Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Do you really think Dismark can protect you now?” Han Jin said with a cold smile.
However, although he had a cold expression on his face, Han Jin was confused. Judging by Cromwell’s expression, that ‘Madame Fenny’ was someone very close to Dismark. Yet, as far as he could remember, he hadn’t come in contact with any noblewomen. There must be something that he wasn’t aware of.
Cromwell suddenly started uncontrollably laughing. He was so out of breath after laughing that he only managed to speak several moments later. “Do you still think… you can protect yourself?”
“So far, I think I’ve done quite well,” Han Jin flatly said.
“You are right. So far…” Cromwell’s voice suddenly lowered and his whole body curled up, then he finally stopped moving altogether.
Reg dashed forward and put his finger under Cromwell’s nose and placed his ear against Cromwell’s chest to check for breathing and a heartbeat. After a moment, he said, “He’s… he’s dead!”
Gibran frowned and also approached the body to check. In the end, he begrudgingly agreed that Cromwell was indeed dead. However, the bastard’s death was simply too sudden and strange.
Han Jin’s eyes flashed and he suddenly said to everyone, “Could everyone please go out for a moment?”
Yalina blinked. She had an inkling of what was about to happen and was about to speak when she suddenly remembered that there were a lot of people present. In the end, she swallowed her words.
Gibran shrugged. He was really curious about what Han Jin was about to do, but if he didn’t want to tell anyone, he must have his reasons. It would be rude of him to press any further.
After a moment, everyone had left. Han Jin chanted something in a hushed voice, and a charm formed in the air. It suddenly turned into numerous sparks that attached themselves to the walls, ceiling, and floor. Unfortunately, the daylight was too bright. If it were nighttime, the star-like sparks would be a beautiful sight to behold.
“Dismark spent years at war with Zaganide. Though the battles were hard, he also learned a lot, didn’t he?” Han Jin said with a smile.
No one else was in the room at this point. It was only Han Jin, who appeared to be talking to himself. It was quite an eerie scene.
“It must feel good to be in this form, right? No one would see you escape, so you could pass through all walls, and even dive deep underground if you chose to. But… why didn’t you just run?”
Before Han Jin finished his sentence, the sparks on the left wall suddenly exploded. In the faint light, a shadow seemed to have darted out. Immediately after, the sparks on the ceiling, floor, walls, and even the shattered doorway exploded one after another. The hall didn’t quiet down until a while later.
“Have you given up? Finally believe that I’m talking to you now?” Han Jin showed a faint smile. “I’m very curious. What does the person who cast this spell on you call your current form?”
“A spirit? I have seen specters before, but you are one of a kind… in this world. Do you know what the difference is between a spirit and a specter? Haha, I shouldn’t have expected you to know… Anyways, in my home, we call your kind ghosts, and I happen to specialize in catching ghosts. If you were still a swordsman, I would have to exhaust a bit more energy, but you decided to turn yourself into a ghost of all things… Cromwell, I must say, luck is not on your side today.”
“No, no, I’m not lying. I did say it’s the first time I have seen your kind here. Not in the past, though. Back then, I dealt with your kind on a daily basis.”
“The past… that question is too hard to answer; you wouldn’t understand even if I explained it. Besides, don’t you think you are asking too many questions?” Han Jin smiled. “Now, let me introduce you to a friend.”
Before he had even finished speaking, a red crystal ball already appeared in Han Jin’s hand. In it, a miniature skeleton suddenly dove into the wall and frantically flailed his arms, as if it was trying to escape.
After a short period of silence, faint howls started sounding out throughout the room, and countless explosions of sparks followed.
“It’s useless. Did you forget what I said? I’m a master at catching ghosts. If I can’t even catch you, what kind of master would I be?” Han Jin weighed the crystal ball in his palm. “Eternal life? That… isn’t exactly a lie. True immortality is impossible, but you can easily live for a few millennia. Of course, that is if you don’t attract the attention of people like me, or run into us. You were too careless.”
“Haha… now you are begging for mercy? Don’t you think it’s too late?” Han Jin smiled then threw the crystal ball with a low roar, “Retract!”
After another wave of faint howling, the crystal ball turned into half a circle, then returned to Han Jin’s hand. Inside, a miniature swirl appeared. As soon as that happened, the miniature skeleton dove towards it like a viper trying to catch a mouse.
“Hm?!” Han Jin frowned.
The miniature skeleton suddenly froze. Even from the outside, one could see that the skeleton was uncontrollably shaking and that the two red dots in its skull had grown brighter.
“You are not allowed to touch that. I have some uses for it.” Han Jin thought for a moment, then took out two charms. They dissipated into the air and ten more specters appeared.
Han Jin once again took out the Soul-Devouring Bead and trapped the ten specters inside. This time, the miniature skeleton didn’t hold back at all. It quickly ripped the closest specter into pieces and swallowed it.
By the time Han Jin had put the Soul-Devouring Bead back in his space ring, he was in a good mood. Ever since he had read that book about magic which was written by that madman, he had a vague feeling that there was something in common between magic and Daoist arts. However, he simply could not figure out what that ‘something’ was. Maybe if he could decode the secret of the eighth element, he could open the door to a whole new world.
The ‘ghosts’ summoned by the Five Ghosts Carrying Charm turned out to be half-material specters, yet a magician working for Dismark had somehow managed to create a true ghost. It was simply too absurd, and also an insult to all cultivators! This was the reason why Han Jin hadn’t immediately killed Cromwell. He needed to learn that magician’s secret; or even better, capture him once he became powerful enough. Han Jin believed that the magician would provide him with inspiration and ideas.
Han Jin turned to leave but accidentally stepped on the leg of a dead body. After two more steps, he thought of something and turned around. He stomped on the leg of the ‘dead body’. A low groan came from the ground.
“Still alive?” Han Jin bent down.
Dauncy motionlessly laid on the ground. Even though no one had touched him during the whole fight, he was covered in as much blood as every other dead body on the floor.
“Get up, stop pretending,” Han Jin said with a smile. He was happy because of the good news Cromwell had brought him, but that didn’t mean he would let Dauncy go.
Dauncy remained motionless. However, there were things he couldn’t control, like the cold sweat that appeared on his brow or his shaking fingertips.
“Cessacioun said that you acted quite mighty when he was captured? What happened to that?” Han Jin’s smile gradually turned cold. “When it comes to people like you, I wouldn’t feel a shred of remorse if I killed thousands, let alone one!”
After Han Jin finished his sentence, a small spark appeared in his palm. It floated down like a feather, and eventually landed on Dauncy’s chest.
After a few seconds of silence, Dauncy suddenly let out a heart-piercing scream and jumped up as if he had been electrocuted.
The people outside heard the scream and immediately charged into the hall. They happened to see Dauncy desperately jumping around, trying to extinguish the spark by slapping it. However, the spark was very strange and looked as if it were an adhesive. It stuck to Dauncy’s palm when he slapped it, and then spread to his elbow. Soon, his entire upper body was covered in roaring flames.
“Agh…!” Dauncy’s screams turned more and more desperate as he dashed everywhere like a headless fly. Unfortunately for him, he ran in Han Jin’s direction. With a swift kick, Han Jin kicked Dauncy onto the ground. If it had been someone else, they probably wouldn’t have dared to attack Dauncy in fear of the roaring flame.
Dauncy desperately rolled on the ground. Suddenly, his arms, which were burned so bad that they were black, flew from his body. One went towards the ceiling, and the other towards Reg.
Reg hurriedly bent down, and the arm flew past him and hit the wall. Countless sparks flew out as it shattered into pieces, but each piece still continued burning vigorously. With cold sweat on his back, Reg cursed the quite literally damned Dauncy and stepped far, far away.
The fading screams suddenly stopped, but the fire continued burning. After a couple of moments, Dauncy’s whole body turned into embers. All that remained were his legs; even his arms were burnt to ash in mid-air.
“Raphael, can you still save her…?” Cessacioun pointed at the elderly woman’s nose and looked at Han Jin.
Han Jin shook his head. There was no point in checking. The elderly woman’s whole skull was cracked, and even her brain was exposed. This kind of wound was beyond his ability.
“Sigh…” Cessacioun sighed then turned to the girl.
This time, Han Jin walked up to her without Cessacioun’s prompt. He grabbed the girl’s wrist and carefully listened to it for a moment. The way he diagnosed patients was strange – at least, by this world’s standards. Although it was strange, Sunier and the others were already used to it.
After a while, he propped up the girl’s head, gently flipped open her half-closed eyelids, and carefully checked her eyes. “She is unharmed, but she has suffered great trauma… Give her a quiet place to rest, and she may recover after a few days.”
“She can really recover?” Cessacioun asked.
Han Jin paused. “That… will depend on her.”
“Raphael, we should bring her to our place,” Cessacioun suggested.
Han Jin turned to look at Sunier and the rest. Aside from Reg, who looked like he didn’t care either way, Sunier and Moxinke both looked like they agreed with Cessacioun. Han Jin nodded. “That would help.”
