After a few moments, when the crowd had settled, the guards led Lucas to a nearby mansion, which turned out to be the home of the landlord of Duster City.
"What is the name of your city?" Lucas asked the guard who led him inside.
"Duster City, Senior," the guard replied.
"Please, don't call me senior. My name is Lucas," he corrected the guard.
"I'm sorry, I cannot call you by your first name. May I refer to you as Young Master?" the guard asked, clearly intimidated by Lucas's status.
Lucas nodded in agreement, not bothered by the guard's request.
Eventually, they arrived at a reception room, where Lucas took a seat on the cushion on the ground. The table in front of him was at waist height, forcing him to sit cross-legged in a lotus position.
Lucas was unfamiliar with this type of seating arrangement, but as a seasoned traveler, he was well-versed in different cultures and customs. He didn't pay much attention to it and simply waited for the lord to arrive.
A few moments later, the sliding door opened and there appeared a middle-aged man in a proper outfit. As soon as Lucas saw him, he couldn't help but compare their attire. He wondered if the man would think of him as strange for his different attire.
The middle-aged man bowed and greeted Lucas, "Welcome to our humble home, Senior."
"Please, call me Lucas," Lucas interjected, feeling uncomfortable with the term "senior." He felt that it made him seem older than he was, despite his youthful appearance.
Arthur Lim, the lord of Duster City, was surprised by Lucas's garments at first, but upon feeling his otherworldly aura, he realized that the garments might have some significance.
"I hope you don't mind my clothes," Lucas said.
"I don't mind. Please let me address you as 'young master'."
Arthur was shocked when he saw how youthful and handsome Lucas was, despite being an expert. 'How did he become so talented at such a young age?' he thought to himself, feeling inferior in front of Lucas. He couldn't even sense Lucas's cultivation base. 'If Lucas was thirty years old, my cultivation base would be a laughingstock,' he thought.
Lucas nodded in agreement as Arthur introduced himself, and then a servant entered offering them tea.
When presented with the tea, Lucas raised an eyebrow as he caught the scent of its sweet aroma.
He took a sip, "This is…"
"That is Sleeping Jade Root, young master. It is a tea made from a herbal plant that soothes any fatigue when drunk."
"Indeed," he paused before continuing. "This is really soothing. You're lucky to have this kind of tea; it soothed my body."
"Thank you for the compliment."
"I came here as I have something to ask, but as your guards informed me, you needed some help from the likes of me. So, what's the business?" Lucas asked, as he finally remembered the reason he was here.
Well, it was obvious that he could ask the lord anything from tempting. Even though he had the power to take it forcefully, he didn't bother thinking about it as he was a foreigner in this world. He still doesn't know the rules and common sense of people.
"Well… it's a selfish request, young master. I have a daughter who is ill, so I have a request if you could help us find an ingredient." The man said before he bowed down once again.
"No, don't bow. I want you to continue. What's this ingredient and what disease does your daughter have?" Lucas asked as he was curious that maybe he could help the daughter more than the man asked.
"It is paralysis, young master. Because the materials are scarce, a pill for that disease is only created once a year. And because the reason is that cultivators can't really have that kind of disease, doctors aren't interested in studying that field."
"Hmm… let me see your daughter," Lucas said.
"Y-Young master? But… I understand."
Despite his hesitation, Arthur mustered the courage to allow Lucas to see his daughter while she slept. As it was not only rude for a young man to see a lady in her slumber, but it was also embarrassing for young ladies to learn that they'd be seen by their peers in this condition.
'Forgive me, my daughter. But your recovery is more important to me.' Arthur cried as he led Lucas to her room.
The door opened and there, Lucas saw a young lady peacefully sleeping, yet her position seemed stiff.
He looked back at Arthur, his expression serious, before speaking. "I think I can help your daughter without even finding the ingredient."
As soon as he heard it, his eyes lit up with hope as soon as he heard the news.. "Do you mean it, young master?" He asked.
Lucas nodded. "But I need you outside." He said.
'There's no way I will let this person know that I have a different line of power other than cultivation. If they get to know this, I just can't imagine how many people will bombard me just to discover my abilities. I still don't know the limits of their powers.' He thought.
Lucas noticed that Arthur made a worried face, making him sigh. He took off his robe, only leaving his undergarments on.
"Hold this for me. I don't know if that can weigh on the safety of your daughter, but that robe is as important to me as the importance of your daughter to you. That's a gift from my teacher, and it is an artifact, so be careful not to damage it. I will let you hold it in the assurance that there will nothing harm should happen to your daughter. If there's something to happen, you can do anything to that robe." Lucas said, portraying that such an artifact could have an equal value to one's life.
'What a fierce aura! I can't offend him or he'll kill my daughter.' Arthur cried inwardly.
"I-I understand. Please forgive me for offending you." He bowed before accepting the robe.
"Don't mind it. Now I will do my job. Step out for a moment; this will only take 10 minutes." Lucas said, assuring him.
"Yes!" Arthur exclaimed before leaving the room while embracing Lucas's robe carefully as if it was a fragile treasure.
Lucas stood at the doorway of the young lady's room, looking in at her peaceful form as she slept. As he gazed upon her, he activated an ability of his eyes that allowed him to see more than just the physical appearance of a person. With a small gathering of mana in his eyes, he was able to inspect the condition of the young lady, diving into the intricacies of her body and her mana circuits.
Lucas focused intently, his eyes seemingly glowing as he took in the information about the young lady's condition. He noted that her mana circuits were in disarray, messy and jumbled, and concluded that this was the cause of her recent stroke. He mumbled to himself, "This is a common disorder for those who have a low aptitude for magic. I don't know what the effect of this is in this world since they have different laws, but when I saw her mana circuits, it was messy. At least I only have to fix her circuit."
With this understanding, Lucas approached the young lady's bed, placing his hand gently on her abdomen. He closed his eyes and began to chant a spell, his voice soft and rhythmic. As he did so, a warm light surrounded the young lady, enveloping her body and filling the room. The light carried with it a healing particle from Lucas's magic, restoring the balance of her mana circuits and healing her body from the inside out.
As the light faded and the spell was completed, Lucas stood, satisfied with his work. He opened the door and stepped out to report to the young lady's father, who was waiting anxiously outside. With a reassuring smile, Lucas told him that his daughter was now on the road to recovery.
"Your daughter is okay. Maybe later, when she wakes up, she'll be able to move her body." Lucas said after he got out of the room.
Arthur was filled with joy when he heard Lucas's words. He handed back the robe to him and bowed once again.
"Thank you for your effort. If you have something to ask, please let me offer it to you. Anything in my power!" he exclaimed in joy.
"It's too soon before you celebrate. I will wait until she wakes up, but before that, send me some books in the living room. Anything about the history of cultivation and common knowledge." Lucas ordered.
Even though it was confusing as to why an expert asked for books on basic cultivation, he didn't pay heed to it as it helped his daughter's suffering.
When Arthur heard that Lucas had finally finished healing his daughter, he couldn't feel any doubt as when he saw Lucas's confident face.
Then, Lucas was led back to the living room and waited for the books.
When the books were presented to him, he read them quickly, even with the difference in letters. He just tried to use the blessing of an "all-knowing dragon" to read the strange text.
Surprisingly, he read it easily.
"Thank goodness that my passive abilities are working. Even the passive blessing of the "all-knowing dragon" is working," he mumbled as he read the books.
Even though, without noticing it since the beginning, the passive blessing was already working as he talked with them, despite having differences in their language.
—-
a/n: I'm working on this new novel called 'Returner Creates the First Mecha System.' It's got cultivation, magic, mecha, gadgets, artifacts, and system elements. The story's about Jaxon, the MC, who wants to save the world. But get this—he gets thrown ten years back in time and suddenly gains this mysterious power that gives an artifact an ego, now helping him. There's a lot happening in the story, fighting giant monsters and dragons with his mecha, but trust me, it's gonna be exciting because I've mixed in all these loved elements. And don't worry, I've made sure everything feels smooth with harmony.