The Card Apprentice

He hadn’t thought he would run into Cleo, the second son of the Lewin family—yet another person he knew. Cleo’s attitude was entirely different from before.

The fatty wasn’t interested in Cleo but just raised the juice glass in his hand to say, “Young Lord Cleo,” and said nothing else. Chen Mu also nodded to him. “Young Lord Cleo.”

Cleo didn’t seem to mind such treatment and faced the two eagerly. “I never thought I would see Mr. Cao here, which is quite a surprise. It will be Cleo’s coming of age ceremony in a few days. Would Mr. Yang An and Mr. Cao be able to come?”

Coming of age ceremony? Chen Mu wasn’t sure what that meant, but he wasn’t much interested in the Lewin family. The eagerness in Cleo’s eyes also made him feel a little uncomfortable, so he shook his head. “I’m very sorry, but I’m busy.” Then, he closed his mouth. The fatty’s response was still more direct. “I’m busy as well; sorry, Young Lord Cleo.”

It was hard for Cleo to hide his disappointment, and after saying a few more things, he hurried off.

The fatty watched Cleo’s back as he left and said contemptuously, “The Lewin family is heading backward more and more. The two sons are obsessed with intrigue and pay no attention to the family properties. He’s really a stupid fellow!”

When he saw Chen Mu’s expression of not understanding, he explained. “An aristocratic family like the Lewins will put on a banquet when the family heirs come of age. They would also invite some people to look on, and their powerful friends would cheer them on. Well, there aren’t so many families who still keep that tradition. I never would have thought the Lewins would keep it up.”

Between the lines of what the fatty said, there seemed to be some disdain for the tradition.

Chen Mu understood a little of that. But, he didn’t have any good feelings about Cleo himself, so he didn’t much care. Even after he had rescued Cleo, not only had Cleo not treated him sincerely, he was always scheming. Chen Mu respected such a person by keeping him at a distance.

Seeing Chen Mu’s expression, the fatty’s expression showed that he understood. He lowered his voice to say, “The two sons of the Lewin family don’t have a grasp on their affairs, and their decline is a foregone conclusion. Doing business with them is ok for the short term, but it isn’t worth it in the long term.”

“What do you mean by that?” Chen Mu was suddenly a little curious.

With a mild expression, the fatty said, “To get to where we are in business, work it isn’t only a matter of dealing with things. Most of it is networking and channels. If one isn’t doing good business now and is expecting to grow because of one’s current strength, that would be as hard as climbing to heaven. The important trend is to cooperate with people. No matter what kinds of windfalls you make in the short term, those are very limited. Stable, long-term income is more important. A partner who will stay with you for the long term is worth spending a lot of money on. A talent such as young brother Cao is worth spending money on!”

Chen Mu was taken aback by what the fatty was saying. He didn’t have much experience with business, but what he was saying seemed rather enlightening.

Chen Mu smiled. “You regard me too highly.”

“No, no, no!” The fatty shook his head like a drum rattle, making it look like he might fall over. “There’s no need for young brother Cao to be so modest. Although this fatty doesn’t bat a thousand judging people, he’s not so far off. Young brother Cao has a calm demeanor with a steady gaze. One look can tell a lot; I see your tough temper and authoritative character.”

Chen Mu was taken aback again. He had never heard anyone so full of praise for him before. Just then, someone not far away greeted the fatty. His eyes sharpened as he rushed to apologize to Chen Mu and got up to give his greetings. It was hard to believe such a fat guy could move with such agility.

After the fatty left, Chen Mu was once again alone in the corner. There was beautiful music playing in the hall, and the waiters would come around carrying red wine and juices and sweets among all the guests. All of the people from Pomelo who had any gravitas were networking there, gathered in groups of three or five. They would sometimes talk and laugh or turn their gazes toward the center of the hall. Those upper-class women wearing beautiful evening gowns would be kibitzing in whispers while their gazes were always hotly cast right toward the middle, where Zu Ning and Jie Yanbai were. The young men had hot, greedy eyes as they stared at Butchie in their midst.

The stars of the banquet were those two men and that one woman.

When it came to Chen Mu, who was nothing more than a small character, it saved him trouble that no one knew him. He didn’t pay any attention to those who would sometimes walk past looking at him with gazes that were just as full of surprise.

Such a banquet didn’t include many high-grade card artisans. While high-grade card artisans were certainly the object of every power’s wooing, it would be difficult for them to enter high society. Of course, that was apart from students who graduated from the Big Six. Once admitted to the Big Six, that would mean you had already started to step into high society.

People like Zu Ning and Jie Yanbai always maintained their even and reserved expressions. That was a kind of condescension, though no one found it strange. On the contrary, they felt it was perfectly normal. Even Ren Wenzhou took it quite naturally.

The was a saying in the federation that only the five flourishing districts and the capital would have any true nobility. In the eyes of many of the citizens of those districts, a regional despot like Ren Wenzhou was nothing more than a wealthy provincial. They were born with a sense of superiority, and that sense of superiority was still more obvious with those who came from the Big Six.

By comparison, Butchie looked a lot more pleasing. Clearly, however, she wasn’t the equal of those two; whether in power or in strength, she wouldn’t be any rival to the two of them. If it were that man with the half mask, then he might have given them a fight.

But, what did that have to do with him? Chen Mu kept comfortably drinking his juice, finishing off seven or eight glasses in a breath. The taste of each one was different—quite a bit better than the Sapphire Cloud Running Water he used to drink.

As soon as he thought about Sapphire Cloud Running Water, Chen Mu thought about Copper. He didn’t know where he was by then, which turned him melancholy.

He remained in the corner that way without anyone to disturb him. Quite a few who had wanted to make friends with Chen Mu left discreetly when they saw Chen Mu’s look of not wanting any strangers.

After the banquet was over, Chen Mu quietly left, not even seeing those he had spoken with again.

When he returned home and opened the door, Chen Mu was taken aback. Wei-ah was sitting imposingly on the floor.

“When did you get back?” Chen Mu went over to Wei-ah’s side and sat on the floor. Seeing Chen Mu had gotten back, Lu Xiaoru rushed to prepare the tea and something to eat.

“Just now.” Wei-ah didn’t raise his eyelids. Chen Mu had just noticed the plain brown-colored little animal he was holding. Wei-ah was teasing him in a desultory fashion.

“What is that?” Chen Mu asked in curiosity. The small animal was covered in dense brown fur and looked a little bit like a dog, though its body was a lot fatter, which made it look like a brown ball of flesh.

Wei-ah shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Chen Mu’s expression went strange. “Where did you get it from?” Given Wei-ah’s temperament, Chen Mu couldn’t quite believe he would buy a small pet. The only time he could have bought one was when he was hungry.

“I stole it.” Wei-ah still hadn’t lifted his eyelids as he quietly enjoyed himself, teasing the little guy. That little guy was slow enough; he curled up on Wei-ah’s leg, sleeping soundly.

“You stole it?” Chen Mu became suddenly interested. “Where did you steal it from?”

“Amedal.”

“Where is that?” Chen Mu was at a loss. Lu Xiaoru rushed to connect from the side. “Amedal is another business center in the Ming Zheng District. It’s about as bustling as Pomelo. It’s quite a ways from here.”

“What were you doing going to Amedal?” Chen Mu asked in curiosity. He had thought it was incredible when Wei-ah had asked him for money. Wei-ah must have had something to do for him to run over to Amedal. Chen Mu believed it certainly wasn’t because of that brown dog-like ball of flesh.

“To steal it.” Wei-ah’s response made Chen Mu’s face turn to stone.

“It?” Chen Mu’s mouth was hanging open as he pointed at the chubby brown dog with a shocked expression. Lu Xiaoru, who was just about to pour the tea, nearly spilled the tea water.

“Mmmm.”

“You ran off to Amedal just to steal it?” Chen Mu wasn’t quite sure whether he was hearing things.

“Right.”

“Why did you steal it?”

Wei-ah tilted his head to think for a bit. “He looked familiar.”

Black lines popped up straight across Chen Mu’s forehead. “So you just stole it? And, you specifically ran over to Amedal to steal it.”

“Right.” Wei-ah then pulled out a money card and gave it to Chen Mu. “This thing is useless.”

“Useless?” Chen Mu went blank. A money card, useless? There were four million Oudi on that money card, and Wei-ah actually said it was useless! He was suspicious. “So, how did you get to Amedal?

“On the shuttle train.”

“You need to buy a ticket for the shuttle train. Didn’t they check your ticket?” Chen Mu asked.

“What kind of thing is that?” Wei-ah asked back.

Lu Xiaoru’s hand shook again, and the tea water splashed onto the table.

Chen Mu was using hand gestures to describe it. “It’s something like a card, called a train ticket. You can only get on the train with a ticket. Didn’t you buy one?”

“No.” Wei-ah shook his head.

“Then, how did you get on?” Chen Mu asked with a lot of curiosity. “If you don’t have a ticket at the gate, then you can’t get in.”

“Oh, you’re talking about that talking machine? I gave it a tap, and it didn’t say anything more.” Wei-ah’s expression was very natural.

Chen Mu felt a sudden chill. Gave it a tap? He glanced at Wei-ah’s hand and couldn’t help an image of that scene floating up in his mind. Given Wei-ah’s strength, for him to give the ticket machine a tap, never mind that machine; even hardened instruments would be turned to scrap.

Swallowing hard, Chen Mu kept asking, “Didn’t you eat?”

“I ate.”

“How did you eat?” Chen Mu was curious.

“I saw many places where cooked meat was hanging, and I took it down to eat.” Wei-ah sucked his mouth. “The taste was a little mild, but it was still better than what you make.”

A scene immediately surfaced in Chen Mu’s mind where Wei-ah was walking into a cooked meat shop and saw a row of cooked meat hanging above, and with a stunning flash of speed he simply picked a few strings down and walked off.

“Did you come back the same way?” Chen Mu’s looked dumbstruck, though he still asked.

“Right.”

His glance fell again to the soundly sleeping, plump dog Wei-ah was holding. Could there be some relationship between the dog and Wei-ah? If there were no relation, then why would Wei-ah go so far? But, Wei-ah says he doesn’t know, which means he probably can’t quite remember. Chen Mu suddenly thought about a different issue. “How did you know this dog was in Amedal?”

“I saw it on the fantasy card receiver.”

Chen Mu then suddenly realized what Wei-ah had said earlier. “It was also stolen?”

“It had been locked in a cage, and I broke the cage. There were six people after me, whom I killed.” Wei-ah didn’t change his expression. As cool as ever, he described a rather bloody affair with a natural voice.

Lu Xiaoru turned white, and her hands shook so much she spilled a lot of the tea water.

No matter what had happened, Wei-ah had returned, which finally allowed Chen Mu to relax. Given Wei-ah’s strength, he didn’t really need to worry, but Wei-ah was a complete stranger to the world beyond the jungle. Doing things like what he had just done were actually quite dangerous. If the other party was powerful, or if he ran into some real power, or if he’d been attacked by an angry mob, even given Wei-ah’s valiance, Chen Mu couldn’t be sure he could survive.

Perhaps some ace like the president of one of the Big Six Academies could survive against bombardment from several hundred or even more card artisans. But, any other card artisan, even though they might be some famous ace, wouldn’t be able to escape from hundreds of card artisans.

But, Wei-ah wasn’t versed in worldly affairs and was prone to get in trouble. Chen Mu wasn’t afraid of things, but meaningless trouble didn’t seem necessary to him.

Lu Xiaoru’s face had remained white as though she had received a powerful shock. Even up until Wei-ah praised her cooking, her expression was extremely unnatural. That pudgy dog seemed rather clever and woke up as soon as it heard about eating.

Wei-ah was the same after eating as he’d been before, watching his fantasy card receiver by himself. This time, however, there was a brown ball of flesh at his feet.