Chapter 278 Chapter 278 – Reunion
The next day, Ken was practicing Formation Mastery in his study room when Soul knocked on the door.
"Young Master, you have a visitor," Soul reported.
"I will be there in a few minutes."
He got up from the floor and cleaned the formations he practiced. He did not know what might happen, so he never left traces of his creations after him.
'I still have to join the Alchemy, Runology, and Formation Mastery divisions of the Serene Lotus Sect. There won't be much to learn in Alchemy and Formation Mastery before my stages increase, but I can improve my Runology skills.'
Ken mused about his plans as he walked out of the room and arrived at the living room, finding an older male disciple sipping tea served by the maid. Ken wondered whether she was less cheeky and playful than his previous maids or if she just needed some time to open up.
"Hello, Junior Brother. I'm Roger, I was sent here by Elder Elmer to give you the pill you've asked for and a map with your parents' location. They're staying in the Blooming Lotus Sect, which is a few hours away by foot for a fourth-stage cultivator."
"I see, thank you."
Roger took a golden pill out of his storage ring along with a map and delivered them to Ken before the two cupped their fists and parted. Ken stared at the pill for a few moments before his curiosity took over and he tried to sniff it and lick its taste.
The pill was the Core Restoring pill, and its function was exactly as its name suggested. It allowed crippled cultivators to restore their broken cores and cultivate again. Only pills of the Supremacy phase could restore something from the previous phase that was destroyed seemingly beyond repair.
While pills between the fourth grade to the sixth could heal even fatal injuries, it could not help once the core was already destroyed.
Since he could not concoct it himself and was not confident enough to become a seventh-rank alchemist before his mother died from her injuries, he just asked Elmer to get it done for him.
'Ah, I can't try to reverse-engineer it, Mom needs it,' Ken sighed in disappointment and stored it in his storage ring. He could tell many of the ingredients by the taste and smell of the pill, but he had to break it down to reveal more of its mysteries.
'I guess it's time to meet my parents again. It has been four years since the last time I saw them.'
Ken delayed their reunion on purpose, determined to first get the pill required to heal his mother before he went there. He knew they wouldn't be disappointed if he didn't have it, nor did they expect him to have the means to heal her, but he still wanted to do something for them after they raised him for six years.
He glanced quickly at the map to memorize it and then looked back toward his training room, wondering if it was okay to leave now. Emrys was now locked there with a small supply of pills that would be enough for a few days.
The pup had been howling a lot in the past days and seemed to be in pain, something Ken recognized as the signs of breaking through according to his knowledge about beasts' cultivation.
'I guess he will soon be at the fourth rank. The manual for the dragon mentioned that the Sunscale dragons turn much bigger when they break through to the fourth rank, skipping straight to childhood and leaving infancy behind. I wonder if Emrys's body will develop the same way. Well, let's hope he won't eat Soul by the time I'm back.'
With those thoughts in mind, Ken opened the door and stepped outside. He went out on foot, but he did not plan to go all the way without a mount. Like always, he made a beast from the plain nearby submit and forced it to act as his mount for the travel, and at the end of the trip, he rewarded it with a Bloodline Refining pill to appease it for the temporary enslavement.
A flash of his discipleship token at the city gate was enough to grant him entrance without waiting in line, making him feel a bit like a young master again. He noticed how the disciple from that morning referred to him as 'junior brother', a title he was not used to. Here, where his family did not hold any importance, he could be considered a disciple from a commoner background.
Ken recalled the map in his mind and walked straight to his parents' new house, a small place with three bedrooms in a good environment. There was no need for a palace or anything of the sort, and if Ken thought otherwise, he could easily afford such a place among mortals. Qi Stones could be traded for mortal gold coins in large quantities.
Arriving at the door, Ken knocked on it and waited for a response. He was slightly excited about seeing his parents again, only now realizing he lacked their presence in the past four years. He already got used to living without them, but the way he was taken away from them impacted his personality greatly.
"Hello…" A young maid opened the door and stuttered as soon as she saw Ken. She was a mortal from the city that Henry hired for his parents when they got there, and she did not see many cultivators in her life.
Cultivators were always better looking on average than mortals thanks to the Qi nourishing their bodies, and all of them tried to spare a few Qi Stones to take a pill or two to improve their looks at some point. Ken, distinguished even among cultivators, took her breath away.
"I'm Ken Sue, this is my parents' house."
"Of course, Young Master, please come in," the maid stuttered with a flushed face and hurriedly made way for him to enter, "I will let Master and Mistress know of your arrival," she added before quickly running away.
Ken shook his head as he let himself in the house and waited on the couch for his father to come patiently.
"Ken?" Haoran came immediately when he heard his son had finally arrived. He himself was quite nervous about meeting his son; he did not know that Henry hid his suicide attempt so Ken was not aware of it.
"Dad, it has been a long time," Ken was not sure what to say, and those words came first to his mind.
"Ken, I'm so sorry I could not protect you!" Haoran broke when he saw his son, and how much he grew in those four years. He threw himself on Ken and hugged him tightly, crying in his son's embrace.
"It's not your fault, Dad. You did your best." Ken spoke somewhat awkwardly as he hugged his father back. The two spent a whole minute in this state, and Ken was not bothered by the intimate touch. He recoiled from his parents' affection toward him when he was younger, but he slowly grew to like it as the years passed in his childhood.
"Where is Mom?" Ken eventually pushed Haoran away and asked. Every minute he stalled was another minute Mei was in pain, so it made more sense to feed her with the pill before spending time on the reunion.
"She is in her room. She can't walk anymore… Please come to see her, I'm sure that seeing you will make her happy."
Ken nodded with a serious expression and followed Haoran to the bedroom. There, a skinny woman lay in the bed, her skin sunk and her black hair was thin without any luster.
"Mom, you've suffered a lot those past years," Ken said and sat by her side, stroking Mei's forehead gently.
"Ken? Is that you?" Mei looked at him in uncertainty. Her vision was blurred with tears of excitement and happiness. When they arrived and Henry's technique's effect was over, the couple considered suicide again. However, since they were already there, they chose to live at least until they saw Ken and understood the situation better.
"Yes, Mom."
"I hoped to get a beautiful daughter after you. I didn't get it, but at least I have a beautiful boy instead," she chuckled weakly as she raised her hand and touched Ken's delicate-looking face.
"You can still have a beautiful daughter if you want, just don't tell me when you go for it. I have brought a cure for you, Mom." Ken smiled at her and brought the Core Restoring pill.
His parents forgot about his cheeky remark instantly when they heard his claim and saw the golden pill. Haoran could easily sense the immense Qi stored inside it while Mei, who lost her ability to sense Qi, could recognize it was an extraordinary pill due to her many years of experience as an alchemist.
"What did you pay for it? I would rather die than take it and force you into paying a price you cannot afford," Mei pushed the pill away stubbornly. She held Ken in high regard, but in her mind, it was impossible for him to afford a seventh-rank pill at his young age and low cultivation stage.
"I paid nothing, Mom. They only bought my loyalty to the Serene Lotus Sect. You can consider it as their investment; they pay a price I can't give back right now and expect to gain a lot from it in the future."
His words were quite exaggerated as he was mainly loyal to himself, but he indeed intended to remain on the sect's side as long as he did not have a special reason not to. Besides, he was wanted by two top sects, and adding another to the pile might not be the best option given his current strength.
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