Battle of wits

As the sun set, a large number of servants gathered in a grand hall. The aroma of roasted meats mingled with the tang of spiced wine, and the laughter of the elders blended with the soft strains of a lute. Around the table full of colorful and delicious dishes, the clan's elders sat, chatting and laughing.

"My, my, this is going to be a grand night. How fortuitous you are to have discovered such a rare rank 4 red talent, Elder Xiawen," one of the elders remarked, his voice dripping with envy.

"Haha, yes, yes. The future is bright. We'll soon have another genius in our faction!" Liandor replied, his face glowing with pride.

"Indeed. With her talent and the resources we'll provide, she'll surely become a great cultivator. She might even reach the fourth rank, perhaps even the fifth!"

"Of course! And if she has a child with your son, your family would be truly blessed!"

"Yes! We're truly fortunate! Hahaha!"

"Speaking of which... where is she?" one of the elders asked hesitantly.

"Ah, I sent someone to call for her. She's probably still preparing, you know women—" Before Liandor could finish, a servant burst into the hall.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, my lord, but something has happened..." The servant approached Liandor slowly, whispering something in his ear.

"...What? You bunch of idiots! Do you know how important this day is?!" Liandor shouted, his face red with anger as he threw the cup in his hand at the servant.

Liandor stood up and quickly apologized to the other elders. "I'm sorry, everyone, but I have something urgent to attend to. Please excuse me."

"Is something wrong, Elder Xiawen?" one of the elders asked, his voice tinged with curiosity.

"Nothing. Just a small problem. Please enjoy the feast," Liandor replied, his expression calm once again.

"Alright, then. Don't worry, we'll wait for you."

"Thank you. I'll be back soon."

Leaving the hall, Liandor hurriedly made his way through the corridors, his face darkening with every step. The echo of his footsteps was swallowed by the thick carpet as servants shrank back against the walls, avoiding his stormy gaze.

"Those idiots... They can't even do one simple task. How hard is it to keep an eye on a child?" he muttered under his breath, his mind racing as he tried to think of a solution.

"At this point, that woman will think my family is incompetent and won't trust us with her son. Meaning that it would be extremely hard to separate both of them. What a mess," he thought, clenching his fists. "There's nothing I can do right now. I'll have to speak with her later and try to convince her it was just a mistake. If worst comes to worst, I'll blame the servants and use them as scapegoats."

After a while, Liandor finally arrived at the room where Elias and his mother were. Without saying a word, he entered directly. Usually, entering a room without knocking four times would be considered extremely rude. But even if she has a rank 4 red potential, he must assert himself as the owner of this house and an authority figure.

Opening the door, Liandor saw Elias's mother sitting on the bed, bandaging her son's hand as other servants stood silently next to them.

"I'm sorry for the disturbance, but I heard what happened. I'm here to apologize on behalf of the servants. They were wrong to leave your son alone," he said, his voice filled with regret.

Elias's mother didn't know how to react and only nodded, which slightly irritated Liandor. However, he knew better than to show it at this moment.

"I understand that you're upset, but I hope you can forgive them. It was a simple mistake, and they meant no harm," he continued, trying to sound as sincere as possible.

Elias' mother frowned and wanted to say something but surprisingly, Elias was the first to speak, catching Liandor off guard.

"It's okay. It was my fault. I was the one who got lost because I can't take care of myself, so I'm not mad at anyone," Elias said with an innocent smile.

Liandor's mind churned with anger, but his face remained a mask of calm. Years of political maneuvering had taught him how to conceal his true emotions. Even so, he was extremely irritated. This sentence felt like a slap to his face. Not only was he apologizing to an ex-slave, but it also seemed as if this four-year-old was the bigger person by forgiving him.

'Calm down… This is a good opportunity. He's young and naive. I can use this to my advantage and reverse the situation,' he thought with a large grin.

For the first time, Liandor directly addressed Elias, no longer ignoring him. "You're a good boy. I'm sure your mother is proud of you," Liandor said, patting Elias's head.

"Really?" asked Elias, his deep ocean eyes filled with curiosity.

"Of course. You're a strong boy, and you can absolutely take care of yourself. That's what a real man does, right?"

As if Elias understood exactly what Liandor was trying to do, he immediately shook his head. "Ah... Then, I'm not a man yet. I'm a boy. I don't want to leave my mother... I still want to be a child," refuted Elias, his tone firm and resolute.

Hearing this, Liandor felt slightly disappointed. He clearly wanted Elias to say he didn't need his mother, hoping to use this to separate them.

'This brat is stubborn. I should—'

"Grandpa Liandor, are you a cultivator?" Elias suddenly asked, interrupting Liandor's train of thought.

"...Yes, I am. Why do you ask?"

"Then, can I become one too?"

Upon hearing Elias, Liandor's face turned grim. This little four-year-old had cleverly placed him in an extremely difficult dilemma. If he refused, everyone would grow suspicious of his motives and eventually discover his intentions of exploiting Elias' weakness to control his mother.

Moreover, even if he refused, who could guarantee that Elias' mother wouldn't seek an aperture awakening stone later? While he could control her now, it wouldn't necessarily be true in the future.

On the other hand, if he accepted, Elias would eventually be able to protect himself and be more difficult to control.

'Damn it! I was too careless. Her talent is too precious, and I need her to choose to join the family of her own volition. I can't force anything...' He frowned, quickly considering possible solutions. 'Perhaps I can indoctrinate this child and use him this way... No... I refuse to accept him in my family. Our ancestors' legacy won't be tainted by this bastard... I can't just kill him either now that he seems to want to stick with his mother. I can't risk hurting a rank 4 red potential.'

There was a long silence as Liandor pondered his options. Elias didn't rush him and patiently waited for his answer. However, seeing that Liandor was still struggling to decide, Elias decided to give him a little nudge.

Turning to his mother, Elias spoke with a serious expression. "Mother, my tummy hurts from the strange meat I ate yesterday..."

"What? Does it hurt a lot?" she asked, her eyes filled with concern.

Hearing this, Liandor's eyes lit up. 'I know! I need to find a way to weaken his talent so much that even if he awakens his aperture, he won't be able to cultivate at all! This way, I can pretend to be a good guy while slowly getting rid of him!'

"No… I should be fine," answered Elias. He then turned back to Liandor and asked, "So, Grandpa Liandor, can I become a cultivator, too?"

"Of course! You can become a cultivator! But you need to wait a few months since you are still a bit young," Liandor said, his face beaming with joy.

"Really? Thank you, Grandpa Liandor! I will be waiting!"

Elias's mother was visibly relieved and repeatedly thanked Liandor. She hadn't spoken earlier because she also wanted her son to cultivate and become strong enough to defend himself. Although she still didn't really know what cultivators did, she did knew that they were strong.

"Thank you so much. I was worried about him not having a future, but now I can rest easy. You are truly our savior!" explained the woman

"You're welcome. It's the least I can do for family! Now, let's go to the feast. Everyone is waiting for us," Liandor said, his voice filled with excitement.

'Thanks to this, it seems like our previous mistake has been more or less forgiven. I still need a way to separate the both of them, but I can take my time for that' Liandor thought proudly with a grin on his face.

Little did he know, Elias was also satisfied with this interaction. Liandor had walked right into Elias's trap. It was a battle of wits, and he had won. He needed an efficient way to lower his talent so he could use his rune, and now, someone else would do the searching and even the job for him.