As for the reason Silas gave for taking him as an apprentice, he didn’t believe a single word of it. There are never benefits without reason in this world; at their core, all relationships are exchanges of interest.

He guessed that high-quality erotic paintings could fetch a good price, and judging from Silas’s previous behavior, he was clearly in desperate need of money—hence the sudden 180-degree change in attitude toward him.

At this, Lawson secretly felt relieved: ‘It seems my harem isn’t entirely useless after all.’

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Chapter 4: Beautiful Women Are All Poison

At dusk, master and apprentice arrived at the edge of the Twilight Forest.

Just as they were about to leave the forest, Silas suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Lawson was startled, thinking there was danger, and quickly asked, “What’s wrong, mentor?”

What he got instead was Silas’s cold warning.

“Listen up, boy. Once we’re out of the woods, you are not to mention a single word about curses, poisonous insects, or necromancy!”

“If anyone asks about my identity, you say I am a low-ranking official mage, Silas Gallagher, a graduate of the Golden Dawn Academy of Magic in Southern Whitesand City. Got it?!”

As he spoke, the middle-aged mage stared intently at Lawson’s face, a fierce glint flashing in his gray eyes, as if he would kill Lawson at the slightest disagreement.

Lawson didn’t dare be careless and nodded vigorously. “I understand, mentor.”

“Repeat it back to me!”

Lawson immediately did as told.

After hearing him, Silas finally withdrew his menacing look.

“Not far outside the woods is White Horse Town, the fief of Baron Murray. Once we’re in town, I’ll get a room at the Green Oriole Inn in the town center, then go out to take care of business.”

“While I’m gone, you are to wait patiently in the room. Until I return, you are not to leave the room, and absolutely not to speak to strangers. Understood?!”

“Understood, mentor.”

“Good.”

The two continued along the forest path, soon reaching the main road. They walked west along the road for over half an hour and, sure enough, saw a town.

The town was built along a river, with most of its houses made of wood, clustered tightly within an area less than three li across, like a gray-black scar on the earth.

At the town’s edge were vast farmlands, and among the fields stood many simple thatched huts, scattered in clusters here and there, looking like gray wild mushrooms growing on the plain.

On the far west side of the town was a rocky highland, atop which stood a tall white castle. The castle was surrounded by high walls, and at the base of the highland was a moat, forming a fortress that was easy to defend and hard to attack.

But the most eye-catching thing wasn’t the castle, but rather a white obelisk on the slope to the right of the castle.

The monument was plain and not tall at all, completely incomparable to the magnificent castle.

Strangely, even though it was a cloudy day and thick clouds hung over the castle, there was a break in the clouds, and a beam of golden sunlight shone through, landing right on the monument.

At first, Lawson thought it was a coincidence, but after walking for over half an hour, he noticed that no matter how the clouds shifted, the break always remained, and the sunlight always shone.

It was truly mysterious.

Seeing Lawson glancing around frequently, Silas uncharacteristically offered an introduction: “That’s Baron Murray’s White Stone Castle.”

“And that monument?”

“That’s the Divine Stone, blessed with the golden favor of the gods. As long as the light never fades, the The Murray Family will always be the masters of this land.”

As he spoke, a trace of disdain appeared on his face. “Golden blessing... heh~~~ how fitting.”

Lawson was taken aback, not understanding why Silas would react this way, and couldn’t help but ask, “Mentor, is there something wrong with the golden blessing?”

Silas’s expression darkened slightly. “Curiosity is a virtue, but too much curiosity brings disaster. Now, be quiet!”

Lawson could only hold his tongue.

They walked a bit further, drawing closer to the town, and more and more people appeared on the road.

People seemed to be very wary of mages; everyone automatically kept at least five meters away from Silas, as if he had an invisible aura that repelled all around him.

“Mentor, why are people afraid of you?” Lawson couldn’t help but ask.

Silas snorted coldly. “Just a bunch of ignorant country bumpkins, not worth caring about.”

Lawson asked no more, instead looking around, observing everything in this foreign world.

After a while, he had only one impression: ‘filthy’—even filthier than Wolf Bandit Village. The closer to the town, the filthier it got.

The roads were filthy. Covered in black mud, with human and animal waste and household garbage everywhere. People relieved themselves wherever they pleased, regardless of gender.

The air was filthy. It was filled with all sorts of foul odors—rotting food, the stench of excrement and urine, the musty smell of drains—all enough to make one gag.

The people were even filthier.

Their hair was messy and greasy, and their bodies gave off a fishy, sour stench. When they spoke, their mouths revealed big yellow teeth caked with tartar, and they exhaled foul, choking breath.

Coughing and spitting could be heard constantly, and the sounds of arguments never ceased. It seemed everyone was deeply dissatisfied with life, and only by shouting could they vent their resentment.