Master Aerion turned his head and said, "I’ve seen the man and woman you’re talking about."
Timothy Sutton, who was in the middle of eating a bun, froze. A hint of joy appeared in his eyes.
"You’ve seen them? Where?"
"The woman, is she about this tall and wearing a pink tracksuit?"
Master Aerion gestured with his hand. Timothy Sutton’s eyes lit up so much that he put down his bun. "That’s her! Old man, where did you see her?"
Master Aerion stroked the beard on his chin, an inscrutable look on his face. He asked in return, "Why are you looking for her?"
The joy on Timothy Sutton’s face faded slightly. Seeing this, one of his underlings slamd his hand on the table and shot up, acting tough. "Cut the fucking crap! Our boss is asking you a question!"
But Master Aerion, holding a bowl of wontons, said calmly, "She’s just a young girl. If sothing were to happen to her with all you n looking for her, I’d be to bla."
The underling kicked his chair away with a CLANG and strode over. "Old man, are you looking to die?!"
But just as he reached Master Aerion, a foot shot out and kicked him in the shin. "Junior, it’s not good to have such a hostile attitude."
The underling instantly dropped to his knees, clutching his leg and rolling on the ground, wailing in agony.
The kick seed to carry little force, but it had accurately struck an acupressure point.
And not a single drop of soup had spilled from the wonton bowl in Master Aerion’s hand.
"You’re courting death!"
"Everyone, sit down!"
Timothy Sutton held back his other furious underlings. He watched Master Aerion warily for a mont, his tone becoming slightly more respectful. "Sir, we’re looking for her for a good reason..."
He selectively repeated what the Lowell Family’s collateral branch had told him.
"So, we’re inviting her to a wealthy household."
Master Aerion finished his soup and set the bowl down steadily. His eyes seed to brighten a little, but his face wore a disdainful expression.
"I’ve seen her. Flashy but no substance. Her skills are lacking."
"But my man’s leg..."
"That was nothing. You can take instead, but I want half the money."
Master Aerion smiled, thinking to himself, ’This should cover my travel expenses for a while.’
’I tried borrowing money from that old man Warner before, and he actually wanted to charge interest. The nerve of that cheapskate.’
’I had to sneak back ho and dig out my secret stash from under the bed just to make it here.’
Across from him, Timothy Sutton looked hesitant, sizing him up repeatedly. "This..."
Master Aerion’s expression hardened slightly. The bowl by his hand suddenly shattered.
Startled, Timothy Sutton jumped to his feet and stumbled back a few steps, knocking over his chair with a loud crash.
"Well?" Master Aerion asked again.
This ti, his voice seed to carry a hint of a threat.
Timothy Sutton nodded in agreent repeatedly, just short of getting on his knees and calling him "daddy."
"Allow to change my clothes."
***
Owen Lowell was from a minor collateral branch of the Lowell Family. It was his faction that had hired Timothy Sutton and his underlings to cause trouble at Stephen Lowell’s ho.
Because Owen Lowell was currently the most powerful among the Five Branches, the other collateral mbers all looked to him for leadership.
He was the one who had first proposed this challenge, all for the sake of legitimately becoming the Lowell Family Head.
When the two arrived, he was in the middle of discussing strategies with the other four branches for challenging the Core Lineage.
"Master, Timothy Sutton has brought a man with him."
Owen Lowell frowned for a mont, but then his eyes lit up as if he’d thought of sothing. He quickly got up and walked outside.
He saw a man standing next to Timothy Sutton, dressed in ripped denim jeans and a black leather jacket, with his hair perd into wavy curls and a pair of black sunglasses on his face.
This punk rock getup made Owen Lowell’s brow furrow once again.
His gaze darkened instantly, and he asked in a hostile tone, "This is the person you told about?"
Timothy Sutton’s heart clenched. He sowhat regretted agreeing to let him change clothes.
"Lord Lowell, this is him..."
Owen Lowell controlled his anger and didn’t lose his temper on the spot. He had his disciple take them to rest in the adjacent room.
The adjacent room was a small lounge with a fruit platter and pastries.
Master Aerion unceremoniously picked up an apple and started munching on it. "Want so?" he asked between bites.
Timothy Sutton was fidgeting, glancing frequently at Master Aerion. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d been tricked.
"Old man, you’d better put on a good show in a bit. Otherwise, you won’t get paid."
"But of course..."
Master Aerion was completely unperturbed.
’He looks completely unreliable no matter how you look at it.’
Timothy Sutton felt a pang of despair, feeling like his 100,000 reward was about to go down the drain.
"A junior should have patience. You can’t rush things."
Master Aerion then demolished a banana.
Only when the fruit and pastries in the small lounge were nearly all gone did Owen Lowell send his disciple to summon them.
In the reception room, only Owen Lowell and his disciples remained. He sat in the head seat sipping tea while his disciples stood by, attending to him.
Timothy Sutton bowed, replying fawningly, "Lord Lowell, this is the man you asked to find, Master Zeno."
"Wasn’t it a man and a woman?" Owen Lowell set his teacup aside, shot him a sideways glance, and lowered his head to fiddle with the walnuts on his wrist.
"Right, he’s the man."
Timothy Sutton bowed and scraped, the fleshy folds on his face crinkling like a stead bun, completely devoid of the arrogance he displayed outside.
Owen Lowell sized up Master Aerion suspiciously. He’d always heard that reclusive experts were ascetics. He’d never seen one like this.
"May I ask where Your Excellency pursues your cultivation?"
Master Aerion casually found a chair and sat down, looking completely at ease. "Martial Cultivation is the cultivation of the mind. Wherever I am at ease is a place for cultivation."
Owen Lowell’s hand, which was turning the walnuts, paused. A hint of caution appeared in his eyes.
’That statent sounds plausible enough,’ he thought, ’but his appearance really doesn’t give any hint of his power.’
Owen Lowell gestured tentatively toward a disciple beside him.
"Might I ask the esteed master to offer a few pointers to my foolish disciple?"
Edmund Lowell walked over, his chin lifted slightly.
He had just seen this man wolfing down food in the lounge, and he looked down on him from the bottom of his heart. He was convinced the man was just a freeloader and a fraud.
Master Aerion glanced at him and said flatly, "Your foundation is barely passable. Your temperant is lacking."
Edmund Lowell was instantly enraged. He charged at Master Aerion with a raised fist. "I knew you were just a freeloader!"
Master Aerion’s expression remained unchanged. He didn’t even move. As Edmund Lowell’s fist drew closer and closer to his face, Timothy Sutton couldn’t bear to watch.
Suddenly, his body froze as if his pressure points had been struck. His fist hung suspended in mid-air, the anger on his face replaced by terror.
Two fingers were pressed straight against his chest. A few seconds passed, then, as if struck by a massive force, Edmund Lowell’s body flew backward and slamd heavily into the wall behind him.
He twitched twice on the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.
A startled Owen Lowell shot to his feet, strode over to his disciple’s side, and asked with concern, "Edmund, are you alright?"
Edmund Lowell clutched his chest, staring at Master Aerion in terror.
The "Power" inside him was churning like crashing waves in a river, the pain causing his veins to bulge.
Owen Lowell didn’t know how to help, so he had no choice but to turn to Master Aerion for aid, his tone quite anxious. "Your Excellency, my unworthy disciple was rude. I beg you to show rcy."
Edmund Lowell was his son, and also the one with the best aptitude in their branch.
But Master Aerion replied nonchalantly, "Young people have too much fire in them. Letting a little blood is good for their health."
Owen Lowell’s face stiffened. He quickly had his son carried away for treatnt.
He then respectfully ordered soone to arrange a place for Master Aerion to rest, his attitude now one of utmost reverence.
Master Aerion pointed at Timothy Sutton, who was cowering to the side, and said pointedly, "Don’t forget your promise."
Timothy Sutton was touched. He imdiately stepped forward, rubbing his hands together. "Lord Lowell, about the paynt, how should we settle it?"
Owen Lowell: ...
***
「anwhile.」
Ethan Lowell, who had been secluded in his small courtyard, finally erged.
In the kitchen, Alvin Morgan glanced at the people in the courtyard outside the window and asked with a half-smile, "Broke through to Level Five in a single night?"
Aurora Sinclair looked up at Ethan Lowell, who was surrounded by people outside, and replied calmly:
"His ridians are relatively narrow for Martial Cultivation, so his strength progression is slow in the early stages. He needs to open all the ridians in his body to achieve a major breakthrough. The fact that he could break through to Level Five overnight is also related to his diligent training..."
"You think highly of him?" Alvin Morgan’s voice held an unusual tone.
But Aurora Sinclair didn’t catch it and even nodded. "He has a promising future."
Alvin Morgan pursed his lips, then suddenly leaned in, covered her eyes with his hand, and pulled her into his embrace.
"Aurora, n don’t like it when their woman praises another man in front of them."
Aurora Sinclair’s body stiffened as she felt a warm breath from above her head.
She was instantly reminded of their morning kiss, and her cheeks flushed red.
Alvin Morgan lowered his head, kissed her on the forehead, and said in a low voice, "Pacify ..."
Aurora Sinclair buried her face in his chest, hesitating for a long mont before mumbling, "You’re better looking than him."
At the sa ti, fifty kiloters away, the Morgan brothers froze.
Beta Morgan took off his headphones and asked Benjamin Morgan dumbfoundedly, "Pip, am I hearing things?"
Benjamin Morgan pushed up his glasses and replied with feigned rationality, "No, I heard it too."
"So you’re saying..."
"The boss has probably won Aurora over."
"HOLY SHIT!!!"
Beta Morgan quickly whipped out his phone and shouted in the Morgan brothers’ group chat:
"Listen up, brothers, the boss is finally off the market..."
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