After a whole day of classes, Mo Li’s arms and shoulders were sore—sore from sleeping.
Under the setting sun, the street was utterly deserted. It felt like a black sedan could roll out at any moment, three assassin-like soldiers stepping down from it.
After making sure no one was around, Mo Li took out that dull gray ring and held it up in the dying light of the sunset.
“Even dusk doesn’t work?” Mo Li raised his brows slightly.
He was still unwilling to give up, trying his hardest to figure out the correct way to use the ring.
Who knew, maybe it really was like those cheesy heroic ballads, with some treasure hidden inside. Even if there wasn’t a treasure, something more vulgar, like a pile of gold coins, would be nice. For Mo Li, who was short on everything right now, that would be a huge help.
He twisted it sideways, upside down, tried every possible way he could think of, but nothing worked. In the end, Mo Li could only give up in frustration and carefully tuck the ring back into his pocket.
Elsa had said he should avoid letting the ring see the light as much as possible.
Judging from her tone and what she’d implied, it wasn’t that something bad would happen if people saw the ring. It was that the ring was too special and couldn’t be seen by certain people. Otherwise, it might very well bring fatal trouble down on his head.
Thinking of that, Mo Li grew even more curious about where the ring came from. He wanted to know why the old drunk had told the orphanage director to give it to him when he turned fifteen.
The old drunk definitely knew something. But the geezer had completely vanished, and Mo Li had no way to find him.
He thought about the fact that he had no memories from before he was five. Was this ring connected to those missing memories?
He forced his drifting thoughts back on track. He still had proper business to take care of.
————
In a sprawling mansion—
Count Norma sat in the courtyard. The assassination attempt from a few days ago was still vivid in his mind; he hadn’t quite recovered from the shock.
Since then, he’d strengthened the mansion’s defenses. Maybe he’d realized there was something wrong with his personal guards. He had all of them replaced and posted a sentry every five meters. Only then did he feel at ease.
The tea on the table wasn’t even cold yet when a guard pushed the door open and came in.
“Sir, there’s a boy outside the mansion calling himself ‘Mountains and Rivers Cross Paths.’ He says he’s your guest and is making a fuss about coming in. Do you want us to forcefully throw him out?”
“Let him in.” Norma’s eyes sharpened as he gave the order.
“Uh… would that be… not so wise?”
“He’s not a stranger. He’s my guest.”
“Understood, I’ll have him wait in the parlor at once.”
After his subordinate left, Norma stood up and went to the full-length mirror, tidying his appearance a little.
“Rocco.”
“Sir, I’ve been here the whole time.” A shadow emerged behind him.
“In a bit, if that boy shows any sign of trying to run, hold him down. Got it?”
“As you wish.” With that, the shadow vanished.
Rocco belonged to The Papal State’s royal elite unit, the Black Phoenix. Because of the recent assassination attempt, the Pope, worried about Norma’s safety, had handpicked Rocco to secretly guard him.
Now, Rocco obeyed Norma’s commands completely.
That was why Norma had actually been able to sleep these last few days.
With a member of the Black Phoenix protecting him, his safety was as close to guaranteed as it could get. These were the Pope’s own elites—each one could take on a hundred men alone.
Yes, he’d prepared everything, just to wait for Mo Li to come to him.
Mo Li had technically saved his life, and if possible, Norma didn’t want to make things difficult for him. But that was only if the other party was willing to honestly answer his questions.
There were still doubts in his heart that only Mo Li could clear up… If Mo Li refused to cooperate, then he’d have to use force to keep him here.
Rocco was one of the Black Phoenix’s elites, the Pope’s personal guard. From the moment they entered the Black Phoenix, they abandoned their real names and used code names instead.
Calling them machines built for battle and killing wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Even seasoned, battle-hardened assassins wouldn’t last a single exchange against them.
Guards had been stationed all over the mansion, all on high alert. The silent estate was like a beast with its jaws wide open—prey could enter, but never leave.
Once everything was in place, Norma straightened his posture and walked downstairs.
On the other side, in the parlor—
The cloaked boy couldn’t sit still, his gaze wandering around like a curious child.
As expected of a noble’s mansion—the level of luxury was completely beyond what a mud-legged kid who’d grown up in the slums could even imagine.
Put simply, poverty had limited his imagination. Walking into the mansion felt like that country bumpkin stepping into a grand imperial garden.
The incense burner was burning some jade-fat medicine, leaving him relaxed and energized. Oil paintings on the walls and lifelike stone sculptures in the corners made the hall ooze with artistic flair.
Honestly, just this one hall was bigger than an average person’s whole house. And those agate and jade pieces… tsk, tsk… If he “borrowed” just one, it’d probably be enough to keep him fed for months.
No, no, no. In this life he absolutely wasn’t getting involved with thieving and petty crimes again. If he did, there’d be no good end for him.
Well, even if he wouldn’t steal, that didn’t stop him from taking a closer look, right? Yeah, just a closer look. And while he was at it, he could touch them a little, feel what these luxury items were like…
Clack. At that moment, something small slipped loose and slid out from Mo Li’s arms.
At the same time, footsteps approached. Count Norma pushed the door open and appeared at the entrance.
“Crap!” Mo Li shot Norma a glance, then looked down—and realized he was in big trouble.
Because he hadn’t tucked it away securely, the ring had slipped off his body.
He didn’t have time to think. Mo Li immediately lunged to pick it up. But halfway there, a shadow flashed right in front of him.
So fast…!
Mo Li’s eyes narrowed. At some point, a cloaked man had appeared in front of him, and in the man’s hand… was the ring he’d just dropped.
This man was strong.
The realization sent a chill down his back. If that move had been meant to kill him instead of pick something up, he’d probably already be in pieces.
Strong. Unpredictably strong. Definitely not someone he could handle.
Mo Li swallowed. He stared at the man, and the man stared right back at him.
Those dead, lifeless eyes made Mo Li feel like some fierce beast had just set its sights on him.
“Sorry, sorry, don’t mind him. This is my shadow guard, Rocco. He didn’t scare you, did he…? Tell me, is this ring yours?” While the two were locked in a standoff, Norma hurried over to smooth things over.
When his gaze fell on the ring, he froze for a moment. Then his pupils shrank. But the next second, he was back to acting like nothing had happened, calmly asking Mo Li his question.
Mo Li was a little surprised.
Maybe it was just his imagination, but the Count’s tone when he spoke to him seemed to hold a trace of… nervousness, and some other emotion he just couldn’t quite pin down.
