"What? How? What are you? How is that possible? Are you someone from Ta Lo?! What kind of monster are you?" And while Leo tested the Ten Rings, it seemed Xu had woken up behind me, and he was looking at Leo like he was some sort of monster, which right now Leo did feel like a monster... He came out of nowhere and broke into the Ten Rings base, which pretty much no one on earth knows about! Not only that, Leo was turning into a 4-armed giant, and now this same brat was controlling the Ten Rings, something only Xu's wife, who was from Ta Lo, did... So in Xu's eyes, yes, Leo seemed like a monster right now!
"Monster? I guess I take that as a compliment from an old man like you, and no, I am not from Ta Lo, old man. Don't you know anything about this world? It seems your era is truly over, huh?" I fold my hands on my chest, showing off the Ten Rings on my forearms glowing a strong golden light... and I lean on a tree casually looking smug!
"Stop with the cheap taunts! Speak the truth! Who are you? And what do you want from me?" And I look at him and smile. This old man was smart; he knows if I only wanted the Ten Rings, I would have killed him by now... and he also knows I want his organization, but he does not know my true thoughts. He does not even know me, but he knows I want more from him just from the little interactions we had... I have to be careful around him, at least till I earn his trust...
"Smart old man, you are wise, huh? Well, I speak once more now that I have won. I am James Lee, and I have come to take over everything you have made. Your organization, your Ten Rings, will all be mine, and you know I have the power to take all of that, but I don't just want that; I want more. I want you, Xu Wenwu." I spoke in a teasing but knowing tone as I took a step closer to him. I had both of my hands in my pockets, and when I called him by his real name, Xu's eyes went wide. He was shocked, really... Being called by his birth name for someone who was over 100 years old was a big deal; it was even a little scary...
"You know my name... huh? You want everything, and you know you can take it, but you know one thing you can't take is me, right? Tell me, why should I give everything to you?" And Xu spoke in almost a calm tone, and I was a little shocked how calm he sounded. It's almost like he saw this coming...
"I will give you everything you want. Xu, come under me, give me your Ten Rings, give me your army, give me your life, Xu, and become my weapon, and I will give you everything you have, everything you have ever desired," I spoke in a calm tone. It was honest, and there was a hint of arrogance in my words, which normally Xu would have just brushed away, but now that Xu knows what this young man in front of him is capable of, Xu takes his words seriously...
And after one minute of Xu just looking away, seemingly in thought, I spoke once more: "I can even bring back the dead, you know, Xu. I can bring back your wife, but you have to pay the price, which is giving your everything to me. You could say it's like a deal with the devil, and yes, I am the devil right now. Give me your soul! I will give you your heart and love back." I spoke in a commanding tone as I reached my hand to Xu, an offer I knew Xu could not say no to...
And Xu looks at me and speaks in a hopelessly amused voice, "Can you read minds too? You look young but speak like a man much older. You're blessed with wisdom, or who knows, you might be cursed with knowledge... Well, James Lee. I don't think I have another choice. Yes, I will become your weapon, your sword, but you must keep your word and bring back my love..." And Xu took a knee and bowed his head like a soldier from a different era...
I put my hand on his shoulder and speak, "Don't bow to me, old man; it makes me look rude, you know? And also, I am not a king; don't treat me like one." I let go of his shoulder and turn around, and I speak once more, "Let's go back to the base and speak in a better place," and I start to walk, and Xu looks at my back, and then Xu closes his eyes and walks behind me... unknowingly, even to Leo, Xu right now had made a choice...
After a few minutes, Leo and Xu end up back at the Ten Rings base. How did they get back so fast? Because the Ten Rings had already sent more than one car, jeep, and even helicopter after Xu... So after getting out of the helicopter, Leo finds himself sitting on a chair, and Xu is sitting on another chair. Right now, Leo is inside Xu's study room, where no one can enter...
"How and when can you bring her back?" One question from Xu right to the point, huh?
"Well, do you have her body?" I ask him a question back, and Xu looks at me, frowning. He speaks once more, "Why? If you don't have her body, can you not bring her back?" And I look at him and speak in an annoyed tone, "Don't tell me you cremated her?" and Xu just looks at me for a second...
"No, her burial was near this base... it's our home, after all. Why did you ask?" And I look at him and smile and speak, "Oh, well, then it's fine. Bring me to her body right now, and yes, I do need her body to bring her back." And I stood up fast, and Xu wanted to say something, but he did not; he just walked fast, and after a few minutes, we came near a cherry blossom tree, and under that tree was a stone head...
"Well, go bring a big fridge or freezer that can keep a body." Hearing my words, Xu's fists clenched hard... and before Xu spoke, I said, "No need to dig her out. I'll do that, ok? And trust me, old man, if I fail, I give you the right to end me." And hearing my words, Xu turned around and called for a big freezer, and just when Xu was not looking, I twisted the dial on the watch head, and I gently pushed it down....
A green light covers me, but now I am nowhere to be found... and I, right now, am Ghostfreak! I become intangible and float down into the ground, and I find a coffin, and I enter it, and before me is a dead corpse... and the skin has already gotten rotten, and there is barely any flesh on the bones; only the chest and upper body even have any flesh... This is insane because she should have been dead for about one year now, but her body has not even rotted fully yet, and this is definitely because Chi Ying Li was the gatekeeper of Ta Lo, so she was able to use Chi. Sure, after she left Ta Lo, she lost most of her power, but I bet she still had some Chi, and that's the reason her body is not just bones right now...
I try to do something I have never done before... I try to possess this body... and, well, it works... barely. I can't even move this body; I can only fly and become intangible, which is why I turned into Ghostfreak in the first place. In this way, no dirt or bugs or anything else would be on Ying Li's body when she gets put in a freezer... and when I float up from the ground in Ying's body, Xu was able to see me, and he was shocked and stunned, and his hands were shaking... he could not believe what he saw… It was a rotten corpse, but still, it was his wife... Xu knew it... but before Xu could even say a word, the body floated inside the big freezer, and the door of the freezer closed...
And then with a green light, I pretty much come out of nowhere... "Your wife is not fully back to life yet, but we have taken the right steps. I will bring your wife back in 2 or 3 years max, but till then, prove to me that this is worth it. Prove to me you are useful, Xu, and then I shall grant your wish..." I spoke in a calm tone, almost sounding like I knew everything... Not only that, what I just did right now was too much of a shock for Xu...
And without thinking, Xu spoke, "Fine, but if in the next 3 years you don't bring my wife back, then... even if it ends me, I will end you, James Lee..." And Xu spoke in a cold tone, almost like he was making a vow, and I smiled and said back, "Oh, right? Are you ending me? You have good jokes, old man. Now come on, give me a report on the Ten Rings. I want all the information you have about your organization, and I also want all the information you have about the world and everything. Also, make sure you put them on a pen drive; that's your first task." I spoke in a calm tone as I looked outside the window, and the base was in a mess, to say the least. Half of it was broken, no thanks to me...
"I'll be leaving for now, and also, go easy on your children. If your wife does come back and learns about what you did, trust me, you will have bigger problems than me, old man." I speak in an amused tone as I walk near the window, and with a casual jump, I fall out of the window... and Xu walks closer to the window, and before he knew it, there was a green flash! And then there was no one....
"Strong, knowledgeable, unhuman powers... James Lee... who are you?" Xu muttered to himself it could be said that now that the Ten Rings were no longer on Xu, he was more clear-minded, and he thought about everything that happened this night... He was angry but at the same time amused... This seemingly smug young man turned out to be some sort of knowledgeable monster with powers far beyond his imagination... Xu was amused, to say the least.
And regarding the Ten Rings, which Leo took with him, Xu had already thought things through about the Ten Rings. He thought they were useless since they don't work against Leo in the first place. What use is a useless weapon to him? ... Xu was already planning how to play things out in a way he would get the most profit out of this ordeal. His mind, which was like a hundred-year-old king, worked in a way he could have the most profit...
1. Bad thing, I lost my Ten Rings...
2. I might have found a way to bring Ying Li back... Good thing.
3. I actually have a leader now. I never saw myself fit to be king anyway...
4. If this James Lee actually does what he said, well, he will for sure be the ruler of this era... and I will be his sword, his weapon...
5. I don't have a reason to not listen to him because if I try to go against him, he will destroy me and take what I have by force, so it's better to work with him for now and get as much profit …
Things were set. Xu had made up his mind because the advantages of this deal are more than the disadvantages...