"The children from the Ling Family continued to whisper among themselves, their eyes fixed on Asher with a mix of curiosity and suspicion.
One of them finally spoke up, "Who is that?"
Another child responded, "I don't know, but look at his hair."
A third child chimed in, "Do you think he's a Lu Way?"
Someone else replied, "Must be, 'cause only the Matriarch has hair like that."
However, another child pointed out, "Then how come he's sitting over this side and not with his siblings?"
A knowing glance was exchanged among some of the children, and one of them said,
"Are you serious you don't know about why he is sitting over here on this side?"
With a hint of disdain, they added, "That's Asher, the disgrace of the Lu Way."
The whispers and murmurs continued, with the children discussing Asher's unique features.
His azure blue eyes were a stark contrast to the grey eyes of his siblings and the rest of the Lu Way family.
This difference, combined with his subpar talent for Zen, made him an outcast among his own family.
As even his current siblings present in the room made it a point to avoid eye contact.
One of the children snickered.
"I don't think he's even a real Lu Way.
I mean, have you seen his Zen aura? It's practically nonexistent."
The children murmured among themselves, their voices filled with disdain.
"What's the point of even having him in the clan? He's just a waste of resources," one child said.
"Yeah, and his mother must be ashamed of herself for producing such a weakling," another child added.
Asher ignored the children's taunts, his eyes fixed on some point in front of him. He seemed unfazed by their words, his expression neutral.
The clan prided strength over anything else
And that the weak were just there to be ruled by the strong.
So even if his status is supposed to be higher than them.
In their eyes he was nothing more than a big under their shoe.
The children from the vassal families were ecstatic, relishing the rare opportunity to trash talk about a main heir of the clan.
It was unheard of for them to be so bold, but Asher's unique circumstances made him a target for their ridicule.
It felt intoxicating, and as they took careful glances at his older siblings.
They realized that even his older siblings didn't care.
If they talked ill of him.
But then someone from the 5 petals stood up and started walking over in Asher's direction.
Leon a boy, being full of testosterone, decided to go and trouble Asher, taunting him to provoke him.
He stood up and headed in Asher's direction, everyone in the room looking on, knowing quite clearly what he planned to do.
Leon released a faint amount of Zen from his body, trying to intimidate Asher, a common act amongst exorcists.
But Asher didn't even look up at him as he continued his breathing technique.
A flash of annoyance appeared on Leon's face, so he decided to increase his spiritual presence again to gain a reaction from Asher.
Asher didn't give him any reaction.
Leon's annoyance turned to frustration as he kept increasing his spiritual presence, but Asher remained unfazed.
"How is he not reacting?" Leon thought to himself.
"Is he pretending to not feel the pressure?"
Leon decided to change gears.
"Hey, Asher, are you in pain, should I reduce the pressure?" he sneered.
Asher looked up at him, his expression neutral.
"No, your pressure isn't affecting me it quite weak if I do say so myself, I don't even think you can crack an egg with such pressure" he said, nonchalantly.
There were snickers around the room even from the 5 petals children and Lu Way side of the room.
Leon's face twisted in anger.
"Oh I didn't know thanks for telling me, you won't mind if I increase it?"
He decided to fully release his presence, a surge of Zen surged over Asher.
"How about now."he gave a grin
Asher raised an eyebrow.
"Nope, I really didn't feel anything." and he even stood up and moved his limbs around.
Leon's face turned red with rage as he realized that Asher was not reacting to his increased spiritual presence.
"You're just pretending, aren't you?" he sneered, trying to provoke Asher.
Asher shrugged, his expression still neutral. "I'm not pretending, I just didn't feel anything. You're not even in my league, kid."
The room fell silent, with everyone watching the exchange between Asher and Leon.
The children from the vassal families were snickering and whispering to each other, enjoying the spectacle.
Leon's anger grew as he realized that Asher was not taking him seriously and even called him a kid.
He had lost so much face he had to find a way to try and salvage the situation.
"You think you're strong, don't you?" he sneered.
Leon took a step closer to Asher, his eyes blazing with determination.
"I'll show you what real power looks like," he said, his voice dripping with malice.
Asher raised an eyebrow, his expression still neutral.
"This is so tedious please just sit down already," he said, rubbing his the eyebrows.
"Begging already, but unfortunately am not going to stop even if you do that." he spat.
And before he could escalate his confrontation with Asher.
Just as Leon was about to continue , a hand gripped his shoulder, and he looked behind to see a blonde-haired girl with a bright smile on her face.
She had piercing green eyes and a petite build, but there was something about her that commanded attention.
Someone he couldn't lash out against, it was
child from a different Petal.
"I don't have time for you, let go my shoulder."
The girl's smile grew wider, and she said, "Hey, Leon, I think you've made your point," she said, her voice calm and soothing.
"Why don't you just calm down and sit back down?"
"Mind your own business," Leon muttered, trying to shrug off her hand as he saw she didn't listen to him.
"I've made it my business, so I'll ask again, she released a portion of her presence, can you please take your seat."she said in an icy sweetness.
He paled under her presence and he seemed to think better of it, and he turned around and stormed off, his face still red with rage.
But he would not forget what happened today.
The girl's smile grew wider as she turned to Asher, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
"My name is Priscilla Linxi of the Linxi family," she said, her voice calm and soothing. "It's nice to meet you, Asher."
He looked at her and instead of reciprocating a greeting
He looked at Priscilla, his expression neutral. "Why did you involve yourself, I was just about to beat the crap out of him?" he asked, his voice flat.
Priscilla smiled, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "Oh, I'm sure you could have," she said.
"Sometimes it's better to let someone else step in and diffuse the situation."
He was good at reading people, and this person, so he knew her politeness was a facade. Priscilla's smile didn't falter as she met Asher's gaze.
"And I just couldn't watch a 10 year harass a 7 year old to help soothe his ego, honestly it was quite pathetic," she said, her voice dripping with sweetness.
"People from the Zhen family have no manners, especially that guy, who thinks he's above everyone just because he was told by his father he was special."
"In my opinion, the only thing special about him are his needs."
Across the room, Leon's face turned bright red with anger and humiliation as he heard Priscilla's words.
He coughed out blood, his eyes flashing with fury as he glared at Priscilla.
Priscilla's smile grew wider, and she continued,
"He can be a bit...impulsive, and I didn't want him to make a bigger fool of himself."
Her voice was laced with venom, and Asher raised an eyebrow, intrigued by her sudden change in tone.
Asher's eyes narrowed slightly as he studied Priscilla's face.
He sensed that she was hiding something, and he wasn't sure what her true motives were and quite frankly he didn't care that much.
"I see," he said, his voice neutral. "Well, thanks for the help, I suppose."
Priscilla chuckled, her voice musical. "Anytime, Asher," she said. "I'll sit with you, okay?"
And without even asking for his input on the matter.
"Bring me a cushion," she said, settling into her seat with an air of ownership.
Asher's eyebrow arched slightly as Priscilla plopped herself down beside him.
"I didn't say you could sit with me," he said,
"I didn't think I needed your permission," she replied, her voice sweet but with a hint of mischief.
He could already feel the future headaches this girl might give him so he decided to eliminate some of the future problems.
Asher watched her, his expression neutral. He didn't seem to be impressed by her antics.
After a moment of silence, he spoke up, his voice flat.
"Why did you really decide to intervene?"
Priscilla's smile faltered for a moment, before she turned and gave him a sugary sweet smile.
Her eyes sparkled with amusement as she said, "Guess I couldn't fool you... the real reason I helped you out was...
So I could make you my friend."
Thanks for reading....
Your enthusiasm and engagement mean the world to me. I'm thrilled to share this story with you and look forward to continuing to explore the world Blue Eyed Exorcist.