"This servant will surely handle it. But as for Min Hong…" The West Head knowingly left the rest unsaid.
"Don't bother him for a while. He's just a chess piece. As long as he doesn't jump off the chessboard; even if his patron jumps into the fray, he still won't be able to escape his fate." Added the Fourth Bearer with an assured smile.
His current status however, is something we must be sensitive about. Get your son to temporarily back off... That reminds me; how are your son's injuries?" The fourth bearer asked in afterthoughts.
"Thank you for your concern fourth bearer. After a few hours recuperation, he's already out of the woods." West Head Shen replied with a thankful cup of his hands.
Although Shen Li's injuries had appeared frightening when they had stretched him back to his estate, his inner injuries however, hadn't been too severe. After all, if Min Hong's potion was far purer and better than most of the pills in circulation around the tribe.
Thus, after a short time of recuperation and a steep expense worth hundreds of thousands of gold, he was already able to get up and walk. So, other than being temporarily unable to fight anyone else, his health as basically free of any serious concern.
"Hm, that's good then. Go back and remember what I said. Watch them closely, and as soon as anything strange happens, report it to me instantly."
"Yes master; your servant is excused."
After West Head Shen left, the fourth bearer walked over to his window; staring out into the pitch darkness, with a plotty smile plastered on his face.
"The dark curtains of the night can only stay hung until the sun awakens from its slumber. Min Tian, are you going to sneak in whilst the curtain is still hung, or will you arrive with the dawn of the morning."
The next day's morning, when the people of the Min household opened the great gates to find the gates entirely refurbished and the floor completely retiled, flabbergasting them to no end.
What they didn't know was that the elite warriors of the West Grand Family previously only dug out the tiles that had blood stains on them and those that had been crushed during the fight.
However, the warrior who West Head Shen had cursed before leaving suddenly noticed that the ground was uneven; after all, the old ones had been trodden upon for much longer than the new ones they just laid in, thus he had ordered that estate's outer environment be completely retiled.
Min Hong smiled mockingly when he saw this. Those childish men would bully the weak and only fear the strong. Now they would be more well-behaved!
The first thing Min Hong did after getting out of bed was to go see his mother. When she awoke, it was as if everything that had happened yesterday had been just a dream.
"Hong'er, what happened yesterday?" Although she could see Min Hong right in front of her, standing there, perfectly fine, her nerves still didn't relax for a single moment.
"Mom, your son has already grown up and become a true man; just like father, I can also shield this family from stormy winds and rain." Min Hong held his mother's hands as he solemnly reassured.
Min Hong had long since examined his mother's body, the last time he spent some time with her; that day, he discovered that, despite her good spirit root, her meridians had simply been too short, and as a result, she was bound to remain a mortal for the rest of her life.
Thus, the best thing he could do was to keep her in the dark about the things surrounding his father's strange actions, and his past bullying. The fewer she knew the safer it would be; after all, even he had yet to figure out who it was that was manipulating things from the shadows.
Furthermore, the lady was now in her mid-thirties, and asides the fact that the Jade Primal Dragon Body was a yang technique with masculine orientations, there's also the fact that her body might not be able to handle the overbearing nature of the energy within the Phoenix Rebirth baths.
No matter how long or hard he thought about it, he simply didn't have the ability to elongate something that was naturally short.
It might have been different if there was something wrong with it; at least, that way, he could dig deep into Shrine Protector's memories for a solution that was well within his current capabilities.
Seeing her son seem to have grown up overnight, Mrs. Min couldn't help but hallucinate the visage of her strong husband superimposing with his for a moment. Mrs. Long couldn't help being moved and tears started to flow down.
"Good child, mom won't ask you anymore. Mom trusts you."
Hearing this, Min Hong heaved a silent sigh as he helped his mother dry her face.
"Mom, now that your son has grown up, I think it's only filial that I should come bearing gifts whenever I want to see you henceforth, isn't it?" Min Hong chuckled as he rubbed his spatial ring.
A jade bottle, similar to a one-liter soda bottle appeared within Min Hong's hands; however, before he could even say anything, Mrs. Min's eyes already went wide in surprise, as she held her son's hands, surveying every inch of the ring from every angle humanly possible.
"Where did you get a spatial ring?"
Witnessing his mother's antics, Min Hong didn't know whether to laugh or cry; she was obviously having the emotions of a country bumpkin within, but she was also trying to put on the suspicious expression of a responsible mother.
The only problem was that, she couldn't separate both, and thus was wearing a unique expression that was weirdly hilarious.
Of course, Min Hong knew that hiding things from his mother wouldn't always be a solution; however, in order to ease his mother's worries, he told her about his status as an alchemist.
In any case, people would learn about it sooner or later, so he had no need to hide it.
However, now that he was serving his mother a spicy soup of good news; Min Hong also took advantage of this to add an ice-cold lie; claiming that, after he had been beaten, luck had shined on him and he had opened his meridians and so he could cultivate now.
And he had even managed to cultivate a Soul Flame and obtain the qualifications to become an alchemist. When he had gone to the alchemist guild, he had by chance met grandmaster Sun Yi. He had immediately leaped at that chance, using his pity to get closer to him.
He claimed he had used his tears to move grandmaster Sun Yi, who finally ceded and made an exception to let him become an alchemist.
Hearing these shocking words, Mrs. Min could tell that most of it was true; however, she could also sense a lie scurrying around her son's words, but no matter how hard she scrutinized his words, she couldn't find the elusive statement; it was completely mystifying.
Min Hong however, solemnly swore it was the truth and also took out his badge for his mother to examine; and just like pieces to a puzzle, Mrs. Min ended up subconsciously fitting everything together; filling in the gaps for herself, until Min Hong's story was as credible as the existence of air.
Moreover; though she might not be a cultivator, Mrs. Min still knew about alchemists. It was a supremely grand occupation, and the fact that her son had also become one was worth several generations' of luck.
"Mom, don't move. I'll help you apply this."
Min Hong finally brought her attention back to the jade bottle he had whipped out earlier.
Slipping out a few drops of its content, Min Hong dabbed it onto his hand, causing a fresh scent to fill the room. Just a single whiff of it already relaxing his mother. Seeing how serious her son was now acting, Mrs. Min didn't move at all, and allowed her son apply medicinal potion on her face.
Upon coming to contact with her son's laded palms, Mrs. Min felt a cool and de-stressing feeling immediately spread across her face, before slowly seeping through her pores to refresh the insides of her facial skin..
"Hong'er, just what is this? It feels very good," Mrs. Min whispered softly as she closed her eyes to relish the feeling.
"Hehe, this is a unique treasure your son made specifically for you. Just stay still," Min Hong chuckled slightly as he continued with her therapy.
"Naughty child." Mrs. Min smiled at Min Hong's antics; chuckling to avoid answering her question.
"Okay, you can open your eyes."
Hearing this, Mrs. Min slowly opened her eyes and found out that her dressing mirror was being held in front of her face by Min Hong
"What…?"
Looking at her own reflection, Mrs. Min couldn't help but exclaim in shock. She slowly turned her head to the left and right, to confirm if it was really her, but it definitely was.
Not only did she appear several years younger, the wrinkles around her eyes had also faded greatly; in fact, her original skin which had begun to dry up was now looking supple and sleek.
"Hong'er, does this thing have some sort of psychedelic effect, or sis you do something with the mirror?" Mrs. Min simply couldn't believe her eyes.
"I'm not sure what you're asking or why, but I know that if you keep looking at yourself like that, it'll be lunch in no time at all," Min Hong teased with a chuckle.
Mrs. Min couldn't help but turn rosy as she slapped her son on the head; "Bad child, you dare tease your own mother? Hmph, It's not that late!"
Min Hong simply smiled back at his mother; perhaps it was due to her much younger look, but now, she was much more light hearted.
"It's just one of my new inventions, mom; I call it, the Age Reversal Potion. Although the medicinal ingredients are just average, making you look much like you were in your early twenties should still be a walk in the park."
The Age Reversal Potion Min Hong made required a fruit that shed its skin the riper it got; it simply sucks in all of its juice towards its core, before shedding out its husk, making it a fruit that tasted juicer the smaller it got.
"Really?" Mrs. Min was delighted; which woman didn't cherish her looks?
With her husband essentially in another land from her and with Min Hong having an innate handicapped physique, her heart had been extremely heavy and strained over the years, causing her to age pretty quickly.
Ever since he had awakened from his unconscious state and seeing his mother so worn out, a seed of guilt had been planted within Min Hong's heart; his mother had truly paid far too much for this family.
"Mom, I'll leave this bottle with you. I'll also give you some other potions for you to use. I guarantee that in less than a year, anyone who barely knew us before would believe you are my sister, haha." Min Hong added as he clasped his mother's hands.
"This flippant child. Don't forget what we agreed on. Mei Lin is a wife you cannot allow to get snatched away. I don't care what method you have to use, you must bring her back." Mrs. Min finally revealed just how heavy this matter had been on her mind.
Back when Min Hong had brought up the matter about not being compatible with Mei Lin, Mrs. Min already had a rough guess about what had truly transpired between the two of them. In the face of such a beautiful maiden, which man would give a shit about compatibility or give up.
Whenever she thought about whatever Min Hong might have done with the marriage agreement, her heart wouldn't help but hurt. To be candid, she had always thought that it was her own powerlessness that her son had had no choice but to suffer such heartbreak.
This situation made her feel so upset and even sometimes had her turning about on her bed, giving her sleepless nights; but Min Hong, for some reasons, never brought up the matter again. So, now that he had displayed his capabilities to her, her mind instantly thought of the matter.
Before, Min Hong had been unable to match up to her; but now that he was an alchemist, his status had leapt several levels upwards. Thus, she felt that he now had some qualifications to openly chase her.