Sunlight streamed into the guest quarters of the Main House as Ian woke up bright and early at seven in the morning. He sat up, stretching his arms high above his head.

​Yaaaawn. "I didn’t know the security in this massive house was so lax that they’d just let a rat sneak in here," Ian said aloud, staring blankly at the wall from the edge of his bed.

​"Well, what are the guards supposed to do when they work for the rat, you know?" a raspy voice echoed from the dark corner of Ian’s room. A figure stepped forward into the light, with black hair, golden eyes and a pair piercings in his ears. "How did you even know I was here? I was sitting perfectly still."

​"My senses have become a bit more sensitive these days," Ian said, standing up and walking toward his cousin, Adam, who was leaning against the wall. "Besides, I didn’t come to see you last night when I arrived, so I figured you would pull a stunt exactly like this. Right, Cousin?"

​"I’ll believe the part about you knowing I’d come here, but you becoming ’sensitive’? That’s a real nice joke there." Adam tried to hold it in, but he ended up laughing out loud. "If you were actually sensitive, you would have heard me opening your door!"

​Ian rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a little embarrassed that his ’cool’ bluff had been seen through so easily.

​Adam’s laughter faded into a soft smile. "It’s good to see you, Ian. Everyone in this place treats me like I’m made of glass. They look at me with pity, like I’m already a dead man walking. Nobody casually talks back to me or treats me like a troublemaker anymore. I missed this... even though I can’t even run to cause trouble these days."

​"But you are really sick, Adam. How do you expect them to treat you?" Ian said, pulling up a chair and sitting across from him.

​"I don’t know, maybe just a little less careful? They treat me like a fragile egg," Adam scoffed. Then, his face slowly morphed into an incredibly creepy smirk. "But you know what? Being terminally sick actually comes with its perks."

​"I am definitely going to regret asking this... but what is it?" Ian muttered.

​"I can still peek at the pretty maids bathing! And if I get caught? I just fall over and fake that my whole body is hurting. They panic, apologize, and let me go just like that! Ha-ha-ha! Now I can be completely creepy and get taken care of at the exact same time!" Adam laughed hard, clutching his stomach.

​’Sigh... this is exactly why I was hesitating to teach this pervert any cultivation techniques,’ Ian thought, looking at Adam rambling on about his exploits. ’Although he is family, his perversion goes to the extreme. When we were kids, he orchestrated a massive scheme where he stole the maids’ underwear and sold them to the estate guards for a high price. It got to the point where finding a maid wearing panties was genuinely rare, and which caused most of them just going commando! He even collected a weekly "protection fee" from the guards to keep the supply flowing of maids without underwear going around. It went on for a whole month before his mother found out and beat him half to death.’

​Ian tuned out Adam’s bragging, his eyes scanning his cousin’s body.

​’The real reason I get along with this pervert is because we grew up together. He is only two months older than me. But looking at him now... he really is sick. His face and hands are so pale he looks like he could collapse at any second. Even though he is just sitting there, his right leg is trembling uncontrollably from the pain.’

"For someone who is supposed to be dying, you sure talk a lot," Ian interrupted, standing up and heading over to his luggage. "Since you came here this early anyway, I might as well just show you the Cultivation Technique right now."

​"What the hell are you talking about? What Cultivation Technique?" Adam asked, raising a pale eyebrow.

​"Wait a minute, I put the manual in here somewhere..." Ian muttered, digging through his bag. "Ah, here we go." He pulled out a hand-written copy of the Adamantine Ox Hide Technique. "Adam, I want you to cultivate the technique in this book. If you want to heal up, this is your best shot."

​"What?" Adam asked, looking at the book with deep skepticism.

​"Oh, sorry. Let me explain from the beginning..." Ian sat back down and recited the exact same story he had told his mother, sisters and Trevor—the lie about running from assassins, falling, finding a magical artifact pendant, and inheriting an ancient manual.

​"I see..." Adam mumbled, staring at the cover of the book. "So you are saying that if I cultivate this first stage, there is a second stage that might be able to slow down my sickness, or maybe even heal my rotting bones? You aren’t sure?"

​"I am almost entirely sure it will heal you. But you have to reach the peak of this skin technique first," Ian said confidently.

​"Mmm. And how am I supposed to believe this technique of yours is real? If it is as powerful as you claim, then you must have been training in it... can you show me proof?" Adam challenged, his sharp golden eyes locking onto Ian’s.

​"I kinda knew you would ask that. That is exactly why I brought this knife," Ian said.

​Before Adam could even react, Ian drew a sharp hunting knife from his waist and slammed it directly into his own thigh.

​DING! A loud, metallic sound echoed in the room as the sharp steel blade bounced right off Ian’s skin, failing to leave even a single scratch.

​Adam didn’t even flinch to stop him. He had been genuinely curious to see if Ian was telling the truth, and his jaw slightly dropped when he saw the blade deflect off bare skin. Slowly, a genuine, soft smile formed on Adam’s pale face.

​"Thank you, Ian. Really," Adam said, his voice trembling just a bit. "I was actually really scared of dying, you know? But maybe... maybe this is another chance. I am not going to waste it. I will get going now and start cultivating immediately. Time is of the essence, after all." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

​Just as Adam used the wall to push himself up to his feet, there was a soft knock on the door.

​"Young Master, it is me. Your morning meal is ready," a voice called out.

​"Come in, Tracy," Ian said.

​The door opened, and Tracy stepped inside carrying a large silver tray. "Did you sleep well, Young Master?" she asked warmly.

​"Yes, I did. And you? How was your first night here?" Ian asked.

​"It was very pleasant, thank you for asking, Young Master. Where should I put this breakfast?"

​"Over on that table, if you don’t mind."

​Tracy walked in, placed the heavy tray on the table, and immediately went over to Ian’s bed to start making it. Adam stood frozen in place, staring at Tracy with wide, shocked eyes.

​"Stop staring. You are making her uncomfortable," Ian sighed, stepping in front of Adam’s line of sight.

​"I just didn’t know you had such a beautiful maid traveling with you," Adam whispered, completely fixated on her. "She doesn’t even look like a commoner... and with that striking short white hair, and blue eyes too."

​"I thought you said you were going to leave to cultivate?" Ian said, totally ignoring Adam.

​"Fine, fine, I’m leaving! I should really have a nice talk with my father about getting me a beautiful female personal maid instead of that crusty old butler he assigned to me," Adam complained, shuffling toward the door.

​As Adam left the room, Ian noticed his hands tightly folding into fists, his knuckles turning stark white as he endured the agonizing pain of simply walking.

​"Who was that, Young Master? He sure is creepy," Tracy said, shivering slightly as she continued folding the bedsheets.

​"Don’t talk like that about people, Tracy. That is bad manners," Ian scolded gently.

​"I’m sorry, Young Master," she said, looking down with a low voice.

​"...But it is okay. He is completely creepy, after all," Ian added with a smirk.

​"...But you just said it’s bad manners to call people that?" Tracy questioned him, looking up in complete confusion after a few seconds of silence.

​"It’s bad manners for other people. But for him? It is just a fact and a compliment," Ian laughed.