William hadn’t really given much thought to the issue of how he should be addressed. 𝐞𝗼𝘃𝐞𝐥．𝗰𝐨𝗺
“Just call me whatever you want,” William said. “You can use my name directly. You can say you opened a bookstore and ask my friend if she wants to work in your store.”
Bars tend to have a somewhat chaotic or unsafe atmosphere. William didn’t really mind it, but Evelyn was a girl, after all. Working in such an environment, she might inevitably encounter some problems.
Maria was definitely a loyal friend, but what if she encountered people who even she couldn’t handle?
Alice suddenly had a realization. She asked, “Did you open the bookstore for your friend?”
“Not really,” William replied. “It was just a thought that occurred to me. If you come over tomorrow, you can come as my friend and ask me during the meal if I need a job in your bookstore.”
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Pretending to be unemployed when he’s actually the big boss.
“I get it!” Alice chuckled. “Leave this to me.”
William gave her a skeptical glance. What did she get?
“If there’s nothing else, you can go now,” William said, waving his hand dismissively. He needed Alice to handle the shop’s affairs, but he just wanted to be alone for a while to deal with some unfinished business regarding the Taylor family. The things the Taylor family had done on Mount San Juan Teotihuacan were not easy to deal with.
He had some affection for the servants of the Taylor family from years ago, but what the descendants of the Taylor family had done on Mount San Juan Teotihuacan was not something that could be easily resolved.
Alice couldn’t help but sigh. Her mentor only called her when he needed help and shooed her away when he didn’t. Even for the meal tomorrow, if she hadn’t shamelessly asked to join, William wouldn’t have planned to have her there.
After they parted ways, Alice went straight home. She still hadn’t finished reading Celsus’s two medical volumes. If it weren’t for William telling her to go to Chelsea Flea Market, why would she run around everywhere?
As for setting up the store, she would leave that to the other members of her family.
After taking a leisurely stroll on the streets, William appeared in the private estate of the Taylor family.
The Taylor family’s private estate was located in Hurst, north of New York City. The estate was heavily guarded. The Taylor family had quite a few Soulmancers, but William could come and go as he pleased.
A few days ago on Mount San Juan Teotihuacan, the Taylor family’s descendant, David Taylor, had said that his grandfather was already dead. But William knew that he was very much alive.
If it were just Taylor family descendants acting on their own and forcing Timothy Hill on Mount San Juan Teotihuacan, and if David Taylor had really died, William could have ignored it. But since David Taylor’s grandfather was still alive, the situation was different.
James Taylor, the old Mr. Taylor, was sitting in the courtyard, a cold cup of tea in front of him, and a tall bodyguard standing behind him.
As William entered the yard, the bodyguard behind James Taylor shouted, “Who’s there?”
Suddenly, seven or eight Soulmancers rushed out from outside the courtyard.
James Taylor lifted his eyes and looked at William, his voice hoarse with emotion, “Sir, you’re still so young!”
William approached James Taylor as if he were taking a leisurely walk in his own garden.
“Stop!” The bodyguard by James Taylor’s side threatened, pointing at William. “Take one more step forward, and I guarantee you’ll die a gruesome death.”
“Ha!”
William took a step forward, and the bodyguard turned into a mist of blood, dissipating in the air.
Such arrogance from a mere low-level Soulmancer!
James Taylor’s face turned pale. He knew that William was a Soulmancer but had no idea about William’s actual level.
It was true that only high-level Soulmancers could rejuvenate, but that didn’t rule out the possibility of William altering his appearance through cosmetic surgery.
And even if William were a high-level Soulmancer, he couldn’t harm him now!
“Your grandson said you were dead,” William said, taking another two steps forward. Those who had rushed out from the shadows no longer dared to approach.
William didn’t do anything, and yet a competent beginner-level Soulmancer was annihilated. Such a being was not something they could handle.
James Taylor gritted his teeth and said, “William, it’s been fifty years. I have no connection with you anymore!”
“Is that so?” William took two steps forward, suddenly stopped, and laughed, “Are you so afraid of me? You even hired an advanced Soulmancer, and have been waiting for me for a long time?”
As soon as William finished speaking, several afterimages flashed, and a middle-aged man wearing a mage’s robe appeared in front of James Taylor. This was the advanced Soulmancer he mentioned.
“Young man, why are you tormenting an old man?” The middle-aged man looked at William and said coldly, “Mr. Taylor is a friend of our Arcane Society. Stop bothering him, and please give me some face.”
“Arcane Society?” William raised an eyebrow and said, “Even the great mage Merlin wouldn’t ask me for this favor, so why should you?”
“How dare you, insolent fool!”
The middle-aged man muttered a spell, made a specific hand gesture, and a magic circle appeared in mid-air. As the magic circle glowed, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky.
“Boom!”
The thunderous roar was deafening, and the purple lightning, seemingly heading for William, suddenly changed direction and struck the middle-aged mage.
“How… how is this possible?”
The middle-aged man, named Nelson, had just become an advanced Soulmancer. In the Soulmancer circle, there were many rules, and as a powerful member of the Arcane Society, he naturally had to protect these rules.
A few days ago, James Taylor had come to him, claiming that a high-level Soulmancer wanted to kill him. Nelson naturally wouldn’t allow this to happen and had stayed with the Taylor family.
He had just unleashed a lightning spell, which could easily counter advanced Soulmancers. But in front of William, it was not only ineffective but also turned back on him.
Throughout the process, William didn’t seem to use any magic.
“Little magician! You have quite some nerve! Stop now.”
A voice suddenly echoed in Nelson’s mind.
“Merlin?”
Nelson felt as if he saw an even more powerful mage in his subconscious. It was the figure of a mage, wearing a deep blue robe, a pointed hat, with long white beard, and sharp, deep eyes. He held a gem-studded wand, with a mysterious mist swirling behind him. Nelson’s heart was filled with awe and amazement. It seemed as though he was seeing the famous archmage Merlin.
“Do you know who you’re fighting? Even I would show reverence to the man before you!” Merlin’s voice rang in Nelson’s ear, shocking him so much that he collapsed in front of William.
William’s eyes narrowed slightly, detecting Merlin’s spiritual presence. But it had nothing to do with him. Those gods and demons he had wiped out with a single strike still had consciousness in this world. They existed in another dimension and occasionally infused their consciousness into the minds of special individuals. It wasn’t a big deal.
Nelson didn’t dare to make another move, and with his body collapsed, said to William, “Sir! I was too reckless. Please scold me as you see fit.”
James Taylor’s eyes nearly bulged out. They had just started fighting, and already Nelson had admitted defeat and asked for a reprimand?
William waved his hand, “Take them and go. This matter has nothing to do with you.”