Chapter 1185: 18.23 First Grey Star - Meeting with their cousins.
Somatic Town
When it came time for them to meet each of their own cousins, Lu Ming and Mo Yuhan were covered in bruises and dirt; with mud on their clothes and purple patches on their faces and arms, they looked no different from beggars. For people like Mo Xuejing and Ye Jieye, who keep cleanliness as a routine, the two looked like beggars. Even Lu Shang, Leica, Ji Yoonjun, and Su Jin were called to eat.
These four ignored the two men who fought like children outside the villa.
Ye Jieye said, "Too dirty. Someone, heal their injuries and throw them in the bath!"
"Guang, treat. Ask someone to clean them up. Don"t let the cubs see them like this. How embarra.s.sing!" Mo Xuejing said.
Mo Xuejing and Lu Ming were even more embarra.s.sed by their cousins" reactions, and Lu Shang and the others felt that it had served them well, with the exception of Su Jin, who is confused by everything and finds himself feeling dizzy most of the time because almost everything he remembers is incorrect, as if the life he believed to be past is only a dream.
Under his boss"s orders, Doctor Guang treated the two mischievous brats; after they recovered, Roi wrapped them up and dragged them into the nearby bathroom, where they were forced to take a bath together and had their faces painted in an ugly manner, as they could not believe what had happened. It is not until they are once again presentable enough for their cousins to be willing to meet them.
Leica ordered the house staff to set out some snacks and drinks, which now filled the room"s table. Lu Ming and Mo Yuhan sat side by side, but they dared not fight again—not even if they glared at each other. After all, they would never dare fight in front of Ye Jieye and Mo Xuejing.
Ye Jieye asked, "So why are you guys here? Speak one at a time."
"I...MMPH!"
Mo Yuhan covered Lu Ming"s mouth as he was about to speak and took this split second to take the first priority to talk.
"I came here to look for Brother Xuejing! The old man says to stay with my cousin. But please don"t take it wrong. I am not interested in the newly discovered ingredient," Mo Yuhan said while being careful with his tone.
He had been waiting at the villa"s corner where his cousin was supposed to arrive, and he had seen his cousin"s relationship with Satan. Because of this, he is extremely courteous to Ye Jieye, fearing that his cousin will chastise him for his impoliteness—he can be impolite to Lu Ming, but not to someone of Ye Jieye"s stature. After all, he still wanted to live a long life.
Mo Xuejing frowned. "You came here for me? I already told the clan that Guang was enough to accompany me. You should go back, Yuhan."
"No. no. no. Please don"t, Brother Xuejing!"
Mo Yuhan stopped where he was and continued kneeling, not daring to reach out to Mo Xuejing under the man beside him"s piercing and sharp gaze. He was about to touch his cousin when he felt a dangerous gaze on him. He searched for the source and saw Ye Jieye staring down at him with apathetic eyes.
"Brother Xuejing, have mercy. I"ll receive the Clan"s Punishment if I go home like this. I wouldn"t do anything; just let me stay by your side during the hunt. I promise not to do anything else," Mo Yuhan was begging his cousin. He actually didn"t want to go home. Especially after meeting this smelly man, Lu Ming, he refused to let this man be ahead of him in anything.
Mo Xuejing glanced at Ye Jieye as if asking for his side. Only when he saw Ye Jieye did he make his decision.
"You can go. But if you interfere with our hunt, you"re going to get your punishment from me instead of the clan. Do you understand, Yuhan?" Mo Xuejing said.
Mo Yuhan nodded his head like a good boy and declared, "I promise. I won"t interfere with your hunting!"
"How about you? What do you need, Lu Ming?" Ye Jieye asked.
He was aware that this man was the world"s Protagonist Gong, so even if he stopped him, the opportunity he discovered would probably end up going to him—that is, unless he interfered personally.
When his cousin contacted Lu Ming, who had been glaring at Mo Yuhan, he instantly became meek, a.s.suming Ye Jieye would not remember who he was because they had said he had lost his recollections of the past.
"B-Big Brother Ye, you remember me? They said that you lost your memories of the past." The individuals Mo Yuhan, Ji Yoonjun, and Su Jin looked shocked when Lu Ming made these remarks. The man in front of him is so composed around others that he cannot even recall that they believed there was nothing wrong at all.
Ye Jieye calmly sipped in a cup of black coffee and responded, "I still don"t remember. Shang gave me some information so I at least knew those that needed to be remembered. Since you are Shang"s younger brother, of course, I shall remember you. So what do you want from me?"
"B-Big Brother Ye, can I ask if the ingredient I discovered was something you are interested in?" Lu Ming asked politely. He was even more careful with his words when talking to his cousin than when talking to their grandfather.
Ye Jieye answered on point. "I am not interested. I"m here for the Behemoth Carabao since my cubs wanted to eat hamburgers."
"Hamburger?"
"Hm. Even though it"s only a legend-grade meat it"s considered the most premium beef in the list of Meat Ingredients. Moreover, the season is just right. So it"s not wrong of me to come here for that. As for that dual elemental ingredient you found, I was never interested in it in the first place." Ye Jieye replied.
When they learned that the reason a hunter like Satan—who was even thought of as a legend—appeared in this small village was because he required the meat of the Behemoth Carabao, everyone—aside from Mo Xuejing and Guang, who were already familiar with the tale—was surprised.
Suddenly, Ye Jieye glanced at the man beside him and added to his words, "It would be a different story if Xuejing was interested in it."
With that, everyone"s focus shifted from Ye Jieye to Mo Xuejing, who was sitting opposite him. His remarks meant that even if he was not interested in that recently discovered element if Mo Xuejing happened to be interested in it, Ye Jieye would not be able to deliver it to Lu Ming.
Mo Xuejing thought for a bit and asked, "A"Ye can you separate elements in the ingredients?"
"I can," Ye Jieye answered without hesitation.
When Ye Jieye declared he could separate components of an ingredient—a skill too unusual for a high-ranking chef to possess—all the cooks in the room, notably Su Jin, rose up in shock.
Su Jin kowtows before Ye Jieye and pleads, "Sir, please teach me the skill to separate elements in ingredients."
"Xiao Jin, what are you doing? Come here," Lu Ming said in shock but Su Jin wasn"t willing to move.
Ye Jieye glanced at him once and said, "I do not teach. You can watch and learn what you can understand." He then returned his gaze to Mo Xuejing as if Su Jin was just a pa.s.sing figure. "Why did you ask, Xuejing?"
Lu Ming, feeling a little helpless and a little disappointed in Su Jin, pulled up his lover on the side, afraid that his cousin would blow up over his lover"s negligence.
Mo Xuejing responded, "I just thought that if that new ingredient is at least legendary we can take the fire element part of it and give it to Xiaxia. After all, we still don"t have any information about the h.e.l.lish Strawberry that can help him. Maybe another Legendary-grade ingredient can help cure her illness. Let"s try it even if we"re not sure it will work.
If it thoroughly won"t work we can give it to them."
"Okay. I"ll listen to you," Ye Jieye said and then looked at Lu Ming. "Lu Ming, as you heard, we might need that new ingredient to heal my daughter. If it doesn"t have any effect I will give it to you and in the future I promise to help you once." Ye Jieye said.
Lu Ming"s eyes glowed when he heard his cousin"s promise.
"R-Really!?"
"Um. As long as it isn"t something that harms those I want to protect or the ingredients aren"t something I need, I will give it to you," Ye Jieye said.
Su Jin and Lu Ming were overjoyed to hear this promise because it meant that they would have someone to support them in times of need or at the very least obtain an ingredient with the expert"s a.s.sistance—given that the expert is a skilled hunter who can even obtain ingredients of a caliber that even G.o.d could produce.
Mo Yuhan was jealous of this scene because it meant that Lu Ming would obtain an ingredient that was beyond his reach with the a.s.sistance of someone like Satan.
Mo Yuhan was annoyed that he wanted to taint Lu Ming and found that he was so close to this young man called Su Jin.
With a sarcastic tone, Mo Yuhan spoke, "By the way, Young Master Lu. Who is the little one beside you? Don"t tell me you have a lover. Someone from this small town huh."
When Su Jin begged Ye Jieye to teach him some skills for ingredient preparations, he lost his face even though he was used to Mo Yuhan"s poisonous tongue being belittled in this way. Lu Ming was about to jump on him when Ji Yoonjun, who was enjoying the fun, suddenly yelled at Mo Yuhan.
Ji Yoonjun said coldly, "So what if we came from a small town? Was living in such a small place considered embarra.s.sing? Sorry, at least for an orphan like this it"s not! Just because you grew up in a big clan doesn"t mean you can look down on people."
"Hm. He is right," Leica commented.
Lu Shang said, "I also don"t think it"s right to look down on someone like this. Moreover, the Heavenly Guardians, most of them live in such a small town so compared to big clans this small town is much more powerful."
"Yuhan, did you lose your manners when you were out of the clan? Apologize." Mo Xuejing reprimanded his cousin on the spot. "Moreover, this young man had no enmity with you. Just because he is close to your rival, doesn"t mean you can put down the others as you like."
Mo Yuhan lowered his head as he was scolded. This time he was indeed in the wrong.
"I"m sorry."
"Then these two young men... Who are they?" Ye Jieye asked.
Lu Ming introduced Su Jin and Ji Yoonjun.
"Big Brother Ye, these are Su Jin and Ji Yoonjun. They save me when I come out of the Tornado Mountain Range hurt. They own a small cafe in this town and they are both chefs. Xiao Jin is my lover," Lu Ming said.
"A Cafe. That"s good. When I and Xuejing went up the mountain the cubs could eat in your cafe if they had time. Is that possible?" Ye Jieye asked.
Ji Yoonjun nodded his head and said, "Of course, Sir! Leave it to us."
"Their great-grandfather and Guang will be there to babysit them so there is no need to watch over them while you open your business." Ye Jieye said. "Shang and his partner will go up the mountain with Xuejing and I. Lu Ming, are you going as well?"
"Yes, I want to bring Su Jin with me." Lu Ming said.
Ye Jieye said, "As long as you can protect him I don"t mind. How about you?" He asked Mo Yuhan.
"C-Can I go too?" Mo Yuhan asked.
Since he reported his cousin"s plans to leave the clan, Mo Yuhan did not think Satan would be open to a conversation with him. After all, the original Ye Jieye was supposed to despise him, which is why they were caught eloping that day. However, now that Ye Jieye has lost his memory of the past, he can comprehend why he is currently being treated fairly.
Ye Jieye said, "You said that your Clan told you to stay beside Xuejing right? Since you are a hunter yourself, you can protect your own. I will not save you guys."
"We understand." Lu Ming, Su Jin and Mo Yuhan responded.