Chapter 23: Tears of Joy

Kissing passionately with Sara for god knows how long. They finally stopped after hearing a loud coughing sound from Sandy Ruiz.

This is probably her warning to stop and if it was someone else instead, Zhen might have beaten them up for ruining his moment again.

Zhen holds Sara by the waist before apologizing to his mother-in-law.

"I'm sorry as I should have kissed her when we're alone and not in public."

Zhen said it in a polite manner but the meaning of his word is unbelievable.

Speechless by this boy's wording, Sandy shakes her head and replies, "As long as you know it. You haven't married her but already done everything that is known for husband and wife."

Zhen nodded cheekily at how easy-going Sandy is since she has given the green light and seal of approval officially.

Sara has a different reaction and was completely bashful.

When she heard her mother's speech, Sara wanted to explain herself but what could she say?

She has kissed passionately with Zhen in front of her and saying more would only result in her being a little ashamed and shy.

Zhen whistle lightly like this has nothing to do with him. Sara was a bit enraged by his nonchalant and irresponsible words that could cause trouble.

Knowing how it's this cheeky man's fault, Sara silently moves her hand to his waist before pinching it extremely hard.

'Damn it'

Unaware of her sudden action, Zhen remained calm on the surface while screaming internally.

'AHHHHHH, GOD THAT HURTS SO MUCH, PLEASE STOP SARA I BEG YOU!'

Begging Sara with his eye movement and hoping she'll stop was useless. It has only backfired more when he tried to plead for mercy this time.

She increased her strength and tears slowly came out from Zhen's eye.

Sandy who saw this boy being in tears after getting her seal of approval smiled briefly and said, "No need to be this happy, just make sure my daughter is always happy is more than enough."

"Yes, mother in ..... law."

Enduring the pain, Zhen showed a big smile, revealing his bright white teeth when more tears started coming out.

'I'm crying in joy and definitely not from Sara's pinching.'

Zhen tried to divert his attention that he's having tears of joy while praying someone will come to the rescue.

Zhen finally escaped from this pain when John intruded with an indescribable expression on his face.

"Although I approved of your action, did you guys really need to do the deed so quickly?" John Ruiz slowly spoke.

The atmosphere became awkward as correcting them now would only make this worse and Sara would hate him if he handled this situation poorly.

Zhen stepped out, releasing his hand on Sara's waist, and walked toward John.

"Father in law, there are some confidential details that I could only relay to you."

Zhen said with a solemn expression, completely different from his previous cheeky and casual behavior.

Hearing his serious tone, John was confused for a second before remembering her daughter reported the news of a sighting from a black mage.

It took him only a moment to know it was probably this boy who told his daughter to report the situation so he nodded slightly before walking to the stairs.

Following John to the fourth floor, Zhen closed the door behind him only to see John creating a spatial space that is many times more powerful than his.

'Looks like my intuition is indeed right. He is more than the eye's meet.'

Zhen can't help but praise his deduction for being on point as always.

In addition to how he didn't care about showing this power to him, there are only two reasons.

One, he has accepted Zhen as Sara's husband or he trusts him enough to reveal his power.

"I won't hide it from you as I indeed am someone that should be around a rank 7 mage. Although I said that, I'm basically an amateur in a fight where even Sara could defeat me if it wasn't for my mana. Also, I have no intention of harming this town and simply want to pursue Sara."

Zhen spoke after a while since John was being silent which means he will have to speak first.

After all, he's at a disadvantage given the fact that Zhen wants to take his precious jewel away from him.

John nodded, "It's because I felt no malicious intent coming from you that I really couldn't care much about what you do. All that matters is you have saved my Sara from danger. As her father, I would express my thanks but you're now considered my son in law so I won't since you have stolen my precious. Now start talking."

Zhen started to reveal everything besides his intimate action with Sara and explained how there is more than one traitor in town and Commander Gerald is one of them.

A few minutes go by with the room completely silent.

Even a small bug buzzing could be heard if they were in the room.

Only after a while did John sighed, "I knew Gerald was acting a bit weird in the past month but to think he collaborated with the black mage."

He and Gerald were like brothers back in their day as an adventurer, they would share everything and go through every danger until they finally made a name for themselves.

Now their path lies differently after their meeting with Sandy. Although they both fell in love with Sand.

John was the person who managed to obtain Sandy's heart and retired while Gerald quit being an adventurer to join the army.

Even though Gerald didn't show his jealousy toward him, John can feel it whenever he visits him.

'But to think he would go astray from his original dream.'

John had a complicated expression whenever he recalled their adventure days.

Seeing how John became irresponsible and in deep thinking to digest the information.

Zhen left him alone to think as he believed John should know what to do with this information.

'Phew, finally I can be free from this disgusting mess but now I should really cultivate. I bragged about being close to rank 7 but I don't even know the proper way to fight.'

Zhen stretched his arm out to relax from that intense pressure in the conversation with John.

Getting past the barrier of Sara's parents, Zhen can now work on his other task.

That is to have someone guiding him in the path of cultivating since his knowledge in it is superficial.

Asking Kuro is useless as he's a magical beast and has his own way. Sara is a no-go either as she specializes in water elements and Zhen has only used it for healing/cleaning.

'I should probably go back to the library and study more.'

Zhen thought inwardly and continued to prepare his next steps in his mind.

'As for the practical experience, I should get a Master who is at least stronger than me in terms of raw power and is a knowledgeable person.'

Whatever, it's time for dinner because even though it is afternoon now, Sara and Zhen haven't eaten much as they were dragged for interrogation.

They couldn't wait to eat Sara's dishes as Zhen and Kuro started waiting at their usual table.

Meanwhile, in another hidden place, Commander Gerald is having a conversation with someone else.

"Yes, I believe the boy has been suspicious of me. What should I do now, honorable elder?"

Gerald said as he is now bowing to the same mysterious person in the forest where Zhen managed to eavesdrop before his tracker is destroyed.

"Just do your duty without raising any more suspicions. Although he suspects you, there was not enough evidence for him to move against you otherwise, he wouldn't have let you go today. As for John Ruiz, I would take care of him in due time."

The mysterious person calmly replies to Gerald while sipping some tea.

"As you command." Gerald thanked the person while thinking inwardly with hatred brimming in his eye.

'John, you stole my beloved and all my glory. This will end as soon as the black mage plan goes into motion in 2 weeks.'