The Card Apprentice

Chapter 79: A Bitter Battle

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

Daniel was patrolling in the air above Eastern Shang-Wei City. Ever since big brother Yu was killed, he'd been doing it every day. He knew that it wasn't doing any good, but he needed to do something, something for brother Yu. He had been cultivated by brother Yu, and all of his skills and his present position were because he'd been boosted by brother Yu.

Big brother Yu felt closer to him than his own brother, such that his only aspiration then was to avenge him. Nothing else mattered, not girls and not money.

He really wanted the revenge!

In the evening's vast darkness, he was looking down at the light coming from advertisements, which stitched some splendid brilliance through the dark city. The wild mountain range far away lay like a huge beast, silently watching them.

Daniel really knew how to use his jet-stream card and was able to fly around intuitively at high speed.

He suddenly heard a very brief sharp whistle from not far away, freezing Daniel's body in midair. His widened eyes were jumping around as though there were a fire.

He could never forget that whistle.

That guy was someplace nearby! He fixed his body, floating in midair, looking relentlessly all around. But because his night vision was too weak, he couldn't see very clearly.

Just then the communicator on his wrist sounded.

It was his report. Could something have happened to them? While he kept looking all around, he took the communication.

"Boss . . ." the urgent voice in the communicator from his lieutenant cut off mid-stream, followed by the sound of breaking bones.

He saw a terrifying face in the screen that had popped up. There wasn't any life in the ashen face, across which were some dark red spots, which made it look still more terrible in the dark of night.

The face was gone as soon as it flashed, since the communicator screen had disappeared. He knew that the man under him had died.

Daniel was stunned, but there was no questioning, since he already knew! He'd already seen that murderer who was then on the roof of a residential building maybe five hundred meters distant, where his lieutenant had fallen limp into the guy's chest.

His neck had been broken and his skull was flopped over.

Chen Mu let out his breath, and lightly put the man on the ground. His heart was pounding but compared with the last time that he'd run into danger in the jungle, his performance had been much stronger.

Chen Mu couldn't help sneering as he figured that he was now seen as a big player.

He took a look at the wall-climbing lotus on his hands and knees and couldn't help praising their magic. He had just used them to stick tightly up under the eaves right under his enemy's feet, no farther away than the thickness of a board.

That was how he had hidden right under the enemy's eyes, watching for his opportunity. He wasn't familiar with how to fight a card artisan, so his first thought was just to hide. He'd already accomplished his objective with Copper probably already gone from Eastern Shang-Wei City, and he'd wrecked his enemy's plan. Chen Mu was already satisfied to have such a victory in his first battle.

He hadn't expected his adversary to scatter the fiery rain gravel, which let him see an opportunity. He stealthily climbed to the roof, very close to the card artisan's back. He hadn't deployed any of his perception, since he knew that card artisans were very sensitive to perception, and they would detect him if he were the slightest bit careless.

He chose the simplest and most direct method. With his power being so much stronger than before, the move was surprisingly simple.

It didn't make Chen Mu the least bit happy to see this card artisan's slack lifeless eyes. He remembered when he would only kill in self-defense, where he was now willing to take the initiative to kill, without feeling afraid.

He didn't touch anything on this card artisan's body, since he didn't want to leave any clues.

He only sought to jump down from the building, when he caught a very slight fluctuation in perception from not far away. Chen Mu immediately turned his head in alarm, while underneath the ghost-faced flower, his face had turned pale.

As though his feet had been shocked, he didn't dare to hesitate, and he leapt straight down.

Just as his feet left the roof, Chen Mu felt a chill on his back. In his searing pain, he curled himself up into a ball while in midair. A dazzling blue ray had perilously grazed his back and dissolved into the air in front of him.

With the searing pain, he knew he'd been injured. Forcefully suppressing the pain, he opened up like a big bird in midair.

The ground was coming at him fast, but his brain remained strangely calm. He rolled into a ball the instant he landed and took a roll. Chen Mu couldn't help a stifled groan as the wound on his back took so much strain.

But he didn't dare to pause at all in that instant.

Without standing up, he flipped off to the right side. That was a move that he'd practiced countless times, and his burst strength was so big that it was as though he'd suddenly bounced up off the ground.

Pow! Another ray of blue light hit the precise spot where he'd just been, leaving a charred pit the size of a fist, along with wisps of blue smoke.

Chen Mu's heart jumped, since if that had hit his body, then that would be where things finished up that day.

It was a good thing that there was a lot of clutter in the yard, so that he could slide like a snake shuttling among all the stuff. If there hadn't been those endless blue rays, this wasn't any different from his daily training.

The things piled up everywhere were a big obstacle for Daniel up in the air, since every time he thought he was about to hit that damned bastard, it would always come to nothing.

Chen Mu's clothes were drenched within a few seconds, since he'd used up all his strength for every dodge during that time, not daring to slack off the slightest bit. It was also during those few seconds that his adversary had shot off several dozens of blue rays, leaving the residential yard blasted beyond recognition.

He didn't even have any chance to slow, and moved with one breath for those few seconds.

All of Chen Mu's focus was on the dodging, leaving no strength to fight back. Never mind deploying the tailless shuttle, he didn't even have a fraction of a second to pause, or he'd be torn to shreds by those beautiful and dazzling blue rays.

He caught a glimpse of a door ahead in his peripheral vision, and without any hesitation, he sprang up from the ground and blasted through the door like a cannonball. It was a warehouse, being used for stacking goods.

Two shots hit the outside wall of the warehouse with two bangs, leaving two fist sized holes. The remainder of their firepower reflected to the ground, leaving another two pits!

Chen Mu's breathing had grown urgent, and his weird masked face was all mud. When the sweat on his back flowed into his wound, it hurt enough to make him suck cold air. But he didn't have any time just then to bandage himself up.

Pow Pow! Another two shots went right through the outer wall, but that time they hit sacks in the warehouse with two muffled booms, blowing up two of them.

Damn! It's flour! Everything in front of Chen Mu was an expanse of white. He hadn't realized that those sacks were all filled with flour. The entire room was filled everywhere with flour, and he practically couldn't see a thing!

That was no good. He would certainly die if it went on like that. Chen Mu calmly made a judgement about the landscape in front of him. Those things really had no way to stop his adversary's blue rays. It would be a gamble to stay in that place. While his adversary couldn't see him, it would also be difficult for him to dodge and evade.

Besides, going on like he was put him in an absolutely inferior position, and once his adversary had brought reinforcements to surround the place, he wouldn't be able to escape even with wings.

This warehouse didn't have any other doors, nor even a window, so how would he escape? As far as the blue rays were concerned, the outer wall was as fragile as a biscuit, while being plenty solid enough to stop his fist. If he were to use his tailless shuttle card, it would only make a useless hole the size of a finger.

It looked as though he had to put all his hope on the tailless shuttle card.

Chen Mu drew a line in his mind and went straight in front of one of the holes blown by the blue rays. He brought his eye to the hole and saw his adversary.

He knew that person!

He hadn't realized until just then that the blue rays he was seeing today were exactly the same as the ones he'd seen that day. In an instant, the predatory desire he felt in his breast was more intense than ever.

This was the man! If it weren't for them, he would be living peacefully now, and not worrying every day if he would be alive the next day.

Chen Mu's eyes were as cold as ice, as he'd already decided that if he was going to die that day, he wasn't going to leave that guy behind.

Weng Weng Weng, a crystalline tubular tailless shuttle appeared on Chen Mu's index finger. He didn't have any reservations that time, and the tailless shuttle spun faster and faster, with the weng weng weng sound getting gradually louder.

Chen Mu didn't fire it right away, while he kept manipulating it to continue spinning faster. Weng weng weng, it went from deep to high pitched, and then died off until it was entirely peaceful. The terrifying velocity of the tailless shuttle was now spinning insanely.

The sweat was pouring from his forehead, and Chen Mu was clenching his teeth with deadly perseverance, calculating that one hit would mean success or failure. The more he held off, the more unfavorable it would be for him.

Pow Pow Pow! Several more blue rays hit to Chen Mu's side, with the splash of gravel hitting him in the face. He paid no attention to it as he concentrated on the tailless shuttle in his hand. The faster it went, the more power it had, but also the more unstable it became. He didn't dare let his attention falter.

His adversary had no way to establish his position and could only incessantly bombard the rather small warehouse with blue rays. The outer wall had been riddled with holes making things precarious.

Chen Mu slowly raised his right hand, with such a gentle movement that he seemed to be holding some kind of precious treasure that would break if it fell. There was no sadness nor any joy on the face beneath that ghost-face flower, as his expression just then was terrifyingly calm.

As he saw his adversary, his finger pointed.

Swish!

A kind of strange sonic boom abruptly sounded, leaving a long aftereffect. The howling that time was nothing at all like before, as low as thunder at first, and then suddenly as sharp as a needle!

Daniel's complexion changed in midair, while the blue rays wavering all around his body increased from five to seven! The seven rays tangled together in the wink of an eye, forming a blue colored light-shield in front of him.

The tailless shuttle as quick as lighting smashed right into the blue ray light-shield.

Ping! A cracking sound, like the sound of glass shattering.

The translucent blue light shield broke into dozens of shards, annihilating all its initial energy into thin air.

Daniel was looking at his chest in disbelief. He suddenly realized how similar his move was to brother Yu's last move. A few seconds later, poof! A column of blood was shooting out of his left chest like a fountain.

At about the same time, inside the warehouse, Chen Mu fell onto his back as he spit out a mouthful of fresh blood.

He felt a cramp in the pit of his stomach. He felt as though his body had been evacuated. His condition was all messed up, maybe even more than he had anticipated.

But no matter what, he was still alive! Chen Mu suddenly broke out into a smile, his face all covered in mud.

He struggled to crawl up, not having the energy to lift a finger by then, though he still used every last bit of his energy to stand up. He had to leave there right away. If he were to wait for his adversary's partners to get there, he knew he wouldn't be able to leave. The commotion just then was so huge that Chen Mu believed that someone would catch up quickly.

Lifting his leaden-heavy legs, Chen Mu was about to leave. But he turned suddenly to in front of the corpse of that card artisan who had been firing off the blue rays, and he groped around the body.

"It is the Zuo household after all!" Chen Mu muttered to himself, holding in his extreme indignation. His adversary's identity was on the name card in his hand, which he casually tossed aside, turning around to leave.

A few minutes later, people started to converge on that place incessantly. Card artisans flew overhead from time to time.

* * *

It was nearly four in the morning by the time that Zuo Tianlin was awakened. He looked at the three corpses, and calmly asked, "What happened?"

Ming Hui was very aware of his master's temper. If he was in a rage, then everything was fine, where if his face was all calm, he had already become extremely enraged.

Ming Hui didn't dare to enrage him just then, and he replied carefully, "Two people had the job to track Copper and Lan Feng, to see if they could find Chen Mu. The test results have come out and the time of their death was before Daniel by . . ."

"Focus." Zuo Tianlin hadn't raised his voice, but no one in the room dared to let out their breath.

Ming Hui couldn't help sneering, while he quickly gave Zuo Tianlin the response he wanted, "They were killed by Chen Mu! Two of them were killed in the same manner as Yu Xin, while the other was killed by a broken neck."

"Killed by a broken neck?" Zuo Tianlin's eyes had widened, as he stared fixedly at Ming Hui.

Ming Hui's heart went cold, and he didn't dare return Zuo Tianlin's glare, as he said with forced calm, "Yes! From the evidence, it was a standard assassination."

"Ha!" Zuo Tianlin showed a sarcastic smile from the corner of his mouth, "Assassination methods! It looks as though our little friend is getting more and more awesome, always bringing us pleasant surprises."

Ming Hui had gone dry in the mouth and throat. People who operated in the dark gave every clan and every power the most headaches, and they were the most despised. Those were the ones they least liked to turn into adversaries. Although they did everything under heavy protection, every year innumerable people of status and position were killed by assassins.

"If I haven't guessed wrongly, the one who rescued our little friend from the jungle last time must be an ace assassin." Ming Hui surmised.

Zuo Tianlin lowered his head, as his expression became unsettled. After fully half a minute, he raised his head again, and said word by slow word, "Find him."

Ming Hui's heart skipped a beat, and while his mouth and throat remained dry, said without hesitancy as always, "Yes sir."

"Good. And Copper?" Zuo Tianlin asked suddenly.

"They've already departed from Eastern Shang-Wei City. It's not clear where to. We won't have any way to use him to lure Chen Mu onto the hook. But judging from the scene of yesterday's battle where we found blood other than ours, Chen Mu must have been wounded, and he must still be in the city!" Ming Hui said analytically.

"I'll pay a visit to the garrison tomorrow myself. They may be able to help you. No matter what, you must find him this time!" Zuo Tianlin said it mildly, showing by his tone a strong intolerance for any doubt.

* * *

Chen Mu's current condition was extremely bad. He looked like a sick dog, sprawled face down on the bed, with his upper body bound in bandages. There was a trough of blood on his back, so painful that he felt more dead than alive. But that wasn't what worried him the most. What worried him most was his perception.

That last blow had used all of his perception. And while the tailless shuttle hadn't blown up in his hand, for which he was eternally grateful, his body had become evacuated, and he was missing the tubular perceptual vortex, making him exactly like an ordinary person.

He was vaguely worried, not knowing how long the condition would continue. Unlike external wounds, his understanding of perception was still at a rudimentary level. And the more he didn't understand, the more worried he would be.

He reviewed the day's battle. Chen Mu felt that the biggest reason for his being alive was luck. When he was stuck in the warehouse, none of the dozens of blue ray shots hit him, which would have to be called good luck.

And he'd given everything he had that day, dodging, the tailless shuttle, the wall-climbing lotus, the elastic shoes. He'd used practically all his moves.

Although he was aching all over, Chen Mu felt a hint of pride. No matter how, he had defeated three card artisans that day. That kind of battle success could be considered brilliant. And what was more, one of the three was a mid-grade card artisan.

Had he really done it? Chen Mu didn't dare to believe it. Not long before, he was only a youth who could be hunted without being able to fight back, while that day he had killed three card artisans!

Looking in the mirror at that person all wrapped in bandages, Chen Mu smiled, though behind his smile there was too much bitterness, and too much helplessness.