A cold sweat instantly broke out on his back—who was this person, able to appear silently behind him without him noticing at all?

He spun around abruptly, and Ethan Cooper finally saw the person’s face clearly.

It was a fortune-telling sorcerer, dressed no differently from those fake and real blind men he had just seen.

“Hey... hello.” Forcing a smile, Ethan Cooper greeted him.

“Who are you?”

The fake blind man’s face was unpleasant, cold and expressionless.

That’s supposed to be my question for you, isn’t it? Ethan Cooper thought to himself, but of course he didn’t dare say it out loud.

Because this person also gave him a very dangerous feeling, just like when he met John Harris. Ethan Cooper immediately knew—they were the same kind of people.

It seemed his task was complete. Ethan Cooper breathed a sigh of relief, truly feeling as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

“I’m Ethan Cooper, nice to meet you.” He politely extended his hand, putting on his friendliest smile.

However, the fake blind man completely ignored his gesture, only asking coldly, “How did you get Senior Brother’s talisman?”

“Talisman?” Ethan Cooper exclaimed in surprise, then immediately understood—he was talking about the thing he had just burned.

The fake blind man scrutinized Ethan Cooper carefully, and his expression suddenly turned a bit surprised, no longer that cold, lifeless look.

“Which sect are you from?”

“Sect? I don’t think I have one.” The corner of Ethan Cooper’s mouth twitched slightly. He didn’t even know what he was feeling at this moment. A sect? Such an ancient term probably only appeared on TV nowadays.

“No sect?” There seemed to be a hint of delight in his tone, and the fake blind man immediately became much more polite: “Little brother, why did you have my Senior Brother’s talisman?”

Without hesitation, Ethan Cooper recounted in detail how he had met John Harris.

Of course, he concealed the fact that he had special abilities. As for the timeline, he was even vaguer—why he waited ten days before setting out and what he did in between, he glossed over without leaving a trace.

The fake blind man nodded repeatedly, and by the end, he was completely convinced by Ethan Cooper’s story.

Now, his face was all smiles, a world apart from the cold, distant attitude he had shown at first.

“The Cooper Brothers, since Senior Brother sent you to deliver the message, I can’t make the decision. Would you come with me to the mountain gate?”

“To the mountain gate?”

“Exactly. I think, once you meet my master, everything will be settled. But, The Cooper Brothers, I promise, you’ll definitely benefit from this.”

With a bitter smile, even though he was reluctant, since the other had spoken, did Ethan Cooper have any room to refuse?

Chapter Six: The Mountain Gate

With Ethan Cooper’s agreement—or rather, someone deeply understood the wisdom of adapting to circumstances—the conversation on the surface remained very harmonious, and both sides seemed quite pleased.

“The Cooper Brothers, since you don’t have any martial skills, why don’t I give you a lift?”

A poor Taoist? Ethan Cooper was taken aback; he hadn’t heard that term in ages. If he didn’t know this person had abilities beyond his imagination, he’d really think he was crazy.

Ethan Cooper felt disdainful inside, but his face showed even more delight as he nodded repeatedly. Suddenly remembering something, he asked, “Sure! May I ask how I should address you, Daoist?”

“Ah, that was my oversight.” The fake blind man’s expression turned serious. He wiped his face with his hand, and when he lowered it, a handsome face was revealed: “I am Brian Lee, greetings.”

“Mingmei? Ah... I’ve heard so much about you.” Ethan Cooper was deeply impressed by his face-changing skill. With just a swipe, he had a completely different face—this was even more magical than those magicians.

He’d heard that Sichuan opera in China had a face-changing trick—he wondered if it originated from this.

But as soon as he heard his Daoist name, Ethan Cooper couldn’t suppress the urge to laugh. Brian Lee... hmm, that pretty-boy face really was quite “bright and charming.” This Daoist name, Ethan Cooper thought wickedly, could he be a rabbit*?

Brian Lee looked at Ethan Cooper with a cheerful smile. If he knew what Ethan Cooper was thinking, he probably would have slapped him already.

Brian Lee suddenly reached out and grabbed Ethan Cooper.

Goosebumps instantly rose on Ethan Cooper’s skin. He groaned inwardly—he really didn’t have any interest in that sort of thing.

“The Cooper Brothers, I’m about to cast a spell. Be careful.” Brian Lee said, then gestured a few times in the air and uttered a light command: “Zhuo...”

Ethan Cooper’s eyes suddenly opened wide. In that void, a strange, bizarre pattern appeared, sparkling and emitting a dazzling light. He saw it with his own eyes—it was no illusion. The shock in his heart was beyond words.

“Go...” Brian Lee called out softly, and the light in the air seemed to receive a command, suddenly bursting forth and surging toward Ethan Cooper.

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*Translator’s note: “rabbit” (兔子) is slang in Chinese for an effeminate man or someone suspected of being gay.