Chapter 618: Chapter 618: The Old Grandmaster Erges from Seclusion_1
Outside the gardens of West Lake, by its shores.
Family Heads from the eighteen major families of Jiangnan had all gathered together.
Mike Hayes sat in a wheelchair, positioned slightly to the back.
The Ning Family’s Old Master Ning, the Locke Family’s Old Master Locke, as well as Lesley Davis and others, all stood at the edge of the boardwalk, gazing toward the center of the lake.
Mike Hayes glanced at the old butler standing beside him and said with a forced smile,
“Uncle Fu, do you think… should we call out to the Grandmaster?”
The old butler’s half-closed eyes slowly opened as he looked at Mike Hayes and said indifferently, “If you have the guts, by all ans, give it a try.”
“I…”
Mike Hayes, his face the picture of embarrassnt, awkwardly turned his head away, not daring to bring up the matter again.
The other Family Heads, harboring similar thoughts and seeing Mike Hayes seated in his wheelchair, imdiately dismissed the idea and began to wait quietly.
The group had been standing by the shoreline for an entire afternoon when, as the sky began to darken, the lake’s surface finally stirred.
As ripples spread across the tranquil water, a series of waves suddenly surged, and then, with a loud boom, a column of water shot up into the sky.
Everyone instinctively retreated to a safe distance and looked up, instantly stunned.
Above the column of water, an old man with long hair was seated in a lotus position, his white hair and youthful face radiating vitality. Every ti his eyes opened and closed, it seed as if beams of light stread forth.
Overwhelming majesty radiated out in an instant.
Feeling that invisible pressure, Mike Hayes and the others were filled with fear and trepidation, and even Old Master Ning and Old Master Locke showed grave expressions on their faces.
“Greetings to the Grandmaster!”
Soone started, and the crowd called out in unison, bending their waists into a ninety-degree angle.
“A bunch of useless trash, you still have the face to see !”
The sound of cold snorting, tinged with slight anger, ca from the sky like thunder from the heavens, numbing the ears of all who heard it.
The group trembled, bending even lower.
Whoosh!
A sudden burst of water was followed closely by the whistling of the wind.
Hearing the disturbance, the crowd maintained their bows, not daring to lift their heads.
After a while, the old butler’s voice rang out, “That’s enough, everyone get up. The Grandmaster has already left; follow into the manor to pay your respects.”
When the people lifted their heads, they realized the Grandmaster had indeed departed, and even the surface of West Lake had returned to calm.
Several individuals, as if relieved of a great burden, let out a long breath.
Mike Hayes said with an awkward laugh, “We’ll have to trouble Uncle Fu to lead the way.”
“Follow .”
The old butler gave him a brief glance and began walking towards East Peak Manor.
Following the old butler, the crowd made their way into East Peak Manor, winding through the andering stone-paved paths, to arrive outside a pavilion.
The Grandmaster Walter Locke had changed into a set of white short robes, his hair reaching his shoulders and tied casually with a leather strap behind his head.
At that mont, he sat on a stone bench inside the pavilion, heartily eating marinated beef and drinking thirty-year matured baijiu.
“Sss! That’s strong.”
Walter Locke smacked his lips after a sip of alcohol, his face revealing satisfaction as he picked up another chopstick of marinated beef and chewed heartily.
“Greetings to the Grandmaster!”
Several people once again bent forward to pay their respects.
Walter Locke ignored them, continuing to eat as he pleased.
Dish after dish of exquisitely prepared als were served, and empty plates were cleared away. About a dozen servants bustled back and forth, a sight that shocked Mike Hayes and the others profoundly.
There was no other reason, it was simply that Walter Locke could eat an astonishing amount, in just one hour’s ti, he had cleared a whole table full of dishes, and had drunk two to three catties of wine.
What was even more surprising to them was that Walter Locke’s forrly thin body seed to have filled out significantly, making him appear several years younger.
Was this the thod of soone who had surpassed the Path-Entry Realm?
As the evening dimd, the surroundings fell silent, the sound of chewing at this mont was grating and sinister, sending shivers down one’s spine.
Not until the darkness had completely fallen, and the lanterns in the pavilion had been lit, did Walter Locke put down the food in his hands, take the hot towel passed by a servant to wipe his hands, and slowly stood up.
His tall figure blocked most of the light, casting a long shadow that clawed aggressively, as if it were a malevolent ghost, choosing soone to devour.
Lesley Davis and the others felt the temperature plumt as if they had fallen into an ice cave, their hearts nearly freezing in place, their bodies turning numb without sensation.
Their backs bent even lower, their eyes widened with terror as they stared at the ground.
On the marble-paved ground, that bizarre, irregular shadow stretched out, slowly rging with their own shadows.
Creak, creak…
The previously silent sounds of chewing ca again, along with “glug, glug” sounds of gulping, a strong stench of blood perating among them.
Is he… going to eat us?
Everyone was simultaneously shocked, wanting to run, yet unable to muster any strength.
After what felt like an eternity, everyone felt exhausted both in body and mind, their heads groggy, on the verge of fainting, when Walter Locke’s voice finally rang out.
“Tell , what’s the situation now?” he asked.
Everyone felt the pressure suddenly lift, their bodies relaxing, and as they looked up, they couldn’t help but stare in astonishnt.
A gentle evening breeze, the chirping of insects, accompanied by wafts of floral fragrance.
The old man with a youthful appearance of white hair was still standing in the pavilion, looking at them with an expression neither sad nor happy.
Where was there any sign of a people-devouring ghost?
Only at this mont did they finally realize that everything they had experienced was just an illusion.
“Reporting to Grandmaster, that Barry Wolfe has gone too far, he not only tore up the previously signed agreent, but also maliciously encroached on our Suzhou-Hangzhou properties.
Brother Dai, such a compassionate person, was eradicated by him…”
Mike Hayes detailed all of Barry Wolfe’s “detestable” actions, inevitably exaggerating so, listening to which made both Mr. Locke and Mr. Ning frown slightly.
Lesley Davis glanced nervously at Mike Hayes, quickly averting his gaze and shrinking back into the shadows, afraid of drawing attention to himself.
You’re digging your own grave, don’t drag down with you!
In his mind, Lesley Davis reiterated, while thinking about Greg Jensen’s terrifying nature, and shivered despite himself.
After a while, Mike Hayes finally finished listing Greg Jensen’s “cris” and then cautiously addressed Walter Locke:
“Grandmaster, you must stand up for us,” he implored.
Walter Locke looked cold and silent.
After a long mont, he finally said, “Send him an invitation, in three days I will personally go to East Peak Manor to take his dog’s life!”
“Yes, I’ll take care of it right away!”
Mike Hayes was imdiately overjoyed, and a slight smile of relief appeared on the faces of the others.
Only Mr. Locke and Mr. Ning remained, their brows furrowed, apparently lost in thought.
Walter Locke gave the two n a aningful look before he turned away, and with implied significance, he addressed everyone, “We are all natives of Jiangnan, it’s important to know whom to be close to, and whom to keep at a distance.”
Both Mr. Locke and Mr. Ning felt a chill and hastily joined the others in saying, “Yes, we will heed the Grandmaster’s teachings.”
Lesley Davis was still hesitating, debating whether to tip Greg Jensen off. Upon hearing Walter Locke’s words, he imdiately shrank back.
He rembered what Greg Jensen had said, that if he didn’t co looking for Lesley, Lesley should not contact him. Besides, the three-day deadline was to be set tomorrow anyway; whether he said sothing or not made no difference.
Lesley Davis breathed a sigh of relief, but then rembered, if Greg Jensen died, there would be no one left to cure the poison in him, causing his heart to race again.
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