A tattered rocky building…
Inside a dimly lit room… A small lamp is glowing dimly in the corner…
Shhh… Shhh… Shhh…
At the center of the room, fire is going on and off along the finger movements of a young man.
His snow-white skin is changing colors in the shade of that fire. As his fingers moved around a small, round alchemy pill, the fire is dancing on his fingertips shaping the alchemy pill in his hands.
With full concentration, he is working alone in that old tattered building. Occasionally his lips are moving, giving out a rhythmic whistle sound adding life to his daily boring activity.
For every five seconds, he is putting aside the freshly cooked Level 1 Qi condensation pill. Just as he finished the last raw materials for the Qi condensation pill the sand glass beside him turned red.
In fluid motion, he turned the sand glass upside down, changed his seat, and began making Level 1 Vital energy pill which helps in treating the hidden injuries of the cultivators.
Within the next twenty minutes, he completed cooking four types of Level 1 pills. As usual, he transferred all the pill baskets to the outside and cleaned his room before locking the door.
For the last two years, this has been the usual activity for him in the evening time. Every day, he will finish this task and go out to the Bamboo Forest to collect the raw materials for the next day.
Just as he locked the old black wooden door to that tattered building, the sound of hurried footsteps came from his back.
"Ben… Ben…" A middle-aged man in servant clothes came running towards him while shouting the young man's name in high pitch.
Without much reaction, Ben locked his door and picked up the jacket hanging to the hook on the wall.
"Mr. Ben, the matriarch is unconscious. Please come faster." The servant said in a hurried tone while gasping for air.
"What happened? I heard that today is her birthday. Did she eat too much?" Ben asked in a casual manner without any hurry.
"No sir, that Li family's young master gifted a level 3 wild antelope for her birthday. But the matriarch failed to tame the antelope which caused her to fall unconscious. We called yellow grade physician. But it was no use. Your wife, Madam Frost sent me to fetch you. Sir, please move faster. Otherwise, the matriarch will die." The servant requested in a stuttering tone as he recited the entire situation.
"Where is she now...?" Ben asked before he whistled a sharp musical note. In the next instant, a white bald eagle with a wingspan of more than 10 ten meters landed before him.
"Sir, the matriarch is still in her birthday venue, the heavenly paradise. Be careful sir, the Level 3 wild antelope is still not tamed. It might attack your pet." The servant said in a loud tone as Ben already started departing on his flying mount.
There is no speck of worry or hurriedness in his actions. He doesn't care whether that old matriarch lives or dies. But there is a happy smile on his cold face as his wife sent a servant to call him.
"Hmmhh… he is the backbone of Frost's family business. But he is never invited to Frost's family parties and he never asks a single penny from them. I still wonder why he is working for them."
The old servant who came for Ben murmured while staring at the back of the young man who is flying away on the bald eagle.
_
'Heavenly Paradise'… A beautiful open space fully decorated with a rich ambiance and royal attire.
All the decorations were in the name of the Frost family. There are several signs around the venue reading congratulatory wishes to the matriarch of the Frost family. Outside the venue, different types of rare beast pets are lined depicting the luxury of the guest's arrived.
But the atmosphere inside the venue is a big chaos. More than ten foundation establishment stage cultivators were running behind a wild antelope whose horns were blazing with fire. The guests are running all around the venue to escape from the antelope.
On the raised platform, an old lady fell unconsciously on the floor. All the Frost family members gathered around the unconscious old woman. An old man in his sixties with a golden badge on his chest is treating the old woman with all his strength. But it was no use as the old woman was not at all responding to the treatment.
A beautiful lady in her twenties, wearing snow-white clothes is crying beside the old woman. Her tears are staining her beautiful cheeks. She is the wife of Ben. Thea Frost.
A young man who wore luxurious golden woven clothes is eyeing that crying beauty without caring about the sadness in her eyes. He is the young master of Li's family, Nathan Li.
"Ms. Frost, don't worry. I called my family physician. He will be here soon. You don't need to worry about the matriarch." Nathan Li said in a consoling tone while trying to lay his hand on Thea.
But Thea stood up suddenly avoiding Nathan's touch. Nathan tried to cover up with an awkward smile. But Thea's attention shifted as she stared into the sky. A soft eagle cry reverberated in the Heavenly Paradise venue. In the next moment, a bald eagle landed just before the raised platform.
Everyone's attention turned towards the young man on the bald eagle. Actually, it is disrespectful to bring pets inside a party venue. But Ben ignores everything as he doesn't care about the opinions of these guests who always see him as a lowly son-in-law of the Frost family.
As the eagle stretched its wing to the raised platform, Ben walked along the wing line and reached Thea with a stern face.
"The servant said you requested my presence. Is there anything I could help you?" Ben asked Thea, standing just a foot away from her. He is staring straight into her eyes without caring about the angry glares Frost clan's family members.
_
Your's Lovingly,
PeterPan :-)