Jason cleared his throat, trying to steer the conversation back on track. "So, what exactly do you want me to sell?"
Michael pulled out a list from his pocket and handed it to Jason. "These are the items. Purple Spirit roots, Black jade vine, and miscellaneous valuable herbs. They should be enough to cover the cost of the items I need."
Jason scanned the list and nodded. "Leave it to me Brother." he said, pounding his fist against his chest in reassurance. He was not knowledgeable about herbs so he had no idea of the rarity or value of them, he trusted his brother completely and did not even second guess.
Lina, who was already agitated from being treated like a child, almost choked after hearing the list of herbs. She blurted out "Purple Spirit root, Black jade vine? Gods, where did you get them from?"
"None of your business" Michael said flatly. The only reason he hadn't kicked the two tag-alongs out was to give his brother face.
Elena involuntarily chuckled at his response, seeing Lina's face turn red in embarrassment, she felt amused. She had been on the receiving end of Michael's folly many times in the beginning, it wasn't until she began to use his own shamelessness against him that things improved.
Realising the rudeness of her earlier question, she reigned in her temper. "Apologies Mr. Michael, I was too excited." she said, her face exploring the myriad colours of red.
Shen also found it quite rude to ask the origin of another's possessions, especially when they had only met not long before. He also bowed apologetically, hoping not to offend Michael.
Knowing how Jason treated Michael, as well as how he had access to rare herbs despite only being an alchemy servant, Shen decided to disregard his status and try to make friends.
"Michael, you need not worry about this. We will sell your items and retrieve your furnace and earth-fire stone" he said with an easy-going smile. "Did you have a storage ring, or did you want to borrow mine?"
Michael looked at Lina who still had her head bowed before locking eyes with Shen. Seeing his steadfast and trustworthy face, Michael's expression softened a little. "Good, I'll need to rely on you then." he said.
With a wave of his sleeve a mountain of herbs appeared in front of them all. Piled halfway to the ceiling were a bunch of valuable herbs, instantly the room was filled with the scent of medicinal herbs.
Lina who was still staring at the ground in embarrassment was roused by the sudden scent that pervaded her nostrils. Looking up quickly, she suddenly saw the mountain of herbs and almost fainted. As Michael was listing the herbs earlier she had been extremely doubtful that he would be able to produce them, thinking him merely a braggart.
However, now seeing all of the herbs he mentioned materialise in front of her, she almost fainted with shock. 'H-How is this possible? Some of these herbs are very rare.' dumbfounded, Lina was beginning to question her sanity.
Shen, who had already judged Michael to be capable based on Jason's opinion, was still shocked however he quickly reigned it in. "You can count on us," he said, waving his hand and collecting the herbs into his spatial ring.
"When do you need the items by?" Jason asked his brother. Elena and himself were the only ones to not have a reaction to the mountain of herbs. Elena because she had seen them already and Jason because he believed whatever his brother said no matter what.
"The sooner the better. I need to refine a certain pill for Elena" he said nonchalantly.
Lina's ears perked up, she was aware that one needed to be a cultivator to refine pills however the past few minutes had taught her a valuable lesson about Michael. One should not judge him by conventional means.
"Ahem. We will do our best," she said with an unnatural smile.
After the transaction was settled, it was time for Jason, Lina, and Shen to bid farewell and return to the outer sect. They had overstayed their welcome and it was time to leave.
Jason turned to Michael and said, "Brother, take care of yourself. We'll be back soon."
Lina also gave a short bow and said, "Thank you for letting us stay. It was an eye-opening experience."
Shen, who had grown quite fond of Michael, clasped his hands together and said, "May we meet again soon, Michael."
With that, the trio made their way out of Michael's quarters, all with mixed emotions. Jason was happy to see Michael again, yet sad that he had to leave him in the alchemist division.
Shen felt odd, his usual good judge of character had failed him. Had he not trusted Jason he would have ended up like Lina, embarrassed after making a fool of herself in front of Michael.
Lina had been quiet for some time, thinking about the earlier interaction and thinking about where she had gone wrong. For starters, after hearing that Michael was merely an alchemist servant, she immediately judged that he was beneath her, thinking he was merely bragging in front of a beauty such as herself.
It wasn't until Michael had consistently chastised her, even going as far to treat her like a child, that she realised she was wrong. And when he had produced the mountain of herbs, her entire understanding of the world seemed to be turned upside-down.
They walked together in silence, each one deep in thought. As they were about to enter the outer sect, Lina suddenly turned back and asked, "Jason, can I ask you something?"
Jason was a little startled, seeing the seriousness in Lina's eyes. He quickly nodded, indicating for her to continue.
"Do you know anything about Michael's background?" Lina asked, her curiosity piqued.
Jason cleared his throat, "Michael is the son of a herb gatherer," he said simply. "He grew up in the mountains and learned about herbs from a young age."
"His and my family used to be good friends back in our village." he said, his face holding a nostalgic smile.
Lina blinked twice in confusion, she had thought that if she exposed Michael's background things would start to make sense. However she felt herself right back at square one with no possible reason for possessing all of those herbs.
Shen leaned over and whispered to Lina who seemed to be in the middle of a crises, "Don't think about it too much, we can't understand Michael through normal means" he said with a smile.
She nodded her head slowly, thankful for Shen's reminder.