Zi Xuan, this woman is disrespecting your right-hand man and you're not reacting? Can't you hear her? She doesn't even know how to behave! What the hell did he see in her?! She may be sweet as honey, but you can see from a mile away that she's a manipulator who loves no one but herself!
"You can't ignore the importance of my request, Zi Xuan-zunzhu. We must act quickly! I have confidence in your strength, your tenacity and your wisdom—" she urges, trying to seduce him with sweet words and fluttering eyelashes.
"Enough!" Zi Xuan interrupted. Though he remains impassive, the argument between Shoi-Ming and her seems to annoy him. No doubt; he's really exhausted. "Guiying, Shoi-Ming is right. We must be patient and deal with matters in order of priority. Your attitude is deplorable, and I will not tolerate such disrespect toward my shidi."
Finally, he's taking side! Furious at not getting what she wants and being disavowed, she shoots Shoi-Ming a contemptuous look before turning on her heel and walking away without another word. That was so satisfying to see but he should be careful from now on, he made an enemy today. Another red flag.
After she leaves, Zi Xuan turns to Shoi-Ming with a questioning and tired look. He sighs.
"What's wrong? What did you want to tell me?"
"Shixiong, sorry to bother you, but I absolutely must know. This child is asking for his mother. Did you... separate him from her? Is she still alive? And this child... may I know where he comes from? I have so little information about him, but what concerns me most is his mother. He has asked for her several times." Shoi-Ming calmly explains to him with a hint of concern.
"I understand. It's a delicate situation—he's still very young, even to learn cultivation."
He seems touched and concerned by the child's situation. Zi Xuan is a compassionate person after all. After a brief moment of reflection, he speaks up to answer his questions.
"This child was found by Jun Hie during his trip to the Jade Dragon Sect. His parents are believed to have died, and Jun Hie felt that he had great potential. So, he brought him back with him to prevent him from ending up as a street vagrant."
He pauses, giving him time to process this information. Begging is not uncommon in this world, and even sects cannot take in all the destitute. Beggars are therefore left on the side of the road, so it is an honor to have been taken in.
[ Protagonist: Constitution: -1, Dexterity: -2. ]
Stats loss?! What's going on?! Is that possible?
He lets out a small gasp, not even having time to react to what he just said.
"He's in danger!"
All that's missing now is for Zi Xuan to believe Shoi-Ming has paternal instinct, but he don't have time to contradict that. His life is at stake here. And so is the protagonist's.
He runs off with a bad feeling—if it's that old witch who's invaded his pavilion and hurt the child, he's really going to make her life miserable! Well... not with his stats, but that's a detail.
"GM! Since when is it allowed to reduce the stats of players or NPCs?! This isn't fucking Cthulhu!!"
[ The protagonist's stats have been reduced due to his current physical condition. As he is still young and growing, his body is more vulnerable to changes and temporary losses in stats. ]
For fuck's sake!
Zi Xuan, worried to see him suddenly so preoccupied, decides to follow him and help if necessary. As they approach Shoi-Ming's pavilion, they hear a kid crying loudly.
To their surprise, when they open the door, they see dozens of paper cranes flying through the air. The protagonist seems to be excellent at making them, especially on his first day. However, they also notice that one of his hands is bleeding profusely. Good heavens, he wasn't attacked by that woman after all!
It seems he put too much spiritual energy into a piece of paper and cut himself deeply with it. Everyone has cut themselves with a piece of paper before, it hurts. He should be watched closely, as it's obvious he has significant spiritual potential, but his young body can't handle it properly yet. Typical protagonist problem.
Oh no, poor thing! Shoi-Ming crouches down to stroke his face and wipe away his tears to comfort him.
"Hush, it's okay, I'm back, see? You practiced well, sorry, it's my fault, I should have told you that putting too much energy into it can lead to this kind of result."
He quickly pulls a silk handkerchief from his sleeve and gently places it on the wound, patting it to absorb the blood. He sighs with relief. Damn, that kid gave him a heart attack. He turns his gaze to the other man as if to thank him and apologize for the inconvenience. More fear than harm.
But in such a short time, this kid made so many paper cranes.
As Shoi-Ming approached the injured child to comfort him, the boy snuggled up to him as if he were his mother. This scene brought a gentle smile to Zi Xuan's lips as he watched with emotion.
"I could never leave this child's education to anyone else."