Chapter 24: Chapter 24

Back at Jan Miean village, Long Ren smiled brightly as the people applauded happily at his command.

"I am so glad that this show was a blockbuster. I feel really honored to know that you will never forget this show." Long Ren bowed his head slightly as they applauded even more as their life depended on their performance.

Old man Jin Ming, even exerted all his strength in the applause. All everyone prayed for was that Long Ren would leave soon enough.

"Before I finally leave, my dear citizens, this brothel, I want it closed by tomorrow. I hope I speak clearly before real humans?" said Ren.

"Y.E.E.E.S.S" they shouted loudly with all their might; then Ren nodded his head in approval.

"You lot really are obedient sheep." commented Ren as his eyes surveyed all of them. Then his eyes fell back to the 3 fresh flowers for sale previously. He placed his hands on their shoulders and gave them a necklace each.

"Wherever you are from, this necklace will guard you back safely. Be sure to remain at your sect for 3 months without stepping out" Ren instructed.

The three pretty girls nodded and then thanked him by kowtowing but he disappeared from their midst without a word. The 3 girls also disappeared but its obvious that their destination and Ren's was different.

Seeing that the demon has finally left, they all began to jubiliate. The men all escaped from the brothel while the prostitutes ran back to their rooms to grab whatever was important to them.

In 30 minutes time, the whole brothel crashed and a faint mist covered it. This was a warning to the villagers that this brothel could never be rebuilt. The survivors could not tell others about what they had experienced.

As Ren had sealed their lips regarding this incident, they would die with the secret. This was the price to pay. Of course, they would be greeted by many sleepless nights due to nightmares and withdrawal symptoms.

Some women, however, were joyful at the brothel's downfall. This means the possibility of their husbands, sons and relatives bedding prostitutes was very very low. They thanked whoever caused the downfall in their hearts.

That person was a good man or woman. Wherever he is, their blessings would always follow him or her. If only the knew whom they were blessing truly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at Theresa's new home.

Theresa was lying on the couch in the living room, sleeping peacefully when a crash near her made her suddenly wake up. She rubbed her eyes over and over again to make sure that she wasn't seeing wrong.

It seems that Long Ren did come to save her; though he was very late, he still came. She only felt a slight headache but apart from that, her body was fine. She then stretched her body and yawned a little. It's really nice to have a place to call home.

She brought her feet down the couch and placed it on the warm rug only to meet a sight. There were two bears looking at her and sitting on the other couch. It appeared that they might be a mother and child bear.

On the small table in the middle of the room, was a giant crab that had one of its legs chained to a seemingly small stone. However, this stone is very heavy for Theresa to even raise. Towards her left was a huge bag of grain.

What the heck! Is this still her house? How did all this stuff get into her house without her noticing? Was Long Ren the culprit?

No, that doesn't seem likely! Ren hated contact with other humans; whether male or female say less of animals.

How then did these three things get here? Did someone break into her house while Ren was away? If it is so, then this house isn't safe. While she was lost in her deep thoughts, her expression changing frequently. Ren appeared behind her.

"Mistress, do you like them? I did what you asked me to. You asked for a bear called teddy and I couldn't find any with that name. You also didn't specify if it's a small or big bear so I brought both. Then I also bought this giant crab so it can walk here. Maybe you want to see a crab in live action. Then you said push-ups. I don't have much idea about it so I bought this bag of grain. Maybe, I'll just push it up the roof." Ren explained, not seeing that his mistress' face was turning black.

Her cute ears were now bringing smoke. This evil pet! Here she thought there was a burglar not knowing it was Ren all along. Isn't he supposed to be intelligent since he's a powerful beast? If he doesn't understand, why not wait for her to come to teach him?

When Ren finally raised his head to see her looking at him, his knees nearly gave in. If Mistress was like this, it meant she was angry. He doesn't wanna be punished with periods again. Heavens know that he dared not sit or lie comfortably as he wanted when his member was gushing out blood.

Now he was going to be in such state again? No, that can't happen.

"Mistress, I saved your life and healed you with my medicine," he said with a low voice. His head hung low guiltily and he looked like he'd cry any minute.

Hearing that sentence from him made her calm down. That's right! Ren saved her life so even if he's a bit stupid, he's all she got in this world, right?

So she can't hate him too much.

"Alright, fine! But recall to take all these away," she said as she smoothened the creases on her clothes.

"Its getting dark. I need to find that Grandma and see if she's alright." Theresa said as she made towards the door.

"Mistress..." Ren took off the whip from his waist and put it around her waist and then he placed a small green stone on her hand.

"Mistress... this is a location stone. It will help you find her faster. I know... I may not like you much but please stop punishing me all the time. Just like you, I'm not perfect. Even if my true form is a small, tiny animal but... I can still change to a human. Please treat me as you would treat a friend, okay? I don't have any friends since I was six." Ren said emotionally with red eyes. A tear even slid down his right eye but he quickly cleaned it off and turned away.

"Mistress, am sorry, I shouldn't be saying such words to you. You are the mistress and I am but just a mere pet subject to you for a lifetime," he said quickly and wanted to walk away when he felt a hand stop him from moving.

He turned his head around to see that Theresa was holding his left hand.

"It's okay. I'm also at fault. I'm stupid too. I'm not perfect. Please forgive me for all my wrongs to you. I won't treat you like a beast anymore, neither will I feed you bones. I promise to be a good mistress from now on. You're all I have," she said as tears slid down her face, making her look so pitifully cute.

Ren cleaned off her tears and turned around. Immediately, Theresa hugged him and started crying. Ren patted her back carefully and told her not to cry anymore.

After 3 minutes, Theresa stopped crying and wiped off her tears herself. Ren then made the same disguise that she used when she went out to the market this afternoon.

"Mistress, you're good to go now. And one more thing, you'll start cultivating as from tomorrow. By then, I will be your master in some kind of way." said Ren.

Theresa did not think twice and quickly nodded. Then she ran off, following the direction of the location stone. When she had left, Ren smiled slyly.

"Mistress, it's time for payback," he thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Outside the house, Theresa smiled.

"Yes, you're all I have and my free money bank. Such a foolish boy!" she thought happily as she continued to follow the location stone's direction.

This location stone was a cheap one so nobody bothered to steal it from her.

Theresa sighed as she put the location stone into her pocket. It took her almost an hour to locate Grandma's home.

"Grandma's home is really far from the market and yet she always goes there every day with those feeble bones. She needs someone to care for her at this age but here she is struggling to make ends meet." Theresa thought and sighed.

She walked towards the little house made of bamboo and wood that the Grandma resided.

"Mama, how are you doing back there? I was wrong... I was wrong to disobey you. I shouldn't have headed for the concert. Now.. we're separated forever. Mother, I hope you can hold on. Mother..." Theresa was woken from her thoughts when she crashed to the ground unexpectedly.

That's weird! How did she fall down? She wasn't in any one's way. Who would be so petty to push a weak girl like her down.? Theresa got up from the ground and patted off the dust on her clothes.

She then looked behind her and saw six men approaching. At this moment, her heart nearly leapt to her throat. What the hell is this again? Why is it that whenever she's around Grandma there's always some problems arriving? Though it was getting dark, she could see their mean expressions.

"Why carry such a scary face? I am an innocent girl. As they say, the innocent fears no accusation." Theresa thought and then braced herself to meet the six men.

If it comes to worst, Ren will just save her. It's really good to have a powerful guardian like Ren. Theresa began to retreat slowly but she stumbled on something and fell down. She then noticed that it was a sleeping python.

One thing that she dreads is a snake. Any type of snake be it real or fake. The last time she came in contact with one in the zoo, she had fainted because she saw it spit. Now there's one this close to her. What should she do?

Faint? No, that wouldn't be a good idea. Her body would be swallowed. Should she scream then? No, that'll make Mr. Snakey angrier. She covered her mouth and slowly got up. She then ran towards the mean men.

"Help!Help!" she cried as she ran towards them with all her might.

The snake, however, just stayed there and did not bother to pursue her. It had a target and that was the wretched Grandma. Theresa hugged one of the men, her whole body shivering.

"What is it lass?" one of them carrying a spear asked.

"Snake, snake!" Theresa shouted and then pointed at where the snake once was but there was nothing there.

"I swear I saw it there. It wanted to bite me." defended Theresa. The one she was hugging threw her harshly to the ground.

"Your tricks are pretty lame. Grandma will die today no matter what you do" the man said and then left with the others. They were heading for Grandma's house in haste. One of them threw a spear that passed through one side of the house penetrating to the other side.

"That old witch dares to live here. She must be stupid." one of them called Lu Jie. He is 7 ft tall and has a body like the dead Lu Chen. This Lu Jie is not from Lu Chen's family but they just have the same surname. In Luo Ye, there are more than 80 families scattered all over with the name Lu.

The others with him currently, are his brothers. From their dressing, one would know they were rich though not as the noble families but the masses would cower in front of them since they were also cultivators.

When they were 3 feet away from the house, one of them gathered up green internal energy. This showed that he had the nature (vegetation) element. These kinds of people would be easily poached by any sect but if one doesn't show it how would they know?

And how many powerful elders in the various sects want to go out on said leisure, and look out for these people? They were always busy day in day out. Also, they always held admissions once every year so those interested would go apply.

A lot of people in Luo Ye don't even know how to access these sects except for the ones that are low-ranked or not yet ranked (unrecognized though not illegal).

These brothers probably might or might not belong to sects. Theresa who managed to rise up again from the ground was in a panic. Did they say they wanted Grandma dead? For what reason?

No, she can't let this happen. She used the little strength she had to run towards them.

"Hey, you people!" she shouted as she ran. One of them turned back and cast a spell on her.

This spell is supposed to make her dumb but surprisingly there was a shield around her. The spell could only hit the shield and bounce back to its sender who marveled at what he had seen.

"Wow. It seems Grandma is sure nice to send this kind of person to us." Lu Jie said when he turned and also saw this sight.

Theresa thought she was done for when she saw the spell coming for her but she was surprised at the barrier that covered her.

"Wow! This is amazing. If this is one of the benefits of being Ren's accepted mistress then there is no problem" she thought happily.

Poor Theresa did not know that Ren had placed, an invisible hairpin on her head when he hugged her earlier and if there were three attempts made on the shield made from that golden hairpin, it would crash.

She confidently walked to them with a smile on her lips.

"Boys, you can't hurt me." she bragged.

"Lu Fan" Lu Jie called.

"Yes, big bro?" replied one who only had hair on the right side of his head and had a rough voice.

"Finish her off and don't let her make noise" Lu Jie ordered and then turned around to proceed towards the entrance of the grandma's house.

Theresa kept walking towards them oblivious to her current situation.

Lu Fan smiled as he walked towards Theresa.

"I would like to see how long that measly shield of yours will last," he said as he kept advancing towards Theresa who did not retreat. He lifted one of his left fingers and pointed it at Theresa.

There was no light emanating from the finger but from the inaudible words said by Lu Fan, it was obvious he was casting a spell and it is not a small one.

Theresa had successfully reached Lu Fan's spot and then dashed past him towards the others. Lu Fan did not go after her. Instead, he lifted another finger and continued saying the inaudible words at a much faster rate.

When she was 6 feet away from the other men who were there to harm Grandma, Lu Fan's two fingers emitted red light and he turned to face Theresa's back.

"Go" he muttered.

Immediately, two small red lights left the current glowing fingers of Lu Fan and headed towards Theresa.

As expected they both hit her shield but it immediately crashed since it was a twin spell that Lu Fan cast.

This spell is called 'Divider'. It is especially used in breaking someone's barrier especially if that person is below the Saint stage. Seeing that he had succeeded in destroying her shield, he then rubbed his chin and contemplated on which spell to use again.

Theresa on her part, the moment the twin spells hit her shield, she felt it crash and she received a small impact. Currently, she is frozen to the ground, unable to move.

It was at this moment that Grandma came out of the house wearing tattered clothes.

"So even at night, Grandma is still on rags? I must do something to save her from the clutches of these men. But how will I help her?" thought Theresa.

But unfortunately, she was helpless as she could not even speak nor move.

"Of all types of worlds, why must I be summoned here? I get sealed with unknown magic and spells every time. I'm so done with this Luo Ye" Theresa complained in her heart.

She just wanted to get a new cook and thereby lift the good Grandma from grass to grace. She had good intentions! Why then must she encounter one problem or the other?

"My sons, what brings you to my humble abode?" Grandma asked her hands akimbo.

"May the 8 fiery claps of thunder of the heavens strike that cursed mouth of yours." said one of Lu Jie's brothers.

"My dear sons, I have just prepared a meal. Please let us share and strengthen our family bond" persuaded the Grandma.

"Old hag, give me the ring" Lu Jie barked startling Grandma.

"R-Ring? What Ring? Ever since I was born, I have never worn a ring." Grandma replied. She looked confused but the brothers would not fall for her act.

"Old lady, we'd spare your head and this little lass here if you give the ring back," said Lu Fan. Seeing that they were not buying her act, she then straightened her back and yawned.

"Boys, it seems you need some good smacking on your little butts and I'd be happy to do so. How do we play this game? Will you come at me one on one or all at once?" she asked.

Theresa stared at Grandma with wide eyes.

"Grandma, you don't need to pretend to be brave just to save my neck," Theresa thought. Damn that spell that Lu Fan cast on her! She can't help Grandma in any way. It seems luck has finally run out for her. Theresa resigned to whatever fate has in store for her and closed her eyes.

One minute passed, two minutes, 5 whole minutes passed and Theresa felt nor heard anything. She opened her eyes to see Grandma with a thin cane in her right hand pointing at five men. These men were the ones who wanted her dead earlier.

Currently, apart from their clothes, one would not easily recognize them.

One had the head of a lizard, 3 had goat's head and the other two had a cat's head. Theresa did not know what to do at this scene. Should she cry or laugh? Everything seemed so funny.

She came to help someone but she ended up being saved by the one she intended to help. What a turnout of things!

These six men who were after her life and Grandma were currently unconscious in their terrible states. Grandma smiled and turned to face Theresa.

"My daughter, you're welcome to my humble abode. Join me inside," she said and the walked back into her little bamboo home.

Theresa felt her body become free again and all she could say was: "Wow!"

There are really wonders in this world! When she gets back home, she'd ask Long Ren to tell her as much that he knows about this world and the so-called cultivation.

This world is not like Earth where she has lots of bodyguards and servants. Here, all she had was a disobedient pet-man and of course, her future cook.

Theresa being a lazy girl back on earth, did not know how to cook. She is an heiress after all; why bother to learn such annoying things? Now she really sees the importance of cooking.

Theresa threw one more look at the unconscious guys and rushed quickly into Grandma's home.

When she entered, she opened her mouth in shock.

From outside this house seems to be so fragile and small but on getting in, she could see that the sitting room was twice her room back on earth. Though there were only 3 chairs and a small table in the middle of the room, there was so much space that was lefty occupied. A lot of questions began to form in her head.

Why the heck was grandma struggling to sell those buns on the streets when she's such a powerful magical being? Who was she?

"My dear daughter make yourself at home. What may I offer you?" Grandma asked.

"I would like a bottle of sprite," said Theresa. Grandma was confused.

"What kind of drink is that? I have never heard of it" said Grandma.

Theresa smiled and shook her head.

"Grandma, that drink is not in this world. Give me any tea you have" she said while rubbing her palms together.

Grandma smiled and nodded. She raised her right hand and a pot containing high-grade tea. Also, two cups appeared on the small table.

"My dear, here's tea." said grandma as she put the pot on the table.

Theresa sat on one of the chairs and poured tea into the two cups and gave one to grandma who sat on the chair opposite her.

"My child state your mission. Don't beat around the bush" grandma flatly stated.

"Well...err....you see... I originally came intending to offer you a job as a cook in my new home because I thought..." she was interrupted by grandma.

"My dear just like everyone else you thought I was poor?" she asked.

Theresa nervously nodded, head bowed low.

Grandma laughed and drank her tea slowly. Theresa watched as grandma slowly finished up her tea. In not a long time, she put down the cup and poured tea again slowly into the cup.

"My dear, what's your name?" she asked.

"I'm called Han Fei Fei" Theresa replied.

"Good!" grandma said as she picked the teacup from the table and brought it to her mouth. She blew a little air into the cup and sipped a bit of tea.

"I can sense your innocence and sincerity." grandma remarked and added."But my dear, take a look at this place. It is big and spacious. What makes you think that this old lady would be willing to leave here and come stay with you as a cook? Yes, I do make buns for a living but....that is just a cover-up to fool the others. I'm not wealthy but I have enough to hire and cater for 7 servants. So tell me, why should I come to be your maid?" grandma asked.

"....." Theresa was tongue-tied, unable to find words to say in defense.

Truthfully, she hadn't expected to face this kind of situation. The ideal scene that played in her head during her search for Grandma's home was, of Grandma being baptized in joy and gratitude to her for her kind gesture.

However earlier, she was saved by Grandma during a critical situation and now she has seen that Grandma is very strong and not poor. What should she do? Theresa bit her lips while racking her brain in search of a reasonable answer but she found none. Theresa could only stare at Grandma with uncertainty.

Seeing her looking so confused, Grandma got up from her seat and smiled, hands akimbo.

"My dear, take your time and when you've found an answer please call me," she said before vanishing.

Theresa opened her mouth in shock.

"Grandma is not some simple lady," she thought.

Now, what was she going to tell her? What reasonable and convincing answer would she give? Yeah, she did come here with good intentions. Though things have drifted off track, she can still make it a happy ending right?

10 minutes later...

Theresa called out to grandma who immediately appeared sitting on her former chair. Theresa was startled and it resulted in Grandma chuckling.

"Grandma's teeth are white and seem complete though. Unlike any grandma of her age, I've ever seen. They don't have fake teeth here, do they?" she thought however, Grandma interrupted her thoughts.

"I thought someone called me. Maybe I'm mistaken," she said preparing to stand up.

Seeing this Theresa laughed nervously and tried to calm her down.

"Grandma, this daughter is wrong. It was a sin to waste your time..but..i found an answer..no, I mean...I have no parents and you can be my grandma" Theresa said. Her heart was beating fast.

What if Grandma rejects her offer? Or what if she turns her into a lizard headed being?

"My dear, fear not.I'll think about it. For now, please enjoy your wine"Grandma said before vanishing.

Theresa was still startled despite knowing that Grandma has such ability. Every cultivator has an inborn ability from birth. It's like heavens gift. Even a trash grade root cultivator has gifts but can't use them to the full due to his roots.

Grandma hasn't reached the stage whereby she could easily disappear but that's her gift from birth so she uses it at her will. Theresa shook her head and almost chuckled when she recalled Grandma referring to the tea as wine.

Theresa poured herself another cup of tea and slowly drank savoring the taste.

"Well the ancient world does have good tea," she commented.

7 minutes later...

Grandma appeared carrying a bag on her shoulders.

When Theresa saw that Grandma had come back, she quickly stood up from her chair and looked at Grandma with uncertain eyes.

"Well... dear... you win," said Grandma.

"Grandma, You'll come to stay with me?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes, my daughter"Grandma replied.

Theresa screamed in excitement and hugged Grandma who warned her not to ever scream at night in this area. Theresa apologized for her mistake and hugged Grandma again.

"That being done. Let's go," said Grandma.

"You're the coolest," said an excited Theresa.

Grandma wondered what she meant by coolest but did not bother to ask her about it for she knew it wasn't a bad word.

*******

In Theresa's new home...

Long Ren sat on the couch in the lining room eating apples. He had thought of various strategies to use in torturing Theresa. He was going to use the pretense of cultivation to make her cry. It would be worth it even if she gets periods in the end.

It wasn't long before the door opened and in, came two women. One young the other aged. Ren immediately guessed who she was.

"Ren, my dear, this is Grandma Ye Feng. Grandma, this is my servant, Long Ren. Feel free here. He'll is at your beck and call," said Theresa.

Long Ren was dumbfounded. It was very evident in his widened mouth and eyes resulting in Grandma chuckling.

"S..S...Servant? When did I become a servant? You.." he was unable to complete his words due to Theresa speaking to him through telepathy.

"Long Ren, calm down. It wasn't easy for me to bring her here, so don't ruin my efforts. If you do, I'll be having fox stew tonight," Theresa threatened, though she was still smiling.

"You won't dare Mistress," Ren retorted but he still decided at the end to bow to her level.

"Grandma, it's a miracle to see you..." Ren said and cupped his palms. He bowed his head slightly and then returned to his normal position.

He saw her as a threat to his position as a favorite person in Mistress' heart. What if she steals his position successfully? He'll then be turned to a slave boy. Ah! How much he hated this contract. But he needs to behave for now. At least just for tonight. Tomorrow will be the dawn of a new era. An era of torture and excitement.

"My dear children..." Grandma spoke but did not complete her statement before white light covered her and her figure grew taller. When the light faded, what greeted them was a beautiful middle-aged woman.

"Yes, I'm no Grandma," she said with a smile.

Seeing this situation, Ren felt as if a thousand arrows had pierced his heart.

It was like... he had lost the game without even trying. This beautiful lady has already stolen his mistress' heart. Just look at her big round eyes. She's happy to see this new version of Ye Feng.

"You are so pretty, Ye Feng. Can you be my foster mother?" Theresa asked.

"I already accepted your request to be a grandma. But... since we all know now that I'm no grandma, then I think it's better to call me mother. So...YES, Han Fei Fei. Henceforth, you are my foster daughter." replied Ye Feng ( note guys that I will now refer to Grandma as Ye Feng).

"Mother., "Theresa exclaimed and then hugged Ye Feng who patted her back gently. Theresa's eyes became flooded with tears that began to flow out and she started crying.

"I miss my mummy, I miss my daddy so much. I failed them as a daughter and now I can't ever see them again. If only I had listened to them, then probably, we might still be together" Theresa cried.

Ren shook his head and went back to sit at the couch and began to munch on an apple.

"Such a crybaby, Mistress" he muttered sadly.