At the doorway, seeing the puzzled look on Sheriff Blake's face, Xu Le pulled a black amulet from his pocket, engraved with some strange patterns. Blake was a little confused. Hadn't Xu Le told him earlier that he was being questioned? What did it mean to show him an amulet? Looking at the amulet, Sheriff Blake thought the patterns were quite nice, then he felt a little dizzy, the world in his eyes began to spin, and a gentle voice soothed his soul.
Seeing that Black had been successfully hypnotized by his amulet, Xu Le smiled smugly. This was his second plan to prevent the plot from being disrupted. Hypnotic magic could control mortals, but Xu Le dared not use it on Jackie Chan, fearing his father would discover it. Besides, Jackie Chan had been by his father's side for so many years; who could say he hadn't seen this kind of magic? So he thought of Sheriff Black, who held the highest authority in District 13. Since he couldn't follow the main plot, he would take a roundabout approach.
Chapter Six: The Layout
In a bustling downtown area, at the top of a building's office, a white-haired man in a green suit faces the wall, his expression somewhat gloomy. This is Valmont. Born in England, Valmont is the founder and leader of the Mafia organization. He is a shrewd criminal planner; and in combat, he can even hold his own against Jackie Chan.
"Vallon, haven't you found the talismans I need yet? I must have all the talismans before the New Year's bells ring less than once, or you can forget about the treasure." In a luxurious office, a dragon-shaped stone sculpture hanging on the wall, its eyes gleaming crimson, spoke.
“Holy Lord, please wait a little longer. I have already sent my men to find the Tiger Talisman. As for the other talismans, they should have been given to Section 13 by Jackie Chan and are hidden inside Section 13. As long as we catch Jackie Chan, we will definitely be able to find the address of Section 13.”
Valon mentioned his three henchmen, feeling a bit of a headache. He didn't understand why, as a mafia boss, the police's most wanted criminal, and a powerful villain with both intelligence and strength, his subordinates were all such oddballs. Although their loyalty was not a concern, their abilities were frighteningly low.
"I don't want to hear these explanations. If you can't hand me the twelve runes before the New Year's bells ring, you'll never get the treasure." Shendu's voice began to rise and fall. He also regretted hiring these incompetent mortals to collect runes for him. Even the Shadow Legion couldn't defeat Jackie Chan; they were truly a bunch of useless trash. The red light in the eyes of the dragon statue on the wall faded, and Shendu fell back into a deep sleep.
Valmont, standing before Shendu, had a face so dark it seemed like water could drip from it. As a mafia boss, if it weren't for the treasure, he would be scolded by Shendu like a grandson. Thinking of this, he clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his flesh.
squeak!
The door was pushed open, and a huge figure blocked out the light from the outside world, casting a huge shadow on the ground.
“Boss, I brought back the Tiger Talisman.” Tru walked up to Valon, stretched out his large, fan-like hand, and opened it. A talisman with a tiger-shaped pattern lay quietly in his hand.
Valmont picked up the Tiger Talisman. Looking at this talisman that had brought him so much trouble, Valmont felt a sense of calm. He glanced back at the statue, which showed no signs of distress, and made a decision. Instead of placing the talisman in the groove on the statue, he put it in his pocket, picked up the scepter on the table, and strode out the door.
Seeing this, Tru quickly followed.
Antique shop entrance
Sheriff Black felt a little dizzy, so he gently tapped his head. The discomfort slowly subsided, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Xu Le's concerned expression.
"Sheriff Black, are you alright?" Xu Le asked with "concern." Now that things were settled, there was no need to maintain the hypnotic state indefinitely. Besides, the potion only allowed people to enter a hypnotic state for thirty minutes, which was a bit of a shame. But then he thought, if these basic spells could control people so easily, the world would have been in chaos long ago.
Moreover, potion making requires a large amount of materials. If it weren't for his increasingly good relationship with his father, who gave him some materials to practice with, just finding these herbs would have driven him crazy. Take the Light Sleep Flower, for example—what is that? Its roots and stems are no different from other plants, but its petals look like a human face. Without certain information channels, this kind of material is completely impossible to find.
Blake was a little confused. He recalled chatting with Xu Le, but suddenly his mind went blank, and he froze for a moment. Could it be that dealing with the Mafia lately had caused him to have poor sleep and thus his health was deteriorating?
Blake realized this was the most likely explanation. He hadn't been getting enough rest lately, his sleep schedule was severely disrupted, and with so much going on and so much stress, it wouldn't be surprising to feel dizzy. A voice seemed to guide him, automatically filling in the blanks in his head to explain his dizziness.
"It's nothing, thank you for your trouble." Blake laughed heartily. "Alright then, Sheriff Blake, could you help me with my temporary residence permit? I only have my passport right now. I'm working at Dad's shop this time, and without a temporary residence permit, I'll be deported." This was the reason Xu Le had prepared. After all, he wasn't familiar with Blake, and it would be a bit strange to suddenly go out for a talk. If he didn't have a sufficient reason, Dad would definitely suspect him after the incident, and even if he managed to steal the 12 talismans, he wouldn't be able to return to Dad's shop. So Xu Le used the temporary residence permit as an excuse. Although the United States is a multi-ethnic country, since the 9/11 attacks, the screening of foreigners has become even stricter.
For tourists like him, simply traveling is fine, but failing to leave the country after their visa expires can lead to scrutiny. Blake happens to be the sheriff of District 13; although not part of the same system, he has some power and connections, making him more than capable of handling a temporary residence permit, especially since he has a stable job.
Blake considered it for a moment and, wanting to repay Xu Le's favor, agreed to Xu Le's request: "Okay, I'll find someone to help you with this when I get back. It'll be done in a couple of days. I'll give it to you next time I come over."
Xu Le grinned, chatted with Blake for a bit, then said goodbye and returned to the shop.
Inside the room, Dad was examining the spellbook. After all, Jackie Chan hadn't managed to steal the Tiger Talisman this time, but now all the talismans were collected. This meant that if the Mafia wanted more talismans, they would have to come to District 13 to steal them. However, thinking about how the people in District 13 looked down on magic, Dad was somewhat annoyed. These people had never truly experienced the terror of magic; their prized technological products were nothing to some powerful magicians, as long as they had prepared in advance.
Seeing Xu Le push the door open and come in, the old man asked, "What did you talk about with Blake?"
"It's nothing, just my temporary residence permit. After all, I'm going to be staying here long-term, and I don't have any friends here, so I asked Sheriff Black to help me with it." Xu Le smiled and answered his father's question.
The old man didn't suspect him, just grunted in agreement and continued examining the magic book.
"Dad, I just heard from Sheriff Black that he got information from the arrested Mafia members that Valon and his gang were collecting talismans under the orders of a mysterious man named Shendu." Xu Le felt the plot was getting messy, so he decided to prepare in advance. He had made up the story about the arrested Mafia members. As for Sheriff Black, his father didn't like him much to begin with, so naturally he wouldn't personally question him about something like that.
"Holy Lord, this name sounds familiar, doesn't it?" The old man felt that the name Holy Lord sounded familiar, but worried that he couldn't remember it, so he pulled out a huge red book, more than 30 centimeters long, from the shelf next to him and started flipping through it.
The old man flipped through page after page, until a portrait he came across stirred his memories, and he exclaimed, "Found it! Shendu is the Demon of Fire, one of the Eight Great Demons. Originally, he and his seven brethren were sealed in Hell by the eight immortal gods. Later, the other seven demons joined forces to send him back to Earth, but he betrayed them and ruled the earthly kingdoms alone until nine hundred years ago, when the Lin Dynasty rebelled against Shendu's rule. Shendu was turned into a statue by Lope using a large-scale multi-person magic, and his divine power, except for his fire element, was broken down into twelve talismans. No wonder the Mafia has been collecting talismans; it turns out Shendu wanted to be resurrected."
The fog that had been shrouding them instantly cleared. The old man had always wondered how these guys could always know the location of the talismans; the principle was that the original owners of the talismans were searching for them.
"This is terrible. If it weren't for the large number of magicians who suppressed him in ancient times, and Lu Dongbin's sacrifice to seal him away, who could defeat him now? My old bones can't take it." The old man frowned, his tone worried but not afraid.
Seeing his father's expression, Xu Le thought to himself, "Just as I expected." He'd felt it back in the original story: even if Shendu was weakened, he was still a powerful demon. To think any random magician could defeat him was pure fantasy. His father, who single-handedly sealed multiple demons in the animation, possessed unfathomable strength. Xu Le speculated that his father's power was comparable to, if not greater than, the eight ancient warriors who sealed demons.
Chapter Seven: The History of Charms, The Attack on District 13
"The current Holy Lord isn't frightening. Aside from possessing fire magic and control of the Shadow Legion, he poses no real threat. However, once he obtains the twelve talismans, regains his body, and summons his dragon minions, the world will be in danger. After all, the Holy Lord was defeated by humans and his body was fragmented, accumulating immense resentment. He was once the king of Asia, and once the seal is broken, he will inevitably return to his palace near Hong Kong, summon his minions, attack the entire continent, and re-establish his earthly kingdom. I just checked; if the twelve talismans aren't obtained before the first bell of the New Year, the Holy Lord will remain sealed. Even if he manages to obtain the twelve talismans after the New Year, he won't be able to break free and will have to wait several hundred more years."
The old man's tone was somewhat worried. After all, once the Holy Lord was unsealed, his motherland would be the first to be affected. Even though he was far away in another country, he still had deep feelings for his motherland.
The old man's words cleared up Xu Le's doubts. No wonder the Holy Master didn't care much about the talismans later; they had lost their effectiveness and couldn't break the seal. Xu Le remembered that in the animation, the old man had used a potion to remove the talismans from the Holy Master's body, and asked curiously, "Old man, if the Holy Master gets all twelve talismans and breaks the seal, how can we deal with him?"
The old man was taken aback for a moment, thought about it carefully, and replied, "Yes, back then, the Holy Lord's body was divided into twelve talismans, and solidification magic was applied to the talismans to freeze his body into stone talismans. Even if the Holy Lord merged into the body, this solidification magic would not immediately become ineffective, so it could be removed with a magic potion."
"What kind of magic potion? I've never seen it in any books before." Xu Le was a little curious. The book his father gave him didn't record how to make this magic potion. Since his father didn't know about the Holy Lord's existence at first, it shouldn't be that his father was deliberately keeping an eye on him. It could be in other books or that only his father knew about it.
"I don't know what it's called. This is an ancient formula I found during my adventures. It records how to remove the talismans. It seems that in ancient times, although the Holy Lord was overthrown, people's hearts were greedy. They saw that these twelve talismans had such great power and wanted to possess them. However, talismans are ultimately external objects, and anyone can use them. Once they are taken away, they lose their power, which is extremely dangerous."
So some evil sorcerers, wanting to possess the power of the talismans forever, invented a potion that allowed them to integrate the talismans into their bodies. This way, they could use the talismans at will without worrying about them being stolen. Later, this sorcerer, due to his numerous evil deeds, incurred the displeasure of some powerful figures. However, because he possessed many talismans, including the Dog Talisman, which was indestructible and incredibly powerful, he slaughtered many righteous sorcerers. But it was an extremely tragic era. One day, this sorcerer inadvertently revealed the source of his power. After this was discovered, a counter-potion was created, and in an ambush, the Dog Talisman was retrieved, successfully killing him. Then this history was sealed away, to prevent anyone from repeating the same mistake. The old man couldn't help but sigh. If that sorcerer hadn't been so flamboyant, with his abilities and the Dog Talisman's immortality, living to the ends of the earth wouldn't have been difficult.
"Then Dad got several kinds of potions." Xu Le tried to keep his tone calm. Being able to integrate the talismans into his body was a kind of insurance for him.
Although talismans are powerful, they can be easily stolen in powerful worlds. However, once integrated into the body, the risk of exposure decreases. Moreover, having a dog talisman in one's body is equivalent to gaining an immortal passive ability. Even if it's just physical immortality, it's enough to allow one to roam freely across multiple worlds. Only those who survive are qualified to pursue more. He can traverse martial arts worlds, and as long as he survives, he will surely reach the top.
"I have both kinds of potions. I've hidden the ancient formula in a box. Go see for yourself if you want," the old man said with a half-smile. Seeing Xu Le's expression, he understood that his disciple wanted the power of the talisman. No one is perfect; everyone has their own desires and pursuits. As long as those pursuits didn't harm others, he didn't care. Having lived for so many years, he had become indifferent to justice and evil; ultimately, it all came down to differing stances and interests.
Xu Le's pursuit was not excessive; he simply wanted to obtain the talisman. He didn't mind this behavior, since giving it to anyone was the same as giving it to someone else. Compared to District 13, it was better to give it to his disciple. He also knew Xu Le's character to some extent; he was a bit selfish and lacked the passion of a typical young person. Instead, he was like a middle-aged man who had experienced many hardships, and he was steady in his actions. He wondered if this was related to his life experiences.
Seeing the expression on his father's face, Xu Le knew his purpose had been exposed. He nervously said to his father, "Dad, I..." This wasn't surprising; suddenly hearing such good news was indeed a huge shock to him, and he was overly excited.
"Alright, no need to explain. Since you are my disciple, I will help you. There are some things I won't tell anyone, as long as you can live with your conscience."