Chapter 1232: Chapter 1231: Are All Those Surnamed Lin Such Monsters? As the three of them felt uneasy, Lin Dong stepped forward and spoke in the language of the Dragon Country: "Lord Bai Long, this can’t be blamed on the Red Rat, the Hall Master. It can only be said that An Zhongshan was too cunning." "Our Red Rat, the Hall Master, bribed one of their Divine Generals to bury the bone and blood of the ’Bone Spirit Blood Curse’ in his garden." "An Zhongshan discovered this early on but didn’t make it public at first; instead, he turned the tables and secretly had the bone and blood dug up." "That led the Red Rat, the Hall Master, to believe that An Zhongshan was cursed with the Bone Spirit Blood Curse. In reality, An Zhongshan was not affected at all." "Otherwise, An Zhongshan would surely have been doomed. After all, the Bone Spirit Blood Curse is something that only the host can lift, and a hundred Jin Yuan couldn’t compare with our host..." Lin Dong quickly thought of this logical explanation, which was entirely convincing. And he did not forget to suck up to the Master of Black Sorcerer Palace, and naturally, Lord Bai Long had nothing to say. "I see!" Lord Bai Long nodded, but still said coldly, "Red Rat, Grey Snake, no matter what caused your failure in this task, the outcome is that you ended in failure." "At this time, prepare to receive the host’s punishment atop the Black Sorcerer Grand Hall." "As for what punishment you will receive, heh, that will depend on the host’s mood..." Grey Snake and Red Rat both breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts, having passed this hurdle. However, their faces still showed great fear. As if they were frightened by the ’punishment’ mentioned by Lord Bai Long. Hei Tu, who was nearby, couldn’t help but laughingly said, "This time, the rest of us, the 12 Chinese Zodiac Members, have completed our respective tasks. We will all receive rewards from the host at The Black Sorcerer Sacramental Ceremony." "Only Grey Snake and Red Rat, you two, are facing punishment. Heh, there will be quite a show to watch at that time..." Lü Gou also smirked on the side, evidently harboring resentment towards Grey Snake and Red Rat for snatching away their boatload of Dragon Country’s ’sacrificial goods’ earlier. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞 They were eager to see the Black Sorcerer Sacramental Ceremony take place quickly and witness Grey Snake and Red Rat receive the host’s punishment. The task they were given this time was regarded as extremely important in the eyes of the host. Now that they had failed to accomplish it, the punishment would not be light. Perhaps being tormented by Black Witchcraft for a few hours would be considered lenient. It’s possible they might endure the agony of a thousand snakes gnawing at them... Thinking of that, Hei Tu couldn’t help but lick their lips, showing an excited look. If it had been before, Grey Snake and Red Rat would have been scared knowing they would face the host’s punishment at the Black Sorcerer Sacramental Ceremony. But now, that was not what they were thinking about at all. What they were considering was whether they could successfully betray the Black Sorcerer Palace by following Master Lin. At the moment, Lord Bai Long did not dwell on the matter any further. After all, the final decision of what punishment to mete out was up to the Master of Black Sorcerer Palace, and he had no authority to decide. Now, Lord Bai Long turned his attention to Lin Dong. He frowned, looking at Lin Dong, and said, "And who are you? You seem very unfamiliar. I don’t believe I have seen you before?" Hum! With those words, Grey Snake and Red Rat became even more nervous. They were afraid that Lord Bai Long would directly recognize Master Lin. Even if he didn’t recognize him outright, any suspicion raised could easily expose them. Red Rat hastily responded, "Lord Bai Long, this is a new member, Xiao Lin, whom I’ve recruited. His gift for learning Black Sorcerer Text is quite good, and he’s very smart. I appreciate him greatly and even plan to train him as my disciple." "When I’m old, I’m planning to pass on my position as the head of Mouse Hall to him," "Oh?" Hearing this, Lord Bai Long was somewhat surprised. He hadn’t expected someone from Dragon Country to be so highly regarded by Red Rat. "You’re really talented? Heh, let’s see just how talented you are," Lord Bai Long suddenly said to Lin Dong, laughing. As he spoke, he began to draw a Witch Text in the void. Then he said, "This Black Sorcerer Text isn’t too complicated. I’ll draw it three times, let’s see if you can learn it." Seeing this, Red Rat became nervous again. He hadn’t expected his casual remark about Master Lin being gifted in learning Black Witchcraft to lead to a test by Lord Bai Long. He really felt numb with worry, concerned that Master Lin might be exposed. Then again, with someone like Master Lin, was there any need for him to worry about his talent? Surely enough, Lin Dong had already learned the Black Witchcraft after watching it drawn just once. But he still played dumb, and after it was drawn three times, he finally said, "Lord Bai Long, I have learned it." "Oh?" Upon hearing this, Lord Bai Long was quite surprised and quickly said, "Then demonstrate it for me." "Sure." Lin Dong nodded and then demonstrated, drawing the Black Sorcerer Text that he had just been ’taught’. Watching this, Lord Bai Long couldn’t help but laugh hysterically, "Good, good, good! Your talent is indeed noteworthy, you have the makings of something great!" He even patted Lin Dong on the shoulder in encouragement. And the reason he did so was because Lin Dong was also a person from Dragon Country, so he saw him in a somewhat different light. Of course, he hoped that there would be more members from Dragon Country in the Black Sorcerer Palace and that they could do well here. In fact, he had always taken some care of members from Dragon Country in the Black Sorcerer Palace. "Not bad, what’s your name? I’ll remember you!" Lord Bai Long asked with a smile. Lin Dong replied, "Lin Bei." "Lin Bei? Heh, you also have the Lin surname. Could it be that all of you surnamed Lin are such monsters?" Lord Bai Long couldn’t help but express his thoughts. "The once great Lin Zhantian and now the thriving Master Lin of Dragon Country... they are both Lins..." And hearing this, not just Red Rat, Grey Snake, and Ye Wuyou, but even Lin Dong himself felt a flicker of nervousness. "Work hard, study hard. If anyone bullies you here in the Black Sorcerer Palace in the future, you can come to me. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a talented young person from Dragon Country join the Black Sorcerer Palace." Fortunately, Lord Bai Long didn’t think too deeply about it. He did not associate Lin Dong with that thriving Master Lin he had mentioned. In fact, he even felt a sense of kinship, a desire to take care of Lin Dong, his fellow countryman. At that moment, Lin Dong feigned a look of being flattered and quickly said: "Thank you, Lord Bai Long!" Lord Bai Long waved his hand and then turned his attention away from Lin Dong. Watching this scene unfold, Hei Tu and Lü Gou were visibly displeased. Hei Tu, in particular, had her eye on Lin Dong. Lin Dong, such a handsome man, despite Red Rat’s warning, she still harbored intentions towards him, wanting to have him and to toy with him. But to her dismay, this kid had caught the eye of Lord Bai Long, their ’hometown fellow’ and because of his talent in learning Black Witchcraft. As a result, she truly had to abandon the idea of toying with him. After all, she may dare to offend Red Rat but not Lord Bai Long!