The Calm before the Storm

"Hello, Li Jing... It's been quite a long time since the last time I saw you. You've improved a lot. Though what's with the mask? " said by her grandfather with that soft and alluring voice of his.

Then Li Na greets them politely and respectably, ignoring the mask question.

"Greetings, Grand Mother, Grand Father..."

"Likewise, Li Na." said by her mother, politely and calmly, as she patted Li Na's head.

While taking a moment of blissful atmosphere, her grandmother looks at Li Jing's kids.

"What I was looking forward to was meeting the kids of my great-grandkids."

She smiled and looked at Li Jing.

Thus, Li Jing taps lightly on the shoulders of her kids.

"Now, you three... Introduce yourself to your great grandmother. "

"Greetings, Great Grandmother and Great Grandfather. I, Li Xuan Hu, 7 years old, eldest son of the Li family, humbly present myself to you. "

Like the calm and composed Li Xuan Hu, he cupped his hand, lowered his head, and kneeled like a dignified warrior.

Then Li Qing Long follows.

He introduces himself to her great-grandparents in the same dignified manner as Li Xuan Hu.

"Greetings, Great Grandmother and Great Grandfather. I, Li Qing Long, 7 years old, elder son of the Li family, humbly present myself to you. "

Seeing how collected and calm their brothers are

Li Baihu did the same thing, calming himself first and then kneeling and cupping his hands.

"G-g-greetings, I, Li Baihu, 7 years old and the youngest son of the Li family, respectfully present myself to you."

Although it's not majestic like his brothers', his formalities are still solemn.

Their great grandmother and great grandfather, who witnessed such dignified and sophisticated manners, were surprised for a moment, then smiled gracefully.

"Would you look at that? They're quite better-mannered than I'd expected. It seems my granddaughter is teaching her kids quite well. " Say by Li Jing's grandmother, with her face written, that she's amused by it.

"Not only that, they're quite composed and never shred a bit of arrogance and fear. You raised them quite well. " Although Li Jing's grandfather said that calmly Its interpretation says otherwise.

"Of course... I don't want them to experience anything horrible. Not this time around!" thoughts of Li Jing while hiding her annoyed face underneath her mask.

Long Jiang remembered his past, seeing his kids die in his arms and failing to protect them.

And thus, once again, Li Na's father speaks once again; softly and collected.

"Anyway, it seems you've waited quite a long time for us. Let's head in. "

"Y-yes, Father!" Li Na replied anxiously.

Moving forward, the golden gate, and going in...

A ton of people from different races have seen them upon entering!

Elf, Dark Eleves, Dwarves, Human-formed Dragons, Demons, Centaurs, Harpies, Vampires, golems, Lizardmen, Fairies, Lamia, and a variety of other Demi-humans.

Li Qing Long and Li Baihu were so excited that they tried to run away from their guardian.

However, Li Jing saw their actions and stopped them immediately before they completely left.

"Where did you think you were going?"

"N-n-nothing mother..."

Under her mask, Li Jing has demonstrated a lethal intent towards her children.

Although Li Qing Long and Li Baihu couldn't see their mother's face, they felt the cold but yet dangerous aura of their mother released to them.

"Since you get it, then you don't mind not causing any trouble before I let you guys do what you want, right?"

"O-of course, mother!"

"Then move in front of me!"

"Yes, mother!"

Like a scared cat, they hurriedly move and walk in front of her!

Li Jing's grandmother saw their little commotion and giggled a bit.

"It looks like my grandchild has become a fine mother... it's a surprise you are able to discipline your kids that well. "

"Well, it's quite a hassle and hard at first, Grandmother, but I somehow pulled it off. Hehe..."

Li Jing politely answered and laughed at the end.

"You sure did... By the way, I heard your husband, Ren, died. My deepest condolences... But did you know why he died? "

"!"

Li Jing felt a bit disturbed and weird feelings from Li Jing's grandmother's words.

"She's testing me." Li Jing's thoughts: on guard yet careful.

"Well... Mother told me everything happened. Although I couldn't meet him for one last time, he still lives within my memories. "

"Hmm... Too bad, I quite like that child as well. To think he's foolish enough to die for mere attention. "

"!" Li Jing flinched!

Although she felt a bit hostile and insulted by her grandmother's words, Long Jiang, who was possessing Li Jing's body, upon hearing such a statement, had immediately gone mad!

By trying to remember all the good memories of how manly Li Jing's husband was, by facing his fear and his inferiority complex, as a person, Long Jiang felt the same way.

"He's not a fool!!!"

Everyone around her, including Li Na, her mother, and her children, becomes surprised and anxious as Li Jiang's eyes turn black underneath her mask; she grits her teeth while releasing a tremendous amount of power.

All the beings that were near her have stepped back and moved away from her due to the power she released.

Her power has formed into something like a blazing fire, yet it feels freezing!

The ground cracks, the air suddenly becomes heavy and cold, and above all, Li Jing has suddenly become the center of attraction!

"You take that back, grandmother!"

Her grandmother looks at her calmly, without a single flinch or amusement at what Li Jing has just done.

Then she mischievously smiled, looking back at her.

"I am very sorry, Li Jing, but it seems you misunderstand me for what I've said."

"!"

Li Jing is disturbed and tries to calm herself a little bit.

Her power has become mild and collected.

"I didn't say it in a bad way, but Ren... may be a bit of a fool for attention, but his pride as a man, and for you, appears to be above all else. He's truly a magnificent young man. "

Her grandmother smiled gracefully and sounded sincere in her words.

Li Jing, on the other hand, felt it, became at ease and calmed down completely.

"I am very sorry for my rude actions. I humbly apologize for what I've done, grandmother! Please forgive me. "

"hehe... I forgive you. But first let's leave here. "

After forgiving Li Jing, she looks around carefully and sees the crowd around them anxious and scared.

"We've attracted too much attention... Let's leave here. "

"Yes, grandmother..."

Leaving the place as if nothing had happened, they left the place casually.

Among the crowd, a few people gossip and talk to each other.

"Just who is that masked person?"

"Yeah, her power is totally different. She might be above those princes in our kingdom! "

"Do you think they are here for the tournament?"

"We don't know... but if that person participates, I bet it'll be a blast!"

Other than normal folks who are just gossiping around, a few beings from different races have calmly observed the situation without saying anything.

Different types of silhouettes from different kinds of races have attracted Li Jing's power.

Then one of them speaks—a man wearing a straw hat and fine clothes.

"That girl, to think she has the guts to do that in front of The Angelmaker of Cloudforest, Meira Eillee."

Then another man wearing a robe spoke from afar.

"I never thought I'd get to see the legendary Midnight Reaper of the Cloudforest, Li Lei. To be able to see both of them would appear in a place like this. It seems like this festival won't be normal, unlike the past years."

Then, upon leaving the place, all of them set foot in front of the luxurious restaurant.

Upon entering such a place, an old man greets them.

"Good to see you, Mrs Meira, Sir Li."

A bald old man wearing a formal gray wide-sleeved silk robe, adorned with a golden edge and embroidered with a fire-like design,

"Sir Orthros, It's nice to see you. " Li Jing's grandfather, Li Lei, greeted the old with such formalities.

He grabs the old man's hand and shakes his hands.

Then Meira speaks.

"Sir Orthros... Are they already here? "

"Well they are, Miss Meira; we're already excited to see you all."

Then Li Na notices something strange inside the restaurant.

Even though it says "open." There are no other customers other than those who are present and standing.

"Sir Orthros... Why is it empty today? Did you perhaps not have customers lately? "

"Ahh, That... It's just today's special day, so I made sure that no one other than my special guests could enter for a week. "

"So that's why... But wouldn't it be kind of a loss for your business if you closed it for us? "

"Lost? Hahahaha...! You're truly a jester, Lady Li Na. One week is nothing for such a special occasion as this! Even if months or years pass, my business will not be left behind. "

"Sorry for that, then..." Li Na smiled and bowed down a bit to an old man named Orthros.

Then... once again, Meira speaks calmly yet sharply.

"Sir Orthros... Is Alessa still around you? "

"She certainly is..."

"Please call her and take care of my great grandkids for the meantime... and please provide them with some expenses. I'll give you something in return."

"No need to pay me back, Miss Meira... such babysitting is nothing." The old man frets a little bit, then bows down with his voice so serene.

Then they move on.

As Li Na's father and mother move on, she follows.

Meanwhile, Li Jing stays behind for a moment and talks to her kids.

"You three, go enjoy the outside. But don't do anything that will trouble us. Got that? As much as possible, stay away from trouble. Understood?!"

"Yes, Mother!"

And so Li Jing looks at the old man named Orthros and speaks politely.

"Sir... I entrust my kids to you. Please take care of them. "

"With Honor and Life, I'll make sure nothing happens to your kids, Milady. So you don't have to worry…"

"Actually, I am worried about THEM doing something troublesome, literally." Li Jing's thoughts She is worried and afraid as she thinks about her kids doing all the possible worse trouble and problems they could do.

"Thank you..."

Then, once again, Li Jing looks at her kids.

"I'll say this again. Stay away from trouble, behave yourself, and always stick together! "

"Yes, mother, we will!"

"I trust you guys then." Although it didn't look like it because of the mask, underneath it, Li Jing smiled earnestly.

Then turn away from her kids and move forward to where her mother and grandparents are.

As they've left behind, the siblings look at each other underneath their masks.

"Stay out of trouble. So all we can do is sightseeing and buy some stuff that we can afford. " Li Xuan Hu, serious and firm, speaks to his brothers.

"Ehh... that sounds boring." Li Baihu reacts crankily to his brother Li Xuan Hu.

"Well, we can't help it. Mother said so." Li Qing Long maintains his cool as he speaks to his brother, Li Baihu.

Li Xuan Hu speaks firmly and calmly as he looks at his brothers.

While doing so, Li Baihu became repulsive and grumpy.

Hearing how grumpy his brother was, Li Qing Long taps Li Baihu's head and rubs it.

In the midst of their conversation, the old man, Orthros, joins and speaks with them.

"With all due respect, young masters, Here's the allowance that I promised I made to your great grandmother to lend to you three. "

A red pouch has been handed to each of them.

Upon receiving it, Li Xuan Hu immediately looked inside of it.

and counted the coins inside, wondering just how many there were.

However,

Orthros has spoken before Li Xuan Hu has even counted the coins.

"In each pouch, there are 30 platinum gold coins in there. That's enough for you three to enjoy yourselves. "

The siblings didn't respond for a moment and gazed sharply at him.

"Mister... Can you lend us a book about the currency of this country's system? We wanted to learn about it so we wouldn't be duped. "

"!"

Although Li Xuan Hu said it ordinarily and without ill-intention.

The old man finds it weird.

"These kids... Are they really kids? They're calm and collected. Now that I've thought of it, the way they respond to their mother, they're well-mannered! As if they're prominent people, considering they're kids! " His thoughts while looking at Li Xuan Hu bewilderedly.

He goes confused for a moment before he replies awkwardly.

"S-sure... I understand."

Then he snaps his fingers, and a beautiful woman appears.

Her mouth was covered with a silk scarf, and she was wearing such magnificently divine clothes, with a fine body, long pink hair, and pinkish eyes.

Both Li Qing Long and Li Baihu got awed underneath their masks.

"She's beautiful..." Li Qing Long and Li Baihu both said it.

On the other hand, Li Xuan Hu, who saw his brothers' reaction, then coughs and speaks.

"Calm yourself, you two."

"!"

They gulped and spoke firmly.

"Yeah... sorry!"

"Now, Mister... Hand over the book. "

He presented his right hand to the old man as if he were waiting to give the book over.

"Gladly, young master. Here! "

As the young lady hands it over to the old man, Orthros hands it over to Li Xuan Hu.

A small old book, covered in meat skin, yet the contents are made of paper.

Li Xuan Hu immediately opened it up, read it, and flipped it over as fast as he could.

He then closed it and handed it over to Li Qing Long.

He then did the same thing as Li Xuan Hu did, and after that he handed it over to Li Baihu.

After Li Baihu finishes reading the book, he politely hands it over again to Orthros.

"Thank you, sir. We understand it completely now. "

"Eh? Already? " In surprise, Orthros replied, dumbfounded.

"Yes, Sir... we did. I thought it would be complicated, but it seems it's much easier to read this book than the books we usually read. "

Li Qing Long replied to him blissfully from underneath his mask.

"I-is that so?"

Orthros and the young lady accompanying him are perplexed as they only see them flipping the book.

"Well then... If you excuse us."

And thus, the siblings left.

Leaving Orthros and the young lady in a state of awe

"They are really amazing, just like their parents... They truly live by the blood they hold."

The young lady just nods as she agrees.

"...Alessa! Make sure you don't leave them in your sight, and that you stick with them at all costs! And also... bring Aleksei and Skylyn with you. This would be a perfect chance for your sisters to improve themselves."

"Yes, father..."

Then the old man turns and heads towards where Li Jing and her parents go.

"Ah?!"

The old man halted for a moment, then spoke.

"Your Mom and I are going to attend the meeting. Make sure to tell the guards outside that not a single soul will enter inside the premises. "

"I understand, father."

Moving to a different location

Orthros leaves, while Alessa goes outside.