“…I have my reasons for doing this.”

Most of the young man's face was hidden in the shadow of the light, so his specific expression could not be seen. One could only hear that his voice was particularly suppressed and low.

Ke Jin stared at him silently, his heart still calm - on the one hand, it was because the fear he felt when the other party glared at him yesterday evening was too strong, making it difficult for him to accept the contrast of "surrendering and complaining" all at once; on the other hand, no matter what difficulties the other party had, it should not be an excuse to hurt and occupy other people's things. At least in his heart, it was difficult for him to forgive immediately.

The man took a deep breath and continued: "Actually, I..."

His voice came to an abrupt halt, and the lightning on his body suddenly became violent and intense. The Thunder Chain seemed to be out of control, shaking rapidly on the man's body. He was already finding it difficult to support himself, and under the sudden outburst of the Thunder Chain, he finally fell heavily to the ground. His breathing became extremely rapid and difficult, and his expression was painful and desperate, as if he would suffocate to death in the next second.

Such a sudden change caught Ke Jin off guard. He instinctively took a step forward and asked anxiously, "Hey! What are you doing..."

Before he finished speaking, Ke Jin saw the "dying" man suddenly raised his head, and a cold smile flashed in his beast-like golden eyes.

not good!

But the opponent's movements were much faster than Ke Jin's reactions. The lightning that had just been running wildly was suddenly suppressed for a moment by some force. Taking advantage of this brief gap, the silver-haired young man suddenly broke free from the restraints with one hand, grabbed Ke Jin who was only a few steps away from him, and successfully pressed down Ke Jin's neck. Judging from the strength with which the opponent clamped him, Ke Jin believed without a doubt that if he really tightened his hands, his neck would be strangled the next moment.

But the worst result did not happen. Just as the silver-haired young man held down Ke Jin, a faint purple light suddenly flashed across the place where their bodies touched. The man who had originally had the upper hand seemed to be burned by something, groaned, and instantly retracted his hand. The electric light chain that he had temporarily suppressed also quickly rose up, tightly wrapped around him again, and dragged him back with force.

Ke Jin lost his balance, staggered, took a few steps back, and almost fell to the ground.

That was a close call... That was a close call! I almost thought I was going to die!

At this time, Oloy happened to return to the ground from the card pool. Although he did not witness the silver-haired young man attacking Ke Jin, he could guess what happened from the two's movements and the tense atmosphere.

"How are you?" Ou Luoyi walked quickly to Ke Jin and looked him up and down. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"It's okay, I just got a fright." Ke Jin panted and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with lingering fear.

He now understood that there was no such thing as "regret" or "hardship". This guy was just playing miserable on purpose to make him relax his vigilance! Fortunately, the other party suddenly let go for some reason, otherwise he might have become his hostage to threaten Ounuo.

Oloy's eyes fell on the skin exposed at Ke Jin's collar. The bright red fingerprints on it were extremely dazzling, and it was already turning blue and purple. One could imagine how dangerous it was just now. If he hadn't secretly slapped a protective card on Ke Jin beforehand, who knows what the situation would be like now.

A surge of anger suddenly rose in his heart. Oloy walked up to the silver-haired young man and kicked him hard in the face.

"Ouno!"

Ke Jin was startled. By the time he pulled the boy back, the silver-haired young man had been kicked several times. Half of his handsome face was swollen, and a trickle of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. However, he was neither ashamed nor angry. He just stared at Ou Nuo with a mocking and indifferent look, as if he was looking at a clown.

"Who do you think you are? How dare you stare at me like that?!" Ou Nuo said angrily.

"That's enough, stop hitting me!" Although Ke Jin hated that man, Ou Nuo's sudden rage made him even more uneasy. Instead of "lynching" for the sake of venting, Ke Jin would rather hand the man over to the police station.

"He's asking for a fight! He deserves it!" Ou Luoyi struggled for a few times, but finally couldn't get rid of Ke Jin, and stopped panting, "Humph, I know what you're thinking. You want to wait until dawn to hand him over to the police, right? It's useless. That trick won't work on this guy at all. He's not a human being at all!"

Ke Jin was stunned for a moment and didn't understand what the boy meant.

Oloy turned his head and looked at the silver-haired young man who was obviously unable to remain calm anymore, and sneered.

"You can fool others, but you can't fool me." Oloy said word by word, "You are not a human at all, but a Kaling, right?"

……What?

Ke Jin almost thought he had heard it wrong.

Not human?

But...Ka,Ka Ling?

Ke Jin looked at the silver-haired young man in surprise. Although the other party didn't say a word, his expression said it all.

Oh my god, it’s actually true… What kind of magical development is this? !

***

Although he had never seen it, Ke Jin still knew something about Ka Ling.

From the information provided by the system and other people's oral descriptions, Ke Jin knew that "card spirits" were a very strange life form that was bred from the card pool. It was said that they had different appearances and were born with supernatural attributes, but these attributes were generally related to the attributes of the card pool that bred them. The two complemented each other. Usually, the existence of card spirits was extremely beneficial to the growth of the card pool, and the more prosperous the card pool, the stronger the card spirits would be.

However, no matter what kind of narrative or record, there has never been any information that "Ka Ling can transform into a human form."

Moreover, I have never heard of a card spirit that is so poor that it has to go to other card pools to "steal" - how poor must the original card pool be for the card spirit to come out and beg for a living? ?

"Where are you from?" Ke Jin looked at him curiously, but he felt that he was exactly the same as an ordinary human being. It was hard to believe that he was not human. "Where is your native card pool? Is it in Qixing City?"

The silver-haired young man snorted coldly, turned his head away and ignored Ke Jin.

"You are still pretending to be noble when you are about to die. Do you really think we can't do anything to you?" Ou Nuo was obviously still upset about his attack on Ke Jin. His tone was extremely bad. At the same time, he raised his left hand and said, "Let me ask you, what is this thing?"

Ke Jin then discovered that a small transparent ball of light appeared in Ounuo's left hand. At first glance, it looked like a crystal ball. Inside the ball was a round, soft thing that looked like a light pink jelly ball. It was trembling at the moment, and the two small black eyes above the ball kept blinking anxiously.

Ke Jin was embarrassed: He remembered that Ou Nuo just said that he would go down and find out the other party's accomplice. Could it be... this? This jelly ball? ?

Ke Jin glanced at the young man and found that he had lost his indifference and calmness. His face was now full of tension. He subconsciously began to struggle desperately, as if trying to break free from the chains and rush over to grab the dumpling back.

"What on earth is this?" Oroi asked again leisurely.

The young man did not answer, but the look he gave Ounuo was filled with hatred, even cold murderous intent - but this trick had no effect on Oloy, as he was not really a nine-year-old child and would not be afraid of intimidating gazes.

"Isn't this dumpling a Kaling?" Ke Jin asked Ounuo in a low voice. Compared to the silver-haired young man, the little thing in Ounuo's hand was more like people's usual description of the Kaling's form.

"No." Oloy shook his head affirmatively, "Although it looks similar, it's not. This is the first time I've seen such a strange thing." With his experience and knowledge as the Fourth Prince, there are very few things he doesn't recognize. When he encounters such a strange thing of unknown origin, he naturally doesn't want to let it go easily. He wants to find out its specific situation at all costs.

After asking several more times and seeing that the other party was still gritting his teeth and refusing to speak, Oloy finally lost his patience. He closed his five fingers slightly, and the blue chain bound around the young man began to slowly wriggle. Countless tiny spikes extended from it and pierced deeply into the other party's body.

“Hmm…!”

The man groaned. Although he tried his best to endure it, he still let out a painful whimper. Large drops of sweat slid down his forehead and bright red blood flowed from the corners of his mouth again.

The ball of light in Orloy's hand suddenly shook, and the "jelly ball" inside was obviously very uneasy. It once again made the same plaintive cry as before, and the sad and mournful sound seemed particularly miserable and creepy in the dark night.

"Stop making so much noise!" Oloy shouted impatiently at the light ball, "You're just a thief, and the main culprit. Why are you pretending to be pitiful? Shut up!"

Perhaps frightened by the boy's "cruelness", the "Jelly Ball" fell silent instantly, but its body trembled uncontrollably and made tiny "chirp, chirp, chirp" sounds, as if it was pleading pitifully.

It’s quite cute…Ke Jin had this thought at an inopportune time.

The "cruel and ruthless devil" Oloy was completely unmoved and continued to look down on the young man crawling on the ground: "Are you going to tell it or not? This is your last chance. If you don't tell it..." He suddenly clenched his fist and glanced coldly at the ball of light in his hand.

"…I'll crush it to death. I mean what I say."

The "Jelly Dumpling" didn't even dare to tremble for a moment, as if it was frightened; Ke Jin looked at Ou Nuo with admiration - this kid has great acting skills... He almost believed it!

Perhaps Oloy's words finally broke the young man's last psychological defense. He bit his lip and finally gave in.

"I beg you to let it go," he said. "As long as you let it go, I will agree to any conditions."

"I'm asking you what it is. Don't beat around the bush." ​​Oroi said expressionlessly.

"I can't answer this question for you." As if he had completely given up resistance, the silver-haired young man said calmly, "In fact, I don't know what it is, but it has always been with me since I can remember. It is really important to me."

Oloy nodded thoughtfully, then waved his hand and threw a silver-gray card to the young man. The card fell to the ground and turned into a gray talisman paper exuding an ancient atmosphere, with a feather pen next to it.

“Sign this.” The boy raised his lips and revealed a cold smile, “Become the card spirit of this card pool, and I will let you go.”

Perhaps sensing Ke Jin's shocked look, Oloy slowly explained to him, "This kind of card spirit that can take on human form is rare. You may not encounter one in a galaxy. Moreover, it seems that he has no master yet. Now that you have met him, you certainly can't let him go easily... Don't worry, after signing the contract, he will completely obey you as a card user. You don't have to worry about him doing anything bad to this card pool again."

Ke Jin frowned and looked at the young man on the ground again.

The other party was obviously also very conflicted, staring at the contract paper, his face full of struggle and resistance. The "jelly ball" in the light ball once again squirmed restlessly, it leaned against the wall of the light ball, whimpering "chi, chirp" sounds from its mouth, and there seemed to be a little water in its two bright black eyes.

"Are you going to sign it or not?" Oloy asked coldly.

The silver-haired young man looked at the "jelly ball" in the light ball, then looked at the contract talisman in front of him. After a long time, he finally sighed.

The lightning chain loosened a corner at the right time, and the young man pulled out a hand. Just as he was about to take the feather pen next to the talisman paper, suddenly a hand got there first and took the pen away.

Oloy and the silver-haired young man watched in shock as Ke Jin took the pen, then picked up the talisman paper and slowly rolled it up.

"I don't want him to become the card spirit in my card pool." Ke Jin walked up to Ou Nuo and handed the rolled talisman paper to the boy.

Oloy didn't even reach out to take it, but stared at Ke Jin as if he was an idiot.

“Do you know what you are doing?” Oloy said in disbelief, “Don’t say you are soft-hearted… This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Do you know how much help a high-level card spirit can bring to the card pool? If you miss this opportunity, you will definitely regret it later!!”

Ke Jin shook his head, leaned over, took Ou Nuo's hand, and stuffed the roll of talisman paper into the boy's hand.

"I know you're doing this for my own good, but I'm not as kind as you think. I just think that my card pool isn't that bad to the point of forcing a thief to be my card spirit. What do you think?"

The silver-haired young man looked at Ke Jin with a flickering gaze, while Ou Luoyi stared at him without blinking, as if he had just met Ke Jin for the first time. Ke Jin was very calm, just looking at Ou Nuo quietly with a peaceful expression.

"You're right." After a long time, the boy finally nodded and raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

"A thief who is not even worthy of being on the stage wants to come to my first draw card pool? Humph, he is not worthy at all."

Although Oloy knew in his heart that Ke Jin's refusal was probably out of a desire to force the other party, he appreciated Ke Jin's verbal reasons, so he did not force it anymore. He directly took the talisman paper and shook it lightly in his hand, turning it back into a silver-gray card.

"Did you hear me? Don't think you are so great. We still despise you!" Oloy glared at the young man on the ground, then snapped his fingers. The thunder chains that bound the other party slowly disappeared, and the quicksand ground that restricted the other party's movements also slowly returned to its original state.

"Go away." Olloy waved his hand with a look of disgust, and said unhappily, "Don't let us see you again, or you'll be in trouble next time!"

The silver-haired young man did not move, but looked at Ke Jin and Ouloi vigilantly. Until he realized that they really seemed to have no intention of taking action again, he slowly supported himself on the ground and stood up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Seeing that the other party was staring at his left hand, Oloy sneered.

"What are you looking at? Do you think that we can just teach you a lesson and that's the end of the matter? I just said that if you sign the contract, I will let it go, but now we don't think highly of you, so you can go away now. This thing has to stay."

The silver-haired young man suddenly opened his eyes wide: "You...!"

"What? You don't accept it?" The boy raised his eyebrows. "I didn't bully you. You tampered with our card pool, so we used your stuff to make up for the loss. It's just an equal exchange. We don't owe each other anything. It's fair."

“Can you call this an equal exchange?!” The silver-haired young man seemed to have reached the limit of his patience, his golden eyes gleaming red. “Your card pool just didn’t produce an SSR card for a month, and it returned to its original state after a month. Why should the price I pay be for it to be detained here forever?!”

"Oh." Oloy said coldly, "Then wait a month and then talk about it. As for now, you want to take it back? Ha, no way."

"You should leave quickly." Seeing that the two sides were about to fight again, Ke Jin grabbed Ounuo and waved helplessly at the young man, "If my card pool is fine, we will let you take this thing away in a month, okay? You should leave first now."

The silver-haired young man looked at Ke Jin deeply. Although his face was still full of unwillingness, he finally turned around and quickly disappeared into the night.

Ke Jin looked at the other person's back as he left and shook his head gently: "I always feel...he might not give up so easily."

Oloy snorted coldly, "If he wants to die, he can try again... He dared to take advantage of my card pool. I'm being polite by letting him go without letting him shed his skin!"

...When did it become your card pool? It’s obviously mine, okay?

Ke Jin thought speechlessly, but when he looked at Ou Nuo, his eyes were still full of gratitude and smiles.

Ounuo really deserves credit for the fact that things were handled so smoothly tonight. Although the boy's methods were a bit extreme, Ke Jin felt that it was right to let the card spirit suffer a little - without the master's supervision and letting him learn a lesson, perhaps he would never think that his actions were wrong. If that happened, who knows how many card pools would suffer...

***

The next morning, Ke Jin opened the pool on time as usual.

Today is a weekday and there are not many customers. Ke Jin simply tidied up the yard and swept the ground near the card pool. Then he took a few card master textbooks, sat under the shade of the tree at the door and started reading.

These books were purchased according to the book list Bai Fan had given him. Ke Jin currently did not have the time and energy to study at a professional card artist academy, but he felt that it was necessary to learn some knowledge about card artists. Moreover, he would be recruiting soon, and if he did not know anything, it would be difficult to select suitable card artists.

Ke Jin was concentrating on studying, while Ou Nuo was sitting on the side, fiddling with the light ball containing the "jelly ball". The two were busy with their own things quietly and harmoniously, when suddenly footsteps were heard at the gate of the yard. Ke Jin looked up and was immediately embarrassed.

Isn't this handsome silver-haired guy who walked in the door the Ka Ling who was just driven away last night? Why is he here again?