Versatile Mage

“Chihaya, your temper is still the same after all these years. Why are you chasing them away without asking properly?” An old man with a mustache came out of the building. He looked as energetic as a young man, but was white-haired and mustached.

“What is there to ask! This kid, this disrespectful kid, he says he’s going to tear our Twin Guardian Towers down! He dares say such disrespectful words right in front of the eldest daughter of the Mochizuki Clan. How can I stand it!?” swore Mochizuki Chihaya, the woman in kimono.

“You were in the wrong first. Alright, that’s enough, they must be the honorable guests we are waiting for,” the old man glared at the woman when he stepped up beside her.

“Honorable guests?” Mochizuki Chihaya smirked in disbelief.

“Old man, your daughter needs to learn manners. She’s lucky that you’ve shown up in time. Otherwise, I was going to beat her pretty face into a sumo wrestler!” said Mo Fan.

The old man was startled. He did not expect Mo Fan to say such a thing.

Mochizuki Chihaya almost broke her wooden clogs stomping the ground!

If her elder Mochizuki Ken had not interfered, she would have beaten the crap out of the disrespectful kid. Despite that, the kid continued to challenge her limits. He was simply asking for death!

“I believe you are the representatives of China’s national team currently in the middle of your training. The time is just right,” Mochizuki Ken cut straight to the topic without making the situation even more complicated.

Hearing this, Ai Jiangtu immediately walked up and handed his badge to the old man.

The old man did not bother checking the badge. Ai Jiangtu asked as he was quite confused, “Aren’t you going to check it? Aren’t you afraid that we’re imposters?”

“You’d need some guts to pretend that you were the representatives of the national team. I don’t think anyone is stupid enough to pretend they are representatives from China just to challenge the experts of our Twin Guardian Towers,” the old man smiled.

“You’re quite confident with your people,” said Ai Jiangtu.

As soon as Ai Jiangtu finished his sentence, a man whose hair was dyed gold walked out of the building. It was obvious that he had heard the conversation. He replied to Ai Jiangtu with a confident smile, “Not many people in the whole Japan would dare to challenge the Twin Guardian Towers. Where do you think we got the confidence from? We can easily tell if you’re fake or real judging from how long you can last in the duels against us.”

“How long we can last?” Gong Yu’s lips twisted. He replied in an unpleasant tone, “Friend, why does it sound like you think the national team from China can’t even beat you people, who are only defending the national embassy?”

“If that’s what you think,” said the Japanese man with golden hair.

“Alright, you better remember what you said when I put you and your teammates on the ground later. By the way, I really don’t like your hairstyle,” said Gong Yu proudly.

Zhao Manyan felt unpleasant as soon as Gong Yu finished speaking!

He was in a bad mood when he saw the Japanese had the same hairstyle as his own, but Gong Yu just had to mention it.

“Speaking of which, you two do look somewhat alike. Zhao Manyan, it seems like your dad has already come to Japan in advance to have some fun before we even start commencing our plan. Impressive,” Mo Fan compared Zhao Manyan with the Japanese and immediately had to comment.

“Bring our guests in so they can have some rest. I’ll make arrangements for the duels, but before that, we must treat our guests with respect. Bring them on a tour around the Twin Guardian Towers,” Mochizuki Ken invited them in without checking their badges.

“By the way, we still have a few girls coming. They might be late, so please wait here and bring them in when they arrive,” Mo Fan said to Mochizuki Chihaya.

Mochizuki Chihaya’s forehead was covered in black lines. She replied furiously, “Are you treating me like a maid looking after the entrance?!”

“If that’s what you think,” Mo Fan repeated the same phrase which the golden-haired Japanese said a moment ago.

The man turned around and gave Mo Fan an unfriendly look.

——

When they entered the West Guardian Tower, they found the main compound was located on the higher floors. The space between the walls and the foundation of the building was taken up by brooks and ponds of irregular shapes. Apart from the side facing the cliff, the other three sides were the same.

The waters were quite clear. They could see the fallen leaves floating on the water, the rocks at the bottom, and even the shadow of the leaves on the rocks.

The water had to be quite deep. It only looked shallow because it was so clear.

There were wooden walkways on the surface of the water, with lots of paths and little pavilions. It was quite a long walk to the lower level of the West Guardian Tower!

The tower was split into three levels. The lower level mainly consisted of halls. The layout was as complicated as a maze. Every hall looked perfectly symmetrical and alike. It was difficult to tell the directions.

The stairs between the halls led to the middle floor.

The middle floor had everything. Museum, library, training ground, meditation rooms, lecture halls, function rooms, accommodations, tools room, smithing room, pharmacist… every room was luxurious!

The upper floor consisted of meeting rooms for the military, observation towers, resting places for the guards, magic towers to maintain formations, etc. It was off-limit for everyone apart from authorities with clearance and the guards.

The middle floor was still the most shocking part of the place. It had all the facilities that a Magician could hope for. It was the perfect place for Magicians to train at.

—

The golden-haired man and Mochizuki Chihaya led them around. They soon approached the the cliff.

To Mo Fan’s surprise, the pathway hanging in the air was only accessible from a huge observation tower in the upper level.

If the upper level was off limit, it also meant that the tower opposite their mountain was a prohibited area, too.

Most importantly, the path between the two towers was not a walkway, it was a drawbridge! In other words, both the West Guardian Tower and East Guardian Tower had to lower the drawbridge for anyone to cross it.

“Is the tower on the other side not open to the public?” asked Mo Fan, who was always a curious man.

“It’s a restricted area,” said the golden-haired Japanese.

“Such a nice castle, isn’t it a waste to leave it like that?” said Mo Fan.

“I never said it’s not being used. Anyway, you’re not allowed to go there!” replied their Japanese guide.

“Ok,” Mo Fan nodded.

Mochizuki Chihaya immediately read Mo Fan’s mind with her sharp eyes. She said coldly, “I suggest you not to try anything stupid. The drawbridge is the only way to the East Guardian Tower. The cliffs, the sky, and the mountain on the other side are protected by powerful formations. Just to remind you, anyone who tries to go close to the East Guardian Tower will be turned into ashes, no matter how strong they are!”