Chapter 43 43. The second guest on the opening day of Cooper's store
The fully armed Mason still didn’t wait for the brat behind the background to tear down his shop. It’s like you’ve worked hard to prepare a table of dishes but you’ve been notified that the customers are not coming.
Two words to describe it, disappointing.
One word to describe, wow!
Mason felt less stressed and turned his head to glance at the time on the clock.
It was almost twelve o'clock at midnight.
The opening of the small shop today is obviously a failure, so why not close early and enter the magic suitcase to continue improving your alchemy skills.
He stood up from the counter and was about to pull down the shutter door, but when he was standing at the door, Mason suddenly saw a spark of light in the alley across the street.
Taking a closer look, a guy in a khaki windbreaker was walking slowly along the dark alley with his hands in his trouser pockets.
Hey, isn’t this Mr. Jagger, the master of black magic?
Mason didn't know what he thought of, with a welcome smile on his face, he waved to Zha Kang and signaled him to enter his small shop for a chat.
"It seems that your alchemy has improved, young man."
The same sleazy Zha Kang as last time, glanced around Mason's small shop, his eyes stayed on the display cabinet of alchemy creations for a few seconds, and he sneered and said in a very annoying tone:
"It can be seen that you are very hardworking, but your craftsmanship is a bit trendy. How dare you take out these inferior garbage for materials? Listen to me, kid, you may not be suitable for this line of work.
Mysterious alchemy is not as simple as a child playing with urine mud. "
"You look in a bad mood, even speaking with resentment."
Mason only thought that Zha Kang was farting, he picked up the water glass and poured a glass of water for Zha Kang, looked at his haggard stubbled face and asked:
"Did you have a bad day recently? My friend."
"Don't mention it."
The master of magic leaned on Mason's counter, and complained while puffing out smoke rings:
"Xiao Zha and I broke up completely. She kicked me out of the mysterious house. As you can see, I'm homeless. I'm so down."
"How is this going?"
Mason asked curiously:
"Miss Zatanna found out about your Horcrux research?"
"That's not true."
Jack Kang shrugged and said in a low voice:
"An evil succubus from the Nine Hells hid in the bathroom and attacked me shamelessly. To protect myself, I had to fight her for 300 rounds in that narrow place.
The fierce battle is in full swing. Seeing that the master is about to succeed in physical exorcism, guess what?
Xiao Zha on the bed woke up!
I got kicked out that night and almost got my pants burned, but of course I don't think that's the main reason. I think it was that **** who likes to mess with bats and said bad things about me to Zha. "
Konstantin stood on the ground of Gotham and recklessly scolded a certain master who was the least offended in Gotham City.
He cursed:
"Isn't it just digging up some unwanted antiques in Gotham? That **** Batboy actually slandered me for using black magic of mass destruction in the city, which caused Xiao Zha to call me a scum who disregards human life.
I was really wronged.
It’s fine that I did this bad thing, that’s not the problem!
I took the blame for a group of bastards.
I'm so **** off, for the sake of the Nine Hells, don't let me find those bastards! "
Listening to Zha Kang pouring bitter water there, the expressionless Mason immediately showed a look of sympathy, but actually felt a little guilty.
Jack Kang still doesn't know that this seemingly loyal young man in front of him is the culprit who caused him to be kicked out of the house by Xiao Zha! etc! Zha Kang was kicked out of the house entirely at his own fault!
With such a beautiful and well-educated white wizard girlfriend, he still wants to mess with the **** succubus, this scum deserves to live on the streets.
What does this have to do with me?
Leaving the facts aside, even if I am 99% wrong, doesn’t Constantine have the 1% problem?
This guy really needs to review his style.
"Okay, don't talk about these unhappy things."
Mason hurriedly changed the subject, patted Zha Kang on the shoulder, pointed to his small shop and said:
"You won't have nowhere to go, my friend. Although my place is not spacious, you are welcome to stay here for a long time. If you are not used to living in this shabby place, my friend Charles just took over the most luxurious bar in Gotham these days , I can keep a private box there for you for a long time.
You're welcome, this is what friends should do.
Come!
Help me look at this first. "
The young man pulled down the roller shutter door, announcing the end of Cooper's shop's failed first day of business, and then opened the sleeve of his left arm to Jacques under the light.
Holding water in his hand, Zha Kang, who was complaining about himself, glanced this way. After seeing the drastically changed tattoo on Mason's arm, he sprayed out a sip of water without holding back.
"You! What have you been doing these days?"
The eyes of the well-informed master of black magic almost popped out, and he exclaimed:
"I've only been away for less than a week! How did this curse grow to this level? Did you complete the blasphemy sacrifice of 999 pure souls as sacrifices to that evil **** in the past few days?
Young man!
You are only one step away from becoming the 'son of the devil'! "
"Actually, it's not that fast, it's still two levels away."
Mason sighed and said something in his heart.
He glanced at the black tattoo on his arm, which already looked quite sinister under the light. The twisted flame-like lines seemed to be spinning after a long time.
Zha Kang, who had been doing nothing, did not dare to neglect this situation.
He removed the cigarette dangling from his mouth as a medium for casting the spell, and silently recited the spell to make the ash like embers fly and hover over Mason's arm tattoo.
First formed a magic barrier, and then took out a teardrop-shaped gemstone pendant from his pocket, and approached the tattoo body cautiously.
The closer the pendant got, the brighter the sacred luster emitted by its teardrop crystal became. The moment it touched Mason's skin, the light from that small crystal even covered the light tube above his head.
"boom"
Amid Zha Kang's distressed exclamation, this valuable magic weapon was shattered into slag, and Konstantin's forehead was covered with sweat for a moment.
"This is not something I can solve, Mason."
A rare serious expression appeared on Zha Kang's face.
He seemed to feel some kind of chill, and after taking two steps back, staring at the dark tattoo on Mason's arm, he said:
"This time I came to Gotham, in addition to teaching Bat Boy who bewitched my girlfriend, I also brought you some good news. In Xiao Zha's family library, I have found a copy of the spell.
But obviously I'm late.
You are already dying of illness, and this curse is entangled in your soul and coexists with you. If I forcibly dispel it, it means that your soul will also suffer heavy damage. "
"But there must be a way?"
Mason says:
"I don't ask for it to be completely dispelled or even accept long-term symbiosis, but I must protect my soul from being corroded before the curse occurs.
If you lower the requirements, you must have a way, right? "
"Um"
Jack Kang pursed his mouth reluctantly.
It can be seen that he may indeed have a way, but it will definitely require him to pay the price.
This time it's no longer a matter of waiting for a price. This scumbag didn't take the initiative to ask for a reward. It can be seen that he is really retreating.
Zha Kang doesn't want to play anymore.
"boom"
Mason took Voldemort's remaining Horcrux Grimoire out of his luggage and slapped it on the counter in front of Zha Kang. The young man put his hand on the grimoire and said to the black magician:
"Help me! I can give you this right now. You want it, Konstantin, I can feel it."
Jack Kang glanced at the grimoire on the counter, he pursed his lips and said:
"But this situation has developed beyond my ability, Mason.
My learning of soul cutting can indeed save me a lot of trouble, but if I continue to intervene in it, it is not certain whether I can survive for three days.
You are not part of our circle, so you cannot understand where my fear comes from. "
The black magician lit a cigarette again.
He stared at Mason with a look of pity, and said:
"I also have a lot of curses that represent the mess of my life in the past. I have many creditors 'above' and 'below', but they are probably not as troublesome as the thing on you.
So sorry, friend.
Your offer makes my heart beat, but I can't help you. "
"boom"
Mason didn't pray, but took out Grindelwald's Encyclopedia of Dark Arts and slapped it next to Voldemort's Horcrux research, and Zack Kang's eyes jumped immediately.
The young man glanced at him.
Opened the suitcase at hand, picked up the broken Elder Wand, and put it next to the two magic books.
Even though the Deathly Hallows had been shattered, it still made Zha Kang's heart skip a beat with its disdainful aura as the strongest weapon in the witchcraft world.
Mason put his hand into the suitcase again with a gloomy look in his eyes.
What he took out this time was a piece of blood spar the size of a little finger.
"Enough! Stop tempting me!"
Konstantin covered his eyes and shouted:
"Believe it or not, I'm robbing you here right now! I'm a black wizard with no bottom line!"
"Batman's on the night watch seven blocks away, I didn't pick the location of this store by chance, friend."
Mason waved the bat phone in his hand, and the emergency dial had popped up.
He pushed forward the assortment of things on the counter and said:
"Of course you can rob, I'm powerless against a master magician, but I can guarantee that the Batboy you hate has a hundred ways to beat you and send you to Arkham Asylum.
But these things can be yours.
As long as you help me.
Didn't you say you brought me useful news? "
"I repeat, I can't undo that curse!"
Jack Kang raised his hands, took a puff of cigarette and exhaled a thick smoke ring, stepped forward and took Voldemort's Horcrux research book in his hand.
Through a thin layer of smoke, he said to Mason:
"But I told you last time that the appearance of this curse is not all a bad thing. The spell I found can take effect on ordinary people and let you feel the flow of energy in a short period of time.
This kind of "super sensory" is useless in most cases except to make some exciting things more exciting, but your situation is very suitable. "
Konstantin's eyes wandered over the goodies on the counter, a light of undisguised greed shone, and the master of black magic licked his lips like a big bad wolf seeing a little white rabbit.
He said to Mason:
"While the curse is growing on you, it also means that the evil **** of different dimensions is pouring more and more energy into you.
The “concern” of those supernatural creatures is a symbolic thing, it is difficult to explain in one or two sentences, you can understand that you have established a deeper and deeper connection with it.
This means that you can rely on the tattoo on your arm to actively extract some 'power' from that evil god. "
What Zha Kang said flashed through Mason's heart like a bolt of lightning.
He immediately thought of Old K's weird "flickering swordsmanship". After confirming that Old K was a demon hunter, Mason had been wondering where that "blinking" ability came from?
As far as he knows, a demon hunter who has passed the green grass trial can indeed obtain superhuman physique and magic power, but unless he is of ancient blood, it is impossible to have the outrageously strong ability of passive space flickering.
Now, Zha Kang solved the mystery for Mason.
Old K's passive flickering is definitely not from the inheritance of the demon hunter!
That is the "blessing" of the evil **** that the stars will believe in, and even the ability similar to the "force dragging" that Mr. Hunter showed in a glimpse before comes from this.
"So, this is the real 'employee benefit'."
Mason blinked and said something in a low voice. He stroked the evil tattoo on his arm and said to Zha Kang:
"What should I do to feel that hidden power?"
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
Jack Kang flipped through Voldemort's Grimoire, glanced at Mason and said faintly:
"I just told you that you can do this, but it doesn't mean I encourage you to do it. For the sake of this reward, I want to remind you one more thing, Mason, young man!
When your curse has grown rapidly, actively calling on the power of the evil **** may make you "degenerate" faster.
You may think that you are determined, but I can tell you responsibly that every person I have seen who actively deals with dark forces ends up very badly.
You should follow Bat Boy's teachings and stay away from those tempting darkness. "
"But don't you too?"
Mason says:
"I see you are living a happy life."
"Wow, look at this little angel in front of me, you think your friend John's life will end well at the end of his life. Oh, that's the most heartwarming thing I've heard this year."
Zha Kang covered his heart, and said in a strange way:
"It is an extravagant hope for me to go to **** completely after death. You still use me as a role model. You are really ignorant and fearless. Okay, since you want it, I will give it to you.
Dear John never prevents others from actively seeking death. This is the professional ethics of dark wizards.
But.
This 'handling fee' has to be settled in advance, so let's take this as a reward. "
Konstantin waved his hand and picked up the broken Elder Wand and put it in his arms.
Mason could see very clearly that when he reached out his hand, he wanted to take the pieces of the Philosopher's Stone, but he didn't know why this guy gave up this real treasure on his own initiative.
"Don't be restrained, John, take it all."
The young man generously pushed everything in front of him to Zha Kang, saying:
"Anyway, I don't necessarily have the life to keep them. It's also a good choice to give it to your good friend. Take it away, take it all away."
"So generous?"
Jackson looked at Mason suspiciously.
After confirming that Mason was not joking, he also grinned, and stuffed everything into his windbreaker pocket that seemed never to be full.
It is not Zhakang's style to not take advantage of the cheap.
And Mason also had a gentle and satisfied smile on his face after seeing Zha Kang wiped away all the things he took out.
He took it!
Everyone watched!
John Constantine accepted these priceless things!
Although he did not explicitly state that these treasures represented the invitation to join the K team, since Zhakang took these treasures that were obviously beyond the pay, he should be mentally prepared to pay more.
In this way, I no longer have to feel guilty when I invite Zha Kang to take an exciting and fun trip to another world.
Mr. Hunter reminded himself to strengthen the strength of Team K as much as possible within two months to face future pioneering tasks. Although Zhakang's character is poor, he is strong and has no bottom line. He is definitely a good player in exploring other worlds.
Counting the catwoman who has already verbally agreed and the kiteman who has no skills but is loyal enough, isn’t the skeleton of Team K built?
"I'm making sure, we're friends, right? John."
Mason looked at Zhakang, who looked like a fox who had stolen a chicken, and suddenly asked a question.
The master of black magic reached out and held Mason's hand with a "sincere" expression on his face, as if he was touched by his half-brother who had been separated for many years.
This playwright even brought on a crying voice, saying:
"Of course, Mason, don't insult our relationship with the word 'friend', in my heart you and I are as close as brothers. Come on, get ready.
Let your brother John help you cast spells to gain power. "
(end of this chapter)