"Juewang, why are you following me ...?"
When Dian Xianli entered his mother courtyard, the maid Dian Juewang was already following him.
"It's my duty to be by your side as your maid, Young Master."
"That shouldn't be the reason-"
But before Dian Xianli finished his word, Dian Juewang asked a question.
"Last night, how was it?" the cold emotionless voice of hers down a few degrees than usual.
Dian Xianli got a goosebump when he heard that.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm the one who cleaned up the mess in your bedroom. As it will help me, please do it with consideration next time Young Master wants to play around." although she said it with a respectful tone, her voice was sub-zero.
"Why it is you who cleaned up my room?"
"Why Young Master asks? Of course, it's because today is my turn. Does Young Master think I want to clean your room if not because of that? But to think you would leave a blanket and bed soaked with unknown liquid for me to take care, Young Master sure know how to humor this servant."
"Wait a minute, I thought you are mom's chambermaid or something ..."
"Apparently I'm also your maid."
"... well, it's your job. Naturally, you have to do it."
"That's also not wrong ..., but, please the stench just unbearable for me." her tone turned corny.
Dian Xianli furrowed his brow hearing this. It was just a bizarre thing for him to see a maid complaining about her job to her master. And saying how smelly his bodily fluids was, it was too much of an insult. Although he did not deny that it did smell.
Thus, he said in a slightly unpleasant voice, "If you don't want to do it, then why don't you ask for other maids to take your job? It's not like the maidservant in this manor is just you, right?"
"I-, no it's not like that. This servant terribly sorry for her words, Young Master. Please let me be your maid for today." Dian Juewang bowed her head with sweats drenched her forehead.
Actually she was just grumbling because of her cleaning duty too much than usual. Dian Xianli's bedroom after sex was just too much of a mess. And because she thought that Dian Xianli was trying to get close to her yesterday by inviting her to talk, she just unhappy with this treatment.
She thought that her Young Master would surely try to woo her and invite her to bed, later on. It wasn't a new thing for the maids in this manor to serve the Young Master, anyway. But to think she would clean up her Young Master room after he did the deed with another girl, it made her maiden heart frustrated.
So basically, Dian Juewang just feeling jealous. But she forgot her social standing and shown this spiky behavior to him.
Dian Xianli decided to forgo the matter and let her do her things. He was not in the mood to talk with her anyway.
"Y-young Master Xianli ...,"
"Young Master."
In front of Liu Beiwei's room, there were Kang Rumeng and Hei Shujiao. Dian Xianli greeted them.
"Stepmother Kang, stepmother Hei ... is mom inside?"
"Ee ..., she's inside." Kang Rumeng nodded.
"Does Young Master want to see her? I think it would be better if you don't see her now."
Dian Xianli puzzled after hearing Hei Shujiao's word. The other six stepmothers asked for him to visit his mother, but she said to not see her.
"Why ...?"
Kang Rumeng placed her hand on her cheek and said, "the thing is ..., right now, she's a bit problematic."
Hei Shujiao also creased her brows with a worried face, "it's more distressing than the last time, she doesn't stop crying since last night."
"Huh, crying? My mom's?"
It was as if he heard something unusual for the first time. Dian Xianli's image about his mother was a cunning, scheming and capable woman. But crying, that was some impossible thing for her to do. He couldn't imagine her mother did that.
"It's true Young Master Xianli ..., it's also my first time seeing Lady Liu like this."
"Ee ..., I also don't know why would she cried. After the diner, she went back to her room. And she just weeping on her quilt. We've tried to ask her what's going on, but she doesn't want to answer."
'Troublesome ...' Dian Xianli thought.
Just what happened with the strong capable mother image of hers? Did she get angry because he didn't want to follow her advice? But if it was like that, then she should be on rampage right?
"Just let me in and I'll talk it with her ...,"
Hei Shujiao and Kang Rumeng exchanged glances and nodded slightly.
"... if Young Master said so."
"I'll knock the door for you, Young Master Xianli."
Kang Rumeng walked to Liu Beiwei's door and knocked it unhurriedly.
"Lady Liu ..., it's Young Master, he wants to see you."
She waited for Liu Beiwei's answer. However, not even a sound could be heard from inside. Kang Rumeng then opened the unlocked door.
"It's not locked Young Master, you may enter."
Dian Xianli entered the room. The curtain and windows weren't opened so the room was dark even though it was already bright. Dian Xianli saw a devastating figure of his mother on the bed. Laying down hugging a pillow and weeping.
There is only a piece of pajamas on her body. Her clothes were still in a mess because she hasn't got up yet. He saw some underwear scattered about on the floor and bed, but right now Xianli couldn't think of an indecent thing because he was in sage mode.
"I told you to don't bother me! Uuu ..." she said in a helpless weak voice. Not bothering to look at the other party.
'She sure is crying like a little girl ...'
It was the first time for Dian Xianli to see such a helpless side of his mother. Since childhood, he always felt that his mother was someone great. If he had something he wanted, as long as he told his mother, surely it would come true. He knew that his mother had spoiled him too much.
"Why are you still here? Get out!" the question was asked in a tired voice, but the later was a loud shout.
"Mom ..."
"Ugh." Liu Beiwei choked by her breath, she turned her head to see her son standing with a helpless smile, "... son?"
There were dark eye bags and remnants of tears on her cheeks. Her hair was deranged and some stuck on her forehead. She stared her son with a dumbstruck expression.
A short pause before she realized that she looked pathetic at the moment.
She hid in the quilt and shouted. "Why is it you!? Mommy doesn't want to see you right now! Don't look at me!"
Behind the blanket, she desperately wiped tears from her cheeks and face.
'Ahhh ..., so embarrassing.' she thought in her heart.
"Ehh ..., why? I thought you want to see me?"
"No! Don't! Mom hasn't taken a bath! Don't come!"
"Don't worry about that mom, and why you seem so flustered about it? It's not like I mind whether you've taken bath or not."
"But mommy does mind!"
Another strange pause. Dian Xianli walked and sat down on the bedside. Watching the woman who was his mother with a mischievous smile. It was a strange and new sight for him to see his mom like this.
"I heard mom hasn't eaten your breakfast ... does mom want something? I'll go grab it for you."
"No, I'm not hungr-"
Grurrrruuu ...
Before she could finish her words, her stomach went borborygmus.
'What bad timing, this little tummy!' she thought with her whole face redden.
Dian Xianli tried to hold back from laughing, but he eventually let out a small chuckle that invited a kick from her mother's long beautiful legs. Fortunately, her kick was not strong or less he would be in severe condition.
The white silk blanket writhing slightly. Her mother's little head appeared from inside. She averted her eyes from her son, her earlobe reddened.
"... fruits. Mommy wants some fruits."
"Alright then ...,"
Dian Xianli rose from his seat and was about to go to the main kitchen, but he remembered something.
'There's something like fruits from the Resource Card, right?' he thought.
He shut down his card system because of that useless A.I. was becoming more annoying after the upgrade. He was planning to switch her off for three hours. But because he needed her right now, he reluctantly turned on the system.
[..., where is this?]
'It's time to work, Catherine.'
[... Goshujin-sama? Am I back in the world of the living?]
'Enough with the useless question. And call me 'Host', like how you used to call when you still a normal A.I. Open the Card Deck!'
[Goshu- I mean Host, I'll do it ..., I will do everything Host said. But please, don't shut me down again! I'll be obedient ..., so please!]
Strangely, the annoying chatterbox A.I. became very obedient. And her voice was trembling. Was total shut-down really that scary?
'Hmph, your actions dictate the consequences. If you don't want the second time, then don't oppose me, the User!'
[Y-es, yes, host ..., this system will obediently comply with you without question.]
'So you can obey ..., make a deck and put all the Resource Cards sub-categories of fruits and herbs.'
The Resource Card of these two sub-categories were not that many. Only about twelve cards.
[Processing ..., Host, there are also these sub-categories in the Effect Card. Does Host want to include these cards?]
'Is it edible?'
[Of course.]
'Include that. And enter Summoning Mode with this deck ...'
[Entering Summoning mode.]
[Starting Hand]
King of Jack-o-Lantern (2 VC or 1 PC)
[P|C|R]
Consume it and gain the minuscule strength of the King of Fear.
Burning Berries (2 VC or 1 RC)
[R|C|R]
Gain a small amount of fire mana if consumed by Red Creature.
Blue Heart Lotus Flower (3 VC or 2 BC)
[B|R|F]
Add +2 Blue Soul upon materialize and add +1 for every turn.
Dresdent Peach (2 VC or 1 GC)
[G|C|R]
The only edible fruit found in the Dresdent Valley. Consume it to gain green mana.
Foxtail Millet (2 VC)
[V|C|R]
A staple food of some certain place. Need to be processed before eating. Gain Void Mana.
Water Bamboo Shot (2 VC or 1 BC)
[B|C|R]
Eat it raw, or cook it to gain Blue Mana.
Vanili Fragrant Herb (2 VC or 1 WC)
[W|C|R]
Used as crafting material(cooking) or as a perfume.
Dian Xianli took the [Dresdent Peach(G)] Resource Card and materialize it. A pinkish-green peach fruit materialized on his hand. The fruit looked so fresh and made anyone who saw it drool.
'Well ..., this will do, I guess.'
He returned to his mother's room and when he returned, his mother was dressed properly. She was in the middle of tying her long raven hair into a bun.
Dian Xianli put the green peach on the dresser, "here's the fruit mom ..., it's not from the kitchen but you will like it."
"Okay~ ..., huh?" she replied nonchalantly, however, when she looked at the fruit, she got another shock.
Glancing at her son from the reflection in the dresser mirror who was smiling for some reason, Liu Beiwei felt something was off. There was nothing special with peach-like fruit if you look at it for a moment. But, when examined closely, this fruit contained a very rich Wood Qi.
It was something rare in this cultivation world. Any material, fruits, herbs, or any edible thing that contains Qi in it would be referred to as Spirit Ingredient. And just like the Demonic Beast or Artifact, there was a rank that divided it based on how much Qi it contains.
Liu Beiwei as a lady who was raised in the noble household had also eaten fruit like this before. But it was the first time for her to saw such fruit that contains Qi at least six times from that Rank 6 Spirit Ingredient.
"Son, where did you get this ..., heih nevermind that." she already knew the answer even if she didn't ask.
Probably this fruit was from her pampered son's unique ability. She couldn't believe it that her son would be a chosen one with a Unique Ability, but the truth was more than she thinks.
She decided to not mind about it and ate the fruit joyfully. It was juicy and sweet. The most important thing was, it contained a rich amount of Wood Qi which was of the same element as her elemental root. Eating this fruit would greatly enhance her cultivation.
Liu Beiwei's mood was lifted because of the fruit. She even licked her fingers from the juice. She smiled sheepishly afterward because her son was still behind.
Liu Beiwei turned to look at her son and said. "Thank you, son, it's delicious."
"No need for that, if you want it I can give it to you whenever you want."
There were no women who could resist the sweets and confectionery. It didn't matter in which world, women were weak in front of such irresistible temptation. Hearing that, Liu Beiwei triggered.
"Oh, really? Then I want-"
"But not now, I can't give it to you now." Xianli cut her before she got the chance to ask for more.
He really needed to save the crystal. Even one crystal was precious.
"Too bad ...," she looked down.
Xianli then asked her what made her like this. She wasn't someone like this, so what happened with her to become like this?
"..., then, mom, can you tell me what happened? Why are you crying since the last night?"
"I ..., mommy doesn't know, son. I feel anxious about something. Like I know something happened but don't know what it is. I just got saddened by it and cannot go to sleep."
'So she feels it too ...?' Dian Xianli looked at his mother, Liu Beiwei, with a knowing glint.
Last night he also felt the same thing as her. He couldn't fell asleep because he thought about his father. He felt something might be happening with him.
He tried to divert his restlessness by busying himself in the map drawing. And because of Arianne's sudden intrusion, he then could fell into the dream world after some hours of exercise.
It was not his first time feeling something like this. Before, in the morning when he was assassinated on the Earth, he also got this kind of feeling. Strange anxiety that came out of nowhere.
Most of it was right, but some were a false alarm. He couldn't make himself believe in superstition thing like this. But when two individual who was connected by blood feels the same thing, then something must be happening with what connected both of them.
"Did mom also thinks about father?"
"?!?" Liu Beiwei's eyes widened, she then put her hand on her chin, muttering, "I see ..., something might happen with him. This is not the first time it happens, the last time I got this feeling was when he brought back concubine Li. Is it because he found a new woman? No, when the thing comes to this, does he has the time to play around with woman? But true, it could happen because none of us accompany him."
Dian Xianli couldn't hear his mother's muttering. Yet, he could sense the grim atmosphere around her.
So his conjecture probably right. However, he felt a great guilty feeling because of it. When the family was in a crisis, his mother feeling anxious, and his father's whereabouts unknown, he had the time to f*ck a woman?
Of course, it was not his own initiative to enjoy the activity. It was Arianne's invitation. But he greatly enjoyed it, he forgot the land and ocean when he pounded her inside.
What a jerk of a son he is. To enjoy and think about himself despite in precarious situation. He tried to be filial to his parents in this world, but the first day after he reincarnated and he was drowned in pleasure. Truly a waste of a son.
"We need to send people to help your fath-" said Liu Beiwei.
Her expression crumpled before she could finish her word. The only thing lacking on the manor right now was manpower. There was no Head Warrior beside butler Luze, and he already departed to Xianjing City. Sending an Intermediate Warrior would only drag her husband.
There was also the old Withornian that her son 'summoned'. Liu Beiwei estimated that he had the power of a peak Ksatria. But would he do such a thing for her?
No, in the first place it was strange for a man with a strength of a Ksatria like him to follow the word of a weakling like her son.
"Son ..., could you send the old man in blue armor to search for your father?"
Hearing his mother's question, Dian Xianli woke back from his lamentation.
"Allescar ...?"
"Yes, him, could you?"
"I can ..., but ...," he planned to do some summoning before sending a rescue team.
But, right now his crystals still insufficient to summon all of his character Creature Cards.
Dian Xianli shook his head and stopped thinking about useless things. There was no need to summon all of them in the first place.
"Okay, I'll send him."
"Really, son?"
"Yeah ..., so don't worry about it."
"Oh! You're the best, son! Come here, let mommy hugs you!"
Dian Xianli helplessly drowned into his mother's embrace. Still clearheaded and think about what would he do next.
***
Dian Xianli got back in his courtyard. After convincing his mother with the matter he started to brew a plan for the next summoning.
"Catherine ..., tell me your new function."
[Understood ..., there are three major functions added in the system. The first is the Cultivation window on your Status. Here, please take a look.]
----
Status Data
----
Name: Dian Xianli
Race: Human - Jiang
Gender: Male
Age: 14
----
Class: None
Level: 5
Alias: None
Faction: None
----
Health: 191/191
Magic: 6/225
Stamina: 61/172
----
Attack: 16
Defense: 21 (+4)
Magic Attack: 25
Magic Defense: 20
----
Attack Speed: 8
Evasion Rate: 18%
Critical Hit Rate: 8%
Critical Hit Damage: 156%
----
Strength: 7
Dexterity: 7 (+1)
Constitution: 9
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 10
Perception: 9
Additional Point: 0
----
Charisma: 9
Luck: 2
----
Cultivation
Stage:1
Level: 5
Talent: 2
Technique
[1] Twelve Meridian Opening Secret Method
Type: Qi Method
Completion: 3/12
Rank: Human-rank 2nd Rate
Effect: +Physical(STR, CON, DEX)
[2] Praying Mantis Sword Style
Type: Battle Technique
Completion: 1/23
Rank: Human-rank 3rd Rate
Effect: +Sword Skill, +Sword Damage
[2] Dream Bird Archery
Type: Battle Technique
Completion: 2/16
Rank: Human-rank 3rd Rate
Effect: +Bow Skill, +Arrow Damage
----
Skill:
- Logic
[Passive] Level 3 (24%)
- Mental Arithmetic
[Passive] Level 3 (39%)
- Speechcraft
[Passive] Level 2 (2%)
- Negotiation
[Passive] Level 5 (88%)
- Sex Technique
[Passive ]Level 3 (31%)
- Meditation
[Active] Level 1 (11%)
- Empty Fist
[Martial Arts] Level 4 (22%)
- Swordsmanship
[Weapon Mastery] Level 1 (1%)
- Archery
[Weapon Mastery] Level 2 (13%)
- Horse Riding
[Passive] Level 2 (4%)
Skill Point: 2
----
Equipment:
- Head: None
- Outer: Blue Silk Robe - DEF +2
- Inner: None
- Hand: None
- Main: None
- Secondary: None
- Bottom: Silk pants - DEF +2
- Leg: Comfortable Footwear - DEX +1
- Accessories:
1: None
2: None
3: None
4: None
5: None
----
[That's the new Status Data. I added it so Host can monitor the change in your body easily. This is one new feature that I added. Does Host want me to continue with the next feature or Host needs some explanation?]
"Explain to me how the effect of the cultivation technique. There's plus sign on physical and in the bracket, there are Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity ..., is that means I can enhance my stat by cultivating this technique?"
[Yes, it as Host said so. Every time Host cultivates the technique it will change your body. Well then, for the sake of explaining things more efficiently. Let me show you the formula derived from all of these cultivation methods.]
[Method Name]
=((MethodRank%) x (Completion/Complete Layer) x Stage x TalentRank% x Level) x (External Factor)
"Hmmm ..., percentage?"
Dian Xianli furrowed his brow seeing the formula shown in front of him.
[Yes, it turns out that the effectiveness of the Cultivation Method depends on the quality of the technique and the quality of the user. Starting from the lowest Method Rank, Human-rank 3rd Rate the effectiveness is 10%, it went up by ten percent to the highest Heaven-rank 1st Rate with 90% effectiveness. As for the user quality, it is set with Rank 1 Talent as 30% and went up by 6% for every rank. Rank 12 Talent will have the effectiveness of 96%. For more details, please see an example of one of these methods.]
[Twelve Meridian Opening Secret Method]
=(20% x (3/12) x 1 x 36% x 5) x (External Factor)
=(0,2 x 0,25 x 1 x 0,36 x 5) x (External Factor)
=(0,09) x (External Factor)
"Meager change ..., I can gain this increase in stats every time I cultivate? And explain the external factor!"
[Yes, Host can get this stat amount every 1 day of meditation. As for the external factor, it depends on the environment, the richness of qi, the pureness, the element type. If Host cultivates in a correct environment, it will bring numerous benefits. However, if Host cultivates in a place with contradictory qi, it could lead to the dangerous cultivation berserk.]
"But the change is just too little, 0,09 for a day is just ... not worth the time. So I can get one stats point for every ..., 11 days of meditation? Really? Is there any sane man who is willing to do that? How about changing the cultivation technique?"
[Of course, Host can do that. I suggest Host to immediately learn a better cultivation method. A Human-rank 2nd rate for Host is just too crappy.]
"Last time, you have finished compiling all of the cultivation methods in the library right? Give me one ..."
[Yes, actually this is the second upgrade. I compiled all of the Cultivation Method and then from these methods the core processing section derived around three hundred methods by combining the said method with books and literature from the world of Myscreat. The results turn out better than I expected, I got some Earth-rank 2nd Rate from this derivation.]
Deriving other methods from the crappy Human-rank method? And resulting in a higher rank method too? What a great system she is!? Even his family never got a hand of earth-rank cultivation method.
"Ohhh ..., really? Then show me one, let me learn it!" he enthusiastically said.
However, the A.I. shoved him a cold ice bucket.
[But Host, even if I gave it to you ..., can you even learn it?]
An uncomfortable silence., the A.I. voice really hit him hard.
"I can't ...?"
[Apparently the requirement for learning a Cultivation Method is trickier than Skill or Magic Book. It's based on people's talent and affinity. A Talent Rank - 2 like Host could learn Method of Human-rank efficiently up to 2nd Rate. It is not impossible to learn Human-rank 1st Rate, but it would be difficult. As for Talent Rank - 3, they could learn the Human-rank 1st Rate method, but impossible to learn Earth Rank Methods. I can't conclude with a hundred percent sureness for the higher rank talent. However from my calculation, a Talent Rank - 6 could learn up to Earth-rank 2nd Rate.]
Dian Xianli forgets that he was from some trash-talent. He couldn't learn it even after all of this? Even if he got the help of this system, he couldn't reach the peak of cultivation by cultivating. He felt as if the world rejected his very being.
Unbearable sadness wiped his heart, it was very pathetic for him to think about this weakness. He got a unique strength, the card system. But he was still unable to reach the top and became the strongest with his trash talent.
Talent, that was what makes the original soul of Dian Xianli felt inferior to himself. He felt that he who had Talent Rank 2 embarrassed his parents, his father.
Dian Xianli then started playing with women because she heard that by doing these activities she was able to make women pregnant. And being pregnant means he will have children. He hopes that his child, or grandson of his father, will have better talent than him and become his father's successor.
A superficial and childish goal, but that was the way Dian Xianli used to think. He had given up on cultivation and prioritizes on reproduction.
'So in the end ..., I'm hopeless. Even if I got a system, this whole talent thing ruined everything.'
Talent, it was something that couldn't be bought by money. Even if he had a mountain of gold, there was no medicine to raise one talent. It was predetermined by heaven the moment a baby was born.
Thinking up to this, Dian Xianli felt very broken-hearted. It was as if the whole world rejected his very being, and it was more painful than getting rejected by his crush.