Versatile Mage

Edited by Aelryinth

Late at night, the lights under the Parthenon Temple faded away. At this particular time of the season, a bright cold moon hung in the sky above the Mountain of the Goddess. Its light covered the mountain like a silver veil, adding a mystical feeling to the elegant mountain.

At the foot of the mountain, behind a small hill, stood a simple wooden hut close to a stream. A man in a white robe sat on the roof staring at the blurred outline of the Mountain of the Goddess under the moonlight in melancholy.

Soft footsteps sounded from the path in the woods. The man looked into the woods. His gray-blue eyes glittered in the night.

“What do you want?” the man asked.

“Can’t I pay you a visit? Either way, you’re still my brother…” the woman replied, still approaching the man.

“Just spill it,” the man sniffed.

“Have you seen her, Norman?” Asha’ruiya asked.

“Who?” Norman said.

“You know who, her identity was already revealed. I bet you’re back because you want to see the sister you’ve never met before, right?” Asha’ruiya said.

“I’ll see her when the time comes. I don’t need you to remind me,” Norman said patiently.

“Why do I feel like you are very disappointed in me? We haven’t seen each other for so many years. Father took us both in, so we should be like a family…” Asha’ruiya said.

“You know the things that you’ve done,” Norman harrumphed coldly.

“I need to find a way to survive in a place where everyone is trying to outwit one another. When I needed you to step forward to protect me, you were feeling depressed in some forgotten corner across the world instead. What did you want me to do? Stick to the principles father and you taught me? If I had done that, not even my bones would be left now!” Asha’ruiya raised her voice slightly, her face cold.

Norman was briefly startled. He looked at Asha’ruiya, who had stopped in her tracks.

“Even so, you should never set your foot into… forget it, there’s no chance you will leave even if I said anything,” Norman shook his head. He did not want to speak about it.

“So, did you come back to make clear whose side you’re on?” Asha’ruiya asked him.

“I don’t know,” Norman replied.

“You do know that the whole Hall of Knights will only listen to you. Izisha tried everything she could to look for you. She wanted to convince you that she would bring back the glory that the Parthenon Temple once had…” Asha’ruiya said.

“She did find me, but… something feels strange about her,” Norman said.

“Hehe, we can’t even tell if she’s a human or a demon creature now. She clearly didn’t master the Spell of Resurrection, yet she managed to come back to life…” Asha’ruiya said.

“The Parthenon Temple is no longer the place I was familiar with. I think I no longer belong here, either,” Norman looked at the Mountain of the Goddess. His mind was constantly recalling the past, the grief and the sorrow he had experienced here, and the countless bodies buried under its brilliance. It was a place with unsurpassed authority, a world-class reputation, endless fortune, and the Spell of Resurrection that was considered a blessing from the Gods!

“I hope you will side with me,” Asha’ruiya said.

“Do you think that’s possible? Ask yourself honestly, would father still acknowledge you as his daughter if he knew what you had done!?” Norman answered quickly.

“You won’t side with Izisha, and you’re not willing to side with me either, that leaves only one choice…” Asha’ruiya said.

“I won’t decide until I see her. If there’s nothing else, you should get some rest. You may only call me your brother once you’ve given up on your other side,” Norman said.

“I won’t give it up; it can protect me better than you,” Asha’ruiya said.

“I can’t talk to you if you keep persisting in going the wrong way.” Norman rose to his feet. He jumped down from the roof and headed for the door.

Asha’ruiya bit her lips while staring at Norman’s back.

She said after a moment, “I went to look for Austin, but he doesn’t recognize me.”

“You found Austin?” Norman halted in his tracks. He glanced at Asha’ruiya curiously.

“I’m the only person that knew his existence and location before, but someone else has found him. They are preparing a delicate Dragon Hunting Ritual for him, too,” Asha’ruiya said.

Norman frowned. He stared at Asha’ruiya, trying to confirm she was not lying to him.

“Who is it?” he finally asked.

“Someone with a formidable background, someone that has control over many powerful officials, someone that even Izisha wouldn’t dare provoke,” Asha’ruiya said.

“Austin is so powerful, even Izisha couldn’t do anything to him,” Norman said.

“They found a way to weaken him. A dragon has its weaknesses, too,” Asha’ruiya said.

Norman fell into deep thought.

“They are carrying out their plan in a few days… if you want to do something about it, you should start preparing now. See, despite being a brother, you’ve never cared for me. Your honorable father was all that mattered. I have had to stand on my own feet since my first year of college, yet I still couldn’t help but remind you about something that doesn’t concern me,” Asha’ruiya said mockingly.

Norman wanted to say something, but Asha’ruiya had already left…

—

—

Mo Fan sat on his couch, meditating with his eyes closed.

His eyes sprang open as soon as he heard the chair being moved in the next room.

He might be meditating, but he was not focused at all. His cultivation was currently stuck at a bottleneck. Cultivating or not would not make any difference. There was hardly any motivation for him to cultivate diligently.

Mo Fan hurried over to the balcony. He turned into a shadow and moved to the next balcony.

The door was open, and the curtains were drifting in the wind. Mo Fan happened to see Mu Ningxue stretching beside her table. He almost drooled at the sight of her alluring figure. He did not have enough at dinner. There were too many people around, so he was ashamed to keep staring at her. However, the two of them were now alone in the middle of the night. He could just be reckless.

“Are you done with your business?” Mo Fan asked.

“Only the first phase,” Mu Ningxue said. She noticed the passionate look in Mo Fan’s eyes and easily read his mind. She spoke first to prevent Mo Fan from taking the initiative, “Let’s take a walk.”

“When it’s already so late?” Mo Fan raised his eyebrows.

Why would they go out for a walk in the middle of the night? Since they were still so young and energetic, shouldn’t they not waste their time and have a few rounds before daylight…

—

In the end, Mo Fan went for a walk with Mu Ningxue.

The place they were staying at had a nice environment. The clean streets and trees were oddly calm and soothing at night.

Mo Fan took the initiative to hold Mu Ningxue’s hand. She did not reject it. Mo Fan slowed down and kept to her pace. Mu Ningxue signaled for them to enjoy the breeze while they were crossing a bridge.

“Can’t you leave the business side in Mu Linsheng’s hands? Why did you have to come to Athens in person?” Mu Linsheng asked.

Mu Ningxue might be in charge of Fanxue Mountain, but she mostly spent her time cultivating. She was obsessed with pursuing a higher level of cultivation, just like Mo Fan. As the ruler of Fanxue Mountain, how could she survive amid the wolves and tigers if she was not strong enough?

The reasons that Mu Ningxue explained during dinner were not strong enough to convince him that she had to come to Athens in person. Mo Fan did not want to ask her in front of the others.

“Is there something else bothering you?” Mo Fan asked.

Mu Ningxue lifted her gaze and looked at Mo Fan. She was a little surprised that Mo Fan could tell she had something else in mind.

“Mm, there’s indeed one thing that is bothering me… I had no choice but to come here to find out the truth,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Is it that serious?” Mo Fan asked.

“Do you remember the incident when we first visited Feiniao City?” Mu Ningxue asked in a serious voice.

“Yeah, a bunch of sea monsters showed up. Didn’t we already take care of them?” Mo Fan recalled.

“Jiang Yu went to investigate some of the local officials, and discovered that someone was purposely hiding the truth about the missing children, which resulted in the tragedy,” Mu Ningxue informed him.

Mo Fan immediately recalled the infuriating scene of them finding a child’s corpse inside the belly of one of the sea monsters.

“Mm, but we weren’t able to find out who was behind it,” Mo Fan nodded.

Jiang Yu mentioned that when he tried investigating further, he realized the person was not just trying to hide the facts about the missing children; it was much more complicated than that. But the trail had ended after the local official was busted. They were not able to track down the culprit behind the scenes.

“When Shao Yu was patrolling the coast, someone reported a similar incident to her. While she was investigating it, she found a warehouse where the missing children were kept. The missing children were no longer there, but there were a lot of baby goods there. I immediately contacted Jiang Yu and asked him to look into it,” Mu Ningxue said.

Fanxue Mountain was very close to Feiniao City. There had been no follow-up regarding the case of the missing children since then. To Mo Fan’s surprise, Mu Ningxue had actually found some new clues.

No one could possibly turn a blind eye to such an unforgivable act. Mo Fan clenched his fists and said, “I see! Don’t worry, once we found who the culprit is, I’m going to snap his neck in half!”

“I seriously don’t understand how they could do such a cruel thing to the children!?” Mu Ningxue began to tremble.

“What is it?” Mo Fan looked at Mu Ningxue. He noticed her panicking a little.

“Mo Fan, the kid we found inside the sea monster’s belly. Did you know? He…he didn’t have a heart,” Mu Ningxue was pinching the back of Mo Fan’s hand while uttering her words.