Fang Mo Dared to Teach, and Jonathan Dared to Learn

"You…"

Dio was instantly furious when he heard that.

Not only had this damned guy spoken in a mocking tone during the surgery, he had also caused him such excruciating pain and made him lose all dignity. And now he even dared bring up his scumbag father. How could Dio not be angry?

Dio clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles cracked, his nails even piercing his palms.

Yet despite being consumed by rage, Dio surprisingly chose to endure it rather than explode or fight the other man head-on.

The furious expression flashed across his face for only an instant before everything returned to calm.

Yes, this was precisely a little trick Dio had learned over years of struggling to survive. Whether he was dealing with gutter trash on the streets of the slums or his drunken, crazed father, as long as he put on a meek and obedient act, he could minimize every risk.

But…

Only Dio himself knew how badly he wanted to chop all these scum into minced meat.

He wanted to slaughter their entire families, watch them kneel before him and beg through tears, then smash their heads apart with a hammer and watch their eyeballs and brains burst out together.

Just imagining it made Dio feel incomparably exhilarated.

"Sir, I’m sorry for troubling you."

Dio lightly lowered his head toward Fang Mo, doing his best not to meet Fang Mo’s eyes. "Thank you for treating me. I’ll take care of those things now."

After saying that, he wrapped the white cloth around his waist, then struggled down from the operating table and silently began gathering his severed limbs.

Dio first removed the pants and shoes from his severed limbs and put them back on himself. He also wrapped his clothes around his waist to block the view before walking some distance away and picking up the bloody lump of flesh from the ground. He wrapped all the severed parts in white cloth. Throughout the process, his face was livid, uglier than if he had eaten shit, yet he endured it without a word.

In the end, George Joestar, watching from afar, could no longer bear it. He instructed his servants to help Dio, take the white cloth from his hands, and find somewhere to bury everything.

The disturbance soon came to an end.

George first ordered a servant to lock up the dog so it would not hurt anyone else, then led Dio into the mansion.

"Dio, what happened just now was my fault."

Perhaps feeling guilty, George Joestar looked at Dio with an apologetic expression. "I’ll find a way to deal with that dog. In any case…"

"Huh?"

Jonathan was taken aback when he heard that. "Father, Danny didn’t mean to…"

"Silence, JoJo!"

Before Jonathan could finish, George sternly rebuked him. "You are also responsible for allowing a guest to be hurt… We are gentlemen. We must lead by example. When we make mistakes, we must take responsibility for them!"

After saying that, George looked at Dio again.

"Welcome to my home, Dio. From today onward, we are family."

As George spoke, he turned toward the butler and servants behind him and gave them instructions. "Everyone, this Dio Brando is the son of the man who saved my life. You are to treat him as you would JoJo."

"Yes, Mr. Joestar."

No one questioned it. They all respectfully nodded.

"You needn’t be formal either, Dio." George Joestar said to him, "Just treat this place as your own home. There’s no need to be restrained. I’ll treat you as family. JoJo’s mother has passed away, and you two are the same age. You must get along well."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Joestar."

Dio gave a slight bow. But when he raised his head again, a frightened, helpless expression had appeared on his face. "Um, Mr. Joestar, perhaps this is impolite, but… but I’m truly terrified. I’m afraid that dog might next time…"

"Dio, don’t worry. It will never hurt you again."

George did not think much of it. He assumed Dio had simply been frightened by the bite. Anyone would be scared after something like that, so he directly said, "I’ll have someone send that dog far away from here. You needn’t worry, Dio. No one in this home will hurt you."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Joestar!"

Dio immediately leaned down and bowed.

And while his lowered head concealed his expression from everyone else, every trace of gratitude, respect, and excitement disappeared from Dio’s face, replaced by a sinister, pleased expression.

Dio: The plan worked!

"All right, Dio. No need to be so polite."

George did not suspect a thing. He even thought Dio was exceptionally well-mannered, smiling as he waved his hand. "Oh, right. There’s someone else I need to introduce to you. This is Mr. Steve. You must have noticed when he made a move to save you just now. Mr. Steve is a mysterious mage."

"So your name is Mr. Steve?"

Dio kept up the act quite well. Although he was filled with fury inside, he showed just the right amount of surprise on his face before gratefully saying, "Thank you for saving me just now, Mr. Steve."

"When this miracle doctor makes a move, he won’t stop until someone’s dead!"

Fang Mo said, waving a hand.

"Huh?"

Dio froze upon hearing that. Normally, shouldn’t this man accept his thanks or simply ignore him? What did that random sentence mean?

"Haha, Dio, don’t mind him. Mr. Steve likes making jokes."

George smiled at that. "He is actually very kind. Back then, it was your father and Mr. Steve who saved me together. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have survived to this day."

"Hm? It was him?"

Dio’s gaze suddenly changed.

He had heard his father mention this before. Apparently, someone had given him a huge piece of gold or something.

Honestly, that much money would have been enough for their family to live on for most of their lives. Yet his damned father had developed a gambling habit and lost the entire family fortune. Even his mother had died young after being worn down by hardship and illness.

At that thought, Dio clenched his fists even tighter.

Even he could not tell whether he hated his father, the man before him, or perhaps some vague, intangible fate. In any case, he felt utterly miserable and furious.

"Your father never mentioned me to you?"

Fang Mo glanced at Dio. The other boy was still just a child. No matter how deep his scheming was, he could not possibly outplay Fang Mo. Fang Mo could roughly guess what he was thinking simply from his expression. "It’s strange, though. I clearly told him back then that we were friends, and if any family member got sick, he could come find me. But when your mother died of illness… he apparently never came to me at all."

When Dio heard that, his fists tightened again.

At the same time, Jonathan, standing nearby, also felt very conflicted.

To be honest, he was still somewhat bothered by Dio’s earlier actions. Dio had been the one to kick Danny first, but Jonathan also knew that Danny had gone too far this time. The dog had nearly bitten Dio to death. It was only reasonable for his father to send Danny away, yet Jonathan still felt uncomfortable when he thought about it.

But since they would be living together from now on, Jonathan could only sigh helplessly. He blamed himself for being so petty. He should become friends with Dio as soon as possible.

Perhaps things would get much better that way?

But just then, George’s voice rang out again, drawing Jonathan’s attention away.

"Oh, right, Dio."

George said, "Mr. Steve is currently planning to take on disciples. I want JoJo to learn magic from him. Are you interested? If you’re interested in magic as well, you can study magic under Mr. Steve together with JoJo."

"I… am very interested."

Dio hesitated, but thinking of the other man’s strange and unfathomable abilities, he ultimately could not help being tempted. "Thank you, Mr. Joestar, and Mr. Steve… no, Teacher Steve. Please guide me from now on."

"Come with me, Dio."

Joestar smiled. He rather liked this child Dio, who seemed clever and sensible. "I’ll show you your room."

"Ah, you all talk first."

Seeing this, Fang Mo prepared to leave immediately. "I’ve got alchemy potions simmering at home, so I need to get back and watch them. JoJo, Dio, remember to come find me at my house tomorrow morning."

"Got it, Master."

Jonathan quickly nodded.

"I understand too, Mas… ter." Dio followed suit, then bowed toward Fang Mo’s retreating back.

Fang Mo did not look back. He simply pushed open the door and left.

As for the other butlers and servants, they also scattered to attend to their own work.

Once everyone had left, Dio finally let out a long breath. He then headed upstairs, and Jonathan intended to follow. But from the corner of his eye, he noticed Dio’s suitcase. Since he wanted to become friends with him, he thought he might as well carry it upstairs for him.

So Jonathan reached for the suitcase.

But the next second, another hand suddenly slapped around his wrist. Jonathan had no idea what technique Dio used, but his joint was locked in agonizing pain, and he could not help crying out.

"Don’t touch my bag so casually."

With everyone gone, Dio finally revealed his true nature. He glared viciously at Jonathan. "You idiot, remember this. Never touch my things with your filthy hands!"

"I only wanted to help you carry your luggage…"

Jonathan tried to explain, but Dio suddenly lashed out.

As if he wanted to vent all the anger and resentment built up inside him, Dio tightly gripped Jonathan’s wrist with one hand, twisted his body, and drove an elbow violently into Jonathan’s chest. Jonathan felt a sharp pain in his chest, his vision went dark, and he instinctively collapsed onto the floor.

And that was not all.

Dio grabbed Jonathan by the collar with one hand, looking down at him as he said, "Remember this, Jonathan! What that filthy dog did to me… I will never forgive you so easily! Don’t think that just because I’m living in your home, you can put on airs before me. I won’t let you show off in front of me!"

"I only wanted to get along with you."

Jonathan clutched his chest and spoke with difficulty. "Besides, weren’t you the one who kicked Danny first?"

"Because I, Dio, hate dogs!" Dio snarled. "It isn’t because I’m afraid of them… It’s because seeing dogs wag their tails and grovel before humans makes me sick enough to vomit!"

"You…"

Jonathan stared at Dio’s frightening expression and was about to speak when he suddenly remembered what Fang Mo had taught him. It seemed he was supposed to mention Dio’s mother. That would comfort him, then he could try to befriend him.

"Your mother must have died, so your father must have been very sad too, right?"

Thinking that, Jonathan hurriedly said those words.

"What!?"

Dio was stunned at first. Then his rage instantly surged skyward, nearly swallowing up his reason entirely. His handsome face twisted into something terrifying. "You… you lowly thing, as vile as frog piss, you dare… you dare mention my mother!?"

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

Fang Mo had already returned to his villa through teleportation.

The room was quiet and filled with a faint, pleasant fragrance. Since they had indeed stayed up rather late last night, A Xue was still resting in the bedroom.

Fang Mo quietly opened the door and took a look. Sunlight shone through the window onto A Xue’s bare shoulders and arms, covering her already snow-white skin in a faint golden sheen and giving her an almost holy aura.

Without waking her, Fang Mo quietly closed the door again.

After making himself another cup of ginger tea, Fang Mo paced outside the villa.

The Ender Dragon was currently sprawled on the grass, sleeping soundly. Perhaps it had reached the stage of rapid growth. These days, it was either sleeping or eating, and its body was growing larger by the day.

Fang Mo leaned against the Ender Dragon and sat down.

He drank ginger tea while thinking about what to do next.

JOJO’s entire storyline was extremely long, spanning more than a century.

At the point in time Fang Mo had arrived, Dio and Big Joe had only just met. By the time the story of Phantom Blood began, both of them would already be adults.

In other words, Fang Mo still felt that the current timeline was a little too early.

It might seem as though a great deal had already happened, but in reality, everything so far would not even make up half an episode of the anime.

But this time, Fang Mo did not plan to return, because he had indeed come up with a few new ideas.

As the most iconic villain in JOJO, Dio Brando was naturally an unforgettable character. According to the setting, he was evil from birth, with vile blood flowing through his bones and a dark will nurtured within his heart.

But Fang Mo was genuinely curious.

Dio was only twelve years old now. Could his sense of good and evil truly not be changed?

He had not yet put on the Stone Mask, nor had he started treating humans like little loaves of bread. So Fang Mo wanted to try and see whether he could change what was in this guy’s heart.

Before that, however, he needed to alter the surrounding environment.

After all, he would be living here for the long term, and he also planned to teach JoJo and Dio magic. There was no such thing as magic in this world. While Fang Mo feared neither heaven nor earth, he truly hated being surrounded by Muggles every day, watching the excitement. So the terrain around here definitely had to be changed to keep ordinary people from entering.

Fang Mo pressed one hand against the ground.

Twilight Thorn and the Arcane Ring activated, and the entire mountain range began to quake in an instant.