The man that opened the door seemed to be a man who was in his thirties. He had dark hair that seemed to cover his entire forehead, but they werenât long. He even seemed like he hadnât taken a bath in a long time.
The man was dressed in casual gray pants and a black full sleeves t-shirt as he glared at Lucifer lazily.
"Are you Jiang?" Lucifer asked, frowning.
"Yeah. Who the hell are you?" Jiang asked, rolling his eyes.
"Iâm your father," Lucifer said as he used a single finger to push Jiang inside the room. He also walked inside as he closed the door.
Thud!
Even though Lucifer had only used his single finger to push the man inside, he didnât hold back too much. The man flew back and crashed on the wall.
Lucifer closed the door as he glanced back at the middle-aged man.
"W-who are you?" The man asked again, but this time his tone sounded more respectful as he had received a taste of Luciferâs strength.
"Now thatâs the tone I like. That wasnât tough, was it?" Lucifer asked as he stepped closer to the man.
"Jiang, the Sorcerer who can find anything. Thatâs you, right?" He inquired.
"Cough, Thatâs right. Are you here to steal something because you also think I must be rich with treasures? Think again. If I were rich, I wouldnât be living in this crappy house. You wonât find anything," Jiang answered as he stood up.
"Donât worry. I know what I want isnât here. But the person who can help me get to what I want is certainly here," Lucifer replied casually.
"You want me to find something for you?" Jiang asked, frowning.
"Thatâs right," Lucifer responded.
"I canât help you," the man answered, shaking his head.
"If you canât help me get what I want, I wonât be able to help you in staying alive either. The choice is yours," Lucifer let out, frowning.
He didnât seem to be in a hurry as he stood calmly, resting his back against the wall.
"You donât understand! If I use my powers again, Iâll be arrested by APF!" Jiang let out firmly.
"Why would that happen?" Lucifer asked, amused. "Donât they have anything better to do?"
"You donât know. Thereâs a reason I live in such a bad house despite being able to find treasures," Jiang replied, sighing.
"What reason?" Lucifer asked, curious.
"There was a time when I used my powers to the fullest. No one said anything or interfered. It seemed like even APF didnât care at that point. But then, one day, I found a stone."
" It was buried deep in the ground. I donât know what it was, but the entire APF came after me for that stone."
"Iâm lucky I wasnât shot or imprisoned for life! They only let me leave after I swore to them that I wouldnât use my powers. If I use it again, Iâll be arrested or shot without any questions asked."
As Jiang explained, Lucifer was surprised. They did all that for a stone?
"What color was the stone?" Lucifer asked again, frowning.
"It was red," Jiang answered.
"Red stone... One of the seven stones that was kept by Varant was also red. It must be that stone. He probably buried it somewhere where only he could find it, but this guy found that first," Lucifer muttered, losing himself in thought.
"Youâre really lucky they didnât shoot you. Iâm surprised. Since you can find that stone again, itâs surprising they didnât tie the loose ends," he told Jiang.
"Youâre wrong. I canât find the stone again. Thereâs a big misunderstanding about my powers. I canât find the treasures that I want. Itâs mostly a coincidence."
" When Iâm walking on the ground, if thereâs something off within two meters of me that isnât supposed to be there naturally, I sense it. Thatâs how my gifts work. So I canât find that stone again unless itâs within a two-meter range of me. That must be why they didnât kill me," Jiang said, sighing.
"Interesting. So itâs impossible for you to find that old stone, let alone the other six. That explains why they didnât kill you. But just to be safe, they told you to never use your powers," Lucifer muttered, understanding everything.
"Thatâs right. So I canât use my powers. Please understand. Spending life in poverty is enough. I donât want to go to jail at all," Jiang replied.
"Donât worry about APF. You donât know, but theyâre my close friends. In fact, I even met Varant. He was so cozy with me; I can never forget. They wonât do anything," Lucifer replied, smiling.
He stepped closer to Jiang and stopped two steps away from him.
"But if you still donât listen to me, you wonât have to wait for APF to kill you," he said as he raised his hand.
Black lightning could be seen flickering around his hand, under his control. Just being in close proximity to that lightning was giving chills to Jiang. He couldnât even imagine what it would be like to get hit by one.
"I-i will help you. But as I told you, I need to be near that treasure or above it to sense it. If you donât know the place, weâll have a hard time," Jiang said, nodding like a parrot.
"Donât worry. I know that place. We just have to walk a little around it, and youâll find what Iâm looking for," Lucifer said as he placed his hands on Jiangâs shoulder.
"Come, let me take you there."
Jiang and Lucifer left the worn-out house and walked towards the main road.
"Donât you have a car?" Jiang asked as he walked on the roads.
"I learned everything except driving. So even if I had a car, itâd be useless," Lucifer replied. "So use your phone and call a cab or wait until we come across one."
"A warlock who doesnât know how to drive?" Jiang let out, smiling wryly.
"Oh, donât misunderstand. I certainly can drive. At least for a few seconds before the car hit a pole or something," Lucifer replied, smiling. "Want to see my driving?"
"Ah, no! Iâll book a cab instead! Donât ever drive!" Jiang told Lucifer, worrying for his life. He didnât want to be in an accident.
"Thatâs better."
Jiang brought his phone out of his pocket and called a cab.
"That reminds me. I should also have a phone. Iâll buy one later. As for a number, Iâll see what I can do," Lucifer said as he remembered that he also might need a phone.
The cab stopped in front of them. The two of them entered the cab.
"Where to?â the cab driver asked Lucifer.
"Take us to Orion Beach," Lucifer replied.