"So, Mom, can you put the knife away now? You're scaring me." Chen Li said with utter helplessness after handing The Guide to Forging Curios to his parents.
His helplessness wasn't because he was breaking the cardinal rule of never telling anyone about your cheat system—a rule he'd already broken with N people in two days.
It was because Chen Li felt his mother was constantly contemplating how to do him in.
"Eh?" Kaguya looked from Chen Li to Li Changxi in surprise.
What's going on? What are you afraid of?
If your mom's going to knife someone, it won't be you.
Shouldn't I be the one who's scared?
"Please understand, my dear son. After all, when we returned to the present time node, we found that our Guardian authority was in a semi-inactive state. But when we actually saw you, we didn't notice anything amiss, so we couldn't be sure if you'd met with some misfortune and had your body snatched. Oh, my poor, fated child..." Li Changxi pulled out a tissue and dabbed sorrowfully at the corner of her eye.
"Alright, I'm not dead yet. It was just a small problem, no different from any other day," Chen Li said, his face dark.
"Your family really is so loving and affectionate," Kaguya said, looking completely bewildered after getting the gist of the situation.
Though, Kaguya's own family situation wasn't much better.
"How did you know your parents were observing you?" Kaguya asked Chen Li curiously.
"Because normally, when they come home, they just flop onto the sofa like old masters and make me cook dinner," Chen Li explained casually.
Besides, if even Tonghua could sense that something was off with Chen Li's personal panel, how could his parents, his actual Guardians, not notice?
So, Chen Li knew from the very beginning that he would have to explain things.
But then again, he didn't want to cook either.
"???"
"Are you saying you knew they would suspect you if you didn't cook, but you still didn't cook? And you didn't explain right away, either. Why?" Kaguya asked, uncertain.
"Because I'm lazy," Chen Li said.
"Huh?"
This family of yours is truly fascinating. Making dinner is treated with the same gravity as plotting to usurp the throne.
---o---
"As expected of my precious boy, so clever. You can even fool a Legendary Investigator. This way, when you go to other worlds, I won't have to worry about you being tricked by some bad woman," Li Changxi said, suddenly appearing behind Chen Li. She reached out her hands and kneaded his cheeks with satisfaction.
"Did I really fool you?" Chen Li's words were muffled as his face was being squished.
"As expected of my precious boy, so clever. You can even fool a Legendary Investigator." Li Changxi squeezed his cheeks even harder.
"Actually, before we came home, we went to see Tonghua—the Evil God who signed a True Name contract with our Little Li. We learned the truth from her," Chen Shi said, looking up after flipping through the Guide and realizing he couldn't understand a single word.
The reason they went to see Tonghua first was because they had checked the security footage and saw that she had just left the house that morning, so they figured she must know something.
Modern technology, my friend.
Of course, Chen Li wasn't just relying on guesswork when he decided to slack off...
Tonghua had notified him via a Friend System message.
Miracle technology, my friend.
"So you two were acting from the moment you got back?"
"I wouldn't call it acting. We just wanted to judge, based on Little Li's performance, whether he had the ability to handle the complex situations and bad women of other worlds," Chen Shi said, pushing up a pair of glasses that had appeared out of nowhere.
"But why are you both so afraid of your son running into a bad woman?" Kaguya asked, confused.
"Isn't it obvious enough?" Chen Shi glanced at Kaguya.
The moment she felt his gaze, Kaguya understood.
I'm the bad woman?
Uh, okay, that's not exactly wrong.
"Tricking someone out of their wealth is a temporary matter. Tricking them out of their feelings can last a lifetime," Li Changxi said seriously after letting go of Chen Li.
"So what would you have done if Chen Li hadn't passed the test?"
"We would have found a bad woman in this world to trick him first."
"For real?"
"Of course not. If Little Li hadn't passed, we would have urged him to forge a Curio to prevent bad women from toying with his emotions."
"Can you really forge a Curio like that?" Kaguya looked at Chen Li.
"Theoretically, it's possible," Chen Li nodded.
"As expected of my precious boy, you can even do that. You're amazing," Li Changxi praised him without reservation.
"Alright, that's enough praise. Do you two have any Curios you want?" Chen Li quickly changed the subject.
"A Curio that lets us watch our precious son's experiences in other worlds in real-time?" Chen Li's mom proposed an idea.
"Possible, but no," Chen Li rejected the suggestion without a moment's hesitation.
"Do you have enough Crystals right now?" his dad asked.
"I have 56 left, which isn't really enough. But if forging Curios for you two also grants Crystals, I could recoup some of the cost," Chen Li said.
Chen Li never thought that hiding things was a good habit.
If he didn't have enough Crystals, he didn't have enough.
If he told his parents about the problem, maybe they could even help him get some Miracle Power.
"Oh? How would we know?"
"Just state your needs, and this book will judge for itself. Don't make any unreliable requests. Especially you," Chen Li said, turning to stare at his mother.
"How is that unreliable? I just want to see more of my precious son. What's wrong with that? Okay, okay, don't look at me like that. I'll change my request, sheesh." His mom took a step back and raised her hands in surrender.
Her child was all grown up, with wings of his own and ideas to match.
As a mother, she would naturally support him.
After all, when she was Chen Li's age, she had already conquered several "Secret Realms."
A Secret Realm was a special product left behind after two worlds came into contact—a small world constructed from the characteristics and a small portion of the world-source of both.
People from both worlds would attempt to clear the Secret Realm simultaneously, and whoever cleared it first would gain ownership.
Simply put, it was like two neighboring countries fighting over border resources.
This was another one of a Folklorist's duties, besides hunting and supervising visitors from other worlds.
Only one familiar with the "folklore" of both worlds could clear a Secret Realm faster, which was also the origin of the codename "Folklorist."
"Your father might need something like a time anchor to prevent him from getting lost in time. It's a low probability, but not zero," Li Changxi said seriously.
"Your mother needs something that can chisel through a Secret Realm as a lifesaver. The rules of Secret Realms are bizarre; no Folklorist can guarantee they'll successfully clear one every time," Chen Shi said.
"Your parents really love each other," Kaguya remarked from the side.
"I understand. You two go on a honeymoon and don't take any missions during that time. I'll handle the materials and necessary Entries for these two Curios. It'll take a month at most," Chen Li said after a moment of thought.
"My precious boy is so amazing."
"Stop praising me. You've already said that four times."
"Alright. I'll find a new way to praise you next time."
Li Changxi propped her chin on her hand, a smile on her face, clearly stating: I'm not wrong, and I don't intend to change.