Chapter 117: 117 – The Parameters Of Reflection Magic
If audio player doesn't work, press Stop then Play button again
"Fang…? What happened? Are you all right?" Ren asked in a hoarse voice.
Pax and Wolf rolled their eyes. Dr. Gordon's lips twitched, and it looked like he was trying his best to restrain himself from rushing up to Ren and giving him a good whack on the head like a misbehaving child.
Fang stared at Ren blankly for a long moment and then burst into tears.
Ren panicked and looked up at Pax and Wolf pleadingly.
The Director cleared his throat mildly and looked at Pax.
"Ren, Fang, we'll talk in a bit. Let the doctors check Ren over once, and give us an update on his situation," Pax said. "Dr. Gordon, if you would take the lead…"
Dr. Gordon strode forward, with the Director and the other two doctors following him like ducklings. Everyone at SIMS knew by now that Dr. Gordon was the family physician of Ren and had been looking after him for a long time. So, of course, they deferred to him when it came to Ren's well being. Not to mention that no one at SIMS had any idea what in the world was wrong with Ren – how could a person, who was sitting in the research lab and discussing happily about their new research project, suddenly collapse and display all the symptoms of alcohol poisoning without drinking a single drop of alcohol? And all the tests showed that there was no alcohol in his body – but how could someone suddenly develop phantom symptoms like this?!
Ultimately, with some influence from Pax and Fang, and Dr. Gordon as well, the Director and the two attending doctors came to the conclusion that Chairman Ren's body was as unique as his brains. And they were all too happy to follow Dr. Gordon's lead.
The check ups were quickly done, and Ren was determined to be out of turbulent waters, so to say. Still, it was decided that Ren would stay at the hospital overnight, at the very least, and they would keep monitoring him.
"I'll stay with Ren," Fang said immediately.
"You should go home and get some rest, my little darling," Ren said softly. "The babies will not like it if neither of us are at home."
"Pax or Wolf can pacify the babies," Fang said. "I am not leaving you alone here."
"Fang is right," Pax said. "Wolf will go over and look after our godsons and goddaughters."
Wolf smiled. "Don't worry, your babies will be fine. If required, we'll have a quick video call," he said.
"Are you an idiot?" Pax scolded his brother. "Look at Ren and Fang – with their current appearance, won't the babies get scared instead of being pacified?!"
Wolf scratched his head sheepishly. "Ah, yes, all right," he murmured. "May be a voice call, then?"
"That should be fine," Ren said.
"All right, then," Dr. Gordon said. "I have a few things to discuss with the doctors, so we will step out now. Fang, if there's anything, call me right away, ok?"
Fang nodded mechanically.
Dr. Gordon led the Director and the two attending doctors away.
Pax immediately cast a privacy spell on the room and glared at Ren.
"You idiot!" he hissed. "You change the parameters of that stupid reflection magic right now!"
Ren blinked, confused, and then looked at Fang worriedly.
Fang stared at the floor, his shoulders trembling with emotion. He was unable to look at Ren.
Pax sighed. "Fang was simply throwing a tantrum and went to a bar to get himself drunk and switched off his phone. Your stupid reflection magic caught on to it and somehow interpreted it as self harm. So you have to change it, Ren. You are backing Fang into a corner and leaving him with no outlet for his frustrations. Everyone needs to let loose sometimes – and I understand that you are very concerned about Fang – but you can't restrict him to this level," he explained. "Was it wrong of Fang to run off to get himself drunk? Was is wrong of him to switch off his phone? Yes, and that's a cause for worry – but the direct consequences of his actions are too drastic and disproportionate because of your reflection magic. Fang wanting to get drunk for a bit should not translate into you nearly dying of alcohol poisoning."
Fang shook his head. "Don't blame Ren," he murmured in a hoarse voice. "I should have realised what was happening when the alcohol had no effect…"
"There was no way for you to know, to be honest," Pax told him in a matter of fact voice. "Plenty of people can hold their alcohol really well – so a few glasses won't be enough for anyone to be able gauge that the reflection magic was acting up. Ren can hold his liquor pretty well, too – so no one realised that something was wrong until the alcohol levels became excessive. You shouldn't have run off on your own – but that's something which would, at most, earn you a lecture from one of us, nothing more than that."
Ren stared at Fang and held out his hand. Fang immediately took Ren's hand in his own.
"I'm sorry," Ren said. "I've caused you trouble, my little darling."
Fang shook his head. Tears fell down his fair face silently.
"Pax is right," Wolf said. "What Fang did is worth a lecture, nothing more. Definitely not worth Ren being poisoned to death. If the reflection magic hadn't kicked in, Fang would have downed a few glasses, felt a bit sick and nursed a hangover tomorrow morning – and he would have learnt his lesson."
"I know now," Ren said softly. "I'll modify the reflection magic."
"No!" Fang said. "It's linked to your soul! What if you damage something?!"
Ren smiled at Fang. "I can't remove it completely, unfortunately – but I can modify it a bit. Pax is right – this is unfair and too restrictive for you. I'm sorry, Fang," he said sincerely.
"I'm the one who should be sorry," Fang murmured.
Ren shook his head. "Would you help me sit up, my big darling?" he asked softly.
Fang immediately got to work. With infinite care, he helped raise the bed and moved the pillows so that Ren was able to sit up comfortably.
"I'm not worthy of being called your big darling any more," Fang murmured softly.
"Nonsense," Ren said.
"Nonsense, indeed," Pax said. "Fang, you are the only one worthy of Ren – and Ren is the only one worthy of you. You two belong together. And if either of you muck it up again, I swear I'm going to beat you – both of you – into a pulp!"
"Yes, Pax," Ren said obediently.
"Yes, Pax," Fang repeated obediently as well.
"Good," Pax said. "Now modify the reflection magic. Can you change the parameters to tag the consequences with the degree of Fang's emotions and intent to cause harm to himself? What happened today was a perfectly normal thing for someone Fang's age, and you already know that there are members of the Blue Wolves always guarding him, so he will be protected from any harm from third parties even if he did get drunk. There's no need for the reflection magic to be triggered so easily. Can you link external factors and estimates of danger to Fang for it?"
Ren seemed to be in deep thought. Finally, he sighed and shook his head. "I can't fix it like that and link it to external factors like that," he murmured. "I could fiddle with the parameters for Fang's self harm and try to make the consequences for me proportional to Fang's intent to cause harm to himself – so what happened today wouldn't happen again. If Fang simply wants to get drunk, I'll probably get a mild headache – which I would have gotten anyway when I see him drunk later." He narrowed his eyes at Fang. "Why were you trying to drown your sorrows in alcohol anyway? What made you upset?"
Fang remained silent for a long time. Then he took Ren's hand and told him, "Show me how the reflection magic works."
Ren blinked.
Pax crossed his arms. "I'm with Fang on this one, Ren," he said. "You should show him how the reflection magic works. He deserves to know this as your partner."
Ren sighed. "All right," he murmured. He closed his eyes and pressed the tip of his index finger to the point between his eyes and eyebrows and the juncture of his nose. There was a flash of golden light and intricate rows and symbols – all a glowing gold, matching the colour of Ren's eyes – appeared around him.
Fang studied the magic rapidly, his purple eyes moving at superhuman speed as he did. The more he looked, the more his eyes glowed, and then, suddenly, without a warning, a wave of purple light burst out of Fang and wove itself into the golden magic all around Ren.
Ren's eyes snapped open in shock, and Pax and Wolf were stunned into silence at what they were seeing!
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
"Fang…? What happened? Are you all right?" Ren asked in a hoarse voice.
Pax and Wolf rolled their eyes. Dr. Gordon's lips twitched, and it looked like he was trying his best to restrain himself from rushing up to Ren and giving him a good whack on the head like a misbehaving child.
Fang stared at Ren blankly for a long moment and then burst into tears.
Ren panicked and looked up at Pax and Wolf pleadingly.
The Director cleared his throat mildly and looked at Pax.
"Ren, Fang, we'll talk in a bit. Let the doctors check Ren over once, and give us an update on his situation," Pax said. "Dr. Gordon, if you would take the lead…"
Dr. Gordon strode forward, with the Director and the other two doctors following him like ducklings. Everyone at SIMS knew by now that Dr. Gordon was the family physician of Ren and had been looking after him for a long time. So, of course, they deferred to him when it came to Ren's well being. Not to mention that no one at SIMS had any idea what in the world was wrong with Ren – how could a person, who was sitting in the research lab and discussing happily about their new research project, suddenly collapse and display all the symptoms of alcohol poisoning without drinking a single drop of alcohol? And all the tests showed that there was no alcohol in his body – but how could someone suddenly develop phantom symptoms like this?!
Ultimately, with some influence from Pax and Fang, and Dr. Gordon as well, the Director and the two attending doctors came to the conclusion that Chairman Ren's body was as unique as his brains. And they were all too happy to follow Dr. Gordon's lead.
The check ups were quickly done, and Ren was determined to be out of turbulent waters, so to say. Still, it was decided that Ren would stay at the hospital overnight, at the very least, and they would keep monitoring him.
"I'll stay with Ren," Fang said immediately.
"You should go home and get some rest, my little darling," Ren said softly. "The babies will not like it if neither of us are at home."
"Pax or Wolf can pacify the babies," Fang said. "I am not leaving you alone here."
"Fang is right," Pax said. "Wolf will go over and look after our godsons and goddaughters."
Wolf smiled. "Don't worry, your babies will be fine. If required, we'll have a quick video call," he said.
"Are you an idiot?" Pax scolded his brother. "Look at Ren and Fang – with their current appearance, won't the babies get scared instead of being pacified?!"
Wolf scratched his head sheepishly. "Ah, yes, all right," he murmured. "May be a voice call, then?"
"That should be fine," Ren said.
"All right, then," Dr. Gordon said. "I have a few things to discuss with the doctors, so we will step out now. Fang, if there's anything, call me right away, ok?"
Fang nodded mechanically.
Dr. Gordon led the Director and the two attending doctors away.
Pax immediately cast a privacy spell on the room and glared at Ren.
"You idiot!" he hissed. "You change the parameters of that stupid reflection magic right now!"
Ren blinked, confused, and then looked at Fang worriedly.
Fang stared at the floor, his shoulders trembling with emotion. He was unable to look at Ren.
Pax sighed. "Fang was simply throwing a tantrum and went to a bar to get himself drunk and switched off his phone. Your stupid reflection magic caught on to it and somehow interpreted it as self harm. So you have to change it, Ren. You are backing Fang into a corner and leaving him with no outlet for his frustrations. Everyone needs to let loose sometimes – and I understand that you are very concerned about Fang – but you can't restrict him to this level," he explained. "Was it wrong of Fang to run off to get himself drunk? Was is wrong of him to switch off his phone? Yes, and that's a cause for worry – but the direct consequences of his actions are too drastic and disproportionate because of your reflection magic. Fang wanting to get drunk for a bit should not translate into you nearly dying of alcohol poisoning."
Fang shook his head. "Don't blame Ren," he murmured in a hoarse voice. "I should have realised what was happening when the alcohol had no effect…"
"There was no way for you to know, to be honest," Pax told him in a matter of fact voice. "Plenty of people can hold their alcohol really well – so a few glasses won't be enough for anyone to be able gauge that the reflection magic was acting up. Ren can hold his liquor pretty well, too – so no one realised that something was wrong until the alcohol levels became excessive. You shouldn't have run off on your own – but that's something which would, at most, earn you a lecture from one of us, nothing more than that."
Ren stared at Fang and held out his hand. Fang immediately took Ren's hand in his own.
"I'm sorry," Ren said. "I've caused you trouble, my little darling."
Fang shook his head. Tears fell down his fair face silently.
"Pax is right," Wolf said. "What Fang did is worth a lecture, nothing more. Definitely not worth Ren being poisoned to death. If the reflection magic hadn't kicked in, Fang would have downed a few glasses, felt a bit sick and nursed a hangover tomorrow morning – and he would have learnt his lesson."
"I know now," Ren said softly. "I'll modify the reflection magic."
"No!" Fang said. "It's linked to your soul! What if you damage something?!"
Ren smiled at Fang. "I can't remove it completely, unfortunately – but I can modify it a bit. Pax is right – this is unfair and too restrictive for you. I'm sorry, Fang," he said sincerely.
"I'm the one who should be sorry," Fang murmured.
Ren shook his head. "Would you help me sit up, my big darling?" he asked softly.
Fang immediately got to work. With infinite care, he helped raise the bed and moved the pillows so that Ren was able to sit up comfortably.
"I'm not worthy of being called your big darling any more," Fang murmured softly.
"Nonsense," Ren said.
"Nonsense, indeed," Pax said. "Fang, you are the only one worthy of Ren – and Ren is the only one worthy of you. You two belong together. And if either of you muck it up again, I swear I'm going to beat you – both of you – into a pulp!"
"Yes, Pax," Ren said obediently.
"Yes, Pax," Fang repeated obediently as well.
"Good," Pax said. "Now modify the reflection magic. Can you change the parameters to tag the consequences with the degree of Fang's emotions and intent to cause harm to himself? What happened today was a perfectly normal thing for someone Fang's age, and you already know that there are members of the Blue Wolves always guarding him, so he will be protected from any harm from third parties even if he did get drunk. There's no need for the reflection magic to be triggered so easily. Can you link external factors and estimates of danger to Fang for it?"
Ren seemed to be in deep thought. Finally, he sighed and shook his head. "I can't fix it like that and link it to external factors like that," he murmured. "I could fiddle with the parameters for Fang's self harm and try to make the consequences for me proportional to Fang's intent to cause harm to himself – so what happened today wouldn't happen again. If Fang simply wants to get drunk, I'll probably get a mild headache – which I would have gotten anyway when I see him drunk later." He narrowed his eyes at Fang. "Why were you trying to drown your sorrows in alcohol anyway? What made you upset?"
Fang remained silent for a long time. Then he took Ren's hand and told him, "Show me how the reflection magic works."
Ren blinked.
Pax crossed his arms. "I'm with Fang on this one, Ren," he said. "You should show him how the reflection magic works. He deserves to know this as your partner."
Ren sighed. "All right," he murmured. He closed his eyes and pressed the tip of his index finger to the point between his eyes and eyebrows and the juncture of his nose. There was a flash of golden light and intricate rows and symbols – all a glowing gold, matching the colour of Ren's eyes – appeared around him.
Fang studied the magic rapidly, his purple eyes moving at superhuman speed as he did. The more he looked, the more his eyes glowed, and then, suddenly, without a warning, a wave of purple light burst out of Fang and wove itself into the golden magic all around Ren.
Ren's eyes snapped open in shock, and Pax and Wolf were stunned into silence at what they were seeing!
"Fang? What happened? Are you all right?" Ren asked in a hoarse voice.Pax and Wolf rolled their eyes. Dr. Gordon's lips twitched, and it looked like he was trying his best to restrain himself from rushing up to Ren and giving him a good whack on the head like a misbehaving child.Fang stared at Ren blankly for a long moment and then burst into tears.Ren panicked and looked up at Pax and Wolf pleadingly.The Director cleared his throat mildly and looked at Pax."Ren, Fang, we'll talk in a bit. Let the doctors check Ren over once, and give us an update on his situation," Pax said. "Dr. Gordon, if you would take the lead"Dr. Gordon strode forward, with the Director and the other two doctors following him like ducklings. Everyone at SIMS knew by now that Dr. Gordon was the family physician of Ren and had been looking after him for a long time. So, of course, they deferred to him when it came to Ren's well being. Not to mention that no one at SIMS had any idea what in the world was wrong with Ren how could a person, who was sitting in the research lab and discussing happily about their new research project, suddenly collapse and display all the symptoms of alcohol poisoning without drinking a single drop of alcohol? And all the tests showed that there was no alcohol in his body but how could someone suddenly develop phantom symptoms like this?!Ultimately, with some influence from Pax and Fang, and Dr. Gordon as well, the Director and the two attending doctors came to the conclusion that Chairman Ren's body was as unique as his brains. And they were all too happy to follow Dr. Gordon's lead.The check ups were quickly done, and Ren was determined to be out of turbulent waters, so to say. Still, it was decided that Ren would stay at the hospital overnight, at the very least, and they would keep monitoring him."I'll stay with Ren," Fang said immediately."You should go home and get some rest, my little darling," Ren said softly. "The babies will not like it if neither of us are at home.""Pax or Wolf can pacify the babies," Fang said. "I am not leaving you alone here.""Fang is right," Pax said. "Wolf will go over and look after our godsons and goddaughters."Wolf smiled. "Don't worry, your babies will be fine. If required, we'll have a quick video call," he said."Are you an idiot?" Pax scolded his brother. "Look at Ren and Fang with their current appearance, won't the babies get scared instead of being pacified?!"Wolf scratched his head sheepishly. "Ah, yes, all right," he murmured. "May be a voice call, then?""That should be fine," Ren said."All right, then," Dr. Gordon said. "I have a few things to discuss with the doctors, so we will step out now. Fang, if there's anything, call me right away, ok?"Fang nodded mechanically.Dr. Gordon led the Director and the two attending doctors away.Pax immediately cast a privacy spell on the room and glared at Ren."You idiot!" he hissed. "You change the parameters of that stupid reflection magic right now!"Ren blinked, confused, and then looked at Fang worriedly.Fang stared at the floor, his shoulders trembling with emotion. He was unable to look at Ren.Pax sighed. "Fang was simply throwing a tantrum and went to a bar to get himself drunk and switched off his phone. Your stupid reflection magic caught on to it and somehow interpreted it as self harm. So you have to change it, Ren. You are backing Fang into a corner and leaving him with no outlet for his frustrations. Everyone needs to let loose sometimes and I understand that you are very concerned about Fang but you can't restrict him to this level," he explained. "Was it wrong of Fang to run off to get himself drunk? Was is wrong of him to switch off his phone? Yes, and that's a cause for worry but the direct consequences of his actions are too drastic and disproportionate because of your reflection magic. Fang wanting to get drunk for a bit should not translate into you nearly dying of alcohol poisoning."Fang shook his head. "Don't blame Ren," he murmured in a hoarse voice. "I should have realised what was happening when the alcohol had no effect""There was no way for you to know, to be honest," Pax told him in a matter of fact voice. "Plenty of people can hold their alcohol really well so a few glasses won't be enough for anyone to be able gauge that the reflection magic was acting up. Ren can hold his liquor pretty well, too so no one realised that something was wrong until the alcohol levels became excessive. You shouldn't have run off on your own but that's something which would, at most, earn you a lecture from one of us, nothing more than that."Ren stared at Fang and held out his hand. Fang immediately took Ren's hand in his own."I'm sorry," Ren said. "I've caused you trouble, my little darling."Fang shook his head. Tears fell down his fair face silently."Pax is right," Wolf said. "What Fang did is worth a lecture, nothing more. Definitely not worth Ren being poisoned to death. If the reflection magic hadn't kicked in, Fang would have downed a few glasses, felt a bit sick and nursed a hangover tomorrow morning and he would have learnt his lesson.""I know now," Ren said softly. "I'll modify the reflection magic.""No!" Fang said. "It's linked to your soul! What if you damage something?!"Ren smiled at Fang. "I can't remove it completely, unfortunately but I can modify it a bit. Pax is right this is unfair and too restrictive for you. I'm sorry, Fang," he said sincerely."I'm the one who should be sorry," Fang murmured.Ren shook his head. "Would you help me sit up, my big darling?" he asked softly.Fang immediately got to work. With infinite care, he helped raise the bed and moved the pillows so that Ren was able to sit up comfortably."I'm not worthy of being called your big darling any more," Fang murmured softly."Nonsense," Ren said."Nonsense, indeed," Pax said. "Fang, you are the only one worthy of Ren and Ren is the only one worthy of you. You two belong together. And if either of you muck it up again, I swear I'm going to beat you both of you into a pulp!""Yes, Pax," Ren said obediently."Yes, Pax," Fang repeated obediently as well."Good," Pax said. "Now modify the reflection magic. Can you change the parameters to tag the consequences with the degree of Fang's emotions and intent to cause harm to himself? What happened today was a perfectly normal thing for someone Fang's age, and you already know that there are members of the Blue Wolves always guarding him, so he will be protected from any harm from third parties even if he did get drunk. There's no need for the reflection magic to be triggered so easily. Can you link external factors and estimates of danger to Fang for it?"Ren seemed to be in deep thought. Finally, he sighed and shook his head. "I can't fix it like that and link it to external factors like that," he murmured. "I could fiddle with the parameters for Fang's self harm and try to make the consequences for me proportional to Fang's intent to cause harm to himself so what happened today wouldn't happen again. If Fang simply wants to get drunk, I'll probably get a mild headache which I would have gotten anyway when I see him drunk later." He narrowed his eyes at Fang. "Why were you trying to drown your sorrows in alcohol anyway? What made you upset?"Fang remained silent for a long time. Then he took Ren's hand and told him, "Show me how the reflection magic works."Ren blinked.Pax crossed his arms. "I'm with Fang on this one, Ren," he said. "You should show him how the reflection magic works. He deserves to know this as your partner."Ren sighed. "All right," he murmured. He closed his eyes and pressed the tip of his index finger to the point between his eyes and eyebrows and the juncture of his nose. There was a flash of golden light and intricate rows and symbols all a glowing gold, matching the colour of Ren's eyes appeared around him.Fang studied the magic rapidly, his purple eyes moving at superhuman speed as he did. The more he looked, the more his eyes glowed, and then, suddenly, without a warning, a wave of purple light burst out of Fang and wove itself into the golden magic all around Ren.Ren's eyes snapped open in shock, and Pax and Wolf were stunned into silence at what they were seeing!
