Chapter 3

When Liuba, dressed in a maid outfit, stepped into the dim study, Tita was sitting at the desk, copying the magic circle with her back to her. Next to her was a desk lamp and a thick book.

Liuba took a closer look and saw that it was the “Concise Illustrated Guide to Near Eastern Magic”. The first edition was published in the late 19th century, and each reprint would add a lot of content. After more than a hundred years, it has accumulated layers and is thicker than a dictionary. I wonder which future reprint will delete the word “concise” in the title.

This is one of the “Top 20 Magic Books Favorite by Titta”, and as a personal maid, Liuba couldn’t have been unaware of it.

“Titta.” Liuba put a cup of steaming milk on the table, “I met Mr. Lu Yihang when I went to the innate supernatural power application class tonight.”

“Hmm-hmm?” Titta didn’t react at first, but when she heard Lu Yihang’s name, she stopped writing and turned her head.

“I’ve been communicating with him for a while, and I think I understand why you like him.”

“Like? What——” Tita put the pen in her hand aside and blushed, “Don’t talk nonsense!”

“Then what do you think of him?”

“We are like-minded friends, or “soulmates” as the old Chinese saying goes. We are both people who devote ourselves to the pile of old papers and people who follow the ancient wisdom.” Tita took the glass and sipped the hot milk carefully, with a longing smile on his face, “I traveled across the ocean and still met such a soulmate. Do you think that this is Fortuna’s favor to me?”

Soulmate...?

This is how Lu Yihang described the relationship between him and Tita. The two of them really understand each other.

At this point, Liuba had to reluctantly admit that the two of them really had a wonderful tacit understanding.

But Liuba was still not convinced: “You only use ‘similarities’ as the standard of friends. This is not a friend, at best a like-minded person.” Liuba actually talked back, the sun really rose from the west. But Tita was not angry at all, but smiled faintly: “Tell me, what does it mean to be a friend?” “At least you have to understand each other’s thoughts to be considered a friend. Miss, you definitely haven’t done this.” “How could that be? I can understand what Lu Yihang is thinking.” “You have been practicing magic for so many years and have hardly encountered any setbacks. Do you really understand the sorrow of ordinary people? Lu Yihang is troubled by his innate ability. Can you understand his troubles? Will you ... feel sorry for him?” “Feel sorry?” Tita screamed as if her toes were stepped on. She meant After realizing that she had lost her composure, she turned away and pretended to be nonchalant, “Listen, what’s the point of me sympathizing with him? He has to find a way out on his own.”

Lyuba joked, “So, you clearly don’t value him enough. You obviously have the ability to give him a shortcut out of his predicament.”

“What shortcut? How can I do that...”

“If you let him use that brass bottle.”

Lyuba made such an unrealistic suggestion just to tease Titar, but she didn’t expect that Titar bit his lips, stared ahead, and seemed to be thinking seriously.

This surprised Liuba instead.

Tita was silent for a long time before she said, “You know, that was left to me by my mother. She asked me to give it to my future husband.”

Lyuba said softly, “Do you think he is not the one who deserves your trust?”

“I don’t know.” Tita covered her face and murmured, “I don’t know what I think. I will be happy to see him, and my heart will be moved when I think of him; I will forget the time when I talk to him, and I will feel happy when I look at him, I, I...”

Seeing this scene, Liuba can swear to conclude that the eldest lady is really in love.

Until college, Tita’s cultural knowledge was taught by her parents and tutors. She never studied in school and had no friends except Liuba. Therefore, Lu Yihang was the first male of the same age who broke into her life, and they also resonated in interests and hobbies. It is not surprising that she would have feelings for him.

Lyuba felt that as a maid, it was necessary to protect Tita’s immature first love. At least let Tita know what she was thinking.

“Would you ever think that it would be nice if Lv Yihang stayed with you forever?”

“Of course, we want to be friends for life!”

Is that true? Are friends enough?

From Tita’s expression, Liuba read a sense of disharmony: the relationship that Tita longs for is probably much more than this.

It’s just that Tita lacks interpersonal experience, and she can’t say what name should be given to a relationship that goes beyond friendship.

While stroking the golden hair behind Tita’s neck, Liuba said slowly: “If you give him the brass bottle, he will always crave you and rely on you forever. In this way, you can always keep him by your side. The premise is that you have the awareness of dedication.”

Tita said with a hint of complaint: “You make me sound like a bad person. I don’t have to rely on fraudulent tricks to maintain a relationship with him...”

“I’m just giving an opinion, just like a subordinate has the obligation to give advice to the lord.” Liuba’s face did not change at all.

Tita’s face was calm, but her mind was working quickly: her mother entrusted the brass bottle to her, which meant that she had to take the responsibility of protecting it and must not give it to outsiders easily.

But ... the brass bottle was just an antique that took up space in her hands, but if she gave it to Lv Yihang, he could use the power in it to practice, wouldn’t it be a good thing to make the best use of it?

Moreover, he would gradually become inseparable from the woman around him. In this way, he would definitely fall in love with...

When Tita thought of this, her cheeks turned red again. She felt like Odysseus who was seduced by the sirens’ singing, distracted by some sweet and deadly danger.

No, if she transferred the risk to Lv Yihang for her own selfish desires, it would be too irresponsible.

At the very least, she had to tell him the origin of the brass bottle in advance.

Tita closed her eyes, cleared her throat, and said seriously: “I will explain the pros and cons to him first. He has the right to accept or refuse. I will not make a choice for him. Everything is up to him. In this way, it is not considered fraud, right?”

“Miss, you are always so considerate - this is what I admire most about you. I will leave first. You should go to bed early, good night.”

Lyuba smiled slightly, took the empty glass, and retreated slowly. But her heart was beating violently -

Will the brass bottle of the eldest lady really come in handy?

An unintentional remark tonight has set off unexpected ripples.

The next day, Lu Yihang was called to Tita’s house for lunch again. This time the menu was Tita’s hometown cuisine: rib-eye steak, pork sausage, and mashed potatoes and sauerkraut. The amount of meat was very rich, and Tita and Lu Yihang both feasted on it. Liuba finally served two servings of caramel pudding, but Lu Yihang’s stomach was really not big enough, so he had to put it aside.

Lu Yihang leaned on the back of the chair with a bulging belly. He didn’t expect that the opportunity to visit Tita’s house again would come so quickly, and just like yesterday, Tita took the initiative to find him. This made him even more confused: If yesterday’s meal was a return gift for Meatball, then what was today’s meal for?

“You sent me a message saying you had something to talk to me about, what was it?”

Tita stopped smiling and said like a class teacher giving a lecture: “It’s very important.”

Lu Yihang smiled lazily: “Don’t scare me, I’m easily deceived.”

But Tita didn’t mean to joke at all, but waved his hand solemnly: “Come to the workshop with me, and you’ll know the inside story.”

- What exactly is going on that makes it so mysterious?

Lu Yihang was very curious about what Tita was keeping secret, so he also perked up and stood up shakily. Titta led him out of the restaurant, through the corridor, and finally stopped in front of the stairwell under the stairs.

Who dared to believe that this was the destination. As a magic workshop, the space was too small.

“I heard that there was a very famous magic master.” Lu Yihang smiled, “He lived in a room like this before he went to the magic academy...”

“This is not a place for people to live.” Titta didn’t understand the meaning of the words, and smiled and opened the door.

“Indeed...”

Lu Yihang didn’t continue to talk nonsense. After a few days of communication, he also realized this: Titta is knowledgeable, but he knows nothing about popular literature, not even Harry Potter.

The stairwell is piled with cleaning tools such as brooms and buckets, as well as bottles and jars of detergents, herbicides, etc. Titta pushed away the debris and walked inside. At the innermost side of the stairwell, there was a dark pit with an iron ladder pointing downwards installed on the wall.

Titta climbed down the ladder and disappeared into the endless darkness.

“Come down.” Titta’s voice came from below.

Lv Yihang climbed down the iron ladder in complete darkness. When he stepped firmly on the floor, he vaguely saw the outline of a human figure beside him - of course, it was Titta.

The basement should be dark and damp, but the air here is cool and dry, probably because there is an air conditioner in an invisible place.

“Sorry, the light here is not very good. In order to store certain things, we have to avoid strong light.” Titta pointed forward with his fingertips and chanted a spell loudly: “Illuminate! (Light up!)”

Immediately, sparks appeared on the tops of several candles on the long table and burned.

Although the light was still not very good, it was enough to see the surroundings clearly. He had always wanted to see what the magician’s workshop looked like, and this time he finally saw it. The basement is about 60 to 70 square meters, half of which is made of iron shelves, on which are placed various medicines and magic props. The remaining half of the space is a long wooden table that serves as a laboratory table. There are several pieces of parchment on the table, with unfinished magic circles written on them.

Tita rummaged through one of the shelves and took down an old bottle. This bottle is about the size of a mineral water bottle, and the bottle body is made of brass. Due to its age, it has long been rusted. Even if it is an antique, the appearance is too bad. If it is sold in the flea market, it will definitely be ridiculed.

——But the value of magic props has never been measured by appearance.

As soon as he saw the brass bottle, Lu Yihang shuddered.

His yin-yang eyes broke out.

He saw clearly that a trace of terrible ghost energy was leaking out of the brass bottle. It was a breath he had never experienced before, more terrifying and more creepy than any demon he had ever seen. In the face of unpredictable danger, he instinctively felt fear.

What is in it?

Lv Yihang asked cautiously: “ ... Isn’t this thing dangerous?”

Tita ignored Lu Yihang’s question, but asked him to sit down at the long table, then sat next to him, fiddling with the brass bottle, and began to talk about seemingly unrelated things: “Three thousand years ago, Solomon signed a contract with the 72 demons, making the 72 demons submit to him - have you heard of Solomon?”

Lv Yihang nodded: “The legendary wise king of Israel.”

“He is also the creator of classical Jewish magic.” Tita said, “In terms of bloodline, he is my ancestor; in terms of means, he is my ancestor.”

“Are you Jewish? This is the first time I heard...”

“I’m not, but my mother is.”

Hearing this, Lu Yihang was confused: “Since your mother is Jewish, why aren’t you??”

“This is due to some family reasons, it’s a long story ... My mother is the eldest daughter of a Jewish family. In Tel Aviv, that family is also considered a wealthy and prestigious family. She inherited the classical magic passed down from generation to generation in the family, and placed the family’s earnest hopes. Her original life trajectory should have been to be a rabbi, admired in the Jewish community, and preach for the rest of her life ... But while studying in Germany, she fell in love with a romantic man at first sight.”

“That is your father?”

Tita’s eyes dimmed, and her tone became a little resentful: “Yes, a genius, and a bastard.

“My mother fell deeply in love with the man’s talent, whether it was his erudition, his conversation, or his interest in classical literature, his Latin accent with a German accent, which made my mother fascinated.

“So my mother disobeyed the family’s marriage contract and even broke off relations with the family, just to elope with that man. A few years later, I was born in a mansion outside Munich.

“My childhood was spent with them: in the morning, I learned the great magic created by the ancient Roman masters, in the afternoon, I learned the classical rituals spread in Attica, and in the evening, I studied the rabbinical classics with my mother. That was the happiest time of my life.”

Lu Yihang nodded: “The reason why you can become such an excellent magician is because of the education of both parents.”

Tita sneered: “Education? Haha, sometimes I wonder, am I the daughter of that man, or the student of that man? He taught me Chinese, ancient languages, classical magic, and all kinds of things., but never fulfilled his responsibilities as a father!”

“ ... Why do you say that?”

“Some people are destined not to belong to a family, destined not to fold their wings, and are more eager to wander like a poet - that man is such a person.” Titta couldn’t restrain his resentment, his cheeks were stained with blush, and his tone became higher and higher. “Marriage did not wear down his personality. He was still obsessed with exploring the mysteries of ancient times, dabbling in ruins everywhere, and visiting magicians from all over the world. He spent more and more time away from home. At first, he was away for two months a year, gradually becoming three months, six months, and finally, he might not be able to go home once a year!”

“This is a bit...”

Although Lu Yihang knew that there were many magicians with strange temperaments and eccentric behaviors in the world, they would do some extreme things in pursuit of knowledge. For example, practicing in the deserted mountains, or testing runes with their own bodies. These were all within Lu Yihang’s understanding, but abandoning his wife and children for magic was not very authentic.

“Seven years ago, on the day my mother passed away, only Liuba and I were with her. That man didn’t even go home to see her. Ha, how could a wandering prodigal know the responsibilities of a family, the responsibilities of a husband and a father!”

Lv Yihang was speechless for a moment: As a husband, what reason is there not to send his beloved on his last journey? It is too cruel to let a little girl bear the sorrow of the death of her loved ones alone.

Lv Yihang grew up in a harmonious family atmosphere and got along well with his parents. He had never seen family conflicts like Tita’s. He didn’t know what to say, so he had to respond in silence.

The “enemy” who taught her Chinese yesterday should also refer to her father.

The lonely candlelight shone on Tita’s dignified face, and her eyes faintly glowed, and I don’t know if it was tears.

“I’m sorry.” It was Lu Yihang’s voice that broke the silence first, “I shouldn’t have mentioned your sad story.”

“No need to apologize, I didn’t treat you as an outsider, so I told you these family grievances.” Tita wiped the corners of his eyes and showed a serious face, “I have to share a bigger secret with you.”

“What?”

“Just now, Solomon had 72 demons under his command, and he sealed the demons in brass bottles. After Solomon’s death, most of the brass bottles disappeared, but we know that some of them have been passed down to this day - this is one of them.”

“Is there a demon in it?!” Lu Yihang took a breath.

Tita nodded: “Yes.”

Lu Yihang couldn’t believe his ears: Who would have thought that the demon really existed!

If this news spread, it would surely cause a sensation in the academic community. How many demon scholars have spent their entire lives searching the world just to find the traces of the demon, but these people, without exception, have nothing in the end.

As we all know, demons are divided into different levels. Ordinary demons look like beasts, and their intelligence is as poor as that of beasts. This kind of demon accounts for 99% of all demons.

Demons with more powerful magic are called “higher demons”. Their intelligence is no less than that of humans, and some can even speak human language. Higher demons are very rare, anyway, Lu Yihang has never seen one with his own eyes. It is said that the higher the intelligence of the demon, the closer it looks to humans, but it is not known whether it is true or not.

As for the demon gods, they are even more legendary. According to legend, they commanded an army of demons and destroyed countless once-prosperous city-states. After all, this is an ancient written record, and how credible it is is another matter. However...

“Why do you have the demon in your hand?”

“This brass bottle is an heirloom of my mother’s family. They have been exiled in Europe for three thousand years, experiencing countless wars and famines, but they have always carefully preserved the demon. When my mother broke with the family, she took it away from home. She entrusted it to me before she died. I came to you today for this matter-you have to sign a contract with the demon.”

Lv Yihang was shocked: “Are you kidding? It’s good enough that I didn’t get eaten by the demon, how could I sign a contract?”

“Isn’t it normal to sign a contract with a high-level demon? Have you read Goethe’s “Faust”? Didn’t Faust use his soul to make a deal with Mephistopheles? Just treat it as a means of cultivation.”

“What kind of cultivation method is this?!”

“Is it possible? Doesn’t Taoism count? In my country, countless people have made deals with demons, including some famous people in history. Beethoven, Nietzsche, Berlioz ... It is said that they all signed contracts with demons in pursuit of inspiration, knowledge and power. “No, I did hear about the rumors of making deals with demons. But even if it is called a means of cultivation, it is evil...” Tita said impatiently: “You speak like a Taoist, are you such a pedantic person? This is just to let the demon god supply you with magic power, and it will not harm your body. What is justice and evil? As long as you get the magic power of the demon god, you can use spells, right? This is a way to make up for your internal strength, and it is the easiest and most convenient way. Don’t you yearn for it?” Tita was a little excited when she said this. The classical magic she practiced was always labeled as evil by the world and denounced as black magic. She may have personally experienced the taste of being despised, so she defended the demon contract with fierce words, right?

Lv Yihang was somewhat moved by what he heard. Signing a contract with the devil is one of the “external force methods” mentioned by Yan Xiaoshu. Isn’t it just right to get this opportunity? But he still said softly with concern: “But, if I sign a contract with the devil, I am afraid that I will sign an unequal treaty. The strength of the devil and I are too far apart. I don’t even know that I have been deceived.” “No, I am here. The two of us will negotiate together and we will definitely be able to negotiate a contract that satisfies both parties.” Tita nodded slightly, placed his right palm on his heart, and swore with determination, “I swear to you in the name of the disciple of the rabbi Livka Klink, the disciple of the outstanding classical wizard Detlev Klink, and the classical wizard Tita Klink, this is absolutely a fair deal.” Tita’s words deeply touched Lv Yihang. Magicians have always valued honor, and using their own names as a guarantee is a high courtesy. He felt that he was not worthy of Tita’s trust. There may be more than one person who has signed a contract with the devil in history, but the only one known today is Solomon. Can a college freshman be on par with the most holy master in the magic world? He feels that he is totally unqualified.

——But since Tita has suggested so, it doesn’t hurt to give it a try. If you just talk to the devil, there is no need to pay any price; even if the negotiation breaks down, there will be no loss.

“Okay. But how can you negotiate with the devil? Let the devil out?”

Speaking of this, Lu Yihang remembered the story of the unlucky fisherman who caught the brass bottle in “One Thousand and One Nights”. The fisherman released the devil from the brass bottle, and the devil wanted to kill him instead. What a sad story.

“No, let’s go in. It’s safer this way.” Tita suggested, “Hold the brass bottle with your hand, and then enter a meditative state. A void with nothing in your mind will appear. Oh, in Taoist terms, it’s the ‘inner scene’. A golden door will open in the inner scene, just walk in.”

“Okay.”

Lv Yihang held the lower end of the brass bottle. Whether it was meditation or entering the inner scene, he had practiced countless times and was already familiar with it.

“Although she is very weak now, she probably can’t break the barrier around the workshop. Even if she is released, there is no fear that she will slip away. But for safety reasons, we should enter her consciousness space.” Tita held the other end of the brass bottle with her slender jade hand, “- Are you ready? Close your eyes.”

What is this place?

Lv Yihang was enveloped by light. All around was milky white, like an astronaut floating in the empty space, free and helpless.

There is nothing strange about it. After all, this is the consciousness space of the demon god, and everything follows the will of the demon god. Just treat it as a dream.

When Lu Yihang adapted to the light around him, everything around him became clear. Tita stood beside him, looking up at the trapezoidal platform in front of him. This platform was suspended in the void, about ten meters high, with no gaps between the bricks stacked up and down. It did not look like it was made of stone bricks, but more like it was carved out of a huge rock.

On the stone throne at the top of the platform, a woman had a charming smile on her face, looking sideways at them. The woman’s clothes were no different from the noble ladies in the ancient Roman murals, and the exposed white silk robe showed off her plump side breasts. Her facial features were extremely delicate, whether it was eyebrows or eyes, nose bridge or lips, they were all in perfect proportion to where they should be. There is not a single flaw in her face, which makes people feel extremely unreal, as if the Creator has used all the energy he has spent on arranging the structure of the stars to plan her facial features.

What is even more surprising is that her face looks so young, but her hair is as white as fresh snow. Her eyeballs are actually blood red, like two agate stones, flashing with strange brilliance.

No matter who sees it, they will sigh: There should not be such beauty in the world.

——That is a beauty that does not belong to humans.

——This is Sidi, the twelfth among Solomon’s 72 demons. The demon who controls human desires.

I thought she was a monster with goat horns, but I didn’t expect her to be such a beautiful woman ... However, her beauty is too perfect, which makes people more afraid and daunting.

The stone throne under her is also chilling. The back of the chair is at least two meters high, and it is carved with reliefs of beasts fighting each other: the crocodile opens its bloody mouth to the lion, showing off its sharp teeth; the python wraps its body tightly around the crocodile’s body, vowing to squeeze out every drop of its blood ... Every beast is carved with a hideous face and is extremely ferocious. “Noble of Solomon, you haven’t visited me for one year, two months and eighteen days.” Sidi looked at Tita from the high platform, put her pink fist against her chin, and smiled, “I’m so lonely.” “You don’t have to pretend.” Tita said coldly, “I entered your consciousness space on purpose, not to entertain you ... When did your palace become so simple? It seems that you have become weaker again.” Sidi changed to a side-lying position, propped up her head with her arms, and put her legs on the armrests of the stone chair, showing her sexy and charming body curves: “Don’t talk about unnecessary things, you are definitely not here to ask about my well-being. What can I do for you, my princess?” “I am here to sign a contract with you, and you only have two options: agree or refuse. If you don’t want to sign, forget it, I don’t have time to nag you.” Lu Yihang has never seen Tita’s expression so serious and solemn. Tita kept emphasizing her tone, and the subtext was to inform Sidi: Know your position. The initiative of this negotiation is in my hands.

“You are not qualified to sign a contract with me. I have told you so many times that I don’t need your soul. I want a man’s soul. Your soul looks delicious, but I can only eat a man’s soul...”

Tita pulled Lu Yihang’s wrist and motioned him to step forward: “So this time, I brought a man. His name is Lu Yihang, and I want you to be his servant.”

“Is that him?” Sidi narrowed her eyes and looked at Lu Yihang, her eyes wandering all over his body.

She seemed to want to give Lu Yihang a warning, and she did not restrain her magic power.

Pressure.

Indescribable pressure.

The dizzy and nauseating pressure was like a ten-story building collapsing overhead, and it was like a high-speed train at a speed of 350 kilometers per hour coming towards him.

Facing the pressure of the demon god, Lu Yihang could not be as calm as Tita, and it was his limit to resist his legs from weakening and falling to the ground. He really wanted to ask Tita how she could stand upright in front of the demon god.

Fortunately, not long after, Sidi retracted his gaze, and the pressure also dissipated. Lu Yihang realized that his back was sweating profusely.

Sidi stretched lazily and said disappointedly: “Not qualified, really not qualified. I am not interested in his soul. What taste can such a shriveled soul have?”

“You have no choice.” Tita crossed his arms in front of his chest, raised his eyebrows and sneered, “Either stay in this dark brass bottle for another three thousand years, or sign a contract with him and accept his soul. Even if his soul is unpalatable, you must accept it.”

“How can this be? You have to force me to accept such a tasteless soul before you are willing to let me go? It would be better to be locked up for a few more years.”

Sidi frowned, pouted, and turned his head to the side. How can she be a demon god? She is just like a sulky little girl.

Tita spat, “You demon bodies are made of magic power. Without magic power, how can you survive? You are in the brass bottle, and you can’t get magic power. Your body will get worse day by day. If you don’t breathe fresh air, I’m afraid your soul will be scattered.”

Sidi was about to refute, but Lu Yihang, who had been silent, interrupted, “I want to ask, why do you say my soul is unpalatable?”

Sidi was suppressed by Tita, but now he snorted contemptuously as if he had picked up a soft persimmon, and asked him back, “What is your desire?”

“My ... desire?” Lu Yihang didn’t understand what Sidi meant.

“In other words, is there anything you want me to help you achieve?”

“I hope I can use magic.”

“Is this your desire? Don’t lie.” Sidi mocked, “I have observed your soul, and I can’t see how much you want this. Are you actually thinking that it would be nice to be someone who doesn’t know magic?”

Lv Yihang remembered the experience of being forced by his grandfather to take the entrance exam. He didn’t volunteer to study at Yingzhou University.

Recalling it carefully, even when he was a child, he was forced to learn magic by his grandfather.

Lv Yihang was originally a person who had no opinion and went with the flow. The life plans of the elders have always been accepted without complaint, but he has a little thought in his heart: if he goes to a comprehensive university, finds an ordinary job, and lives an ordinary life, it seems to be good.

So he answered honestly, “Yes.”

“Okay, I can make you lose all your supernatural powers from now on and live a life like ordinary people.”

Lv Yihang thought about it and felt that it was difficult for him to accept this proposal. This was equivalent to completely denying the first half of his life.