13: Brother and Sister

The next morning, at Tom's residence in the Imperial Capital, Tom and Ai Tu Tu were talking until someone abruptly interrupted in the house.

"I know you're here sister, you know you can't escape and hide from our family for long, come on, let's go back before it becomes a bigger problem! " shouted a burly man from the entrance of the residence who was none other than Ai Jiang Tu, Tom Curi's best friend and Ai Tu Tu's brother, currently Ai Jiang Tu is already 6 feet tall with long hair, combed back, silver-peach gray, just like his sister, and has thick black eyebrows and tanned skin, he was wearing black military boots with military pants, a white shirt, and a jacket.

In fact, Tom Curi had already anticipated that this was going to happen since last night when he found Ai Tu Tu at home without prior notice from the Ai family.

"No, I want to stay with big brother Tom, it's boring at home, I'm not going back!" said Ai Tu Tu from behind Tom's back where he was hiding from his brother.

Tom just laughed at the situation and casually greeted Ai Jiang Tu: "Hey, brother Jiang Tu, how were these months at the academy without me, you missed me so much that you come to my house unannounced, it's a nice gesture from you but I have one more week of vacation left and I plan to take it."

Tom took a little advantage of the situation to tease Ai JInag Tu.

"Um... brother Tom, I didn't think you were going to be home, I apologize for the intrusion, but as you see my dear younger sister has gotten herself into some trouble by escaping our family's supervision" Ai Jiang Tu replied without giving Tom's teasing any importance.

"I see..., but you understand brother Jiang Tu that she did that because Ai Tu Tu knew that I was on vacation and decided to come to visit me before I return to the Military Academy, isn't that right Tu Tu?"

"Sisi, that, big brother Tom is telling the truth since he didn't go home to visit me I decided to come to visit him on my own," said Ai Tu Tu Tu confirming what Tom said.

"This..., I understand I understand, it's ok, but sister you can't leave the Ai family residence without telling anyone, do you know how worried the elders of the family were with your disappearance?"

"Humpp bad and annoying old men, they won't let me do anything, I can never go out because of them" complained Ai Tu Tu pouting.

"Come on my bunny Tu Tu, don't be like that, you know the elders in your family just overprotect you a lot just like your brother because you are the only female in the family and they all love you very much," Tom told her while patting her head.....

"But but but..." was about to complain Ai Tu Tu until her brother Ai Jiang Tu interrupted her.

"I know they can be annoying and very protective in the family, but that's because we are very concerned about your safety and we can't take risks with all the families that oppose our family or the individuals behind our family Ai, once you enter college I promise you will have more freedom sister" Ai Jiang Tu told her.

"Humpp that's more than two years away yet" Ai Tu Tu Tu complained again but now calmer.

"Well well, now that we have solved the problem, why don't you tell the elders of the Ai family that Ai Tu Tu Tu is with me and you and that she will be back in a few days when the Military Academy vacation is over, then you can join us for lunch brother Jiang Tu, Tom finished the conversation about why Ai Tu Tu was here, he knew that the Ai family would be reassured to know that she was with him and Jiang Tu, it should not be a problem for her to stay a few more days before having to return to the residence of the Ai family.

"Alright brother Tom, I will accept the invitation for lunch, besides, I also have very interesting things to tell you" replied Ai JInag Tu.

"Ohhh, I see, for you to say it's interesting it must be interesting without a doubt then."

After Ai Jiang Tu communicated with the elders of his family and told them of Ai Tu Tu's situation, the three of them sat down to eat.

"So brother Tom, how was your vacation so far, I was surprised not to hear much about you in the news, you always tend to make a scene when you go out" Ai Jiang Tu teased.

"Oh come on, that's just because people are jealous of me for dating several ladies from important families here in China, it's not my fault that my charm is greater than theirs," said Tom and laughed afterward together with Jiang Tu for the comment, while Ai Tu Tu looked at them as if they were idiots.

"This..., now that I remember, yesterday big brother Tom came back to the house with a very beautiful woman, I think she was a celebrity, they spent a good time kissing and doing other perverted things on the couch" Ai Tu Tu Tu slyly commented.

"What, you brought a woman to your house when Ai Tu Tu Tu was present?" said Ai Jiang Tu angrily.

"WHAT, No, no, no, no, it's a mistake brother Jiang Tu, I didn't know that Ai Tu Tu was in the house, it was a coincidence that just that day she was at home."

"Hmmm, but after I talked to him, not only did he not answer me but he continued his perverted acts at the door of the house...mmmm" Ai Tu Tu who was still recounting things was interrupted by Tom's hand that covered her mouth so that she wouldn't continue talking.

"You, do you want your brother to kill me?" whispered Tom to Ai Tu Tu while covering her mouth to stop her from talking.

"Is that true Tom ?" said Ai Jiang Tu with murderous intent.

"Cough cough, Well, you see since I didn't know she was home, I probably didn't hate her talking either, after all, there was music and I was lost in my own world, but don't worry, it was just some kisses and nothing else" Tom quickly replied.

"I hope so, I won't let anything disturb my dear little sister's innocence," said Ai JInag Tu relaxing a little more.

"Yuck, innocent little sister, that naughty bunny you have for a sister knows more things than you and me combined," thought Tom to himself but he didn't dare to say it out loud, lest Ai Jiang Tu would freak out.

"Sure sure, it was just that, wasn't it Ai Tu Tu?" said Tom.

Ai Tu Tu Tu just nodded because Tom kept covering his mouth so that he wouldn't say unnecessary things that would get him in trouble.

"Now Jiang Tu, you said there were some interesting things you wanted to tell me, may I know what it is?" Tom quickly changed the subject.

Ai Jiang Tu was a little suspicious of things still but decided to let it go and answered: "Well, a few days ago we went in a small group with the Military Academy to do a field task that consisted of collecting elasmotherium horns which is relatively simple if you go with a group of mid-level mages, but even though the elasmotherium itself has an average strength of warrior level we came across a small find, a meadow filled with lots of elasmotherium that ranged from small warrior level to large warrior level, and yes, I know there are many places where there are elasmotherium with horns at the great warrior level, but I am sure I felt an evolving warrior level elasmotherium, not far from the commander level and with the current strength of the group I was with I had no confidence in completing the task without casualties, casualties will easily occur if we decide to face them."

Ai Jiang Tu rarely said much about a hunting task, and it seems that he still attaches a lot of importance to this task, despite saying that he doesn't care about his percentage of completed tasks, Tom knows better than anyone that he is very proud of his perfect percentage in task completion, plus he never liked to withdraw from a task without giving it his all, He may seem calm and intelligent when he goes hunting in a group, but if it were up to him, I'm sure he would do the mission on his own without caring much about his odds, but as he is in a group he feels the responsibility to take care of all the members of the group, so he uses his head more than when he is alone.

After hearing Ai Jiang Tu's information, Tom thought for a moment and felt that it made no sense for him to say that something was interesting just because of an evolving warrior level elasmotherium, so he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well although it's very interesting and all, but I doubt you're telling me it's interesting just because of this evolving warrior level monster, we've seen it before already, so come on, tell me what's really interesting!"

"I assumed you would say that, what was interesting Tom is that there was a very rare and ancient plant at the entrance of the cave where the evolving warrior level elasmotherium was felt, it was a Physalis alkekengi or maybe you know it as Chinese Lantern which is the most common name by which this plant is known. This herbaceous plant produces bright reddish and orange-colored flowers, which when opened resemble the typical traditional Chinese lanterns, so it is well known and sought after, but more importantly, the fruits of the plant are edible and contain unique magical properties for the production of medicines, it is a unique magical ingredient for body cleansing remedies."

"Wow, that's amazing brother JInag Tu, if it really is a magical ingredient that helps in purifying the organism, it must be extremely expensive, I'm sure many important families would be interested in an ingredient that would help them fight or cure magical poisoning, it's a very unusual plant," said Tom quite impressed, he knew the plant from some herbalism book or other but only by name, not its miraculous magical properties such as the purification of the organism, that kind of medicine was very rare around the world, magical intoxication was something that happened to many magicians when they made improper and excessive use of their magic or in some cases by exposure to magical environments with toxins that deteriorate the organism or poisons with the same functions.

"That's right, it is a plant that is extremely difficult to obtain worldwide and as you said extremely expensive and coveted. Currently, I am the only one in the group that knows this information, since the rest of the group was left behind in the task while I did the ground exploration, which was when I found the plant, at first I thought about grabbing it with the group I was with, but when they learned of a large number of warrior level Monsters along with the evolving warrior level they withdrew from the task without me even commenting on the plant, which I came to understand, no one wanted to expose themselves to unnecessary danger, it was extremely dangerous, but this allowed me to take the plant for my own purposes" Ai Jiang Tu explained again.

"Hmmm I see, so, I guess if you tell me this is for me to help you complete the task and take the plant, isn't it?" asked Tom.

"Exactly Tom, you are one of the few I fully trust and I know you will not sell the information to others" Ai Jiang Tu replied in agreement.

"Well, the situation is a bit complicated, according to what you say, there are an average of 17 warrior level monsters, of which 3 are great warrior level and one is evolving warrior level, an impossible task with our current level of mid-level mages, If you tell your family they can surely take the plant without much trouble and you can also gain some additional benefits for providing the information" answered Tom without understanding what Ai Jiang Tu was trying to tell him and not his family, with his current level unless they go with a good number of mages it would be impossible to complete that task, no matter how much he wants the plant it is not worth dying for that and with the background of the Ai family, taking that plant would not cost anything. He also doesn't believe that Ai Jiang Tu is so desperate to complete this mission just to keep his mission completion percentage at 100%, he could be proud of that, but he was certainly too smart to risk it for something so absurd, there was something else going on in his friend's head.

"Well, in that you are right Tom, currently we could not complete the mission, that's why I managed to get the academy to extend the mission completion time to one year with the excuse that the difficulty presented was several times greater than what was specified, so to maintain my percentage of 100% in completed tasks I demanded an extension of time for the task, which they accepted without any problem."

"Hmmm I understand, but one year would hardly be enough to have some chances in this task, tell me the truth, why do you want to complete this task so much Jiang Tu?" finally asked Tom.

"Well, if it is the two of us Tom I am sure that in a year we will find a way to complete the task and to answer your question, well, Ai TuTu and I have a relative who is part of the elders who lead the Ai family, some time ago he got intoxicated on his trip to Africa, apparently he and his group entered a land that contained an invisible toxin that affected the organism little by little, At first no one noticed the toxin, but as time went by, both he and his group presented the same symptoms one after another, and now it was found that their bodies were affected by a toxin of African origin, which is not lethal, but gradually deteriorating one's organization, slowing down their magic, decreasing their power and magic level," said Ai Jiang Tu.

"Ohhh yes, yes, now I remember the family elders talked about something like that, I didn't think it was that serious brother" commented Ai Tu Tu Tu to feel part of the conversation, in which she was quite left out.

"Then you want the fruits of the plant for your relative, don't you?" asked Tom.

"Exactly, and this plant in particular, because as much as the Ai family searched for solutions for this African toxin since it has been a long time since the toxin was in his body and was getting worse, there are no optimal medicines for sale to treat the toxin, they only managed to stop the process of deterioration, but with the fruits of this plant it is possible to cure him completely, and although I want to tell this to my family, it would be a good gift for his 50th birthday which is next year, if I can give him this plant as a gift next year on his 50th birthday, I am sure that I will win his favor eternally in the Ai family, it is not only for Tom's benefits, money or resources do not matter so much to me, what is really important is the position. You have to know that in our family the rights to speak and to power are earned with a lot of effort and years of dedication and having a powerful backing within the Ai family, along with their favor is very convenient until I am in a position where I don't need to depend on anyone, so what do you say, brother, give me a hand?" explained Ai Jiang Tu the situation.

"Uffff, I get it, you want to search for the plant on your own without outside help from the Ai family, so you can use it as currency later in your family and gain recognition that you wouldn't have by just giving them information, Hmmmm.... you don't leave me much choice my friend, sure I can give you a hand, but I still want a good sum of money, and resources, I may come from a big family in Argentina, but it still doesn't compare to the big families in China and if I want to keep my cultivation at your level I need to take advantage of all the resources I have at my disposal" replied Tom shaking Ai Jiang Tu's hand.

"Sure, I am not stingy brother Tom, I always share the benefits, and if my position increases in the family, we both benefit" replied Ai Jiang Tu laughing and taking Tom's hand and giving it a firm shake.