exposed too! The blood that your hands are stained with, and the corpses your feet are stepping on, I’m afraid more people are going to despise you!” Lu Zhuo snorted stubbornly.

“Are you cursing me?” Mo Fan asked.

“So what if I am?” Lu Zhuo laughed. His laughter was sinister, as if he was trying to preserve his final hint of dignity by exposing the kind of person Mo Fan was under his disguise as a Seven Stars Hunter Master. He wanted everyone to know that Mo Fan was no different from him!

“I’ve built a little hell for lunatics. Mmm, you barely meet the requirements, but if you are thinking of cursing me, you should line up and ask for a number. It should be your turn after ten thousand years,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was amused by Lu Zhuo’s intentions. He seriously had nothing to say to a person like him. He still had to deal with the Great Salamander Demons; he did not want to waste any more time on Lu Zhuo.

“It looks like I’ll have to get my hands dirty still. Hopefully, those Contribution Points I’ve spent aren’t in vain… Zhong Li, are you awake? If you are, bring me to the Cave Island. Your analysis should be on point, the Great Salamander Demons are most likely there!” Mo Fan called Zhong Li over.

“I’m here, I’m awake, Brother Mo Fan…oh, Master Mo Fan, I, Zhong Li, am at your service!” Zhong Li seemed very excited.

Mo Fan arranged for a few people that were familiar with the terrain to be his guides. He decided to let the investigators and Yang Ning deal with Lu Zhuo instead.

—

After Mo Fan left, Yang Ning was extremely displeased by Lu Zhuo’s attitude. She seriously did not understand why a vile person who was guilty of monstrous crimes dared still cause a scene.

“How ignorant,” Yang Ning harrumphed coldly. She was obviously saying it to Lu Zhuo.

“I’m ignorant?” Lu Zhuo laughed.

Yang Ning could not stand him any further. She tossed a file containing a more detailed report of Mo Fan in front of Lu Zhuo. She said coldly, “Take a good look at who he is before you judge him with your corrupted mind!”

Lu Zhuo knew he was going to die for sure. He remained stubborn, like a criminal who was sentenced to death. He picked up the file that contained information about Mo Fan, not related to his achievements as a Hunter.

“How…how could this be… why was Councilman Luo Mian…” Lu Zhuo soon stammered.

The file only contained some brief descriptions without any details. Lu Zhuo was initially scanning it with an indifferent attitude, yet when he saw Mo Fan was responsible for arresting Councilman Luo Mian, the disdain on his face soon vanished!

Yang Ning was seriously displeased by Lu Zhuo’s twisted character. Mo Fan did not bother teaching him a lesson, but Yang Ning believed otherwise. She even recorded the achievements that Mo Fan had regarding his fight against the Black Vatican toward the end of the file.

Lu Zhuo was going to be sentenced to death. It would not matter if he had read the information. Even though Yang Ning was breaking the rules as a Hunter Mistress, she could not stand Lu Zhuo’s ignorantly proud attitude!

As a matter of fact, Lu Zhuo was already losing his mind when he learned Luo Mian had fallen because of Mo Fan. He was dazed when he saw the information about the fall of the Black Vatican’s Red Cardinal, the Cold Prince!

“A…A Red Cardinal…”

“Councilman Luo Mian, who you greatly admired, was like a three-year-old compared to the Cold Prince. What about a black-hearted dog like you, who Luo Mian never cared about?” Yang Ning spat at him.

Lu Zhuo finally understood what Mo Fan meant when he said he should be lining up in Hell for his number first. Mo Fan was already being respectful if he bothered comparing him to the others on the list!

“Impossible, how could he do all this? That’s impossible… it must be his partner, he has a partner!” Lu Zhuo found an excuse to convince himself. He still had a final glimpse of light in his eyes.

“Partner? Are you referring to her?” Yang Ning almost burst out laughing.

An investigator who was familiar with Mo Fan’s achievements shook his head in amusement when he heard Lu Zhuo’s response.

The investigator came over and helped Lu Zhuo, who was stiffening up, to flip to the page with Lingling’s information.

Lu Zhuo was reading Lingling’s information carefully. He assumed Mo Fan’s achievements were only possible with the help of his partner, but when he saw the information…

Lingling’s information destroyed the final glimpse of light in Lu Zhuo’s eyes. He completely lost his will to live, as if he was no different than a dead person.

“Can…can I take a look at it?” Gu Ying, who was watching them on the side, asked softly. She picked up the file that Lu Zhuo had dropped to the ground without waiting for Yang Ning and the investigator’s permission.

The file only had simple information. Yang Ning would not write the details on the report, since most of the information about Mo Fan and Lingling was actually confidential. It did not take Gu Ying too long to finish reading, yet the few lines were already beyond her imagination.

She initially did not understand why Lu Zhuo had suddenly lost his mind, but she did after reading the information!

If an evil person was being full of himself when he was arrested, it was likely that he believed he was a notable character. At least the people were afraid of him and hated his guts… In simpler words, he was a successful crook! The Seven Stars Hunter Master that had brought him to his end was not even as impressive as he was!

However, his twisted sense of achievement collapsed instantly as soon as he read the information.

He had nothing left; he was comforting himself with his last hint of dignity, yet he finally realized it was never there…

It was already humiliating to be taken out by the man’s Contracted Beast with a single move, yet the evil deeds he was proud of were not even worthy enough to include him in the list of scum the man had taken out!

——

The sense of failure had shattered Lu Zhuo’s soul like lightning from the clear sky. He proceeded to confess all the things he had done.

What else could he say, if he had failed so hard trying to be a bad guy?

The investigator had no trouble settling the case after Lu Zhuo had confessed to it all.

To his surprise, apart from Jiang Hua, who knew about Lu Zhuo’s true nature, the others in the Pancheng Hunter Group had no idea about Lu Zhuo’s past. They were utterly shocked and relieved he was caught when they found out what he had done. They were glad that Mo Fan had gotten rid of him. Otherwise, they might have ended up as stepping-corpses for Lu Zhuo on his way up!

The Hunter Masters felt like they had escaped the jaw of death, and worked even harder to search for the Great Salamander Demons as a way to repay their debt to Mo Fan. They took the initiative to search through the caves and confirmed that the Great Salamander Demons were indeed hiding in the Cave Island!