Chapter 15: The Orphan

On the ride home, David glanced at the two of them strangely.

Though he didn’t know why, he felt Emma seemed afraid of Louis.

How could that be? Louis was a good child, well-behaved; it must be that Emma lost her medal and was in a bad mood.

David shook his head and put his mind at ease.

Suddenly, his phone received a text; seeing its content, he smiled, “Louis, Emma, your surprise is almost here.”

…

The orphanage.

In human society, orphans never disappear.

Thus, orphanages emerged alongside human civilization, but in America, everything is private, owned property.

So public orphanages are rare; most are private, and orphans from these private institutions typically carry debts they must repay upon reaching adulthood, while also receiving certain education to make them more appealing to the middle and upper classes.

Public orphanages are scarce and usually built within communities, with deep ties to community committees.

David chose exactly such an orphanage—there was no choice; he was single and ineligible for adoption, so he had to start with a public one.

At least here he had connections; a little bribery would get him through.

But the quality here? That was another matter; David set himself a standard.

Older girls should be kind and gentle, preferably well-behaved—that was the baseline; knowledge and skills came second.

Soon.

After speaking with the director, David entered the orphanage and met the children aged nine to twelve.

Then he immediately spotted one little girl—she simply stood out too much compared to the others.

Beneath golden sunlight, she focused intently on her drawing, her eyes unusually lively; her artwork surpassed the level expected of a nine-year-old, showing clear talent.

He asked the orphanage staff and learned the girl’s name was Estelle, about nine years old, recently taken in; she had behaved well these past days—quiet, friendly with others.

David chose her without hesitation.

The director readily agreed—after all, David was paying real money.

David approached Estelle and greeted her warmly.

“Hello, lovely girl.”

“Hello, mature and handsome uncle.”

“...”

After brief conversation,

Both were satisfied, so they quickly decided to pack up, handle the paperwork in the afternoon, and move the next day.

Yet as David turned to leave, he failed to notice Estelle’s gaze upon him—unusual, and her lips slightly curled upward.

…

Inside the room.

Louis first glanced at the pile of incense ash, long since burned out; once removed from the altar, the ash gradually loses its power, but the longer it remains on the altar, the stronger its potency—worth storing.

Then he offered food to the Kitchen God, lit a stick of incense, watched the smoke curl upward, and locked the door from inside.

He sat cross-legged on the bed and began manipulating the Left Path Folk Canon with his consciousness.

The pages rustled open.

Watching the still-turning pages, Louis pondered.

He had possessed the Folk Canon for a long time, yet its manifestations were hardly a powerful lineage—merely folk customs.

But that didn’t mean it wasn’t powerful; he simply hadn’t yet touched its true core.

The Canon’s transmission was clearly progressive: unless he killed a stronger enemy, he could only learn step by step.

What had appeared so far were only the Earth Methods section of the Peripheral Chapters—the largest of all sections, encompassing five thousand years of folk practices and occult traditions, countless in number; at this rate, he might never finish learning even if he lived to old age.

So the remaining transmissions could never be unlocked?

Impossible.

The Left Path Lord would never design a transmission this way; moreover, these Earth Methods were utterly unworthy of being called a true lineage. Since he called himself Lord and sought to establish a sect and leave a legacy, he must have had his own core transmission.

That core likely lies in the Left Path Master Chapter, which has never been revealed.

Therefore,

The Earth Methods section serves as foundation and filter.

The other three sections are advanced training and trials.

The Left Path Master Chapter is His true legacy.

Though Louis now possessed the Left Path Folk Canon, he had not truly received the legacy—even the other three Peripheral Chapters: the Strange Arts, Thousand Thieves and Prostitutes, and Miao-Dai Poison Arts—remained locked.

He didn’t know how to unlock them, but combining all available information,

Two possibilities emerged: one, he must be a genius, rapidly mastering a large number of Earth Methods until reaching a threshold, unlocking the next chapter;

Two, he must take another path: experiment with what he’s learned, kill enemies, ascend step by step.

This was Louis’s guess—he felt it was nearly certain—and the second path was more likely, for from the beginning, He had said one could prove oneself by killing stronger enemies.

This might have been a direct hint.

“High demands. Hope it’s worth the cost.”

Louis’s eyes gleamed; he already had a plan for what to do next.

Following the slow, orderly path was impossible—he must take an unorthodox route. But he was still too young to act recklessly, so now he would lie low, learn as many Earth Methods as possible, strengthen himself, and gather information on such matters—like witch gatherings.

When he grew older, he could actively seek out these relatively powerful beings and hunt them, testing his knowledge and ascending step by step.

“If I still had gang support, I could advance faster.”

Sorcerers have always advanced faster by cooperating with secular powers—intelligence, force, and funding all help. Especially Louis’s own family was a significant force—an Italian mafia clan, valuing kinship, unity, and bold action; they could assist in countless ways, perfectly suited.

Unfortunately, he had been kidnapped.

And now he could hardly investigate—he still couldn’t figure out what had happened: internal betrayal or external attack?

“I hate being so small—everything’s inconvenient.”

Louis shook his head, knowing overthinking was useless; he forced himself calm and looked at the pages.

The pages had finished turning, revealing a new transmission—but at a single glance, Louis’s expression shifted slightly.

The three methods were: Rooster Head Exorcism, Adoptive Kinship, and Illusion Technique: Blade-Spitting Art.

(End of Chapter)