Money, piles of it, gleaming gold coins catching the eye. Despite the overcast sky and the chilly wind that hinted at impending rain—a rain that never seemed to fall in the City of Shadows—Leoric felt as though the sun was shining brightly, with not a cloud in sight. It was the best weather he had experienced in the ten years since his reincarnation. Even the grotesque old man standing before him seemed somehow more endearing.
"Is this for me?" Leoric asked, barely containing his excitement.
The old man smiled, his wrinkles stretching out like a map of time. "What use do I have for it? Naturally, it's for you," he said. "After all, we were master and disciple. Before I depart, I must leave something for my apprentice."
"Before you go?" Leoric was taken aback. "Where are you going, Master?"
"To the underworld, though I wonder if there's even a King Yama here," the old man replied with a laugh.
"Master..." Leoric began, but the old man raised his hand to stop him.
"I'm done for," he sighed. "I know my own body; it won't be long now. Kid, bury me next to Old Huang. Remember to burn some paper for me during the festivals."
Old Huang was the bald dog that had passed away the previous year. Leoric stood there, speechless, his mind racing back over the past two years under Tian Buguang's tutelage. He realized he hadn't truly appreciated his master. Perhaps it was because whenever he thought of Tian Buguang as the infamous “Unavoidable” thief, it was hard to muster any respect.
But then again, Tian Buguang had been kind to him. He had taught Leoric sword techniques and internal cultivation, though due to Leoric's lack of talent, it had taken him two years just to get started. He had imparted the Jade Harvesting Technique, which seemed utterly useless, like a dragon-slaying skill with no dragons to slay. And he had taught Leoric a full set of professional skills for being a lecher, though they remained theoretical and untested.
What could Leoric complain about? Compared to Tian Buguang, he was incredibly fortunate. He hadn't been thrust into the body of a seventy-year-old man in his prime but had instead gotten a fresh start from infancy, effectively gaining an extra twenty years of life. Nor had he suddenly become crippled, losing his ability to pursue happiness as a thief, ending up aimlessly drifting through life.
Leoric knew that if Tian Buguang hadn't crossed over, his fate wouldn't have been much better. According to the records of "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer," he would have been beaten by the protagonist Ling Huchong, castrated by a ruthless monk, and forced to become both a monk and a eunuch. Such a life would have been unbearable for Tian Buguang.
Was it destined that his life would be nothing but a tragedy, ending in such a bleak manner? Perhaps this was what people called fate.
"And what is my fate?" Leoric pondered deeply.
Four days later, Tian Buguang passed away. He had no children or friends, and after living alone for ten years pretending to be mute, any connections he once had were long gone. Leoric buried him next to Old Huang, near the graves of his parents, as per his wishes.
In the City of Shadows, civilian housing belonged to the government, and citizens only had indefinite usage rights. If one had descendants, they could continue living there; otherwise, the house would be reclaimed by the government. Soon after Tian Buguang's death, another family moved in.
The money Tian Buguang left Leoric was all the savings accumulated by his previous incarnation and generations before him—not much, exactly fifty gold coins. Combined with the small amount Leoric and Leovena had saved over the past three years, there were now one hundred ninety-seven gold coins in their home cabinet. This figure was absolutely precise because Leovena counted it every week.
They were only three gold coins short of the tuition fee for the wizarding school, and Leoric was nine years old, with a year until he turned ten. It seemed a glimmer of hope was gradually turning into dawn.
Over the past two years, Leoric had trained under Tian Buguang. Although this wasn't something dishonorable, it certainly couldn't be openly discussed due to the secrecy surrounding their origins. They had to keep it hidden from everyone else. Otherwise, who knows what kind of trouble might arise? If everyone in the City of Shadows knew that Leoric and Tian Buguang were from another world, the consequences would far exceed Leoric’s imagination.
Perhaps they would be captured by high-ranking officials and experimented on like lab rats. Or perhaps locked up in a zoo, charging one silver coin per visitor. Forget it, these were all ridiculous thoughts. In any case, this was a secret that must never be revealed, not even to his sister Leovena.
Easier said than done. During the day, Leoric worked with Leovena collecting materials and running their store. At night, after Leovena fell asleep, he would sneak out to Tian Buguang’s place to practice sword techniques and internal cultivation. His sleep was severely lacking. Despite his dreams of future glory, the daily grind was exhausting. More importantly, how to avoid detection by Leovena, who shared his bed, was a significant challenge.
Leoric always waited until Leovena was sound asleep before leaving, but if she woke up in the middle of the night and found him missing, it would cause problems. Returning to separate beds might help maintain the secret, but Leoric cherished the warmth of holding Leovena too much to give it up.
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Unfortunately, Leoric was proven to be hopeless at martial arts. Otherwise, he could simply learn the acupressure technique to put Leovena into a deep sleep each night, ensuring she stayed asleep until morning without any issues. With his current level of qi, however, he dared not risk hitting Leovena’s pressure points carelessly, as it could lead to permanent disability.
Of course, besides acupressure, there were other ways to ensure Leovena slept soundly. Among the professional skills Tian Buguang taught Leoric was the art of concocting aphrodisiacs. These weren’t strictly limited to love potions but included things like knockout gas—a more advanced form of sleeping draught. Just a few breaths of it would put someone into a deep sleep, unaffected even by collapsing buildings.
Leoric learned this quickly, and the ingredients weren’t hard to find. Making them was also simple, and he had already secretly stored several bottles at home. But he didn’t dare use them. These drugs ultimately harmed the body. Occasional use might be harmless, but prolonged exposure could damage the nervous system. Even regular sleeping pills weren’t good for health, let alone potent substances like knockout gas.
Leoric definitely didn’t want to use knockout gas on Leovena every night, only to discover years later that it had turned her into a vegetable. Such risks were unacceptable.
After much deliberation, he decided to fabricate a story.
"Hey, Sister," Leoric found an opportunity to casually mention, "did you know that the mute old man next door used to be a wizard?"
"Really?" Leovena looked genuinely surprised.
"Yeah, he told me himself... well, wrote it down on paper. He claimed that when he was young, he was a wizard, but after getting injured in battle, he lost his magical abilities and retired."
This story was rather clumsy but not entirely baseless. The City of Shadows operated under the principle of “elitism.” Its population numbered around twenty thousand, with three thousand soldiers including wizards, priests, and warriors—all elite fighters.
To maintain combat effectiveness and city operations, the City of Shadows frequently waged war against monsters in the Shadowfell. Every year, armies were dispatched to raid and plunder, capturing intelligent creatures to work as slaves or train as mounts, such as shadow horses or sea serpents. Useless monsters were summarily executed.
Casualties were inevitable. While the City of Shadows was powerful, the monsters of the Shadowfell were formidable opponents. Soldiers who died in battle were finished; those who became disabled and lost their fighting capabilities were discharged and sent home.
Every year, new graduates from wizard schools and priest temples joined the army, while others either died or retired.
Using this as an excuse, Leoric claimed that the mute neighbor had once been a wizard who, after sustaining injuries in battle, lost his magic and was discharged.
As for what exactly “losing his magic” meant...
"Sister, haven’t you noticed he’s mute? A wizard who can’t speak spells is useless to the army."
"But... I seem to remember Dad saying he became mute after falling while walking when we were born. Not because of battle, right?"
"Maybe he already had vocal cord damage before, and that incident worsened it completely..."
Since Leovena couldn’t verify this with the military, Leoric fabricated the story and quickly changed the subject.
"Anyway, enough about that. There’s good news."
"What?”
"He thinks I have potential as a wizard and wants to take me as an apprentice, teaching me magic every night."
"But isn’t he already mute and unable to use magic?”
"Well, I doubt I’ll learn much, but there’s always experience to share,”Leoric said. “Oh, and this needs to stay a secret, okay?”
"Okay."
Thus, the matter was covered up. With the excuse of “learning magic,” Leovena paid no mind to Leoric’s frequent visits to the old man. Even when she saw Leoric bringing back a bag of gold coins, she didn’t question it, treating it as perfectly normal. This made Leoric both curious and relieved.
Most gratifyingly, Leovena never questioned Leoric about his progress in “magic studies” or demanded proof. Otherwise,Leoric wouldn’t know how to explain. He couldn’t tell her the truth: “Actually, I’m from another world, and the old man next door is too. I’m learning how to be a thief, not a wizard.”
And if Leovena nodded and said, “Yeah, I’m from another world too…”
That would really be awkward for Leoric.
After Tian Buguang’s death, life returned to how it was two years ago. Days passed quietly, Leoric and Leovena continued to run their little shop, selling spell components. If everything went smoothly, they should be able to save enough money. During his free time,Leoric practiced the internal cultivation techniques Tian Buguang had taught him, but despite three years of effort, he still couldn’t chop through a small tree with a single palm strike—a feat even the slightly slow-witted Guo Jing could achieve.
Alas, thinking about this filled Leoric with sorrow.
The only achievement from three years of hard practice was that he no longer needed much sleep. While ordinary people required seven to eight hours of sleep to feel refreshed,Leoric needed only two hours of meditation and breathing exercises to remain energetic throughout the day. At least this was something to be proud of.
As for the lecherous skills and the ultimate technique, Jade Harvesting, they remained untested.Leoric didn’t want to take the risk, especially with entry into the wizarding school looming. There would be plenty of opportunities later.
Leoric still spent nights cuddling with his sister, undressing her gently after she fell asleep, admiring her flawless body, and then falling asleep beside her. Seemingly craving the warmth of embracing each other on cold nights, Leovena never got angry even when she woke up naked, merely scolding him playfully.
Girls developed faster than boys. By the timeLeoric turned ten, his body showed little change, but Leovena had noticeable signs of growth. She was now half a head taller than him, her chest beginning to develop, her hips fuller, accentuating her slender waist. Occasionally wearing her mother’s white dress, with her long black hair flowing freely, she exuded a certain charm, no longer the child she once was.
Leovena had grown up… When could he finally taste her?Leoric wondered. Ten was still too young. In his previous life, anyone under fourteen was considered a minor, and touching them was illegal. Though there were no such laws in the City of Shadows, ten was still too young.
“Wait until the first coming-of-age ceremony? That should be about right,”Leoric calculated.
The customs in the City of Shadows were peculiar, with thirteen marking the first coming of age and eighteen the second. This tradition dated back to the Nerath era, which puzzledLeoric.
Regardless, days slipped by one after another.
Spell components were handed over the counter, silver and copper coins exchanged, and converted into gold coins stored in the cabinet. Finally, in 1368 DR, during the Green Grass Festival (a holiday between April and May),Leoric donned his black wizard robes and became a first-year student at the City of Shadows’ wizarding school.