Something's Wrong with Amanda
After teaching the two kids for a bit, Matthew ended up leaving them alone. But not before he gave them the book about the 12 standard and eight extraordinary meridians he promised yesterday.
That was the end of his care, though, as once he handed them the book, he banished them to the basement.
"Since I just gave you two the textbook today, I don't expect you two to unclog a meridian today fully. But I do want you two to memorize the book from back to front. Except for the dantian, which you two haven't opened up yet, the meridians are the most vital part of your new cultivator bodies. Damaging one will set either of you back months, at the very least. So unless you two want to suffer wildly for months, I suggest you study. Hard."
Leaving them with those words, Matthew waved them goodbye for a bit and went upstairs to where the two women were sleeping.
Unlike his siblings, whose rooms he barged into without caring for their opinions, he was more gentle with the women. Not only were they grown-ups with their own lives, but they were also of the other gender. It would be more than rude to barge into their rooms without knocking.
Also, Matthew was pretty sure Amanda slept naked.
Amanda definitely had a curvy figure that could make a young master drool, but a forcibly picked melon wasn't sweet. Matthew might've been looked down upon by the true nobles of the Chaotic Universe, but he was still a top-tier genius with his own pride.
If he didn't have pride or a backbone, he would've just submitted to one and become a sword slave. But he didn't.
Matthew had ambition and pride, and he never even sanctioned the thought of becoming a slave to someone who didn't even give him an ounce of respect.
Of course, barging into the room of a naked mortal woman wasn't as bad as enslaving himself, but it was still boorish. He had a bottom line.
Going over to Amanda's room, he knocked on her door gently.
"Amanda, are you awake yet?"
A few seconds passed without a response, and just when Matthew was about to move on to Eva's room and test his luck there, he heard a soft and quiet sound come from the room.
'Is that crying? Why the hell would Amanda be crying?'
Confused but concerned, Matthew knocked once more.
"Amanda, I can hear you in there. Are you decent? I want to come in." Matthew said this time, though, it was less of a question and more of an order.
Amanda didn't respond, though. And now, Matthew couldn't even hear the weeping anymore.
'What the hell is happening in there?'
Matthew was still as confused as ever, but since it seemed that something must've happened to her, he didn't care anymore.
Opening the door, he barged in.
Once he opened the door, he was able to hear a bunch of scurrying, as if someone was trying to hide something. But he was too quick, and before Amanda could hide the evidence, he had stepped in and seen what was inside.
Curled up in a blanket with dozens of used tissues around her, Amanda looked horrible. She looked broken.
Seeing this scene, Matthew's previous concern and confusion evolved to a level. However, with very little information, he used some Spiritual Qi in his footsteps and flashed over next to Amanda.
He didn't pull off her blanket but instead just stood by her bedside, staring at her face. Unlike the rest of her body, her face wasn't curled up in the blanket, making it possible for Matthew to look her in the eye, but even looking at her made him feel a bit angry.
From how badly last night's makeup was messed up and the amount of redness in her eyes, it was obvious that Amanda had been crying, and a lot at that. Moreover, she even had bags. She didn't even sleep last night.
Something happened.
Amanda, not expecting Matthew to teleport to her side, suddenly panicked and quickly covered herself with the blanket, wanting to hide her current appearance.
Matthew didn't stop her actions and simply continued to stare at her. Eventually, though, he spoke up.
In a calm voice, Matthew said, "What happened?"
While he didn't want to make her feel worse, he needed to know what had happened first. Calming her down could follow.
Sadly, Amanda didn't seem to be in the mood to talk, as even after a whole minute, she still didn't answer his question but stayed inside her blanket, hiding behind the sheets as if it were a tower shield.
Not wanting to bother with her antics, with a blank expression, Matthew simply used his strong physical body and pulled the blanket off her body, exposing her curvy figure to the world.
Thankfully, or maybe sadly, she wasn't naked, but still, she wasn't wearing very much at all, only wearing a pair of nude-colored underwear and a bra.
It was a graceful and nosebleed-inducing sight, but Matthew had long lost any lustful emotions over his long life. Sure, the female body looked a bit better than its male counterpart before death, but after death, it was just another pink skeleton.
So, with no change in his expression, Matthew simply crossed his arms at his chest and stared at Amanda, who was slowly turning beet red at his unrestrained staring. He didn't even bother to restate his question. His facial expression said it all.
Amanda could also sense Matthew's growing impatience and caved.
"It's my parents. They don't want to leave Dallas." Amanda said as she looked at the blanket in Matthew's hands. While she wasn't angry at him for pulling it away, she was getting more and more embarrassed the longer that Matthew was able to see her half-nude body.
She did tease him countless times over the past few years, but that was just for fun. This was a bit different.
Matthew noticed her expression and handed over the blanket, allowing her to cover herself up, but he still had questions.
"If they didn't want to leave Dallas, then that's fine. You obviously wouldn't be like this if it were just that." Matthew said calmly, "What's really making you act like this?"
From her previous stories, although they were only half told, Matthew learned that this woman ran away from home just to prove herself. So, while this obviously meant that Amanda had her family in her heart somewhere, it wasn't to the point where this little scenario would make her cry. Something else had to have happened.
And he was right. Something else did happen. But Amanda was hesitant to say.
Instead, she wrapped herself in the blanket once more, entering a defensive state where all questions would be reflected.
—
Matthew gave up on persuading Amanda to get out of bed and prying her of her secrets. He knew her well and knew that no matter how bad the phone calls must've been, she would cheer up. It was just a matter of when.
So, while he could be brutish and force her out, it wasn't worth the trouble. She would find her way out of the darkness herself; Matthew knew well enough to know this.
Bidding the real estate agent farewell, Matthew walked down the hall to where Eva slept, doing the same polite door-knocking.
Thankfully, Eva responded, unlike her much lazier friend.
Like him, Eva worked a lot and, as a result, was used to waking up early and bright. So even if Matthew hadn't knocked on her door, she would've left soon.
A few seconds didn't go by before Eva herself opened the door and walked out.
Her hair was damp, and she still had a towel around her neck. She had probably just gotten out of the shower, but she was fully clothed, saving Matthew from another cliche scene.
However, there was a faint scent in the air that Matthew was just barely able to catch with his advanced senses.
"Jasmine?" Matthew said with a smile.
Eva nodded absentmindedly once Matthew guessed the scent of her shampoo but then realized something about his words and blushed.
Embarrassed, she quickly slammed the door back shut, leaving Matthew alone in the hallway with a blank expression.
Thankfully, before he barged in rampantly, Eva came back out. Only this time, Matthew could no longer smell the jasmine from her shampoo, and her hair was no longer damp. The tower was also gone.
From the blow dryer sounds he heard a second ago, it seemed that she fully dried her hair forcefully, ignoring the damage it might do to her scalp.
"Pervert," Eva whispered.
Matthew didn't know how to reply for a moment, but he eventually got his momentum back and remembered his purpose.
"Come downstairs with me. I'm going to help you start cultivation." Matthew said as he motioned for her to follow.
Hearing the purpose of Matthew's visit, Eva's blush quickly left, and instead, a smile appeared on her face.
With joy on her face, Eva nodded slightly before following. She, too, wanted the super strength that the twins had, and from Matthew's previous ominous revelations, it seemed that having more strength would only do her good.
While they walked all the way down to the basement, Matthew started to talk about what would happen in the near future.
Since Spiritual Qi would slowly invade the earth's atmosphere, many changes would happen because of it. Earth would balloon in size, wild animals would evolve, disasters would become more common, and all sorts of things.
So Matthew wanted to prepare well in advance so that when these disasters started, his friends and family were ready.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Every little thing helps - https://ko-fi.com/slarbi123.
There is now a discord for this novel. However, be warned. It is rather bare bones. I suck at Discord. The link is in the synopsis.
Also, if you like this novel, you can check out my others!