Chapter Ninety-Six: The Magical Artifact

“Right here, right here! These two kids were dredging jade stones from this river to sell!” A sharp-featured, slant-eyed man with a dog-skin plaster stuck to his neck was leading a portly, pig-faced man with large ears and a big belly toward the riverbank.

Behind the pig-faced man were two hen-headed men escorting a monkey-faced boy. The boy’s face was bruised and swollen, smeared with patches of purple and blue, barely human anymore.

“Monkey, where’s your brother Mirror? Did he get struck dead by lightning?” The slant-eyed man bowed and kowtowed obsequiously before the pig-faced man, but when he turned to the monkey boy, his expression twisted into a cruel sneer. He repeatedly jabbed the pointed tip of his shoe into the boy’s foot, heedless of the monkey’s agonized screams.

“You bastard, scoundrel! When Brother Mirror returns, he’ll fry you with lightning! I’m telling you, Brother Mirror is the Lord of Thunder incarnate! If you dare bully me, he’ll kill you for sure. I spit on you!” The monkey spat a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva and thick phlegm straight onto the slant-eyed man’s face, making it utterly repulsive.

“Damn you, brat! I can’t beat you to death!” The slant-eyed man lashed out wildly, beating the monkey until he fainted. Still unsatisfied, he raised his foot to kick him.

“Goo goo! Stop it! If you kill him, where will I find that magic mirror?” The pig-faced man squealed like a slaughtered pig, then snatched the slant-eyed man and hurled him aside, leaving the sycophant dazed and disoriented.

“Yes, sir! I understand!” The slant-eyed man scrambled up and, limping on his injured leg, returned to the pig-faced man’s side with renewed arrogance. Spitting out some cold tea, he sprayed the monkey awake and then sneakily slapped his bruised face a few times.

“You little bastard, slant-eyed runt, remember this: I’ll never let you off, even if I’m a ghost hunter. Brother Mirror will come back and seek revenge for me. You slant-eyed runt, just wait to be fried to a crisp like these fish!” The monkey struggled and stomped on a fish, crushing it into blackened charcoal dust.

“Interesting! Truly powerful thunder magic! This must be a thunder-elemental artifact. Once I get it, I might claim it as my own, cultivate thunder skills, and use it as proof to enter the sect’s trials!” Despite his corpulent frame, the pig-faced man was surprisingly agile. He crouched, fiddling with the ebony piece that still flickered with tiny electric arcs, chuckling and letting out guttural pig-like cries. His followers frowned but dared not cover their ears, clearly scared of him.

“Where did that kid with you who took the mirror go?” The pig-faced man pinched the monkey’s chin with his greasy fingers.

“Speak up, quickly!” the slant-eyed man chimed in.

“Smack!” A sharp slap landed squarely on the slant-eyed man’s face. He spun several times and fell headfirst into a muddy puddle, lying there motionless, unsure if alive or dead.

The sycophants who came along looked on with pity and a sense of betrayal, sympathizing with the slant-eyed man but none dared help him.

What no one knew was that beneath the mud and grass, the slant-eyed man’s eyes gleamed with wild savagery, as if he had resolved something desperate.

The monkey stared at the pig-faced man in astonishment, then glanced at the pitiful slant-eyed man lying in the water. His hatred for the slant-eyed man waned, replaced by a strange pity. Truly, those who are pitiful often have reasons to be hated.

“Tell me where that copper mirror is. If I get that mirror, you won’t have to give up your entire share of the mine. I’ll even recommend you as the leader of your group! How’s that? Quite a generous offer, right?” The pig-faced man produced a handkerchief and gently wiped the blood from the monkey’s face.

“Many would beg for such a chance! Think carefully — that broken mirror you have is useless!” the pig-faced man continued to tempt.

“I don’t know where Brother Mirror went. We were fishing for carp in the river to get pearls and jade to sell. But suddenly, Brother Mirror went mad and electrocuted many carp! Such a shame about the pearls!” The monkey was clearly greedy, still worrying about the jewels even in dire straits.

“This definitely is a rare thunder artifact! So many fish died from the electric shock — such a vast range and powerful attack. This must be at least a fifth-rank artifact. Our sect probably doesn’t have one like this. This time, we’ll really strike it rich!” The pig-faced man barely contained his excitement, letting out another pig-like scream. His underlings frowned but didn’t dare cover their ears, clearly cowed by him.

“Think hard — where could that kid who was with you have gone?” The pig-faced man took the monkey from his hen-headed henchmen and helped him sit against a tree, sitting close beside him. To an outsider, they might have seemed good friends.

“I really don’t know where Brother Mirror went. After he went mad, he seemed somewhat conscious and told me to run. I planned to go to the mine to get help from Uncle, who is at least a first-rank warrior and might have a way. But I was caught halfway back by you people!” the monkey replied.

“So this happened not long ago?” The pig-faced man grew excited. If the kid was nearby, it would be easier. But he seemed to overlook the fact that with Wu Ming’s furious lightning attacks in rampage, how would he pay Wu Ming, and how would he take the Mountain-Sea Mirror from him without being fried to charcoal like those fish?

“Yes,” the monkey nodded.

“Search the surrounding area immediately! Whoever finds that kid, dead or alive, gets promoted to squad leader and rewarded ten spirit stones!” The pig-faced man was unusually generous.

“Yes, sir!” The pig-faced man’s henchmen scattered quickly to search. After all, who wouldn’t want promotion and wealth?

“And you! If you’re not dead, get up and help search! Don’t just play dead! I don’t keep lazy people, especially worthless half-breeds like you, neither human nor demon!” The pig-faced man threw a small stone at the slant-eyed man’s head as he lay pretending to be dead.

The slant-eyed man howled and scrambled to his feet, then vanished into the woods in an instant.