Chapter 14: Jason's Thoughts

"Wait." Jason suddenly shouted as he turned back.

"What is it now? Stop dilly dallying and hurry up." Reed said in an annoyed voice.

"Master, back then in the living quarters, did you not say that you were selecting a cultivation technique for me? Then why are you sending me to select a technique once again? Could it be you were lying to your disciple at that time?" Jason asked.

"Ah… err… you see, I did go to search for a technique for you, but I could not decide which one would be suitable for you. So, I am letting you go and search on your own so that you don't blame me later if you cannot learn the technique. Brat, you dare doubt your Master's intentions? Are you looking for a beating?" Initially, Reed fumbled but later roared at Jason as he found the proper words to answer him.

"Ah, no no. Disciple will be on his way. Elder Huang, please come quickly. Let us go into the library." Jason immediately retreated and beckoned the hooded man to come over."

After Jason had entered the glass chamber, Reed started speaking to the hooded man. "You know what to do right?"

"Yes, Liaison. Do nothing suspicious and answer all his questions in the vaguest way possible. Also, introduce the crappiest cultivation techniques as the most heaven defying ones. Do not worry, Liaison. I will work exactly as per your instructions. The boy won't be able to find out anything." The hooded man responded respectfully.

"Very good, Number 9. I trust you. Just remember that the brat is very cunning. He can make you contradict your own words through his rhetoric. If possible, just say 'I don't Know' or 'Better ask Master Reed about it.' This way, he won't be able to gather anything. Now go." Reed instructed.

"I understand, Liaison." Number 9 bowed his head as he went to the glass chamber as well.

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Meanwhile, Jason could not see or hear anything of the conversation between Number 9 and Reed. The moment he entered the glass chamber, he realized that he could not see or hear anything outside; as if the glass allowed vision only through one side. So, he just stood inside the glass chamber and waited for the hooded man to come and take him.

There were a couple of things that Jason was thinking about. At this point of time, one thing was clear that this old man definitely had shady intentions. At first, he just had some suspicions about the old man and the skull tattoo. But after interacting with the girl in the living quarters, he was certain about it. Hence, even though till now he had not seen any concrete evidence that screamed against Reed, he had decided to be careful of him as much as possible.

'One thing is certain that Reed is still not suspicious of me about talking to that girl or about the fact that I already know that he has bad intentions. I must maintain this status quo while trying to delay any plan that he might be executing.'

'Right now, I am still as weak as a mortal. Even though I feel that there are a few strange things in my body, I think they are already at their limits protecting me against the skull tattoo. I am sure that they won't be able to hold up against Reed if he went full hostile against me.'

'I need to cultivate faster and learn a few techniques to increase my chances of fleeing this place. But I don't think I should rely on this Librarian Huang to help me find a good technique. Most probably, he will try to make me select a technique that would be very slow to cultivate in, making me frequently visit the master. Then, someday, they can catch me off guard or give me medicines that would weaken some of the skills that are protecting me. Then I would be a sitting duck for them to capture.'

'I must select a good technique. Fortunately, I have read a lot of novels and have some confidence in choosing a good technique. But how do I actually learn them? I don't think I would understand it just by reading it multiple times on my own. I think that my mind may be able to help me learn it quicker, but that state of mind is very bizarre and I don't think I will be able to control it at will. What should I do? There is no one here that I can trust...'

'... except that girl!!' Jason suddenly widened his eyes in realization. 'Even though we have talked only once, I think that even she is suffering here in the hands of Reed. An enemy's enemy is a friend right?'

Jason decided to find some time and speak to that girl, 'It would definitely be better to have an ally against such a formidable enemy. Also, maybe, just maybe, we could be more than just friends. .. Ah, how nice would that be?' Jason thought as his mind wandered to all the web novels he had read and how the MCs would woo heaven defying beauties left and right. Ah, such a wonderful life...

Suddenly, his thoughts snapped as that hooded person finally entered the glass chamber.

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"Sorry for making you wait, disciple Jason. Shall we be on our way now?' Huang asked in a polite manner.

"Ah, Elder Huang. What took you so long? Do you know that due to your delay, my cultivation progress would be delayed by a hundred years? How are you going to make up for it?" Jason immediately complained as soon as Huang spoke to him.

"Eh," Huang was puzzled. Just how could a delay of ten minutes in choosing cultivation techniques cause a delay of a hundred years in cultivation? "Disciple Jason, I could not understand. Could you please explain it to me?" he asked.

"You see, elder, I could explain it to you right now. But the time lost during explanations would set my cultivation back by another five hundred years. Can you really take responsibility for such a loss? At that time, when Master becomes angry with you and punishes you, even I won't be able to help you." Jason blabbed continuously while keeping a straight face.

"Ah, elder doesn't dare, elder doesn't dare," Huang cried out as he started activating the formations on the walls of the chamber. He finally realized how true his Liaison's words were and decided to speak only when absolutely required.

As the formations activated, the walls slowly vanished and the entire chamber was covered in a grey mist, as if space itself was distorting. Slowly, the glass chamber became empty as if nothing existed inside it in the first place.