Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After listening to the story, Baiyi’s reaction was similar to the reaction Duke Link had when he first heard it; they were both nonplussed.
Suddenly, with an “Excuse me”, Baiyi stood up and headed for the open balcony. Thinking that Baiyi wished to confirm the story with his secret leads, Duke Link did not stop Baiyi.
Little did they know that Baiyi was trying to contact someone that should have been involved in the altercation. Baiyi poked his communication slab and waited for Huskar to pick up.
At that moment, Huskar was atop his incredibly hot wife, enjoying an R-rated activity. A blinking light on the communication slab hung on the wall caught his attention. Why Huskar had hung the slab, which functioned almost like a mobile phone, on the wall was anyone’s guess. Huskar reached out and grabbed the communication slab with his free hand.
He cocked his head to the side, staring at the blinking communication slab rather intensely. A long time later, he looked down at his wife and said, “Woman! Do you remember what this thing is supposed to do? Why did we hang it there again?”
The wife, who was furious that the ‘digging’ had stopped before she could reach cloud nine, snapped, “Isn’t that the bloody talisman your Brother Hope gave you?”
“Oh right! Brother Hope! He gave me this! Why is it blinking?” Huskar stoked his chin, looking puzzled.
“How would I know? It’s your buddy who gave you that s**t! Why don’t you go ask your buddy, huh?”
“You vile vixen! How dare you use that tone?! My buddy… is your buddy too!”Huskar hollered, incensed at the tone his wife had used. The mood did not lighten up, and the argument soon spiraled out of control; in a few minutes, it had escalated into a brawl. The noise disrupted the private time of other barbarian couples. [1]
The source of the turmoil, Baiyi, was still poking his communication slab, unaware of the brawl that had broken out. As the chilly night wind blew by, Baiyi felt dispirited. Seeing as the other two were getting impatient, Baiyi had no choice but to go back inside.
Baiyi had given Huskar the communication slab two years ago, and he was starting to suspect that the barbarian — whose brain was probably as muscular as its body — had forgotten how to use it. The barbarians probably had not used the communication slab, relying on Cuckoo the alpine hawk-eagle to send messengers to each other.
“Fine, fine. I just have to believe you on this one. After all, this is too expensive a joke for the Duke to play on his business partner,” Baiyi muttered to himself, shaking his head helplessly. He returned to the room and said flatly, “Alright. Let us continue.”
The Southern Duke had seen this as a golden opportunity to venture into a lucrative business. As Baiyi was his friend, Duke Link decided to bring him in on it. When the ruling class heard that Hope, who they were really not fond of, would be listed as an arms supplier, they protested. One of the Emperor’s advisors spoke up, “Why don’t we use this chance to get that Hope to investigate the weird undead creatures in Ede?”
The Emperor was incensed by that suggestion, and he bellowed, “What happens if he actually solves the mystery? Are you seriously suggesting we let him suck dry the taxpayers’ money again? This time, he’ll be doing so under the guise of manufacturing weaponry for the military.”
“Your Majesty, you should consider the silver lining. We have to remember that our conflict with Hope is purely on ideological and interest basis; on other subjects, we share the same stance, right? Shouldn’t that allow us to work together on other cases?” replied the advisor. “If I’m not mistaken, your nephew enrolled in Da Xue this year. Hope has proven himself to be adept at manufacturing weaponry — a fact well-known to the public. Enlisting him as one of our arms suppliers will cause the military’s combat prowess to increase to a new level. Besides, we have Duke Link on our side; he will help keep Hope in check.
“To be honest, Your Highness, it will be wise for us to spend our money on improving our military, rather than on providing those nobles enough finance to expand their influence. Everyone on the list of suppliers are people you distrust to a certain degree. Why don’t we lure a wolf into the group, thereby disrupting their cohesion? Only then can we sit back and watch them struggle to control each other. At that time, Your Majesty, you will have fewer problems on your plate,” the advisor finished. The Emperor could not help nodding in agreement, albeit with gritted teeth.
The advisor was right. The Empire could either spend its money on Hope or the nobles, who were rapidly expanding their influence. Would the Empire not be better off letting Hope into the mix, just so that the nobles can clash with him? That way, the Emperor will have less to worry about.
After that discussion, the General’s personal secretary was tasked dispatched to approach Hope with the offer. There was only one reason why Duke Link knew about this matter: that advisor was Duke Link’s distant nephew. It was Duke Link who had coached the advisor to raise these points with the Emperor.
When Duke Link finished his explanation, Baiyi smiled a little. “Haha. I have to admit, you’re pretty good at this.”
“The best part about this is, it’s good for you, me, and His Majesty. Win, win, win! The art of the deal!” The Southern Duke grinned.
“Why must you bring me into this, though?” Baiyi asked.
“Because you’re my most trusted partner!” The Southern Duke replied honestly; Baiyi almost bought it.
It was better for one to never trust an old fox in matters regarding politics. There was bound to be more required of the person than just raking in a profit for the old geezer.
At this point, there was nothing much to add, and Baiyi had no more questions. He sat quietly, thinking hard. The offer was tempting but problematic, so he could not rush to agree.
Surprisingly, it was the Lich Walker who encouraged him. “I think we can try.
“You know that I am not interested in money, but those undead creatures, however, are not things I think you should pass up on. If they were created by nature, we should try controlling them; this way, you would have a new army under your control — one that isn’t afraid to die and will forever be loyal to you. Now, I know you have a, eh, personal bias against undead creatures, and those who work with them, but I still think we should know exactly why and how these strange undead are created. This would allow me to understand more about souls, in general. It could also provide us with information that would be useful in setting us free,” the Lich Walker explained.
It was right. At this point in time, the Voidwalkers could descend into armor sets that simulated the five senses, but that the did not change the fact that a large part of their consciousness was still stuck in the Void. The road to freedom was a long one, with many difficulties along the way.
As someone on the side of righteousness, one of the reasons why Baiyi had allowed the Lich Walker — whose crimes, while alive, were immoral and cruel — to remain at his side was because it had submitted completely to Baiyi. It had only requested a few things of Baiyi before its surrender. Furthermore, Baiyi required the services of an expert on souls and spirits; this would aid his quest to free the Voidwalkers. There was no one more knowledgeable in the aspect of souls and spirits than the Demigod Lich Walker.
From everything that had happened thus far, it was obvious that Baiyi had made the right choice. The Lich Walker had already contributed a lot towards the Pseudo-Descent spell used by the Voidwalkers, affording them the opportunity to teach at Da Xue.
Moreover, the Empire had not asked Baiyi to destroy the realm. The Emperor’s directive was clear: investigate the realm. This meant that Baiyi could flee the instant something went wrong.
Hence, in the end, Baiyi nodded in agreement.
Seeing Baiyi agree made Duke Link grin broadly. “With you as our guy, the problem is as good as solved! I will gladly await your good news, my friend. First, though, let us begin making the preparations necessary!”
Duke Link had always had great faith in Baiyi’s abilities. Seeing Baiyi nod was as good as getting the green light to begin preparing to invent weaponry for the army.
“Hold your horses, Duke. We do not know anything yet,” Baiyi said, matter-of-factly. Although the Empire had only asked him to investigate the cause behind the strange undead in Ede, Baiyi knew that the mission would not be an easy one.
“If Lord Principal can’t solve it, nobody can,” the secretary said.
It may seem like flattery, but this was the truth. There was no one in the Empire more powerful than Baiyi; hence, for mysterious events with undetermined levels of threat, the Empire would naturally have to seek Baiyi’s help.
“Fine. Give me more details about this mission: the location of that village, the origin of the videos, and all the information you have on Godsfall cult. Basically, give me all the information you have acquired at this point,” Baiyi said.
“Not to worry. I’ve prepared everything for you already,” the secretary said, handing Baiyi a thick folder. “I have gathered every detail that is relevant to this case; they are all in the file.”
Baiyi opened the folder and gave it a quick read. On the reports and files were red little marks made by the secretary, which was supposed to draw his attention.
Baiyi closed the folder, having decided to read it thoroughly when he returned to Da Xue. Then, as a thought occurred to him, Baiyi looked at the secretary and said, “You said that you’re a graduate of one of the advanced classes?”
“Yep. The sixty-second advanced class, Lord Principal. Under the tutelage of Sir Charlatan,” the secretary replied respectfully.
Advanced classes were classes that Baiyi had invented to bring in more money for Da Xue. There were essentially workshops for the employed, who were not really interested in being full-time students.
These classes centered around things like ‘reaching one’s potential’ or techniques and experiences in different fields. It also involved other miscellaneous content which are subject to change. Other than useful classes like Practical Magic, Da Xue had even set up some weird Advanced Classes; for example, the Bard Walker’s ‘Babes in your neighborhood would chase you… after you learn these SHOCKING Techniques’ Advanced Class. [2]
These Advanced Classes did not have a fixed schedule; some lasted a month, while some lasted only a week. The topics of these classes were diverse, as seen from the strange example above. The venues for these classes were also not fixed.
These classes were only set up to make a quick buck, but surprisingly, they were warmly received by the public. People flooded these classes and learned useful skills, which helped them attain solid reputations.
For some reason, however, when Baiyi found out that this young secretary had been a student of the Charlatan Walker, he felt uneasy.
