Mystical Journey

Garen applied direct pressure to his chest and tried to hide his injury . He thought he needed to go to the Dojo and ask for Master’s help .

"Ying Er, I will have lunch at the Dojo so don’t wait for me . I will take the groceries back home first," Garen said .

"Dojo again… Mom and Dad are home today," Ying Er said, disappointment etched on her face .

"Don’t be upset . I heard they got a better job and we’ll be able to spend more time together now . " Garen patted his sister’s head and smiled . He asked Master to move his parents to a better position, and it seemed as if Master had already done it .

Garen’s uncle could do something like this easily, but for some reason he never helped his parents . He arrived home and put everything down, then went straight to the Dojo .

There were a lot of repairs going on in the city, and many infrastructures were being rebuilt . Garen could see workers and bullock cars that carried materials everywhere . The downtown area had become messy, no longer as clean as before .

He kept thinking about the three people he met earlier, while quickly walking down the street, and just felt that something was not right .

"If the invisible force field was the talent the old man talked about before, the key to all the questions would be the book he asked me to read that day . " Garen thought he finally found a clue . "After watching me read the book, the old man looked disappointed and said I was not talented . I’ve not seen that book since . It may contain the answers to all my questions…"

Garen slowed down a bit . He saw a pancake stand moving towards him after turning at a corner . The owner of the stand smiled and handed him a small piece of paper before passing .

Garen stopped for a second and looked at the piece of paper . A Golden Hoop was drawn on it, and there was a sentence written below the graph: ’28-3 Stone Bridge, Willow Street . Urgent . ’

Garen put the paper into his pocket and took a deep breath . He then turned back and crossed the street .

********************

East of the Huaishan .

A yellow river slowly ran across the city area, and it looked like a wide yellow ribbon dividing the city in half . But it was a dirty one .

There were many square shaped light-yellow houses on both sides of the river . Some of them were tall and some short . They looked like a bunch of unorganized blocks . Sometimes, people in the houses could be seen through the windows .

There were many dark yellow stone bridges built over the river . Many pedestrians and cars were going across them . There was a silver black bust standing in the middle of one bridge that was far from the downtown area . The bust with its stand was about three meters tall, and it was a man with a moustache surrounded by flowers .

There was a bronze introduction panel in front of the bust, and a man in check sweater was standing beside it . The man was about 30 or 40 years old . He had brown eyes and an aquiline nose . With his short grey hair, he looked ruthless .

A strong young man with short purple hair appeared on the left side of the bridge and slowly walking toward the bronze panel . He was wearing a black sweatshirt, though the shirt was large, it could barely hide his muscles . The sunlight was not strong, but the young man’s arms still looked shiny .

"Master Nine?"

Garen heard the voice and looked at the man’s aquiline nose . The man revealed a golden earing he was holding with his right hand .

"Nine?" Garen scrunched his eyebrows and stared at the man . He then realized he just took over position of Number Nine . "What’s the matter?" he asked .

"Master Six was checking the retrieved bodies, and he thought you would be interested in the results . He asked me to inform you about them," the man answered respectfully . His voice was low, just enough for Garen to hear him .

"The bodies… Lead the way . " Garen’s expression changed, and he said with a deep tone .

"Sure, please follow me . "

They went across the bridge and left the downtown area . There were many oxcarts and carriages on the road . Garen barely saw any cars around, just ox feces by the roadside from time to time .

They crossed two streets and walked into a narrow path beside a small hill . On the other side, there was a black wall separating the living area from the path .

The two had already left the city area, and Garen could hear insects making noises in the bushes on the side . He followed the man with an aquiline nose and kept checking the surroundings .

Quack . Quack .

Garen saw several white-feathered ducks crossing the path after turning a corner . An old farmer with a straw hat was guiding them with a branch . He looked relaxed . Garen and the man went around the procession and kept advancing . They saw an empty ground by the end of the path, and behind the empty ground, there was a small building that was surrounded by green trees .

The sunlight was blocked by the trees, and the building was covered in shadows .

"That’s it . " The man stopped by the entrance of the building . "This is one of our bases in Huaishan . Please go to the second floor . The other masters are waiting for you there . "

Garen looked at him but did not say anything and just entered the building . A lady with black hair walked out of one of the rooms on the second floor . She looked sexy dressed in a tight leather suit . The lady had a ponytail, and was tall and slim . Her eyes were dark purple, and they caught Garen’s attention .

The lady was pretty, but she seemed hard to approach . She saw Garen going upstairs and walked back into the room without saying anything . He felt a bit speechless .

"No . 10 is here too… I guess she knows who I am . " Garen shook his head and kept moving . There was a strong man standing by the entrance to the second floor .

"This way, please . According to the rules, please put on your earring," the strong man told Garen .

Garen nodded and took the golden earring out of his pocket . He hesitated for a second, rubbing his earlobe . He decided to just put it on his left little finger, turned the number side up, and entered the room on the right .

It was the only room on the right side of the second floor . It was big with a rectangle table, two bookshelves, and several high backed chairs . All of the furniture were made of some red wood . Garen could smell its light fragrance .

A man and a lady were standing in front of the bookshelves . The lady was Number Ten, while the man was blonde and had only one eye . They were talking about something .

Number Six and a pale man with a black cape were playing cards on the table .

"You’re here? We can start . " Number Six stood up and laughed, he put down his cards . "Sorry, Number Eight, I win again . "

"Bullshit!" Number Eight cursed . He stood up and looked at Garen . "You’re a bit late," he said .

"Sorry, I am not familiar with the route," Garen replied, nodding to him . Number Eight had invited Garen to join the Golden Hoop, and he was the only one Garen was familiar with . So he walked toward him and stood by his side .

"So, what’s the matter?" Garen asked .

Number Six smiled but did not answer the question .

He clapped and said, "Okay everyone . We’re here to discuss the thing about the Silversilk Castle . There are five members from the top ten here, and we haven’t met like this in years . "

"Cut the crap!" Number 10 barked, stopping Number Six from saying more unnecessary things . "We’re busy organizing our territories and aren’t here to waste our time . "

"Fine . " Number Six scratched his head . "First, I would like to introduce our new member, Number Nine!"

Clap .

They clapped their hands several times but no one seemed to care .

"I still have no idea about the Golden Hoop . " Garen shrugged .

"Take those," Number Eight handed Garen a stack of paper . "Leave them here after you finish reading . Someone will burn them . "

Garen grabbed several pages, and found out they contained the information about the Golden Hoop .

He read through the information quickly, and learnt some basic knowledge about the Gold Hoop .

It was a large organization that sold antiques and jewelry . The top ten members of the Golden Hoop created an information network that collected rumours about antiques . If there were requests for certain items, the organization would do whatever they needed to get them for the buyers .

The top ten members were responsible for the organization, but they were not ranked with the numbers, and they all had their own territories and networks . They joined the organization just to make more profit .

Each of the top ten members oversaw a certain task: some needed to collect information about antiques while others needed to communicate with buyers . They could buy the antiques they wanted, or they could also get them from the others’ territories . They would work together as long as there were benefits .

Number Six spoke again while Garen was still checking the information . "Recently, our customers have shown a great interest in Antiques of Tragedy, and Number Nine is an expert of Antiques of Tragedy . He will make sure the antiques we get are real . This is the main reason I agreed to take him in . "

"Also, Number Nine is a Martial Adept, and he is very close to rank E," Number Eight added . "We’ve already voted to confirm his membership and don’t need to discuss it anymore . Number Six, get to the point . "

"Fine . " Number Six nodded and looked at Number Ten . She did not seem to care about any of this . "We sometimes make changes to our top management, like Number Seven, who just joined us about two years ago . Well, let’s get down to business . " His face got serious .