"As you command, mother!" Gu Fan's smile widened. With a flick of his wrist, a small, ornate porcelain jar appeared in his hand from thin air.
Madam Li's eyes narrowed slightly at the neat little trick.
'Is he using a spatial ring? A cripple like him shouldn't have such treasures.'
Meanwhile, Gu Fan had already opened his system.
Right after he slipped out of the dungeon and came to his shed, Gu Fan used the 2 System Spins he got from the system as reward.
And the rewards were nothing to laugh about.
[System Log: Host has successfully utilized the rewards from the 2 System Spins performed earlier.]
[Spin 1 Reward: 'Spring's Embrace Tea' - A high-tier spiritual tea laced with a potent, colourless, and odourless aphrodisiac that forcefully ignites the deepest carnal desires. It also blocks the meridians and seals the cultivation for the next 3 hours.]
[Spin 2 Reward: 'Marrow-Cleansing Ascension Pill' - A peerless pill capable of breaking cultivation bottlenecks and drastically increasing a cultivator's innate potential (Stored in Inventory).]
Gu Fan had decided to use the Marrow-Cleansing Ascension Pill and increase his cultivation first. But just then his Ancient Venom Physique started to act up.
And now Madam Li had also appeared into his humble shed.
So instead of Marrow-Cleansing Ascension Pill, it was the perfect opportunity to use the Spring Embrace Tea.
His Second brother wanted him dead Gu Fan grinned, 'Huh!'
And he sent his own mother at his door steps to do the job. What a good brother he was.
He did not know how Madam Li found out that he was here in his shed. The news of Gu Chen ordering the guards to throw him in the dungeons must have reached her. So if she is here, why did she not ask him how he escaped?
'Bleh!' Gu Fan shrugged, 'If she is not asking. Why should I care?'
'Maybe she is too confident and doesn't care why, where and how I die!'
Barely able to contain the excitement in his heart, Gu Fan moved to a dusty corner of the shed, pulling out two chipped teacups and an old, rusted spirit-stone stove from a cluttered storage crate.
He set the stove down, ignited it, and placed a crude kettle of water on top to boil.
Madam Li looked down on his pathetic setup with utter disdain.
With an elegant wave of her jade-like hand, a gentle breeze of Origin Qi swept the dirt and grime off an old wooden chair in the corner. She sat down gracefully, crossing her long legs beneath her silk robes.
"I am already regretting agreeing to this final wish," she sighed, her tone dripping with fake pity, "Look at you. Living like a rat in this dump."
"But I suppose it's not entirely your fault. Your mother was just a lowly maid who didn't know her place, and as punishment, the heavens cursed you with crippled meridians."
"Then it is only natural you ended up as a stepping stone for your betters."
Gu Fan kept his head down, meticulously arranging the crimson-veined tea leaves in the cups, "You are right, mother. I am but a speck of dust," he agreed helplessly, masking the cold smirk forming on his lips.
"I was born a nobody…"
"I am going to die a nobody…"
"Indeed," Madam Li continued, her eyes growing distant, "You are indeed unlucky. My own son... He is somewhat useless as well."
"He is spoiled, impatient, and constantly making a fool of himself trying to impress that side-branch genius."
"But it doesn't matter. He is my blood after all." Madam Li sighed, "I will pave his path with gold and corpses if I must."
"I will make sure he becomes the next Patriarch, even if I have to clean up every single one of his clumsy messes."
"One of those is unfortunately you."
In the meantime, the water in the crude kettle came to a rolling boil. Gu Fan poured the hot water over the strange tea leaves.
An intoxicatingly sweet aroma instantly bloomed, spreading through the shed and masking the stench of dirt and the poisoned chicken soup.
Madam Li inhaled deeply.
The scent was dense with soothing spiritual energy, but as it entered her lungs, a strange sensation washed over her.
It wasn't poisonous. Her Origin Realm senses would have detected that immediately.
Instead, it felt like a tiny, warm feather brushing against the insides of her starved, Yin-deficient meridians. A strange, unexplainable itch blossomed deep in her lower abdomen, making her shift uncomfortably on the wooden chair.
'What is this feeling?' She thought, her perfectly plucked brow furrowing slightly, 'The Qi in this tea is incredibly potent,'
'It feels so soothing. The restlessness in my heart… I feel so relaxed.'
'Then why do I feel that itch? It's as if... No, that's impossible. I am simply tired from managing the clan.'
Soon, the tea was perfectly brewed. The rich, crimson liquid shimmered in the dim light. Gu Fan respectfully poured the tea into one of the chipped cups and offered it to her with a subservient bow.
Madam Li took it gracefully, as her Spirit Qi swept the tea one last time. It contained dense, soothing spiritual energy, but no lethal poison she could detect.
With a dignified grace she raised the tea cup to her lips, as she allowed the warm liquid to slide down her throat.
"Excellent taste for such a wretched place," she murmured, lowering the cup slightly. She rested it elegantly on her knee, looking at him with mild amusement, "I must admit, Gu Fan, I expected some tears, a little begging. Perhaps even a pathetic attempt to flee."
Gu Fan kept his head bowed, pouring a cup for himself, "Would it have changed anything, mother?"
A faint, cruel smile touched her lips.
"No. And I would not have been able to enjoy such a good tea," She raised the chipped cup again, taking a second, slow sip.
She closed her beautiful eyes for a brief moment, savoring the rich spiritual energy that seemed to unnaturally warm her stagnant meridians, "Such a waste of good tea on a dying man."
She opened her eyes, fixing her sharp gaze on him.
"Since we are sharing this... final moment, indulge my curiosity. How exactly did a cripple like you escape the underground dungeon?"
Gu Fan maintained his subservient posture, though his green eyes glinted with hidden amusement.
"The guards down there must have had a sudden change of heart, mother. They saw my pitiful state and decided to be big-hearted enough to let me go."
Madam Li scoffed delicately, as she swirled the remaining crimson liquid in her cup with a refined grace, watching it catch the dim morning light before taking a third, deliberate sip.
The strange, warm feather brushing against her core grew into a distinct, pulsing heat, but she arrogantly dismissed it as the tea's potent spiritual nourishment doing its work.
"Big-hearted guards in the Gu Clan? Do not insult my intelligence, Gu Fan," she said, her voice dropping a fraction of an octave.
"You clearly had outside help. Or perhaps you managed to hide a low-grade artifact from the guards."
She let out a soft, elegant sigh, the heat in her chest making her breath hitch ever so slightly.
"But keep your secrets. It matters little now."
She raised the cup to her glossed lips to finish the last drop, "Close your eyes, Gu Fan. I will make it…"
But she suddenly stopped between her words.
Her fingers trembled, as her grip loosened and the teacup slipped from her hands, shattering on the stone floor.
A sudden, terrifying heat exploded in her stomach, rushing straight down her stomach, towards her starved pussy.
Her Origin Realm cultivation, which she normally used to suppress her natural urges, had suddenly completely short-circuited.
Her legs instantly lost their strength, as she felt a wet itch between them. Instinctively she tightened them, wanting to stop her juices from flowing out.
As Gu Fan watched Madam Li squirm, he stood up and stepped closer towards her. And just as Madam Li was about to lose her balance and fall backwards, his strong arms wrapped firmly around her waist to catch her before she hit the dirt floor.
He pulled her towards him as her soft, magnificent breasts hit against his broad, burning chest.
"It seems my end won't be today, mother!"