Chapter 006: Apostles

Du Fan didn’t know what the mysterious power the old man was talking about was, but from the way the old man looked at it, he could tell it was definitely not a power he could control. Du Fan had no interest in getting himself involved in it as well.
Although the old man was asking him questions, his gaze revealed extreme disdain for that mysterious power, even with a hint of hostility.
Du Fan shook his head. “No need. I’ll solve my own problems.”
“Blue-blooded people had better be careful,” the old man said nonsensically, making Du Fan roll his eyes. “Your wound has healed, right? Shall we go outside and take a look?”
By the time they went outside, it was already dawn. After drinking that unknown water, Du Fan’s energy and stamina had returned to their peak, so he didn’t feel tired at all. But when he stepped outside, he found it was already early morning, yet he felt like he had only been inside for less than half an hour. How was that possible?
The old man wasn’t surprised at all. A few children ran up to him. He reached into his sleeve, took out some candy-like items, and gave them to the children. They got what they wanted and ran off smiling.
Before the old man could stand up straight, someone rushed over. “Teacher, how can you dote on them like this? What if they get spoiled?”
The old man smiled without saying anything. Someone listening to their conversation laughed and said, “Pros, I said the same thing to you when you were young. Have you forgotten how the teacher doted on you back then?”
Upon hearing this, Pros blushed, looked around, and saw no children present before shouting, “Father!”
“Haha…” Everyone laughed. Only by becoming a parent could one understand the hardships. Pros used to be just as mischievous, even more so!
Annoyed and ashamed, Pros snapped, “Damn it, Karl, Ben, and Jesse! Run ten more laps around the village!”
The old man smiled as he watched Pros walk away, then led Du Fan around the village. He didn’t talk to Du Fan but chatted casually with the villagers. Du Fan also stayed silent; his shock hadn’t faded yet.
Those three children seemed to be only five or six years old, yet they already possessed combat energy, quite strong, probably at level one. Maybe they were talented, but what really shocked him was Pros and his son—they were already at level nine!
Yesterday, Du Fan had wondered if level eight warriors were already common. But today, he wondered if level nine warriors had also become commonplace.

Although the Pross father and son were just at level nine, if they had acted yesterday, his supplies would no longer belong to the Green family. Those knights and caravan members probably wouldn’t be in any better shape, right? It seems the old man still showed them some mercy, Du Fan thought to himself. What exactly did the old man want from him? Having followed the old man all the way, Du Fan had grown numb. This village could be described as having everyone as warriors—anyone who showed up was already at level three, and the least capable were at level two. Level one? That was for children! Like those three little brats who ran over just now!

“Du Fan. Although I can’t help you deal with the Bluebloods, I can give you some hints,” the old man said, turning around. “I plan to stay here for a while. You’re the lord, and this is your territory, so…”

Du Fan wisely replied, “You can stay as long as you like, as long as this remains my territory.”

The old man didn’t mean to threaten; he just mentioned it casually, haha. “Just now, someone mentioned the Twenty-Two Apostles. Do you remember them? Although they’re also a danger to you, as long as you hide well and they don’t discover you, they’ll be an asset to you. Otherwise, before you grow stronger, they’ll kill you.”

It should be noted that Du Fan was now at the peak of level nine, and he had Chenchen by his side. From what the old man said, he needed to hide someone—of course, it was Chenchen! He didn’t know what the Twenty-Two Apostles were, but he sensed they were related to the Church!

It seemed the old man could read Du Fan’s thoughts as he said, “The Twenty-Two Apostles may or may not be connected to the Church, but they don’t belong to it.”

The old man paused, as if waiting for Du Fan to ask more about the Twenty-Two Apostles. But Du Fan wouldn’t let others control him all the time. If the old man knew about the Twenty-Two Apostles, maybe Chenchen did too—he certainly wouldn’t let others dictate his actions!

So instead of asking about the Twenty-Two Apostles, Du Fan asked, “Then, what’s your relationship with them?”

The old man was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter.

“Good, good, good. Quick thinking!” The old man laughed instead of getting angry. “What relationship do we have?”

As if lost in distant memories, Du Fan waited patiently for the old man to speak, not rushing him. After a while, the old man slowly said, “That was a very long time ago. Of course, I and the Twenty-Two Apostles were enemies!”

The old man slowly recited, “The ten-thousand-year imprisonment will finally end. The mortals from another world herald a brand new beginning. Roland’s winter will ultimately arrive, and the game of chaos shall commence. The blood of other worlds, the souls of angels—everything will ultimately return to nothingness…”
“This is the prophecy of the Demon God. You must have heard it before, right?”
Du Fan had gotten used to the old man knowing about what happened to him. It seemed that ever since he arrived here, he had grown numb to such things. Du Fan nodded. “But wasn’t that prophecy already solved?”
“Solved?” The old man seemed to find this the funniest thing ever. “Do you think the Demon God’s prophecy has been solved? Don’t you realize this is just the beginning? Have you forgotten the words ‘The mortals from another world herald a brand new beginning’?”
“Ten-thousand years of imprisonment—whom do you think is imprisoned? The Demon God? Do you think…” The old man became excited and almost revealed things he shouldn’t have.
“What do I think? If it’s not the Demon God, then who is it?”
Du Fan wasn’t particularly curious, but whenever matters related to the Demon God came up, they always seemed to involve him. Moreover, it was the Demon God who made the prophecy, not some Light God or similar. Could a new beginning mean rule by the Demon God? Would that so-called Light God agree?
“Alright, let’s talk about the Twenty-Two Apostles. They are the names given to the Tarot knights created by the Light God based on the ancient Twenty-Two Tarot cards. They are the Light God’s representatives in the mortal world. Now do you understand why I said what I said?”
Du Fan understood. The old man indeed knew about Chenchen. He just wondered whether the old man was stronger than Miss Chenchen. The old man knew about Chenchen, but did Chenchen know who the old man was? He would definitely ask Chenchen if he got the chance. Judging by the old man’s appearance, he didn’t seem like an enemy of Chenchen. Perhaps he was here waiting for him just to capture Chenchen?
No matter what the old man thought, Du Fan had decided not to let Chenchen meet him for now. He could ask Chenchen later.
Du Fan still didn’t have a clear idea of the Twenty-Two Apostles—after all, they were just the Light God’s representatives. But those “Tarot cards”… If he remembered correctly, his past life had something called “Tarot Realm Cards.” He wondered if they were the same thing.
Seeing Du Fan’s indifferent expression, the old man chuckled. “You really don’t care at all. Well, as long as you don’t cause too much trouble, nothing should go wrong.”

The old man actually had one more thing to say: although Du Fan had already come into contact with the Holy, Domain, and Divine levels, what he had seen was merely the tip of the iceberg. He hadn’t seen what lay in the higher realms. But he didn’t want to tell Du Fan about this now; he just wanted to remind him to be careful of the Twenty-Two Apostles. His mission here was then considered complete.
“Perhaps these things are too early for you. If you want to know more, feel free to ask me anytime.”
After exchanging a few polite words, the two left the village.
After Du Fan left, he saw that Old Mark and the others were already fully prepared, as if ready for battle at any moment. Meanwhile, the people in the village showed no reaction whatsoever, continuing with their usual activities. The stark contrast left Du Fan momentarily confused about what was going on.
“What are you all going to do?”
Seeing Du Fan return safely, Old Mark rushed over quickly. “Young master, you left for a whole night without returning. We were worried! How could you leave us behind again? We…”
“It’s okay. I’m fine, and this old man doesn’t intend to cause me trouble,” Du Fan said, a bit embarrassed. He hadn’t realized that just “sitting” in the wooden house for a while had already turned into a whole night. He sneaked a glance at the old man, only to meet his gaze. The old man smiled at him, as if to say, “It’s useless for you to glare at me!”
Du Fan shrunk back and stopped looking at the old man. “Don’t tell outsiders about what happens here. I’ll impose a silence order. Whoever goes back and speaks a word about this place will be whipped twenty times!”
The old man laughed. “Young Master Du Fan, there’s no need for that. I don’t have any ulterior motives. And you don’t need to take such measures either. Surely no one would dare come here to cause trouble!”
Although the old man didn’t show any imposing aura while speaking, his natural tone carried an air of authority that made people feel his confidence and thus be convinced by him. This made Du Fan drool—when could he have such an aura?
Wiping away imaginary saliva from his face, Du Fan bid farewell to the old man. Although he now had some understanding of the Twenty-Two Apostles of Tarot, he didn’t take it too seriously.
Since they were already prepared, they could set off as soon as they packed their supplies. Du Fan sat in his carriage, with Old Mark still driving it.

Although Du Fan didn’t show much interest on the surface, he was thinking about who the Twenty-Two Apostles were. The reason he pretended to have no curiosity about them was to avoid being led around by the old man. If the Twenty-Two Apostles were something else, it might be harder for Du Fan to find them. But if they were the representatives of the God of Light on earth, it would be much easier for him to get the answers he wanted.
That’s why they pretended to be uninterested in the Twenty-Two Apostles. Although Du Fan didn’t know Chenchen’s identity, she was imprisoned in the Church, so naturally, she couldn’t be exposed. Du Fan wasn’t stupid enough to expose her.
Right now, Du Fan didn’t have time to think about this issue. All he could focus on was how to get the supplies back.
Not long after they left, two people appeared—one of them was held by the other, and one of them was missing an arm. If looked closely, the person being held wasn’t breathing at all!