Salted Fish Chapter 21: Apprentice and servant

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: GaeaTiamat

 

Duan FeiZhou sat behind the counter and counted his earnings for the day. 150 blind boxes were sold out. He swapped the gold coins for banknotes and handed them to Al. The teenager held the banknotes and counted them, unable to believe that he had received such a large sum of money, 50 pounds more than the 100 pounds he had expected!

“I can’t thank you enough, Master of the Trading House.” Al stammered with excitement. “This way, our family will be able to pay off all our debts and even have a surplus…You are a great savior for our family!”

Duan FeiZhou waved his hand in a high-minded manner. “It’s nothing. I was just trying to see if a new business approach would work.”

That wasn’t a lie. If the blind box didn’t work in the Victorian era, it was not much of a loss for him. He had no intention of running the trading house seriously anyway, so if he lost money, he lost money. If the trading house closed down as a result, he would have welcomed it.

He didn’t expect this plan to be a huge success. He could only say that although the times had changed, human weaknesses never changed.

Al stuffed the bills into his pocket and placed the box he had brought on the counter. He opened the box and took out an old lamp, “This is what my mother asked me to bring you.” 

Duan FeiZhou’s eyes widened. The lamp emitted an unmistakable glow. If Lady Vilyuy’s other secret magic items were dull stars, then this wind lamp was like a rising sun. What a powerful mystic energy it was!

“This is my grandfather’s relic,” Al said with a nostalgic look. “He passed away before I was born, and I’ve only seen his picture. My mother told me that my grandfather especially cherished this lamp. The light of this lamp can dispel evil things, but it had to be lit with a hidden fire to do so. I don’t know what a hidden fire is. But I think that you must know, right?”

Duan FeiZhou had never even heard of it, but still smiled in a pretentious manner.

Two red clouds flew on Al’s cheeks, “Great, this thing is more useful in your hands! Grandpa left his last words before he died, saying that even if the family had to sell the lamp in the future because of financial difficulties, it must not be sold to someone with a bad heart. Smith certainly has small achievements, but he wasn’t a gentleman, so my mother said sell him nothing. But you’re different!”

Duan FeiZhou was confused.

“How much do you want to sell it for?” He asked.

Al shook his head, “Mom said it’s not for sale, it’s a gift for you.”

Duan FeiZhou was stunned. To be honest, it was a lie not to be moved. The thing that was given for free was not for nothing?

But on second thought, the persona he had set himself up as was “the Master of the Secret Trading House with high moral character and virtue, who regards money like dirt”, so how could he just accept gifts from others? The gift was only a temporary thing, but the persona was a lifetime thing!

So he made a resolute face, “I’m not the kind of person who takes favors in return. You go back and tell your mother that she is looking down on me if she does this again.”

Al’s face turned even redder, “How can I go back and tell my mother?”

“Just tell the truth?”

“She will definitely think that I said something wrong and you won’t accept it.” Al glanced at Duan FeiZhou pitifully, “Otherwise, you can take it as…Just think of it as keeping it for us for a while! If this falls into the hands of someone with bad intentions, it will definitely lead to disaster. We don’t know anything about secret arts, so we can’t protect it.”

Duan FeiZhou sighed. He knew that Al wanted to give him the lamp as a reward, and that the “protecting the lamp” was just an excuse to make him feel comfortable accepting the gift. He appreciated the kindness of both mother and son, but as for the gift…He looked at Al’s expectant and scared expression. He said helplessly, “Okay, okay, I’ll take it for now and keep it for you.” 

As for how long to “keep” it…He was afraid they would never come back to him for the rest of their lives to get the lamp back. Probably until the end of time…He was about to leave the trading house, but Al was sticking to him like a little tail.

“… Do you want me to ‘keep’ something else?” Duan FeiZhou felt a little amused.

“That, sir. I…I…” Al stared at his feet, and hesitated for half a day before he gathered the courage to say, “I want to be an occult practitioner!”

“…Oh, that’s ambitious.”

“Can you teach me the philosophy of the occult? My mother and I have already discussed it, and she agrees that I should be your student!” Al came up to Duan FeiZhou, his blue eyes shining like little stars. “She said that you are not only strong in the arts, but also very decent. There is no better mentor than you in the world!”

Duan FeiZhou was speechless. Teach what? He himself didn’t know the secret arts at all, how was he going to teach this kid? He said stiffly, “I…I can’t teach you.” 

Al was greatly amazed, “Why? Don’t all great occult practitioners take on a few apprentices? My mother said that the more magically powerful the occult practitioners are, the more disciples they have. How else would the occult philosophy be passed on?” 

…Duan FeiZhou didn’t know anything about it.

“Speaking of which, it’s quite strange that you don’t have an apprentice. Could it be that you…” Al showed a suspicious look.

Duan FeiZhou started to get nervous. This kid couldn’t have seen through his inability to understand occult philosophy at all, could he?

“Could it be that…” Al speculated. “The tuition is very expensive?”

Duan FeiZhou almost slipped. This kid’s imagination was really rich! He looked away, not wanting to look at the teenager. “I have no intention of accepting students yet!”

“I know occult practitioners charge tuition fees. Our family isn’t rich, we will never be able to save money for tuition! But I can work and earn money while studying with you!” Al was full of ambition. “One day, I want to be a great occult practitioner like you, to protect my family and never let them get hurt again! I want to be like you, to punish those occult practitioners who do wrong!”

No, no, no, you misunderstood, child! He was not a great occult practitioner at all! Learning the secret arts from him was probably similar to learning to drive a backhoe from a chef!

“I think it’s getting late today, why don’t you hurry up and go home? Your mother must be waiting!”

He forced Al into the tapestry spell. As soon as he disappeared into the vortex of magic, Duan FeiZhou immediately ran to the golden clock at a speed of 100 meters, set the hands to 12 o’clock and closed the customer channel to prevent Al from persistently chasing after him.

That was close, Duan FeiZhou thought to himself. He almost revealed the fact that he didn’t know the secret arts! But Al was rejected, so I guess he won’t come back, right? The boy is so interested in punishing evil that he shouldn’t be an occult practitioner, but a Nightman…

The next day was Sunday. Duan FeiZhou, as a transmigrator, never went to church and usually slept until he woke up naturally. But this day, just after dawn, he was awakened by a deafening knock on the door.

Duan FeiZhou opened the door with a yawn, and was greeted by Al’s red face.

“… How do you know my address?!” Duan FeiZhou screamed. It was hard to believe that Al had awakened his perverted stalker attribute at such a young age!

Al held up a set of suits in his hand and looked at him with some confusion. “Sir, have you forgotten that you had your clothes custom-made in my tailor shop? You left the address yourself!”

…I really forgot about it! Sorry, I misunderstood you Al! Duan FeiZhou showed a feeble smile.