Sorry, but Could You Go a Little Faster? (Please Vote for This Novel)

Wang Tiaodeng had old injuries on his fingers, an occupational ailment among Paper Lantern Craftsmen. Li Yunsheng had used his methods to magnify it until none of Wang Tiaodeng's fingers would obey him. That made fighting difficult.

Zhang Laifu slashed wildly inside the room while Li Yunsheng burned incense and chanted spells up in the rafters. Before long, Wang Tiaodeng had taken several cuts.

The fight inside was fierce, yet no one nearby noticed a thing.

This was Li Yunsheng's unique Confusion Veil. By burning incense, he had quickly filled the whole house with smoke. Even if people nearby heard the commotion, they would pay no attention to this room.

They fought a little longer. Then a wisp of green smoke slipped out of Wang Tiaodeng's nose and returned beneath the bells of the Alarm Clock.

Zhang Laifu grew nervous. He thought that if the green smoke had returned, the poison must have worn off.

Instead, Wang Tiaodeng collapsed to the floor. The green smoke had returned, but the toxin remained in his body.

"Stop! No more! I can't fight anymore!" Wang Tiaodeng sat slumped against the wall. "Laifu, I truly wanted to teach you. Deng Yuechuan struck at you out of jealousy. That had nothing to do with me. I sincerely wanted to take you on as a good apprentice."

Zhang Laifu sat down beside him. "Master meant well. It's all Deng Yuechuan's fault for botching the job. I'll teach him a lesson tomorrow!"

"Laifu, Laifu..." Wang Tiaodeng kept coughing, seemingly on the verge of coughing his last breath. "Why won't you trust your master?"

"I trust you, Master. I won't wait until tomorrow. I'll go teach Deng Yuechuan a lesson right now!"

Zhang Laifu rose to leave, but Wang Tiaodeng called him back. "Laifu, cure this poison first. I can't hold on. What happened at the Old Shipyard really had nothing to do with me! Think about it. What blood feud could there be between us? Why would I insist on harming you?"

"I'd like to know that too." Zhang Laifu looked at Wang Tiaodeng. "What grudge do you have against me that you sent Shao Tiangan after me?"

At the mention of Shao Tiangan, Wang Tiaodeng dropped the act. He knew Zhang Laifu had uncovered the truth.

"Laifu, I had my reasons. I know I wronged you, but we were master and apprentice. Surely that bond counts for something. You gave me an Apprenticeship Petition, and now you're going to kill me? If word gets out, you'll never find a foothold in our trade."

"You're right to remind me, Master. Word of this mustn't get out!" Zhang Laifu raised his knife. He had no intention of letting word spread. He just wanted to see how much more sincerity Wang Tiaodeng could muster.

"Laifu! We can talk this over!" Wang Tiaodeng reached out to ward off the knife. "Whatever you want, I'll give you. You just want to learn the craft, don't you? I'll teach you everything!"

"Let's set the craft aside for now. Tell me why you wanted to kill me. And don't say it was to protect your livelihood. You're a Master Craftsman; you'd never lack work."

"Because I wanted to change trades!" Wang Tiaodeng told him the truth. "I entered this trade at sixteen and spent over forty years making paper lanterns. Yet here I am, still only a second-tier Master Craftsman.

"I have talent. I learn faster than others and make finer things, but my skills have never advanced. I truly don't know why.

"There's no future for me in this trade, so I wanted to enter another one. I got myself a Bowl, but I lacked a good seed. The first day you came in, I could tell you were a Craftsman who had only just entered the trade.

"A newly initiated Craftsman was relatively easy to handle. And without a Graduation Certificate, you weren't well known to the Trade Guild. As long as Old Liang didn't catch me out, I could kill you without worrying about the consequences. I wanted to use your Craft Essence to enter another trade. I just never thought I'd fall into your hands."

Zhang Laifu was skeptical. "I've heard that changing Trade Circles makes you fall into the Chaos Path. You become a monster."

"So what if I become a monster? At least I'd have another craft and could become someone formidable!"

"Having another craft would make you formidable?"

"Mixing two crafts makes you stronger in a fight than two Craftsmen put together! How old do you think I am? If I don't change Trade Circles, what could I possibly accomplish in this life?" Wang Tiaodeng coughed up a mouthful of blood. "Laifu, when you're my age, you'll understand. I don't want to spend my whole life as a Master Craftsman. Even if I become a monster, I want one more shot!"

Zhang Laifu's eyes reddened. "Master, you're a man with ambition."

Blood in his mouth, Wang Tiaodeng looked at Zhang Laifu pleadingly. "Laifu, I've told you the truth. Spare my life. Help me cure this poison, and I won't treat you badly!"

Tears in his eyes, Zhang Laifu stabbed Wang Tiaodeng. "Master, what can you offer me?"

The blade struck a rib, nearly sending Wang Tiaodeng into a faint. "Laifu, I have savings under the bed. Take them. They're all yours."

"I'm not greedy for money." Zhang Laifu stabbed him again. "Do you have anything besides money?"

"My craft! I'll teach you my craft! I'll teach you all my secret skills!" Wang Tiaodeng clutched his wound. He had no idea how many knives Zhang Laifu had brought.

"Master, I'm afraid you'll lie to me." Zhang Laifu held his knife and looked at Wang Tiaodeng with utter sincerity.

"You'd never believe me on my word alone. I wrote down the Incantation for my secret skill. It's in that cabinet. Open it and see for yourself!" Wang Tiaodeng pointed to the cabinet beside the bed and handed Zhang Laifu a key.

Zhang Laifu took the key and opened the cabinet. Li Yunsheng watched from the rafters in case it was booby-trapped.

There were no traps, but there were plenty of books. A sheet of paper tucked into one of them bore seven characters on the back: "Paper Lantern Secret Art: Single Bright Rod."

Three passages were written on the front. The first was called "Lamp," the second "Setting the Lamp," and the third "Lighting the Lamp." Each had a brief description.

"That's our trade's secret skill. I'm giving it all to you." Wang Tiaodeng coughed a few times and pointed at the cabinet again. "Those books are yours too. They're all secret arts of our Trade Circles. With all that between us, isn't my life worth sparing?"

"All right. You've shown your sincerity, Master. I'll take these." Zhang Laifu packed up the cabinet's contents, then found a box of silver dollars beneath Wang Tiaodeng's bed.

He opened the box and counted a little over three hundred. Zhang Laifu was dissatisfied. "Master, you said you had savings. This little bit of money hardly shows much sincerity."

Wang Tiaodeng owned a thirty-percent stake in the Old Bright Lantern Shop. He made more than three hundred Silver Dollars a month. How could this paltry sum count as savings?

Wang Tiaodeng explained, "Laifu, Craftsmen earn a lot, but we spend a lot too. You'll understand someday. Improving your craft is no easy thing.

"That Gray-Eyed Bamboo I told you about before? I've used more of it than I can count, not to mention plenty of things worth even more!"

"There are lots of books in the cabinet. You'll find all those valuable things mentioned in them. Even if you don't trust me, surely you trust the books?"

"I do!" Zhang Laifu nodded. "Master, didn't you also mention a Bowl?"

Wang Tiaodeng pointed under the bed. "The Bowl is in the box."

Zhang Laifu found a Wooden Box beneath the bed. He opened it and saw an oil lamp inside.

He put the lamp away and cupped his fists toward Master Wang. "Master, I truly appreciate your generosity. If there's nothing else, we'll take our leave."

"Laifu!" Wang Tiaodeng crawled a couple of steps after him. "Tell me how to cure the poison!"

Zhang Laifu helped Wang Tiaodeng onto the bed and laid him flat. Then he whispered in his ear, "I honestly don't know how."

With that said, Zhang Laifu moved to leave. Li Yunsheng was still watching from the rafters. Both of them wanted to see if Wang Tiaodeng had anything else of value.

"Zhang Laifu, I'll kill you!" Wang Tiaodeng suddenly reached for his pillow.

Zhang Laifu moved first and slashed Wang Tiaodeng's throat.

Clutching his throat, Wang Tiaodeng still groped beneath the pillow. After fumbling for a moment, he pulled out a jar of paste.

He tried to fling the paste onto Zhang Laifu, but his hand had no strength left. Zhang Laifu snatched it away.

Wang Tiaodeng stared at Zhang Laifu as though seeing him for the first time again.

Back then, Wang Tiaodeng had seemed to see a strand of Craft Essence right there on Zhang Laifu. He had thought he could pluck the Craft Essence from him with a casual reach.

So why hadn't he managed to take it?

"Brother Laifu, Master Wang is nearly gone. Don't forget his Craft Essence," Li Yunsheng reminded him.

Only then did Zhang Laifu remember. "Master, could you hurry along? I'll take your Craft Essence too."