"That's right, Mother. For now, I hope you'll keep this secret from Father and the others; I truly don't want unnecessary trouble for myself."
Hearing her son's words caused her to pause for several seconds before quickly nodding her head in response.
"Don't worry, Shi'er. I'll ensure I hide the fact that you've regained the ability to cultivate from everyone, but..."
Hearing the anxious tone in his mother's words, he quickly realized what she was worried about. He immediately reassured her with a confident tone.
"Mother, it's fine. I have a way to hide the fact that I've regained my ability to cultivate from Father and the others."
Once again, his mother was shocked. It was clear that after the life-and-death experience her son had survived, he had become a changed man—one who held many secrets.
Seeing the inquisitive look in his mother's eyes made Huang Shi's heart jolt inside his chest.
One of his greatest fears regarding his reincarnation was other people discovering that he had occupied Huang Shi's body and being executed for it.
Damn, hopefully I'm just overthinking things…
Fortunately for Huang Shi, he was indeed overthinking things, and this was because of a couple of reasons.
First, his stepmother had always been secretly in love with her son. Because of this, she was very susceptible to being tricked by his words simply because her emotions would always interfere with her logical mind.
Second, unlike what he previously thought from reading webnovels in his previous life, possession in this world was actually something incredibly difficult to accomplish.
In fact, it was almost downright impossible. The reason for this is because Heavenly Dao actively finds and destroys any foreign discarnate soul it encounters that aims to possess another living being.
This means that if a cultivator wanted to possess another living being, they would need to have the power to surpass Heavenly Dao.
For cultivators of that level, they no longer had any need to possess a mortal's body because they had already surpassed the concept of life and death.
As for the way to hide his cultivation base that he mentioned to his mother, it was obviously the system's doing.
With it helping Huang Shi, unless he revealed his cultivation base himself, no one in this world would be able to figure out how strong he actually was.
Thinking that her son had his own fortuitous encounters due to his recent experiences, she no longer asked questions and simply nodded her head softly before speaking in a slightly severe tone.
"Remember, you must not try to antagonize your father, or any of your brothers. Even if you've regained the ability to cultivate, your cultivation base is nowhere near high enough to protect yourself currently. So, stay quiet and just endure for a while!"
Even though he felt like his mother was exaggerating, he still nodded his head in a docile manner as he spoke.
"Sure Mother, but before we leave, you need to do something for me."
Hearing the words spoken by her son intrigued Li Mei, and so she replied with a smile.
"Sure, what is it, Shi'er?"
Hearing the response coming from his mother, Huang Shi quietly smirked before grabbing his stepmother's waist and bringing her close to him; before she could react, he gave her a kiss.
"Mhmm, wai-wait Shi'er, we have to hurry."
Forcing his mother's tongue open, he quickly started to grope her fine ass before whispering into her ears in a domineering manner.
"You have to remember what you promised me, Mei'er. You are mine now; you better take note of that whenever you're doing anything."
His mother, hearing the words spoken to her by her son, once again started to blush like a red apple as she softly nodded her head.
"Yes."
After walking around for a couple of minutes, Huang Shi and his stepmother, Li Mei, finally arrived at the dining table. There, he got his first glimpse of his so-called father in this world.
At the head of the dining table was a man who looked like a bear; he was huge, with large muscles and a stiff expression. Wearing robes marked with depictions of an azure dragon, he emanated an aura of solemnity and power. This was his father, Huang Dao.
To his left and his right were two women, both of whom had plain black hair and sharp eyes.
On his right was a woman called Chen Yuying who had a beauty as sharp and cold as an icicle. Her chin was held at a haughty tilt, her painted lips curled into a permanent sneer of disdain. Though she had striking, sculpted features, her arrogance was so thick it made her beauty feel brittle—like a porcelain doll filled with vinegar.
She looks like a bitch...
Huang Shi thought to himself as he then looked at the person on the left, whom he was much more interested in.
This woman was called Guo Yishi and she was also pretty—you could even say she was beautiful—but nowhere near the level of his stepmother. What was unique about her was the look of boredom on her face, as if nothing could catch her eye, not even her own husband.
Interesting... not enough to become my woman... but maybe she would be a good one-night stand.
Obviously, all of these thoughts were kept to himself. As he forced himself to behave now that he was "crippled," it was only natural that he would become more docile.
"I pay my respects, Father."
The heavy silence of the hall stretched for a moment as Huang Shi remained bowed.
Huang Dao didn't immediately respond; he simply continued to tear a piece of meat with his teeth, his movements simple and efficient. The only sound was the faint clatter of silver against porcelain.
Finally, the mountain of a man looked up. His eyes were like cold flint, devoid of any warmth as they scanned Huang Shi's "crippled" frame.
He didn't offer a seat or a kind word. Instead, he let out a low, guttural grunt that vibrated through the floorboards.
"Sit," Huang Dao commanded, his voice like grinding stones.