The Card Apprentice

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Qiu Shanyu soon regained consciousness. The first thing she did when she opened her eyes was stare at Chen Mu's wrist. The flower on his wrist glowed with a deep, verdant green.

"Do you have a tracker on you?" Chen Mu asked coldly.

"Oh." She raised her pretty face and took the silver necklace off her neck. "This is it."

Chen Mu took the necklace suspiciously. He was wary of Qiu Shanyu's cooperation. It looked like an ordinary necklace, and the pendant was a small silver medal with many patterns engraved on it.

When he opened the medal, there was actually a miniature card lying within. After carefully observing it for a while, Chen Mu realized it was a card appliance that could emit a fixed frequency to inform one's companions of their position. With a gentle squeeze, the silver medal and the mini card were crushed between his fingers. With the signal source destroyed, there would be no way for their opponents to track Qiu Shanyu's location.

To be safe, Chen Mu ordered, "Throw away all your trinkets."

"Okay." She obediently took off all the accessories and saw Chen Mu staring at her. She raised her eyebrows. "Do you want to check?"

Chen Mu was stupefied. After a while, he asked, "Do you recognize this thing on my wrist?"

"It's called the Green Mark," Qiu Shanyu said as calmly as she could, but Chen Mu could still hear the emotion in her voice.

"The Green Mark?"

"I don't know much about it. The Green Mark is a strange plant from the House of a Hundred Depths. It grows in the deepest depths and can settle in any living body. This creature is extremely rare. Even in the House of a Hundred Depths, it is a priceless treasure."

The phrase "priceless treasure" surprised Chen Mu. There was actually a priceless treasure living in his body! What was more sticking out to him was that the priceless treasure could take his life at any time.

Qiu Shanyu didn't even look at Chen Mu as she continued. "In the House of a Hundred Depths, the Green Mark is what everyone dreams of. It's as fine as a thread but tough as diamond. It is a powerful weapon for a flexster. In addition to that, it's a suitable card material. Of course, the cards from the House of a Hundred Depths are quite different from the cards from the Heavenly Federation. But those are not its most important functions."

"What is it, then?"

"Its most important function is its excellent perception conductivity. It can live in the human body, absorb the host's perception, and grow. It will be distributed in every part of the human body like the finest capillaries. Its excellent conductivity makes it a fine pipeline structure, thus greatly enhancing the host's perceptual control. But there is a condition; it must be activated. If left dormant, it will absorb the host's perception and energy. After a period of time, it may lose control and can cause excruciating pain to its host," Qiu Shanyu calmly explained.

"Enhance perceptual control?" Chen Mu found that statement rather ridiculous. Could that mean the demonic woman had meant well when she had implanted the green thread in his body? But the pain Qiu Shanyu mentioned was quite accurate.

"There is another application of the cards made of the Green Mark, and that is controlling the host. An unactivated Green Mark will only be controlled by the planter. After activation, the planter will lose control, and the host will be able to control it," she said with a straight face.

That time, Chen Mu believed it. It was reasonable for the demonic woman to implant the green thread in his body to control him, but he still had some unanswered questions. "How do you know all this?"

Qiu Shanyu went silent for a while. "We, Faya, had dealings with the House of a Hundred Depths a long time ago."

Chen Mu was shocked. Faya had had dealings with the House of a Hundred Depths? The relationship between the Heavenly Federation and the House of a Hundred Depths had always been unfriendly. The wars between them had lasted for a long time in history, and the casualties had been devastating. Although the war had ended, there had been no large-scale commercial dealings between the two, except for occasional sporadic exchanges. Moreover, the right to communicate with the House of a Hundred Depths was firmly held in the hands of the Big Six.

Faya had actually had a cooperative relationship with the House of a Hundred Depths since long ago? That surprised Chen Mu.

He couldn't help but speculate about the relationship between the two. Has the House of a Hundred Depths been backing the Faya Foundation secretly all along? No wonder! He had always been curious. Faya's fierce momentum had always felt weird to him. It seemed as if Faya wanted to face off with the Big Six and the entire Heavenly Federation by itself! It would all make sense if Faya was backed by the House of a Hundred Depths.

However, how could Faya bypass the Big Six to communicate with the House of a Hundred Depths?

As if reading Chen Mu's thoughts, Qiu Shanyu explained, "The history of our connection with the House of a Hundred Depths can be traced back to before the Heavenly Federation's discovery of the path to the House of a Hundred Depths."

That was certainly a shocking secret to Chen Mu! Faya was really unfathomable! But why had she given him all of that information? Chen Mu looked at Qiu Shanyu doubtfully. It seemed that after seeing the Green Mark on his wrist, she had changed her attitude toward him completely. Why was that?

"How do you activate a Green Mark?" Chen Mu asked testingly.

Qiu Shanyu smiled. "You thought I would know? You probably don't understand how precious the Green Mark is! In the House of a Hundred Depths, only one clan knows how to use the Green Mark and how to make it into cards. Furthermore, only the royalty of the clan can use it! In fact, I would like to know who implanted this in your body." She stared at Chen Mu.

Royalty? The demonic woman was hideous; her face was like something from a nightmare. Her visage floated into his mind. Can the demonic woman actually be royalty of a clan in the House of a Hundred Depths? Things seemed to be getting increasingly complicated. Although he was getting more and more information, it didn't seem to be helpful at all.

Even if what Qiu Shanyu had said were true, it only proved the dangers of the Green Mark and didn't improve his current situation. If it were false, it made no sense. However, Chen Mu still felt that Qiu Shanyu may not have been lying.

"I want to see them!" she exclaimed suddenly.

Chen Mu was stunned for a moment. "Them? Who?"

Qiu Shanyu said faintly, "The people who implanted the Green Mark in you."

Shaking his head, Chen Mu said, "I can't find them, either." He then added with a cold voice, "You probably haven't figured out your own situation. In terms of hatred, I have no reason to let you live, let alone meet them."

"So, even you can't find them?" Qiu Shanyu seemed to be stunned. She then laughed loudly and wantonly, as if she had just heard the most interesting thing.

Chen Mu frowned slightly. "This has nothing to do with you. You have no need to care."

Qiu Shanyu suddenly stopped laughing and looked at Chen Mu seriously. "I can help you find them."

"You can help me find them?" Chen Mu's eyes focused suddenly.

"Yes. I have methods." She didn't seem to be joking one bit.

Chen Mu was silent, still digesting the information.

"You can think of this as my means of survival. I am in your hands, after all. You can do anything to me at any time. As for our feud, personally, I don't really think there is any hatred between us. The thing that happened with Yang An—we just happened to be on two opposing sides of a war. Didn't you also kill many?" Qiu Shanyu continued, "Of course, this is personal. I don't want to force anything, but I think temporarily putting that down for a while shouldn't be unacceptable."

Suddenly, things had completely changed, spiralling away from his expectations.

"Why do you want to see them?" Chen Mu asked.

"This is my personal business. I don't think there is any need to explain it. You can understand this as a deal. I will help you find him, and you will let me live until I see them." Calmly, she asked, "What do you think?"

Chen Mu was quiet for a while. He then said, "Deal. But if you make any suspicious moves, I will kill you on the spot."

Qiu Shanyu readily agreed. "Okay. Deal!"

The two fell silent. Wei-ah hadn't said a word from the beginning to the end of that conversation. He had been thinking about something the whole time.

Chen Mu noticed something strange with Wei-ah and couldn't stop himself from worrying. "Wei-ah, what happened?"

"I remembered something." Wei-ah stared at his own hands.

"What is it?" Chen Mu paid close attention; Wei-ah's origin was mysterious. He couldn't remember what had happened in the past.

"War," Wei-ah responded with exceptional concision.

Glancing at Qiu Shanyu beside him, Chen Mu asked no further questions. She had been watching Wei-ah curiously, obviously rather interested in him.

"Your companion is very strong. I have never seen anyone who could push Uncle to that point," she praised.

"Uncle?" Chen Mu immediately realized she was talking about the man wearing the bronze mask.

"Well, Uncle is one of the most powerful card artisans in the Heavenly Federation." Qiu Shanyu's voice was laced with exceptional conviction.

Chen Mu wasn't in a position to judge. "Maybe," he simply replied.

They both reached an agreement and a cooperative relationship for the time being. Although that choice had been made rationally, Chen Mu felt strange and uncomfortable emotionally. A woman who wanted to kill him was now by his side, chatting with him like nothing had happened. How could he not feel uncomfortable?

He didn't know whether what Qiu Shanyu had said was true, but he didn't have many choices. Even if the chance was slim, he would struggle for it. Perhaps she had only proposed the deal because she had noticed that. She must have been no stranger to the Green Mark's danger since she knew so much about it.

I am still afraid of death. I chose the latter between revenge for Yang An and my own survival. Chen Mu's feelings were complicated. He knew that even if Xi Ping knew his decision, he would understand it, but Chen Mu still felt somewhat uncomfortable.

He smiled bitterly but maintained his conviction. Revenge was important, but the people who were alive were more important! Moreover, they still had the initiative. Thinking back, he had been so weak and powerless when he had given his struggles just because the chance had been too slim.

Having faced tribulations time and again, Chen Mu had steadily matured, and his mentality had also changed.

His gaze was firm, though there were hints of bitterness and self-mockery. However, there was still one other question. How should he deal with Qiu Shanyu?