Chapter 165: Basic Stage of Cultivation
Translator: Wuxia Dog Editor: Wuxia Dog
“I agree with Raphael,” said Reg. “This guy must have been following us for a long time. But… what does he want?”
All of them immediately looked at Yalina’s very eye-catching magic wand. Even if they had worked hard all their lives, it was not easily affordable by just any ordinary mercenary. It was understandable for them to be jealous looking at it.
“No.” Reg shook his head. “I don’t think it’s related to Yalina.”
“Why?”
“Even holy animals know that it’s stupid to attack dangerous prey, let alone mercenaries,” Reg slowly continued. “If everyone robbed whatever they wanted, would Isolated Cliff City still exist? All the mercenaries would have killed each other.”
“Then, in your opinion, why did he follow us?”
“I don’t know, but I am sure it’s not so simple.”
“Cut the crap!” Moxinke kicked the unconscious thief. “Let’s directly ask him!”
“Reg, Moxinke, take him to the woods. Don’t scare them,” Han Jin said in a low voice.
“Us? We are fine,” Asa hurriedly said.
“Really?” Moxinke grinned. “Then follow me.” This said, he lifted the thief from the ground and walked forward. Asa looked into the eyes of the other young magicians, and they all indifferently kept up with Moxinke.
“This guy…” Cessacioun said with a wry smile. He didn’t like the bloody scene and thought neither would Asa and his companions, but they voluntarily followed him. No one could be blamed for this.
A few moments later, blood curdling screams came from the woods. The remaining young magicians shuddered all over with horror while Han Jin, Cessacioun, and Sunier kept calm and nonchalant. Interrogation with torture was nothing to be scared of compared to the battles which they all had gone through in the past.
Intermittent screams resounded over the woods while Han Jin, Sunier, and Cessacioun continued to chatter in low voices. About half an hour later, the screams stopped. Asa and his companions tottered out of the woods with pale faces as if they were the ones who had been tortured.
Following them were Moxinke and Reg, both with blue faces.
“Where is the thief?” Han Jin was stunned.
“Ask him,” said Reg.
Han Jin fixed his eyes on Moxinke who was scratching his scalp and apologetically smiling. “I was too careless…”
“He died?”
“Yes, he killed himself.”
“Next time when I am doing something, don’t disturb me!” Reg was still angry. “An interrogation is not a chance for you to vent or scare others!”
“Do you think that this is what I want? Raphael asked me to help you.” He knew that he had done something wrong, and Moxinke decided to defend himself by mentioning Han Jin.
“No need for your help. The more you help, the worse things will be.”
“Did he say anything useful?” Han Jin kept asking.
“No.”
“Well, let’s forget about this.” Han Jin stood up. “We better get to rest earlier today.”
“Who is on duty tonight?” Cessacioun asked.
“Me,” Han Jin replied.
“I’ll do it with you,” said Sunier.
“No, you should also get to rest earlier.” Han Jin paused. “Cause maybe tomorrow… you might not have the time to rest even if you want to.”
Han Jin hadn’t blurted it out without thinking. As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. If the thief they had captured was an idiot, Han Jin would not have taken it seriously. However, the thief was comparatively strong in strength and with a tenacious personality; he would rather die than submit, showing that his companions must also be some sort of tough nuts.
Han Jin’s words were like a command to them. They started making preparations for the night. While the others were busy setting up camps, Han Jin searched the thief again but found nothing. He then went out to have a walk in the woods. When Han Jin came back, the others had already finished supper and were chatting and laughing as if nothing had happened.
The young magicians had also restored their emotions under such an atmosphere, except for those who had seen the interrogation with their own eyes like Asa, whose face was still pale.
“Have you eaten anything?” Han Jin asked.
“No, I don’t want to eat,” replied Asa.
“Raphael, don’t push them,” Moxinke casually interrupted Moxinke. “Yalina already asked them to eat, but they vomited.”
“It’s your fault. You scared them!” reproached Reg.
“Did I purposely do this to scare them? I was just telling them the truth about the world!” Moxinke patted Asa’s shoulder. “Remember, boy. Rather die than be caught by your enemies! Otherwise… you saw the end of that guy, didn’t you?”
Asa’s face turned paler. He stared at Moxinke as if he was staring at a monster. His lips were squirming, but no words came out of his mouth.
“Are you okay, Asa?” one of the deacons asked with concern.
“And women like you, remember this!” Moxinke started to speak with a fervor. “Especially when you are in a battle. No matter how noble your status is, it can’t save you. Your enemies…”
“Moxinke!” Sunier snapped in a harsh voice.
“Well, I’m going to stop right now.” Moxinke shrugged and obediently shut his mouth.
“Aren’t you… afraid?” Asa asked in a quavering voice.
“Afraid of what? Death?” Moxinke laughed. “Boy, since you have chosen this path, you must be prepared for death and failure. Fear does not solve problems. Even if you do everything right, you still can never become a true strong professional!”
“Humph!” Reg snorted. “Who acts like an annoying dog and begs Raphael for a stand-in puppet all the time?”
“Yep, since you have prepared to die, don’t compete with us for Han Jin’s magic anymore.” Cessacioun laughed.
“Stand-in puppet?” Yalina curiously asked.
“Ah… yes.” Reg paused.
“Raphael, can you release a stand-in puppet for me? I am curious about it.” Yalina looked at Han Jin.
“Can you release the Forbidden Spell of Lightning, Yalina?” asked Cessacioun.
“Yes.” Yalina nodded.
“I have never seen a forbidden spell, can you show us?” Cessacioun showed a smile. “It is the same…”
“No problem,” Yalina seriously replied. “Do you want to see it now?”
The remaining words that Cessacioun had prepared were all choked back into his mouth. He realized that he had just drawn a stupid analogy.
“Don’t kid around with that!” Moxinke immediately explained. “To release a stand-in puppet would not only cost Raphael all of his magic power but also physically harm him. How could he randomly release it!”
“I see…” Yalina said in disappointment.
“Don’t be disappointed. You will have chances to see it in the future,” Han Jin comforted.
All of them felt at ease when Han Jin said he would keep watch for the night. Among all of them, Han Jin was the one that they trusted the most. After dinner, they practiced their skills for a while before going to sleep.
Before Yalina released a magic shell surrounding them, Han Jin had already left and hidden in the bushes. He was hiding something. While he was searching the woods just now, he had felt himself being spied on. With his accomplishment of the Method of Dan, Han Jin’s perceptive ability had been greatly improved. Thus, when he was alone in the woods without anyone else as obstacles, his feeling of being spied was extremely strong.
He hadn’t told the young magicians to avoid causing panic. Moreover, it was of no help even if he were to tell them. Neither could Sunier or the others offer help as they had lots of things lined up for tomorrow. It was better to let them have a good rest for now.
The one who was lurking in the woods might be another thief. Perhaps, the two thieves were from the same mercenary team or maybe they didn’t know each other either. If the case was the latter, the problem was more puzzling. Why did both of them follow him?
As the sky turned darker and darker, several charms soundlessly drifted away, fell on the grass, and turned into wisps of dark smoke. More than twenty ghosts appeared out of nowhere, clung to the ground, and moved without making any sound.
Han Jin held out his hand, and on his palm were dozens of bugs that scattered out onto the grass. The Art of Invisibility can conceal the user’s figure, but it does not make the user disappear. As long as the thief touches the grass or the branches while moving, Han Jin can immediately gauge his position.
These were all just minor tricks. In fact, Han Jin had many ways to detect the thief by using his Eyes or Ears of Heaven. However, even if he had accomplished his Method of Dan, he was still far behind in the ability to skillfully use all these arts.
A moment later, the ghosts and bugs spread out in all directions around Han Jin. With a backhand, Han Jin drew out a long sword from his space ring. This was the sword that Harry had thrown away on the day when Han Jin had released Three True Fires. Mistaking Han Jin for a dragon slayer, Scott was too nervous to take the sword away with Harry.
Now, the sword had become a trophy of Han Jin’s. As a ninth-grade swordmaster, Harry would not use any inferior-quality products. Even Moxinke was eager to have this sword, but he was reluctant to abandon his old companion. Plus, this sword was too light and he thus gave it back to Han Jin.
Han Jin’s fingers started slowly moving across the edge of the sword with countless dots of light falling down like flying sand and disappearing into the sword. Han Jin had already possessed the ability to wield flying swords. Though he still could not use it for a long time without the help of charms, at least he no longer had to worry about energy loss. The fire of life transformed by the dragon blood had smoothed him and was condensed into plentiful Vital Energy. In fact, it was not mere spiritual energy nor mere energy. In his teacher’s words, he had finally reached the basic stage of cultivation!