“You’re truly insane!”
“Jude never thought of competing with you for anything, and even until his death, he still planned to bring a jug of wine to pay respects to you.”
But the truth turned out to be so cruel, the one who killed him was the senior brother he had always thought about.
Old Bray glared at him furiously, struggling to get up from the ground.
Bang-
A punch landed unexpectedly on Hassan’s face.
This punch, filled with disappointment and anger, used up all of his strength, and Hassan fell down immediately.
He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
Yet, he laughed as if he didn’t feel any pain, carelessly wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, and standing up again.
“If anyone’s to blame, it’s only his own naivety and your mistake in giving him the opportunity.”
Hearing this, Old Bray shed tears of regret.
He was right; he also bore responsibility for Jude’s death.
“Just say what you really want to do? Now that I’m already a fish on your chopping board, kill or slice as you wish.”
At his age, death was only a matter of time.
What Hassan hated the most was his calm and composed demeanor. Before this, he only wanted to kill him.
Now, well, he had changed his mind.
“Letting you die so easily would be too lenient for you, I refuse to let you die.”
“I need to think carefully about how to torture you, otherwise, how could I face my leg.”
“In my opinion, it’s better to break one of your legs now, that’s what you owe me.”
After speaking, Hassan gestured to his two subordinates with a flick of his fingers, signaling them to come over.
“Sir.”
“Left leg.”
With these two cold words, the two men walked over carrying a thick iron rod.
One held Old Bray’s leg, while the other aimed at his knee and struck down hard.
Crack-
The sound of the bone breaking crisply reached everyone’s ears.
Hassan closed his eyes, savoring the sound, and pleasantly said:
“Listen, this sound is so wonderful, even more touching than listening to a musical at the opera house.”
If possible, he really wanted to break his other leg.
But Hassan thought it would be a pity if such wonderful music was heard all in one day.
The other leg would be saved for next time.
The knee bone was completely shattered, agonizing pain traveled up from his leg, it felt as if every bone in his body had cracked.
But even in the face of death, Old Bray refused to beg for mercy in front of him.
“Beast… I truly regret teaching you so much.”
Now, he had committed the act of biting back the hand that fed him.
Hassan, listening to his scolding, didn’t take it seriously at all and laughed softly.
“What are you angry about? When you taught me, you held back some tricks, didn’t you?”
“I guess you were afraid of teaching your disciple too much, right? I want to know, did you also hold back from your little disciple?”
Old Bray defended against his accusation.
“Jude was never like you, so dark inside. He knows everything I did was for his own good.”
“The reason why I didn’t teach you guys ‘The Art of Magic’ is because I felt such a thing should never exist in this world.”
Because of “The Art of Magic,” the disciple he raised by his own hand betrayed him.
Yet, Old Bray’s original intention was to protect them, not wanting them to be exposed to such dark matters.
How ironic the outcome is!
In the next moment, Hassan took out “The Art of Magic” and shook it in front of him.
“But what you didn’t expect is, ‘The Art of Magic’ has already been stolen by me, not only that… I also found the other half.”
“Now what I have in my hands is the truly complete book.”
The half-book that Old Bray possessed was one that he had snatched from the hands of the Cunningham family years ago. The other half should also be with the Cunningham family, so why was it in Hassan’s hands? Connecting this to the attire of his followers, Old Bray speculated in his mind that Hassan must have colluded with the Cunningham family.
“So what if you possess ‘The Art of Magic’? In the end, you will be dead sooner or later,” Old Bray said. In this world, things like fame and profit are all fleeting; it’s only when you grow old that you realize that time is the most valuable thing. Because for each day you live, you’re one day closer to not being able to return.
“No, I am not like you,” Hassan retorted. “With it, I can do many more things, and I believe you will certainly admire me and feel ashamed of yourself.”
“First, you need to answer my questions, then I can assure you won’t die,” Hassan continued. “What are you doing on Dragon Serpent Isle, what is your purpose, how many people came with you, and where are they now?”
Old Bray of course refused to answer his questions, only replying with – “I don’t know, if you have the guts, kill me now!”
His uncooperative attitude made the subordinates at his side anxious, all suggesting that Hassan might as well break his other leg. “He’s just an old man close to death. How tough can he be?”
They didn’t understand Old Bray, but Hassan, his disciple for many years, understood this stubborn old man very well. He would not be coerced through hard measures.
So, he decided to try another tactic. “I heard a child was captured along with you.”
“You may not fear death, but does he? After all, he’s just a teenager.”
It was all too normal here to be missing an arm, a leg, or an eye.
Indeed, as soon as Mike’s safety was mentioned, Old Bray quickly compromised. “I can tell you, but you must release the child, he is innocent.”
“As long as you cooperate, I can spare the child’s life; otherwise, I will cut off one of his fingers every day.”
Out of desperation, Old Bray was forced to tell the truth. However, he was not foolish enough to reveal everything; the more secrets he kept, the higher his chances of staying alive. And the most cunning lie is one that’s half-true.
“I can only answer one question per day; today I’ll answer your first question,” Old Bray said.
“Alright, what are you doing here?”
“Looking for someone.”
“Who?”
Old Bray stared blankly at the blood on his leg, his gaze dimmed. “That’s the second question, which I refuse to answer today.”
Hassan, who had hated him for twenty years, of course did not want him to die so quickly, not at least before he had bested him. “Fine, then I’ll ask again tomorrow. Take them down and lock them in Tiger Cage, not letting them escape.”
“Yes.”
With a broken leg, Old Bray could barely walk; the two men nearly dragged him like a sack into the prison cell.
In the prison cell, Mike was confined alone. Before Old Bray arrived, the boy didn’t know how long he had been crying. Finally seeing him return, all bloodied, terrified the child white.
“Old Bray!”
“Don’t cry, I’m alright… we must hold on. I believe Master Iker and the others are coming up with a plan to rescue us.”
Now, all they needed to do was to stay calm and stay alive.