Chapter 14: Negotiation // Counterattack
"Rejected. Not only would we lose our freedom but my brother and I would be separated. I hate the second part."
Xia Meixiang made a difficult smile and tried to negotiate. "Alright then let's see... I suppose I could arrange for you and your brother to be together. Should I train him as a palace eunuch?"
'Palace Eunuch?' Lan'er turned to her master, since she didn't know what that position was.
Tang Xiurong explained. "It's a male servant that serves in the inner chamber of the palace. They are called eunuchs because they are castrated so they will not touch any of the women nor do anything indecent."
Lan'er thought that the position was good.
Her master added, "For your information, castration means removing the male reproductive organ. Remember what I taught you the other day?"
This time, Lan'er visibly shook. 'Then does that mean that my brother and I can't make a family if he becomes castrated?'
"Naturally."
Lan'er turned to Xia Meixiang and shouted, "No!"
She then proceeded to continue walking away.
Xia Meixiang was surprised by Lan'er's strong reaction but hurriedly chased after them since they were nearing the end of the storm, meaning negotiations time was ending.
"Wait, wait, wait! What is it that you did not like? I think it was a fair deal in exchange for my protection?
I could even support the two of you for your entire lives, so what's the matter?" She was genuinely confused.
This time, someone else answered.
"We don't want to be restrained and our identities to be known. We can support ourselves and I can find a job for our livelihood. We just want protection for the next 5 years." Zed answered as he rubbed his head.
He turned to Lan'er and patted her head. "Lan'er, you can put me down now. Thank you for carrying me."
"No problem!" Lan'er felt happy and let out a smile after her brother thanked her.
Zed stood on his own while making a wry smile when he saw his surroundings.
'5 years? Do they plan on entering the Cleansing Jade Sect?' Xia Meixiang guessed while following up on Zed's words.
"If you want protection then I could provide it but what will you do in return? Naturally, I can't just protect for free." She said while looking at Zed, who seemed to be at the same height as her.
Zed looked at her and smirked. "What's the difference between you and the official?"
"That's-" Xia Meixiang couldn't say anything.
"No matter. Anyway, I can offer to be your tutor." Zed nonchalantly stated.
This made Xia Meixiang laugh and said sarcastically, "You? You're about the same age as me and not only that, but you're an orphan as well.
So you, confidently offer to become my tutor? What do you expect me to say?"
Zed shrugged his shoulders, not offended by her statement.
"Well, your loss. Lan'er, let's go."
"Yes, Brother."
They exited the storm and left Xia Meixiang. The latter remained unmoving as she didn't expect the two of them to suddenly leave.
She had never been treated this way before, especially by someone her age. Now, experiencing such disrespect and disregard for the first time, she couldn't process what had happened.
-
Meanwhile, Zed and Lan'er managed to escape the scene secretly. They blended in with the crowd while royal soldiers surrounded the dispersing storm.
Zed and Lan'er decided to follow their original plan, which was to return to their home and lure their pursuers toward the cursed artifact.
Although Zed was still skeptical, he assented when he realized that they had no choice but to eliminate their enemies.
In the worst-case scenario, they could just flee from the country, and with Zed's magic, that should be doable.
While they were returning home, Zed's mind calculated a plan.
'Because of the incident, I only have 1/4th of my mana reserves left. Plus, we need to break through and enter the basement.
That will probably consume 20% of my reserves and after that, I would still need to protect the entrance until Lan'er comes back. If the place was underground then I had a spell that could take care of the average grunts.
The real problem is cultivators.' Zed was worried about them since he didn't have a rough estimate of what they were capable of.
It was already afternoon by the time Zed and Lan'er arrived at their house. Their courtyard was clear and they didn't find anyone observing them from afar.
'As much as I would like to cast a spell for detection, I can't because I need to be thrifty with my mana, so I'll just assume that they are waiting for us inside the house.'
Zed and Lan'er nodded at each other before entering their house.
Shuk!
They slid open the door and prepared for an attack.
Contrary to their expectations, they didn't get ambushed by a group of men. Instead, they saw a woman in her mid-age, waiting for them in the living room.
"Oh thank goodness! I was worried about you two!"
It was Mu Lin who approached them with a worried expression. She looked tired while saying, "I have been looking for you children for hours! I heard that you two children were being chased by a scary group of men so I was worried and looked for you guys!"
'So that's her story.' Zed's eyes flashed for a second but maintained his blank expression.
Lan'er, on the other hand, slightly frowned when she knew that Mu Lin was lying to them.
"Act, Disciple. Never let your true emotions show on your face." Tang Xiurong said.
Lan'er gritted her teeth, but followed her master's order. She tried her best to maintain a calm expression before looking at Mu Lin again.
"Oh? What happened to your mask, dear?" Mu Lin asked when she noticed that Lan'er wasn't wearing her mask anymore.
Inwardly, she was enraged. 'Ah! You are beautiful... Why do you show it to others?! That cannot be! Only I can see your face! Only I shall know your beauty!'
Lan'er slightly shivered when she met Mu Lin's gaze.
"Aunty, We were getting chased by strange men. I presume that they are part of the group that attacked us before." Lan'er said.
Zed glanced at his little sister, wondering what she was planning.
Mu Lin looked at Lan'er and an even more worried expression showed on her face. "Oh? How come I haven't heard about this? Are you two alright? Also, what happened to your attackers?"
Zed immediately found out what Lan'er was planning and smiled when he realized that Mu Lin had taken the bait.
Lan'er nodded. "I and my brother are fine because they were warded off by a strange artifact."
'Strange artifact?' Mu Lin's brow slightly creased. "What do you mean by warded off?"
"It's better if we show you."
Lan'er and Zed made their way towards the basement. Mu Lin followed them while feeling skeptical, so she ordered her subordinates who were hiding to stand by the basement door.
Tang Xiurong whispered to Lan'er. "Her followers entered the house."
Lan'er silently nodded as they descended downstairs.
When they reached the basement, Zed didn't use his magic to light the surroundings, so it was dark.
"Don't you have any lantern or lamp down here?" Mu Lin asked because she felt unsettled by the darkness and she could only see traces of the two children.
Mu Lin stopped when she bumped into someone.
"Hm? Is that you, Little Zixin?" She felt that the figure was quite tall and muscular for a child so she thought it was Zed.
Zed turned and answered. "Yes, Aunty. Would you like me to light the surroundings?"
"If you would please." Mu Lin didn't find anything off and agreed.
Then, she felt a palm placed on her belly.
"[Basic-Level Fire Magic: Ardere]"
Mu Lin heard Zed say something in a language she didn't understand.
She didn't have time to think about what Zed said because her clothes were suddenly caught in flames.
"KYAAAAAAAHHH!!!" She made a shrill cry as she received burns from her burning clothes.
Thud!
She dropped to the ground and rolled as she desperately tried to put out the flames.
"IT'S PAINFUL! AHHH! WHAT DID YOU DO- AHHH! HELP ME!"
Mu Lin continued to scream as the flames burned her skin and roasted her flesh.
Immediately, the men descended the stairs and they were shocked by what they saw.
The dark basement was lit by a woman in flames as she constantly rolled on the ground.
Some of them approached the burning Mu Lin, but they didn't know what to do. Meanwhile, a man with log-like arms glares at Zed.
"You... what did you do?" He growled.
"AHHH!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! HELP ME! IT BURNS! I'M BURNING! AHHHH!!!" Mu Lin's cries kept resounding in the basement.
Two of her subordinates took off their robes and tried to put out the fire by hitting the flames.
The temperature in the basement kept growing higher as Mu Lin continued to burn. Zed only had an expressionless face while staring at the commotion he created.
"I'm talking to you brat! What. Did. You. Do?!" The man shouted once more.
Seeing their group panicked, disorganized, and stuck in one place, Zed saw the opportunity to cast another spell.
Zed approached them and they immediately assumed a defensive stance. Two men were separated from the group as they were busy putting out the fire on Mu Lin.
What they didn't realize was that Zed was near them.
"WATCH OU-" The leader tried to warn them, but it was too late.
[Basic-Level Flame Magic: Adere]
After casting the spell, Zed immediately pushed the two back towards the group.
The fire roared as the group was engulfed in flames.
"AHHH!"
"GET AWAY FROM ME!"
Although the basement was large, it wasn't enough for their group, which had 20 or more men. They forced themselves to fit like canned tunas.
They scrambled in panic, but the fire kept growing as their clothes and hair were caught in the flames. The few smarter ones took off their clothes but still failed to save themselves as they reached out for the stairs.
However, the stairs were old and weak so they couldn't support all of their bodies. In the end, the stairs broke and they all descended into hellish flames.
Similar to a cooking oven, the temperature in the basement grew hotter and hotter.
Their group shouted and cried in pain, but no miracle appeared to put out the flames. The room began to be filled with smoke, and the Leader, who managed to not get caught in the flames, started to have trouble seeing and breathing.
'Damn it! ...Where is that child?!' He was enraged and determined to kill Zed.
FWOOSH!
Suddenly, a strong force of wind descended from the basement door, instantly putting out the flames.
"Ugh!"
Zed was blown away and his back hit the wall.
When he got up, he saw a man in brown robes drop into the room. He had a thin but muscular frame.
He had a long mustache and beard that covered his mouth while his grayish hair reached below his shoulders.
His hair was unkempt, as if he hadn't washed them in years. He had a strong and sharp gaze that made one feel small.
He calmly observed the surroundings before walking toward the leader of the group.
"Where is my sister?" The gray-haired man asked.
The leader trembled and kneeled. He then pointed to the burnt corpse of Mu Lin. Her body was roasted to charcoal and had the smell of burnt meat.
Zed's eyes sharpened as he thought, 'He must be a cultivator. If so, then what stage or level is he at?
Seeing as how he can use qi, then he should be at the Qi Formation stage, but he could also be higher than that. That force from earlier, is that his minimum or maximum capability?'
Zed's thoughts were cut off as the gray-haired man resumed speaking.
"What happened here?" He asked, still speaking to the leader.
There was no anger or hatred in his voice. It was as if the death of his sister didn't bother him.
The leader kept his head down as he answered with a shivering voice. "I-it was that child..."
He pointed at Zed, who was hiding in the corner.
"Him?" The gray-haired man raised his brow as he looked as he found a little boy on the corner.
He scoffed and glared at the leader.
"Are you saying that a small child like him was responsible for the demise of your men and the death of my sister?"
The leader was frightened but still affirmed what the gray-haired man said.
"Huu..." The gray-haired man massaged his forehead.
His face distorted as he shouted. "DO YOU TAKE ME FOR A FOOL?!"
Edited By: WorthyAdversary