Mana 5 Chapter 5 (Patreon)

By the time we untangled ourselves from the drama in the street, the Su family was aware of our entrance. What seemed like the entire compound was out front waiting for us.

“A little much, don’t you think?” I asked Wenxi.

She squinted at me, trying to figure something out. “You aren’t really from the Jin Family, are you?”

“No.” I answered. “I’m from a family that’s even more powerful.” At least judging by the power of each bloodline inside of me. The Pixiu bloodline was by far the strongest.

That caused Wenxi’s eyes to flash with fear. “Even so, you play a dangerous game, pretending to be from the Jin family.”

I waved it off. Worst case, I did indeed have the Jin Family bloodline. Thinking back to Old Jin, I was even more sure that he had some relation to the powerful family in question.

If the Jin Family ended up meeting me here, I’d find a solution. Or worst case, I’d bring out my Pixiu bloodline.

Although I still had a sense of danger and doom when I thought about that bloodline. I didn’t have enough strength yet for the conflict with my family that using it would summon, so I’d only use it as a last resort.

All it would take was one person who would see and be able to identify the bloodline. Word would then reach my mother’s family, and I was sure that cultivators more powerful than I was would be sent to investigate. I had no way of knowing if my mother would be able to intervene or not.

It would be a fast way to meet them, and an even faster way to die with my current strength.

The small display from the Feng Family had solidified just how powerful my mother’s family might be.

“Welcome home, Wenxi and Isaac.” Wenxi’s family said it in unison and bowed in our direction. More than a few of them let their eyes rove over the women behind me, understanding in their eyes.

Suddenly, I wasn’t just some lecherous man with many wives. I was a powerful cultivator from a powerful family that deserved these wives.

At the very least, I had their respect now. Even if part of it was false, I was still a powerful cultivator for my age, and I had several potent bloodlines.

“Wenxi, darling, come bring him back to your courtyard.” A woman whose smile was genuine stepped forward. It seemed like she was even holding some of her smile’s brilliance back, lest she upset the rest of her family.

Given her resemblance and the warmth in her eyes, I knew she must be Wenxi’s mother.

“Thank you, everyone. Isaac isn’t one for formalities. Please be at ease, and I’ll come see many of you in the coming days.” Wenxi bowed in the three directions of her family, showing proper respect before grabbing my arm to lead me in.

Some of them seemed a little disgruntled, but none of them spoke out of turn. In the end, my assumed relation to the Jin family and the Feng Family’s support cowed all of them into smiles.

Her family home was enormous, favoring white and swan motifs wherever it could. Even the bushes were trimmed into the shapes of wings and craning necks. And swan silhouettes decorating the tile floors.

When we got to her courtyard, I was surprised at how empty it was. “You don’t seem to have much in the way of servants.” I commented, stepping along the pebble path and through the entrance, where her mother had stopped by a fountain with a smile still lingering on her face.

“Wenxi! What a surprise!” Her mother wrapped her up in a hug before turning to me with a critical look that evaporated quickly as she hugged me fiercely, burying my head in her cleavage. “Oh Wenxi. You’ve made your mother so proud.”

She let me go, and I caught my breath while her mother continued. “You should have seen Tuomo’s face. When someone came running in saying that you came home with someone from the Jin family…” Her mother slapped her knee as she bent over, laughing hysterically.

“Mother, calm down. It’s unbecoming.” Wenxi grabbed her mother’s arm and tried to seat her.

Her mother dabbed at her eyes, where tears were leaking because she had been laughing so hard. “Oh, forget that. Introduce me.” She turned to me excitedly, eying the other women arrayed behind me. “Do you need an old biddy in your harem?”

I was trying to keep a straight face, but it seemed that my women hadn’t been so successful.

Kat burst out laughing. “I’m sorry. It’s not you.” She tried to wave her hands in front of her. “It is how you are all treating our Isaac.”

Wenxi’s mother frowned. “What do you mean?”

There was no sense in lying to her mother. “I’m not formally from the Jin family.” I explained. “But yes, I do possess their bloodline. I received it from an old man who I suspect is from the Jin Family.”

Her brow creased. “Explain yourself.” Understandably, she wasn’t happy at being fooled.

“I belong to another of the ancient families,” I hesitated; asking after my mother’s family now could show too much too soon. I’d wait for the moment, but I’d have to figure out how to ease it into conversation sooner or later.

In my moment of hesitation, Wenxi’s mother found her own explanation. “You’re a bastard of the Jin family.”

“Close enough.” I agreed.

“But with the bloodline you showed, they would certainly bring you into the fold.” Her mother said, clearly still confused.

“Not if I was taken from the immortal world and hidden away from my family in the mortal world.” I explained, glad to be able to use what was largely the truth, even though it was a different family.

There was a light of understanding in her eyes. “Ah. Do you intend to return to your family?”

“Once I am strong enough to stand on my own, yes.” It was the plan when I was ready.

She slapped the bench next to her. “Good. You aren’t some snotty rich playboy. I see you have a spine in you, and those girls behind you look to you to answer your own questions. Good, good, good.” She said the word thrice, as if once wasn’t enough to describe it.

“Then we’ll just keep treating you as a member of the Jin family. This’ll be our little secret, but you owe me.” Wenxi’s Mother nodded to herself.

I silently sighed a breath of relief. She hadn’t changed drastically knowing the truth, even if some of it was only half truths.

“Then what do you think of my daughter?” She wrangled Wenxi into her arms, her hands cupping Wenxi’s chest. “I know they aren’t as large, but looking behind you, I can see you are a man of a variety of tastes.”

“MOTHER!” Wenxi screamed.

“Oh, calm down. Do you not see the beauties behind him? You should take better care of your skin.” Wenxi’s mother pulled at her daughter’s cheeks.

Wenxi tried to bury her face in her hands, but her mother continued to fuss over her.

I felt like I should come in and save Wenxi from motherly embarrassment, but it was too fun to watch.

“Mother.” Wenxi finally grabbed her mother’s hands and pulled them down to the ground. “You are being rude; you haven’t even introduced yourself.”

“Oh.” She turned to me. “Hello there, I’m Tianxi. Of course, you all can call me mom.”

Wenxi just about gave up, slapping her blushing face back down into her hands. “I haven’t even married him yet. Toshi came and practically proposed to him today, and even Ming Feng came out of the woodworks and is having lunch with him tomorrow.”

“Nonsense. He didn’t stop at seven. Why would he stop at eight?”

Rachel cleared her throat. “I’m actually not married to him.”

“Great. Do you see any sign of him stopping?” Tianxi posed the question to Rachel.

“No?” Rachel said it more like a question and looked around at the other wives.

Michelle sighed. “I don’t think our love is stopping anytime soon. Who knows, by the end of this, he might have a whole army.”

“There, that’s my point my dear.” Tianxi chided Wenxi before looking me in the eye. “You will be accepting my daughter, correct?”

Since Wenxi and I had already discussed the situation, and we’d likely need her mother’s help, I laid it all out. “I want to kill Quixi and Hendrick. Joining your family is partially for that purpose.”

Tianxi paused, blinked several times before cracking a giant smile. “Where did you find this man, Wenxi? Come, give your old mother dating tips.” She bellowed with joyful laughter. “Oh. If you want to use my family to kill Quixi, not only will I support you in all of your endeavors, but I’ll scrounge up a few more pretty girls for you.”

Scratching my cheek, I didn’t know how to answer her. “That’s quite alright. I can find my own women.”

“No. You misunderstand. I’ll find plenty of maids for you.” She winked conspiratorially. “After all, it seems you are an insatiable man.”

“He has four more you haven’t seen yet too.” Wenxi added.

“Ha! He broke ten. Might as well be a runaway harem. See dear daughter of mine, he’s not going to stop until he’s in triple or maybe even quadruple digits.” Tianxi was beside herself with laughter as she squeezed her grumpy daughter into her chest.

While Wenxi’s mother had turned out to be quite a surprise, it didn’t stop me from evaluating her cultivation. She was at the sixth rank, as powerful as those cultivators from the Feng family that turned the two attackers into paste right there in the street. Her support would be invaluable.

“Wenxi, you have no need to worry. I’m not interested in chasing women who flaunt their bodies. I came here for you.” I reassured her.

“See?” Her mother poked her cheek. “Now, what am I doing? Come, I want to meet all of my new daughters and my son. Dinner will be ready shortly.” Tianxi got up, still holding onto her daughter and dragging her like a kitten into the largest building attached to the courtyard.

“She seems nice.” Michelle commented with a snicker.

The rest of the girls kept their tittering to a minimum as they walked into Tianxi’s wonderful home.

I had expected servants flitting about, but there were none. “Why do you not have servants?”

“Servants make people lazy and provide chinks in your armor. As I am now, I can’t have the luxury of such weakness.” Tianxi placed her daughter in a seat at the table and hurried off to the attached kitchen, fanning the stove and pulling out a pot larger than herself before setting it on the counter.

I was startled at first, but relaxed as I realized a sixth rank immortal had no need for potholders or even caution as she opened the lid and inspected the contents. “Roast boar. Killed it myself last week when I heard you were coming home.”

Tianxi cracked the pot with a swift tap of her palm and blew away the ceramic with a wave of her sleeve, leaving the platter-sized base of the pot sitting on the counter with a cooked boar. The boar had an apple in its mouth and was sitting on a bed of glazed fruits.

“Ta da.” She lifted the platter and danced over to the table before setting it down. “Fresh boar, your favorite.” She kissed Wenxi on the side of the head.

Wenxi had apparently steeled herself, because she managed to keep a reaction off her face. “Thank you, Mother. But you are going to have to explain a few things to me. What has gotten us in such a position that you don’t even trust servants.” Wenxi used a knife to slash off a hunk of the boar and scooped some of the glazed fruits onto a plate.

Tianxi sighed, serving herself and taking a bite before she spoke. “Tuomo took over the herb shops.”

“But that was our last business!” Wenxi slammed her hands on the table and stood up.

“I know.” Tianxi shook her head. “But he pressured all of our workers to not show up, while opening a competitor. While I was fixing that mess, he was already going after our suppliers. Since our volume was lowered, they made other deals.”

“That’s dirty.” Diana wrinkled her nose. “But then you just respond. You take a loss for a time being and drive customers back to you. Remind them that you are better.”

“Unfortunately, we cannot sustain such losses.” Tianxi sighed. “I tried, but at this point, he’s too far ahead.”

The entire table took a moment of silence to commiserate with her. It would seem that Wenxi’s position in her family was even more precarious than we’d expected.

“That’s not a problem.” I waved away everyone’s concerns. “If you need supplies, send a letter to Murdock. We’ll see what business or harvesting The Alliance can scrounge up in the area and have them sent here to the city. I’m sure herbs go for far more up here.”

“You have the ability to become my supplier?” Tianxi frowned. “You just came up from a lower world, according to my daughter.”

I took my own piece of the boar. “I did, and then I killed the Ying family, formed a business partnership with the Orchid Pavillion and brought over two thousand cultivators loyal to me from that world. We’ve essentially taken over Murdock.” Licking the grease off my fingers, I smiled.

Tianxi looked at her daughter for her evaluation.

“What he says is true. Murdock is all but his. I’m not sure how he did it, but Madam Orchid bent to him. Without the Ying Family, he now has Murdock in the palm of his hand.” Wenxi gave her mother an honest evaluation.

“Even if he has Murdock, it’s a backwater town that doesn’t produce that much value.” She pressed two fingers to her forehead, massaging herself. “But if we can get cheap goods, that’s better than nothing.”

I nodded, already thinking about how to word the letter back. Most of the cultivators from our world would be eager to cultivate and grow in the new immortal mana rich environment.

They would more than happily hunt the area around Murdock for herbs and kill mana beasts for cores and hides. I just needed to make sure that I provided the right incentives. It reminded me of the sects’ missions and rewards. That was the structure they were used to.

“We’ll see what my people can round up. I suspect they will be like a hoard of locusts around the town, devouring up all the resources. Where we come from, there is a little more pressure to grow.”

Tianxi grunted, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with me. Instead, she changed the topic. “You want to chase after Quixi and Hendrick?”

“Yes. Are they here in the family estate?” I asked.

Unfortunately, she shook her head. “No, they are out at present. They are on a mission for Tuomo and the family. But they’ll be back. Our family is likely going to offer them both up to help the Feng family.”

“Help the Feng family?” I leaned in. “What would they need your help with?”

“Talented cultivators of the fifth rank.” Tianxi explained. “There is a shard of the broken world coming near our own soon. Those are rich troves filled with treasure, but they are restrictive to those with more power.”

“They shatter and kill everyone on it if you try to push a cultivator with too much strength onto one.” Wenxi explained to me. “So, the peak for this one’s entry is the fifth rank?” She turned back to her mother.

“Exactly.” Tianxi smiled over her food. “It’s also an isolated adventure that we know Quixi and Hendrick will be on. If something were to happen to them… well… they would be worlds away, and no one would be able to prove a thing.”

I liked my new mother-in-law. “So how do we join them?”

“Prove yourself to the Feng Family, which is easier said than done.”

I paused in thought. Lunch with Ming would be the perfect place to talk my way into it. I had a feeling I’d need to convince not only of my strength but also of my loyalty.

As Tianxi said, it would be dangerous for everyone involved to bring someone into the shard of the broken world. Rules and alliances would be brittle ties that could be severed for treasure and power. I could already imagine the backstabbing that would occur. “Will other people besides the Feng Family be bringing people to this?”

“All the cities will send a delegation. There might even be a few factions outside of them that will send a delegation as well.” Tianxi nodded, approving of my question. “At a minimum, you need a seventh rank immortal to bring a group.”

“So then, we need everyone here to cultivate to the fifth rank before we leave.” I turned to my wives, Wenxi, and Rachel. “I’m not about to leave any of you behind if I can help it.”

Tianxi pressed her brows down. “That’s more mana crystals than I can provide, as much as I do what to help you.”

I had expected that to be the case. If she didn’t have enough resources to keep her shops open, there was no way she could afford the mana crystals required to elevate eight women to the fifth rank.

Madam Orchid had already given me what I needed for my own, but asking her for more was unlikely to succeed. She might help the Hua sisters and Rachel without me asking, given her ties to them, but that still left five needing enough crystals.

I had my lunch with Ming. I wondered if I could find a way to get her help with closing some of the gap.

“That’s fine. Diana, Nikki and Rachel, I’ll need you three to report to the Orchid Pavilion here soon. Learn what you can from the Madam, and progress as much as you can in preparation for this trip.”

I turned to Wenxi. “Is there anything among the family or city that would allow the rest of us to pick up jobs to earn mana crystals?” While we’d brought some resources, I’d needed to leave most of what we’d recovered from the Ying family with The Alliance and my children to help them start out.

“There’s a job board in the city where people post work, and a similar one among the family. But I can tell you that the one in the family is fairly picked clean.” Tianxi answered for her daughter. “Unless you have a taste for danger, you won’t be able to make what you want in the short time left.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Michelle put a hand on Tianxi’s arm. “We are all quite vicious when we need to be.” She grinned wickedly.

Kat and Celina joined her, grinning widely while Thea scowled and the Hua sisters gave our new mother-in-law a sinister smile.

None of them were soft. They had each proven themselves and done what was needed to protect and elevate our family.

“It seems I misjudged you all for pretty flowers. I failed to see just how sharp your hidden thorns were.” Tianxi lifted a glass. “To working hard.”

AN - Mother-in-laws, gotta love them. Happy New Year everyone.