The morning after the social ball, Cheng Min’s maturity period “arrived as expected.” He woke up feeling irritable, sat up groggily, and noticed that the man beside him was already gone.
Last night, he was given quite a bit of alcohol by Xiao Chi and got pretty drunk. He had no idea how he got back to the manor or what happened with Shen Shaoye.
But now, those things didn’t matter. The most important thing was to focus on getting through the next three days of his maturity period.
Thinking of this, Cheng Min felt a bit better. He yawned, got out of bed, and wanted to take a bottle of relief potion, only to find it was all gone.
Helpless, he had to call the healer again. Given that he was in his maturity period, the symptoms would be stronger than before. So, he had her prepare some more effective relief potions suitable for mature elves.
He didn’t like injections, so just like last time, he had them changed to oral relief potions.
He unscrewed the cap and drank it, finding the taste better than last time.
Since Cheng Min was in his maturity period, the physical discomfort made it inconvenient for him to go out, so he specifically asked the school for a five-day leave.
He planned to rest for about two days after the maturity period ended before returning to continue his classes.
After taking the relief potion, Cheng Min felt much better. He rarely left his room and sat in the small pavilion in the garden, with a steaming cup of red tea by his side.
As he drank, he noticed that human servants kept passing by, carrying things needed for holding a banquet.
It seemed like there was going to be another banquet at home, but why didn’t he know about it?
Since his mother’s passing, the family rarely held banquets, only on the birthdays of the Cheng family father and son each year.
This month, it wasn’t his father’s birthday, nor was it Cheng Min’s birthday. Who was this banquet for?
Cheng Min thought and thought but couldn’t guess the answer. Finally, he couldn’t hold back.
“You,” he pointed to a passing human servant and said, “come here, I have something to ask you.”
“Young Master,” the human servant put down the banquet decorations in his hands and hurried over, kneeling in front of Cheng Min, “What do you need?”
“Is there going to be a banquet at home?” Cheng Min asked the question in his heart, “Who is it for?”
The human servant in front of him stiffened and quickly replied, “It’s for you, Young Master, it’s for you.”
“Me?” Cheng Min frowned, a bit incredulous, “It’s not my birthday yet, why have a birthday banquet early?”
“It’s not a birthday banquet,” he explained, “it’s your inheritance ceremony banquet.”
Inheritance ceremony!
Cheng Min was shocked, almost knocking over the tea on the table. After calming down, he waved his hand at the servant, “You can go now.”
Such a big event, yet his father didn’t tell him. Cheng Min felt a bit angry, but then came the joy. After the inheritance ceremony, he would be able to inherit great power and no longer be oppressed by Xiao Chi.
Only two more days, and he would be free.
Cheng Min felt cheerful, picked up the perfectly warm tea, and took a sip.
That evening, Cheng Min received a message from his father, informing him of the time of the inheritance ceremony and some things he needed to prepare.
Cheng Min noted everything down on paper, instructed others to prepare, and even wanted to personally inspect everything to ensure it was perfect.
After all, this was a major event in his life.
In the next two days, Cheng Min had nothing to do and was bored, wandering around the manor, which he had already toured more than three times.
Everyone was busy, leaving only Cheng Min idle.
Coincidentally, Shen Shaoye came to visit him, seemingly knowing Cheng Min was bored, and brought a little King Charles Spaniel, three months old, full of warmth, like a little meatball, circling around Cheng Min, very clingy.
Cheng Min held it in his arms, petting it continuously, and for the first time, gave Shen Shaoye a good face, showing a faint smile and saying thank you.
“Xiao Min,” Shen Shaoye smiled, “no need to be polite with me.”
With the little King Charles Spaniel by his side, Cheng Min found it much more interesting. The two of them, man and dog, would laze on the small sofa on the balcony, basking in the sun and dozing off.
It always liked to lie on Cheng Min’s stomach.
After waking up, Cheng Min would carry the little King Charles Spaniel downstairs, fill his stomach, and then take it for a walk around the manor in the sunset to digest.
During this time, Xiao Chi seemed to have vanished into thin air, not appearing in front of Cheng Min, and he was happy with the peace, thinking it was a good thing.
After all, who would want to mix with a low-blooded, ordinary-looking human servant? For a noble elf, it was really beneath him.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the difficult three-day maturity period was over. Cheng Min’s physical anomalies disappeared, and he returned to his usual lively self.
He didn’t know if every elf who went through the maturity period was like this, but Cheng Min felt his skin was more tender, and his complexion had a hint of allure.
The inheritance ceremony was approaching, and everything was ready.
After spending the whole day with the little King Charles Spaniel, in the evening, Cheng Min took off his home robe and changed into a well-tailored light blue magic robe, adorned with scattered silver-white diamond fragments.
Apart from that, the only accessory was a small moon-shaped key tied at his waist.
His long neck and slender waist were exposed, and the sleeves were large, revealing his fair arms with a slight lift.
Cheng Min changed his clothes, stared at himself in the mirror for a while, and slowly revealed a faint smile.
In the banquet hall, the lights were bright, and the giant stained glass window at the front cast shadows on the noble elves.
Glasses clinked, and the atmosphere was extravagant.
As soon as Cheng Min entered, he was noticed by sharp-eyed elves and was quickly surrounded, with flattering words continuously pouring out.
Everyone wanted to please the Cheng family’s heir.
He rubbed his temples, really disliking the false pretenses with them, and casually found an excuse to escape to a corner.
The inheritance ceremony banquet usually started at eleven o’clock at night. When the bright moonlight fell on the altar of the inheritance ceremony, the ceremony began.
Cheng Min stood up and walked towards the center of the hall under everyone’s gaze.
One step… two steps… getting closer and closer.
He clenched his fists, unable to see the gazes on his back, but still feeling a bit nervous, taking a deep breath.
He stopped, slowly turned to face everyone, and the shadows cast by the giant stained glass window behind him fell on him.
As the protagonist of the inheritance ceremony, he needed to say a few words.
Calming his emotions, he began, “I…”
In an instant, a piercing sound rang in his ears, countless glass shards tilted down, some falling on Cheng Min.
The scene fell into dead silence, no one expected this to happen.
Before he could react, another laser cannon shot straight at Cheng Min. He barely dodged it, and before he could counterattack, dozens of laser cannons attacked from all directions.
Cheng Min had to defend, with no chance to fight back.
“It’s those guys from the Lower City,” a sharp voice rang out.
Dozens of elves held silver-white energy absorbers, aiming at everyone present.
The scene immediately turned chaotic, with nobles scattering and rushing to run outside, various noisy sounds intertwining.
Cheng Min dodged another laser cannon, forcing himself to calm down and focus on the attack at hand.
A white round object was thrown down from the second floor, landing in front of Cheng Min. Before he could react, thick white smoke quickly exploded.
Caught off guard, he inhaled it into his nose. Despite quickly covering his nose, it was too late, and his vision slowly darkened, losing consciousness completely.
His vision was blurry, large patches of green and brown intertwined, and after a while, his sight gradually cleared.
The surrounding trees were lush, and underfoot was a circular totem, forming something like an altar through the standing, mottled stone pillars around.
Cheng Min moved his body, finding himself tied to a stone pillar, unable to move.
Looking around, when his gaze fell on the obscure silver patterns on the stone wall not far away, his eyes widened in disbelief.
He, a noble elf, was attacked by a group of elves at the banquet before the inheritance ceremony, and when he woke up again, he was brought to the place where the inheritance ceremony was held.
What were they planning to do? Cheng Min was puzzled.
Just as he was thinking, a person in a black robe appeared out of nowhere, his face covered, making it impossible to see his features, followed by a human servant who looked somewhat familiar.
Cheng Min watched their actions, curious about what they were going to do next.
“Cheng Min,” the black-robed figure walked up to Cheng Min, lifted the mask on his head, revealing a sallow face. He reached out a hand to pinch Cheng Min’s chin, lifting it to examine closely, “That old guy raised you well, but things that don’t belong to you will have to be returned sooner or later.”
“Don’t touch me,” Cheng Min turned his head away, frowning, “What do you mean?”
“Young Master,” the human servant raised his head, revealing a delicate face, smiling at Cheng Min, “You’ll find out soon.”
Looking at the unfamiliar face in front of him, Cheng Min sneered, not taking him seriously at all, “Just a human servant, how much trouble can you cause?”
“Don’t rush,” he didn’t show the expected anger, patting Cheng Min’s face, “It’ll be over soon.”
After speaking, the two ignored Cheng Min, standing aside, occasionally taking out a pocket watch, seemingly waiting for something.
Soon, he knew the answer.
At exactly midnight, bright moonlight slanted down, covering the entire altar. The human servant stood opposite Cheng Min.
A spell appeared, and at the same time, the entire altar began to shake slightly, with countless white lights emerging from the circular totem underfoot.
Like finding a target, they headed towards the human servant.
Cheng Min closed his eyes, and when the white light dissipated, what appeared in front of him was a blonde elf, still carrying the white light that hadn’t faded after inheriting power.
He was the heir, so what about himself?
Before Cheng Min could think further, a rush of footsteps approached, heading this way.
“Cheng Min.”