Old Lao's Quick Test

A subconscious but pleasurable sigh left Ji Min's lips followed by light snores.

After ensuring Ji Min was now resting as best as he could, Old Lao then began to concoct the potions Ji Min would need for his treatments.

Just like water streaming down a rock surface, time flowed by and two days passed away.

It was the grating sound of a cauldron being opened that woke Ji Min from his slumber on the dawn of the third day.

Then a potent, sweet scent of a potion entered his nostrils, causing Ji Min to sniff once, and then twice, before drawing in a deep breath.

"~Ha~"

Ji Min released a pleasurable sigh as the smell of the potion Old Lao had just finished refining soothed his entire being and washed away any trace of lethargy left in him.

"Ha-ha-ha" Old Lao's hearty laughter snapped Ji Min out of his reverie as he gave an awkward chuckle of his own.

"From your reaction, it seems I have successfully concocted the right potion." Old Lao added as Ji Min scratched his head awkwardly.

"We arrived about half an hour ago, but I wanted to put a few finishing touches to the potion, so I had to concentrate fully to prevent ruining everything." He added whilst storing the potion in a small bottle which vanished from sight.

Old Lao then opened the carriage door as a dim ambiance greeted Ji Min's face.

The moment they both stepped out of the carriage, Ji Min found himself in a wide area with several exotic trees clustered together.

Then the timid voices of two little girls snapped him out of his reverie;

"Lord Lao."

The girls greeted in unison whilst Old Lao simply responded with a slight nod and a 'Un' - sound.

"Ji Min, this is Ming and Qing; Ming is in charge of the entire residence whilst Qing is in charge of the mansion area."

Old Lao introduced as the two girls greeted Ji Min with a slight bow which Ji Min returned with a nod.

"You two, this is Ji Min, he is -erm, he would be staying with us for a while, so you treat him as you would, me." Old Lao then summoned his flying sword and stepped onto it.

"Little Ling, call Bao to come to take care of Cui, our journey was long and continuous, it must have been a tiring one, and thus, he deserves to be pampered." The flame-snorting bull gave a deep 'moo' as it wagged its tail in delight.

In its overjoyed mood, the Flame Serpent Bull lost its grip on its lifelike which suddenly swiped toward Little Ming.

"Eh?"

The little girl was caught so off-guard that she couldn't even react to the assault.

But just as she was about to get slapped into oblivion, Ji Min suddenly found himself standing in between the flaming tail and the little girl.

"Eh?" Now it was his turn to be stunned silly.

Bang!

The serpent's tail slammed into Ji Min felt sending his feet skidding across the grassland.

"Sheet, it hurts!" He cursed instinctively as he felt a searing pain spread across his arms, assaulting his recently recovered mind.

"Get a grip, will you!"

He blurted aggressively but the two girls and the bull were too shocked by the situation, that they couldn't even muster a single reaction.

"Hmm, 2 Star Qi Gathering and Commander Stage cultivation confirmed." Old Lao muttered silently; obviously, he was aware of the situation.

The Flame Serpent Bull was his mount after all, and by now, he already knew how it reacted to certain situations, and what would happen whenever he made such a statement.

He wanted to test Ji Min's personality and see how he would react when others are in trouble, and when he saw him bolt over to protect the little girl, the old physician nodded in approval.

Old Lao knew had little time left to live, and he wanted to pass on everything he had before that happened, but he didn't want to give such powerful information to heartless people.

Though Ji Min was in pain, it wasn't something his 2 Star Commander Stage body cultivation couldn't handle.

He was currently thinking about what had just happened to him. He realized that he seemed to have lost control of his reflexes for a split second; or more like someone else's will took control of his body for a brief moment, causing him to find himself on the receiving end of a strong lash.

[Sorry kid; that old ghost was testing you, and I had ensured that you passed his test, otherwise, we might not get close enough to obtain some valuable benefits from him.] T

The Old Monk's voice resounded within Ji Min's mind after he had confirmed that Old Lao was too weak to notice his presence.

Though Ji Min didn't completely understand the situation, he believed the old monk wouldn't have done that without a valid reason.

Then since it had been confirmed as a test, he knew he would surely be rewarded after that, otherwise, he would just find a way to obtain his reward without the old coot's consent.

In other thoughts, Ji Min was happy that he had been able to roughly gauge the current strength within his body; all he had to do now was to confirm just how much power is contained within the attack of an 800-year-old physical beast.

Ji Min kept caressing his arms as he wondered about how strong cultivators actually were; after all, he knew that if that tail swipe had lashed his previous body, then he would have sustained several fractures, if not two completely broken arms, and several internal injuries.

But now, asides from the stinging pain he had initially felt and skidding a few meters away, there was nothing else that indicated he had been attacked.

'If one also considered the fact that my bones, muscles, flesh, and marrows are currently suffering from the Tranquil Poisoning, then I think that attack would have done me no harm at all if I hadn't been poisoned.' He thought to himself in wonder.

[Heh; kid, you really don't know how strong cultivators can get unh?]

[Don't worry, this domain seems to be encircled by a demon beast forest, you will get your fill of opponents to test out your strength on.]

The Old Monk spoke whilst Little Ming was busy poking different parts of Ji Min's hands to check if he was having pains anywhere.

"Ming, I will be heading up first to get some sleep; you and Qing can spend that time giving Ji Min a tour of the residence." Old Lao added before flying off into the trees.

"Heading up –where is Lord Li flying to, aren't we at his residence?"

Ji Min asked in confusion as the little girls simply stared at him with weird looks.