Chapter 17: Lucian, Recognized

"You… you don't even have to come every day, and I'll pay you monthly!"

Everyone appreciated Craig's sudden change of temperament; finally acting like a child and not some pompous little brat that rampages whenever he doesn't get what he wants. Unfortunately, it would seem the person who caused this sudden change was completely not interested in hearing him out.

It is true that Craig had mistreated them for years, but they could not really fault the child as he did not have a proper parental figure — he used to just be like any other kid, playing around and smiling; innocent. But like the vast majority of Cultivators, they just give birth and then leave their children alone to either go on an adventure or go into secluded meditation.

This was perhaps the very first time that someone taught Craig so sincerely; the other cultivators they hired just went alone with whatever Craig did and doesn't bother to teach him about the way life is outside — and to think it would be a Looter.

Unbeknownst to the staff of the estate, however, they are so close to seeing their young master get mauled and eaten to death. If it wasn't for Lucian almost being incapable of showing his emotions to people other than his wife and daughter, then they would definitely be seeing him trembling right now, his teeth gritted and his throat howling — but that was not the case at all.

Lucian was completely calm, just letting his breath dance on their own as he tried his best to prevent himself from losing consciousness and surrendering to the feral hunger eating him from the inside.

"W—"

"Please pay the association. And do not follow me," And finally, Lucian was able to, at the very least, contain his hunger and start walking away; not even looking behind once as he left the arena and the estate.

"Young Master…" The butler quickly ordered the other staff to leave as he anticipated Craig to go amok and rage. Contrary to his expectations, however, Craig did not do any of that at all.

"That man…" Craig let out a childish and excited smile, "...Hire him again next week!"

"This… of course, Young Master," the butler also could not help but smile, "Of course…

…we will find out more about him."

***

"Kh…"

Lucian made sure he was as fast as possible away from the mansion. Unfortunately, their estate was in the middle of the city — how they could afford such a large land in a prime commercial zone, who knows.

And so, the only choice that Lucian had was to hide in the first dark alley he could find, in between two small establishments, surrounded by their trash. Still, Lucian did not care at all as he just dropped to the ground; his eyes, quickly noticing the shards of glass thrown to the side.

And there, he finally saw himself.

His blue eyes were now entirely black; even the whites of his eyes were fading away; his veins, visibly also turning darker as they slightly protruded from his skin. Most importantly, however, his fangs and nails were growing longer… sharper.

He truly was turning into a monster… and he was contemplating on injecting his family with this? A monster who would even devour a child?

"Grrh…" Lucian slammed his fist on the ground, causing the hard pavement to crack. He then used his sharp nails to carve a wound around his inner bicep and armpit, causing a pain that completely jolted him awake. And without even any delay, he quickly grabbed the syringe from his bag and injected it into his neck.

"Ha…" Lucian once again stared at his reflection in the fractured mirror; his eyes, slowly returned to their blue, but extremely exhausted brilliance. The rest of his body followed, with his fangs and nails retracting back.

He could feel it, however. He could feel the suppressant losing its effectiveness over time — and this was already a variant of it, but the T1A in his system was just completely adjusting to it. Soon…

…the suppressants would not work at all.

And that wasn't going to work at all — he could die, but not until he cures Maeve and Malenia. And if he needs to become a monster…

…then so be it.

Lucian lifted himself up, wiping all the dirt on the sleeve of his pants before just calmly walking out of the dark alley like nothing happened.

"..."

"..."

"...What the fuck was that all about?" And a few seconds after he was gone, a familiar figure stepped out of the shadows — and if Lucian was still there, he would quickly recognize her as the detective who interrogated him after the incident with Foreman Yang, Detective Mary Ross, "Was he…

…constipated?"

But once again, fortunately for Lucian, Detective Mary Ross, who had been tailing him ever since the incident, was dumb.

No more episodes happened to Lucian, and he was able to return to the Cultivator Association without a hitch — of course, he had to spend a little money on a taxi, since he did not want to take the bus or the train for obvious reasons.

"Ah, Mr. Lucian!" And once again, it was the female receptionist who welcomed him on the counter, "Your back! How did your first request go?"

"T—"

"I don't really need you to answer that since we received the payment a few minutes ago," the receptionist grinned as she already had the paperwork ready for Lucian, "Just sign here… and then tap your license on this terminal right here… and you're done. I am assuming you want the payment in cash like with the bounty, right?"

"Yes, Ms. Receptionist."

"Okay, here you go."

Lucian did not have to do anything at all except to sign and to tap his card, the receptionist had everything ready for him.

"I believe they should give you a raise, Ms. Receptionist," Lucian said without any hesitation, "You are very accommodating and hospitable, and also extremely pleasing to the eyes."

"That—" The receptionist could not help but just quickly look away; her face slightly turning red, "I… I didn't know Mr. Lucian was such a flirt."

"I am not," Lucian shook his head, "I am merely stating a fact."

"W—"

"And this is more than the agreed amount, Ms. Receptionist." And before the receptionist could say anything, Lucian already counted the cash on his hand.

"O…oh, uh…" The receptionist was still a little flustered, but she was able to quickly compose herself and smiled, "The client this time gave you a bonus, Mr. Lucian. It would seem you did a very good job."

"Hm," Lucian then glanced at the cash on his hand again — with this, he did not need to accept a job at all for a week. He could just spend all the time in research and with his family, "I truly appreciate you for recommending me this job, Ms. Receptionist, thank you."

"Y…yes, of course. It's… it's my job," the receptionist let out an awkward chuckle, "If… if you want, my shift ends in—"

"Mr. Lucian Zhang."

"Hall Master Charlotte." Unfortunately for the receptionist, she was not able to say what she wanted to say before the hall master who oversaw Lucian's test approached them.

Lucian was about to leave since this had nothing to do with him, but Hall Master Charlotte blocked his path; her face, still covered by a mask and only her eyes were visible.

"Can I speak with you, Mr. Lucian Zhang?"

"You already are, Ms. Hall Master," Lucian only glanced at the mask for a moment before looking away.

"Not here. I… will pay you for your time."

"Okay." And of course, Lucian quickly followed Hall Master Charlotte to the corner of the lobby.

"Mr. Lucian Zhang." And almost immediately as the two of them sat down and faced each other, Hall Master Charlotte looked him in the eyes, "It's you, isn't it…

…you're the Lucian Zhang, the youngest Master Alchemist in the world."