The Deceitful One

Seeing him comply, Detective Watson smiled gently. Then he activated the crystal ball with his spiritual force. Upon activation, the crystal ball glowed brightly. At this point in time, Bryan had already closed his eyes and was just trying to hold out for as long as he could.

Soon one minute was up. Bryan didn't feel anything, he was beginning to wonder if he made a mistake or if he was holding the crystal ball the wrong way. After two minutes were up, Bryan still didn't show any change in his emotions. Right when three minutes were up and Bryan was about to say something, he felt a slight buzz in his mind. However, this didn't cause him any pain and he could still keep going.

After four minutes, Bryan was hit with a severe headache and his expression twisted slightly, but he still persisted. At four minutes and thirty seconds, beads of sweat had already started to form on Bryan's forehead. He was barely able to hold on any longer. After another sixteen seconds passed, Bryan finally let go. He took large mouthfuls of air and was breathing heavily.

On the other side of the table, Detective Watson's eyes widened and he was shocked beyond his wildest dreams. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. 'Four minutes and forty-six seconds…Supreme-Grade spiritual aptitude! Just as I thought!' He hurriedly composed himself and looked deeply at Bryan who had just recovered.

"Boss, what is that thing? It felt as if there were ants crawling on my brain." Bryan looked at Detective Watson suspiciously.

"Haha don't worry, it's harmless. That was a test." Detective Watson smirked and looked at Bryan mysteriously.

"Really? What's the test for?" Bryan was still suspicious.

"I can't tell you about it now. However, what I can tell you is that if you persist in your studies and work hard in the future, then I will give you an opportunity." Detective Watson replied in all seriousness.

'A chance? Is this related to how I felt yesterday about boss being so special and mysterious? Hmm..and that crystal ball. It seemed to have lit up without the support of gas or oil. How did boss do that?' Bryan narrowed his eyes and was deep in thought.

Detective Watson did not disturb him. After a few moments, Bryan had come to a decision, "Alright boss, I'll do my best."

Detective Watson smiled warmly.

"Now try reading this newspaper. I want to see exactly how much you know, based on that I can teach you accordingly." Detective waste instructed Bryan as he handed him today's edition of Damascus Daily.

"Okay." Bryan took the newspaper and struggled to read the first few lines.

"Monday, 19th April, 1580…Kindom of Belize…finals bill. On works..mimom work hars."

'Fuck, what is this bullshit? What's the point of reading this newspaper?' Bryan had never felt so embarrassed before.

Detective Watson chuckled, "No need to be embarrassed, Bryan. At least now we know where to begin. Here's what we'll do, you will come here every day at 8 am. I will tutor you for three hours, then you will study for another three hours by yourself. After that, you may have lunch here and then visit various parts of the city and take note of anything peculiar you see. Come back to the villa again by 6 in the evening to give me a report of your findings. That's the gist of what your daily work schedule will be like. What do you think?"

Bryan was flabbergasted, "Study for 6 hours!? Boss, is that really necessary?"

Detective Watson wore a stern expression, "Yes. This is non-negotiable."

"F-fine." Bryan wore a defeated look.

And thus began Bryan's journey to becoming erudite.

…

The slums, Damascus City.

In one of the dilapidated houses, blood formed a small puddle on the floor. There were also blood stains on the wall and the ceiling. Beside the blood puddle, in the corner of the room three corpses were strewn, two big and one small. It likely belonged to the family that lived in this house.

In the other room, six tall figures were huddled together in a circle, speaking in hushed tones.

"Hehehe that little girl's blood was simply marvelous. I tell you, virgin young girls are really a delicacy."

"Blood is alright. But eating the heart is where the real taste is at."

"By the way, who should we hunt next? I'm really sick of this peasant blood."

"Yes yes. I wonder how those noble ladies taste. Just thinking about it turns me on."

Right at this moment, the door of the house was pushed open and a well-built figure walked in wearing a black hooded robe. He glanced at the corpses in the corner, examined them, and walked to the room inside.

The six men inside instantly quieted down. When they saw the figure walk into the room, they hurriedly knelt down and greeted in unison, "Greetings, my lord."

Although they couldn't see the face of the hooded person. They couldn't mistake the domineering aura. Moreover, they had already spotted the blood crescent ring on the figure's right middle finger. In the organization, he was known as Blood Moon.

Blood Moon looked at the six people. When his gaze swept past them, they involuntarily shivered. "You all have been causing too much of a ruckus lately. The Church and the police can't sit back anymore. There have been too many disappearances in the slum area recently." Blood Moon spoke in a hoarse voice.

No one dared to look up and reply.

"Curb your addiction or else I won't hesitate to kill you. Stay low for a week and no big movements. If you can't withstand it, then get the fuck out of the city and find prey. If any of you dare to mess up master's plans..hehe" Blood moon didn't finish his sentence, but the warning was clearly evident.

The six people in the room had their hair stand on end. They didn't even dare to breathe.

Blood moon turned around and prepared to leave. Then he stopped, turned his head back around, and glared at the six people behind him once again, "These corpses look like they've been ravaged by wild beasts. At least, make it look like they've been killed by people or weapons so as to mislead the officials. Fools."

Then he turned around and left the house. As soon as he left, the six people in the house simultaneously released their breaths.

"Phew! Fuck, he's too scary."

"You heard what he said. Let's disperse and lay low for the week."

"I'm headed to that village in the south. It's far from Damascus, I don't think there will be any problems."

The six people discussed with each other and then left the house.

Meanwhile, in the outskirts of the slums, Blood Moon was sprinting under the shadows of the buildings in the pale moonlight. He took several turns and changed directions. Finally, he reached the north part of the city and got into a carriage that was waiting for him.

After boarding the carriage, he took off his robe and revealed his appearance. He had a head full of short white hair, neatly combed to the sides. He had deep blue eyes and a weathered face. He looked to be in his sixties but still appeared to be healthy.

He sat in the carriage silently and looked out the window. The thick colors of the night covered the vast sky, and most of the stars that blanketed the sky were covered by the clouds that were ever so fleeting, leaving behind only a few shining with faint light.

'What exactly is master planning?' Blood Moon was in deep thought as he stared at the night sky.

Soon, the carriage entered Augustus Street and stopped in front of 53 Augustus Street. This was a large two-storied villa made of grey stones with a big garden in front of it. If Bryan were to see this, he would instantly recognize this as the house he used to live in with his parents in the past. This was where he spent his early childhood.

Blood Moon walked in through the main door and entered the villa. He straight away headed for the study on the second floor. He knocked on the door twice and patiently waited.

Moments later, a deep voice came from inside the room, "Enter."

Blood Moon took a deep breath and entered the room. Inside, he saw a tall man with black wavy hair standing right before the floor-to-ceiling window, staring at the moon with this hands clasped behind his back. He was wearing black trousers and a white shirt. After a few minutes, he turned around and looked at Blood Mood with his bright red eyes.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Master, I've instructed the apprentices and told them to lay low for the time being." Blood Moon replied respectfully.

The man with red eyes nodded.

"Should we proceed to the next stage?" Blood moon asked. His eyes stared at the floor beneath, not daring to look straight at his master.

"No. It's not time yet. Nurture a few more Apprentices and make sure there are at least 10 Rank 3 Apprentices and 5 Rank 1 Transcendents. Do not be negligent. We still have a few more years to go. Work hard Alfredo, I will reward you greatly." The man replied.

"Yes, Master!" Alfredo reverently got on his knees and thanked him.

"Now leave."

"As you wish." Alfredo got to his feet and exited the room before shutting the door.

Inside the study, the man with red eyes walked to the table and sat down on his chair. He then took out an old parchment paper from his drawer. The paper was yellowish in color and displayed the vicissitudes of time. He held the parchment paper in his pale white hands and softly muttered, "Medici Family…"

Written on the parchment paper was information regarding a mystical artifact in the lost ruin of the Medici Family, situated here in the outskirts of Damascus City. However, in order to enter the ruins, one required a key. And that key was the blood of a Transcendent of the Medici Family!

'I've waited a decade for this. I can wait a few more years. Soon I shall advance to the next rank and then snatch that artifact in the ruins.' The man narrowed his eyes and grinned.

In the dark room, the moonlight shone on half of his face. With only one half of the face visible and the other in the dark, the man with red eyes looked extremely diabolical.

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