Chapter 287: Body Technique

“You have an hour of free time. Do you want to go out?” Boss Huang felt embarrassed after getting no response from Tang Ling twice. Nevertheless, he was still the boss and had his ways to get Tang Ling to answer him.

“I’m not going out.”

It was already the 13th of November. Even though there were only 17 days left until December and he had to find Zero before that, there was no point being anxious for the first two days. According to his own plan, as long as he could get vital information, it might only take him two days, at the most, to locate Zero.

Darkness Port was a huge place, but with the location information, all he had to do was figure out a way to get to that particular location if Zero was in some kind of restricted area such as the island area where special identity was required.

Although it might be a problem, it was decipherable via the black market. A place like Darkness Port, where power and money spoke louder than anything, was the perfect place for the black market. Using it to solve his problem was easier than a piece of cake.

As for where to get the information about Zero’s location, Tang Ling placed his hopes on Boss Huang. Since he had only started working for a day, he still had time to figure out a way to pry Boss Huang’s mouth open for the information he sought. Somehow, he was blindly confident about that and he felt that it would be easier than spending a fortune for information outside.

Moreover, Tang Ling was not overly worried about Ro Xin and Ro Li either. Since Ro Xin was a smart girl, the odds of them getting into trouble would be a lot less. Furthermore, Ro Li tended to listen to his sister a lot. It would at least take them three to five days to settle down, and only then would Tang Ling try to contact them.

Lastly and most importantly, Tang Ling currently had limited knowledge of Darkness Port. He did not know what he could do outside, and an hour of free time could only get him this much information.

Then, he remembered Boss Huang mentioning that he would provide some free information about Darkness Port in the morning. Therefore, he ought to wait until he got his hands on that information before making his next move.

Smithing was interesting. He had found a new way to train himself and was addicted to it. He decided to relax and smith for at least three days first.

Boss Huang could not read Tang Ling’s thoughts, so he did not know that he considered smithing a type of relaxation. If he had known, he would assume that Tang Ling was a masochist who loved to torture himself with heat.

“Fine, if you aren’t going out, after you finish everything here, come to the third floor. I’ll be waiting for you.” Boss Huang cleared his throat and added, “My library is a precious place, so I have to tell you the rules regarding reading. After all, you are a stupid person and I’m afraid that your stupidity might ruin my books.”

Tang Ling looked at Boss Huang. Am I that stupid? He started to doubt his life. Of all the people that he had met, only Boss Huang had ever called him stupid.

Boss Huang shook his head and sighed as he walked away. His sigh sounded complex. It contained helplessness, secrecy and a sense of loss. As expected of the mysterious and powerful Boss Huang, even a sigh from him would contain such a rich message.

Tang Ling’s face twitched involuntarily, and with doubts in his mind, he continued his smithing.

After 20 minutes, the last black iron blank was fully refined. He put the heavy hammer down and placed the silver blank beside his feet. He faltered backward and fell on the floor, panting. He had no intention of moving his fingers anymore. It was not that he had depleted his stamina since the food provided could easily replenish his energy. He was simply tired. The exhaustion seeped into his bones and brain, making him lethargic. He was also mentally tired and had to rest for a while to relax the tension in his head.

Tang Ling did not care about anything. When he looked at the five pieces of refined blanks, shining in bright silver, his sense of achievement soared over the moon and he felt incredibly accomplished. His tiredness was quickly replaced by a delighted sense of satisfaction.

He lay down on the floor for almost three minutes before he bolted up. Then, he returned all the tools to their original place and adjusted the flames of the hearths to a safe level before he cleaned up.

However, when he reached saw the metallic mallet that Boss Huang simply put beside one of the hearths in the morning, his curiosity rose.

Am I not worthy of lifting this little mallet with my strength? 

Indignant to accept it, he stubbornly reached out to the little mallet. He ought to find out what was so special about it, but just when his hand touched the little mallet, the blistering heat from it almost burned his fingers. He scampered away in shock.

Superalloy!

Tang Ling’s eyes shone brightly all of a sudden. One thing worth noting about normal alloy, regardless of the rigidity or tenacity, so long as it did not possess elemental attributes, could not be considered superalloy. Since the little mallet emanated blistering heat, it must be a superalloy!

Up until now, Tang Ling had never seen a superalloy this close before, let alone touch it. Excited, he searched for a pair of mittens made from thick animal pelt and tried to lift the mallet again.

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With the insulation from the mittens, he was able to endure the heat, but a new problem arose. He could not lift the mallet! No matter how much strength he exerted or how long he held his breath, he could not even budge the mallet, not even by the slightest bit!

“Whatever.” Giving up, he tossed the pair of mittens aside and switched his attention to the wall filled with all sorts of tools. He wondered how many of them he could lift. Speaking of the wall, what was it made of? How could it handle this many heavyweight tools without collapsing?

With that in mind, Tang Ling curiously put his hand on the wall. He realized it was a metallic wall although the texture felt strange.

Could the wall be superalloy? Or were superalloy components added to it? 

Tang Ling was shocked by his own thoughts, and in the next second, an outrageous thought of robbing the entire wall, including the tools on it, came afloat in his mind.

Unfortunately, Tang Ling was not capable of doing that! Through the wall, he knew Boss Huang a little better and he also started to believe he was really weak.

…

The third floor of Dvesha Moha had no rooms. The entire floor was built for a specific purpose: to hold Boss Huang’s complete book collection.

There were many types of books in his collection including books with different languages from the old civilization to the books from the Purple Moon era, as well as books about astronomy and geography. There were also books that Boss Huang had written himself but those books were his treasure and he would not simply show them to anyone.

Boss Huang was a meticulous man. Throughout the entire building of Dvesha Moha, be it the exterior or the interior decorations, every detail and sign pointed at his fastidious personality but not this library.

There were too many books in the library to the point that he could not arrange them in his style. It was already an amazing feat to have all the books neatly arranged on the racks and to empty a small reading space in the middle of the sea of books.

Therefore, the first feeling that popped in Tang Ling’s heart when he stepped into the library was claustrophobia. The book racks were lined up close to each other on a rail, and in between them were seams that could only fit one and a half people, which meant that in order to get a particular book on the rack, the rack must be moved first.

Even though Boss Huang emptied a reading space in the corner, it did not really make the place look spacious at all. On the three walls that surrounded the library were giant book racks that extended all the way to the ceiling. There was also a wooden ladder beside each rack for one to conveniently get to the higher shelves.

Other than that, there was a huge study desk in the reading area and a seemingly comfortable adjustable chair. In front of the desk was a carpet with a few seashell couches and a small table.

The fourth wall on the third floor was actually a giant French window that faced the sea and the wobbling iron chain bridge.

In front of the window was a big wooden barrel and beside it was a transparent case where the top was filled with ice and the bottom was filled with all kinds of alcoholic beverages that Tang Ling could not recognize. At the bottom of the case was a piece of tiny Universal Source Stone.

Tang Ling did not comment on the stone since he had gotten used to Boss Huang’s luxurious life. The boss found a way to enjoy himself even in such a tight space.

Tang Ling could paint the picture in his mind: a man holding a glass of wine, reading while bathing in front of the glass window facing the sea…

What a detestable scene!

“Are you here already?” Boss Huang was behind the study desk with his smoking pipe, looking as relaxed as ever.

Tang Ling was tired, so he skipped the flattery and said, “Boss, I really want to sleep, but I love learning, so can you just give me a book? I’ll try my best to study as quickly as possible.”

“Hold your horses.” Boss Huang stood up and sauntered to Tang Ling before he pinched his arm in a certain spot. Tang Ling immediately felt an unbearable stinging and numbness, so he gasped.

“You are too weak. It’s only been a whole day and you are almost at your limit. If my precious food didn’t supply you with energy, you would have fallen a long time ago,” Boss Huang commented.

Did he hold me back just to mock me again? 

Tang Ling did not even have the intention to argue anymore. He showed a sincere and honest expression as he responded, “Boss, I may be weak but I’m hardworking, so please continue to supply me with food. It would be a shame for you to lose me, such a hardworking worker. Hmm, I want to read now.”

“Don’t you feel sore and numb on your arm? Tomorrow when you wake up, even if I don’t pinch you again, your whole body will be sore. How are you going to work tomorrow if your body isn’t in shape? Are you dumb?” Boss Huang looked askance at Tang Ling. He felt that the kid was a little shameless with his words, and the resemblance to a certain someone was uncanny.

Tang Ling showed a sad expression. “What can I do? Nothing can stop me from working and paying my debts!”

“Enough! I’m about to throw up! In order not to delay your work, I’ve decided to teach you a set of body techniques. After learning, you can greatly relieve the tiredness in your body. So, do you want to learn it?” Boss Huang’s eyes shone brightly.

“I don’t have money.” Instinctively, Tang Ling’s caution rose, but the temptation of a set of body techniques was very high. If he had a way to greatly relieve his fatigue, it would result in efficiency not just in smithing but cultivating as well! It would greatly benefit him in the long run.

“It’s free of charge, but you have to do something for me.” Boss Huang flashed a cunning smile.