Chapter 57: Boys Will Be Boys.
"Ouch," Haru said as he looked at the man who was now crying from the pain Krista had just inflicted on him. He looked as if his whole world was falling apart and it sure felt like it was to him as a feeling of nauseousness brewed from within his stomach and racing up to his chest and then back down.
He became dizzy and couldn't stop tears from falling from his eyes. "Mom, don't you think that might have been a bit too far?" Haru asked Krista who was stood with a smug look on her face. "Not even close to enough. It's like your dad said. We aren't citizens here so I can't punish him how I would like too." She said sounding a little upset that she couldn't go all the way and end him.
"Then a beep rung out, Followed by another and then another. "Strange why did someone transfer money into my account?" Krista asked rhetorically as she opened her phone and look at her bank transfers. "Mine too," Luke said doing the same. Jake didn't say anything as he raced to open his phone and check it too.
He looked back to Haru with excitement as he read the number of his pending balance. He didn't actually have the money at the moment because of transfer restrictions put in place by the bank but it was sure soon to come.
"I can't believe this! How can I thank you enough!?" Jake began to party as Luke and Krista looked at each other nervously. "Haru, How did you..." Krista began to say. "Before you say anything this was from this guys boss. I didn't do anything illegal to get it. Well, not too illegal." He added.
The suspicious looks didn't die down as they both looked at him. Haru was stuck. He wasn't sure how he would get them to accept it. They eyed him up and down before Zen came to the rescue.
"From what I know. These four men are government officials part of an organisation that hunt down mages that break the laws set up by the Chinese government. Haru met with their leader earlier today and he decided to leave them alone because he found out he was a cultivator. Being able to cultivate is a huge honour here after all. This is just compensation money for them putting everyone's lives in danger." Zen explained to Krista and Luke who still stared at Haru.
What were they supposed to do in a situation like this? They had just been given seventy million yuan by their own son who had only just turned eighteen. This wasn't exactly a normal everyday occurrence.
"I swear. It's like what Zen said, During the phone call, I took with their boss he asked what I wanted. So first I asked for All the damages caused by them to be repaired in full and then I asked for compensation for putting us all in danger. He agreed after a little bit of convincing.." Haru said. Krista seemed like she was already going to accept it but then Jake decided to question him.
"When you say convincingly. What exactly do you mean." Haru was fine with keeping the truth from his parents but he always felt weird when he trie to lie to them so from a young age he made a promise with himself that he wouldn't lie to them. This question was really starting to make him question his values. Did he need to lie to them?
He thought it over for a few seconds before deciding that the truth was probably for the best. He looked back at his dad and then spoke. "Well, first I asked if human life was worth seventy million per person and he refused to answer so I changed the question a little bit." Haru stopped for a second. I have already come this far I might as well carry on. He thought.
"I asked him if he thought the life of his men was worth four hundred million yuan instead. He seemed to change his mind quickly and then message his boss for permission to send the money. And now we are here" Luke just smiled. He was disappointed for sure that his son had managed to get himself into a situation like this but it wasn't like he could blame him.
He reminded him a lot of himself at this age. He began to think about all the stuff he had done to make himself a target. There was another cry of pain as one of the other men woke up.
It was the man who was thrown back into the fountain wall and had broken his back. "Ahh, Why do my legs feel... My legs... I can't feel them." he seemed unusually calm for this. He didn't have any pain at all. It was then that Haru noticed the large gash in the back of his head. His skull slightly curved inward at the point that it was resting against one of the bricks.
"Uh, Jake... Would you mind healing him before his injuries get any worse?" Haru asked nervously. He had already distributed the money. If he went back on his promise and let one of them die what would they do in retaliation? He wondered and every thought he made up in his head ended very badly for the people that he cared about. He needed to make sure that nothing happened.
"Shit. He is in really bad condition. Just how hard did you hit him?" Jake asked as he ran over and began healing him right away. The same golden light filled the air and then enveloped the man's whole body. He sat there and waited patiently without muttering so much as a single word. A few seconds went by before his leg suddenly twitched.
"What in the world just happened? I didn't sign up to be crippled. Thank you for healing me. I'm sorry we caused all this trouble. Are leader over there told us all that you were rogue mages and had held a shop keeper hostage and we needed to take you in." He slowly began to stand up. His body ached all over and his bones creaked as he stood up.
"I didn't expect a cultivator to be here too. I remember the last time out teammates ran into one of you guys it didn't end so well for us. Thank you for being merciful sir." The man bowed his head in respect for Haru and then bowed toward Jake to showing his gratitude for healing him.
"Don't mention it, Really you should be thanking your bosses for paying me enough money to not hurt you anymore. I really don't appreciate people aiming weapons at my loved ones." Haru said with a smile and then stood back. "Jake help the other ones too please," Haru asked of him
Jake responded with a nod and then went off to heal the rest of them. "Excuse me. Can I ask what you are going to do with us now?" The man asked as he brushed the dust from himself. He was feeling extremely weak and knew he was in no place to try to negotiate with Haru.
"Oh, We aren't going to do anything. You guys can either go back now or wait for the rest of your buddies to come and pick you up. It's your choice. Oh, Yeah. You might want to call your boss and let him know you are safe." Haru said and then walked back inside.
"He began to take off his clothes and walked upstairs. "Haru! What do you think you're doing now?" Krista asked as she spotted him at the top step. "I'm going to take a shower I won't be long don't worry.
He finished undressing and then put his clothes inside the wash basket. He got into the shower and turned on the water to wash off all the dust that had stained his skin. It was an uncomfortable feeling having dirt plastered to your face. He wasn't a clean freak or anything he just wasn't a fan of dirty things.
Haru finished washing himself and then put on a new set of clothes and walked back downstairs after he had gotten changed. He walked into the kitchen to find two of the men who had tried to arrest Jake and Haru sat in the kitchen drinking coffee and laughing along with Luke's horrible dad jokes.
"Did I miss something? You guys seem to be best friends now." He said quietly. Luke didn't quite hear what he had said but Krista smiled at him. "It's true what they say. Boys will be boys."
The two men began to pass their guns around to Luke, Jake and Zen. They were all amazed as they began to aim them around the room like a crazy mob boss. "I didn't think guns were that fascinating.
"Hey, Haru. Come and have a look at this," Luke called his son over to play with the guns too. Haru was at a loss for words. "You guys are crazy." He said as he sat down at the table with Krista.
He looked over to the stroller. Saki was sleeping soundly inside wrapped in her blankets as if nothing had ever happened.