Ewen's Dining Room
The main course for dinner was a steaming steak, accompanied by common sides like mashed potatoes, fries, a plate of green bean salad, and some peanuts.
However, Li Ming clearly had no interest in the steak in front of him. He was too busy chugging beer, one bottle at a time.
Though it had only been a few days since his last drink, Li Ming felt as if he'd been deprived for half a century. The sight left Ewen's entire family dumbfounded.
Soon, Li Ming finished five bottles of beer. As he burped and cracked open the sixth, he turned to Ewen and said, "Kid, I know you've got a lot of questions right now. Since you're treating me to drinks, I'll try to answer what I can."
Ewen chuckled awkwardly and instinctively glanced at the crates of beer behind him. For some reason, he felt Li Ming had severely underestimated his own alcohol tolerance.
I should've brought a truckload of beer instead… Ewen thought to himself before turning to Joan and saying, "Uh—well, my wife is curious about magic."
"Interested, or just wants to know if mages exist?" Li Ming took a sip of beer, smirking slightly at Ewen before shaking his head. He then called out behind him, "Kreacher, Ewen invited you to dinner. Aren't you going to eat?"
"Master, Kreacher is a house-elf. House-elves cannot dine at the same table as their masters," Kreacher replied respectfully.
Li Ming pointed at the steak in front of him. "After all these years serving me, you still don't understand my habits? When there's alcohol, I don't bother with food. If you insist on eating away from me, just take the steak with you."
Kreacher thought for a moment, then nodded slightly, picked up the steak, and retreated behind Li Ming. He began stuffing the steak into his mouth.
At this moment, Ewen's family—except for Ewen, who could see Kreacher—stared wide-eyed as the plate mysteriously floated behind Li Ming. They watched in astonishment as bite marks appeared on the steak as if an invisible mouth were devouring it.
Once Kreacher finished the steak, washed the plate, and placed it back in front of Li Ming, Joan rubbed her cheeks in disbelief and asked, "Ewen, are you sure this isn't just a magic trick?"
Ewen shrugged and turned to Li Ming. "Seems like you've guessed why I invited you here."
"I'm not stupid. Just looking at your wild appearance, I can tell there's been a family conflict," Li Ming said as he pulled out the Scythe from his satchel. "This thing is my spell staff. Any ordinary person who touches it will die instantly."
He then handed the satchel to Joan and continued, "The remaining magical items are relatively safe. You can take them out yourself to verify just how much this bag can hold."
Joan took the satchel, glanced at Ewen, then looked back at Li Ming and asked, "No danger?"
Li Ming shrugged. "No danger in just taking them out. The risk only comes when using them." He pointed at Ewen and added, "Besides, your husband is affiliated with God. If he prays here, God will respond immediately. Even if there's danger, you'll be fine."
Joan thought for a moment, carefully opened the satchel and peeked inside. Hesitating briefly, she reached in and pulled out the largest item—the Black Cloud—and asked curiously, "What's this?"
Before Li Ming could answer, Ewen's youngest son chimed in, "I know! It's a thundercloud, to make casting lightning spells easier."
"Hmm~" Li Ming gave the little one a thumbs-up. "Not a bad idea. I might improve it later. For now, it's just my flying tool during battles."
Hearing it was related to combat, Joan instinctively felt it was dangerous and hurriedly stuffed the Black Cloud back into the satchel.
But Ewen's youngest son was clearly fascinated by it and pleaded, "Mom, let me touch it too!"
"No," Joan refused sternly.
Li Ming, however, didn't mind. He leaned toward the child and asked, "What's your name?"
The child looked at Li Ming and, seeing no objection from his parents, answered confidently, "Ryan. Ryan Bellster."
Li Ming raised an eyebrow and whispered, "Ryan—nice name. If you're interested in flying, I can let the Black Cloud take you for a few spins. But God has forbidden me from using spells, so I can't make you invisible. To avoid unnecessary trouble, you can only fly around inside the house."
As soon as Li Ming finished speaking, all three of Ewen's children turned pleading eyes toward Ewen and Joan.
But both parents had their concerns. Though flying was a human dream, how old were these kids? And this was magic they knew nothing about—what if something went wrong and they couldn't reach God in time?
Noticing their hesitation, Li Ming pointed to Kreacher behind him and said, "God only forbade me from using magic. My servant isn't restricted. He can keep an eye on the little ones."
Though Li Ming gave no direct order, Kreacher clearly understood his intent. Floating onto the Black Cloud, he blinked his large eyes at Ewen and said, "Mr. Bellster, Kreacher will take good care of the three little guests." Ewen thought for a moment and finally agreed to let the three little ones take turns riding the Black Cloud. With a stern face, he said, "Only slow flying at home, understand?"
"Understood," the three little ones quickly stood up and ran toward the Black Cloud, speaking in unison. While the three little ones happily enjoyed the fun of flying under Kreacher's supervision, Joan couldn't contain her inner confusion and asked, "Mr. Austin, Ewen said it was God's command for him to build the ark. Why is that?"
Li Ming scratched his head, took a sip of wine, and said, "This is an opportunity."
"What opportunity?" Joan asked in puzzlement.
Li Ming glanced at Ewen and countered, "Let me ask you, if someone prays to God for wealth, does God directly give them wealth, or does He give them an opportunity to attain wealth?"
Joan lowered her head in silence, uncertain. "Give them the opportunity to gain wealth?"
"Yes," Li Ming nodded and said, "God is fully capable of making them win the lottery, depositing a huge sum into their bank account, or simply dropping a truck-sized pure gold meteorite at their doorstep."
Spreading his hands, Li Ming shrugged and said, "But God didn't do that. Why?"
Yes, why? Joan and Ewen were somewhat dazed—not because they couldn't understand why God wouldn't directly give wealth, but because they couldn't figure out what opportunity God had given Ewen.
Seeing this, Li Ming leaned back comfortably in his chair and said thoughtfully, "Ewen, do you remember when I said the story of Noah's Ark was about trust and love?"
Ewen nodded and asked, "Can you explain?"
Li Ming said, "Everyone thinks God wanted to punish humanity, so He brought the great flood. But if the Old Man was determined to destroy the world, why would He have Noah build the ark? Destroying the world while saving it—was He trying to show off as the Creator and Savior? Was He just bored and had nothing better to do?"
Li Ming spread his hands, indicating it wasn't like that at all, and said, "People misunderstand the flood. In the story, the animals came in pairs, supporting each other and overcoming difficulties together, just like Noah's family. They believed in Noah, trusted his warning about the coming flood, and worked together to help him complete the ark. In the end, they united and entered the ark, successfully escaping the great flood."
After a long silence, Joan seemed to realize something and instinctively reached for Ewen's hand. Li Ming, however, declared that he couldn't stand people showing affection in front of him. He poured peanuts into his pocket, stood up, and picked up another case of beer, saying, "Thanks for your hospitality. As for the Black Cloud, just have Kreacher bring it back once the three little ones have had their fun."
Ewen hurriedly stood up, picked up a case of beer, and followed Li Ming to the tent, as if seeing him off.
He had figured it out—this mage was probably born in a vat of wine.
While others might swim in lakes, this mage likely swam in wine barrels. Or perhaps he was...Ordinary people bathe with water, but this mage bathes with alcohol.
Otherwise, how could someone down an entire case of beer in one go and still act like nothing happened, without even needing a bathroom break in between?
Since the other party loved drinking so much, Ewen simply decided to gift him the beer from his home. It would also help strengthen their relationship, as the two would be working together for a long time to build the ark.
Besides, this was a mysterious mage. Building a good rapport with a mage was never a bad deal.
The next day, Li Ming woke up as usual to the sound of chirping birds. Gripping his Scythe instinctively, he rushed out of the tent, ready to fight the flock for the wheat—only to find piles of lumber of various sizes stacked near the tent.
Were they preparing to build the ark? Li Ming glanced at Ewen's house, but when he turned his attention back to the wheat, his eye twitched. Damn it, those blasted birds were fast!
"All of you, stop right there!" Li Ming roared, swinging his Scythe as he charged into the flock.
Perhaps the birds were used to someone competing with them for food, or maybe they knew Li Ming wouldn't harm them. Either way, they ignored him completely, continuing their feast without restraint. After all, this was wheat planted by God—not only did it taste amazing, but it also helped them grow bigger and stronger, making them the most dazzling birds in their flock, whether male or female.
After completing his daily harvest, Li Ming was washing his clothes with a bitter expression when Ewen approached, carrying some tools and accompanied by Joan and the three little ones.
"Good morning, Austin," Ewen greeted.
"Morning," Li Ming replied weakly. "Ready to go?"
Ewen smiled wryly. "What choice do I have? Even if I wanted to work now, a bunch of animals would stop me. Might as well take advantage of the day off to finish the ark as soon as possible."
Day off? So, you still want to go to work? Li Ming rolled his eyes. Taking the tools from Ewen, he said, "Well, good luck with your work. Now, you're in charge—tell us how to build this ark."
Though Li Ming's blessing sounded a bit odd, Ewen didn't dwell on it. Pointing at the pile of lumber, he said, "First, we need to saw them into the shapes we want."
Having already examined the ark model inside and out multiple times, Li Ming confirmed Ewen's suggestion was correct before shrugging. "No problem. You're the boss—your call."
Soon, Ewen's family and Li Ming officially began the grand task of building the ark.