CHAPTER 6: FAMILY FEUD
Haochen and his little sister stepped into the Han pharmacy, one of the largest spots in Night-less City.
They headed up to the second floor where the shop was. A middle-aged guy with a thick beard and short hair came over to greet them.
The man circled around Haochen, eyeing him closely. He picked up on something odd about the boy. No divine imprint aura at all, but his gut told him Haochen wasn't your average kid.
"Young man, what kind of divine imprint do you practice?" the middle-aged man asked, just to ease his curiosity.
"Ice imprint," Haochen said in a flat voice. But the hesitation on the man's face made it clear, he thought the boy might be pulling his leg.
Haochen noticed the doubt too, so he let out a cold aura that started freezing everything in the room. With a wave of his hand, an icy spear formed right in front of him.
"Ice imprint, huh? Not bad," the man said, heading back to the counter.
Haochen let out a quiet breath of relief. *Thanks to my origin imprint, I can handle any divine imprint element like this,* he thought to himself as he closed the gap to the counter.
"Shopkeeper, I'll take two spirit grasses, some Lingzhi, ginseng, and a transparent snow lotus," Haochen said. The man gathered it all up for him, and they headed out.
"Brother Haochen, why was that guy staring at you like that?" Xiaotong asked on the walk home. She could tell something felt off about the shop owner.
Over at the Long Family estate, Long Muchen got back and spilled the whole story to his mother, Hua Mulan. Many often said Muchen got his troublemaking streak from her, both of them had a knack for stirring things up.
They stormed over to the family head, Long Yuxuan's study. They knocked lightly, and a deep voice called from inside.
As soon as they stepped in, Mulan put on her best act of devotion. She dropped to the floor and started fake-sobbing. "My Lord, look what that worthless boy Haochen did to our precious son. You have to stand up for us," she wailed through her tears.
"Dad, see what Haochen did to me," Muchen chimed in. Yuxuan glanced at his son's battered face, dropped the brush he'd been using to jot notes on a paper, and got up to take a closer look.
"You mean Haochen did this to you?" Yuxuan asked, staring at the swelling. Muchen nodded slowly.
"Do you take me for an idiot, or someone easy to fool?" Yuxuan said sharply. Mulan and Muchen both hit their knees in a hurry.
"My Lord, everything I said is the absolute truth, plenty of people saw it," Mulan insisted, and Muchen nodded along.
Right then, Xiaotong's mother, Huang Rong, walked in. Her beauty hit you like a wave; she looked every bit the goddess. "So you're claiming a kid who can't even cultivate beat your son this badly, and you come running to report it? Aren't you embarrassed? My Lord, they're just out to hurt that poor boy," Huang Rong said.
"Fine, Huang Rong. Now you've sided with that sickly Luoxin and her bunch to undermine me. It won't fly," Mulan snapped back, fuming.
"You, who hooked up with Shi Feixuan to take down Luoxin, do you think no one knows about that?" Huang Rong shot right back.
The argument heated up fast, and Yuxuan couldn't pick a side. He slipped out to the balcony and bolted away quietly, leaving the two women to hash it out.
"Lian Cheng Ge!" Yuxuan called out. A young man around twenty-five appeared at his side, wearing a crisp white robe with his face half-hidden by a mask. Yuxuan whispered a few words in his ear, and the man vanished.
Meanwhile, Haochen and Xiaotong had just made it home. "Brother Haochen, let me go talk to my mom. I know Muchen and his mother aren't done with this," Xiaotong said, then split off from him.
Haochen reached his mother's courtyard and eased the door open, peeking inside. There she was, resting quietly. He let out a relieved sigh and backed away.
He gathered some firewood, struck a light, and got a small pan going over the flames. Then he started mixing in the herbs he'd picked up. Slowly, the brew turned into a liquid in the pan.
Suddenly, Haochen sensed a strong sword strike heading for his back. He didn't budge or even twitch, he knew the attacker meant no harm. He kept stirring his medicine like nothing was coming.
The sword halted right at his back. Haochen turned around, putting on a scared face like he couldn't swat a fly. "Who are you?" he asked, though he knew exactly who it was: his father's personal guard in that white robe.
"Why didn't you dodge just now?" Lian Cheng Ge asked coolly, brushing off the question.
"Are you here to make fun of me, senior? I can't cultivate, how could I even sense an attack?" Haochen shot back, sounding irritated.
Lian Cheng Ge studied him, searching for any hint of imprint aura, but found nothing. He flicked his hand, and the sword returned to its sheath on his back. Then he disappeared.
Haochen checked the brew. The liquid had gone a deep brown in the pan. *Perfect. This should help me steady my imprint energy,* he thought. He poured it into a glass vial and headed to his room.
Back in Yuxuan's study, Mulan and Muchen had stormed off, leaving Huang Rong alone with him. Lian Cheng Ge popped up and shook his head. Yuxuan got the message right away and waved him off. The man left.
But the idea of Haochen thrashing Muchen nagged at Yuxuan. "Rong'er, do you really think Haochen was the one who beat his brother that badly?" he asked at last. Huang Rong just gave him a shrug and an eye roll, then walked out.
Inside Haochen's room, he downed the medicine he'd made. He sat cross-legged, shut his eyes, and slipped into meditation.