Now, the same man who had laughed in his face was walking like a servant on trial, every movement overly polite. Shen slightly raised his brow as he watched the guard's change of behavior but said nothing, instead thinking inwardly.
'What's wrong with this guy?' Watching the shameless act of the guard before him, Shen's face slightly twitched, but he didn't stop him and enjoyed the moment.
He didn't know what went through this guard's mind, but he also didn't mind it, as it made things smoother for him, and his journey wasn't obstructed by anyone along the way.
Reaching a wooden door of unknown quality, the guard stopped, stepped to the side, and gestured for Shen to enter.
"This is the patriarch's office. He is currently inside with someone else, so if you wish, you can wait outside or just enter."
Shen nodded solemnly and waved his hand, indicating for the guard to stay aside, while inwardly sighing. 'Such high energies… this is also one of the red blocks marked by the AI chip that cannot be seen through.'
He looked through the map given to him, and two of the highest energies located by Synapse were inside this room. In fact, this whole room and other spaces in the mansion were all painted red, which were considered danger zones.
Taking a deep breath, Shen lightly knocked on the door three times.
With hands folded under his chin, a middle-aged man who greatly resembled Shen had a grave expression on his face as he looked at the man before him. 'Sigh, there is no escaping this, is there?'
With a heavy heart, the middle-aged man looked at the man who resembled him so much that they could not be told apart from an outer point of view, and said in a heavy tone.
"Brother, why go this far to win over me? Have I ever wronged you before? I even gave you power equal to mine and authority that was just one step below mine. What more do you want me to do?"
Hearing his big brother's words, the man felt a tinge of guilt before it was quickly suppressed. Still, his stern, hostile face eased into a gentle expression before he replied solemnly.
"This has nothing to do with what I want, John. This is the decision made by everyone in the family and the branch elders. I'm here to convey the message, I really don't want this either."
John looked at the pained expression his little brother wore and sneered inwardly, 'Not your decision, my ass. If you were told I was heavily injured, you'd be the first to run and give the last blow to get rid of me.'
Although John knew his brother's intentions, he couldn't do anything about it.
Recalling the recent events that happened in the family, he could only swallow his words and agree deep down, but he still couldn't just go with the flow until he made sure his son was really done for.
The man in front of him was called Alex; he was John's little brother. After failing to acquire the position of patriarch despite his hard work, he kept creating all sorts of competitions and problems between their sons.
His idea was simple: If I can't get the position of patriarch, then my son will!
Recalling how hard Alex had tried to make this situation happen, John couldn't help but think of his son and sigh even harder. 'To be fair, even I wouldn't give the spot to him. It's just that…'
As he was deep in thought, Alex cut him off. "John, all the branch elders have come to an agreement that the last academy spot is to be given as a prize for the tournament. You should know what that means, right?"
John was about to nod his head and reply when he heard faint knocks on the other side of the door. With a wave of his hand, the door opened, and his heart grew even heavier.
'If only you were like your older brother,' John thought, looking at the frail and pale young man heading their way with his head held high, as if he owned the place.
Tsk…tsk…
Alex clicked his tongue in annoyance at the familiar face of Shen. He could barely resist the urge to smack that face of his and teach him his place.
"See what I mean, brother? This is why all elders are agreeing on this matter, he's a waste." Finishing his words, Alex flipped his long white robe, stood up, and left the room, not even bothering to glance at Shen a second time.
On the other hand, Shen didn't give a single thought about this man, since he knew no one to begin with, and just attributed it to this trash kid's talent and how everyone automatically hated him. He strolled through the room and gazed at the middle-aged man standing behind the wooden desk.
"Son greets father," Shen cupped his fists and slightly bowed his head, emitting the same actions as before without realizing the awkwardness of his actions, before continuing to speak with his eyes humbled to the ground.
When it came to acting, if Shen claimed to be number two, none would claim to be number one!
He had lived two lives, and the first one was a whopping two hundred years; hence, his experience was vast, especially in controlling his features. As for his actions, this was how they used to greet mages in his first life, and he thought it should be the same here.
"I'm sorry, Father, if I came at the wrong time. I was merely following your instructions, which you left on the paper after last night," Shen sincerely spoke, his voice pleasing to the ears.
A few seconds passed, yet Shen heard no response. Curious, he slightly raised his eyes, only to be met with a jaw-dropping middle-aged man with saliva dripping from his mouth.
Shen's pupils shrank to the size of beans as he rushed next to his father to check if he was okay, but before he could touch him, John waved his hand and stopped him midway.
Cough! Cough!
"I'm…I'm fine, I was just a bit surprised by a certain thing," John coughed dryly, his mind still in chaos as he couldn't believe his eyes.
His son didn't pee himself after being coldly glared at by Alex; that was already a win in his book!
'Is this because he lost his memory? Did that natural fear go away, or what is going on?' Thinking back on the way his son greeted him, John couldn't help but link it to that and joy that he had never felt since years welled inside of him.
Boom!