Zhi, taking stock of the situation, moves before anyone else can fully comprehend what is going on. He walks forward and shoves Sun Yongzheng forward in front of the woman wielding the frying pan. “Aunty, I don’t fully know what is going on, but this man only told me to bring the boy here. He said something about no street rat being good enough for his precious flower and the boy needed to be taught a lesson or something like that.”
Xiulan and Zhao both go wide eyed at the comment. Meifeng and the cartoon faced man both look confused. While Sun Yongzheng for his part actually speaks without thinking, “No boy is good enough for my niece!”
The woman glances at Zhao, her arm holding the pan shaking slightly. “He called my little Zhao what exactly?”
Zhi for his part actually looks up slightly, closing his eyes while his left hand rubs his chin mumbling slightly to himself. His eyes snap open and he looks at the woman with the pan. “OH! I remember, he said the boy was a toad wishing to eat swan meat! That is what he said.”
“My little nephew Zhao is a toad, who isn’t good enough for your “swan” of a niece, is that right?”
“Of course not, what qualities does he have that compare to my Lan’er?! Look at the boy and look at her!” He turns slightly to gesture at the boy and girl standing in the hallway. For their part, Zhao looks more embarrassed now than anything. While Xiulan is just smirking at how her uncle is behaving and not realizing that Zhi just set him up. Some of the guests in the adjacent rooms have started to come out and take a look at what is going on by this point.
The woman walks closer to Sun Yongzheng while speaking. “It must be because her uncle has the eyes of a pig!” The woman steps forward with the pan raised and goes to strike Sun Yongzheng. The man actually backs away but his retreat is stopped by an open door. Causing him to trip, falling backwards onto his butt. His hands go up in front of his face in reflex as the frying pan is coming down.
Just before the pan strikes his head, the end of Zhi’s staff shoots out and stops the blow. “Alright I’ve had enough fun. No need for someone to get hurt over a joke.” He looks down at Sun Yongzheng, “She might be more overprotective than you are. But it looks like she likes to take a more hands-on approach to things.”
The woman is staring daggers at Zhi for blocking her blow. “Stay your hand Aunty and I will gladly explain everything.” She pulls back her pan and steps back, but the pan is never fully lowered and the glare she is giving Zhi would normally be uncomfortable for most people. But Zhi takes it in stride. Reaching down with his free left hand, he takes one of Sun Yongzheng's hands, causing [Fate] to go off. He glances at it while helping the man up, before closing the window.
-------------------------------
Name: Sun Yongzheng
Age: 57
Karma: Good
Cultivation: Xiantian 5/9
Occupation: Restaurant Owner
Mood: confused
Talent: Accounting
-------------------------------
Zhi turns and looks at the random people standing in the hallway, “The show is over everyone, please go back to your rooms and enjoy your meal.” He waits for people to start going back inside their rooms before turning back to the woman with the frying pan, Zhi makes a formal bow. “My name is Ming Zhi, and if you will allow us to go someplace more private I will gladly explain what is going on Aunty. As you can see yourself, Zhao is fine and he will also join us for the discussion.”
“Let me check him over first. Come over here Zhao, I wanna make sure you are fine.” Zhao walks over awkwardly expecting what is to come. Once next to his aunt, she hooks the frying pan at her waist belt and begins to prod and poke him all over. After going around him once, she seems satisfied that he is unharmed and gives him a crushing hug.
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
“I was so worried for you little Zhao. After my good for nothing husband told me you were kidnapped. How would I face my sister if something happened to you?” Zhao for his part looks slightly embarrassed but is hugging her back just as hard. “It’s okay Aunty Ya, I am fine.”
Zhi clears his throat, “Well as you can see, Zhao is fine. If Uncle Sun doesn’t mind feeding a couple more people, I would like you and your husband to join us. We were all about to go sit down and have a nice meal, while we wait for our food I will explain what is going on.”
Zhi turns to look at Sun Yongzheng awaiting his reply. The man looks towards the woman still hugging her nephew as if she were to let him go he would disappear. Then turns to look over at his niece, contemplating in silence for a few moments before letting out a soft sigh, “It’s fine, I have a few things to say also.”
He turns to the woman and bows slightly. “My name is Sun Yongzheng and I would like to apologize for my earlier words and invite you and your husband to dinner.” The woman looks up from the death hug she has on Zhao. “I Hai Ya would also like to apologize for my words and actions. We accept your dinner invitation.”
Yongzheng turns to Meifeng who is still a bit shocked at everything that just happened. “Little Mei, go place an order for the 12 course meal for the 1st family room. Have Ye Bojing handle the serving and get Yin Yan to replace you. You will join us for dinner.”
Still looking a little shocked, she moves to carry out her orders. As she walks away Yongzheng walks over to the first door of the hallway and opens it. He stands in front of it and gestures to everyone. “If you would please follow me. I will get you seated.” Then he walks inside. Ya and Zhao walk in next followed by Xiulan.
As Zhao’s uncle walks over, Zhi steps next to him and puts his arm over the man’s shoulder before he can react. Making sure his hand makes contact with the other man's skin before saying in a friendly tone, “You know, I think this look is an actual improvement to how you looked early today.” Zhi casts a quick glance at the [Fate] info that pops up, as the box closes, another box appears.
[Limited Quest is complete, including bonus objective. Would you like to turn in the quest now?]
Told you I would get the bonus, heck I didn’t even need to go looking for the man. But let's put this off for now. But I do have a question, I am confused about his karma. If he is a conman, then how is his karma still neutral?
-------------------------------
Name: Hai Qiang
Age: 45
Karma: Neutral
Cultivation: Xiantian 4/9
Occupation: Conman
Mood: upset
Talent: Bamboo flute
-------------------------------
[He either hasn’t conned many people, or conned more people with bad karma then good. There is also a possibility that his con’s are so small that they don’t affect his karma too much. Like white lies.]
Qiang has been pushing against Zhi to remove himself from his arm, but he hasn’t moved an inch. Zhi looks at the other man with a cocky grin on his face. “Tell me Hai Qiang, do you know how to play the bamboo flute?” The other man stares at Zhi, but he doesn’t seem surprised.
“Let's go little Qiang, they are waiting for us.” Zhi removes his hand and pushes Qiang into the room, following behind him. Zhi takes a moment at the door to inspect the room. It’s more decorated than the last room. With some nice wall scrolls depicting scenic vistas of nature. A big round table rests in the middle of the room. It is surrounded on all sides by cushioned chairs except for the side closest to the door which is empty.
Buddha would I be able to store my staff in inventory even though it is longer than a meter?
[Since it is a system item and has special properties it is possible. Non-system items can only be stored if inventory size will accommodate them.]
Excellent.
The table is actually two parts, the main table itself with a big lazy susan resting on top of it. Around the table the Hai’s have taken the right side, while Yongzheng and Xiulan are sitting on the left side. Zhi walks around the table on the left side, he stops at an empty seat facing the door and pulls it out.
“So since Meifeng is going to join us, we will wait for her before we chat.” Everyone looked over at him as he was speaking. Taking that moment he had all of their attention, he purposely stored his staff in his inventory. The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop in the room. Afterwards he removed his hat and also stored it away. He then calmly sat down in his chair and waited.