With the arrival of her teacher, Collette finally felt her rampaging emotions settle. She wiped the tears on her face, shot Wuzhi a venomous look and looked away with a pout and a harrumph. “Ask him.”

Wuzhi smiled apologetically. He then explained the matter to his aunt, not bothering to hide any details. There was no need to either since the matter had been his mistake. Besides, he also felt that it was necessary to correct her sour impression of him so that she would be earnest in her cooperation with him.

Chu Mingxi listened patiently. After her nephew had finished his explanation, she looked at him with an odd gaze and quietly mumbled under her breath. “Is this scummy nature a result of his scoundrel father’s genes?”

While the Everfrost Fairy had mumbled in a very low volume, the ears of the two other residents were impossibly sharp. Collette let slip a chortle at that remark while the young scholar sat with a ponderous expression on his face.

Everfrost Fairy sighed. She then faced Collette and said, “Please forgive my uncouth nephew for his behaviour, Disciple Collette. I’m certain that he did not mean it that way.”

“Indeed,” Wuzhi nodded his head. He then looked at the buxom young lady with a look of apology on his face and said, “I regret for phrasing my words inappropriately. If Fairy does not feel offended, I would be elated to have your help in researching a cure.”

Collette sighed quietly. Truth be told, she did not exactly hate the words that Wuzhi had spoken. One could even say that a small part of her had even been looking forward to it. And yet, when he explained to her that it was a misunderstanding, all that elation and excitement had turned into shame and embarrassment.

Collette had cried and acted pouty because she could not bear the weight of shame that she felt upon her. It was similar to the shame that one would feel when one wears the wrong dress for school on the wrong day; a shame that was largely self-imposed by the one that was ashamed.

Having said that, a small part of the wrong also lay with Wuzhi. Honestly, who in their right mind would frame a request like that? Especially with that puppy-like tone and handsome face!

‘It was all his fault! If he hadn’t said anything, then I wouldn’t have misunderstood! Then this entire fiasco could’ve been entirely avoided.’ While she complained as such, Collette understood that she was also being unreasonable.

In the end, she released her pent-up feelings with a sigh and softly said, “I’m also sorry. If only I hadn’t overreacted, then this stupid series of events would have happened.”

Wuzhi wanted to tell her that if she hadn’t had her head inside the gutter in the first place, then she wouldn’t have misunderstood his words at all. However, a sharp eye from his aunt firmly caused him to shut his mouth. No matter how much time had passed or how much they had interacted, the fact still stood he was utterly afraid of her.

“Alright!” Chu Mingxi clapped her hands. “We’ve all apologized and we’ve all made up. Have we done our introductions yet?”

Wuzhi and Collette nodded their heads.

“Perfect. Still, as a senior, I will still repeat it one more time. Wuzhi this is Collette Rosemark, eldest daughter of the prestigious Rosemark family from the Central Commonwealth and my own Legacy Disciple.”

“Disciple Collette, this handsome boy here is my nephew Wuzhi. As you might’ve recently learnt, Wuzhi is the long-lost second son of the Golden Sovereign who only managed to return to his ancestral home less than a week ago. He’s a kind and intelligent boy and I hope the two of you get along well.”

“I know,” said Collette. She then looked at Wuzhi with sparkling eyes and said, “The front page of all recent newspapers have all been about him!”

“They are?” This was news to him.

“Indeed,” replied the Everfrost Fairy. “Not long after I left the Mu Household with you, they released a press statement that officially named you as the ‘Second Son’ of the Golden Sovereign.” A look of undisguised disgust and hatred appeared on Chu Mingxi’s face as she venomously spat out. “The nerve of those people!”

Understanding where her anger was stemming from, Wuzhi explained with a shake of his head. “It’s not their fault, Aunt Mingxi. It was instead I that requested for this status.”

“What!? But, Wuzhi, you—!”

“I understand what you are trying to say, Aunt Mingxi. But please trust me when I say that this is the most ideal status for what I have planned. That other status might bring me instant wealth; however, it would also instantly make me the enemy of literally everyone.”

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Chu Mingxi pinched her forehead. She remained in quiet thought for some time before quietly sighing and saying, “Alright. You are old enough to make your own decisions. I trust you.”

Meanwhile, Collette witnessed his cryptic exchange and felt very confused. However, being a sharp-minded person, she knew not to be too nosy about matters unrelated to her.

Chu Mingxi then suddenly remembered something. She angrily gazed at Wuzhi and said, “Brat! Did you know that you nearly gave your aunt a heart attack!?”

“What did I do?” asked Wuzhi, coyly and innocently. He even looked at Aunt Mingxi with large, puppy-like eyes.

Seeing that, Chu Mingxi immediately felt her anger fall by at least half. She looked away with a pleased and embarrassed look on her face and said, “I heard about what happened at the Mu Household. About how you were mistreated. About how some little bastard tried to slander your and my sister’s names!”

Having come to know Chu Mingxi, Wuzhi understood better than most just how taboo of a topic her sister –his mother- was to his aunt. The young scholar’s face paled slightly as he asked, “Heavens! You did not kill anyone did you!?”

“Tch! Do you think that I was born yesterday? Of course, I’m not dumb enough to kill the Golden Sovereign’s people inside his own territory.” She shook her head with disdain and said, “I simply broke a few things and roughed up a few people.”

“What did you break? Who did you rough up?” asked Wuzhi, curiously.

“How am I to know? I just destroyed whatever I saw right in front of me and beat whoever I grabbed first. Oh, one person that I paid a special visit to was that snake-like bastard what-was-his-name? Junhao? Right! Second Young Master Junhao!”

“I grabbed him, slapped his face a few times, broke a few bones and a few teeth, and left him with a threat to never utter my sister’s name with his filthy mouth ever again,” finished Chu Mingxi.

Both Collette and Wuzhi inhaled sharply at her answer. They both realized a similar fact at that moment; their Master/Aunt was a scary person.

At that moment, Wuzhi was suddenly overcome by a curious question. He asked, “Aunt Mingxi, what would you have done if I had been killed in the Mu Household?”

The instant the last word left his mouth, the temperature inside the crystal room dropped drastically. Collette shivered with fright, drawing upon her energy to ward herself. Wuzhi, on the other hand, felt a terrible chill consume him and drown him in its depths.

He felt his heart stop for a second as the Everfrost Fairy calmly and emotionlessly uttered. “I would’ve gutted every single creature that has ever stepped foot in that cursed grounds and fed them all to the vultures. If I can’t succeed in getting all of them, I would at the very least die trying.”

The chill retreated and Wuzhi felt warmth envelop his body. Still, in the depths of his heart, that sudden and terrible murderous chill forever left an impression. He firmly noted within his mind to never toy with this aunt of his!

Chu Mingxi cleared the air with her power. She then gazed at Wuzhi and asked, “How do you feel? Have you understood the root of your affliction?”

Gathering his breath, Wuzhi heaved deeply and nodded his head. “Yes.” He then gestured for Collette to also pay attention to what he was about to say.

“The root issue lies in the severe damage that I have suffered on my psyche. Large fractures run across its entire length with great portions already having collapsed and disappeared into nihility.”

“Actually, it’s a miracle that I’m even coherent right now. 99% of others in my situation would’ve already lost their mind and turned into mindless, slobbering drones.” He threw in a joke in an attempt to lighten the weight of his words; something that Aunt Mingxi did not appreciate.

“Stop joking and get to the point!”

Wuzhi shook his head and sighed with resignation. “The point is, I need to repair the fractures and restore the lost portions. With the current level of study in [Wisdom Path], it is not impossible to do so. Unfortunately, due to my curse and the unique nature of the Path Technique that I am cultivating, traditional methods of healing do not work on me.”

“In other words, I have to come up with a brand-new method to heal the damage to my psyche.”

“It is not easy to foray in a new direction. Do you have any clue where to start?” asked the Everfrost Fairy.

“Fortunately, thanks to Aunt Mingxi’s efforts, I do,” replied Wuzhi. “It is her.” He pointed at Collette.

“Me?” asked the buxom young lady, pointing at herself.

“Yes.” Wuzhi then explained, “You have a peculiar physique that, if my assumption right now is correct, harmonizes your body and psyche by a certain level. If I’m not wrong, your mood should be proportionally affected by the state of your body, is it not?”

“Yes,” answered Collette. “When I am injured, I feel a wounding sadness or a piercing anger. The cases are different when I am hungry, tired, etc, but my mood is always affected by the state of my body.”

“There it is,” Wuzhi said to his aunt. “There is my start and my direction. If I can understand the exact mechanics of her physique’s function, then I can use that principle to alter my own normal physique into something similar to that. If my instincts are correct, then that should solve my issue and also open up the road for my future.”

“Your instincts?” asked Chu Mingxi, curious at his usage.

Wuzhi mysteriously smiled and replied, “Let’s just say that I have an odd knack for research.”

The room then quietened. Chu Mingxi turned toward Collette and asked, “Are you comfortable in lending my nephew your help? If not, then I will ask your sister.”

Collette shook her head and replied, “I have no issues at all, master. I would be happy to help. In fact, I have an odd feeling that Wuzhi would be able to help me overcome the current barrier that I am stuck in.”

“You really think so?” asked Chu Mingxi, surprised.

“Yes.” Collette seriously nodded her head.

“What about you? Do you have any issues?” She then turned to ask Wuzhi.

The young scholar shrugged his shoulders and replied, “If I’m provided with a lab, I am able to start right now. Time is ticking and I’ve only got eight days of life left.”

A sudden silence descended.

“WHAT!?” Both Chu Mingxi and Collette roared in unison.