Chapter 48 - Family Dinner (1/2)

'Did this demonstration bore you by chance?'

While the third elder was answering the inner member's questions, suddenly, a mental message came to Hei's mind.

It was the first time that someone else besides his mother or his sisters spoke to him in that way, and so he was slightly surprised that someone else's voice was ringing in his head, but he quickly recomposed himself.

The voice in question wasn't entirely unfamiliar; it was the third elder's voice who was continuing to provide answers as if nothing strange was happening. From this, Hei understood that the man in front of him had a remarkable ability to divide his attention into several things. He wasn't missing anything of what was happening in his surroundings.

Without further delaying thinking about why the third elder was contacting him, Hei replied calmly.

'It doesn't bore me at all. Instead, I was amazed, and I am curious to see the next pill's procedure. It's just that I have no pertinent questions to ask at the moment. It is the first time I come into contact with the alchemical creation process. Having no experience, I don't know what questions to ask. However, I was able to follow everything described in your explanation, and in any case, I noted every single step and words.'

To this answer, the third elder's eyes moved briefly to Hei and noticed that indeed the small snake in his arms was filling page after page of the notebook. It was a very curious scene, but at the time, he had no time to examine that curious creature, nor did he intend to. He had already been warned by the sect leader not to investigate the boy's identity and oddities.

'All right. The sect leader herself asked me to come and teach a lesson for you today, the same goes for the fifth elder for the formation class. If you had chosen blacksmithing, you would have found the fourth elder. It is a privilege that is granted to you only this time because of your potential. Whether you or your partner can take advantage of this opportunity depends only on you.' The third elder explained calmly.

'Can I ask the reason for this action? I am grateful to the sect leader and the elders for this opportunity, but I am interested in the reason.'

'The reason is simple - we need you to get stronger as quickly as possible, that's all. More details will be given to you later. There is no reason why you should worry about it now. As you know, the sect leader has no bad intentions. She just wants you to be able to help with her business as soon as possible. For this reason, if you have decided to pursue secondary activities, we have decided to give you and Lian a taste of what a master is so that you can improve your skills more quickly. '

Ending the conversation here, the third elder clapped his hands to indicate that the questions time was over and that the present inner members had to return to their seats for the continuation of the lesson. It caused a little discontent in them because they wanted to continue impressing the third elder, but they quickly recovered to the fact that the lesson wouldn't be ended there.

Hei followed his other companions and decided not to continue to question beyond the man; after all, nothing would have changed if he had known the sect leader's plans in detail right from the start. His goal wouldn't have changed at all - he simply had to become stronger and overcome every challenge thrown at him.

The third elder then went on to explain the second-stage pill following the same explanation procedure he had used before for the first-stage pill. When he had finished explaining it and answering the following questions, it was time to end the lesson while the sunset was approaching outside.

The inner members in the classroom greeted the third elder by bowing their heads in respect and waited for him to leave before starting to talk to each other about the incredible occasion of that day.

Hei took advantage of this to sneak out of the classroom unseen. Fortunately, the general attention had settled on the third elder, and he was quickly forgotten by his fellow students, which was, on the contrary, a very welcomed thing to him since he didn't like to have other people's eyes on him.

With quick steps, he went to the classroom where Xing and Lian were, and after making sure they were alright, he took Lian by hand as Xing returned to his body and brought everyone out of the inner sect to the spiderweb house.

They arrived at their destination when the sunset was in the middle of its path. Outside the spiderweb house, waiting for them, was Bao Bei. She had been waiting outside for their arrival for some time by now.

In reality, Bao Bei, while trying to make an effort to fulfill her son's request, had woken up several times tormented during her afternoon nap. She had been wondering if she should have gone to sneak into the inner sect and ascertain her cubs' safety. But she managed to hold back her impulses and was able to resist until the end of the day.

When she saw Hei, Ye, Xing, and Lian returning unharmed and happy, the anxiety that was gripping her heart melted like snow in the sun, and an irrepressible joy enveloped her. Quickly, after increasing her size, she reached them and hugged them one by one, including Lian.

The four let her do it; they also were very happy about this show of affection. Although she wasn't her daughter, Lian also didn't mind that affectionate gesture. It had been a long time since she had been so warmly squeezed. She let herself enjoy the feeling that she was living, regardless of whether a big spider was hugging her instead of a human being.

After freeing them from her embrace, Bao Bei took them all to eat. Hei thanked Shui, the buffaloes, and the bees for guarding his mother. For the occasion, Hei proposed, therefore, to have dinner outdoors, and everyone went to work for the preparations.

In a short time, they took the wood necessary for a bonfire as well as fruits and flowers from the nearby forest that was once the beehive's home. Ye and Xing also managed to capture one rabbit each, and Hei showed off his skills as a butcher by removing the skin from the meat evenly, and with his mother, they began to prepare soup by dipping the rabbit meat together.

When it was finally ready, it was already evening, and under the stars' radiance, humans, animals, and spirit beasts sat together to eat together as equals.

From the outside, it would undoubtedly have been considered as an absurd scene. After all, it was difficult for people to imagine eating surrounded by a herd of buffaloes and an entire hive while there were also snakes and spiders.

No one would want such disturbing and dangerous animals near them during such a vulnerable time as during meals. But for Hei, it wasn't strange at all. It was such an ordinary scene that it couldn't be more ordinary. Even Lian, who wasn't born in the same circumstances as Hei, showed no aversion to being surrounded by all those living beings. She simply ate her soup calmly without showing any reaction.