Chapter 301 – Silent Sage (IV)

Chapter 301

Silent Sage (IV)

She made a smoothie.

Okay, not literally. She didn’t shove a bunch of chopped-up fruits into a blender, press a button, and watch the magic happen. She squeezed juices out of some, she smushed others with her hands and fists, and some she just tossed in there and they melted, but the end product both looked and smelled an awful lot like a smoothie.

There were some visible chunks still, here and there, but it was more liquid than it was firm.

“My grandson called it fruit assault,” she smiled faintly. “Said it helped calm him down. Have a taste.”

I obeyed, picking up the bowl and taking a sip–and, well, I kinda agree with her grandson, to be honest. The taste was… overwhelming, to say the least. It wasn’t sugary, however, but more so that so many flavorful fruits seem to be fighting to be the one to be tasted that it just sears the taste buds a bit.

“It’s good.” I didn’t lie; though it was a bit overwhelming, it was also super tasty. I don’t know if it made me any less anxious, but, to be fair, sometimes even modern medication failed to do that, so… you know… it did its best, I suppose. “Really good.”

“Glad you like it,” she said as she sat down on the table, too, just to my left. “The Art has helped me, tremendously. So much, in fact, that I’m ravaged with guilt that I got it for free.”

“No, no, it was a gift! A thank you for letting us stay here and cooking us–“

“–yap, yap, yap. The old alchemist already paid for all that. Hmm. I think I may have a way to repay you.”

“…” I stayed silent. I really, really, really didn’t want anything from her, because I have this dreadful feeling it will trigger some flag that will lead to something larger-than-life happening in the future, but it’s not like I can say no, either.

“Well, partly, at least. Lu Yuhan, the bastard leader of this city,” she said, her voice rather rife with loathing. “He no doubt has taken notice of your kids. And, if I know him in the slightest, he’ll want them.”

“… want them?”

“Of course. He’ll goad them with all the riches under the sky until they say yes and renounce themselves as your Disciples.”

Yeah.

Honestly, of so many things in this world that I worry about, somebody ‘thieving’ away the kids by offering them stuff? Not even remotely near the top hundred.

“You don’t seem worried.”

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“I’m not.”

“Do you trust them that much?”

“Hmm,” I mulled for a moment before replying. “I do, but it’s not even that.”

“What is it, then?”

“…” What I really wanted to say was, ‘There’s perhaps 3 people alive that can offer them things I can’, but there’s no way in hell I could utter something so narcissistic, even if true. “What worries me if he approaches them that way isn’t them accepting it, but getting riled up on my behalf and saying things that are… not appropriate.”

“Ho ho. Quite boastful,” she smirked for a moment. “Even so, he’s not the man to give up just because somebody rejected him.”