13 Mink Street

Karon stood up, sighed, and asked, “Have you had breakfast?”

“Not yet. I’m hungry.”

“Mhmm. Carry him inside.”

“Yes, Boss.”

“Yes, Boss.”

Pike and Dinkom each took one side of Richard’s stretcher and carried him into the kitchen. Karon began cooking wontons. They were small ones that he had wrapped earlier and stored in the refrigerator.

Before long, a large bowl of fresh, tender little wontons was served.

“Young Master, I’ll feed him,” Ciri offered.

“Mhmm. Be careful not to get burned.”

“Don’t worry, Young Master. I’ll make sure not to burn him.”

“I meant the bowl is hot. Don’t burn yourself. His skin is thick. He’s not afraid of a little heat.”

“...” Richard.

With the remaining wontons still in the pot, Karon added some noodles and cooked himself a bowl of wonton noodles.

Richard not only finished the wontons, he even drank all the soup. Ciri commented in surprise, “Sir, you’re really impressive! You’re injured this badly, and yet your appetite is still so good.”

Richard indifferently replied, “Hah, it’s not the first time.”

Karon put down his chopsticks. “It probably won’t be the last either.”

“Karon, you don’t need to curse me like that!”

“After your father beat you, did he show any changes?”

“Yesterday, he actually sat in the living room and chatted with my mom and my grandma for a while. Mmm, that would have been completely impossible in the past.”

“Mhmm. Then this beating was quite worthwhile. Something good came from it.”

“You mean I have to keep getting beat until my dad recovers?”

“What, are you unwilling?”

“If I say I’m unwilling, will that make me seem unfilial and morally inferior?”

“That isn’t the main issue.” Karon shook his head. “The main issue is that your father has probably found a method to treat himself, which is beating his son. If he wants to treat himself, you have no way to resist.”

Even without the bond of father and son, a Divine Shepherd opposing an Expositor was simply hopeless.

“Oh, my heavens. I feel like my life is going to be very bleak in the future.”

“You’ll get used to it.”

“Karon, you’re so cold!”

“Ciri, go call Pike and Dinkom. Have them move him into a coffin.”

“Oh no! Karon, I take back what I said!”

Pike and Dinkom came over, lifted the stretcher, and took it to the storeroom. There, they each took one end of Richard and steadily picked him up and placed him inside a coffin. After that, the two pushed the coffin on a cart to load it in the back of the newly purchased hearse.

Karon then stepped into the hearse. Seeing Richard lying in the coffin, he knocked on its side and asked, “How does it feel?”

Richard shifted from side to side. “Hey, don’t say anything, but I really didn’t expect lying in a coffin to be so comfortable.”

“Especially after being injured.”

“Exactly. This is going to be much more comfortable going back. Have you laid in one like this before?”

“Mhmm.” Karon’s expression dimmed slightly. He had indeed lain like this before.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just miss home a little.”

“If you miss home, just go back and visit. If you think a boat is too slow, use some credits and take the church’s teleportation array. It’s incredibly convenient.”

“I will go back. Just not now.” Karon climbed into the driver’s seat. His hand resting on the steering wheel, he repeated, “I will go back.”

He did not immediately start the car, but instead looked out the window and slowly closed his eyes.

When he had first left Swillen and traveled to Veyn, he had entered Allen Manor. There, he had experienced a short period of derangement. He had become deranged in the atmosphere of faith, deranged in his contact with a new environment, and deranged in the aristocratic luxury of life in Allen Manor.

Although he had later taken the initiative to leave and move to York City, in truth, if one asked him what his concrete goals were, he could not say. Some thoughts and ideas were too intangible. While the feeling might exist in his mind, it could not be described in language.

His life, up to this point, was essentially a kind of wandering. Where he came, where he went, where he stayed, none of it seemed to have any clear purpose. However, he did not feel panicked or lost because of this, since this was probably the state that most people lived in.

How many people truly spent every day living with a clear goal in sight? After all, those who could grasp their own destiny and possessed the qualifications and ability to make clear plans for their lives were truly few and far between.

On this foundation, simply being able to seriously live well each day, being active and earnest towards other people and matters that one encountered already made a person quite outstanding.

However, Karon now had a small goal that was slightly clearer: one day in the future, when he wanted to go home, he would be able to do so, regardless of whether Rasma was living in the church down the street.

The basic prerequisite for achieving this small goal was probably condensing a godhead shard and becoming an existence comparable to a Temple Elder.

No. One won’t be enough. At least two to start.

Karon let out a long breath and asked, “Are you asleep?”

Richard replied, “No. I knew you were thinking about something, and I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“Thank you.”

“No need to be polite. There’s no need for that between us. Um... I am very curious and wanted to ask you something.”

“Ask.”

“Did something happen with your family?”

“Mhmm.”

“If I ask my grandfather for help, could he handle it?”

“My family’s matters can only be solved by me personally.”

“Alright. As long as you have your own plans.”

“I’ll take you home. I’ll drive slowly.”

“Okay.”

Karon drove the hearse to the entrance of the Gorman family home. He got out and opened the rear door. “Order—Chain.”

Two Arts chains appeared and supported the coffin. Karon then moved in through the underground garage.

After all, driving a hearse to visit someone’s home was already inappropriate enough. If he delivered a coffin to their front door too, it would be even more exaggerated.

After placing the coffin in the basement, Karon picked Richard up and carried him on his back. “By the way, I won’t take the coffin back. I feel like you’ll still have use for it in the future.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t say ‘thank you.’ It feels strange.”

“So you know!”

Karon carried Richard up the stairs. The door at the top of the stairs opened, revealing Eisen. When he saw Karon carrying his son, his eyes immediately widened. “You can’t walk by yourself?”

Richard was so frightened that he slid right off Karon’s back. If Karon had not reached out and grabbed him, Richard would have tumbled down the stairs, adding injury to injury.

Eisen stepped down and hoisted Richard onto his own shoulder. The young man trembled. He grabbed Karon’s arm, silently mouthing, “No!”

Karon simply took the initiative to retract his hand. He watched as Richard was carried up by his own dear father.

Of course, Eisen would not possibly beat his child again while there was a guest in the house. Instead, he tossed Richard onto the sofa, then sat down himself and began flipping through a newspaper.

He was even able to sit in the living room instead of fleeing to his study. It seemed his condition really had improved quite significantly.

“Karon, you’re here.” Casey walked over carrying tea.

“Good day, ma’am.”

“Come, sit.”

“Where is the older woman of the house?” Karon asked.

“She’s in the kitchen.”

“I’ll go help her.”

“Well...” Casey hesitated. She knew that her mother-in-law disliked having anyone else in the kitchen and interfering with her work. In the old woman’s view, preparing meals for the family was a sacred matter that allowed no desecration.

The last exception had been made because her mother-in-law had seemingly noticed that her husband was about to beat their son, and had deliberately ushered Casey away in advance so that her son could better beat his son.

“What is it, Ma’am?”

“Nothing. Go ahead.”

“Alright, Ma’am.” Karon walked toward the kitchen.

Casey shrugged. She deliberately did not warn Karon, though not due to any sort of malicious intent. It was simply that she felt that her mother-in-law treated Karon a bit differently.

The kitchen was spacious, yet even before entering, Karon could already smell the aromas of food. He saw an old woman busily working inside. It was clear she was preparing many dishes for the meal, obviously because of him. From her, Karon could sense something similar to Mason and Aunt Mary.

“Oh, Karon, you’re here.” Ms. Tansley noticed him standing in the door to the kitchen, and she immediately set down what she was working on. She walked over to him, took his hand, and gently stroked it. “Why do you look thinner?”

“I don’t think I am. I think I might have gained a little weight.”

“No, you’ve lost weight. You really have. Richard is the one who got fat.”

Karon very much wanted to answer that Richard had not gotten fat, but was simply swollen due to his beating.

“Was the mission hard?”

“Not at all. It was like a vacation.”

“Nonsense. If you’ve lost weight, how could it not have been hard? Last night, Richard was in so much pain during the latter half of the night that he couldn’t sleep, so he told us about what happened on Darkmoon Island. You have worked hard.”

“None of that had anything to do with me.” Karon believed Richard could not possibly have shared with his family how he had carried Bernard’s body to Snake Island for disposal.

Ms. Tansley smiled. “So many things happened; How could they possibly have nothing to do with you?”

Karon did not argue. He strongly suspected that when Tiz’s clone had visited Veyn, he must have met with this woman.

“What dishes are you making?”

“I haven’t decided yet. I’ve prepared a lot of ingredients. You prefer food that is lighter on the palate, right? You said so last time.”

“Yes, but I can eat anything.”

“Is that so? Still, it should be made according to your taste. You rarely visit our home.”

“I’ll help you, Ma’am.”

“You know how to cook? Oh, right, I think Richard mentioned that before.” Ms. Tansley took the initiative to step aside, allowing Karon to take over. When she saw how skillfully he chopped and handled the ingredients, she sighed. “Child, your life must have been so hard all these years.”

“No. I like learning to cook. I feel that watching the family happily enjoy the dishes made with your own hands is a joyful thing.”

“Yes, I enjoy that feeling as well.”

Karon began cooking according to his own ideas. At first, Ms. Tansley merely watched from the side with a bit of curiosity while making idle conversation, but as she continued watching, she realized something was wrong. She discovered that Karon was not trying out some new dish, but clearly had an entire menu in mind.

Gradually, the conversation became:

“What is the purpose of this step?”

“Oh, it can be handled this way too?”

“Really? It can also be done like this.”

“I’ll have to try that next time!”

***

“Dinner is ready!” Ms. Tansley called Casey over to help plate the food.

Karon washed his hands and walked toward the living room. Eisen lowered his newspaper, nodded to Karon, then stood and walked to the kitchen.

Richard, meanwhile, remained lying face-down on the sofa, seemingly asleep. Karon walked over and shoved him. Richard rolled over, and Karon saw a layer of white silk covered his face. He pulled at Richard’s collar and discovered that he was also covered in a layer of white silk beneath his clothes.

“Ugh...” Richard woke from his daze. “Why do I feel like my face and body are sticky?”

He then touched his face and asked in confusion, “What is this?”

“That bug. You swallowed it, didn’t you?”

“I did. After Memphis helped me examine it, I swallowed it. I even washed it. Rinsed it in the stream.”

“Then that bug is working to help treat you.”

“Really? It’s that miraculous? Hmm... I do feel much better than when I went to your place this morning.” Richard stood up from the sofa. “Damn, I can actually stand!”

“The effect is quite good.”

“Yes. Karon, what kind of miraculous bug did you give me? Right, you absolutely cannot let my dad know!”

“Your dad was sitting right beside you reading the newspaper just now. Do you think there’s a chance that he didn’t notice?”

“Hard to say. How could he possibly imagine that there’s such a miraculous bug inside of me? Hehe!”

“Yes. He probably doesn’t know.”

“I’m going to the washroom to clean up. Oh, my walking stick. I can’t just walk over, or it’ll be too obvious.”

“Alright.”

Karon headed to the dining room and saw that Eisen was already sitting there. Although the man’s expression was solemn, and he clearly had no idea how to help prepare for the meal, the fact that he was now able to take the initiative to sit in the dining was already a tremendous improvement.

When Ms. Tansley and Casey, who were both busy, saw that Eisen was sitting at the table, they both seemed so moved that they looked about to cry.

Karon sat down beside Eisen and quietly said, “After beating him next time, don’t rush to use healing Arts. Doing so will suppress the restorative effect of that bug inside of him.”

Hearing this, Eisen nodded very seriously.

At that moment, Derron arrived home. When he saw Eisen sitting in the dining room, he blinked hard to confirm that he was seeing correctly.

Only after that did he notice Karon. “Oh, Karon, welcome to our home!”

“Thank you for your hospitality.” Karon immediately stood up and returned the courtesy.

While he felt a bit of a grandmotherly connection to Ms. Tansley, he did not feel the same way towards Derron. In truth, even blood relations need interactions to grow close and overcome a sense of distance.

Richard entered the dining room with a walking stick and took his seat. Seeing the dishes on the table, he immediately shouted, “You made this food, Karon!”

“Yes, yes. Karon helped me tremendously today. To my shame, I actually let a guest cook, but I really wanted to see Karon’s skills.

“Karon, you should come to our home more often in the future and teach me how to cook, alright?”

“Alright. If I have time, I’ll come more often.”

“Mhmm. Don’t worry, I’ll have Richard go call you. Hehe.”

Everyone enjoyed the sumptuous lunch happily, including Eisen.

Derron cheerfully commented, “It seems taking a bit of leave to come back for lunch was a truly wise decision! Otherwise, I would have missed out on this delicious food, and that would have been a real sin!”

After the meal, dessert was served. It was a white mushroom and lotus seed soup Karon had stewed. Everyone chatted while enjoying the dessert.

At that moment, Ms. Tansley said, “Old man, that spot you mentioned last time, can you help secure one for Karon as well?”

“What spot?” Karon asked in confusion.

Derron found this request somewhat strange. He believed his wife knew precisely how difficult it was to obtain one of those spots. While he acknowledged Karon’s excellence, there were simply too many outstanding young people of suitable age in the York City district. Using his connections just to get one for his own grandson Richard had already been extremely difficult. How could he possibly secure another?

He was very curious as to why his wife would bring this matter up. This was not the way that favors were handled.

However, when he thought of how Karon had once saved the lives of his son and daughter-in-law, Derron could not help feeling repentant over his earlier thoughts. “I’ll do my best to make arrangements. If it really doesn’t work, I’ll give Richard’s spot to Karon instead. In any case, Richard also admits that Karon is more outstanding than him.”

Richard immediately said, “Mhmm, I agree!”

Eisen maintained his standard poker face, but Casey’s expression turned awkward. She did not want her son to lose this opportunity, though she also knew that giving Richard’s place to Karon was what should be done.

Karon asked, “Is this about the competition for a place in the Reincarnation Gate?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Derron answered.

“Oh, I’m already registered.”

“Registered? Who helped you register?”

“Archbishop Wolfram.”

“Archbishop Wolfram?” Derron asked in puzzlement. “He registered you?”

Clearly, because of his own grandson, Derron was familiar with recent events and the rumors of how Darkmoon Island’s princess abandoned the archbishop’s own grandson to throw herself into the arms of a member of Whip squad.

“Mhmm, yes. Also, the selection method leans toward matters of the soul, so Richard can focus more on that during this period.” Karon did not mind leaking this detail. He believed that since Archbishop Wolfram had shared it with him, the man had certainly also shared it with Leon and Larry.

Derron smiled. “That’s good. Karon, you need to work hard. Richard, you as well. Even if you aren’t ultimately selected, simply being able to leave this district to meet and spar with other outstanding young people from the church will be a very good experience.”

“Alright, Grandpa. I understand.”

Eisen said, “If it’s only a soul test—”

Richard was so frightened that he immediately shouted, “I’ll go to Karon’s place tomorrow! We’ll study and research together in an effort to qualify for the selection.”

Karon announced, “I’m leaving the city tomorrow to see my fiancée.”

“Karon, you can’t do this! What’s more important, brothers or women?”

“She’s far more important than you.”

“Alright...”

Ms. Tansley said, “Bring her over to visit when there’s a chance, alright?”

“Alright. Her health makes that a little inconvenient right now, but I will do so in the future,” Karon replied.

After that, he sat for a while longer before rising to take his leave.

As if granted a pardon, Eisen stood and went into his study.

Casey supported her son upstairs to rest and recover.

Still somewhat curious, Derron leaned closer to his wife and asked, “Why did you mention that spot just now? Luckily, Karon was already registered.”

Ms. Tansley asked in return, “If Richard can have one, can’t Karon?”

“What kind of logic is that? I admit that giving Richard’s spot to Karon would be the right thing to do, but I am still Richard’s grandfather, not Karon’s grandfather.”

Hearing this, Ms. Tansley lifted her head to look at her husband, a smile appearing on her face. It looked like she wanted to say something, but in the end, she stayed silent and only nodded.

“Then, my lady, I’ll return to my department. There are still some matters I need to handle. Things happen to be rather busy right now. Once I’m done with this stretch, I’ll take you to the hot springs again to recuperate.”

After Derron left, Ms. Tansley poured herself a cup of tea. She lowered her head, took a sip, sighed, and softly exclaimed, “Hah! You think you’re worthy?”