Mana 5 Chapter 32 (Patreon)

Ming kissed the side of my cheek. “We should probably head off to the celebratory dinner.”

“Can we bring in the rest of my family?” I asked, knowing she’d say yes.

“Of course. I’ll have a guard go get them.” Ming waved at one of the armored men standing around the edge of the courtyard. He moved towards her immediately. “Go to the Su Family and collect the rest of Isaac’s family.”

“At once.” He slammed his fist against his chest and wrapped himself in his domain before rocketing away.

Ming turned back to my mother. “It’s so good to meet you and see the woman who made Isaac.” Her eyes pressed into two crescents as she smiled.

My mother scratched at her arm nervously. “I can’t say that I’m very responsible for how he turned out.”

She was still uncomfortable. Her eyes briefly glanced at me before she looked away, her lips pursing. I could see just how hard it had been for her to leave me for all those years. She still wasn’t over it.

“Mom, Ming, come on. Let’s go grab some food.” Maybe a glass of wine or three might help her calm down.

“If it isn’t the Yunpi family.” Elder Feng stepped up to us before we’d gone two steps further. It would seem we’d have to wait on the wine.

My mother pulled out an invitation with a smile. “Here for the wedding.”

“Of your son.” Elder Feng made it clear he’d overheard our conversation. I doubted much in the Feng Family Estate escaped his notice. “Rumors are already circulating that he possesses multiple powerful bloodlines.”

My mother looked at me in confusion. “Yes… I’d heard those too.”

While she might have been responsible for bringing my Pixiu bloodline to life, she had little hand in the rest of the bloodlines I had created.

For the first time, I realized she didn’t plan for that. I had done that all on my own with the power inside of me.

“It’s true, but that is, unfortunately, about to end.” I told both of them. “What I’ve used to unlock them is nearly consumed.”

It was a partial lie, but I was saving the rest for my mana beasts. The way they’d doted on my children with my other wives had made it clear they were meant to be mothers. I wouldn’t take that away from them.

I hoped we’d have a chance soon to sit down and work with Phoebe to figure out how to give my mana beasts real bodies.

“Shame, but probably for the best.” Elder Feng nodded to himself, accepting my answer at face value. “Do you have children?”

“Yes.” I looked at my mother as I said the rest. “Over a dozen, but not one has taken the Pixiu bloodline. Each of them has taken after their mothers.”

“I have grandchildren?” My mother said, shock written on her face until it shifted to a wacky smile. “Are they here in the city?”

Elder Feng only smiled, putting his hands in his sleeves. He was satisfied with my answer. I knew he’d want to keep the Feng Family blood flowing.

Stepping away, he drifted back into the crowd, mingling with the rest of the guests.

Guests fluttered around him, each wanting to get face time with the active elders of the Feng Family.

“They are tucked away for now. When I know that the Yunpi family means me no harm, we can go see them.” I told my mother.

“I would like to meet them too.” Ming said.

I smiled, knowing a few of my children who would take to her immediately.

“We can. But I won’t do it until I am sure that I’m not bringing danger to their door.”

My mother had a worried look on her face, but then she shook her head. “If you had been weaker, the family would have tried to take your bloodline. But at this point, diluting it by trying to transfer it to someone else would be pointless. You’ve shown potential that they can’t ignore.”

Ming sucked in a breath with a hiss. “That would have been brutal.”

“Yes, but we are in a dire situation. Like most of the ancient families, our bloodline is growing dangerously thin. The two of you are in a similar position; you represent the potential resurgence of both your families.” My mother laid out her thoughts.

“I know. My grandfather has already warned me several times.” Ming nodded with a grave expression before turning to me. “We’ll be targeted by the other families, Isaac. Until we pass on our bloodlines, we are a lone anomaly that represents the rise of our families.”

After everything I’d done, I hadn’t given that much thought. I’d known the Leon family would be after me, but I hadn’t realized that the rest of the ancient families would target me so quickly as well.

They were all dwindling and would hate to see competition restore themselves when they could not.

“My secrets are out. We will just have to deal with the consequences. Everyone will know that you have the blood essence, too.” I looked to my mother for her opinion.

“We can hope they will try individually for a while. Most of the large ancient families are too proud to work together.” She pondered it, seeming to start running through all the potential scenarios.

Her eyes cleared. “But enough of this talk. I see your wives coming down, and I’d love to meet them.” My mother looked at the sky.

Sure enough, the guard was returning with a crowd wrapped in his domain.

The arrival of new attendees coming through the air created a stir among the guests.

When he landed and released his domain, my wives ignored all the onlookers, rushing to Ming and I.

My mother stood tall and proud, but they swarmed around her, gasping at Ming and congratulating her. Their excitement was palpable as they bounced on their feet.

I nudged my disappointed mother, pointing her towards the other two guests that had come with the guard.

My father and Breeze walked slowly. My father was staring at my mother as if she was a mirage and would disappear with his next step. Breeze walked next to him, his head flipping back and forth as he tried to figure out what was going on.

“Tom?” My mother gasped.

“Mary.” He surged forward, wrapping her in a hug. Then he picked her up and twirled her around.

It was such a display that my wives paused, frozen, looking at the two of them.

“Is that your mother?” Michelle tugged at my arm, disbelief in her voice. She already knew the answer.

“Yes, it is.”

There was a silent communication between my wives before they went up one by one to hug her. As they approached, my father looked hesitant to drift very far, like she might disappear.

“Thank you for bringing Isaac into the world for us. I’m Kat.” Kat crushed my mother with a hug.

She flailed, hugging each of them back in turn, but quickly being overwhelmed. By the sixth one, my mother was casting looks of disbelief my way.

All I could do was shrug. I had a lot of wives, and if she ever called me on it, I was going to say I probably had a complex from an absent mother.

I chuckled to myself, deciding she may not find it quite so funny. Maybe better to leave that one unsaid.

Once all my wives were done hugging her, Breeze ran up and hugged her too. “Mother!”

She gave me the strangest of looks before mouthing ‘who the fuck is this.’ She awkwardly returned the hug.

“Mom, meet Breeze. He’s father’s adopted son and disciple.”

“Ah!” She made a loud noise of understanding. “Pleasure to meet you too, Breeze. I guess if Tom has adopted you, that would make me your mother.”

Tianxi stepped up next, looking my mother over. “Yunpi. Too bad he is going to marry into my Su family.”

There was a moment of tension between the two before Tianxi laughed. “Who am I kidding? Welcome. This little one is mine.” Tianxi snatched Wenxi before she could escape and held her up like a trophy.

“Mom. Really? Here?” Wenxi sulked like a pouting kitten.

“So cute.” My mother pinched Wenxi’s cheeks, completely drawn into Tianxi’s treatment of her daughter.

I thought for a moment Wenxi was going to faint from embarrassment, so I stepped forward to try to save her. “If all of you would join us, I think there’s dinner set up in the hall?” I turned to Ming to confirm.

“Yes, please. Formal dinner won’t start for a few hours, but let’s all go in and catch up.” Ming gestured everyone towards the hall and hooked an arm in mine, pulling me up ahead from the rest.

My mother snatched my father and dragged him in the rear.

“Quite the family you have. I can’t wait to meet the kids.”

“Watch out for Ember; she likes to cause trouble.” I teased.

“You know the Yunpi family is going to swoop in and collect them all the moment they know where they are.” Ming reminded me.

I nodded. I suspected something like that would happen. Regardless of how strong they might be in their relative area, there was little they could do to run from a seventh rank immortal.

“They’ll be treated well. Protected. But they will intend to lock you to the Yunpi family.” Ming continued.

“I think I’m already locked in. My mother and my family need me to help continue the bloodline.”

Ming nodded. “They also serve your best chance of supporting you to the seventh rank.”

I paused, realizing she might know what it took to reach that length. “What will I need?” I asked curiously.

“I don’t know.” Ming said, and I sagged a little. “What I do know is you need another seventh rank to bring you into the void. No one breaks through to seventh rank on this world.”

That surprised me, but it made sense now that she’d said it. It explained why my mother would stumble onto a different world, why Old Jin had been in the mortal world, and why elders from the Feng Family could go missing wandering the void.

If the secret to breaking through to the seventh rank was in the void, then it stood to reason that the eighth rank was beyond that. “Has anyone made it to the eighth rank?”

“No.” Ming was adamant. “If it happened, then the balance between the ancient families would shift overnight.” She gave a little shiver.

We stepped out of the courtyard into a large open hall on the Ming Family Estate. Once we stepped into the courtyard, guests pulled Ming and I aside to congratulate us. A few were even brazen enough to start talking business deals with Ming.

“I’m sorry, this is my wedding day.” She brushed them off, turning with a scowl. “Some people can’t just take a day to enjoy life.”

I kissed her cheek to cheer her up. “Well, good thing you didn’t get married to one. We always push ourselves forward, but if we don’t take the time to rest and relax, then what are we pushing ourselves for?”

“Well said.” Ming picked up two glasses of champagne and handed one to me, clinking it before downing her own glass.

I followed suit, strolling with her through the hall. We were both surrounded by people, but as we walked, it felt like we were alone in our own world.

The wedding had been sudden, partly because I’d choked until the last moment, but now I was riding a high as I walked around with the beautiful Ming on my arm.

And I had to admit, there was something special about the ceremony. Maybe I did need to do that with Wenxi and my other wives.

As we turned around to stroll back, I noticed that my mother had been pulled over into a corner to talk to Elder Feng. Who knew what those two would be up to.

“Come, let’s not let those two scheme too much without us.” I pulled Ming along with me.

“Isaac, Ming.” My mother turned warmly to us. “We were just discussing what your marriage means for our two families.”

“We both have your interests at heart, but of course, the matter of children will be complicated.” Elder Feng warned us. “There hasn’t been a marriage between two of the large families in…” He paused, trying to recollect. “At least a thousand years. I think the Yi family and the Jin family had two that eloped once.”

“Very long ago.” My mother agreed. “I only heard about it. And they were hunted down by both families.”

I winced, hoping that wasn’t what the two of them were talking about.

“But neither of you two are in that situation.” Elder Feng clarified. “We were discussing how you two would stay together despite both families wanting you.”

My mother was back in my life for one day, and she was already manipulating my fate. I tried not to laugh.

“I think it makes sense for you both to come over to the Yunpi family soon, son. They need to meet you and see who you are.” My mother explained. “Of course, Ming would be allowed a guard contingent if she wishes.”

“Oh, we’ll send an elder to watch over her.” Elder Feng clarified.

We all paused. I hadn’t considered that Ming would be so valuable to her family that they’d send a seventh rank immortal to watch over her.

“Thank you both for looking after us.” I bowed to my mother and Elder Feng. Even if what they were doing was quite controlling, it came from a place of concern.

“You both are the futures of our family.” My mother and Elder Feng said in unison before looking at each other strangely.

“We will need the ability to stretch our own wings, though.” I reminded both of them sternly. “After all, so many animals don’t breed in captivity.”

A slight frown came from Elder Feng before Ming tugged at my sleeve and glared at me with him. “I want kids.”

“Yes. I don’t think that’ll be a problem if my track record sets any precedent.” I nudged her, smiling.

Ming blushed a deep red that matched her dress as she looked down at the ground between us. “Idiot.”

“Go on. We won’t get up too much trouble.” Elder Feng shooed Ming and me away.

Time turned into a bit of a whirlwind. We were passed around, tied together by the red string. We traded pleasantries with numerous guests, flowing from one to the next through the crowd. I started daydreaming as Ming continued to charm and take the lead with each of them.

But it hadn’t taken long to determine that my heritage was known. People stopped piling on gratitude at Ming and ignoring me.

More than a few times, we were asked to confirm if I was really from the Yunpi family and had multiple bloodlines.

While I didn’t love my secrets being out in the world, it was nice to be able to own who I was and what I could do.

And my confirmation only made me more popular. People started to offer me and my wives trade deals in Blueheavens and even asked about prices in Cloud City.

My family had just become a link that some of these families thought they could use to their advantage.

“You left your date all alone. Very rude.” Lanhua draped herself over my shoulder as we stepped up into a new group. This group contained Jade and her aunty.

Ming gave me a look as if to politely ask ‘her too?’ I looked over at Lanhua and back at Ming, shrugging.

I wasn’t sure what her goal was. She seemed flirty at times, but often cooled down once she got what she wanted.

Ming just eyed me for a moment before she politely replied to Lanhua. “I stole your date. You’ll just have to put up with my terrible company for now.”

“Ah. No, never say that about yourself. You are ten times the company of this one. Always surrounded by lovely ladies.” Lanhua waved off Ming’s comment urgently.

“He seems fun. Lots of excitement follows him around.” Elder Yutu piped up. “So, how did you solve the final puzzle in the tomb? My niece has told me about how you killed yourself.”

The whole group seemed to lean in and listen.

“The stage was compressed ash.” I told Jade and her aunt. “Think about the words with that in mind.”

“Ah.” Jade nodded. “Rise from the ashes takes a new meaning if that stage was ash. But even if I had realized that was what it meant, I don’t know if I could have stabbed myself like that.” She shook her head in disbelief before telling the crowd. “He pulled out his sword and just-” She mimed stabbing herself in the gut and her legs starting to fold under her as she croaked.

“No! He killed himself?” Lanhua gasped, feeding Jade exactly the reaction she wanted.

“Yes! It looked like he’d bled out on the stage to us. But that must not have actually been you?”

Even Ming was listening intently for the rest of my story.

“Yeah, the second the blade touched my own stomach, all of you disappeared and a staircase fell from the mural. A door opened at the top. And inside that room was a hoard of treasure.” I paused for dramatic effect.

“But I did somewhat cheat the goal of that challenge. The phoenix said she wanted the first loser from the fight, because they would be someone brave enough to fight on that stage to the death, but not the cocky asshole who won.”

Elder Yutu let out a peel of laughter as she slapped her tiny thighs. “Oh, that old biddy must have had a sense of humor. Did you meet her?”

I could feel angry pulsing from Phoebe’s mana ring, like she was ready to get out and fight the elder for her biddy comment.

“Just for a moment.” I lied.

Before I could be questioned further, I was once again pulled from the group. This time, it was by a servant leading Ming and me to a lone table with two seats.

I sat down, glad for a reprieve from all the socializing. Feeling a hand wander along my thigh, I turned to take in Ming.

She smiled up at me, stunning in her red dress. I couldn’t believe I’d hesitated to make her mine. She leaned in, nuzzling into my side as toasts kicked off.

Breeze of course, felt the need to get up and give a toast for his brother’s big day. But I just laughed, enjoying having my family around me, and a beautiful woman on my arm.

I took in the moment, not knowing what would happen the next day when word got out about our families joining. I knew my life was about to change, but I was determined to make sure my family was safe, and I’d find a way to be powerful enough to ensure that.