Chapter 618: Opening the Jade Box

Seeing Han Feidao get angry, the others dared not speak. Although Han Feidao usually had a bad temper, it was rare for him to be this furious. Jiang Fan had truly exasperated him.

Ling Shu rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on.

These two could never get along. Ling Shu vaguely understood why. One had fought for humanity and fallen into the hands of the demon race, while the other had betrayed humanity to join them. Their stances were inherently opposed.

Reconciliation was almost impossible. She could only move closer to Jiang Fan, silently accompanying him. She whispered, "Brother, just do your best." "Ling Shu will always support you."

On the other side, Liu Li rolled her eyes. "Enough!" she snorted softly. "You don't need to concern yourself. Jiang Fan knows what he's doing."

However, her words lacked conviction. After all, this was a lost demonic script, a culture severed for four hundred years. Han Feidao only knew it because of ancient demonic texts. How could Jiang Fan possibly know it?

Hunyuan also shook his head slightly. Ling Shu's tribe had consulted many elder demons about the ancient demonic script on the jade box, but to no avail. How ironic would it be if a human youth deciphered it so easily?

He could barely accept it if an old scholar like Han Feidao cracked it.

Soon after, Jiang Fan finished carefully examining the script. He suddenly understood, "This really is a box."

Ling Shu asked in surprise, "Brother, did you really figure it out?" Jiang Fan nodded slightly. "The content is all deciphered. Shall I read it to you?"

Ling Shu's eyes lit up. Jiang Fan had actually deciphered it! She nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, please speak, Brother. I'll write it down."

"Wait!" Han Feidao slowly put down his brush. He flipped over a sheet of xuan paper, covered in writing, and pushed it towards Ling Shu. "I've deciphered it too."

"Wait until he finishes his interpretation, then read mine." To prevent Jiang Fan from spouting nonsense, Han Feidao had written down the correct translation on the paper. Then, they could compare the two. It would be clear at a glance whether Jiang Fan knew his stuff.

Ling Shu looked embarrassed. Wouldn't this humiliate Jiang Fan? If Jiang Fan hadn't deciphered it, or if his interpretation was full of errors, wouldn't he be disgraced in public?

However, with Han Feidao watching, she could only take the paper and reluctantly say, "Yes, Elder Han."

Jiang Fan didn't seem to care at all. He said, "This is an incantation from the Muye tribe. It's similar to our human spatial storage devices; to open it, you need to recite a specific spell." "The content is as follows:"

Jiang Fan's tone was calm, and his pronunciation clear. He recited the incantation word for word. The incantation itself held no special meaning. Each line was simply independent words put together at random.

Ling Shu quickly wrote it down. When Jiang Fan finished, she put away her pen and said, "Done!"

The others wore strange expressions. He had recited it, but was he just guessing? Their gazes towards Jiang Fan were full of suspicion.

Liu Li was slightly nervous. Surely Jiang Fan wasn't just making it up? Han Feidao had the correct answer written nearby. If the discrepancies were too great during the comparison, Jiang Fan would be humiliated.

Ling Shu also felt uneasy, cautiously looking at Han Feidao, unsure whether to compare the two incantations publicly. But to her surprise, Han Feidao seemed lost in thought. He was staring intently at Jiang Fan, unblinking, his mind elsewhere.

After a moment's thought, Ling Shu unfolded the xuan paper, planning to look at it herself first. If the discrepancies were too great to hide, she would have no choice but to reveal them. If there were only minor flaws, she would try to smooth things over for Jiang Fan. But upon seeing it,

Ling Shu was astonished! Because what Han Feidao had written was... completely identical to Jiang Fan's recitation! No, that wasn't quite right!

Han Feidao had several blank spots. This meant he hadn't figured out the meaning of those characters and couldn't translate them. The rest, however, were exactly the same!

What did this mean? It meant Jiang Fan's understanding of the Muye demon script was deeper than Han Feidao's. How was that even possible?

"Ling Shu, why don't you reveal it?" Hunyuan demanded, dissatisfied. "Why are you looking at it alone?" Jiang Fan had been the center of attention all day, and this was finally his chance to be embarrassed. Was Ling Shu trying to cover for him? There was no way he'd let that happen.

Little did he know, Han Feidao, who had come back to his senses, immediately looked uncomfortable. He took two quick sips from his teacup, lowered his head, and remained silent. How humiliating!

It was truly embarrassing! He had mocked Jiang Fan for imitating him, only to find out that he himself was the imitator! Jiang Fan's mastery of the demon script far surpassed his own. He wasn't just recycling someone else's knowledge.

A comparison of the two incantations would immediately show who was superior. Ling Shu, with a clever glint in her eyes, folded up both sheets of xuan paper and said, "There's nothing to see. What they both wrote is identical."

This way, neither Jiang Fan nor Han Feidao would lose face. Hearing this, Han Feidao's suspended heart relaxed slightly. He looked at Ling Shu with even greater affection. She truly was a clever and thoughtful child.

"Hmph!" Hunyuan wasn't having it. While Ling Shu was looking down, he snatched the two sheets of xuan paper, slapped them onto the table, and said, "If they're the same, what's there to hide? Are you afraid your Brother Jiang Fan will be embarrassed...?"

As the two sheets of xuan paper were revealed, everyone's gaze snapped towards them. However, upon seeing them, their expressions all froze. The words in Hunyuan's mouth came to an abrupt halt.

He widened his eyes. He looked at Jiang Fan's complete incantation, then at Han Feidao's, which had several blank spots. For a moment, he wondered if he had mixed up the two sheets.

But Han Feidao's strong, vigorous handwriting couldn't be mistaken.

"Th-this... Teacher..." Hunyuan then realized that Ling Shu wasn't protecting Jiang Fan at all. She was giving Han Feidao face! He, however, had presumptuously broken the silence, putting Han Feidao in an awkward position.

Han Feidao's face turned ashen. He shot Hunyuan a fierce glare. "Go back and inform your father. I'll be paying a home visit tomorrow."

*Pfft*— Ling Shu couldn't help but cover her mouth and stifle a laugh. Served him right! He tried to make Jiang Fan a laughingstock, but became one himself!

Liu Li's eyes were full of delight. Jiang Fan's mastery of the demon script was even higher than Han Feidao's? What *couldn't* he do?

Today, Jiang Fan had given her so many surprises and delights. He had completely changed her perception of him. She had to admit that, even from the perspective of the demon race, Jiang Fan was an exceptionally talented peer.

Han Feidao's face flushed, then paled, then flushed again. He said, "Since the incantation has been deciphered, Ling Shu, you may open the Tiger Demon Emperor's Jade Box."

Ling Shu nodded expectantly. According to the incantation, opening the jade box required a jade slip. She immediately pulled an ancient, unadorned jade slip from her bosom. This jade slip had been discovered alongside the Tiger Demon Emperor's Jade Box.

She hadn't realized that both the jade slip and the incantation were needed to open the box.

She pressed the jade slip onto the jade box, then recited the incantation Jiang Fan had written, word for word. *Click*— In the quiet room, a faint, almost imperceptible sound of a mechanism turning suddenly echoed! The Tiger Demon Emperor's Jade Box... had reacted!