The next day, three people were in the living room of Mais' villa. Mais was eating the sliced apples the maid had prepared for him. He was lying back in his armchair, looking up into the air with empty gray eyes. A bowl of fruit sat on his lap, and a young woman sat on the long massage table across from him. Her green eyes stared at the bowl of fruit in Mais' hand with the hunger of a wild animal. She was naked. Her chest leaned against the massage table, and no part of her breasts were visible. Because her breasts were small for her age, the massage table covered them completely. Even if it hadn't, the only person Maria would have been ashamed of, 10-year-old Mais, would not have been able to see her. He was blind.
Maria turned her eyes from the fruit bowl to Mais for a moment. After all, Maria's back was bare, as if she wanted to make sure Mais really couldn't see. Even though she had understood that Mais could not see from the many incidents she had witnessed, she was still afraid that Mais was not blind but a pervert pretending to be blind.
If Mais had been aware of Maria's thoughts, he would have immediately thought of separating her head from her body. Although he seemed patient and mature, he had an incredible amount of pride and would have been furious at such an insult.
"Ms. Xiao, I hope you will have no problem following the instructions I have given you," Mais said with a slice of apple in his mouth. His voice was cold, and there was an air of menace in it. It was unclear what the instructions were about.
Ms. Xiao was the young woman who still hadn't quite grasped the situation. She came today with her long black hair in a bun. Although she looked good, she was only above average. She was an above-average alchemist with a certain status in the city. But now, looking at the two young people here, she didn't know what to think. When she arrived, Maria was lying on the massage table with her back exposed, and Mais was sitting with a bowl of fruit. The maids who stayed home to look after Mais had been sent too far away to hear anything. Considering that Mais and Maria were cultivators, they could not even think of approaching.
When Young Xiao was unsure what she was there for, Mais started giving her strange instructions. Since Maria didn't object, she felt she had no choice but to obey.
"I still don't understand what's going on here, but if Lady Maria doesn't mind, then neither do I."
She had to apply the bright green solution that had been kept on the side and press it against Maria's acupuncture points. Applying the solution was something even an alchemy apprentice could do. Since Xiao Linlin was an alchemy artisan, she could apply it. But this solution...
"Who prepared this solution?"
Since they had come here, had Mais prepared it? Mais is a male and, more importantly, blind, so it would make sense that she would have been called, as there might be problems with his applying the solution. However, there was a simple logic flaw in this: a blind boy—and such a young one at that—could not have prepared such an interesting lotion.
Linlin had certainly never seen a lotion like this in her life. However, when she read the terms of use, which required an alchemical apprentice, she realized that such a solution could not be prepared without an advanced alchemical artisan. Furthermore, the intended recipient of the lotion was a Core Realm individual like Maria. It was unclear if Maria would have come this far for a substance with minimal effect. Presumably, then, the creator of the solution had to be an alchemical artisan on the verge of becoming an alchemical master.
If he was not mistaken, Mais was only ten years old. Even in her wildest dreams, she didn't want to think that she had been outdone like this. Xiao Linlin was already twenty years old. Yet she was just an ordinary alchemy artisan.
"You don't need to know. If you know how to use it, start massaging. I want you two out of my house as soon as possible," Mais said. He had no patience for Maria or Xiao Linlin. He had too many secrets to keep, and he couldn't do what he wanted with them around.
The servants were ordinary people. They probably wouldn't understand many of the things Mais did. Maria, however, was already at the third stage of the Core Realm, and Xiao Linlin was an artisan alchemist at the seventh stage of the Origin Energy Realm. They could deduce things from what they saw.
Even though Xiao Linlin was offended by Mais' words, she kept quiet. After all, even Lady Maria didn't bother Mais. Someone like her would never dare.
Xiao Linlin was the only one who had seen the effects of the solution on Maria's body firsthand. It wasn't difficult for her to understand. She could feel the pores on Maria's acupuncture points expanding. As she finished applying the solution, she felt something poke her buttocks.
He turned around to see the boy poking his rear end with his cane. The boy had a stick in one hand and a shiny stone in the other. A blue, shiny stone.
"What is this?"
Maria turned her head to join Xiao Linlin's puzzled expression. She could already feel her cultivation speed increasing, but just a few seconds later, it increased exponentially. She felt as if she could surpass her limits at any moment. Stage 4 Core Realm! She felt as if she could reach it in a matter of seconds. Can you imagine what that was like? Maria didn't understand. Was this stone always with Mais?
"I'm giving this to you separately from the deal I made with your father. It's a new deal. As you can see, it can increase your cultivation quite rapidly. You won't take long to reach the limit of the Core Realm, especially if you use it as a powder in the solution."
Xiao Linlin covered her mouth in shock. Although Mais didn't specify how quickly it would work, she could still feel the energy emanating from the blue glowing stone. Together with the solution, it could really have the desired effect.
Maria was also very excited. She was an incredible genius, but compared to those in the capital and the royal princes, she was lacking. She would probably miss the chance to participate in the Star Path Tournament. Especially now that the older generation is participating. But if she reached the Sage Realm during the state elections, maybe she would have a chance. By then, only the older generation, like her father, would be her opponents.
However, Maria still had her doubts. She frowned.
"Why don't you apply it to yourself? You should have already reached the Sage Realm by now, considering what you can do." It was admirable that she was still cautious and did not give in to her greed.
"There are conditions for using this. I could use it, but that would be wasteful. Once you know how rare this stone is, you'll see that using it isn't as simple as you think."
Even for Mais, it was a matter of hesitation to bring this stone out into the open. After all, its mere presence would attract great danger. But this is what Mais wanted.
He wanted pressure. Otherwise, he wasn't sure how to proceed in the Core Realm. Seeing the Tao Trace would no longer be effective.
He wanted to amplify the waves of destiny to reveal the treasure beneath.
Maria was still unsure.
Even if Xiao Linlin didn't say anything after revealing this, the steward in the Origin Realm must have understood the pressure from the origin energy in the building. Telling a servant about this oddity will inevitably lead to gossip about the treasure in the house."
But the answer didn't exactly come from Mais. This time, it was Xiao Linlin whose face turned ugly again. But this time, it wasn't just ugliness. There was also fear. Maybe it was more of a tense expression.
"I don't think it's possible. The Assassins' Guild branch in this area suffered a big loss yesterday. I saw their bodies on my way here. Even though the City Lord's officials tried to clean it up, some of the assassins' flesh was still stuck between the sidewalks. You are unlikely to be assassinated unless someone attacks the building directly."
After Xiao Linlin said this, she shuddered, lost in thought about what she had seen that morning. Maria, on the other hand, stared at the boy eating an apple. Her brows furrowed further and her eyes filled with greater suspicion. According to Linlin, the murder happened quite close to here. It was expected to happen last night, and many Core Realm and Origin Energy Realm experts were present. Given what happened at the party yesterday, it was only natural that they would attack Kasuur. But would Kasuur's protectors be so savage? Doubtful. Moreover, someone at that party stood out as much as Kasuur did. Someone who looked blind and weak. Even Maria wasn't sure how strong he was. It's just that until now, she wasn't sure Mais could fight despite his blindness. Otherwise, Maria did suspect that Mais was also in the Core Realm.
'I must be imagining it. He's only ten years old. Someone more brutal must have committed that murder.'
Maria was not wrong. Looking at Mais's sweet, apple-eating figure, it was hard to imagine him brutally slaughtering all those assassins. And she was not wrong. Mais hadn't killed them, but Mais had been there when they died.
Even though he was there, he didn't see how brutally they were killed. If he had, he would have been scared. Not as scared as an ordinary 10-year-old would have been, but still afraid. He would have wanted to get away as soon as possible. But as Immortal White was killing them, Mais only grimaced for the brief moments when he stepped on the bodies of the men. Only then did he feel the coldness and lifelessness of a dead body. It bothered him, but not nearly as much as it should have bothered an ordinary child. It wasn't enough to stop Mais.
Everything from yesterday to today, and from last year to the year after, felt like a dream. For Mais, the perception of reality was very vague. It was as difficult for him to understand how people he had never seen died brutally as it was for him to understand the universe.
For Mais, life was an illusion.
It was ambiguous.