Chapter 22 : “Your True Talent!”

Li Pei looked at his benefactor, Ron, his gaze filled with complexity.

As someone who had benefited from stealing the fate and fortune surrounding Ron, Li Pei’s conscience, shaped by his life as a wandering healer, tormented him.

As a recipient of such fortune, he felt a duty to inform Ron, who was still in the dark.

But…

If he were to reveal Ron’s destiny and tell him the truth—everything Li Pei had gained would vanish in an instant!

“See it but don’t speak of it.”

“Revealing someone’s fate or speaking of another’s future without their knowledge brings divine retribution!”

“The more unique their destiny, the greater the backlash!”

Remembering his grandfather’s stern warnings, Li Pei felt deeply torn.

Though he had never tested those taboos himself—what if they were real?

He had finally secured a stable, respectable job.

Should he really destroy his own promising future in the name of so-called conscience?

Trapped in this dilemma, Li Pei felt almost out of his mind.

“Hey, Li!”

“What are you zoning out for?”

“Hurry up and bring the furniture catalog over!”

Snapped out of his daze by the boss’s shouting, Li Pei scrambled to dig through his suitcase for the catalog.

On the other side, though Ron was conversing with the furniture merchant,

his eyes remained locked on Li Pei.

“This guy is very suspicious…”

“Just a month ago when he came to see me, he was still a weather-worn street doctor.”

“And now he’s suddenly a furniture merchant’s assistant?”

“It could be a coincidence… But no matter how I look at it—it’s sketchy as hell.”

Ron narrowed his eyes, losing all interest in picking furniture for his new home.

“Uh, Young Master Ron,”

“Did you see any styles you liked?”

“Everything in the catalog is currently popular among noble circles.”

“If nothing stands out, we can also offer fully custom designs.”

The furniture merchant tried his best to win Ron’s attention back, a flattering smile plastered on his face.

But Ron remained uninterested, brows furrowed.

Just as the merchant began to panic, thinking this big deal was about to fall apart— Ron suddenly slammed the furniture catalog shut.

“I don’t understand this.”

The blunt statement left the furniture dealer dumbfounded.

Before the merchant could even figure out how to recover the situation, Ron frowned and added,“The pictures are too superficial. I can’t even tell what material they’re made from.”

“I really do want to see the actual products in person.”

Hearing this, the furniture merchant—whose emotions had been on a rollercoaster—nearly collapsed on the spot.

“Ha… haha~”

“You—you sure have a sense of humor, sir.”

“If it’s convenient for you, of course you can come to our factory and view the real pieces.”

“Haha~”

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

While everyone was busy preparing the carriage for departure, Ron finally found a moment to interrogate the person he’d been watching.

“Hey, you. The doctor from Xuzu.”

At this point, the guest hall was empty except for Ron and Li Pei.

Li Pei, realizing this, immediately tried to avoid being alone with Ron— but Ron’s voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Ah…”

“Young Master Ron—no, Lord Ron!”

“Is… is something the matter?”

Li Pei looked visibly nervous under Ron’s gaze.

His guilty demeanor only confirmed Ron’s suspicions.

“A wandering doctor refusing a reward of fifty gold coins…”

“And just one month later, you land a decent job with a merchant.”

“Don’t you think you owe me an explanation for all this?”

Ron laid out all his doubts at once.

Faced with Ron’s sharp and pressing stare, Li Pei froze where he stood.

Ron’s perceptiveness had far exceeded his expectations.

As someone seasoned by life on the road, Li Pei had assumed these noble heirs were nothing more than pampered greenhouse flowers.

But clearly, Ron was different.

Trying to bluff his way through this would be delusional now.

Just as Li Pei was weighing whether or not to confess everything, Ron’s patience ran out.

He thought of Elenda, his mother, whose love for him had always been unconditional—yet was often paired with cold indifference in his memories.

Ron found himself wishing, almost desperately, that some brainless cheat-system from a power-fantasy novel would just descend and save him!

Determined to uncover if he had any “cheat-like” hidden potential, Ron was even willing to go against his normally kind nature.

“I suggest you start talking.”

“Or else… you know exactly what nobles do when they feel threatened.”

Ron, unusually, showed the full weight of his noble status.

In this magic world where the strong prey on the weak, nobles and powerful figures could kill without fear of the law.

Hearing Ron’s cold warning, Li Pei felt like his heart was being squeezed in a vice.

“If… if I don’t say anything…”

“Are you going to kill me like some stray dog?”

Li Pei’s lips had turned pale, and he was trembling slightly.

At those words, Ron blinked in surprise.

“Huh?”

“No, it’s not that serious.”

“Why would you suddenly think I’d kill you out of nowhere?”

Ron blurted out his genuine thoughts without even thinking.

Once he realized what he had just said, he smacked his forehead in frustration.

Damn it! I almost had him. A little more pressure and he would’ve cracked…

Ron’s annoyed expression made Li Pei pause for a moment.

After a brief daze, Li Pei let out a small laugh.

That light chuckle instantly ignited Ron’s frustration.

“What the hell are you laughing at?!”

He slammed the table in anger, then slumped weakly into the chair with a sigh.

“I’m not like some nobles who act like rabid dogs and kill people on a whim.”

“But still…”

“If you don’t tell me the truth…”

“I might have to make things a little unpleasant for you!”

Ron tried to put on his noble airs again, but clearly, that no longer had any effect on Li Pei.

“No need, no need.”

“Even if you don’t do anything, I’ll tell you.”

Li Pei waved his hand dismissively.

His words left Ron slightly stunned.

Just moments ago, threats didn’t work on Li Pei—and now, out of nowhere, he was cooperating?

The truth was, the moment Ron had let his genuine thoughts slip, Li Pei had already made up his mind.

How long had it been since he met a noble like this?

During his years wandering the land, Li Pei had been whipped across the face by noble horsewhips more than once, and had even been thrown in prison after saving a noblewoman from danger.

Compared to the nobles he had known—

Ron was different.

Even though Li Pei had done nothing special, Ron had still offered him fifty gold coins as a reward for honesty.

And even with a secret that he had to know, Ron had shown clear reluctance to hurt anyone to get it.

The heavenly punishment his grandfather had warned him about was certainly frightening.

But by his grandfather’s other teaching—that good deeds bring good fortune—

Wouldn’t it be divine punishment to not help someone like Ron?

What ultimately swayed Li Pei wasn’t Ron’s noble status, but the goodness at his core.

“Lord Ron, do you remember?”

“Back when we last parted, the things I told you?”

Li Pei said calmly.

Ron blinked in surprise.

“You said that I wasn’t lacking magic power…But rather, that I had converted my magic into some other kind of talent?”

Ron repeated the diagnosis Li Pei had once given him, though he still sounded unsure.

Li Pei nodded firmly in response.

“Actually, even back then… I had already seen where your true talent lies…”