A dozen hours later.
Florence, Italy.
Ning Tao left the hotel he was staying and hailed a cab. He asked the driver to take him to Florence Cathedral.
The taxi driver was a veteran driver. He drove very steadily and with moderate speed. Ancient edifices breezed past them by the window and the sky was pure like an untainted blue sheet. This city which gave rise to the European Renaissance made him feel as though he had traveled back in time.
"First time Italy?" The veteran driver asked in broken English, breaking the silence.
"Yes, my first time," Ning Tao said.
"Want pretty girls? Pure Italian pretty girls, not from East Europe." A benign smile hovered on the veteran driver's lips.
"Uh... better not. I'm here for sightseeing only." Ning Tao rejected him, feeling quite awkward.
The veteran driver gave Ning Tao a name card. "You Hua Country people are shy. If you want one, ca
Leaving House No. 68, Ning Tao came to Florence Cathedral, bought a ticket, and entered it. There were many tourists in the cathedral, yet it was very quiet. After traversing the corridor, Ning Tao continued ahead. His eyes were overwhelmed by a miscellany of reliefs and frescoes from the Bible. He felt a dense feeling of time-worn history, as well as a sacredness unique to religious shrines. "Sir, do you need a guide?" A young blonde woman with green eyes came to Ning Tao's side. She had an amiable smile on her face and was asking in Italian. Ning Tao could not understand her, only giving her an awkward smile. The young blonde woman with green eyes started to ask in halting Mandarin, "Sir, do you need an interpreter?" Ning Tao sized her up. This young lady was in her early 20s, dressed in a white T-shirt, a pair of short vintage jeans and white sneakers. Her figure was tall and slim, and her feature
The forest in the hills was quiet. The setting sun was covered by the hills, and the shady side away from the sun had turned dusky. The Mexican man had gone up the slope. He finally discovered a clue— footprints under a tall Chinese fir tree. Squatting down, his fingers touched the footprints in the soil, trying to determine their wetness and hardness. "No one can escape my pursuit, not even if you were a fox." A cold smile hovered on the Mexican's lips. Those who thought that they could escape him were all dead. Whoosh! The sound of a breeze. The cold smile on the Mexican's lips suddenly vanished. He raised his head fiercely. In that instant, a human figure descended from the sky, one foot stepping on his back. Before the Mexican could duck, his face had plunged into the freshly discovered footprints. The violent concussion almost made him pass out! Ning Tao's foot kicked the Mexican's miniature sub
The gun was a petite and exquisite Magnum pistol with a silencer installed. The hand belonged to a woman. The wrist was delicate and the skin was radiant and firm. But Ning Tao had no intention to dote on and spare the lady. A flash went by. Whoosh! Before that woman could aim at Ning Tao, a scalpel was stabbed right into her wrist. With the nerves damaged, an intense pain took over; her right hand was no longer in control of that small revolver. It fell as she lost grip of it. Ning Tao reached out and seized the small weapon. In the next second, the pistol was pressed against that woman's chest. The woman was none other than the person named Audrey, who had volunteered to give him a tour. However, it was unknown whether it was a real name or not. Audrey's face was completely pale. Her blue eyes were filled with fear. She had thought that Ning Tao would climb out of the window, and she
On the rooftop, Ning Tao lowered his right hand. The Mauser pistol was in his hands. He could have taken Lin Qinghua's life with it when he was lying on the ground with mangled legs. However, he had hesitated and relented when he was about to pull the trigger. It wasn't the retreat of his evil side nor the awakening of his good side which had made him lower the gun in his hand, but rather, it was his feelings. He still remembered that youth who begged him to become his master so that he could learn magical powers from him. In his evil mode, he killed mercilessly. He was able to kill a young and beautiful person like Audrey without hesitation, yet, he had relented when he had his gun pointed at Lin Qinghua. All for the sentimentality he still carried in his heart. If he weren't sentimental, simply killing anyone regardless of who they were, then how different would he be from a cold-blooded animal? "I hope this isn't actually yo
There was a tense atmosphere inside the room. It was like that since ten minutes prior. It was the same ten minutes after. That middle-aged female gunman had lost her patience. She looked over to Lin Qinghua and asked, "Will that guy come?" Lin Qinghua's voice was cold. "I understand him. He will never leave his friends behind. That's his virtue, but also his weakness." The middle-aged female gunman said, "But..." Lin Qinghua chided, "Enough. Are you doubting my strategy?" The middle-aged female gunman seemed to be very afraid of Lin Qinghua, and shut up immediately. The atmosphere in the room had become tense again. "I've already said it, I'm not his friend. He won't risk his life for someone he barely interacted with for a day," Shalim Talman broke the silence in the room. She said warily, "But we can find another way to solve the problem. I can pay a sum of money in exc
The evening breeze blew over, bringing across the scent of the sea. Ning Tao was standing on the balcony of an ancient castle from the Middle Ages, overlooking the old city of Stockholm's scenery. Every ancient castle and church were standing tall, piercing into the clouds. The stone pavement which ran through the city, connected the ancient buildings together, creating a painting of the past. Further into the distance was the estuary of Lake Mälaren going into the Baltic Sea. Cargo ships and fishing boats, along with sailboats and cruises were riding on the waves. Colonies of seagulls were flying in the golden sky. Also a capital, Beidu, was like a person running with a baggage, perspiring profusely yet still continuing to speed up. Meanwhile, Stockholm was like a person strolling by the beach. It was very slow-paced and leisurely without troubles hovering on the mind. Still, it was hard to say which place or lifestyle was better, because everyone had th
That waft of smell was a scent resembling clear springs unique to spiritual energy. Only spiritual soil and spiritual materials would have such a fragrance. It wasn't very strong, but Ning Tao was very sensitive to such a smell. Even the faintest bit of it would not escape his sensitive sense of smell. He was puzzled, thinking to himself, "Could there be any spiritual soil or spiritual material in Ruitian's royal palace?" He activated his state of looking and smell as he was pondering over the question. That faint spiritual energy scent was growing stronger. He tracked down the source of the scent. It was a closed door. Strands of spiritual energy were emanating from its gaps. Ordinary people would be unable to detect their presence, but to him, it was highly possible that a massive amount of spiritual soil or a rare exotic spiritual material was hidden behind that door. "Why did you stop?" Shalim Talman asked curiously.
At the end of the banquet, a guard came to report the arrival of Professor Jade. "Doctor Ning, it's now time for you to exhibit the medical skills of Hua Country." Joseph Talman turned his eyes to gaze at Ning Tao, his face wearing a smile. Although he spoke politely, he did not for some reason sound as if he was a believer. Ning Tao put down the dinner napkin and stood up. "I must go back to my room to fetch my medicine chest. Then I will visit the patient." Joseph Talman said with a smile, "Medicine chest? No, Doctor Ning, all the world's most advanced medical equipment and medicine are here. You don't need a medicine chest." Ning Tao replied blandly, "I don't need any medical equipment or medicine here. If they were effective, Princess Shalim wouldn't have invited me to treat Professor Jade, would she?" Joseph Talman's lips quivered and a tinge of displeasure flashed across his eyes. A doctor from