Chapter 4: Sand Puppet Lou Lan (1/2)
Chapter 4: Sand Puppet Lou Lan
Translator: TYZEditor: Lis
Not far from him, in the middle of the alleyway, a figure struggled in what seemed to be a pool of yellow quicksand.
Ai Hui increased his vigilance. The first thought that came to his mind was earth elementalists.
They had many unique killing moves that were difficult to guard against. When there didn’t seem to be any changes to the situation, Ai Hui took a closer look and discovered something strange about the figure—only the top-half of its body was visible.
Its skin was slightly yellowish with a coarse, gritty texture, and on its face, it wore a black mask that seemed to be made of some kind of dense rock. Ai Hui opened his mouth and blurted out, “Sand puppet?”
The figure stopped struggling and cast a glance at Ai Hui before replying, “Yes, you can call me Lou Lan.”
It was a male voice, deep and hoarse.
Sand puppets were a favorite of earth elementalists. They were easy to make and repair, would undertake any tasks without complaints, and were very suitable for manual labor. This one happened to be made of the high-quality heavy sand produced by the Yellow Sand Manufacturer in the Avalon of Five Elements. It was easy to recognize the sand puppet based on its composition, but also, he had seen plenty of them in the Wilderness.
“It appears that you’ve encountered some troubles.” Ai Hui walked to the front of Lou Lan and squatted. “Is it your sand core?”
If a sand puppet malfunctioned, it was most likely because of the sand core. It was the most important component of their bodies, crafted by earth elementalists using heavy sand. Each core was unique, however, since earth elementalists each had their own crafting methods.
The sand core was pivotal in the formation of its body since they were entirely made of individual particles. Hence, if the core broke down, the sand puppet would be reduced to a pool of yellow sand.
“Yes, it’s a chronic problem.” Lou Lan sounded somewhat helpless. “Can you help me? My master is Master Shao. He lives in the second building from the end of the alleyway. Could you deliver a message to him?”
“The second building from the end of the alleyway?” Ai Hui raised his eyebrows. “Seems like we’re going to be neighbors for some time.”
Seeing Lou Lan’s rather high intelligence, Ai Hui assumed that a powerful earth elementalist lived next to him.
Just as Ai Hui put his hand into the pool of yellow sand, he immediately felt the tug of strong earth elemental energy crushing him like a grinding millstone. His entire face shuddered as he covered his palm with metal elemental energy, making it into a razor-sharp dagger.
“Try to bear with it.”
Just as Ai Hui finished his sentence, the metal elemental energy gathered in his hands suddenly exploded outward.
Bang!
A low, muffled explosion could be heard from within the pool of yellow sand as invisible shockwaves diffused across the area. Lou Lan’s upper body froze in the pile of trembling sand.
Two seconds later, his eyes brightened. The dispersed yellow sand rapidly gathered around his body like a pile of metal dust attracted to a magnet.
In the blink of an eye, not a speck of sand could be seen on the floor. With a recovered body, Lou Lan started to move his body around. Amazed, he asked, “Such a magical method, how did you do it?”
“It’s a simple method, “Ai Hui corrected him. He picked up his shabby backpack and slung it over his shoulder. “It’s only for emergencies though. You still have to go back and examine your sand core again.”
He wasn’t lying; it really wasn’t some ingenious method. Ai Hui had seen earth elementalists in the Wilderness use this method to treat problematic sand puppets every once in awhile. It didn’t work every time, but it did at least eight times out of ten.
Admittedly, however, this was Ai Hui’s first time trying it himself. No sane earth elementalist would let a laborer repair his or her sand puppet.
Lou Lan naturally didn’t know this. Instead, he felt that Ai Hui possessed the demeanor of a very capable individual.
“Thank you very much!” Lou Lan bowed and thanked him sincerely.
“Don't worry about it. My name’s Ai Hui.” Ai Hui waved his hand, signalling Lou Lan to not fret over it and continued walking towards the alley’s end. “Let’s go, we’re heading in the same direction.”
Lou Lan followed beside Ai Hui and asked, “So where are you heading?”
“The Vanguard Training Hall. Is it located here?” Ai Hui asked casually.
“We are indeed neighbors.” Lou Lan’s deep voice contained a tinge of excitement. “We’re right next door. Is this your house? It seems no one’s been here in a long time.”
Ai Hui’s walking pace slowed down, but he acted natural as he replied, “No, I’ve taken on a commission that requires me to clean up this place.”
Lou Lan oohed. “So you’re a new student?”
“You got it.” Ai Hui nodded. He could already sense that Lou Lan seldom left his house.
A sand puppet’s intelligence had the capacity to develop further. While Ai Hui was in the Wilderness, he had seen combat sand puppets behave cunningly and callously—truly killing machines.
There was a saying, “One can easily tell the character of an earth elementalist by looking at their sand puppet.” Judging by Lou Lan, he could tell that the master, Master Shao, was an unworldly earth elementalist that focused on trainings.
“We’ve arrived. This is the Vanguard Training Hall.” Lou Lan pointed at an old-fashioned house at the end of the alleyway.
“To build a training hall in such a secluded area is really…” Ai Hui shook his head. The three years he had spent in the swordsman school made him sensitive towards issues regarding training halls. He came roughly knowing that it would be out of the way. However, now that he saw this place with his own eyes, he realized that he had underestimated just how remote it would be.
Was the landlord a depressed individual like the owner of the swordsman school?