"Your path of cultivation is taking on the forms and abilities of others?"

Harker knew there was no point hiding his powers since she had seen them. Plus she would be dead meat soon enough.

"Y-Yes... Is this the first time you have seen someone with this ability?"

Ms. Lovette shook his head. "No. You are the second one."

The second? That means that the Shapeshifting Ability that Yan gave him was really rare. He wondered if his Master Quan Zhi also had the same ability..

"When did you get it? This ability. You look.... a little tanned but still pale. But I don't want to offend you by making assumptions." She said.

She added: "I don't know any Western monsters who have this ability. Sure there's the doppelgangers, and the fey are a bizarre lot, but these are mostly illusions or just copying appearances. The most powerful vampires can also shapeshift into animals, but I saw you walk under broad daylight. Do you have any mixed lineages, or..?"

"My father is white and my mother is black." Harker explained. "I received most of my father's genes, so most people never think I'm half n' half. The appearance of my siblings also varies, my sister is paler than me and the twins are darker."

"Oh, is that so?" Ms. Lovette blinked. "That makes sense. Hm..."

"But I can't think of any monster from the African side to have this skill either. None that could replicate forms and abilities to this degree." She frowned. "You must be a human that acquired it through cultivation, then."

Harker did not say anything.

Ms. Lovette twirled her knife on her fingers. "It's rude not to answer questions, sweetheart."

Harker relented. "I just received these skills by accident... I don't know how, I just woke up like this."

He settled on saying anything but Yan and his former Master Quan Zhi, along with the Shards. She can't learn that he's looking for them.

"Accident, hmm? Interesting..." She chewed slowly and swallowed. "The one who I knew of just received it by accident too... Or perhaps fate."

Fate. Yan also mentioned that it was fate that made him inclined to give Harker the ability. But Harker did not want to be fated to an abnormal life like this.

"What truly happened to my daughter? It's alright, you can tell me. If you killed her, I won't be surprised or disappointed. We monsters are used to killing each other." She said. "If I kept score, Xi Hua probably had attempted it more than a hundred times."

'Monsters really were a strange lot', Harker thought. 'But then again, humans were too and there were also humans that wouldn't mind if they were having dinner with the one who murdered their family member.'

"Yes. I killed her." Harker admitted.

"When you transformed into her, I have to admit, I was a little perturbed." She said. "It was so scary, the thought that you could replicate someone in the blink of an eye. One moment you're a dashing young blond, the next you were my own daughter. And you copied her completely from head to toe..."

She then squeezed her own breasts. "Especially this area! How commendable! I was so amazed and I admired your quick thinking so I let it slide!"

"Let it slide?" Harker couldn't help but frown.

"Oh, sweetheart. You think a demoness like me would hesitate about something as trivial as genitals and gender? Or family relations?" She laughed heartily. "How do you think I managed to take over my father in the position as the Chief of the Bai Clan? Hahahaha!"

This mildly disgusted Harker, but it did not really faze him. These things happen with humans too, many royal families had incestuous relations before.

"You know, I love my ability to make people do my bidding out of their will. But there's something I love more..." Ms. Lovette twirled her hair. "And that is playing games where I would make people think they have free will, but they don't. That's also the game our God loves to play."

Harker frowned. "What God? Surely you don't mean the Christian God that gave humans free will to even pick the fruit he forbade them?"

"Of course not! Our God..." She put her hand inside her shirt collar. "Is a very crafty one indeed. Sees all, but pretends to be blind. Knows all, but pretends to be foolish. Conquers all, but pretends to be weak."

She suddenly pierced her own chest and took out something from the hole—

And it was a clear, crystalline Shard.

[Shard spotted! Retrieve to get 0.5/13 of the Orb of Omniscience!]

When Harker saw the notification, he got momentarily distracted by it. It's just right in front of him, and something was pulling him to get it. To just cut her chest open and get out of here...

But Harker tried his best to shake it off. He had to follow the plan. He couldn't be disoriented, dinner was soon to be finished.

Soon enough, Ms. Lovette put her half of a Shard back inside her bosom and clapped her hands.

"Lovely! It seems that all of you are finished with your meal! Leave the dishes to me, my dear, and just have a good rest. Tomorrow you can help out with the garden, and for tonight... Well, we'll have to change the schedule on who sleeps on Miss Lovette's bed for tonight. Is that fine with you, Binh?"

The Vietnamese 14-year old boy nodded profusely. "Gioi vai!"historical

"Lovely! Let's call on the 2nd batch. I just hope poor Giosue doesn't get too hungry when it's his turn." She sighed. "Go ahead and follow your Big Brother... Oh, silly me! I forgot to ask for your name, sweetheart."

"Joseph." Harker gave the male equivalent of his mother's name.

"Joseph-gege, please bring the boys upstairs while I prepare for the other's meals. We'll talk some more later about your newfound abilities.... In bed."

Harker nodded. "Yes, Miss Lovette."

His eyes never left her chest area. That Shard was still taunting him, but he needed to maintain a clear head.

Once he got inside the room, he nodded to Giosue.

"When she comes for you later, go tell her that I went to sleep. I'm tired."

Giosue nodded. "Yes, Sir Jones."

The 2nd batch went, and they were finished. It was now Giosue's turn to have dinner with Ms. Lovette. Alone.