Chapter 64 The Ball Opens: Master and Apprentice

Bright sunlight shines through the window onto the table, making the wooden surface shiny and lustrous. The scrolls on top are neatly placed together, warmed by the sun.

In the Forgotten Land, the daytime sunlight is always hazy and sparse, as if covered by a dark veil. Conversely, the stars at night shine brightly, reflecting a brilliance unique to the night together with the bright moonlight. Within the confines of the Dark Temple, one can even witness a tranquil scene of shrouded in stardust and the galaxy flowing.

Even without fire and light, the moonlight in the Lost Land is enough to guide the way.

And in Oletis...

Chen Shuang recalled a recent observation: "The nights in the Kingdom of Thorns are always dark and gloomy."

There was no moon, no stars were visible, and the dark night pounced on humans with its fangs and claws, bringing the deepest terror.

The residents here rarely go out at night, because according to legend, people who go into the darkness late at night will never come back intact, and there will always be something extra or missing from their bodies.

Although the truth of the rumor remains to be discussed, it is not difficult to find the difference just by observing the natural phenomena of the two.

"Sounds like some kind of flaw caused by a disrupted balance of power."

If this continues, the final result will only be polar day and polar night. It may not make any difference to this continent, but for the countless creatures living in it, this is undoubtedly a one-way street to death.

She withdrew her gaze from the scenery outside the window: "It's almost time."

Today is the opening time of the ball indicated in the invitation.

Chen Shuang changed into a dark blue long dress, put on a dazzling red gem necklace around her neck, and put on a windproof cloak on the outside.

"That's about it."

This time she didn't just go there for a visit, so she simply wore trousers under her long skirt to facilitate movement, and if necessary, she could try out the new physical skills she had learned.

The floor tiles can be cracked with one kick.

Chen Shuang sighed: "So trying more is still useful."

The huge amount of magic power fed back into the body caused some unreasonable phenomena, such as poor magic talent but increasingly hardcore physical fitness.

By the way, does the profession of magic warrior need to be trained from a young age?

Shaking off her scattered thoughts, Chen Shuang packed her things and went downstairs.

The first floor was the store area, and as soon as she went down, she heard enthusiastic sales voices.

"This is super delicious. I never lie to anyone," the old man with white beard swore, "If I lie, the Church of Light will go bankrupt!"

Chen Shuang: The Church of Light is blessed to have you.

But at least try to cover it up. It's hard for her to pretend not to hear.

“Hello, boss!”

The old man with a white beard in a festive pink suit waved at her. He looked very energetic and seemed to love his job of selling bread very much.

The white-bearded wizard took a breath of the mellow air, and his whole body felt like floating in the clouds, feeling very happy.

Although I didn't get the taster position I wanted, but when working, you can get promoted step by step.

Working my way up from the grassroots level, it was as if I was back in my youth, punching the council chambers and stepping on the Presbyterian Church.

The old man was full of energy: "I want to sell 100 loaves of bread today!"

"Good morning," Chen Shuang came down from upstairs and looked at the diligent employees in the store. She said, "I have to go out for a while. If you encounter something that cannot be solved, don't force an argument. Keep the evidence and wait for me to come back to deal with it."

She said: "Remember to protect yourself first in any situation."

The employees said in unison: "Okay!"

"That boss..."

A voice sounded from the side.

Chen Shuang looked at the white-bearded old man who was hesitant to speak: "What's wrong?"

He asked tentatively, "Are you going to the ball hosted by the Wilson family?"

The old man thought for a moment, feeling the direction was too obvious. "I heard they're holding a grand ball today, and they've invited many upstarts, but..."

He lowered his voice and said, "That family doesn't have a good reputation. Why don't you just not go?"

Boss = stable job = delicious food = never starve = strength to find the tower in the wilderness.

The old man with white beard looked at his employee uniform with reluctance.

Although he didn't know what the Wilson family was trying to do, based on his understanding of this group of nobles, they definitely didn't intend to do anything good.

The young boss will definitely suffer if he goes there.

The old man doesn't want to lose this delicious... job that helps him develop his social skills for the time being.

The white-bearded wizard adjusted his tie.

It's mainly because of the church mission, not because I'm greedy.

"We are new here, so we should meet the local nobles."

Chen Shuang said: "And I won't necessarily suffer any loss."

No, boss.

The old man with white beard shook his head wildly in his heart, feeling extremely sad.

How could a kind and young boss get away with such a group of heartless people? He will definitely suffer losses with this mentality.

He looked at the fragrant bread around him and made a decision secretly.

Nothing must happen to the owner of this shop.

The old man cleared his throat and said, "Do you know the way to the dance?"

Chen Shuang shook her head: "It's a bit strange."

The old man with white beard's eyes lit up and he began to promote himself: "I am very familiar with this place. Take me with you and I will show you the way."

Chen Shuang: “Hmm?”

This is a bit unexpected.

She remembered the bright aura that the invitation letter carried.

This was a ball that anyone with a discerning eye could find suspicious. Many forces were involved, intentionally or unintentionally. Now it seemed that the church and the nobility were not on a stable ties.

The wizard from the Church of Light actually tried to persuade her not to keep the appointment at first.

All sorts of things flashed through her mind. She raised her eyes to meet the expectant gaze of the white-bearded old man, and said calmly, "Okay."

She smiled and said, "Thank you for leading the way."

"Of course I should."

The old man with white beard asked: "Boss, shall we set off now?"

The nimble old man immediately jumped out with an expectant look in his eyes.

Today, with the righteous old man here, no one can hurt their boss.

The Whitebeard Mage clenched his fists: No one should think of destroying the hard-earned good work of this old man!

Chen Shuang nodded: "The time is just right, we can leave now."

The dark eyes reflected the white in front of them.

She wanted to see what kind of drama would happen between the people in the church and the nobles here.

*

The creature named "Nightmare" wanders in its own dimension, and its invisible sight tries its best to pursue the black figure.

It looked at its body with inferiority, then lowered its head in defeat.

If you are not good-looking, you will be hated and driven away.

Although it was very afraid of actually coming into contact with humans, the budding desire in its heart still made it follow the black-haired priest's steps.

It wants to be known to exist, it wants someone to look at it, it wants to crawl at the feet of darkness.

Too much desire caused its mind to fluctuate violently, and even gave it the urge to give it a try.

What if, what if I won’t be expelled, what if I won’t be hated.

Such a great existence will accept it.

The terrifying body thought positively.

By the way, according to human etiquette, it seems that one can only visit someone in person during the day.

It tidies up the messy body and brings out the best mental outlook.

Be brave.

It tells itself: The best time is always now.

After making countless psychological preparations, it finally convinced itself.

So find a good time to visit today.

Chen Shuang had no idea how long the socially anxious creature in another dimension had been struggling, or what determination it had made.

She is busy with another matter now.

Chen Shuang stopped and looked at the open gate of the manor before her, and said, "This is it."

A noble manor worth a fortune.

If the decoration style of the pub is love and haziness, then this manor is outright luxurious.

The complex and tall three-story building, the endless green lawn, and the huge golden portrait sculpture placed in the center, the entire manor is wrapped in an atmosphere called upper class.

A very exaggerated local tycoon architectural style.

"Make way, make way."

A hurried voice rang in my ears. The person who was speaking was rushing forward holding a large potted plant. His body staggered due to the imbalance of weight. He tried his best to stop, but unfortunately he was pushed by inertia and almost bumped into someone.

Chen Shuang avoided the young man's route and stood aside.

"I'm so sorry."

The boy put down the heavy flowerpot, wiped the sweat from his face, and bowed repeatedly to apologize: "I'm so sorry, are you okay?"

"fine……"

Before she could finish her words, another voice broke in. An old man with a white beard shouted, "Old man, I have something to say!"

The old man who was almost hit looked at the familiar figure in front of him, raised his leg and kicked him hard. The boy opposite who was still bending over to apologize seemed to have eyes on his back. He bent his body and dodged by muscle memory.

It wasn't until he dodged a familiar kick with an illogical movement that the boy realized something and suddenly looked up: "Master!"

"You just saw it." The old man snorted twice and finally asked, "Why are you here?"

The boy wiped his hands and said, "Working."

He chuckled twice and said, "The dance here is short of staff. They said if you come here to move flowers for a day, you can get a meal."

The young man counted on his fingers and said, "We can save a little bit on one meal and split it into two. They said that if a fight breaks out today, I'll go and help return the copper coins. It should be enough for me to find..."

He suddenly stopped.

I was so familiar with the old man that I even forgot the existence of other people during the conversation.

The young man glanced at Chen Shuang secretly, stuttered for a long time and finally said: "...support me to find you."

The young man, whose acting skills were quite poor, made up a clumsy excuse: "You disappeared without a word. It must be difficult for an elderly person to wander the streets. As your disciple, I am really worried about you."

Old man: “…”

Don’t believe rumors and don’t spread them.

He kicked again, but the apprentice dodged it smoothly. However, this time the old man had anticipated the situation and kicked the apprentice's butt firmly with his other foot.

“Ouch!”

"Don't talk nonsense."

The old man with a white beard looked at his boss and assured him, "I am in good health, have a normal memory, and am fully capable of doing the work in the bakery."

He said, "This child has not been very smart since he was young. He can only find hard labor to support himself."

juvenile:"......"

He fumed at his master's threatening gaze, lowering his head and nodding randomly.

If the Church of Light were full of people like this, I feel like they could all be wiped out.

Chen Shuang looked at the young man and asked, "You just said we were fighting here, right?"

"Yes."

The boy nodded and introduced his new job: "The owner here said that a tough guy might come later."

He imitated a gloomy tone and laughed strangely: "If you dare to touch my property, I will throw them into the Lost Land to feed the dark monsters."

The boy regained his innocence: "That's it."

Chen Shuang: There are so many things to complain about, I don’t know where to start.

Although she hadn't entered yet, she seemed to have already known the organizer's intention. Chen Shuang even felt very cordial when she heard that the other party wanted to send her back to her hometown.

In short, I would like to thank the people of the Kingdom for recognizing the Lost Lands.

"I think this matter may be related to me," Chen Shuang noticed the gazes cast at her from the hidden corners around her and said casually, "I intervened in a serious abduction and trafficking case before, and it seems that the people behind it also hate me."

The old man with white beard frowned: "What a vicious-hearted human being."

Is the Lost Land a place where ordinary people can enter and stay? Fortunately, the old man followed us this time.

Chen Shuang looked at the two people in front of her: "If you are afraid, you can leave first. It doesn't matter if I go in alone."

The old man with white beard said immediately: "Impossible, there is no such word as fear in my dictionary. I will go in with you."

He wanted to severely punish these abominable humans who had committed heinous crimes. They actually wanted to attack the great boss who provided him with food and lodging. How arrogant!

The white-bearded old man looked at his dazed apprentice with a sinister look, his eyes carrying an undisguised threat: "What about you?"

Apprentice: “Huh?”

The stunned young man muttered to himself, then after sorting things out, he collapsed, holding his head and saying, "I actually told you all my plans, you're not going to refuse to pay me, are you? Worst case scenario, they might even refuse to provide food!"

"I told you you're stupid and you don't admit it."

The old man patted his apprentice's head vigorously and said, "My boss is standing here, can't you see him?"

Seeing the old man's look, Chen Shuang said with a smile, "I'll pay for your meals this month."

The old man adjusted his bright tie, glanced at Chen Shuang's eyes, and leaned in to whisper to his silly apprentice: "If you perform well, you will have the opportunity to be promoted to a full-time employee. Food and accommodation will be provided, and wages will be calculated separately."

Chen Shuang added fuel to the fire: "I'll cover all the meals for next month and the month after next."

The boy's eyes suddenly lit up, and he scratched his head: "Just tell me who you want to hit."

To show his determination, he clenched his fist and waved it: "Even if it's my master, I will still beat him."

Old man: “…”

Chen Shuang: “…cough.”

There is no need to be so disrespectful to one's teacher and ancestors.

The old man with white beard kicked forward, but his apprentice dodged it nimbly, and he almost sprained his waist instead.

The boy covered his butt and yelled, "I was just giving an example. You can't hit me. I have to save my strength to fight for the boss!"

"Stop!"

The more fiercely the white-bearded old man shouted, the faster the boy ran, until his old bones were so tired that he could only gasp for breath, and the old man finally gave in.

"Okay, I won't chase you anymore. Come over here and give the old man a hand."

The boy ran over obediently: "Oh oh oh okay."

As soon as the innocent disciple came over, he was grabbed by a hand.

The old man laughed wildly: "I caught you, you little bastard!"

There was chaos in front of them for a while, and when the hidden sight began to stir, the master and disciple who were playing around looked at each other and stopped at the same time.

Chen Shuang also felt the unusual atmosphere.

"Let's go."

She looked towards the open door. "Someone can't wait any longer."

*

The cacophony of chattering mingled with the smooth flow of classical music, creating a particularly chaotic atmosphere. The restless atmosphere stirred by the unknown drumbeats washed over me, bringing a gloomy feeling of boredom.

As soon as he stepped in, a sharp arrow with a cold glow broke through the wind and headed straight for the head of the black-haired human.

The air flow surged behind him, and the young man sped up and stood in front of her, instantly catching the malicious arrow.

Caught the arrow with bare hands?

The air suddenly became silent.

"I said..."

Chen Shuang smiled: "So can the dance continue?"