(MC POV)
"Erm… Master Lin-sama? You have a… A guest…"
I looked up to see one of the servants of the resort fidgeting in front of me.
It was breakfast time and all of us were gathered in the dining room. Predictably, most of my disciples were nursing a hangover with the exception of Brendan and Cai Hong.
Unfortunately for Brendan, he's also quite lost in his thoughts since I told him what I told the girls last night over breakfast, so he looks like he's in shock right now.
Like I had warned the girls before, I hadn't given them headache pills to curb the hangover or else it might become a habit for them. The last thing I want for them is to pick up the habit of excessive drinking.
"Ara? A guest? There shouldn't be any since we're not open, are we not?" Mother pointed out, pausing in her action of feeding me even though I've told her repeatedly I could eat on my own.
"That is correct, Lidiana-sama… I wanted to turn them away but they knew Master Lin-sama was staying here and begged to meet him. They sounded a little desperate so I thought…"
Huh, I have a pretty good idea of who they are already. But to think they had been tracking me all this while without me knowing, they must have some pretty skilled people.
"I guess I'll go see what they want," I decided, standing up from my seat.
"Ara? Mother shall go with you then~"
"There's no need, Mother. I can handle it."
She puffed her cheeks at me, "I am still the proprietress of this place you know? To intrude in on Mama's alone time with my darling son is a big no-no."
"Ehh… I guess that's fine… Just let me do the talking ok, Mother?"
"Fufufu~ No promises~"
Knowing that Mother wouldn't budge on this, I followed the servant towards the front door with Mother accompanying me.
It has been exactly two weeks since I've delivered my ultimatum with my giant rock in the sky, which the people of Mei seemed to have fulfilled quite splendidly.
I expected them to send a proper envoy this time, but I hadn't expected to see the person I was meeting at the resort's entrance.
"Good day, Master Lin. I hope we are not disturbing you, but I have come to purchase a bottle of your Miracle Cure."
"Queen of Mei, what are you doing all the way out here?" I asked.
The woman shook her head, "Please, today I am here as Mei Bian, here to obtain medicine for my sick son."
I nodded to the large group of people behind her, "So I assume those people behind you aren't your royal guards or something?"
"Oh no. They are just my travelling companions," she lied easily.
"I see…"
I chanced a peek behind to see Mother smiling amicably at her, showing no intentions of speaking.
I turned back to Mei Bian, "Very well then, let's hear your offer for it."
"Before that… Could Master Lin perhaps remove the rock hanging over our city?"
I snapped my fingers, "Done."
She turned to one of her retainers who seemed to be concentrating on something for a few seconds before nodding at her.
"Clairvoyance?" I guessed.
"That's correct, Master Lin."
"That explains how you found me here."
"That is also correct, Master Lin, though I surmise you had a barrier around you since he could not see you and only this building."
Well she got that right, I do have things to protect our privacy after all.
She looked behind and nodded at one of her retainers, the man coming forward with a polished mahogany box.
He stopped just slightly in front of her and unclasped the lid to show me its contents. There were at least a dozen bars of solid gold in that box.
I raised an eyebrow at her, "That's it?"
"Oh no, this is not for the Miracle Cure, this is simply a courtesy gift to Master Lin for hearing us out and the inconveniences you may have needed to endure. Please accept it."
I kept my face neutral, "In that case, I shall accept it."
I received the box with both hands and immediately checked it with my senses for any inscriptions or traps of any kind.
Finding none, I promptly stored the box into my storage ring.
"Now this is my offer for the Miracle Cure," Mei Bian gestured to another man, this one obviously a Practitioner with the robes he was wearing.
He presented a storage ring to his queen and she handed it over to me.
"Everything inside it and the ring itself too, we offer it to you."
I plucked the ring from her palm and inspected it, finding it filled to the brim with various rare alchemical ingredients, even more gold, some other precious metals and also a piece of paper?
I took out the paper to read its contents, quickly realising it was a permit signed by the king and queen of Mei that allows the bearer free entry in any location within Mei's territory. They would even be exempted from security checks too.
That means I could even waltz right into the king and queen's bedroom and no one can stop me as long as I have this.
Very useful and valuable if you're a merchant or even a spy. Too bad I am neither.
Still, this could come in handy in the future so I guess I'll take it.
All in all, this storage ring was worth a small fortune. If one were to sell that permit on the black market, they probably wouldn't need to worry about money anymore for the rest of their lives.
I stored the permit back into the ring and turned to Mei Bian, "So… All of this for one bottle of Miracle Cure, is that right?"
"One full bottle of it, yes. Does Master Lin accept these conditions?"
"Yes, this is adequate."
I pocketed the storage ring and brought out a medicine bottle of my healing pills, there should be five pills within said bottle, enough for her son and four others they deem necessary to heal.
I handed the bottle over to her and expected her to confirm the trade and leave. Instead, Mei Bian and her retainers just stood there as though waiting for something.
"That's it, you know?" I told her, pointing to the bottle in her hands.
She faked a gasp, "What? Surely Master Lin is a man of his word, right?"
I frowned, "What are you talking about?"
"We agreed on one full bottle right?"
I was about to say yes when Mei Bian's retainer brought out a giant jar about half her height to place it beside her.
She smiled, "I do not remember saying it was a small pill bottle's worth."
Frowning, I was going to rebuke her but Mother moved first.
Faster than anyone could react, Mother pulled out a pistol and shot Mei Bian in the leg, the bullet piercing through her upper thigh.
Mei Bian wailed out in pain and collapsed into a heap, clutching at her bleeding leg.
Her retainers gaped at the state of their monarch for a moment before finally coming to their senses, all of them trying to move to attack Mother.
Of course, there was no way I was going to allow them to do that so I froze them all in blocks of ice with a wave of my hand.
Mother sauntered up to her, squatting down to press the gun against her chin.
"Colt nineteen eleven," Mother whispered. "Very reliable and trustworthy... Unlike a certain person who thinks she can take advantage of my dearest son while in front of me."
"Wha… Son? What are you…"
Mother pressed the gun harder to her chin, "I didn't give you permission to talk, or would you like me to shoot your other leg too?"
Mei Bian glanced at her retainers who were all frozen solid and clamped her mouth shut.
Mother smiled and turned to me, "Dear? Could you leave this to Mama? Mama will make sure she doesn't bully you again~"
I pursed my lips, "I don't think I should leave you alone here."
"Oh, my dear sweet, sweet baby boy, Mama is never alone~"
As though on cue, a number of the hot spring's servants appeared out from their hiding spots, all dressed in combat gear and carrying various guns.
Huh, I knew they were there but I thought they were just curious spectators.
I should've known… This is Elaria's territory after all.
If I hadn't froze Mei Bian's retainers, these servants would have gunned them down anyway so Mother was in no danger from the start.
So in a way, I guess I saved them?
"I'll wait for you inside then," I relented.
"Ufufufu~ I won't be long~"
I turned my back and entered the resort, the last thing I heard was Mother chuckling to Mei Bian, "Now… Let's see what Mama should do with a little shit stain like you?"
Pretty sure I misheard the last part but I'll just wait inside quietly.
