Fanny had no intention of putting Han Shuo through a gauntlet because of his injuries. She let him go back after she had cleaned him up, bandaged his wounds and made sure he wasn't suffering anywhere else.
Han Shuo's walk back was filled with quiet frustration and worry. He hadn't thought that Lisa would see through his act so quickly.
He had played some nasty tricks on her lately, and she had originally let it all go because she thought he was crazy, but now that she knew it was all an act, she was bound to be out for his blood.
He'd unknowingly made it back to his camp while deep in furrowed, scattered thought. Just as he was about to open the door and step inside, he discovered the two cowering figures of Carey and Borg at his door.
Han Shuo had beaten these two the most on the training grounds earlier because they were the ringleaders. Their faces were now bruised and battered, and the sides of their faces were even slightly disfigured.
Han Shuo's thoughts turned as he saw the two of them waiting there. He cautiously checked his surroundings, wondering how many more of them were hiding on the sides, waiting to ambush him now that they were here to take revenge.
He scanned the area and squinted, staring at the two of them without saying a word. He walked slowly to the side, where he usually washed and scrubbed, and chose a hard rock. He smiled dumbly and said, "Do you still want to fight?"
Carey and Borg both shuddered as they saw Han Shuo come back with a rock. Carey hastily said, "Bryan, please let us off the hook. It was our fault for insulting you before, we'll never do it again. Please forgive us!"
Off to the side, Borg was also staring at Han Shuo with a face full of fear as he shakily fumbled two silver coins out of his pocket. He crouched down in front of Han Shuo and offered them to him, "Bryan, this is a token of our sincerity. Could you please speak to Master Fanny for us? Otherwise, the Academy will dismiss both of us. Our families are poor and depend entirely on the silvers we earn from running errands at the Academy. Please let us off the hook!"
So they came to beg and plead. Han Shuo threw the stone in his hand aside. The honest, stupid look in his eyes faded away as he rested his two hands on his shoulders and lazily sized them up.
Han Shuo smiled after a moment. "I don't want the two silvers!"
Borg and Carey looked at each other, then at the completely unruffled Han Shuo. They both bent down, put one knee on the ground and begged, "Bryan, please forgive us. We won't dare do anything again."
"Stand up and speak, stand up and speak!" Han Shuo hurriedly picked them up from the ground with a smile on his face. Then he replied, "I don't want your silver, but I will talk to Master Fanny and leave you two alone in the future if you agree on one condition!"
At this point, how could Borg and Carey not know that Han Shuo had always been putting on an act. Han Shuo's cold and cruel methods in the training grounds had stunned them and scared any thoughts of revenge out of their minds. The current Han Shuo had completely surpassed all their expectations!
"We agree to any condition you wish!" Borg replied quickly, gazing fervently at Han Shuo.
Han Shuo looked at them in a measured, unflappable manner and nodded. He said, "In the future, the two of you will have to jump to it on all my errands and finish them quickly. I'll speak to Master Fanny if you both agree."
"No problem, Bryan, we've got this. We know what to do, we'll do your work in the future." Carey almost stumbled over his words in quick agreement, as if he was afraid Han Shuo would regret his words.
There were four runners in the Necromancy Major. If the school authorities really did sweep Carey and Borg out the door, they wouldn't be able to find replacements immediately. This way, the original duties of the two would undoubtedly fall on the shoulders of Han Shuo and Jack. Han Shuo would no longer have any free time, and of course that was something he didn't want to see.
Now that Carey and Borg had agreed to do Han Shuo's business for him, he would have much more energy to do other things. What a change in fortune. It used to be that Bryan was the one who got all the extra work from these guys, now the situation was reversed and he had indirectly taken revenge on that unfortunate Bryan.
He noticed that the sky was getting darker and remembered that the scheduled time with Lisa was fast approaching. He said with some impatience, "All right, all right. I have to make a trip to the back of the classroom building. You should go back if there's nothing else. Be careful in the future, keep pretending I'm the crazy village idiot. If you dare to breathe a word about what happened today, I'll beat the two of you so badly you wouldn't recognise each other if you stood face to face!
Carey and Borg nodded cowardly in quick agreement when they heard Han Shuo's cold threat. Han Shuo's brutal, cold-blooded methods on the training grounds had left a deep mark on their hearts. They didn't even dare to think of revenge in their hearts.
Just as Han Shuo was about to leave, Borg suddenly thought of something and shouted, "Bryan, don't go towards the back of the classroom building from the direction of the false mountains. Lisa had just instructed Carey and me to set up three holes with nets and tripwires. She said she wanted to test the intelligence of the summoned creatures. Don't walk into them by accident!"
Han Shuo was taken aback, but quickly gathered his thoughts in understanding. It looked like Lisa had made her preparations early. What intelligence test of summoned creatures? It's just something she prepared for me!
Where have you set the traps? Tell me in detail, otherwise I might just fall into them in the dark!" Han Shuo frowned as he asked Borg and Carey.
There was no way these two could have known that Lisa had set these traps to deal with Han Shuo. Add to that their current need for a favour from Han Shuo and their genuine fear of him, and the two quickly explained the locations of the three traps in great detail.
"Okay. See you tomorrow. Remember to thoroughly wipe and dust the statues on the way to the classroom buildings. I'll sleep in tomorrow." Han Shuo ostentatiously gave the order to the two and without a care in the world walked towards the false mountains behind the classroom building.
The Department of Dark Magic classroom building, around a bend in one of the false mountains.
Lisa was hidden behind the fake mountain, one corner of her mouth raised in a wicked grin. Her two eyes sparkled with life as she eagerly watched Han Shuo slowly appear in the distance.
Damn you, Bryan, how dare you pretend to be crazy and embarrass me? Not only did you scare me by pretending to be a corpse, but you also kicked my butt in the training ground and gave me a disgusting refining recipe. See if I don't torture you to death. Lisa thought wickedly and her fingers tightened on the rope wrapped around her hand.
The other end of the rope was wrapped in a circular loop and laid on the path that Han Shuo would have to take on his way to the false mountain. Lisa would give a mighty tug as soon as he placed both feet in the loop, immediately knocking him to the ground. A large, outstretched net had already been laid out on a protruding rock further up, just waiting to entangle Han Shuo once his legs were tied.
Lisa laughed a silent, cruel laugh as she watched the unassuming Han Shuo approach. She watched him look around and called out as he slowly shuffled forward, "Lisa, where are you? Come out."
"I'm here, come over here. I have something to tell you. You're dead if you don't get over here!"
Lisa snorted lightly as she stayed behind the false mountain.
Han Shuo glanced left and right again and walked towards the lurking rope area as if completely oblivious. Lisa's heart swelled with joy and she wrapped her hands around the rope in her hands, focusing her concentration on the second that both of Han Shuo's legs stepped into the trap.
Just as one of his feet landed in the trap, Han Shuo's body suddenly froze as he called out again, "Lisa, where are you hiding?
The noose was only a few centimetres in front of Han Shuo's foot. Lisa had almost lost control and jumped into the trap when she saw Han Shuo about to fall right into it. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw that she'd miscalculated.
Just as Lisa relaxed and was about to react, Han Shuo's still body quickly stepped out, dodging the trap in the blink of an eye. He continued walking, muttering in confusion, "Lisa, what game are you playing?
Thus, Lisa's carefully laid rope loop and net trap was seemingly carelessly dodged by Han Shuo's sudden stop and start. A wave of dejection rose in Lisa's heart and she cursed in a low voice, hating Han Shuo for his good fortune, but never once thinking that it was because he was aware of what was going on.
"I'm here, what took you so long!" Lisa gritted her teeth in frustration as her lithe body emerged from a crevice in the false mountain.
"Oh, nothing much. Just that my back was still hurting, so I went back and rested for a bit. Thank you for treating my wounds today." Han Shuo said without expression and walked towards Lisa.
Suddenly there was a snap, as if a fragile wooden raft had snapped. Han Shuo's body disappeared from where he stood, accompanied by his panicked scream. Agonising moans followed from a deep pit that had suddenly appeared.
"Haha, damned Bryan, you finally fell for it. See if I don't torture you to death today! How dare you play a fool and embarrass the future Archmage of Necromancy!" Lisa's pitiful expression a split second ago was replaced by a wave of hysterical joy from her heart as she saw Han Shuo fall into the trap. She screamed excitedly and quickly ran out from behind the false mountain, heading straight for the trap Han Shuo had set.
Lisa laughed proudly as she walked to the edge of the trap. She pulled out a stone as she cursed Han Shuo loudly, intending to stone him where he had fallen in revenge for her recent humiliation at his hands.
Suddenly, a hand wrapped around Lisa's right ankle. Scared to death, she looked down and finally noticed that Han Shuo's left hand was gripping the edge of the trap while his right hand was gripping her ankle. He hadn't fallen into the pit at all and was actually looking at her with an evil grin on his face.
"Come on down!" He laughed viciously and jerked with his hand, taking advantage of Lisa's consternation. The cautious Lisa threw herself forward, flailing wildly and screaming in terror as she shot straight down into the hole.