Please, Spare Us

Because Han Shuo was injured, Fanny had no intention of putting him through any more trouble that day. After bandaging his wounds and seeing that he was all right, she let him go back.

On the way, Han Shuo felt a faint unease. He had never expected Lisa to discover so quickly that he had been pretending to be mad and stupid.

He had caused her no small amount of trouble lately. Before, she had thought he was a little mad and dim-witted, so she had not taken much of it to heart. Now that she knew he had been playing tricks on her all along, she would definitely come looking for trouble. He had no idea what Lisa planned to do to him behind the teaching building that evening.

As Han Shuo frowned and let his thoughts wander, he returned without realizing it to the Supply Storeroom where he lived. Just as he was about to open the door, he noticed Keri and Borg standing timidly outside.

As the ringleaders, these two had received the worst beating from Han Shuo at the Trial Ground earlier. Both now had bruised, swollen faces, their features somewhat distorted by the blows.

The sight of them gave Han Shuo pause. He began looking around, thinking that they had come for revenge so soon and wondering how many people lay in ambush nearby.

After surveying the surroundings, Han Shuo narrowed his eyes and stared at the two without speaking. He slowly walked over to the washing area, picked up a hard stone, then gave a foolish grin and said, "Do you want another fight?"

Keri and Borg both shuddered when they saw Han Shuo return with a stone. Keri hurriedly said, "Brian, please spare us. We know we offended you before. It was all our fault, and we'll never dare do it again. Please, spare us!"

Beside him, Borg also looked at Han Shuo in fear. Trembling, he took two silver coins from his pocket, timidly approached Han Shuo, and offered them to him as he pleaded, "Brian, this is a token of our sincerity. Please ask Teacher Fanny to let us off. Otherwise, the academy will expel us both. Our families are very poor. We depend entirely on the few silver coins we earn working as servants at the Babylon Academy of Magic and Martial Arts to get by. Please, spare us!"

So they had come to beg for mercy. Han Shuo casually tossed the stone aside. The foolish look faded from his eyes, and he folded his arms across his chest, studying them at his leisure.

After a long moment, Han Shuo smiled slightly and said, "I don't want these two silver coins!"

Borg and Keri exchanged a glance, then looked at the unhurried Han Shuo again. Both dropped to one knee and begged, "Brian, spare us. We'll never dare do it again."

"Get up and talk. Get up and talk!" Han Shuo hurried over and helped them up with a smile before saying, "I don't want your silver coins. But as long as you agree to one condition, I'll plead with Teacher Fanny for you, and I won't trouble you again either!"

By this point, how could Borg and Keri fail to realize that Han Shuo had been pretending to be mad and stupid all along? His ruthless methods at the Trial Ground earlier had intimidated them so thoroughly that they no longer dared entertain any thoughts of revenge. The current Han Shuo had already gone completely beyond anything they could imagine!

"We'll agree to any condition!" Borg hurriedly said, looking eagerly at Han Shuo.

Nodding, Han Shuo regarded them calmly and said in a relaxed tone, "From now on, just be a little more diligent and finish my chores for me early. As long as you agree, I'll go plead with Fanny for you."

"No problem. Don't worry, Brian. We know what to do. We'll make sure your chores are done properly." As though afraid Han Shuo would change his mind, Keri hurriedly agreed.

The Necromancy Department had only four servants in total. If Keri and Borg really were thrown out by the academy and replacements could not be found right away, their duties would inevitably fall to Han Shuo and Jack. That would leave Han Shuo without any free time at all, which was naturally not something he wanted to see.

Now that Keri and Borg had agreed to finish his work for him, Han Shuo would have more energy for other things. The tables truly had turned. Brian had always done a great deal of extra work for these two in the past. Now that their positions had reversed, it also counted as indirectly avenging the unfortunate Brian.

Seeing that the sky had already darkened, Han Shuo thought of how the time of his appointment with Lisa was approaching and said with some impatience, "All right, all right. I still have to go behind the teaching building. If there's nothing else, go back. Be careful from now on, and keep treating me like I'm mad and stupid. If you dare breathe a word about today, I'll beat you both so badly you won't recognize each other face-to-face!"

Hearing Han Shuo's chilling threat, Keri and Borg hurriedly agreed with meek nods. His ruthless, merciless methods at the Trial Ground had already left a deep impression on their minds, and they no longer dared harbor any desire for revenge.

Just as Han Shuo was about to leave, Borg suddenly remembered something and called to him, "Brian, when you go behind the teaching building, don't go past the rockery. Lisa just had Keri and me set up three traps there: a net, a snare, and a pit. She said they were to test the intelligence of summoned creatures. Make sure you don't blunder into them!"

Han Shuo was taken aback, but after a moment's thought, he understood. It seemed Lisa had prepared well in advance. Testing the intelligence of summoned creatures? She had clearly prepared them specifically for him.

"Where did you set up the traps? Tell me in detail, so I don't actually stumble into them in the dark!" Han Shuo said to Borg and Keri with a frown.

How could the two have known that Lisa had set those traps specifically to deal with Han Shuo? Besides, they now needed his help, and they were genuinely afraid of him as well, so they hurriedly explained the locations of all three traps to him in careful detail.

"Mm, see you tomorrow. Remember to wipe down the stone statues along the path for me first thing in the morning. I want to sleep in tomorrow." After giving them these instructions in an offhand manner, Han Shuo walked toward the rockery behind the teaching building as though nothing had happened.

Behind the Darkness Department's teaching building, at a corner of the rockery.

The little witch Lisa hid behind the rockery, a malicious little smile curling her lips. Her eyes shone as she excitedly watched Han Shuo gradually appear in the distance.

Damn you, Brian. You actually dared pretend to be mad and stupid to play tricks on me. You not only posed as a corpse to scare me and kicked my bottom at the Trial Ground, you even gave me that disgusting medicinal recipe. Just watch how I torment you this time, Lisa thought bitterly, tightening her grip on the rope in her hand.

The other end of the rope had been tied into a loop and laid across the path Han Shuo had to take to reach the rockery. As soon as either of his feet stepped inside, Lisa could pull hard and immediately bring him down. Above, by a jutting rock, a large net had already been spread out, waiting to bind Han Shuo once his feet were caught.

Watching Han Shuo approach, seemingly unaware, Lisa sneered inwardly. She saw him look this way and that, creeping forward slowly and furtively as he called, "Lisa, where are you? Come out."

"I'm here. Come over. I have something to say to you. If you dare refuse, you're dead!" Lisa said with a soft snort from behind the rockery.

Han Shuo glanced to either side, then walked toward the hidden snare as though he knew nothing. Lisa was delighted. With some excitement, she tightened her grip on the rope again and waited with rapt attention for his feet to enter the loop.

Just as one of Han Shuo's feet was about to step into the snare, he suddenly stopped and called again, "Lisa, where are you hiding?"

The loop lay just inches in front of Han Shuo's feet. Watching him about to step inside, Lisa had almost lost control and made her move. But when she saw him suddenly stop, her miscalculation gave her heart a sharp jolt.

Just as Lisa relaxed her attention and prepared to answer, Han Shuo abruptly took two quick steps forward from where he had stopped. In an instant, he crossed the loop and continued ahead, calling in apparent bewilderment, "Lisa, what are you up to?"

With that sudden stop and abrupt burst of movement, Han Shuo had seemingly avoided Lisa's snare and net traps with effortless, unintentional ease. A sense of dejection rose within Lisa. She muttered a couple of angry curses, inwardly resenting Han Shuo's good luck, never imagining that he actually knew everything perfectly well.

"I'm here. What took you so long?" Gnashing her teeth in resentment, Lisa emerged from her hiding place behind the rockery and stood there complaining.

"Oh, nothing. My back just still hurt a little, so I went back and rested for a while. Thanks for bandaging my wounds today." Han Shuo spoke without expression as he walked straight toward Lisa.

Suddenly, a crack rang out, as though a flimsy wooden raft had been broken underfoot. With a panicked cry, Han Shuo vanished on the spot, but groans of pain came from a dark hole that had suddenly appeared there.

"Hahaha! Damn you, Brian, you finally fell for it! I'll teach you a proper lesson today. How dare you pretend to be mad and stupid to bully a future Necromancy Archmage!" Lisa, who had looked so dejected only moments before, was overjoyed when she saw Han Shuo fall into the trap. Shouting excitedly with delight, she ran out from behind the rockery and headed straight for the opening into which he had fallen.

Laughing smugly, Lisa reached the edge of the pit. As she loudly cursed Han Shuo, she took out a stone, intending to throw it at him inside to avenge the bullying she had recently suffered at his hands.

Suddenly, a hand seized Lisa's right ankle. Terrified out of her wits, she looked down, only to discover that Han Shuo was gripping the edge of the pit with his left hand and holding her ankle with his right. He had not fallen into the trap at all, and was now looking at her with a wicked grin.

"Down you go!" Han Shuo chuckled wickedly. While Lisa was still panic-stricken, he pulled hard with his right hand. Lisa, who had gone to such pains to prepare the traps, stumbled. With terror on her face, she flailed her arms and legs and screamed as she plunged into the pit.