Relic and their group soon arrived back in to the immortal cave. Light shined through the clouds and many were getting ready for the new day.

“Here.” He handed Cornelius a note.

“What is it?”

“It’s the location of the lightning wave fruit. I’m a bit tired so maybe you can give it to Diana after she has rested.” He casually said.

A confused look crossed Cornelius face as he took the note from Relic.

“Hana, it’s time to go.”

“Okay!”

The two said their good byes once more and headed back towards Heaven’s Peak.

“Well, I should rest up. I hope someday I’ll find a way to repay you for all you’ve done.” She smiled before shooting up towards the large tree which stood at the center of the immortal cave.

Cornelius stared at the large tree for a while before looking down at the note Relic gave him, now understanding what that little boy was doing.

…

The Astor’s residence…

The door creaked slightly as Relic and Hana slowly opened the outside door. As soon as they entered they quickly saw Marie sitting in a chair facing them. Her face was pale and her hair dishevelled. The eye bags under her eyes indicating she had not slept at all.

“WHERE HAVE YOU TWO BEEN?!” She yelled angrily. She immediately charged towards them in a ferocious manner. Her eye’s blazing with fire, ready to unleash fury never before seen!

The two children immediately stiffed in place and Hana immediately placed her hand behind her back.

The moment Marie arrived in front of them; she collapsed on to the ground, embracing her two children tightly. A flow of tear ran down and she began to cry out loud, “I- I was…so … worried!”

“You cry too much mother.” He muttered. He had already seen his mother draw out tears more often in these three days than others do in a very long time. Yet, the tears did not lose meaning for him and Relic returned the hug. “Sorry…”

“I’m sorry too…” Hana also said. “Where’s father?”

Just then they heard a man’s voice from behind.

“Marie, I see Jiro, are the kids back?” Lavender suddenly appeared. He carried a dishevelled look and his hair was a mess as if he had been running for all night. He quickly saw Marie still hugging and crying with the two children in front. “So…you two are back. That’s good.” He said before taking off his coat and heading off to his room.

Marie caught the look of surprise on Relic’s face and said, “Relic, you may not remember this, but your father is a soft spoken man. Though he does not show it on his face, he actually went frantic searching for you kids all night.” She finally let go of the two children.

“I want you two to promise me to tell me if you two are going to be late. I don’t understand much about cultivation but I’m still your mother. If your cultivation teacher requires you to be somewhere I would at least like to know where you two are so I won’t have to worry.” She said sternly.

“Don’t worry, I promise that this would never happen again.” Relic reassured her. Now that Yan Wen was dealt with, they would at least be without issues for the time being. There was also some part of him that didn’t want to see his mother cry like this anymore. It was only natural for him to make this promise.

“Good.” she then picked up Relic and carried him towards the chair where she sat down with Relic on her lap.

“M-mother, what are you…”

“I do this out of love for you both. It will teach you some discipline for the future.” She quickly flipped Relic on his stomach and pulled down his pants.

She then raised her hand and…

Slap, Slap, Slap!

Relic’s jaw dropped, his eyes turned blank. He was absolutely stunned in place he couldn’t even react to what just happened! A red hand print was now on his left buttocks. Marie put him down and then looked at Hana. “It’s your turn!”

“NOOOOOOO!” Hana screamed and tried to run away as with her hands covering her bottom. She was quickly caught and was also given her three slaps.

All the while, Jiro stood outside, laughing internally.

….

At the same moment, inside the Moon Lit Dining Hall, the restaurant already had several customers enjoying their early breakfast.

In the corner of the restaurant was a beautiful woman slumped at her seat as she swayed the drink in her hand. She took a gulp of the wine in her cup before slamming it on the table.

“ahh, I wonder if that little boy has already forgotten about me.” She sighed. “Those truffles he brought only lasted a single day before we sold out. If I knew he wasn’t going to visit again I wouldn’t have sold it all at once.” She could only drown her sorrows in wine.

Behind her, she suddenly heard the chatter of people behind her.

“Truffles grow under the black Oakwood trees, preposterous!” a man yelled loudly.

“It’s true; my sister in Purple Heart city told me the entire city is in a uproar right now. The three flame pill condensation method and the cold steel smithing method have both been leaked and proved to be true. There has also been rumours people finding success in locating edible truffles under the Black Oakwood trees!” his female companion next to him said.

“If that’s true then we must be idiots! We are literally surrounded by Black Oakwood trees. Are you saying we were just sitting on a fortune of gold that no one has found out yet? Your sister must be lying or playing a practical joke on you!” he scoffed.

“Yea…I guess that is pretty ridiculous.”

The two paid for their food and quickly left.

“The Black Oakwood tree huh…” The beautiful women took another sip. She seemed to recall the first time Relic brought in those truffles. They had a strong earthy smell to them as if they were just freshly dug up. If that were the case, it would make sense that the truffles were from the roots buried underneath the ground. She began to ponder whether or not if she should even take what that couple had said seriously.

“No harm in trying I suppose.” She finished her drink and looked around her restaurant. “Ah, it kind of hurts to see how empty this place is now…” Now that she no longer had any truffles many of her customers had returned to eating at the various other restaurants.

“Look after the place; I’m going on a break.” She said to waitress in red robes.

“Yes, boss!”

The beautiful woman was Chelsea, the owner of the Moon Lit Dining Hall.

Chelsea descended down the mountain and soon appeared in front an ordinary Black Oakwood. Using only her hands, she dug into the earth until she reached the roots of the tree.

“Nothing… what was I even thinking about?” she laughed to herself taking out a flask of alcohol and consuming more than three mouthfuls..

Suddenly she heard laughter in the distance. She made her way past a few trees until she saw a group of men staring at a truffle which caused her eyes to enlarge.

“Hahaha , the rumours were true, there really are truffles here!” one of them said.

“What if it’s the poisonous kind?”

“Only one way to find out!” The man courageously said. He puffed up his chest as he ripped off a piece and causally tossed it into his mouth. His whole body instantly shivered.

“How is it?”

“Delicious! Quickly, we should fill up with as many as possible. If we are the first to sell, we will be able to make tons of money!”

‘”Aye sir!” they all cheered and began to dig around the surrounding trees.

Chelsea retreated in disbelief. She once again appeared in front of another black Oakwood tree and began to dig once more. This time she noticed a black lumpy rock like item underneath the root of the tree. “Can it really be?” Her heart accelerated. She picked up the lumpy item and ripped off a piece before taking a whiff. The heavenly scent whiffed into her nostrils, sending an electric shock through her body. She instantly threw the piece into her mouth which dorve all her senses wild! “It’s true! These really are truffles!” She immediately ran back up to her restaurant where her employees were frightened by her disarrayed and frantic expression.

“We are closing for a couple of hours, every one bring some digging tools and meet me in 5 minutes!”

The shop closed and the entire staff made their way to the bass of the mountain.

As the day went by, news of the Oakwood trees spread throughout Heaven’s Peak. An influx of visitors began to arrive to heaven’s peak and very soon, there were tens of thousands of people on the street. Inns were packed and the entire upper side were filled with merchants happy to buy the truffles at low cost so that they could sell at higher prices.

“Dammit, I knew you should’ve listened to me in the beginning!” the woman grumpily said as her and her companion treaded down the mountain, tools in hand.

“Shut up, I know I’ll listen to you next time!” her companion said. They bickered as they continued down the mountain.

The crowd of people only increased and Cornelius soon became so busy he could only sigh.