RUAN YANJUN

I squinted as I watched those two lovebirds smile and hug each other once again. Until now, I still could not accept that such a fine young priest would have to settle with an aging prostitute for a lover.

Has the world run out of slightly more decent women?

My blood roiled in anger, but I tried to appear calm and unaffected.

“Here,” she handed him his walking stick with a silk cloth wrapped around the handle.

He took the stick and fumbled for the silk. “Maybe I should leave this behind for now. I might lose it.”

“No,” she promptly objected. “So you’ll remember to come back.”

“I promise you… I will be back.”

She smiled at him and I was about to roll my eyes.

“Are you through with your sweet nothings?” I asked in an exasperated tone. “The horses are getting restless.”

“Oh.” She lowered her head and stepped back, but they looked at each other again and smiled for another time before Luo Fan climbed into the carriage.

I looked at the woman. “He might not be back for a while. Make sure the repairs are finished when he returns. I can’t stand seeing a very notable man living in such a dire condition.”

She bowed down. “Yes, my lord.”

“And if someone comes looking for him, tell them that Ruan Yanjun has taken him away.”

She gasped in shock. “Is his lord’s real name…”

“Not necessarily,” I interrupted. “But that should scare them off.”

I turned my back on her, leaving her speechless and confused.

I climbed into the carriage and sat down beside Luo Fan.

He was quiet and seemed anxious.

“I’ve already taken care of your wife’s needs,” I said. “What are you still worried about?”

He turned to me. “I’m just concerned. I am already indebted to you while I have not even started my job.”

“Don’t worry about it. As long as you attend to your duties sincerely, whether you succeed or not, you don’t have to concern yourself about paying me back.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “I appreciate your consideration, my lord. The more reason I have to put all my effort into this job.”

“You should. Your own life depends on your success. Saving that man’s life also saves yours.”

He nodded. “Lord Lan is correct.”

“How’s your vision?” I asked. “How much can you see?”

“If there’s enough light, I can see silhouettes of objects, but when it’s dark, I can hardly determine anything.”

I looked inside the carriage. The window was open so there was enough light inside. “Right now, what do you see?”

“I can see his lordship’s outline like a shadow. Other than that, there’s nothing else. No face, no colors or anything.”

I nodded.

Knowing that he could not see more than just a shadow, I took the liberty to stare at him.

He was indeed beautiful. It felt like I was staring at an ethereal being, radiating gentleness and warmth. He looked so captivating that I found myself drawn and unable to blink.

If I could convince this beauty to join my sect, I’d implant a dark core in him and have him master the Devil’s Charm spell. With his captivating beauty, neither man nor woman could resist him.

I smiled devilishly. As early as now, I could already see the greatness that he would be, and I shall be the one to create a darker version of this light-core priest. He’d also learn to refine using dark energy instead of light, or maybe both. It really would not matter as long as he was a disciple of the great Eternal Damnation Sect.

My eyes happened to settle on the stick he was holding. It distracted me from daydreaming.

“Why do you ask, my lord?” he asked.

I was suddenly awakened and had no idea what he was talking about. “What did I ask?”

“About my eyes.”

I nodded as I remembered I did ask him about his eyes earlier before I got distracted by his beauty. “I wanted to make a comparison, and I have to say that you’re luckier. The man you are about to save has completely lost his sight.”

“His affliction seems worse than mine.”

“I think it’s the same. It’s only because you had better resistance than he had by the time you were afflicted, so you were able to resist the blunt of the damage. Compared to you, he is only a fourth level.”

He looked at me in surprise. “Is Lord Lan saying that the affliction had taken place when my cultivation had not yet been nullified?”

“How else were they able to capture you and nullify your cultivation?”

He lowered his head as if he was pondering about the past.

I smirked. “Don’t tell me you did not fight back when you learned that they were going to nullify the cultivation that you have worked your whole life for.”

He pressed his lips together and swallowed as if a realization had dawned upon him and he could not accept it. “I did, but they managed to subdue me. At that time, I thought that my weakness was attributed to the long and harsh torture that I had to suffer as punishment for my crime.”

“Now, you’re starting to see the missing pieces of the puzzle.”

He did not say anything and looked away. I understood that he did not wish to speak about it.

He was probably still in denial. He could not believe that those people that he had considered a family would do something so terrible to him.

His grip tightened around the stick until his knuckles turned white.

The priest seemed to be losing his unwavering calmness.

But his anger was brief. A short moment later, his grip loosened and he gently stroked the silk wrapped around the stick instead, as if doing so would give him comfort.

I squinted at the sight of it. I really hated that stick. “Why do you have to carry that stick with you? You can still easily find your way even without that.”

“I need it when it’s dark and there’s no light around. And it’s also a gift.”

I frowned. “You call that trash a gift? It looks more like firewood to me.”

“This stick may not have any value to Lord Lan, but it is precious to me. I also don’t have any weapon, so this will do.”

“Don’t you have a sword?”

“I had. My master had given me one of his swords that had been passed down to him by his ancestors, but I had left it behind. I am no longer worthy to carry that sword.”

I laughed deeply. “It’s that sword that’s not worthy of you.”

He blinked, confused. “Lord Lan, I don’t understand why you think so highly of me.”

“Weren’t you the Divine Mage? And a grandmaster at the same time?”

“Lord Lan, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but that is the past. I have moved on from it. I will never be that person again.”

“As long as you still possess the knowledge that you have accumulated, all those that you have lost can be earned once again.”

“I’m afraid it’s no longer possible. I’ve lost my core and there’s no way to revive it. Even if I get cured of this illness and rebuild my foundation, it’s no longer possible to implant me with another core. Without a core, I can only climb back to level three at most. And without my core, I cannot summon the needed energy to refine anything more than ordinary pills. So I cannot be the Divine Mage ever again.”

“Give me your hand.”

At first, he was hesitant, but a moment later, he slowly extended his left hand towards me.

I placed three fingers on his wrist.

It was very faint, but his light core still existed. He was just too weak to recognize it.

But I would not tell him that. Not yet.

My lips curved to a wicked smile.

“If I provide you a source of light energy, can you refine with it?” I asked.

He tugged his hand back to his lap. “It is possible, but I need one from a high-level. For some elixirs, it might require a master level. And I don’t think any master would want their energies absorbed for refinery purposes. It would take them days to recover.”

I smirked. “Let me worry about those things. Your job is to identify whatever poison you have ingested and then find a cure. When you’re ready to refine, I’ll handle the resources.”

He cupped his hands before his chest and lowered his head to me. “I understand, my lord.”

The bamboo stick fell and he bent down to pick it up. It had ruined my mood once again.

I really hated the sight of it.

“If I gave you a fine sword and a good staff for finding your way, will you get rid of that stick?”

“I’m afraid I cannot give this up, my lord. It has a sentimental value to me. I apologize.”

I sighed and looked away.

What the hell is so precious about a bamboo stick? It only ruins the lucrative interior of my carriage.

“My lord, I have one question if you don’t mind,” he said.

“You may ask, but I may not give you an answer.”

He nodded. “Last night at the restaurant, Grandmaster Wang Bei called you Ruan Yanjun… Are you really Sect Leader Ruan Yanjun?”

I chortled. “If I answered your question, will you come with me to Kan Empire?”

He quickly looked away and did not say anything more.

I smirked.

He was still unsure about coming along with me he’d rather not know the answer to his question.

But his hesitation did not bother me much. After this, after he’d feel indebted to me, after I showered him with generosity and kindness, he would not be able to refuse me. He would go with me wherever I asked him to return a favor.