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Mad God - Volume 4 - Chapter 2




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I turned to the eight scribes and said, “Follow the butler; he will lead you to your rooms. Rest for now, and I will find you in the afternoon. Remember, you cannot take one step out of your room unless I let you. Understand?”

“We understand.” I could tell that these servants were well trained; their expressions didn’t falter the slightest. The emperor really didn’t waste any effort training them.

I turned around and saw the surrounding servants and womenfolk staring at me, idling at their tasks. I immediately flew into a rage, “What are you staring at?! Get back to work!”

But instead, all the people prostrated themselves on the floor simultaneously, shouting, “Congratulations on getting promoted, third young master!”

I wanted to both laugh and shout at the same time; these beastmen, all of whom were nasty pieces of work who only revere strength, had started to lick my shoes as soon as I gained the slightest power. “Enough. Get up, and go back to work.” I impatiently waved my hand, and then turned away and left the courtyard.

I went to eat a brief meal before entering the big room that the butler arranged for the scribes. As soon as I entered, the eight beastmen immediately stood up and saluted.

This room was huge; it spanned seventy feet, and there were beds laid out on each side of the room. At the head of each bed stood a large table, complete with a pen and paper on top. I wasn’t sure if they had asked for them, or if the butler had already set this up.

I swept my eyes over the eight scribes and said, “Since we don’t have much time, your workload will be quite harsh. All of you are shorthand experts, so I will be speaking very quickly. Take turns recording what I say, and do not divulge this information to anyone else. Just ask my servants what I do with people who betray me. Today, each of you must complete a book. After recording it, you must arrange the volumes, chapters, pages, and even paragraphs so that they make sense. Understand?” After they confirmed, I picked a werewolf to record first. The werewolf calmly ran to his table and said, “Your highness, you may begin to speak.”

I pulled a chair and sat down, after thinking for a moment I said, “Remember clearly, the name of the book is《The Revelation of the Military Affairs in the Continent》, it is composed of 10 volumes, 66 chapters. First volume, first chapter……” I recited the books from my memory, as the shorthands furiously scribbled them down. I was surprised at their speed of notation, allowing me to increase my dictation speed ten-fold.

I spent the entire afternoon sitting at the tables, reciting the books I had memorized as they wrote what I said down.

It was evening; I stretched back in my chair and said, “It is time to eat, lets stop here. You all did very well, and exceeded my expectations. I initially wished to complete eight books, but I never thought you would be so good as to complete 16. Your shorthand skills are very impressive. I shall definitely praise your hard work in front of His Majesty.”

Completely recording 16 books made me very excited, and I unexpectedly gave out some words of praise. It was the first time I had complimented somebody.

The scribes’ expressions didn’t change at all; they calmly stood up and saluted me, “Thank you for Your Highness’ praise.” Suddenly, I felt a wave of fatigue wash over me. I realized that I had used my brain for the entire day, causing me to feel extremely exhausted.

“All of you should rest early. If you wish, you may order anything from the servants.” Leaving the large room, I ran to my mother’s bedroom. A maid was leaving the room just as I arrived. She quickly saluted as soon as she saw me, “Third young master.”

“Has my mother eaten?”

“She just ate.”

“You may leave.” I pushed the door and walked into my mother’s room. Mother was sitting on a chair, staring blankly at the two gems I gave her.

“Mother, I’m back.”

She lifted her hand and gave me a glance, her complexion was much better than yesterday’s, slightly displaying a glimpse of rosy red. “How are you feeling today?”

Mother looked at the two gems in front of her, pleased, “Much better than before. These two stones really are magical, especially the turquoise one. I had heard of its ability to turn nature’s essence into vitality, but I never thought it would be so potent. I have already started to feel the stone’s combined effects.”

It was the first time mother had spoken so much to me, it seemed that her heart really had hopes of revival. I smiled, “These are the duke’s feelings for you, of course they’re effective.”

Mother’s gaze shifted from the gems to me, but to my surprise her expression was very cold.

She coldly laughed, and said, “You are planning to use me as a bargaining chip to return to the Dragon Empire, right? If you think that will work, you are gravely mistaken!”

An intense fury surged through my body, I slammed the table, and the solid red sandalwood table immediately turned into a pile of rubble beneath my large, fast palm. The small flame was disturbed by the current of air, flickering intermittently.

Mother was not the slightest bit intimidated by my might; instead, she raised her head and said, “Why are you so angry, have I hit a sore spot? You beastmen were never anything good.”

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my agitated emotions; I feared that if this continued, it would cause me to go berserk.

“Mother, you can insult my integrity, but you cannot insult the feelings I have for you. You’re right, the duke was really kind to me; he even prepared to betroth his daughter to me. However, I have never once forgotten that I am born from a beastman family, albeit a mixed-blooded one. While others may call me a “hybrid”, I do not care; I will use my actions to prove that I’m the strongest.”

I wiped the tears that unknowingly flowed from my eyes, and continued, “You are also right; I’ll admit, I really liked my life in the Dragon Empire. The people there are simple and honest, the rulers are wise and capable, and my loved ones wave at me. If I really wanted to stay there, I do not even need you as my bargaining chip. Did you know that I never even told the duke that I am your son? I don’t even know if you consider me to be your flesh and blood. I’m not the one who raped and harmed you, that is the Beamon King Leo. I am not my father; why have you hated me from the moment I was born?”

My mother’s body started to tremble as she listened to what I said; finally, when I finished she snapped, “Although you aren’t that animal, you are of his kind! Giving birth to you only brought shame and disgrace to me!”

I calmed down; nothing is worse than apathy. I no longer harbored any more delusional hope for my mother.

I insipidly said, “Since these are your true thoughts, I won’t bother you anymore. The main reason for my return to the Beastmen lands was to assist the Beast Emperor in uniting the tribes, so as to help the Beastmen Tribes gradually grow more powerful. You may not know, but the Beast Emperor has already recognized me as his foster son. Why would I wish to gain favor with a duke in the Dragon Empire? In a couple of hours I shall go to the palace and do my work. If you wish to see Linden again, take care of yourself; when I believe you are ready, I will naturally send you back. I have no ulterior motives; I only wish to see your dreams come true, as I also hate Leo. Anyway, you should rest. I’ll leave you now.”

I returned to my room extremely depressed. I immediately started to cultivate my Demonic Arts, as there was no way I could rest being this agitated.

Morning came and I found myself carrying the sixteen recorded books to the Royal Palace. Just as I was about to announce myself at the entrance of the palace, the guards lined up on each side of me as the head guard saluted, “Your Royal Highness, please.”

I was surprised, “Don’t you need to report my presence to his Majesty first?”

The leader of the guards humbly said, “There’s no need to, His Majesty has ordered that Your Highness may enter whenever he wishes to have an audience with the Emperor. His Majesty is waiting for Your Highness in the imperial study.”

“Oh? I see.” Does the Beast Emperor not have the slightest doubt in me? I entered the imperial palace, puzzled.

“This son wishes to meet Your Majesty.”

“Come in.”

I stepped into the imperial study, it was unoccupied except for the Beast Emperor reading at a desk.

“Father, I wonder why you have called for me?”

The Beast Emperor smiled and said, “Nothing, we father and son should communicate often. Anyways, are you satisfied with the people I sent you yesterday?”

I nodded and said, “Very satisfied, they are all first class shorthand experts; please look, this is the result from yesterday’s work.” I promptly handed the transcribed books over to him.

The Beast Emperor said delightedly, “There’s no need to be in such a rush. You just returned to the country; why don’t you get some more rest?”

I scratched my head and said, “There are too many things waiting to be done, so I felt that I should start working on them as soon as possible.”

The Beast Emperor simply started to read the records, his facial expression changed in quick succession. After a long time, he closed the folder and let out a long sigh, “No wonder the Dragon Empire is so formidable, the theories in these records are indeed something unheard of in our country. Oh Layson, you really established a great merit this time. Good, I will train someone using this material later.”

And he said that I rushed too much; he didn’t lose to me in speed at all.

“Right. Also, for you to be working at home isn’t very convenient. I have to make a summon whenever I wish to see you. How about you come live in the palace? It’ll be easier for us to talk if there’s anything to discuss.”

Having me move into the imperial palace, isn’t this just like a bird flying into a cage?

I euphemistically said, “Father, let’s not rush; this son is a free spirit, so I’m very likely to break the palace rules if I moved in.”

The Beast Emperor smiled and said, “Don’t worry about that, you don’t have to follow the rules as long as I am here. That should put you at ease. Also, you seem to have had some quarrels with your father’s wives; how about you let your mother move in as well? I have the best goods here, and I can satisfy both of you; you can also avoid needless disturbances.”

Listening to what he said, my attitude underwent a 180 degree shift. Indeed, once the war ended, the frontline would return, and when Layhu discovered that his mother died by my hands, he would want to fight me at any cost. With father’s protection, I couldn’t really do anything to him, and although I did not fear Layhu, I might not be able to protect mother if he was plotting against her. Since I’d be out pulverising bandits most of the time anyway, living here does not affect me. If mother could receive the best care there, what do I have against it?  

Thinking this, I murmured, “If it is like this, then son will thank father in advance.”

The Beast Emperor laughed and said, “There’s no need for thanks between us father and son. I will order someone to follow you back to your mansion. Move everything you need here, and don’t forget to bring those shorthands back. How come I didn’t think of this yesterday? I wouldn’t have to trouble you about it if I had.”

I respectfully said, “Father please don’t say so, this son does not deserve it.”

The Beast Emperor said, “There’s nothing else to discuss; today you will first move here, and tomorrow you can continue to record those things.”

“Yes, this son will leave now.”

Bringing along some guards, I returned to the mansion. Actually, there was nothing much for me to move, as the palace has all the necessary daily supplies and they were of better quality as well. I only packed some clothes and brought Black Dragon out of the stable.

I slowly walked to my mother’s bedroom door. Taking a deep breath, I resolved myself face to whatever treatment she gave me. I had to convince her to move to the palace with me, even if I had to force her to come. After all it is much safer than my mansion.

“Mother, may I come in?”

Unexpectedly, she responded, “Yeah, sit down.”

I entered the room and flatly said, “We’re leaving this house.”

My mother smiled, distressed, saying, “I never had a home, so how can I move? Speak, where do you wish me to go?”

It was hard to see mother suffer, “The Beast Emperor has decided to let us move into the imperial palace so that I can work more conveniently, and after killing Layhu’s mother, you can only be safe inside the imperial palace.”

Mother raised her head, her gaze wasn’t filled with a ice cold stare that she usually wore. She smiled and said, “Silly child, you have been fooled.” I didn’t even hear her words, I could only see her smile. Although mother looked very aged, with her grizzled hair and wrinkles, I could vaguely see her svelte from her glory days.

“Huh! What did you say?”

Mother smiled again and said, “I just said, silly child, you have been fooled.”

She actually called me a ‘silly child’. I was dumbstruck, I secretly pinched my thigh, but the intense pain told me that I wasn’t dreaming.

I childishly asked, “Why would you say I was fooled?”

Mother calmly replied, “Isn’t it obvious? He fears that you won’t work hard enough, so he invited us to work at the palace so he can watch over our actions. Also, if he sees you acting unusually… well I don’t need to say what will happen do I…?”

Mother’s words woke me up from my delusions. After all, I’m not the Beast Emperor’s son, why would he trust me so much? So this was why he invited mother to the palace.

I scratched my head, and said, “So this is why he invited you! Why didn’t I think of it? It would be better if you stayed here after all. I’ll go talk to the Beast Emperor and explain that you can’t come.”

Mother snickered coldly and said, “No, I will follow you to the palace. If I don’t follow you, he will become suspicious and may even turn against you, regardless of what excuse you tell him.

“Wouldn’t it be dangerous if you entered the palace?”


Mother smiled bitterly, “Nowhere is safe. It may be even more dangerous if I stayed here. You can’t keep an eye on me at all times can you? For now, entering the imperial palace is the safest bet…” she paused before continuing, “Oh son… Experience counts. In the future, you should consult me if you don’t understand something, after all, I was once a talented girl in the Sky City Academy.”

Son. She actually called me son! I couldn’t help but eyes getting seized by tears. pu tong I sunk my knees onto the floor; I lost my voice crying, “Mother, you, are you finally willing to accept me?”

(tl: … this accelerates quickly…) (ed: …guh… gag reflex…)

Mother’s eyes also reddened; she put her hand on my head, and for the first time, she kindly and gently said, “Child, I have thought about it thoroughly yesterday, and you were right: what wrong have you done? It was him who was wrong. I shouldn’t have attatched my anger on you for so many years; mother has let you feel wronged. From this day onwards, mother will definitely make it up to you.”

After listening to mother’s words, I rested on her knees and like a child, I wept- bitterly, letting it all out. The melancholy that had accumulated in my heart all those years was finally unfolded into tears. Mother’s tears kept dripping on my head. Her hand is so, so warm. Mother, what I wished for the most, surprisingly came to be when I thought that I had lost all hope.

After a long while, the cries stopped and I suddenly raised my head. Wiping away the tears on mother’s face, I said with determination, “Mother, I swear to you, even if I had to risk my life, I will fulfill your cherished desire. I do not want to ever see you crying in pain, shedding tears of humiliation again. I will make you the happiest mother in this world.”

Mother held both my arms, tears flowing down once again, “Good child, quick get up. Help mother pack her things and let’s move into the palace. Once past the entrance of the palace, it’ll be as deep as the sea, and I don’t know if I’ll have the chance to come out again.”

I stood up, lent an arm to support mother and said, “You can rest assured. The imperial palace cannot trap us. I plan to use three years to make the Beastman country grow strong; after three years we will leave, and nobody can stop us.”

“Alright, let’s not talk anymore, have you packed your own things?”

I nodded and said, “I’ve packed them, and like you, I am not attached to this house; what is there to bring? Honestly, I wouldn’t have taken anything, but I didn’t want to go out naked.”

Mother didn’t say a word, only carefully putting the two gems I gave her inside her pocket and saying, “Alright, let us go.”

Seeing that she didn’t take anything with her, I couldn’t help but feel blank, “Don’t you want to bring some clothes with you?”

Mother smiled and shook her head. She said in a light tone, “Now that the Beast Emperor needs you, how can he treat me unfairly? Let’s go.” I hadn’t previously noticed, but after mother had recovered her hope, I realized that her wisdom far surpassed my own!

Leaving mother’s room, I called for a butler and ordered, “For the time being, I shall not return to this house. Should father come back, report to him exactly what I did to that ugly bitch; don’t hold anything back.”

“Yes, third young master.”

“Mother, let’s go.” I carefully set mother into the carriage and I rode Black Dragon, moving away from the Beamon King mansion. I turned around to look at this place that I had lived in for more than ten years; I surprisingly felt that I never wanted to go back to that place again. Perhaps leaving is a kind of relief for me and my mother.

The Beast Emperor had already arranged a place for us to stay. It was a standalone courtyard, with four maids and countless guards standing outside. The environment was peaceful and serene, and all kinds of plants and trees were planted to beautify the area.

Mother slightly smiled at me and said in a low voice, “It seems that your exploits are valued quite highly by the emperor; In the beastmen clan, even a real prince may not receive the same treatment as you.”

“Isn’t that all for the sake of milking my talents? But this is good too. In this kind of environment, it’s even more suitable for you to recuperate. Right, mother, I had never asked you since the beginning, when you were in the Sky City academy, did you learn any magic or martial arts?”

As mother looked at the surrounding environment, she shook her head, “I didn’t. I mainly learned about literature, history and etiquette in the Sky City academy. Linden should have already told you that I was the princess of the empire at that time; what use would it be to learn to fight and kill? If I had strong and powerful skills, how would I still…….. sigh……” I said with delight, “You haven’t learned any, this is great!”

Mother said with astonishment, “What is great, it’s just an extra burden for you.”

“Please don’t say that. I said it was great because if you haven’t learned any martial arts nor magic, there will be no conflicts between our energies when I heal you with magic.”

“Healing magic? You also know light magic? I can’t see you use it, no matter how I look at you.”

I gave a mysterious smile and said, “You will see in just a moment.” I turned to the maids and said, “There’s no need for your service here. All of you are dismissed.”

With maids standing around us, I felt awkward, and besides, who knows if they were sent here to spy on us.

After seeing that the maids had left and confirming that nobody was around, I activated my Demonic Arts while whispering in mother’s ear, “Mother what I learned wasn’t Light Magic, but rather Black Magic.”

Actually, what I practiced was Dark Magic, but I didn’t wish to scare my mother; she only just opened up to me, so I deliberately lied and said I practiced Black Magic. Mother looked at me, her gaze filled with surprise as she repeated, “Black Magic?”

(Ed: Not sure if we explained this before, but Dark Magic is the magic used by the Fallen Angels, while Black Magic is the variant developed by humans who studied Dark Magic. In the earlier chapters they weren’t differentiated, but as of volume 3 they have been. Generally Dark Magic is more powerful Fallen Angel + Original Magic > Variant Magic.)

“Yes, I unintentionally learned Black Magic a while ago, but it has the same amount of healing techniques as Light Magic. It may even be more effective than Light Magic in your current condition. I will also teach you some chi practicing methods. If you practice every day, your blood will circulate more, leading to a faster recovery.”

Mother gave a kind and gentle smile, “Let nature take its course. I’ll listen to your arrangements.”

“There isn’t much time left, and I will not be able to accompany you in a while, so let’s start right now.” I pulled mother into the room and asked her to sit with crossed legs. I reminded her, “No matter how uncomfortable you are afterwards, you must bear with it. I’ll adjust within the norms.”

Mother closed her eyes and said, “Do it. Let me see how great the black magic of my son is.”

I was so nervous that beads of sweat had appeared on my forehead. My forte was using magic to kill; I had never tried to save someone using my Demonic Arts. The pressure was even greater because I was trying to save my mother; I couldn’t afford to be careless.

I took a deep breath, calming down my state of mind and I chanted.

“With mine life as the price, with mine soul as the sacrifice, oh great God of Darkness, as thine servant I request thee, please grant me the dark power to save…”

This was the fourth tier dark recovery magic– Darkness Repair. In the Demonic Arts scroll, it said that this could let the target recover from any abnormal state, and adjust the condition of the body. That was the very first time that I used it; that’s why I was extra careful. As a purplish black energy orb concentrated on my hand, I split a small part and slowly inserted it into mother’s body while observing her condition.

Mother’s entire body suddenly trembled and her face became paler. I hurriedly placed the other hand on top of her head, inspecting her body condition. Mother’s meridian channels were really weak; even if it was such a small amount of magic energy, it was very difficult to make it circulate in her body. Anyway, the Darkness Repair Magic was really quite good.  Although it circulated very slowly, every time it traveled through a meridian channel, it would repair the channel and even caused it to widen and increase its elasticity. After going through this treatment, one’s channels wouldn’t snap very easily.            

I controlled the dark magic, and with both hands pressing against the center of my mother’s back, I slowly pushed this small part of energy that had been inserted into mother’s body. After traveling through hundreds of meridian channels, I carefully retrieved the energy. Only after stopping did I notice that the sky was already dark. Just like when I first cultivated the Mad God Arts, a great amount of black liquid was seeping out of mother’s body. That smell…

Not long after I stopped, Mother let out a long breath, “Ah, this feels good.”

Worried, I quickly asked, “How do you feel, mother?”

Mother opened her eyes and stretched her arms and cried out in shock “Goodness! It’s awful.”

Her cry truly scared me, I asked worried, “What happened, Mother? Do you feel hurt anywhere?”

Mother calmed me, “Don’t worry, my body is not feeling unwell. Look how dirty I am. What is going on here?”

Hearing her say that I felt at ease, and explained, “This is nothing; it is very normal. The piled up ‘poison’ in your body was pressured out by my Magic. Take a bath and everything will be ok.”

“Oh.”

I yelled “Servant!”

With the sound of foot steps, two maids came running. Although an atrocious strange smell filled the room, they didn’t react at all and respectfully said, “Your highness what is your command?”

Looking at mother’s sorry state, I giggled, “Attend to my mother’s bath, and then prepare something to eat. Remember that it must be something nutritious.”

One of the maids took two steps forward, “The hot water is already prepared. Madam, let us assist you.” They tried to reach for Mother’s arms, but instead mother got off the bed by herself, “No need for assistance. I haven’t felt this comfortable for a long time. Originally my chest felt stifled, now it feels so much better.”

I said with a smile, “This is just the beginning; I still need to treat you several times. Your meridians are rather weak right now, and I am afraid you can’t endure more. Let’s wait a few days.”

“It has already been so many years, I am in no hurry. Quickly lead me to the bath; I can’t stand this smell anymore.”

Maybe because we resolved our problems, or maybe it was because I told her about the duke, but mother had become much more cheerful these days.

After mother bathed, I discovered that her originally pale face was gone. Now it was rosy; even many of the wrinkles were gone, and her weak body seemed to be stronger and healthier now.

I slept especially soundly. From the next day onwards I lead a busy life; every day I dictated a certain amount of books for the scribes to record. At the same time, with the help of the Beast Emperor, I selected a group of people to proselytize the Beast God religion and helped train them.

Half a month later….

“Reporting to father Emperor: this son has written down everything he learned in the Dragon God Empire. Time is scarce and I wish to exterminate the bandits as soon as possible.”

“Very well, I have skimmed through the books you have recorded, and they are all very useful. How many do you want to bring with you this time?”

With a confident smile I answered, “The 20 people that I’ve picked are enough this time; haven’t you already bestowed them to me as Bodyguards?”

The Beast Emperor was surprised. “Only this many? It’s not enough, don’t you think? You also know the number of bandits.”

I answered with unshakable self confidence, “Even if there is a large number of bandits, most of them are weaklings. Besides, there are very few large groups of bandits and they are all separated. All we need to do is attack them one after another. If I meet a big group of Bandits I can still ask for help from Your Majesty.”

After thinking for a while the Beast Emperor said, “Ok, but you need to be careful. You must know: This time you cannot use the locals to do this. Everything is up to yourself. If there is any danger, I will send soldiers. But, I am afraid that they will be too late because of the distance, so you need to be extra careful. Go and prepare yourself, you may depart in three days.”

I knelt down and kowtowed, “This servant will obey the Imperial edict.” Finally my massacre could begin. No matter what, I would eliminate the bandits and remove those malignant tumors from the people.

Mother was cultivating the Natural Chi Circulation technique. The power of this chi technique isn’t very high, but it is very effective for nursing one’s body, so it was the best for my mother. Also, it is one that I chose with great care from the variant types of chi.

During those days, the condition of my mother’s body had improved greatly compared to the past: her face was red and shiny, her skin had regained some elasticity, and she didn’t look as old and aged as she used to anymore.

After associating for ten days, the relationship between my mother and I made rapid and unceasing progress. Her meticulous care for me touched me deeply. Finally, I had experienced what real motherly love feels like.

If there was anything, I would always come to my mother and discuss it with her. Her great wisdom and foresight made me greatly respect and look up to her. Hearing my steps, mother slowly stopped her cultivation; with closed eyes, she asked “Layson, are you back?”

“Yes, but mother why are you not cultivating anymore?”

Mother opened her eyes and smiled, “Cultivation must not be done from morning to night, doing it step by step is the best way. Acting with undue haste will do the contrary and cause Qigong deviation; you must keep this in mind.”

I nodded, “Yes, I will keep it in mind”

My mother stood up, “Lets go in and discuss this in the room.” Maybe it was because I was about to leave, that there was a trace of worry on her face. Entering the room, mother hinted at me to sit down, “Is the date already set?”

“Yes, the Beast Emperor ordered me to set off in three days. I decided to take 20 escorts with me.”

Mother nodded, “That’s good. Less people makes doing things easy, but you must also pay attention to your safety. Be cautious when you do anything; even facing a puny opponent, you need to make an all-out effort.”

“Rest assured, I understand the principle of the lion fighting a rabbit. I will make preparations now, and tomorrow I will perform circulation of chi for you again.”

“Go. I am feeling fine. These days, it is almost as if I recovered my energy. Looks like there is hope to recovering my appearance as you said.”

“I will be going then, mother.”

-end-



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