Chapter 121 Chapter 122 Real or Fake
Ji Ma sensed the signs of her persona crumbling. Her persona was that of a little lamb who had just stepped out of the chapel and had not seen much of the world. And a little lamb would never lie or deceive.
Karslan, recovering from his initial excitement, smiled and asked Ji Ma:
“My butler seems to have offended you, but his head really does look quite painful.”
The handlebar mustached butler said, “Doing business emphasizes the word credibility; what’s the difference between selling counterfeit goods and being a fraud?”
Karslan feigned anger and said:
“How can you slander a guest like this? There must be some misunderstanding; extraordinary items can’t be casually handled by ordinary folk. If something really went wrong, Ms. Xiao Qiao would certainly refund you in full.”
The meat that one has taken into their mouth can never be spat out.
Ji Ma pretended to look hurt and said, “What specifically went wrong?”
“I wore this grass ring, yet I cannot reproduce the scene where you were blessed that day.” The handlebar mustached butler, recalling how he had someone smash a stone on his head, felt insulted intellectually and angrily said, “This grass ring is completely useless.”
“You still haven’t pointed out what the problem is.”
The handlebar mustached butler gritted his teeth and said, “I had someone throw stones at my head; the stone didn’t curve but hit my forehead directly.”
Ji Ma couldn’t help but cover her mouth and giggle.
“What are you laughing at?!”
“Who told you that the blessing grass ring has a ‘deflection force field’ effect?”
“What deflection force field?”
“It’s an invisible force that can push incoming attacks away.” As Ji Ma said this, she flicked her wrist, throwing a fork straight up into the air, and as it spun down toward her head, it suddenly veered to the side and landed in the fish on Ji Ma’s plate.
Karslan stared with wide eyes, filled with envy.
“This… this… why doesn’t the blessing grass ring have this effect?”
“Ah?” Ji Ma blinked innocently and asked curiously, “I never said the blessing grass ring had that.”
“But… you… why didn’t you tell me?”
“You never asked. I found it strange that Sister Jena said it didn’t work. Not only did you not listen, but you even argued with her, insisting on buying the blessing grass ring.”
The handlebar mustached butler was so furious his mustache stood on end, raising his hand to tremble and point at Ji Ma, “You… you… you.”
Yet he had nothing to say.
Karslan looked at Ji Ma meaningfully. This girl probably wasn’t as simple and kind as she appeared, unlike his daughter; investing in her should be approached cautiously.
“You’re deceiving me!”
Ji Ma raised her eyebrows, “How can you slander me like that? This is a divine blessing grass ring. Although you are an ordinary person and cannot utilize its divine power, my god is merciful; for you, there are only great benefits, no downsides.”
“Fraud.”
“You are the fraud. Sister Jena was right; you continuously profess to donate for charity, but you just want to profit and resell it.” Ji Ma stood up abruptly, extending her hand and said, “Return the blessing grass ring to me, you scoundrel, and I will refund you the money.”
Both men stared at Ji Ma, and unanimously felt she had been wronged.
This grass ring should be genuine; they just didn’t know how to use it.
The handlebar mustached butler took off the grass ring, his eyes turning as he said, “Okay, but it doesn’t prove you’re not a fraud, unless you can prove this is a misunderstanding.”
Ji Ma blinked, her eyes reddened with grievance, reached out to “snatch” the grass ring back, stomped her foot, and pointed at the handlebar mustached butler, “You idiot.”
“How can you insult people?”
For some reason, the handlebar mustached butler felt his brain was rusted and started having difficulty processing information.
Just after “cursing,” Ji Ma said, “I’m just stating facts; you’ve got a problem upstairs.”
“You!”
The handlebar mustached butler wanted to hit someone, so he lunged forward. Startled, Karslan hurriedly stood up and blocked his butler, “Are you crazy?”
“She insulted me.”
“I think you really have a problem with your head.”
Taking this chance, Ji Ma quickly opened her personal system, found the prepared plan, which contained the handlebar mustached butler’s information, all gathered through her prior dream investigations and divinations. She hadn’t memorized that much.
“Did you serve as a lookout at sea when you were younger?”
A lookout is a sailor who watches from a lookout point.
“Yes.”
“Did the ship sail in the North Sea for at least three years?”
The handlebar mustached butler replied, “Yes.”
Both were somewhat surprised; even Miss Jena didn’t know what the butler did in his youth—how did she know?
“How did you know?”
Ji Ma said, “As soon as I saw you had signs of illness, I knew.”
“How can you insult people?”
Karslan continued to block the butler, “Let her speak, let her speak.”
“You see, during youth is a critical period for brain development,” Ji Ma said, “If you’re exposed to the cold winds of the North daily while perched atop a mast for a long time, it can lead to poor brain development. Not to mention the fact that the North is rife with evil gods; the winds blowing can be somewhat polluted, and that’s how you likely laid the groundwork for your illness. It’s festered for so long that it’s nearing the point of no return. In less than a year, you’ll become a vegetable, spending the rest of your life in bed.”
“You’re the one with a problem upstairs!”
Karslan held onto the advancing butler and said, “Sit down!”
The handlebar mustached butler sat down sullenly and said:
“I’ve done calculations for my master; how can someone with a bad brain do that?”
“Are you brave enough to test it?”
“Come on, let’s go!”
Ji Ma held up a finger from each hand and asked the handlebar mustached butler, “What is one plus one?”
The butler paused, thought for a second, and then said, “Two! Simple enough for a child to know.”
Ji Ma extended her middle finger and asked, “What is eleven multiplied by eleven? Countdown five seconds, five, four…”
The handlebar mustached butler’s brain, like a rusted bearing, couldn’t move for a moment. In a fit of impatience, he saw Ji Ma shaking four fingers saying, “Two! Two twos make four!”
“Wrong! It’s one hundred twenty-one.”
Karslan looked at the handlebar mustached butler with astonishment and said, “How could you possibly mess that up? It’s so simple!”
“I… I panicked. I’m not convinced; let’s do it again!”
Ji Ma extended two fingers and shook them, asking, “What is one times one?”
“One hundred twenty-one!”
“Wrong, it’s one.”
“Ugh!” Karslan leaned back in shock, looking at the handlebar mustached butler, “You really have a problem upstairs.”
The handlebar mustached butler anxiously scratched his hands and said, “I… I… I don’t believe it.”
Ji Ma softly handed him the grass ring:
“If you’re ill, you need treatment; the brain is also made of flesh, just like the legs. When people fall, their legs bleed; having a little problem with the brain is normal. This blessing grass ring can suppress the viruses in your body; wearing it for a year or so can cure it. If you don’t believe me, you can try it?”
The handlebar mustached butler took the blessing grass ring, and Ji Ma secretly lifted the curse. As he rubbed the rough grass ring, he suddenly felt his mind clear.
Ji Ma asked, “What is eleven multiplied by eleven?”
The handlebar mustached butler immediately answered, “One hundred twenty-one!”
Ji Ma extended two middle fingers and asked, “What is one times—”
“Equals one!”
“Congratulations, you’ve learned to answer quickly!”
The handlebar mustached butler displayed a smile as if recovering from a serious illness, “It’s really useful… Wait, that’s not right. You’re asking the same old questions.”
“Very clever.” Ji Ma gave a thumbs up and asked, “What is thirteen multiplied by thirteen?”
“One hundred sixty-nine!”
Stroking his head, the handlebar mustached butler mumbled, “I never felt my mind could be so sharp. Turns out I’ve been wrong about you all along.”
“Yes, when I saw you showing signs of illness, that’s when I decided to give you the grass ring,” Ji Ma said, “You’ll need to wear it constantly. When you’re well one day, the blessings in the ring will be used up.”
The butler’s face showed a hint of regret.
Karslan said, “Nine hundred seventy-one gold coins and three silver coins for half a lifetime of health is already a good deal. Oh, we’ll deduct it from your salary; you’ll only receive half pay for the next thirteen years.”
The butler forced a smile, “Thank you.”
As the butler was about to leave this sorrowful place, an unwilling Ji Ma called out to him. She mimicked George’s ability, dipping her glowing finger in water, saying it was healing holy water, and splashed it on the butler’s injured forehead.
She claimed she wasn’t skilled in healing, but that it would expedite the healing of the wound.
The butler hurriedly thanked her as he left.
“It’s getting late.” Ji Ma said, “I should go back and rest.”
“Wait!” Karslan quickly stopped Ji Ma and tightly held her hand, saying, “I’ll figure out the alchemy workshop matter for you right away.”
Ji Ma declined, saying, “Forget it, I’ll handle it myself. The more one benefits from others, the more constrained one becomes. I just want to study potions freely and without restraint.”
“It’s free; I swear I won’t interfere with you. You can do whatever you want, as long as you’re willing to give me the finished product. I’ll accept anything,” Karslan said.
“And…”
“I’ll provide the alchemy materials,” Karslan added, “As a thank you for saving my butler.”
Karslan’s gaze was firm. From Ji Ma’s actions just now, he believed she was a kind-hearted little lamb. For such a person, it was necessary to invest generously, making her feel guilty, so she would willingly give him heaps of valuable potions for free.
Karslan wouldn’t let go, fearing this kind-hearted fool might slip away.
Ji Ma also worried this kind-hearted fool might catch on and asked:
“Shall we sign in the presence of the God of Dawn?”
“Sure!”
Ji Ma then withdrew her hand from Karslan’s grasp, took a piece of paper, and pretended to sign a contract without any magic power.
Karslan beamed, feeling lucky to encounter a rare kind-hearted fool like Ji Ma. Seeing Ji Ma also smile brightly, he thought she was so naive that she didn’t realize she was at a loss, and Karslan smiled even more radiantly.
Ji Ma also smiled brightly, revealing her small white canines.
…
…
In the chapel’s honest interrogation room.
Mr. Dong Dong’s face was ashen, while Eve Frostleaf continued to wear an expressionless face. The burly elven maid beside her exclaimed:
“What? This book is a grimoire spread by a devil to regain his powers? He is the one sealed by heroes and gods for ten days and ten nights, whose left eye locked the hellfire, and whose weapon is an artifact forged from the purgatory’s black flames for eighty-one days, called something like ‘Fuzzy Rabbit Tail’?”
A serious elven guard nearby couldn’t help but cover his mouth.
Mr. Dong Dong hung his head, softly saying, “It’s over; I’m finished, I’ve betrayed him. He can crush my entire family’s souls with ease, like squashing an ant.”
