The Card Apprentice

Chapter 88: A Gloomy Hong Tao

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

This is the one, Hong Tao thought. He’d been asking everywhere before he finally found out who made Phoenix’s shuttle car called the fiery mayfly. He’d come to find that guy called Hua Hua. As far as he was concerned, he really didn’t like that crowd. He always felt that they didn’t do honest work and were always messing around.

But there was nothing he could do about it, since it was Zuo Tingyi’s request. The two of them were close friends, and Zuo Tingyi had seldom made any requests since that wasn’t his nature. When he did this time, Hong Tao naturally planned to get it done.

All for a shuttle car! Although he didn’t have as much face to lose as Zuo Tingyi, he didn’t think many people would decline “selling” theirs, even for such a small matter. As far as the money, that was still less of an issue. He absolutely never spared any expense for the Zuo family.

He was recognized as soon as he entered the instructional building. He was a well-known card genius just like Zuo Tingyi and was also well known in Eastern Wei Academy as a genius card artisan.

Hua Hua had made a lot of noise recently, since the fiery mayfly had become the best-known shuttle car across the whole school. There was a steady stream of people coming to ask him to build a shuttle car, most of whom had raced over for the fiery mayfly, and among those, most were female students. But he had never imagined that Hong Tao would come looking for him.

“What do you need from your little brother, big brother Hong?” Hua Hua didn’t dare to put anything on in front of Hong Tao, since he couldn’t compare to him in power, prestige, or class, and he could not afford to offend him.

“I heard that you made the fiery mayfly.” Hong Tao wasn’t beating around the bush, and just asked straight out. No one dared play any tricks in front of him. Ever since “Allah” Gong and his gang had been hauled into the disciplinary office, Zuo Tingyi’s fierce name had shot through the roof, and Hong Tao had been lifted with the tide.

Hua Hua forced a smile, long knowing that his making the fiery mayfly would entail so many situations, and so he had stopped making it. He’d been in a sorry state for a while, suffering bitterly. People came almost every day looking for him to sell a fiery mayfly, and almost all of them were people he couldn’t afford to offend.

“I’m afraid Big Brother Hong will be disappointed.” Watching Hong Tao’s color darken, Hua Hua hastened to explain, “It’s’ not that your little brother doesn’t want to help, I just don’t have any way! You need a “mud fish” jet stream card to make the fiery mayfly, and although I have one in my collection, it’s already old and can’t be used to make a shuttle car. If I were thinking about making another fiery mayfly shuttle car, the best way would be to make a copy.”

Hong Tao’s color softened a little, “So make a copy.”

The smile on Hua Hua’s face dropped, “There’s something brother Hong may not know. Although this ‘mud fish’ card is only a three-star jet-stream card, it is very very difficult to make. There has seldom been anyone able to copy it. ”

“So where did the ‘mud fish’ card in Phoenix Lin’s fiery mayfly come from?” Hong Tao didn’t look happy as he asked.

Hua Hua was on the verge of crying, though he still patiently explained, “Phoenix Lin spent a million to get her classmate to make this one.” And after the briefest of pauses, he added, “There were a lot of people looking for him afterward to make a ‘mud fish’ jet stream card, and he refused all of them. They were all offering high prices, but he still refused them all.”

“What is his name?” Hong Tao was becoming annoyed. There were plenty of capable card masters in the school who had annoying things about their temperaments, which was particularly evident in the person of Zuo Tingyi.

“Let me borrow that ‘mud fish’ card from your collection.” Hong Tao said casually. There were a lot of card making aces in Eastern Wei Academy, and he knew quite a few of them. It would be better to try finding someone than to be hitting a soft nail and getting some polite refusal. But the best idea would be to get Zuo Tingyi to make it himself, since there was no card he couldn’t make. But he quickly put that notion aside after it flashed by, since he would have lost way too much face were he to ask Zuo Tingyi to help.

Seeing Hua Hua holding out the “mud fish” card with both hands in front of him and looking worse off than if he were about to cry, Hong Tao couldn’t help comforting him, “It’s not like I won’t give it back to you, so why the look?”

Watching Hong Tao snatch the “mud fish” card away, Hua Hua felt as though his heart had been ripped out. There was no color left in his face below that bird’s nest hair, while he couldn’t stop saying, “gently, gently.”

Hong Tao felt pretty good as turned to walk out of the instructional building, having gotten the “mud fish” card. All the students along the way scurried aside to let him pass.

Leaving the instructional building, he realized that he still hadn’t thought much about who he might find to make the card. Going through all those he knew; the image of a mild soft person came to his mind.

Man Siying was an extremely popular and beautiful card master at Eastern Wei Academy. Well, they know her thanks to that bastard ‘Allah’ Gong, and she would not be likely to refuse him this request for help.

Zuo Tingyi had always said that Man Siying had great ability, and Hong Tao had always trusted Zuo Tingyi’s discernment. There were vanishingly few classmates that Zuo Tingyi would call ‘pretty good,’ and those that he evaluated as ‘great’ could be counted on one’s fingers.

Hong Tao really thought that it wouldn’t be a problem for Man Siying to make that kind of “mud fish” card.

Then Chen Mu came to mind unexpectedly. That slacker who had picked up the chair with a ferocious look, and who had become an enemy of the Zuo household.

He wasn’t from the same world as either himself or Tingyi.

That made him somewhat uncertain about whether Man Siying would help him. That slacker had lunged out during that fracas to protect Man Siying. Although the Zuo household could fool ordinary people with their tricks, how would someone as sharp as Man Siying not have a clue. And although he had no way to help the little slacker, how could he not harbor some opinions about Zuo Tingyi and about the Zuo family?

Enough! He’d just have to go and find out. After hemming and hawing, Hong Tao decided to thicken his skin and give it a try.

* * *

Spanner had come looking for Chen Mu after class let out.

His muscular body appeared in the classroom doorway, immediately drawing the smoldering gazes of the female students.

“Ha Ha! Brother Yao has let me find him!” Spanner’s voice was as gruff as he was, like thunder from the earth.

He was in front of Chen Mu in two or three strides, nearly cutting off the light with his towering body.

Several classmates who had watched the defensive competition the day before gathered around when they saw Spanner.

“Hey, Spanner, you were really too handsome yesterday!”

“Spanner, you’re so strong, do you have any free time tonight?”

“. . .”

Chen Mu gathered up his things, and without looking at Spanner, paddled away with his two hands like a fish, drilling right out through the pile of people.

After Chen Mu had walked far away, Spanner struggled out of the crowd huffing and puffing to chase after him.

“Brother Yao, thanks to your energy cloaking card, I won thirty million yesterday. According to the rules, your split is eight million.” Spanner said with a very serious expression.

Chen Mu shook his head, “We made an exchange, and I got your dual composition. I can’t take this eight million.” He needed money, but he had never chased after money for its own sake.

He had firmly implanted in his mind since he was small not to get greedy. Even after killing people, he had never disturbed a thing on their bodies.

He thought that Spanner’s dual composition was more valuable than that three-star cloaking card in that exchange. He didn’t have the right to any split from whatever Spanner had made after the exchange.

Being careful was another reason. The pie falling from the sky had put him on guard. While he didn’t know what the so-called rules were, he wondered where in the world such good things would ever happen.

Just then he was peacefully waiting for the demonic woman to return. If she still hadn’t come back after a few months, Chen Mu intended to leave both Eastern Wei Academy, and Eastern Shang-Wei City.

The more time that went by, the lower the probability of her return and the higher the probability of his being found out.

As for the possibility of hidden issues with his body, it would still be better to be anyplace else even if she never did return.

Spanner was stunned, having never thought that Chen Mu would directly refuse the eight million.

While eight million wasn’t a fantastic amount for many among them, wasn’t this Yao Ke stingy and greedy? Could he have gotten bad information from Phoenix and Ya Ya?

But he was clear in his heart that they couldn’t have lied to him, so that was impossible. But how could Yao Ke refuse?

He didn’t get this Yao Ke. Chen Mu had become mysterious and inscrutable to Spanner.

Spanner pondered for a moment, and then discreetly said, “Brother Yao doesn’t have to be so on guard. You have become so magnificent with such a high level of card making ability. I am only hoping to gain brother Yao’s friendship, with no other motive.”

Spanner had a big-hearted expression and didn’t seem to be faking. If it were a little earlier, Chen Mu might have agreed right away, but now he was on thin ice every day, trembling with fear and not able to relax in the slightest.

“I have something to do and I have to leave.” Which was the same as refusing.

Spanner was open and honest, and after a look of disappointment flashed past his eyes, he still gave a forthright smile, “Ha ha, today might be a bit abrupt. Brother Yao should do as he pleases.”

Spanner sank into thought as he watched Chen Mu’s back departing.

* * *

Man Siying took the “mud fish” jet stream card from Hong Tao’s hand, which finally allowed him to relax his uptight heart.

“I can only give it a try. Please forgive me if I can’t do it.” Man Siying’s intoxicating voice was soft and fluid.

“I won’t need to!” Hong Tao said quickly, “With young Siying’s strength, this can’t be any problem.”

Man Siying said indifferently, “If by some luck I’m able to succeed this time, it can be considered the return of a favor from last time.”

What she said made Hong Tao’s expression stiffen, while he forced a smile, “What Miss Siying says hurts my feelings!”

“That day when you all came to my aid, although I shouldn’t take sides, you all have been too vicious!” Man Siying’s voice had turned cold as she remembered what was in front of her that day, and who had protected her back. She was sad to think that he was probably dead. She well knew the power of the Zuo household, which held up half the sky in Eastern Shang-Wei City.

Who would care about the death of a little slacker? Zuo Tingyi didn’t care. Hong Tao didn’t care. No-one cared, and she shouldn’t care either. But she knew that she did care. She cared about the one who had protected her, and she cared about his back when he faded away.

Hong Tao forced a smile, not knowing how to dispute this. Of course, he couldn’t say that it was some sort of personal grudge between the Zuo household and that little slacker, without any relation to him. He would be turned into a scapegoat as quickly as he could turn his head. Hong Tao stammered for a long time without being able to say anything.

Once Man Siying had come out with that, Hong Tao became gloomy to the point of going crazy. But what slightly calmed him down was that Man Siying had still agreed to make that “mud fish” jet stream card.

* * *

Chen Mu had prestige in his class beyond anyone during that time.

He had made two cards altogether, one which made the fiery mayfly, and the other which had helped Spanner to win thirty million. That kind of achievement was always better than talk. And what had surprised people the most was his refusal of that eight million from Spanner, which puzzled everyone. Nobody was more surprised than Phoenix and Ya Ya, who were baffled every time they looked at Chen Mu.

Chen Mu wasn’t paying any attention to those disturbances, with his time packed full every day. There was too much training that he had to advance, and every moment was precious.

And whether or not the likelihood of the demonic woman returning was getting smaller and smaller, Chen Mu was becoming more and more settled in his thinking. The results of his training were striking then, and his perception had finally been restored to its strongest level, being able to extend it four and nine-tenths meters from his body.

Five meters was his first hurdle, and he had already been pacing back and forth in front of it for a very long time. But with his peace of mind, Chen Mu had felt the glimmer of a breakthrough.

He had already decided that he would soon leave Eastern Shang-Wei City. If the demonic woman were to find out that he couldn’t wait, the fear in his heart had dissipated after such a long time, and he could already accept whatever might happen very calmly.

There was nothing about Eastern Shang-Wei City which made him reluctant to leave.

Once his perception had broken five meters, he would leave. He really didn’t like his life so full of fear every day, and if the demonic woman had really planted something in his body, then he would die having passed his remaining days well, without his heart in his throat the way it was all day at that time.

Every day, he restored cards, stuck to his training, and even if it was something wrong with his psychology, he felt progress with the swordfish training and with the perceptual training.

That was a wonderful feeling!

* * *

“What? You can’t make it?” Hong Tao had his mouth open, looking at Man Siying in disbelief.

She nodded, “Jet stream cards aren’t my specialty, and the composition of this jet stream card is unique. I have no way to duplicate it.” She had a natural expression, without any embarrassment.

Looking at Hong Tao’s half-frozen state, Man Siying’s eyes brightened, and she then said with a great deal of interest, ‘You said that someone had been able to make this card. I wonder if you can take me to see him? I am very curious to know who was actually able to make this card.”

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