After a few exchanges, Javier had forced curse words out of Uri, and the latter’s grace and elegance had disappeared in the blink of an eye.Even Wilson could not help questioning if the guy was an actual master, as he did not look quite convincing.Just as Javier was about to keep questioning Uri, Jared came over. He nodded at Wilson in greeting and frowned at Javier.“Javier, this is not the place to joke. The master is noble in status. You mustn’t doubt or insult him.”He then bowed at Uri. “Master Copeland, Javier doesn’t know any better. Please look past this.”Uri waved a hand loftily. “It’s fine, it’s fine. If one has to be blamed, I’m to be blamed for lacking in skills. I can’t blame others for doubting me.”The back and forth between the two men ended with Javier being accused of being insensible and Uri getting a reputation for being humble.Jared then scanned the others and said, “I, Jared Griffin, personally visited the Arcadian Order and prayed there on my knees for
Jared leaned against the car door in the cruising car and perched his legs up on the backseat, looking relaxed, completely unlike how poised he was in front of others.Master Uri Copeland, who was said to have come from the Arcadian Order, sat in the passenger seat with his seatbelt on obediently.“Uri, it’s been a few years since you started fortune telling on the streets and you’ve come across many people. How did a piece of trash manage to expose you? If I hadn’t saved the day just now, you’d have been a goner!”Uri chuckled awkwardly and nodded. “Yes, yes, Mr. Griffin, you are really clever. I’d have exposed myself if it weren’t for you.”“Duh. Do I need you to remind me that I’m clever?”Jared scoffed at Uri and shook his legs on the seat leisurely, looking triumphant as he lay back against the car door.“No one will dare lay a finger on the construction site after what happened today, and that land’s price is going to drop further for sure. I’ll just buy it without making a
Wilson ordered his tractormen to continue digging. Others might not know any secrets, but Jared did. If word got out, those people would break his nose…and then some!He shot a look at Uri Copeland, who knew exactly what that look meant. He rushed forward quickly, ready to interfere. “No, stop this at once! You might release the ancient demon if you keep doing this! Doom shall befall us all—”Wilson lodged a fist straight into Uri’s head. “Doom, my *ss!” he snarled, seething at the shaman’s mere presence. Had Javier not pointed this out, he would have been considered a fool forever!The crowd was aghast. What had gotten into Wilson’s head? How could he dare beat up someone as eminent as Master Shaman, Uri Copeland?!As the beating went on, the crowd started noticing something weird. How could someone formidable enough to defeat an ancient demon from a thousand years ago suddenly become the punching bag of a normal person like Wilson? It did not seem like it made sense, right?Wi
A man from Gerra Construction Corp’s financial department arrived while the two of them were talking. He had a bag of 15,000 dollars with him. Wilson was a man of his word, at the very least. True to his promise, he put the bag in Javier’s arms before adding sheepishly, “Look, Javier, Joey is your mother-in-law, okay? I just think…it’s not a good idea to make things hard for her, y-you know?”Javier smiled after receiving his money. “Calm down, Mr. Jolley. I was joking. I can’t hurt Evanna’s mother in any way, shape, or form, right? Besides, this is your money. If I hit her with a stash of money you gave me, she’s only gonna come for your head too.”Wilson breathed a sigh of relief. “Right! That’s exactly right! Ha, I knew you’d understand!” He had to revisit his past judgment of the kid from now on—he had underestimated Javier too much. Not only was he inhumanely gifted, but he was also super talented in all matters related to social interaction and relationships. It actually ma
Joey was stunned by the 15,000 dollars of cash scattering about. She had not expected the black shopping bag to contain such a thing, which was why she had been so flagrant about taunting him. Who would have known that the very thing she had taunted him about would turn out to be true?Hell, she had not even thought she would end up shooting herself in the foot! Evanna was just as baffled. She had wanted to step in at any given opening as soon as her mother had intruded on their conversation, thinking that her mother was too much. But now that she was eyeing the money on the floor, she realized why Javier had been gripping his bag so tightly just now. It was less because he was infuriated and more because he had been suppressing the impulse to toss the money on her mother’s face. All that self-control had been for naught, though. Joey had ended up embarrassing herself.The older woman herself stayed rooted to the floor, mouth agape, suddenly unsure what to do next. She was the on
Evanna’s grandfather’s birthday was coming right up, and Javier needed to get a suitable gift. After some thought, he decided to find something on a street renowned for its antique shops. Javier was no expert at these things. Like most people, he was a total noob and a prime target for rip-offs. But Javier was not afraid of that at all. He was special after all. He knew that real antiques possessed energy essence that could only be created by time, and unlike common plebeians, his Astral Sight could see it. Naturally, Javier was the only man on Earth who could tell if an antique was genuine or not by looking into its temporal energy. Javier took a casual stroll down the street with his hands behind his back. Everything seemed cool. Everything seemed to be vying for his interest. Unfortunately, his demeanor alerted the veteran vendors by showing his inexperience. It was like a neon sign above his head, telling them he was the biggest sucker they had met in a long, long time…Exci
There was no such person as an amateur clockmaker called John Barnum. Javier had made it up, which clued Barney into realizing that Javier did not know what he was talking about at all.It also made the less-than-fetching 450-dollar bid a bit easier to swallow. This was a dumb*ss who did not know anything about art, man. Just the reminder that this clock had been bought at the economical price of 30 dollars was enough to make 450 dollars seem like an absolute win. Of course, no antique-based conman worth his salt would say yes to a bargain-bin price so quickly. Barney had to go through the motions, mumbling about how hard it would be for him to part with his crown treasure, before finally agreeing to sell it for 450 dollars with a convincing wince. After Javier wrapped the clock with newspaper and left with his loot, Barney reclined into his lounge chair, a cigarette between his fingers and a cup of Earl Grey in his other hand. Life was good when one knew how to take a little adva
Boris would gladly admit that he had never seen a secret pocket watch hidden in a mass-produced clock. Most importantly, he had never seen anything quite like it before. The craftsmanship, the skill of its unknown artisan, the color, the aesthetics, and the sheer history—all of it rivaled the watches and clocks Boris had collected, which were worth 750,000 in total!Boris’s attitude had changed. His tone and attitude had now become respectful. One might even wonder if he had begun to see Javier as an antique master. Boris certainly thought only a master could somehow sense a real relic in a quotidian trinket. “C-Can I, uh, get a feel of that, partn—sir?” After receiving Javier’s explicit approval, Boris held the watch in his hand carefully and hugged it close to his chest. It was as if he could not bear to drop it lest this beauty got hurt. He enjoyed the small moment he had with the watch before parting with it reluctantly.He then pushed his money from the boot toward Javier. “I’