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
"Our king is at least 100 kilograms. How can he lose weight in half an hour?" "Could that lad from Hua Country be a spy?" "I don't think so. We're a neutral country. Who will send spies to us?" "How can our king believe in such ludicrous baloney?" "He must have drunk too much for dinner..." Outside the royal store room, there was a low murmur of discussions. As the noblemen discussed among themselves, a section of commandos armed to the teeth arrived at the door of the royal store room. The lieutenant leading the section was holding a lock breaker. They would take only a short time to break open the latch of the door. "Who got you people here?" Shalim Talman immediately tensed up. Joseph Talman said, "Me." Shalim Talman said angrily, "What do you think you're doing? Once they get in, Doctor Ning will stop his treatment of father and no longer see Professor Ja
The room was quiet. The dying man was strenuously trying to open his eyes to see the youth at his bedside. The youth by the bed was staring at the ceiling, deep in contemplation. A man to be dealt with by Heaven. Should he treat him or not? "I need a pastor..." Professor Jade broke the silent atmosphere of the room with his feeble voice. Ning Tao's contemplation did not lead to any conclusion. He sat by the bed, watching the emaciated Professor Jade. He kept silent for a while before saying, "You may chat with me anything you like. There are only two of us here." "I need a pastor... I want to confess to him..." Professor Jade said. Ning Tao thought for a while before opening his medicine chest and taking out an ordinary prescription. He drew a crucifix with his pen. He placed the prescription with the crucifix beside Professor Jade's hand, lifting his hand and putting it upon the crucifix drawing. A
But some things cannot be had simply by wishing, or by putting in effort. Professor Jade continued. "My experiments had always been smooth-going. But one year ago, I started a new experiment with apples. I had originally wanted to cultivate a superior breed of apples that can be reared in the Arctic, but what emerged from those greenish soil were vines. Black flowers even blossomed from them, bearing fruits resembling snakes... And I fell ill during that experiment... I think this must have been the will of God. I had cultivated the fruit of the Devil..." Ning Tao could not help but interrupt him. "How could apples turn into vines? And bear fruits resembling snakes?" He thought about spiritual materials, but although he was familiar with the Compendium of Spiritual Materials, he did not know what those things were. "Even I don't know what I had cultivated. So that experiment ended. I destroyed them all... Later..." When he came
The night was bleak and dusky. An electric motorbike was racing on the road away from Stockholm. The night breeze brushed against Ning Tao's face, but could not dispel the scorching desires in his heart. Even now, the image of Shalim Talman was imprinted in his mind, wriggling like a water serpent... Heaven would have pitied him. No virgin boy of over 20 years old could resist such temptation! "I rest within the womb, listening to the sound of the Way." Dong! The divine bell tolled. Desire, that paper tiger, was immediately and completely dispelled. Ning Tao heaved a sigh of relief. He revved up his engine and accelerated ahead. After half an hour, a small town entered Ning Tao's sight. It was a typical Northern European town, with plain, unadorned buildings dispersed within a valley. They had gabled roofs sloped on both sides, as well as chimneys. Some of the walls were painted white, others orange.