Chapter 4: “I’m not that close with your ‘sister-in-law’”
When they returned to the cave, the master and disciple were still chatting about recent events.
Hearing footsteps, Leon turned around.
Seeing one tall and one short, walking and chatting, with smiles on their faces like long-lost friends reuniting, Leon was stunned.
Weren’t these two just not very familiar with each other half an hour ago? he thought. How did they become best friends in just twenty minutes?
“Captain, Master, we’re back!” Rebecca ran up. “Are you guys done talking?”
“Almost,” Leon replied. He glanced at the unusually excited and energetic Rebecca, then looked up at the dragoness behind her. “What did you tell her?”
Rosvitha innocently spread her hands. “I didn’t say anything to her.”
She’s the one who talked to me. Hehe.
Leon pursed his lips and muttered, “Weird.” He then continued his conversation with his master about the Empire.
He recounted the events of the next six months in detail and then inquired about the Sea Dragon Clan and the Nine Gates of Hell.
“The ‘Nine Gates of Hell’ was written by the Sea Dragon Clan? Huh? I have no idea. I just asked someone to casually steal a physical technique manual from the Empire. Didn’t expect they’d grab such a lethal one.”
Just as expected, another “I don’t know.”
Leon didn’t press further. Although he had a nagging feeling that the old man was hiding something from him, he had already asked so directly, and since his master remained tight-lipped, there had to be a good reason for it.
“Oh, by the way, Master, could you look into these three people next?” Leon said, handing over a list.
Tiger took it and glanced at the names. “Kiny, Kitai, Kimei… Just by looking at their names, I can tell these three aren’t simple.”
“Yeah, in the future, they are part of the Empire’s ‘Special Forces.’ They’re very strong, constantly hunting the Dragon King for over a decade. But I feel like their power is a bit odd, not like regular human magic.”
Leon explained, “If there’s a chance, try to find out where these three came from.”
Tiger nodded and carefully stored the list. “Alright, I’ll start investigating as soon as I get back.”
In the future, Leon had only briefly encountered the Special Forces trio, but it couldn’t even be considered a real confrontation. Still, the power they displayed had left an impression on him.
Even future versions of Noa and Xiao Guang agreed that the trio’s power was mysterious and not from a known source.
Thus, Leon felt it was necessary to investigate them, perhaps even eliminate this unknown threat early on.
After all, who knew what heaven-defying thing the Empire might come up with next?
“Anything else you need to check?” Tiger asked.
Leon had brought back a lot of intelligence from the future, and they had to make full use of it. They were banking on information asymmetry, to catch the Emperor off guard.
Leon thought for a moment before saying, “Then also look into a guy named Nacho Salaman.”
“Nacho Salaman?”
“Yeah, he used to be a minor civil official in the Empire’s Dragon Slaying Army. After they sent me into the spatial rift, he got promoted to the royal court. The trio I just mentioned has very close ties with him. We might be able to dig up something from him.”
“Got it. Anything else?”
“Uh… If there is, it’s not Empire-related.”
Tiger chuckled. “Whatever it is, just say it.”
“Master, do you know anything about primal magic?” Leon asked.
“Primal magic…”
Hearing the mention of primal magic, Rosvitha, who had been quietly waiting, immediately perked up and turned her attention to the conversation. She was a bit surprised because Leon hadn’t mentioned to her beforehand that he would ask his master about primal magic.
Now that she thought about it, ever since she decided to practice primal magic, her progress had been slow. Just as she had initially expected, there were very few records about primal magic.
She could only gather bits and pieces from ancient books and records, and then piece them together herself. It was a complex and painstaking process.
“I’ve heard of it, but I don’t know much about it. Why, are you planning to learn primal magic?” Tiger asked.
Leon blinked. “Yeah, I want to give it a try.”
“You finished learning the ‘Nine Gates of Hell’ I gave you?”
“I told you earlier, in the future, your granddaughter pretty much taught me the whole thing. Besides, in the martial world, you can never have too many skills. Who would say no to more power?”
His master playfully poked Leon’s forehead. “You greedy brat. Fine, I’ll ask some old friends to see if they can find any books on primal magic. I’ll give them to you next time we meet.”
“Great, thanks, Master!”
With business mostly settled, Leon turned the conversation to his mistress.
“Oh, about your mistress… After you disappeared into the spatial rift, I met her once,” Tiger said, reminiscing. “She beat me up and said that if I didn’t bring you back, she wouldn’t let me come home either. Honestly, I should thank you. If you hadn’t come back, your mistress might’ve divorced me by now.”
The divorce part was a bit exaggerated, but Leon could tell that she had truly been worried about him.
“Next time, bring Mistress along. I haven’t seen her in so long,” Leon suggested.
“Well… I’m not sure about that. Her family is quite… cautious. They know we’ve provoked the Empire, and they don’t want her getting involved,” Tiger explained.
Leon quickly nodded. “Oh, I understand. No rush. We can find her after we’ve dealt with everything.”
“Right. If there’s nothing else, let’s leave it at that for now.”
“Alright, Master.”
“Be careful on your way back, and remember to keep training, don’t slack off,” Tiger reminded him.
“Got it, Master. You, Rebecca, and Martin take care of yourselves too.”
“Mhm.”
Rebecca ran over and grinned. “Captain, I wish you and sister-in-law a lifetime of happiness!”
Leon froze. “Wait, what? Why are you saying that all of a sudden… And what’s with the weird ‘sister-in-law’ title? Rosvitha, did you let her call you that?”
…
Footnotes:
- 九狱之门 (Jiǔ Yù Zhī Mén): “The Nine Gates of Hell” refers to a formidable body technique manual within the story.
- 技多不压身 (Jì Duō Bù Yā Shēn): This Chinese idiom means “Skills do not weigh you down,” expressing the idea that having more skills is always advantageous.
