Beastmaster of the AgesBeastmaster of the Ages
Tianming looked at the sight of the old man's back and felt a melancholic chill.
"A black myriadpath ring?" Apart from the cuffs, the old man was also wearing a black myriadpath ring with a really archaic design. The old man hadn't been born in Myriadpath Valley, but was actually from an outer mundus.
For those with black myriadpath rings, even if they became foundationeers, they wouldn't become one of the big shots. Those that weren't born in Myriadpath Valley rarely, if ever, became reverends or eminents.
"Hmm, those cuffs don't look normal at all." They seemed to be made of ether-class ores. However, being a sky plunderer, Tianming's sensitivity to formation locks was higher than others'. While the cuffs seemed normal on the surface, he could feel a complicated formation lock binding them.
Formation locks like that were usually used to seal legacy battle arts, or secret rooms like the one that unlocked the hive ancestral world within the Oldgod Domain. It was Tianming's first time seeing them used on a person. Normally, a divine artifact would suffice to keep someone subdued. The fact that someone used a formation lock that would otherwise remain undetectable showed that somebody was trying to hide how complex the cuffs actually were.
"Why would they bother doing so much just to lock up a withered old man with a black myriadpath ring?" The formation felt like an itch to Tianming that he just had to scratch. It was innate to the sky plunderer in him! He couldn't stand it and approached the old man instead of entering the ruins.
"Grand Senior," Tianming respectfully greeted. The old man didn't respond, merely continued picking up scraps like broken swords, torn clothes, and used pleasure balls while dragging the cuffs around. "Senior, can I take a look at your cuffs?"
The old man froze and gradually shuffled as he turned around. Tianming could finally see his face. He seemed rather normal with unkempt hair and beard. His eyelids seemed to struggle to remain open.
"Child... are... you... calling... out... to... me?" The old man spoke even slower than Yin Chen. It seemed to take great effort for him.
"Yes." Tianming smiled when he finally got a reply. He decided to start off light. "Senior, how may I address you?"
The old man didn't show an instinctive reaction of disgust when he saw that Tianming was a tainted beastmaster. However, Tianming wouldn't want to drag things out, either, since other people had their eyes on him and he wouldn't want to involve the old man in his troubles.
"Just... call... me... Grandpa..." the old man said with a smile and some effort. "What... are... you... called... young one...?"
"Call me Grandson, then," Tianming said.
"Haha!" The old man laughed in a manner that suggested that he didn't feel encumbered by his current state at all. It seemed that he wasn't as lonely as Tianming had thought.
"Grandpa, may I ask how old you are?"
"Me? I'm... just... eighteen..."
Tianming almost blacked out. "Grandpa, how could you be just eighteen?"
"Why would... I... lie to you?" the old man solemnly said.
"Then, might I ask what your job is? You look awfully mature for an eighteen-year-old."
"Me? I'm a scribe! I write thirty thousand words a day! That's good... for health! I finished... my quota... so I came... to clean... to stay healthy!"
Tianming was speechless at the old man's odd sense of humor. Since he didn't seem to be going anywhere, he decided to get straight to the point. "Grandpa, forgive my directness. Can I take a look at your cuffs?"
"Sure you can... Grandson... But don’t... get knocked out... by foot stink!"
"I'm sure... your feet smell fine, Grandpa..." Tianming held his breath and squatted down. He held the cuffs with his left hand and immediately felt the many formation locks. The hexagonal scales on his hand slightly shone as his fingers impatiently twitched.
Holy shit, there's at least a hundred thousand layers of formation locks! What kind of evil fiend locked up an old man like this? Tianming furrowed his brows. Even though he wanted to undo the locks, he figured that the one who put them there in the first place wasn't someone he could afford to offend.
Thus, even if he did manage to undo the cuffs, he wouldn't be able to predict the consequences. With House Huang already on his back, he unwillingly pulled his hand back so as to not court trouble.
"How were... my feet?" the old man asked, laughing.
"Absolutely heavenly." Tianming stood up and looked the old man deeply in the eyes. He seemed old, but carefree. Tianming couldn't see anything unnatural about him. "Grandpa, how long have you been wearing those cuffs?"
"Only one... year.... I'm only... eighteen, after all...."
"Who put them on you?"
The old man hushed. "Don't ask... if the... bully hears this... he'll lock... you up too..."
Bully? Tianming nodded, but he still whispered, "Then, do you want to get them off?"
"I don't... anymore.... I am... rather pleased... right now... If I... keep wanting to... go out to play... I won't be able... to quietly... write my books.... My quota... is thirty thousand words a day!" The old man's speech seemed to be growing smoother the more he talked.
As he spoke, he took out a thin book filled with messy, illegible handwriting. Excitedly, he said, "Do you see? This is my work.... It's called... what was it called again? The main character... is Lin Feng, and he's going... to conquer his mother-in-law! Shhh! I like you, so... I'll lend it to you! Don't spread it around!"
Conquering a mother-in-law? Tianming was almost scared to death. The main character of the story was also called Lin Feng! It truly sounded like far more of a protagonist's name than Tianming's.
The old man forced the book into Tianming's hands and winked. "Read it... while nobody's around! It's great!"
Tianming was speechless.
"Cleaning... cleaning helps me... train my young body. I’ll write... nine million words today! I'm too broke... I’ll write until I die!" The old man waved Tianming away as he left, muttering nonstop.
Tianming was completely dazzled by the confusing encounter.
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