Mo Yi held himself with grace and walked into the reception room with measured steps. His folding fan was held to his waist by a string knot and rocked back and forth slightly. When he arrived before the folding door, he sat down on his knees and announced his arrival to the occupant of the room.
"Esteemed mother. Your son has returned."
The folding door was opened with great strength and slammed into the wooden frame. Behind it was a lady who looked to be in her late twenties. Her silver hair shone brightly from an open door behind her that led into a well-maintained garden. Two startled female attendants could be seen hurriedly catching up to their madam. The lady's beauty would've been much greater if her face wasn't twisted into an expression of great rage.
The handsome youth lifted his head to match her gaze and began speaking.
"I hope yo-"
*Thwack!*
"Madam!"
The two maidservants exclaimed in horror as they restrained the red-eyed beauty. Despite the violent nature of the act, his composure didn't fluctuate. Mo Yi gently touched the place where the backhand had landed. His delicate hands came back with a trace of fresh blood. His mother's nails had dug into his skin and caused the skin to break. Balling his hand into a fist so as not to dirty his clothes, he rested his arms on his thighs once more and spoke to the maidservants.
"Thank you for your kind intentions, but I'm fine. Please let go of my mother."
The maidservants hesitated but eventually released the silver-haired woman under Mo Yi's insistent gaze. Mo Yi turned his attention back to his mother. The blood-red eyes burned with intense fury, but she was able to regain her composure and control her expressions. The handsome youth seemed to not notice any of this and continued his original intention with grace and magnanimity.
"Have you been well, Mother?"
Her fiery lips trembled and one of her eyelids twitched as she barely reined in her anger. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, she turned to the two maidservants and dismissed them. The two maidservants turned their gazes toward Mo Yi who nodded in confirmation. Seeing this, his mother’s eyes flickered with rage once more but she stayed still and silent even as the sound of the maidservants' footsteps faded away. After a further half minute of silence, Mo Yi’s mother was the first one to speak.
“Why did you give up the heir position?!”
Spittle sprayed all over the handsome youth. He calmly fished into his robes and pulled out a handkerchief to clean himself. When he finished, he pulled out another fresh one and extended it out to his mother. She slapped his hand causing the handkerchief to fall to the floor. Mo Yi calmly picked it up and folded both handkerchiefs before returning it to a different pocket. Returning his mother’s glare calmly, he smiled and gave his response.
“You told me that family is everything, mother. Is Liu’er not my brother?”
Hearing her words being used against her, she snapped at the kneeling youth.
"How dare you talk back to me?!"
The handsome youth responded promptly.
"I apologize, mother."
Mo Yi calmly watched his mother as she grew nervous. The silver-haired beauty began pacing back and forth in the living room. After a few minutes, she moved her hand up with clear intentions of biting her thumbnail but stopped right before it passed her lips.
"Yes… the Mo family can't be considered as family. I wasn't wrong. That heartless man… letting his sons fight with each other for the position of the next patriarch. This isn't something that would be considered in my Su family."
Her eyes flickered with light as she pondered over her moment of enlightenment. There was unconcealed joy reflected in her crimson pupils. This joy made it so that she forgot about the kneeling youth for a moment. Mo Yi waited for his mother to finish her thoughts before making his addition.
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
"You are correct, mother. I sincerely apologize for my fallacious words. The Mo family can't be considered as family. Why don't you return to the Su family? I'm sure Uncle Patriarch will welcome us with great enthusiasm."
"Don't put thoughts in my head!"
The red eyes flickered with rage once more as she turned toward Mo Yi. The handsome youth maintained his demeanor and apologized once more. His mother stood in silence as she dwelt in her thoughts. Mo Yi had no intentions of interrupting her thoughts as he was confident the results would be in his favor.
Nearly half an hour passed before she stirred. Seemingly having forgotten the presence of her son, she began voicing her true inner thoughts without restraint.
"I haven't seen dear brother in a long time… Maybe, the Su family is where my opportunities lie… Yes, it must be. Knowledge returns to simplicity. Return to origin… This must be my path! Why did it take me so long to see?! I've been blind but now I see!"
She began to laugh self-deprecatingly. Mo Yi maintained his posture watching silently.
"Yes… I'll go make preparations. I need to announce my return to brother Patriarch…"
The silver-haired beauty retreated to her office where she shouted for a maidservant. The handsome youth was left kneeling in the living room. Mo Yi waited a full minute to confirm his mother wasn't coming back before announcing his departure.
"This humble child will take his leave, esteemed mother."
The rustling of paper and grinding of ink continued without interruption. Mo Yi bowed before leaving his mother's quarters. As he closed the door behind him, the two maidservants from before approached him with worried glances. One of them mustered her boldness and spoke to the handsome youth.
"Are you alright, young master? Madam Huiyin has been especially angry ever since she received the news of your withdrawal from the fight…"
The handsome youth revealed a disarming smile before brushing away a strand of hair from the maidservant's forehead. Before she could even process what had just occurred, he answered her question.
"Thank you for worrying, but it's my fault. I've caused Mother and you all unnecessary grief. Please accept my apology."
Mo Yi bowed deeply toward the two maidservants. They tried to stop him and began reassuring him.
"Y-Young Master! No need for an apology. We're happy to be of service to you."
"Yes, young master. It is our greatest joy to be of help!"
The handsome youth revealed a relieved smile as he straightened his pose.
"Then, I'll have to continue to burden you. Here, please take this and split it with the others as remuneration."
A small pouch of gold coins was handed over to the two maidservants who tried their best to return it, but Mo Yi was insistent.
"I wouldn't be able to rest at night if you didn’t take it."
Seeing his staunch stance, they took the pouch. The maidservant who hadn't taken the initiative worked up the courage to pull out a small porcelain bottle. Her face was flushed red as she stammered her next words.
"Y-Y-Young M-Master. H-h-here's a healing s-salve."
Mo Yi gently took the porcelain bottle from her hands and gave his thanks. Before the maidservants could say anything else, he excused himself.
"I must take my leave. Thank you for the conversation. You have my deepest gratitude, ladies."
The maidservants could only reluctantly watch as the handsome youth's back faded into the distance.
* * *
"An auction?"
The one who was speaking was a male around twelve years of age. He sat lazily in a well-decorated carriage. Although the exterior was a bit roughed up, the symbol of the Mo clan could still be seen proudly emblazoned on the front and back. There were no uniformed armed escorts following along, instead, the shadows in the carriage's surroundings would flicker every so often. Sitting across from the handsome youth were two people dressed in plain clothing.
"Yes, Divine Child. There will be some useful items at the auction."
The person who spoke up had a large scar that cut diagonally across his forehead and a smaller one at the left corner of his mouth. Contrary to his fierce appearance, his voice was more on the high-pitched side. The Mo Clan Divine Child didn't pay any mind to this and grew deep in thought. It didn’t take long before he had his response. Raising his left palm up and leaning back lazily, the Divine Child spoke helplessly.
"I've just finished resolving the matters in the Clan Branch. All of my resources have been used up. Although we have the resources that came from subjugating those traitors… Father Patriarch would be furious if I touched them."
The man sitting next to the scarred man grew more and more frustrated as he heard the Divine Child continue to voice his reasoning. He looked fairly handsome with short black hair. From his appearance, one could say he was in his early twenties. The young man was extremely indignant as he lost control of his emotions and stood up from his seat to begin rebuking the child.
"You-!"
The scarred man held his left arm in front to cut off his companion. Seeing these actions, the young man withdrew his anger and stared out the window. A dangerous glint flickered through the scarred man's eyes as he spoke his next words.
"Do remember, Divine Child. You, are the one who sought us out."
"And I will do so, as long as it is reasonable. You would lose much more if I was found cooperating with you."
The Divine Child continued lazily lounging and seemed unaffected by the actions and words of the pair across from him. His words were reasonable and he had nothing to fear from them as his agreement was with their superiors not them.
"You're not the only pawn we have in the Central Continent!"
The young man next to the scarred man roared. Strangely, the scarred man didn’t rebuke the young man but only held an arm out again. The young man squinted his eyes before staring out the window again. At this point, the Divine Child grew annoyed.
"Xiao Mingliang, is this the sincerity that the Six Segments Continent promised?"
The man with the scars didn't bat an eye at the Divine Child's clear threat.
"Don't worry about it. It's not my place or yours to rebuke him. As compensation, we'll take care of the funds needed for the item. You just need to get the item."
Hearing these words, the Divine Child took a closer look at the young man but couldn't find anything special. The young man shot a glare back at the Divine Child defiantly. The Divine Child didn't waste too much time inspecting the young man and answered the scarred man.
"All right then. You have my word."
The two people opened the door and faded into the shadows. The sound of a bell chime rung out in the wilderness and a cloaked figure wearing a mask bowed deeply before a rough voice filled the silence.
"Yes, young master?"
"How much longer until we reach Great Divide?"
"Shouldn't be more than a week, young master. If we go full speed, I'm sure we could be there in five days."
"Hm. Send word ahead of my arrival. My two brothers should be there by now. I'm sure they'll be sure to make careful preparations for my arrival."
A wistful expression could be seen on the Divine Child's face as he stared westward. The masked figure nodded affirmatively before fading back into the shadows. With a knock on the carriage wall, the carriage began moving once more.