THE REAL PROTEGE-Chapter 491: WHO DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO BE A WHITE LOTUS?
Shi Min’s Arrival
Back at the sprawling Li Mansion, Shi Min had been reviewing reports regarding the training of the Li Clan Disciples in his private study when a servant brought word that his sister had ventured into the Valley’s marketplace. A flicker of concern crossed Shi Min’s usually impassive features. His sisters were still unfamiliar with the Hidden Valley’s complex social hierarchies and unspoken rules, and how vicious people in the Valley could be; anyone could be weaponized by those seeking to curry favor or eliminate competition.
Without hesitation, he set aside the ancient tome. Its pages still glowed faintly with residual spiritual energy. Shi Min told Ling Li he was going to find his sisters and strode purposefully from the mansion. Four Eyes and Jack fell into step behind him like shadows, their expressions alert, hands resting casually near concealed weapons.
When Shi Min entered the boutique, the very air seemed to crystallize. Tension charged the room. The atmosphere shifted instantly, as though a predator had entered a room full of prey. The women who had been mocking Ren and Lily froze mid-whisper, their expressions transforming with almost comedic speed into eager smiles that didn’t quite reach their calculating eyes.
Who didn’t know Shi Min in the Hidden Valley? He was the most coveted bachelor among the younger generation — a man whose name was whispered in equal parts admiration and longing. Renowned for cultivation talent that eclipsed even the most gifted prodigies, he was blessed with the ancient and powerful Li Clan bloodline. He possessed a cold, untouchable demeanor that only made him more desirable. He moved through the world like a figure from legend. A master sculptor could have carved his face. Sharp cheekbones, eyes dark as midnight, he revealed nothing. An aura of absolute control made even seasoned cultivators instinctively straighten in his presence.
The women rushed to speak, each trying to catch his attention.
"Brother Shi Min, you’re come." One stepped forward to meet Shi Min with a shy demeanor.
"Young Master Shi Min, these girls are ignorant. They don’t even know how to pay properly."
"Yes, we’re only trying to teach them."
"They embarrassed themselves in front of everyone."
"Brother Shi Min, they even called this man to pay for them," the lady who first spoke earlier said, with a hint of mockery in her voice.
"Honestly, they should stick to embroidery instead of cultivation." She added.
Shi Min listened with a face carved from marble, his expression betraying nothing — not agreement, not disagreement, not even acknowledgment of their existence beyond the purely physical fact of their voices reaching his ears. His silence was a living thing, unnerving and oppressive, filling the boutique like gathering storm clouds. He did not interrupt, did not nod, did not offer even the smallest gesture of encouragement. His gaze remained unreadable, dark eyes moving from speaker to speaker with the clinical detachment of someone observing insects under a microscope.
The women, mistaking Shi Min’s silence for consideration, grew bolder in their denunciations, each competing to prove themselves the most perceptive critic of Ren and Lily’s supposed failings.
The Face-Slapping Moment
When the women finally fell silent, their venom temporarily exhausted, Shi Min moved. He walked past them as though they were furniture — not even worthy of acknowledgment, let alone response. His steps were steady and measured, each footfall deliberate, his robes whispering against the marble floor with a sound like distant thunder. The crowd parted instinctively, creating a path as though compelled by an invisible force.
He stopped before Ren and Lily, his presence a wall of protection between them and the hostile crowd. When he spoke, his voice was calm, almost gentle, but carried a weight that silenced the room more effectively than any shout. He held the authority of someone used to obedience and confidence that need not announce itself.
"Are these the only items you wish to buy?" Shi Min asked Ren and Lily.
Ren lifted her chin high, her pride not merely unshaken but reinforced, tempered like steel in fire by the very insults meant to diminish her. Her eyes met her brother’s with perfect understanding. She would not be cowed, would not apologize for existing, and would not reduce herself to soothe the fragile egos of those who mistook cruelty for superiority.
"Yes. There isn’t anything else that catches our eye."
But Lily, look at the ladies mocking them with a sly look and holding Shi Min’s arm, acting coquettish.
"But, Brother, they said we are ignorant and don’t have money to pay. Everyone was mocking us for relying on men to buy these trinkets." Lily said, wiping nonexistent tears. ’Who doesn’t know how to act like a white lotus?’ Lily silently thought with a snort.
Shi Min held his laughter. ’I didn’t know my sister could be this cute.’
However, Fatty and Shun bust out laughing. Even the stoic Four Eyes had a smirk.
"You!"
"How dare you touch Brother Shi Min!"
"Who are you to call Young Master Shi Min’ Brother’?"
"You did call this Young Master to pay for you!"
"Yes, we are not wrong!"
All the women reprimanded Lily one by one.
"He’s my brother, and I’m holding his arm. What can you do about it?!" Lily replied with her chin held high.
Shi Min patted Lily’s head, and without another word, without ceremony or explanation, Shi Min reached into his sleeve with fluid grace and withdrew an object that made the very air seem to hold its breath. He placed a Chaos Stone on the counter with a soft click that echoed like thunder in the stunned silence.
"Is this enough?" He asked.
The attendant gasped audibly, her professional composure shattering like fine porcelain. Her hands trembled so violently that her jade bangles clattered together in a discordant symphony. The women around them paled as though all blood had drained from their bodies in a single instant, their carefully painted faces going ashen. Jaws dropped in perfect synchronization, creating a tableau of shock so complete it would have been comical under different circumstances.
About the Chaos Stone
The Chaos Stone was no ordinary currency — it existed in a realm beyond mere monetary value, transcending the concept of payment entirely. It was a legendary treasure, rarer than Immortal Jade, more precious than phoenix tears, forged from condensed fragments of primordial chaos itself in the universe’s first moments of creation. Each stone contained immeasurable energy —the raw stuff of creation and destruction, swirling in perfect balance — power capable of fueling multiple major breakthroughs in cultivation, forging artifacts of world-shaking power, or even healing injuries that defied conventional medicine. Ancient texts spoke of Chaos Stones in reverent whispers, describing them as fragments of the void before existence, crystallized potential waiting to be unleashed.
