A Waste of Time

Chapter 51: Unfurling Knot

"Mei. You really don't have to do this."

"T-That's my job!"

Daemon put on a clean set of clothes after the blushing maid helped him dry his body. The little girl wasn’t mentally prepared for this, even when her mother clearly told her that she should expect the boy to get very intimate with her — and that she’s expected to allow him to freely do everything with her body if that’s his wish!

Jia was standing there watching the interaction between these two who looked so cute together, then gave the little girl a teasing smile.

Xia decided to save the poor girl from this naughty sister’s machinations. "Little Mei. Come help me set the table for young master."

"Coming!" Mei gave Jia a childish face before running away — as if to escape the Tigress herself!

"That rascal learned to escape quickly, huh!" The girl was amused but she understood that this wasn’t the right time to play with this cute little girl and have some fun. She followed the boy towards the tea table in the shade of the biggest tree where their guest had been waiting for a while now.

Jia didn’t speak with that man at all — her big brother Ru had been the one responsible for taking care of all the hospitality so far.

But now that her young master Daemon was here... it was time to have some questions answered.

"I made you wait." That was all the kid had to say before extending his arm to offer a handshake while adding: "The name is Daemon. How should I call you?"

"Fu Jian. But young master Daemon can just call me by my name — Jian is fine." The middle-aged man in the white robe was a lot more respectful once he realized that his hand was slowly getting squeezed in a crushing grip unbefitting any mortal around this kid’s age. Had he not been able to confirm the boy’s body completely lacked Qi, Protector Jian would’ve totally rejected the idea of this being a person who’s just an immature mortal — but through the hand he’s currently holding... he really didn’t sense a single strand of Qi on that small body.

Even mortals usually have an extremely weak strand of Qi which fades gradually as they grow old — but this young master Daemon only had an abnormal amount of vitality inside his body, and that was it!

Daemon smiled then let go of the man’s hand and took his seat, gesturing for him to do the same. "What’s this about?" He was asking his follower this time since he’s the one who brought this guest — so Ru should be the one to do most of the talking.

"Protector Jian is from the Seven-Gold Pagoda’s branch in Blue-Luan Town," the Swordsman explained.

"And what kind of establishment is that Seven-Gold Pagoda exactly?" The boy asked while tilting his head slightly — but his eyes couldn’t help but sneak a side glance towards the dinner table where Xia and Mei were busy putting many plates and bowls, then filling them with huge portions of aromatic food.

"It’s a Trade-House," Ru said while shrugging, then looked up towards the sky before adding: "He was curious about my sudden ascension to the path of Cultivation since both me and little Jia have been struggling as mortals for so long. I explained our encounter with young master Daemon and he was suspicious, so he followed me here to confirm the story.

"He did believe after we visited the market street earlier to buy some things and got to hear from the villagers about everything that happened in the past few days. That doesn’t make it any easier for him to believe — but he already saw the Aquatic-Boa’s carcass and personally studied the traces of your fight with that Qi Ying in the clearing near Qiu’s stall.

"Anyway, he said that he wants to become acquainted with you, young master — so... here he is now!"

Daemon nodded before getting up and saying: "Let’s talk while we eat. I’m hungry."

The Swordsman nodded to the man in the white robe when he looked towards him as if seeking an answer, then the three Cultivators sat together at the table with three more mortals — where all six of them started to share a meal.

"Now that you’ve met me and confirmed all that you needed to confirm about me — was that all you wanted to do, or is there a deeper meaning behind your actions?" The boy barely raised his head from his plate and said that between bites. He even drank the big bowl of soup, then grabbed the fist-sized bones and threw them towards the cub which was anxiously eager to come join them — but its injured mother was unwilling to let it stray far from her resting spot.

Fu Jian squinted his eyes because unlike before — when these two guards were always keeping him under their watch — everything seemed to change once this boy arrived at the campsite. The brother and sister seemed so relaxed and carefree in this kid’s presence, as if there’s no need for them to protect him at all — which was a behavior that genuinely befuddled him!

"Honestly, no. It’s kind of my job to gather information about Cultivators whenever I get a chance," the middle-aged man smiled ruefully. "But, young master Daemon isn’t a Cultivator at all — which makes it... kind of awkward to deliver these news to the higher-ups is all."

Ru and Jia exchanged a look, then smiled.

Xia and little Mei nibbled at their food in silence, as if trying to make themselves appear invisible.

Daemon gave the man a look before lowering his gaze to focus on the slice of steak on his plate while saying: "Well. That’s not my problem — I didn’t even know your people exist before we met."

The man in white nodded before saying: "I have an idea. It’s just that... I don’t know if young master Daemon would agree with it or not."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Promise not to misunderstand or hold it against me." Seeing the boy nod once caused the middle-aged man to inwardly release a sigh of relief before gritting his teeth. "I was thinking that young master Daemon could demonstrate a little bit of his ability — so I can include these details in my report." He uttered these words then timidly looked at the kid sitting across the table.

Daemon squinted his eyes slightly then continued to eat his meal in silence. He didn’t give the man an answer — neither accepting nor refusing.

Fu Jian, on the other hand, felt like he was sitting on pins and needles during these long minutes of waiting until the boy finished his meal and burped in satisfaction while patting his belly — which remained flat despite him eating enough food to feed everyone at this table on his own!

Daemon drummed the table with his fingers for a few seconds while looking directly at his guest before standing up and saying: "Alright. I’ll satisfy your curiosity — but I’ll also expect my people to receive the best treatment whenever they visit your branch. I’d also like to be included in any sort of deal where I get to receive information about interesting things happening in the area while I’m staying here... How much would that service cost me?"

The middle-aged man wasn’t expecting the boy to agree after he let him roast for so long — which felt like his emotions were put on some kind of grill. "The cost of information usually depends on what type of news we’re delivering in the first place. Young master Daemon should just pay the membership fee — which allows our branch to send you the latest news about certain incidents that don’t fall under the category of requiring secrecy. Anything beyond that point usually requires separate payment and it depends on the wishes of our members whether to buy it or not!"

"I see." The kid nodded then gave Ru and Jia a glance. "Pay him. I’ll be relying on you two to tell me about the interesting stuff within that information." Afterwards he looked around while thinking about what he should do to show this guest that he’s worth it.

Of course Daemon wouldn’t expose his latest Skill of Chain Lightning or his First and Second Forms to this stranger since these three abilities should be kept a secret as much as possible. Having the two siblings and the seven members of the Blacksmithing family knowing about his ability to transform is enough — since he can tell that all of them are dependable and can be trusted to keep his secret, at least until something happens which causes the cat to jump out of the bag.

So far, only him and Ippo are in on the secret of his ability to control Lightning through Asura’s Buff — but that Skill could also be unavailable for him if the boy’s luck in the daily Dice-Roll is pure trash in the future.

Every time he activates that power means fewer numbers on the timer.

[19:53:22]

This hurts every time I have to use it — unless there’s an opportunity to show off... then, of course!

"Hmmm..." Fu Jian squinted his eyes once his instincts screamed Danger! repeatedly when the atmosphere surrounding this kid suddenly shifted — from harmless as a newborn lamb to fierce and lethal as a hundred tigers.

Then this young master Daemon took a simple step — and suddenly disappeared just like that.

The middle-aged man jumped to his feet as if struck by a lightning bolt, his neck twisting left and right, up and down as he looked everywhere — but all his experienced, keen eyes could see were the aftereffects of the boy’s movement in the first few points he touched before the kid actually evaded his senses completely... which caused the man in white to break out in cold sweat when this unbelievably ridiculous fact happened.

You see, this Protector Jian is a Cultivator with pure fundamentals leaning towards the affinity of the Wind Element — so speed is kind of his speciality.

During his journey towards Scattered-Woods Village from Blue-Luan Town, he was actually able to keep up with Ru who had to rely on the speed boost from the Gentle-Feather Talisman.

By using only one Qi-Recovery Pill to compensate for the expenditure of Wind Qi while having to travel at full speed for so long, this middle-aged man made it happen without having to rely on a Gentle-Feather Talisman. However, once he uses one of these Talismans which boost speed... this man in the white robe would be able to move at a speed comparable to a Wind Cultivator in the High-Ranks of the Qi-Gathering Realm with no problem at all.

Here's a link to my discord server if you want to talk - .gg/HwHHR6Hds