The Card Apprentice

Just then, a woman wearing a veil walked into the VIP lounge.

“Sorry to make you wait.” One ordinary, sweet, and delicate phrase from her made it impossible not to look at her.

The black veil had a silky sheen, which even Chen Mu with his sharp eyesight couldn’t see through. A light purple qipao fully outlined her tall, slender frame. A snow-white powdered neck showed under her face, exuding a deadly attraction, while her exquisitely small collarbone made it impossible to avert one’s gaze.

She was a woman who gave rise to countless helpless fantasies. Even Chen Mu went blank for a moment. That was a rare thing for him.

Suddenly, Chen Mu drew in a breath to clear his mind. Those days of bitter battling had made even his will still more determined and unwavering. Finding his condition improper, he reacted in the first moment to adjust it.

Noting Chen Mu’s accommodation, a hint of appreciation was cast from behind the veil. She had read countless people. Although the man in front of her was strangely ugly, the power of his extremely oppressive feeling was intimidating. When she had first entered, the ugly man’s spirits had seemed to be in a daze. However, he quickly accommodated and restored the clarity of his gaze, which showed how cool and restrained he was.

“It’s nothing.” Chen Mu took a sharp look at her veil and asked, “So, you are the young master of this establishment?”

As though she hadn’t noted the guardedness in Chen Mu’s eyes, the woman bowed to him slightly and sat right down on the ground. “I am. You may call me Ah Sang.”

The light purple qipao, the black veil, and her exquisite, powdered neck were all mysterious and alluring, and her upright sitting posture seemed to declare a kind of formidable inviolability. But, as it happened, Chen Mu couldn’t help a certain feeling that the woman was sitting that way to show off her style.

The girl in front of him wasn’t the most gorgeous woman Chen Mu had ever seen, though there was something unique about her that distinguished her from any other woman. Still, Chen Mu didn’t know much about women. If he were to judge her character by the way she was sitting and so forth, that would never be reliable.

“And, how should I address you, sir?” The voice from behind the veil had a magical allure, carrying a sense of lightness and sweetness.

“Qiao Yuan.”

Chen Mu cherished words as though they were gold. The woman in front of him was no simple person, and he couldn’t help the rise in his spirits. Bogner had given him that name. He was the only guy in the entire base who was interested in names.

“So, Mr. Qiao.” Ah Sang bowed lightly to show her respect and went on to ask in curiosity, “I wonder where Mr. Qiao has come from to be able to hunt down the southern snow-ape and the thin-horned spotted deer. Mr. Qiao is quite powerful!”

“No comment.” Chen Mu’s expression was chilly, and his eyes were slightly closed.

That was the style Bogner and Xi Ping had decided on after they agreed. No matter how he was disguised, his background and identity would always be an issue. Given their current power, they could never choose a perfect fake identity that wouldn’t raise doubts. They figured they might as well simply construct an ace with an arrogant, stubborn temperament. Although people liked to speculate and would certainly investigate, so long as Chen Mu clamped his jaw, they would be helpless and would only feel that to be his nature.

Ah Sang was unusually perceptive and immediately understood the issue had made him unhappy. She said a little apologetically, “Ah Sang took too many liberties. Our humble firm is quite interested in this batch of goods of Mr. Qiao’s. I wonder if Mr. Qiao is willing to part with such treasure.”

Even after such brief contact, she could already grasp that strangely ugly man’s character. He was arrogant and obstinate, always calm and restrained. When facing such a person, vanities would be no use since he was eager to talk only about real gains.

“How much?” Chen Mu’s response wasn’t subtle.

Ah Sang was inwardly rather pleased since her estimation wasn’t far off, after all.

Ah Sang chuckled. “Mr. Qiao will have to allow Ah Sang to take a look at the goods first before I can judge.”

“Oh.” Chen Mu didn’t look up as he stretched his hand to the side, where he easily picked up his bundle and put it on the table. The alloy table shook when he put it down. Ah Sang was inwardly stunned at how heavy it was and how strong he was.

Chen Mu deftly cut the rattan strap on the outside of the bag, which popped into two pieces. After finishing that, he sat back down on the sofa with his eyes half-closed.

Taking a look at the smoothly cut rattan straps, Ah Sang felt awed. She hadn’t seen Chen Mu use anything to cut the straps, which were as thick as a thumb and exceptionally tough. What was important was that she hadn’t detected the slightest energy fluctuation.

Black silk gloves went right up her arm, which covered her snow-white skin with a layer of delicate, silken sheen. Her slender hands were as elegant as the most perfect works of an artist.

With his eyes half-closed, Chen Mu suddenly heard his counterpart’s breathing seem to become a little rapid, though it returned to normal after a few seconds. He was thinking rather languidly that it looked like she had been startled by his haul.

“My humble firm would like all of these things,” Ah Sang handily decided.

“Oh,” Chen Mu responded indifferently.

“These data here are actually listings of such goods, along with their auction records. There are three sorts of your goods that are the most valuable. One is the southern snow-ape pelt, another is the thin-horned spotted deer, and the third is the four snow-crystal python claws.”

Snow-crystal python? Chen Mu’s gaze followed the elegant movements of Ah Sang’s hands and fell onto the four claws, which were like crystals. He remembered that the large white python had four claws under its body. It could emit energy shuttles, which forced Chen Mu to use a surprising number of moves. Pythons were cold-blooded animals. According to conventional wisdom, they couldn’t survive in snowy areas, so he didn’t think he would actually encounter one. That large python’s hide had little protective value and wasn’t worth anything. In the end, Chen Mu saw its four unusual, crystal-like claws and cut them off. He hadn’t thought they would actually be something good.

“Apart from the southern snow-ape’s pelt, which was ruined by the wounds, the other things are perfect. My humble firm would like to purchase them at 20 percent over the market price. For all of the goods, that would be more than 250 million Oudi altogether. What do you think?” Ah Sang asked respectfully.

That price far exceeded Chen Mu’s expectations. Could being a card artisan be so lucrative nowadays? For him at that time, he didn’t consider 250 million such a large number. But such a price would certainly be exciting for any card artisan.

“Mmmm. Ok.”

Ah Sang was rather surprised at how calm Chen Mu was. She couldn’t see the least bit of joy on his face, even for 250 million! Her counterpart could actually stay that calm? Could it be…

Ah Sang was thinking quickly about the meaning behind the information while saying, “Please wait a moment, Mr. Qiao. Those under me have already gone to prepare the money card. I wonder if Mr. Qiao would like to transfer the money or to prepare a new card.”

“Prepare a new card.”

“Registered or unregistered?” Ah Sang continued.

“Unregistered.”

Ah Sang’s brain was spinning. It looked like Mr. Qiao absolutely didn’t want to reveal where he came from. The name Qiao Yuan could be fake. In a roundabout way, however, facing such a huge sum and still wanting an unregistered money card reflected how much confidence he had in his own power.

“Mmmm, no problem. But you may have to wait a moment.” Ah Sang smiled at Chen Mu while she opened her communications apparatus to issue some orders in a low voice. She sat down once she’d finished all that and elegantly poured tea for Chen Mu.

“This is a small place, and we don’t have anything good to host you with, which must seem ridiculous to you. This is the Lanqing tea produced by the Han family. It isn’t well-known, but I like it for its refreshing elegance when I am by myself. I am always so bold as to bring it out for tasting whenever I meet a guest.”

Her hands, covered in black silk, picked up a teacup as white as snow and brought it in front of her. With her other hand, she lifted her veil a little.

The teacup was still more pure white than her chin, and her dark red lips lightly sipped the tea to compose a beautiful picture. As soon as Chen Mu’s gaze touched her face, he retracted it in a flash. Even he was overwhelmed by such magic.

“Good tea.” Chen Mu made a simple response. Before he had left, Bogner and Xi Ping had analyzed the characteristics of his new identity for him. They determined that his speech should be simple and short, and he should seldom say anything or open his mouth. That would reduce mistakes. He should be domineering when he did anything, and if he encountered any trouble, he shouldn’t be reticent to display his power. He shouldn’t have a good disposition, ready to fight if someone looked at him wrong.

Among those three points, only the first one really suited his own temperament. He could keep trying with the other two.

Ah Sang smiled lightly and asked languidly, “I wonder how long Mr. Qiao will remain in Zargan.”

“Not very long.” Chen Mu’s answer was no different from not answering.

“Mr. Qiao has outstanding power, the most capable card artisan I have ever seen. Would you like to do a little business?” Ah Sang put down her teacup and sat up, speaking firmly.

“What business?” Chen Mu asked impassively, squinting.

“Ah Sang would like to hire Mr. Qiao for ten days. Mr. Qiao would only have to guarantee my personal safety during that time, and assure that I won’t be harassed. My firm’s card artisans won’t bother you about any peripheral work. I only hope if some ace shows up, Mr. Qiao would help out,” Ah Sang said with a straight face. “Ten days! After that, you may leave, sir. I will reward you with 100 million per day. What do you think?”

One hundred million per day! Chen Mu was inwardly amazed. That woman had a lot of money on hand!

“Could your honorable firm have offended someone important?” Chen Mu spoke as impassively as ever. The higher the compensation, the greater the risk. That was a principle never broken. Moreover, he wasn’t short of money just then and didn’t need to take any risks, even for 1 billion.

There was a hint of bitterness in what Ah Sang said. “I wouldn’t dare to hide anything, sir. The second lord of the Southern Star Firm once inadvertently saw Ah Sang’s true face, and he has been trying to find some way to get me ever since. When Father was here, he wouldn’t have dared to run so rampant. A month ago, Father became suddenly ill and has been in a coma.” Saying that, Ah Sang’s voice was mournful and heartbreaking.

“When Ah Sang took center stage, who knows if he instigated several directors of the firm in wanting to coerce Ah Sang? I will not go along with that. I recently got some information that my adversary might possibly use force. Being anxious, Ah Sang has asked for help from one of the older generation. But it will take about ten days for that elder to arrive. I am only requesting you might assure Ah Sang’s safety for ten days!

Ah Sang was choked up and bowed low to Chen Mu.