"I guess he didn't tell you how he is chasing skirts around school behind your back, hahaha!" Glottis laughed loudly. He couldn't stop Mike from dragging him out, but someone else present in the room certainly could.
"STOP!" Susan shouted and the room froze, including the two boys. Her eyes almost spat fire in her anger, "Glottis, if you are lying, I'm going to break both your legs. You have one chance, do you want to continue this conversation, or go out with Mike?" The threat was clear.
"I will give you anything if you don't tell her," Mike whispered desperately.
However, Glottis wasn't a sympathetic man. Desperation only made him more enthusiastic about bullying.
"I want to continue this conversation," he answered triumphally.
"Then talk."
"Master, he is-"
"Silence, Mike. I will decide what he is and what he isn't," Susan hushed him and waited for her son to explain. Mike would eventually let the many girls he was hitting on know about each other, but he never meant it to happen so early. Mike could only bite his lips and look at Glottis with big, round eyes.
"Mom, do you know how our dispute began?" Glottis asked.
"Yes, he told me you have been harassing a girl in the street and he stopped you. I know you, so I know it must be true," Susan said.
"You know me well, Mom," Glottis said with a hint of pride, "I know that 'no' doesn't really mean no when a girl says it," he nodded at his own wisdom.
"Yes, it does! It is exactly what 'no' means!" Mike barged into his words. His lower body already calmed down and he could stand normally after smoothing out his shirt and pants.
"Oh, really? Because when you said you wanted to take responsibility for what you have done to her, she said no but you insisted on following her and telling her you won't let her be alone," Glottis smiled. "Aren't you just a fuckboy?"
"Wait," Susan stopped the discussion, "What do you mean by taking responsibility, did you have sex with her?" The air itself seemed to turn colder, and Glottis' skin tingled as though he was in the presence of an angry lioness.
"Mas- Master, I did not have sex with her," Mike stuttered. His senses screamed 'DANGER', but he didn't dare move.
"Then what kind of excuse did you use to force yourself on her?" Glottis asked happily. He may be in the presence of an angry lioness, but this particular lioness was angry at someone else. He loved every moment of it.
"Nothing, it's none of your business," Mike growled.
"It is if I say it is. Answer his question," Susan did not let him get away with it.
"I… I was running from a few thugs because I didn't want to get swept into an all-out war with their underground organization…" Mike seemed unwilling to continue.
"And?" Mike felt he was about to be forced onto his knees if he didn't appease his master. It was like his recent breakthrough meant nothing in front of her.
"And I entered a random house through the window. It happened to be a bathroom window…"
"Sheela's bathroom window, wasn't it?" Glottis completed his words gleefully. "Did you force yourself on her there?" In his mind, he had already sworn to give Donny some of his favorite wine for sending those thugs after Mike.
"No! I would never do such a thing! But I saw her naked, and I had to take responsibility for it," Mike clenched his teeth and spoke righteously. He was certain of his own virtues, he was not a scumbag like Glottis.
"Haha, nice way to put it. Didn't you just want to bang her because she's hot? She said she doesn't need you to take responsibility, so why would you?" Glottis continued his verbal assault, "I saw dozens of girls naked and more, yet I have never taken responsibility!"
"That's nothing to be proud of, Glottis…" Susan sighed, "Go, Mike. I'm done with you. I thought you were different, but you are just as greedy as other men. Since you want to take responsibility for what you have done to that girl, go and have it your way."
Mike looked at his master's eyes and found no anger in them, only disappointment. "Master, I... I really love you, I meant it when I said it." Mike tried to insist.
"Two days after you tried to get under another woman's skirt. Your words are empty, you think you can have as many women as you want because you are better than us," Susan shook her head, "Leave. You could have been my disciple but you tried to go for more when you shouldn't have. Now you and I have nothing between us," she said in a soft, sad voice.
"You are losing your milfs, Buddy," Glottis mocked him, "First Rosemary and now that. Soon you will only have your 'little sister' to comfort you at night," he poured more oil on the fire.
"SHUT UP, I'M NOT A SCUM LIKE YOU!" Mike screamed, but before he could continue, a strong blow hit his chest, sending him out of the room.
*Ding*
Again, Glottis blinked instantly to make the window disappear. He wanted to see that moment.
"So there was one more woman, huh…" Susan mumbled to herself. She turned her back and sat on the floor in a lotus pose. "Go home, Glottis. I want to be alone. I won't intervene anymore if you can kill him, but be careful; he is much stronger than before. Even if you pull off your little trick of shooting him from the sky, it won't work anymore."
"Mom, why can't you kill him yourself? He had humiliated you, kill him! He even bullied your son!" Glottis struck the iron while it was hot, wishing to put an end to the nuisance called 'Mike' once and for all.
"I don't kill men for being liars or horny, otherwise, there won't be many men left alive. If his intentions were to harm me, I would have already plunged a blade in his heart, but that is not the case."
"But, Mom," Glottis protested, "Now that he isn't your disciple and is in a corner, he might kill me! Isn't keeping your son safe a good enough reason to kill him?"
"It would if he threatened Leo's or Mirelle's life," she shrugged.
"I…" Glottis widened his eyes in surprise at the blatant favoritism, "But I'm a cultivator now, isn't it enough to get your acknowledgment?"
"Aiya, I asked you to leave. Come here and let me check your foundation. If it is worth something, I will see what I can do to keep you safe," she beckoned at him, signing him to get closer.
Glottis remained still as she placed her finger on his glabella and inspected his cultivation. He wondered if she would find anything about the system that had done the job for him, and he could only wait nervously.
'Will she be satisfied with my foundations? The system said I still need six more pills, so it might not be the best… Can she see the system? Will she understand I didn't work hard for my cultivation?' Those thoughts ran wild in his head until Susan finally opened her eyes and pushed his head lightly, sending him a step or two back.
"You have done a surprisingly good job in your cultivation," Susan inspected him carefully as if she suspected it was not her true son but an imposter.
"I did?" The young man was amazed at her verdict.
"Why are you surprised? Such a foundation can only be achieved through very hard work and very good resources. You don't lack money, but you do lack motivation. If you truly changed, then that's great. Your cultivation is at least as powerful as Mike's was during his days in the first stage."
'Same as Mike? Does it mean my foundation will surpass him by far once I finish purchasing the pills?' Glottis gave a big, creepy smile he couldn't control. The thought of being superior to the genius his mother held in high esteem filled him with pride.
'I did work hard for it, I completed those missions!' he convinced himself.
"You had the same smile when you caught your cousin changing with your binoculars. What are you so happy about now?" Susan frowned at him.
"Nothing, nothing, I was just happy to receive your acknowledgment. Since you find it impressive, shouldn't you go and deal with Mike?"
"Don't be a disgrace, he is at the same age as you. My son can't be behind someone of his generation. Stay here for the next month and I will train you myself, you might be at the second stage by next month, and you will know enough about him to survive. Without my support, he won't be able to advance easily anymore."
"Ah… you know what, Mom? This is a great idea," Glottis nodded while taking a few steps backward towards the door, "But I have a few unfinished businesses to attend to; I can't just vanish. Let me finish them first before we start our training session."
He never intended to keep his word. Training with his mother was the last thing he would ever do, and he didn't have to think twice about lying-
"Now you are happy that I don't kill men for lying to me, aren't you?" Susan shook her head and waited for her son to close the door behind him.
Before sinking into meditation, she took her phone out of her pocket and sent one SMS.