13 Mink Street

Karon picked up the two shovels from the ground, returning them to the hearse. He then sat down in the driver’s seat and pulled the rearview mirror lower so that it faced him. “Proper?”

He wiped the mirror with a finger, then looked at himself in it again. “Does this count as proper too?”

Karon looked out the window. He had to admit that a cemetery at night really was a place that could calm the heart, because everyone lying in it had already found peace.

He sat there a while longer, checked the time, then started the hearse and drove toward the cemetery gate. When he reached the entrance, he saw the old groundskeeper sitting there cooking macaroni over a little stove.

“Not sleeping anymore?” Karon greeted him.

The old man shot him an irritated glare. “If I sleep, who’s going to close the gate?”

“It’s almost dawn.” Cemeteries opened in the daytime and closed at night.

“Heh, the dead are more punctual than the living.”

“You’re really responsible.”

“If you come back in the middle of the night a few more times like this, I’ll probably be lying in there soon too. Do you know how hard it is for an old man to get one good night’s sleep?”

“I’m very sorry. There won’t be a next time.”

“No, next time you’ll pay more!”

“Alright.”

The old man smiled, stirring the macaroni in the pot with a spoon as he asked in a perfunctory, casual tone, “What a pity you’re in such a rush to head back, otherwise I’d invite you to breakfast. Or no, I guess this still counts as a late-night meal now.”

Karon opened the car door, got out, and walked over to the little stove. “I’m really hungry.”

“...” The old man.

When the first pot of macaroni was done, the old man took half, and Karon took half.

“Tomato sauce, here.”

“Do you have chili sauce?”

“Only tomato sauce. Everything else is heresy.”

“Alright.”

Each of them took a plate and a fork and started eating. Very soon, both plates were empty. The old man smiled and asked, “Full now?”

Karon shook his head. “No.”

The old man went back inside, brought out another packet, and poured it into the pot. As he did, he said, “I can tell what you’re trying to do. You’re planning to eat back the fee you just paid for me to open the gate.”

“Do you have a fridge in there?”

“I do.”

“Then another day I’ll have someone bring over some meatballs and sliced meat, so we can keep them ready for hotpot next time.”

“You’ll have someone bring them?” The old man stroked his chin. “Aren’t you one of Pavaro’s hired hands?”

Karon shook his head. “Not exactly.”

“You’re his son-in-law?”

“Uh...”

The old man slapped his thigh and laughed. “Pavaro’s son-in-law! Tsk tsk, you really do look quite proper.”

With a helpless look, Karon took the spoon and stirred the noodles in the pot.

“What’s your name?”

“Karon. And you?”

“They all call me Saman the Flutist.”

“Oh, the noodles are done.”

“Don’t you want to ask why they call me ‘Flutist’?”

“No, because I don’t feel like listening to a performance right now.”

“That’s your loss; a loss for your ears and your heart, I guarantee it!”

“Yes, I believe you.” Karon began ladling out the noodles.

“Leave some for me. Are you trying to eat it all? Damn it!”

After splitting the two pots of macaroni between them, a deep sense of satisfaction immediately set in. “I want to make a call to the funeral home.”

“Go ahead. Bring my flute out while you’re at it.”

Karon stood up and walked into the caretaker’s hut. He picked up the phone first and dialed the funeral home. “Hello, Young Master?”

“It’s me.”

“Young Master, where are you right now?”

“Ivy Cemetery.”

“Young Master, I’ll come pick you up right away. I’ll bring Dinkom and have him drive the hearse back, while I take you straight home.”

“Alright.” Karon thought Alfred’s arrangement sounded excellent. After hanging up, he glanced around the room, found a flute on a desk, picked it up, walked out to the steps, and handed it to Saman.

Old Saman took the flute and raised it to his lips, but then lowered it again and said to Karon, “Young man, I think you should learn to show more respect to your elders.”

“For example?”

“For example, when your elder wants to play the flute, you should first say you’re looking forward to it.”

“But I really don’t want to hear it.”

“Hey! Don’t you think that’s boring?”

“No. I just want to sit here for a while.”

“You may not be bored, but they will be.”

“Who?”

“Aren’t there plenty of people here? They’re all gathering, waiting to hear me play. It’s everyone’s morning lesson here, our local custom. No one is ever late!”

As he spoke, Old Saman watched Karon, only to find that the young man betrayed no sign of being frightened. The old man frowned and said a little irritably, “I forgot you work in this line of business. Of course you wouldn’t be scared by ghost stories.”

At that moment, Karon’s gaze suddenly deepened, and in an unusually calm tone, he said, “Shh! Listen, they’re talking.”

For some reason, Old Saman shuddered violently. Karon smiled.

Old Saman realized he’d just been toyed with. He immediately leapt to his feet in anger, raising the recorder to smack Karon, but the young man smoothly climbed into the hearse and shut the door.

“Get down here!”

Karon shook his head.

“Get down here!”

Karon smiled, took half a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and tossed it directly to Old Saman. The old man caught the pack and grumbled a few more complaints at Karon, but felt too embarrassed to keep making a fuss. He sat back down on the steps and smoked in sullen silence by himself. Even as he smoked, he kept wondering how he had let himself get scared just now.

Meanwhile, Karon sat in the hearse with his eyes closed, resting. He had no idea how long he stayed there before he heard a car approaching. When he opened his eyes, Alfred had already arrived. Karon got out of the hearse and waved at Old Saman, who was still sitting on the steps.

“I’m leaving.”

Old Saman turned his head away and refused to look at him.

Dinkom got out of the car and bowed respectfully to Karon. “The keys are inside.”

“Alright, I understand. Please go back and rest.”

Karon got into the car. Alfred turned it around and, without waiting for Dinkom’s hearse, drove straight toward the apartment.

***

“Young Master, I don’t think you need to care too much about this. That captain noticing you are unusual only proves that you are someone unusual.”

“I already don’t care about that. What I care about is that, apart from sitting there looking proper, I had no other choice.”

“So that’s what you are thinking about.”

“When Dinkom was shoved to the ground by Edith’s bodyguard, I actually saw it, yet there was nothing I could do.”

“They’re all dead now. Not one of them is left. That is the price for offending you, Young Master!”

“Alfred.”

“At your service.”

“Next time, don’t force things so hard. It makes it sound like sarcasm.”

“Young Master, you could have signaled me then. I was waiting the whole time for a glance from you. I knew that while Dinkom and Pike are useless, at that moment, they still represented the face of our funeral home.”

Karon shook his head. “It’s meaningless. If you don’t know how to fight, it makes you feel utterly powerless.”

“Pu’er and Kevin’s two Arts scrolls should be finished soon. Young Master, you will learn how to fight very soon.”

“Mhmm. Right, tomorrow go to the hotel and move Ms. Lake and the girls elsewhere. The back of the funeral home can be renovated. Running back and forth like this all the time is too troublesome.”

“Yes, Young Master, I understand. The back of the funeral home is actually very large, to the point that using so much of it for storage space is really a waste.”

“Once those two scrolls are done, I’ll try learning those Arts first. If I can master them quickly enough, then during this time, I should also go back to Allen Manor for a visit. Mr. Bede reminded me once before, and tonight Captain Nio ‘reminded’ me again. Heh.”

“Young Master, do you miss Miss Eunice?”

“It’s home that I miss.”

***

By the time they returned home, dawn was already breaking. After washing up and going to his bedroom, Karon saw Pu’er sprawled across the bed, sleeping soundly, while Kevin lay on his bed, snoring away. It was the first time Karon had realized that a dog’s snoring could actually be so loud.

The cat and dog had indeed been exhausted themselves at home over the past few days. Karon first picked up a blanket and covered Kevin’s head with it, immediately quieting the snoring a great deal.

Karon then picked Pu’er up and placed her on the pillow beside him. He climbed into bed and pulled up the blanket, covering both himself and her.

Time to rest.

***

Because he had gone to sleep too late the night before, it was already afternoon by the time he woke back up. Karon got out of bed and had only just opened the bedroom door when he saw Pu’er riding Kevin at a full sprint straight toward him. “We finished them, Karon!”

“Woof!”

Karon pushed the study door open and saw two exquisite scrolls resting on the desk.

“I’ll start learning them as soon as I wash up,” Karon said with a smile.

“My god, are you crazy? You want to practice them at home?”

“What’s wrong?”

“I mean, what if you can’t control the force properly? You might tear the apartment apart.”

“Is it really that exaggerated?”

“Of course! These are the two Arts that I and the stupid dog carefully selected as the most suitable for you!”

One had once reached Tier-9 in her family faith system, while the other had once been suppressed into a heretical god. Such teaching resources, and a two-on-one setup at that, was exceptionally lavish.

“Alright, I’ll wash up first.” Karon walked into the washroom and began getting ready to brush his teeth.

Pu’er rode Kevin to the washroom doorway and said, “I thought you’d be so excited you’d ignore everything and drive out to find a place right away. I didn’t expect you’d still insist on washing up first. Karon, you really are always so proper.”

Karon stopped what he was doing and looked at Pu’er. The cat tilted her head in puzzlement, and Kevin tilted his dog head in puzzlement too.

“I’ve become a little sensitive to the word ‘proper’ lately.”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know.” Pu’er laughed, and Kevin joined her.

After washing up, Karon noticed that Little John was sitting on the sofa, a box resting on the coffee table in front of him. “Why aren’t you at school?”

“It’s the weekend,” Little John said.

“Oh.” Karon nodded.

“Young Master, I made stuffed flatbread in the kitchen. I’m going to pack your clothes and luggage now.”

“Pack my luggage?”

“Yes. Mr. Alfred said you are going on a trip tomorrow to visit family, Young Master.”

“Tomorrow? Alright, go ahead and pack.”

Ciri walked to the bedroom, while Karon went into the kitchen. He picked up a stuffed flatbread and took a bite. It tasted very good. Ciri already knew his preferences and hadn’t added heaps of sugar or any sauce.

“Where are we going to practice?” Karon asked.

Little John answered, “Mr. Alfred said the woods near the sausage factory from last time are very suitable for practice.”

“What about a car? Alfred went out.”

“Young Master, Mr. Alfred said he borrowed Mr. Alaia’s car for today when he left. He left our car behind for you. The keys are here.” Little John opened the box on the coffee table. Inside were not only the car keys, but also a handgun.

“What’s with the handgun?”

“Alfred said he picked up Mr. Gros’s gun yesterday. There are still bullets in it, so you can test it out, Young Master.”

Pu’er snided, “Oh, how thoughtful of the radio demon.”

Since Alfred had even arranged this before leaving, last night’s events had definitely already been reported to the others. That also meant that earlier, at the washroom door, Pu’er had deliberately used the word “proper” in front of Karon.

“Then let’s go.”

Little John cheerfully slung his schoolbag onto his back, picked up the box, and followed along. He had to go, because dog paws and cat paws couldn’t pull a trigger.

Karon drove the car, taking Little John and the two pets away from the apartment. They eventually reached that patch of woods. After parking on the side of the road, they walked deeper into the forest. Once they had chosen a quiet spot, Little John sat down. He placed the box with the handgun aside first, and opened his schoolbag. He took out several bottles of water and a thermos, which was filled with ice.

Karon picked up one of the scrolls, and Pu’er said, “That is the Sea God’s Armor.”

“How do I use it?”

“Pour your spiritual powers into it. Once it reaches a certain level, that’s enough. It’s that simple. The stupid dog and I can’t exactly set up any ward restrictions right now anyway.”

Karon nodded and fed his spirituality into the scroll in his hand. Before long, the scroll began to glow, and a force of consciousness sought to enter his mind.

“Don’t resist! That’s the stupid dog’s mental imprint.”

“Woof!”

Karon lowered his guard on his mind and tried to communicate with the force. Very quickly, his awareness entered a brief darkness. Then he discovered he was standing in a vast white space. Beneath his feet, the lines of a ritual array appeared. Before him, a phantom image took shape and evolved. Above his head, a suit of blue armor shone brilliantly, continuously splitting apart and recombining.

At that moment, Karon finally understood why scrolls were necessary for imprints; This kind of legacy was something language and writing simply could not convey. Not even a film would be enough. Only this kind of immersive method could allow the learner to see the true, deeper essence.

That was the difference between ordinary Arts and truly advanced Arts. It was not just that they were difficult to learn, but more so that they were difficult to even teach. That meant this kind of advanced Art was inevitably rare and precious.

In addition, Karon realized that if the one passing on the legacy made even the slightest mistake during the process, the entire Art would be ruined. Fortunately, Karon had absolute trust in the professional ability of his two pets.

Alright, let’s begin. Use the power of Light to convert and replicate it.

***

Karon stood in the middle of the woods with his eyes closed, a faint white glow radiating from his body.

“How long do you think it’ll take him?” Pu’er asked Kevin.

“Woof.”

“Five hours? Then there won’t even be time to learn my Darkmoon Blade today.”

“Woof.”

“You mean five hours for both of them?”

“Woof.”

“That’s still a bit slow. Be bolder! One hour each, that’s the kind of treatment a genius like Tiz should receive.”

Little John placed two cups of water in front of Pu’er and Kevin, one after the other. He then served them two portions of dried fruit, and only then did he crouch beside them and ask, “Um, can I learn this too?”

Pu’er turned her head to look at him. “Do you believe in Light?”

Little John froze for a moment, then immediately slapped his chest and declared, “Of course! I believe in the existence of Light!”

“Excellent.” Pu’er took a sip of water and nodded. “Too bad you don’t have Light-attributed power inside you.”

“...” Little John.

“Woof.”

“Miss Pu’er, what did Mr. Kevin say?”

“He said you can go join the Church of Light.”

“Can I? Really?”

“Woof.”

“He said yes, and then the power of Light will instantly purify a little demonkin like you to death.”

“...” Little John.

“If you want to practice, you can go ask the radio demon.”

“Mr. Alfred?”

“Mhmm. Lately, it feels like he’s somehow gotten stronger.” Pu’er looked toward Kevin. “I’m not mistaken, am I?”

“Woof.” Kevin nodded.

“Sometimes, I honestly think he’s just bullshitting, but somehow he actually bullshits his way onto a real path.”

At that moment, lines of blood emerged across Karon’s body. As those lines spread outward from him, the white glow surrounding him became even more resplendent.

“Woof, woof!”

“Yes, yes! I know, I know! This is even more ridiculous. A priest only one step away from becoming an Inquisitor can actually use power from a family faith system. All of a sudden, the radio demon’s situation feels a lot more reasonable.”

“Woof.”

Little John said with deep admiration, “Young Master is a genius, right?”

“Do you know what despair is?” Pu’er asked.

“No.” Little John shook his head.

“It’s when a genius stands on the shoulders of giants.”

“That sounds exaggerated.”

“No, not at all. A single godhead shard is enough for a family to receive the gospel of the Church of Order. What about three godhead shards?

“Tiz also placed his entire family’s bloodline onto Karon alone.”

“Woof!”

“Oh, I know! There’s also the body you repaired for him.”

“Woof!”

“Mhmm, and there’s also the special nature of his own soul. After all, he’s someone who shoved a heretical god out and turned it into a dog.

“No, I take that back. There is a whole group of giants building a ladder just to raise him higher.” As soon as the words left her mouth, the white light on Karon’s body instantly turned blue, and a full-body suit of armor appeared over him. The armor itself seemed to flow, giving off a mysterious aura.

Pu’er sighed in admiration. “The Sea God’s Armor, it looks so beautiful...”

“Woof! Woof!”

“I know, it’s because Karon himself already looks good.”

Karon opened his eyes and raised a hand to inspect the armor covering his body. At this moment, he felt an overwhelming sense of safety. He could also feel that his body had become extraordinarily light.

Acting on impulse, he jumped, and under the effect of the Sea God’s Armor, he shot more than six meters into the air. When he landed, because he had not maintained his balance, he should have fallen, but a stream of water shot out from the armor to support him and help steady him.

Pu’er turned to Little John. “How long?”

Little John looked down to check his watch. “Half an hour.”

“Meow!” Pu’er let out an excited cry.

Karon began to run. He discovered that his running speed was also greatly enhanced. Not only did the armor covering him not weigh him down, it instead generated a kind of propulsive force in accordance with his thoughts.

At last, he stopped and looked at Little John. “Try the handgun.”

Little John opened the box and took out the handgun. As he did so, his hand trembled a little.

Karon walked over. The blue glove on his right hand receded, and he reached out to take the handgun from Little John. He then aimed the gun at his own left arm.

Bang!

Karon was an extremely cautious person. The reason he dared to test the armor in this way was because he had absolute confidence in the defensive strength of the Sea God’s Armor.

Sure enough, the bullet did not pierce the armor, yet it also didn’t ricochet away. The tip of the bullet, originally red-hot, embedded itself into the outer layer of the armor, sending ripples through it. At first, it was still spinning rapidly, but very soon, the redness vanished and it dropped to the ground. As for the indentation left by the bullet, the armor quickly restored itself so that no trace at all remained.

Most importantly, his arm did not even feel the shock. The force had been completely neutralized outside by the flowing water.

Pu’er clapped her paws. “Congratulations, Karon! You finally don’t have to be afraid of ordinary firearms. But I should still remind you that there are guns in the churches that use special bullets that have penetration and anti-magic effects, so...”

“If I can dodge, I’ll dodge.”

“Mmm, that tracks. Your responses have always been very... cautious.”

“On to the next one then. Darkmoon Blade.”

“You don’t need to rest?”

“No.”

“Good. Here, this scroll.”

Karon picked up the second scroll. Before injecting spirituality into it, he said, “For some reason, when I was replicating it just now, I felt like I was reading in Grandpa’s study.”

Pu’er said, “Now you can understand why people who follow family faith systems always say, ‘May the Progenitor protect us,’ right?”

The Sea God’s Armor receded from Karon’s body. He closed his eyes and poured his spirituality into the scroll.

Before long, white light appeared around his body again. Pu’er stretched out a paw and patted Kevin on the head. “Look at this one from our house! Doesn’t he seem full of potential?”

“Woof.” Kevin nodded.

“So you should give up that heretical god nonsense of yours. Maybe in the future you can even become a true god. See? The radio demon already took the lead.”

“Woof?”

“Me?” Pu’er swished her tail. “In the future, I’m going to become his symbiotic artifact spirit. None of you can beat me to it.”

Little John, meanwhile, kept staring at his watch. Finally, the white light on Karon’s body turned dark red, and the boy immediately shouted, “Fifteen minutes!”

Pu’er nodded numbly. “So the reason the first one took half an hour was because he spent a lot of time getting familiar with this learning method.”

The dark red color spread over Karon’s body. In his palms, there were now two red lights shaped like whips, yet also like swords. When they dragged across the ground, the dead leaves were instantly sliced apart and scorched.

Karon raised his hands. Gradually, the dark red around his body stabilized, becoming like two curved blades braced along his forearms. His body began to move backward. For a moment, it was as if the wind howled beside his ears. He retreated too quickly, and his back slammed directly into a tree trunk.

Bang!

“Cough, cough...” The impact left his chest feeling tight. “So this Darkmoon Blade also boosts agility, and the agility effect is much more obvious than Sea God’s Armor.”

Karon closed his eyes. The Darkmoon Blade remained in place while the Sea God’s Armor appeared over him once more. He then spread his arms, and the two crimson curved blades rose. His whole body instantly burst into motion.

Vmm!

Vmm!

Vmm!

Vmm!

After one long charge, two rows of trees were severed cleanly at the waist.

Pu’er said in shock, “Doesn’t he get tired? He’s keeping it up for so long.”

“Woof!”

Smack! Pu’er slapped the golden retriever on the head with a paw. “No dirty jokes allowed!”

“...” Kevin.

At last, Karon stopped. As the broken branches fell around him, the Sea God’s Armor automatically knocked them aside.

He walked back towards Pu’er and the others, and the Sea God’s Armor and Darkmoon Blade covering his body completely dissipated. Although he was so exhausted that he needed to brace both of his hands on his knees while panting, he was merely drenched with sweat. There was no dizziness or tearing sensation in his head.

Pu’er and Kevin had been right. These really were two Arts that suited him best at this stage, even more so than the Spear of Punishment.

Little John handed over a cup of ice water. Karon took it, sat down, and drank the entire cup in one go. After handing the cup back to Little John, Karon simply leaned back, propping himself up on both hands behind him.

He was utterly exhausted, yet deeply satisfied. Especially that sense of security that came from having finally grasped true power. It truly was impossible to describe. The fear and unease that had hovered in his heart ever since the first moment he opened his eyes in this world had finally begun to dissipate. “I’m finally learning how to fight.”