The Card Apprentice Chapter 178

Chen Mu and Wei-ah looked at each other, both knowing intuitively . After walking for about a minute, they heard the distant sound of voices in front of them . Even though he'd long since settled on the feeling, Chen Mu still couldn't help but look admiringly at Wei-ah . The guy's perception was so sensitive . He didn't know how it had gotten that way, but probably only the demonic woman could be measured against Wei-ah among the aces Chen Mu had come into contact with .

Cleo seemed to have sensed the tacit understanding between Chen Mu and Wei-ah, while the bodyguard up ahead was oblivious .

Only after a few more minutes did the bodyguard detect movement in front of him . His spirits were stirred as he yelled, "Young Master . They've arrived!"

Cleo's relaxed expression passed in an instant, though he didn't show too much joy . "Oh," he blandly responded .

A gang of people crashed out of the forest in front of them, and they were all excited when they saw Cleo .

"Young Master!""Young Master Cleo!""Nothing's happened to you . I'm so glad!" There was a lot of commotion for a while .

"What about Li Siben?" Cleo asked with a darkened face .

"Young Master . . . " A small man drilled out from the crowd . His bean-sized eyes were shifting around, though his panicked look disappeared in a flash when he rushed up, patting his chest and looking very aroused . "Excellent! Excellent! Nothing has happened to you, Young Master! You've scared Li Siben to death!"

Cleo looked at Li Siben, seeming to smile without smiling . "Not bad, not bad . Just in time . Your contributions are many, Li Siben . "

The people calmed down, though some were still at a loss, and some seemed to have something on their mind .

With beads of sweat seeping out, Li Siben looked a little flustered, constantly wiping the sweat from his brow . He said with terror, "Calm down, Young Master . Don't be angry . Your servant encountered something along the way . . . "

"No need to mention it . " With his spirits back to normal, Cleo waved him off, cutting off Li Siben's explanations . Looking at him without looking, he said, "Let's go; we can talk about it after we get home . "

The Lewin family's house, which could be seen from their courtyard, wouldn't be considered one of the great houses . As compared with the Ning family pavilion Chen Mu had seen, there certainly wasn't anyplace there to light up a person's eyes . It still wouldn't be described as impoverished, nor would Cleo's father, Clive Lewin .

Clive comforted his son for a bit and admonished him not to run off to the jungle like that . Off to the side, Chen Mu was watching Cleo listen to his father's lecture with a face full of respect and couldn't help but heave a deep sigh of regret . The offspring of the wealthy were all profound schemers . That was probably the only way they could survive in the clan . Then, he looked at the expressionless Mose Lewin to the side, and Chen Mu felt glad he didn't need to face such nauseating affairs .

Mose looked a lot more mature than Cleo, and his physique looked a lot more developed . He was dressed very properly and had refined manners, exuding the temperament of an adult .

"Father, I have these two friends to thank this time . If it weren't for them, I'm afraid I wouldn't be seeing father just now . " At that point, Cleo's eyes turned red, and his voice choked .

Clive dearly loved that son of his, and he immediately rose to show Chen Mu and Wei-ah courtesy . "Many thanks to the two of you," he said . "Clive truly appreciates it . If the two of you have any need of Clive, please don't hesitate to ask . "

He continued on with much self-assurance, "In Pomelo, what Clive says can sometimes take care of things . "

"Father, I want to give these two gentlemen the Baidoa Garden . " Cleo had taken his father into a room to whisper to him, and Mose had also gone with him .

Clive was hesitant; the Baidoa Garden had been built 100 years prior and had been a symbol of the Lewin family for a long time—right up until a few decades ago when they had moved to Pomelo, and the house there went vacant . Clive wasn't too eager, but they had saved his son's life .

"I'm afraid that would be inappropriate . The Baidoa Garden was handed down from our ancestors . While it's too late to keep it up for those who come after us, how could we give it away?"

Mose had stood up by then . Clive hastily added, "What do you think, Mose?"

There was a glint in Mose's eyes, though he said with a mild laugh, "We have a number of businesses on our hands . Why don't we give them one of those? We can't let people think the Lewin family doesn't know how to return a favor . Plus, a card artisan who can travel deep into the jungle must have a lot of power and would be worth our cultivating . "

"You are right . " Clive approved of what Mose was saying . "But, which business should we give them?"

"We can't give the ones that are too underperforming . And, we can't toss off the good ones . I recall that we have a small firm under us called Heaven's Wings . Why don't we give them that one?" Mose drew out his response .

Clive furrowed his brow . "Heaven's Wings always takes a loss . Apart from our own internal business, it hasn't been able to get anything else profitable . "

Mose lightly laughed . "I'm only afraid they won't want it . We can put some capital into the accounts, so it won't seem so shabby when we present it . Besides, Heaven's Wings has no outside business at all . The more they depend on us, the easier it will be for us to control . Once they get used to the money, it won't be so easy for them to stop . "

Clive smoothed his brow and laughed . "You've grown a lot these last few years, Mose . Not bad, not bad . " He turned to Cleo to chide, "Cleo, you should learn from your older brother, and stop fooling around all day . "

"Yes, sir . " Cleo answered submissively .

"So, that issue has been taken care of . " Clive settled the matter .

Cleo looked up to say, "Father, let me take care of the Heaven's Wings matter . Cleo agrees these last few days of fooling around have really been too wild . I want to learn how to do things, so I can become like my big brother and make my own contribution to the family . "

Clive looked gratified . "My little Cleo has finally grown up . " After thinking about it, he nodded his head, saying, "Ok . You can be responsible for this matter . If there is anything you don't understand, you can ask your brother, or you can ask me . " Clive had greatly encouraged Cleo .

Mose remained smiling, also seeming gratified to see his little brother growing up . However, there seemed to be a little note of chill behind his smile .

Pomelo was a big city—bigger than Eastern Shang-Wei City, and it was a lot more developed . There were people all over the streets, and shuttle cars would whoosh by in the sky . There were tall buildings everywhere, giving it the rich style of a very modern city . The fantasy card billboards everywhere gave Chen Mu a feeling of déjà vu .

Copper . . . Uncle Hua . . .

The people and things that had been sealed away for so long all came bubbling up into his heart, and he wasn't in the mood to listen to Cleo's commentary . Flashes from the past flitted by as he sighed . When Chen Mu finally returned to the present from his memories, the aftereffect was hard to talk about .

"And this is Heaven's Wings . " Cleo was pointing ahead to a silver-gray building . It was situated in the northwest corner of the city, and it could be seen from the surrounding buildings that it was a rather ordinary district . The buildings weren't so new, and that 11-story building didn't stand out among them .

Chen Mu didn't have much hope of getting any returns from those people and that so-called Heaven's Wings place, so he didn't do much more than take a look . He and Wei-ah were penniless, and since that Heaven's something-or-other still had some capital on its books, he was naturally willing to go ahead . Although he still hadn't quite figured out which district Pomelo was in, he still understood he couldn't do anything without money .

So, what was Heaven's Wings? How did it make money? He wasn't so interested . He never thought of himself as any kind of business guru . That would have been Copper, not him .

But, he wasn't afraid of not finding work . Given his current abilities, whether it was making fantasy cards or repairing them, he could do it easily . Chen Mu trusted that Wei-ah could take on any burden, so maybe they could get rich .

Their only issue was they didn't even have emergency funds . If they didn't find any reliable source, maybe Chen Mu could take Wei-ah to rob some mobsters in the many places he had seen along the way . Looting was Wei-ah's specialty . And, wherever there were mobsters, there would be a concentration of underworld power, which Chen Mu was an authority in .

Chen Mu was keeping up his guard about the Lewin Clan . He wouldn't be looking to Cleo and the rest for any help if he ran into bigger issues .

That didn't bother Chen Mu; there wasn't one among the grand aristocratic households he'd come across that had left a good impression on him . In Chen Mu's mind, they gave the impression of being the bad guys . The scheming of such hot stuff as Bo Wen was scary to Chen Mu, and he'd rather not have any dealings with them .

"I'd originally wanted to get my father to give the two of you the Baidoa Garden since only such a valuable thing as that could express my gratitude . " Cleo looked angry . "I never thought my big brother wouldn't agree . My words don't count, and there wasn't much I could do about you having been wronged . Although it's small, the amount of money on the books of Heaven's Wings isn't trivial . And, I'll try to get as much inside business as I can for the two of you . "

Cleo's face was full of sincerity, though seeing the two of them remaining indifferent discouraged him . He quickly arranged his expression as he led them into the building .

* * *

Mose was relaxing on the soft sofa in his apartment, where the warm, soft lighting would make anyone sleepy . Mose was drinking red wine in his comfort, and there was a thin middle-aged man sitting in front of him .

"We've lost track of Li Siben and his whole family, First Master, and Fen Ni has just been sent to the hospital, apparently with food poisoning . Two hours prior, her family discovered a fire, and none of the household was spared . It looks like it has to do with Second Master finding the sachet . "

Mose took a sip of red wine and narrowed his eyes . "My beloved little brother is finally growing up, and his moves are starting to be like Mose's . "

"Might we have applied too much pressure?" The middle-aged man hesitated before he spoke .

Mose shook his head with a shrug . "It's a little more interesting this way . Wouldn't it be boring otherwise?"

"We still haven't dug up the identity of those two . But, it so happens that those eight West Nile wolves were all killed in one blow, pierced through the skulls . The one who acted was apparently that card artisan, Cao Dong . The other one didn't make any moves, and we don't know anything about his strength . It looks as though Second Master wants to take advantage of their strength . " The middle-aged man was very tidy in what he said .

"Ha, ha . " Mose was gazing at the clear red wine in his hand and after a while said lightly, "Ai, he's so young after all, and he doesn't understand patience .

"Could it be that he doesn't know all of his anger is in vain when facing decisive power?" Having finished speaking, Mose self-indulgently finished off all the wine in his glass .

Chapter 178 The SchemeTranslator Nyoi Bo Studio Editor Nyoi Bo StudioChen Mu and Wei ah looked at each other, both knowing intuitively . After walking for about a minute, they heard the distant sound of voices in front of them . Even though he d long since settled on the feeling, Chen Mu still couldn t help but look admiringly at Wei ah . The guy s perception was so sensitive . He didn t know how it had gotten that way, but probably only the demonic woman could be measured against Wei ah among the aces Chen Mu had come into contact with . Cleo seemed to have sensed the tacit understanding between Chen Mu and Wei ah, while the bodyguard up ahead was oblivious . Only after a few more minutes did the bodyguard detect movement in front of him . His spirits were stirred as he yelled, Young Master . They ve arrived Cleo s relaxed expression passed in an instant, though he didn t show too much joy . Oh, he blandly responded . A gang of people crashed out of the forest in front of them, and they were all excited when they saw Cleo . Young Master Young Master Cleo Nothing s happened to you . I m so glad There was a lot of commotion for a while . What about Li Siben Cleo asked with a darkened face . Young Master . . . A small man drilled out from the crowd . His bean sized eyes were shifting around, though his panicked look disappeared in a flash when he rushed up, patting his chest and looking very aroused . Excellent Excellent Nothing has happened to you, Young Master You ve scared Li Siben to death Cleo looked at Li Siben, seeming to smile without smiling . Not bad, not bad . Just in time . Your contributions are many, Li Siben . The people calmed down, though some were still at a loss, and some seemed to have something on their mind . With beads of sweat seeping out, Li Siben looked a little flustered, constantly wiping the sweat from his brow . He said with terror, Calm down, Young Master . Don t be angry . Your servant encountered something along the way . . . No need to mention it . With his spirits back to normal, Cleo waved him off, cutting off Li Siben s explanations . Looking at him without looking, he said, Let s go we can talk about it after we get home . The Lewin family s house, which could be seen from their courtyard, wouldn t be considered one of the great houses . As compared with the Ning family pavilion Chen Mu had seen, there certainly wasn t anyplace there to light up a person s eyes . It still wouldn t be described as impoverished, nor would Cleo s father, Clive Lewin . Clive comforted his son for a bit and admonished him not to run off to the jungle like that . Off to the side, Chen Mu was watching Cleo listen to his father s lecture with a face full of respect and couldn t help but heave a deep sigh of regret . The offspring of the wealthy were all profound schemers . That was probably the only way they could survive in the clan . Then, he looked at the expressionless Mose Lewin to the side, and Chen Mu felt glad he didn t need to face such nauseating affairs . Mose looked a lot more mature than Cleo, and his physique looked a lot more developed . He was dressed very properly and had refined manners, exuding the temperament of an adult . Father, I have these two friends to thank this time . If it weren t for them, I m afraid I wouldn t be seeing father just now . At that point, Cleo s eyes turned red, and his voice choked . Clive dearly loved that son of his, and he immediately rose to show Chen Mu and Wei ah courtesy . Many thanks to the two of you, he said . Clive truly appreciates it . If the two of you have any need of Clive, please don t hesitate to ask . He continued on with much self assurance, In Pomelo, what Clive says can sometimes take care of things . Father, I want to give these two gentlemen the Baidoa Garden . Cleo had taken his father into a room to whisper to him, and Mose had also gone with him . Clive was hesitant the Baidoa Garden had been built 100 years prior and had been a symbol of the Lewin family for a long time right up until a few decades ago when they had moved to Pomelo, and the house there went vacant . Clive wasn t too eager, but they had saved his son s life . I m afraid that would be inappropriate . The Baidoa Garden was handed down from our ancestors . While it s too late to keep it up for those who come after us, how could we give it away Mose had stood up by then . Clive hastily added, What do you think, Mose There was a glint in Mose s eyes, though he said with a mild laugh, We have a number of businesses on our hands . Why don t we give them one of those We can t let people think the Lewin family doesn t know how to return a favor . Plus, a card artisan who can travel deep into the jungle must have a lot of power and would be worth our cultivating . You are right . Clive approved of what Mose was saying . But, which business should we give them We can t give the ones that are too underperforming . And, we can t toss off the good ones . I recall that we have a small firm under us called Heaven s Wings . Why don t we give them that one Mose drew out his response . Clive furrowed his brow . Heaven s Wings always takes a loss . Apart from our own internal business, it hasn t been able to get anything else profitable . Mose lightly laughed . I m only afraid they won t want it . We can put some capital into the accounts, so it won t seem so shabby when we present it . Besides, Heaven s Wings has no outside business at all . The more they depend on us, the easier it will be for us to control . Once they get used to the money, it won t be so easy for them to stop . Clive smoothed his brow and laughed . You ve grown a lot these last few years, Mose . Not bad, not bad . He turned to Cleo to chide, Cleo, you should learn from your older brother, and stop fooling around all day . Yes, sir . Cleo answered submissively . So, that issue has been taken care of . Clive settled the matter . Cleo looked up to say, Father, let me take care of the Heaven s Wings matter . Cleo agrees these last few days of fooling around have really been too wild . I want to learn how to do things, so I can become like my big brother and make my own contribution to the family . Clive looked gratified . My little Cleo has finally grown up . After thinking about it, he nodded his head, saying, Ok . You can be responsible for this matter . If there is anything you don t understand, you can ask your brother, or you can ask me . Clive had greatly encouraged Cleo . Mose remained smiling, also seeming gratified to see his little brother growing up . However, there seemed to be a little note of chill behind his smile . Pomelo was a big city bigger than Eastern Shang Wei City, and it was a lot more developed . There were people all over the streets, and shuttle cars would whoosh by in the sky . There were tall buildings everywhere, giving it the rich style of a very modern city . The fantasy card billboards everywhere gave Chen Mu a feeling of d j vu . Copper . . . Uncle Hua . . . The people and things that had been sealed away for so long all came bubbling up into his heart, and he wasn t in the mood to listen to Cleo s commentary . Flashes from the past flitted by as he sighed . When Chen Mu finally returned to the present from his memories, the aftereffect was hard to talk about . And this is Heaven s Wings . Cleo was pointing ahead to a silver gray building . It was situated in the northwest corner of the city, and it could be seen from the surrounding buildings that it was a rather ordinary district . The buildings weren t so new, and that 11 story building didn t stand out among them . Chen Mu didn t have much hope of getting any returns from those people and that so called Heaven s Wings place, so he didn t do much more than take a look . He and Wei ah were penniless, and since that Heaven s something or other still had some capital on its books, he was naturally willing to go ahead . Although he still hadn t quite figured out which district Pomelo was in, he still understood he couldn t do anything without money . So, what was Heaven s Wings How did it make money He wasn t so interested . He never thought of himself as any kind of business guru . That would have been Copper, not him . But, he wasn t afraid of not finding work . Given his current abilities, whether it was making fantasy cards or repairing them, he could do it easily . Chen Mu trusted that Wei ah could take on any burden, so maybe they could get rich . Their only issue was they didn t even have emergency funds . If they didn t find any reliable source, maybe Chen Mu could take Wei ah to rob some mobsters in the many places he had seen along the way . Looting was Wei ah s specialty . And, wherever there were mobsters, there would be a concentration of underworld power, which Chen Mu was an authority in . Chen Mu was keeping up his guard about the Lewin Clan . He wouldn t be looking to Cleo and the rest for any help if he ran into bigger issues . That didn t bother Chen Mu there wasn t one among the grand aristocratic households he d come across that had left a good impression on him . In Chen Mu s mind, they gave the impression of being the bad guys . The scheming of such hot stuff as Bo Wen was scary to Chen Mu, and he d rather not have any dealings with them . I d originally wanted to get my father to give the two of you the Baidoa Garden since only such a valuable thing as that could express my gratitude . Cleo looked angry . I never thought my big brother wouldn t agree . My words don t count, and there wasn t much I could do about you having been wronged . Although it s small, the amount of money on the books of Heaven s Wings isn t trivial . And, I ll try to get as much inside business as I can for the two of you . Cleo s face was full of sincerity, though seeing the two of them remaining indifferent discouraged him . He quickly arranged his expression as he led them into the building . Mose was relaxing on the soft sofa in his apartment, where the warm, soft lighting would make anyone sleepy . Mose was drinking red wine in his comfort, and there was a thin middle aged man sitting in front of him . We ve lost track of Li Siben and his whole family, First Master, and Fen Ni has just been sent to the hospital, apparently with food poisoning . Two hours prior, her family discovered a fire, and none of the household was spared . It looks like it has to do with Second Master finding the sachet . Mose took a sip of red wine and narrowed his eyes . My beloved little brother is finally growing up, and his moves are starting to be like Mose s . Might we have applied too much pressure The middle aged man hesitated before he spoke . Mose shook his head with a shrug . It s a little more interesting this way . Wouldn t it be boring otherwise We still haven t dug up the identity of those two . But, it so happens that those eight West Nile wolves were all killed in one blow, pierced through the skulls . The one who acted was apparently that card artisan, Cao Dong . The other one didn t make any moves, and we don t know anything about his strength . It looks as though Second Master wants to take advantage of their strength . The middle aged man was very tidy in what he said . Ha, ha . Mose was gazing at the clear red wine in his hand and after a while said lightly, Ai, he s so young after all, and he doesn t understand patience . Could it be that he doesn t know all of his anger is in vain when facing decisive power Having finished speaking, Mose self indulgently finished off all the wine in his glass .

Chapter end