The phone vibrated in the cup holder. Sofia's name lit up the darkness.
"Hello?"
"Mason." Sofia's voice sounded muffled, as if she'd had quite a bit to drink, or was struggling to suppress some emotion. "Where are you?"
"Just finished some business, heading back. What's up?" He caught the wrong note in her voice.
A few seconds of silence on the other end. The background noise was chaotic – music, laughter, the sharp clink of glasses.
"I'm at the 'Crimson Moon' club," she finally said, her voice carrying a hint of defiant stubbornness. "Can you... come get me?"
Mason's brow furrowed slightly. Sofia wasn't usually one to use this tone, let alone stay alone in a place like this late at night – it was a members-only club in downtown LA known for its privacy and high spending, frequented by rich kids and entertainment types.
"What happened?"
"Nothing." She paused, her voice dropping lower, tinged with a hint of grievance. "It's just... some flies are being annoying. They've had too much to drink, don't know what they're saying. I called a car myself, but the driver cancelled three times... maybe there's gang activity in that area tonight, no one wants to come in."
The bag of herbs was in the back seat, his apartment was west, but the "Crimson Moon" club was on the eastern edge, right through a few less stable neighborhoods.
"Send me your location. Forty minutes."
"Thanks." Sofia's voice softened, carrying a hint of vulnerability that was hard to ignore. "Be careful on the road."
The line went dead. Mason turned at the next intersection, the RS6's engine emitting a low growl.
---
The neon sign outside the "Crimson Moon" club was so understated it was almost invisible – just a dark grey wall and a heavy black door requiring a keycard. Mason parked in a temporary spot across the street. As he opened the car door, a sharp argument cut through the night from the club entrance.
"...I said no! Take your hands off me!"
Sofia's voice.
Mason crossed the street quickly. The lighting by the club door was dim, but enough to see the scene: Sofia was surrounded by three young men. She wore the midnight blue velvet dress she'd had on earlier, draped in an off-white cashmere shawl, her face flushed an unnatural red from a mix of anger and alcohol. Her hair was slightly disheveled, one hand clutching her clutch purse tightly, the other trying to push away the man closest to her.
The man was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, wearing a clearly bespoke dark blue suit and an Hermès tie, his face showing the post-drinking excitement and a condescending amusement. Behind him stood two similarly well-dressed young men, one of them filming with his phone, a lecherous grin on his face.
"Sofia, don't be so cold," the man laughed, reaching for her wrist again. "We grew up together, you think I'd hurt you? You've had too much to drink, let me take you home, it's only right –"
"Jeffrey Aster, I told you for the last time, take your hands off me!" Sofia's voice turned sharp as she tried to shake him off, but his grip was tight.
Mason was already standing in front of them.
"She said, take your hands off."
His voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the night's silence as clearly as a knife through glass.
The three men turned simultaneously. The one called Jeffrey squinted, sizing Mason up – ordinary dark jacket, jeans, nothing in his hands. A completely unfamiliar face, dressed unremarkably.
"And who the hell are you?" Jeffrey's tone dripped with contempt, his hand still not releasing Sofia. "Get lost, this is a private party matter."
Mason didn't answer. He simply reached out and grasped Jeffrey's wrist.
The pressure wasn't strong, but it was precise. His thumb pressed a specific spot on the inside of the other man's wrist – an acupoint he'd unintentionally memorized while studying the human meridian charts attached to the *Dan Canon*. Pressing it caused intense, numbing pain.
"Ah!" Jeffrey yelped, instinctively letting go of Sofia and clutching his wrist with his other hand, the color draining from his face. "You motherf –"
Mason released him, positioning himself in front of Sofia. His gaze swept calmly over the three men, without anger or threat, just stating a fact:
"She doesn't want to go with you. Now, step aside."
Jeffrey clutched his wrist, his expression cycling through shock, anger, and finally a cold, appraising stare. He stared at Mason, trying to find any clue on that unfamiliar face that might give him pause – the name of some family, the shadow of some powerful figure, some capital that would make him think twice.
Nothing.
"Ha." Jeffrey let out a cold laugh, rubbed his wrist, and straightened up. "And here I thought it was someone important. Sofia, this your new bodyguard? Doesn't look very professional. Rent the clothes? Or did you just grab someone off a construction site?"
The two young men behind him chuckled quietly.
Sofia trembled with rage, about to speak, when Mason turned sideways and said calmly to her, "My car is the grey Audi across the street. Go there first, lock the doors, and wait for me."
Sofia froze. She looked into Mason's eyes – no panic, no anger, just a steady calm that inexplicably set one at ease. She bit her lip, wanted to say something, but finally just nodded and hurried across the street.
Jeffrey didn't stop her. All his attention was on Mason now. The humiliation of being publicly defied fueled his drunkenness into pure rage.
"Do you know who I am?" He stepped forward, lowering his voice, his tone full of menace. "Jeffrey Aster. The Aster family, heard of it? Manhattan real estate, Los Angeles ports, half the warehousing and logistics on the West Coast – it's my family's. You think playing hero is cool? Tomorrow morning, you might find yourself without a job, without a home, maybe even without –"
"Are you done?" Mason interrupted, his tone as flat as if asking for directions.
Jeffrey's words caught in his throat.
Mason glanced at him, then at the two young men behind him who had put their phones away, their expressions now uncertain. Then he turned and walked towards the RS6 across the street.
"Stop right there!" Jeffrey shouted after him. "Don't you fucking walk away! Believe me, one phone call and I'll –"
Mason didn't look back. He opened the car door, slid into the driver's seat, and started the engine. The RS6's low rumble was like a lazy growl, echoing through the night street.
Jeffrey's voice was swallowed by the engine note.
As the car pulled away, Mason saw in the rearview mirror Jeffrey shouting into his phone, the two young men hovering nearby, their expressions a mix of embarrassment and unease.
---
"They're not going to let this go," Sofia's voice came from beside him, tinged with remorse and lingering fear. "Jeffrey... he's been spoiled since childhood. No one's ever dared to stand up to him like that."
Mason didn't answer immediately. The car rounded a corner onto a quieter street. He glanced sideways at Sofia – her face still flushed, eyes a bit watery, but she looked much calmer than before.
"Let's get you home first," he said.
Sofia was silent for a few seconds, then said softly, "Thank you. Tonight... I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have drunk so much, or stayed there alone."
"No need to apologize." Mason's tone remained calm. "It wasn't your fault."
The car grew quiet, filled only with the low hum of the engine and the passing night scenery outside the window. Sofia leaned back in her seat, eyes closed, her lashes trembling slightly in the flickering light of the streetlamps.
"That Jeffrey," Mason spoke after a while, "you know him well?"
"Known him since childhood." Sofia opened her eyes and smiled wryly. "The Asters and the Rockefellers, three generations of friendship. His parents have always wanted to set us up... but him, you know, all surface gloss, a bastard underneath. Tonight he had too much to drink and started getting handsy. I moved away, he followed me out..."
She didn't finish, but the meaning was clear.
Mason nodded and didn't ask further.
---
When the car stopped outside Sofia's apartment building, she unbuckled her seatbelt but didn't get out immediately. She turned sideways, looking at Mason with a complex expression.
"You back there... weren't you afraid?"
"Afraid of what?"
"Jeffrey Aster. His family... they really can make people disappear without a trace." Sofia's voice was soft, but serious. "You're just an ordinary person. You shouldn't get involved in things like this."
Mason was silent for a few seconds. He looked ahead, the lights of the apartment building casting dappled shadows on the windshield.
"You needed help just now," he finally said. "It's that simple."
Sofia was stunned. She looked at his profile, at the face that looked exceptionally calm in the dim light, and felt something stir softly inside her.
She leaned over and gently kissed him on the cheek. The warm, soft touch came and went, carrying a faint trace of wine and perfume.
"Thank you, Mason." Her voice became serious. "To you, it might be just a small thing, but to me, it wasn't. Jeffrey... you know, he's capable of anything. If it weren't for you... I really don't want to think about it."
Mason smiled at her blushing face.
"Everything settled at home?"
Sofia nodded, but the smile on her face faded slightly. "My great-uncle's health... you know, even though that pill of yours helped him recover a lot, he's getting on in years. The doctors say he needs proper rest, can't be overworked anymore."
Mason looked at her, not prying, just waiting quietly.
Sofia was silent for a few seconds, then raised her head to meet his gaze.
"Mason,About tonight..., I really need to thank you properly." Her voice was earnest. The scent of her perfume mingled with the faint smell of alcohol, and the blush from the earlier fright or the alcohol still lingered on her cheeks, refusing to fade.
"That bastard Jeffrey, he's loved bullying people since we were kids, but because our families are close, I always put up with it. Tonight, he was drunk. If it weren't for you... I don't know what would have happened."
"I told you, it was nothing. And I wouldn't want anything to happen to you anyway."
Sofia's gaze fell on his face, those blue eyes full of sincerity. "Growing up, I've never been short of 'protectors.' The bodyguards, those so-called 'friends,' the men trying to get close to my family... but you're the first one who, when I needed it, just stepped up without thinking about anything else."
Mason shook his head gently. "Anyone would have done the same in that situation."
"No, they wouldn't." Sofia's tone became certain.
"You... you're really not good with words." She looked down, pretending to stir her coffee. "When you say something nice, you make it sound like... like..."
She didn't finish, but the smile at the corner of her mouth was already impossible to hide.
Mason looked at her and suddenly felt that this girl, raised in a wealthy family, was actually much simpler than many people imagined. Her happiness and unhappiness were written on her face, her gratitude and trust were shown in her actions. She wasn't good at hiding things, and she didn't like scheming.
This kind of simplicity, in a world full of scheming, seemed precious instead.
---
"Sofia," he said.
"Hmm?"
"There's something I'd like your help with."
Sofia looked up, a flicker of surprise in her eyes, quickly replaced by seriousness. "Go ahead."
Mason took a folded piece of paper from his pocket, opened it, and placed it in front of her. On it were several lines written in neat handwriting:
**Century-Old Wild Purple Ganoderma** – Grows in mineral-rich rock crevices, the older the better
**Jade Marrow Fluid** – Milky-white stone marrow condensed for millennia deep within stalactite caves
**Triple Yang Grass** – Blooms only for three specific daylight hours on sun-facing cliffs in summer, with golden stamens
**Earthfire Lotus Seed** – Grows near active volcanic craters in high-temperature sulfurous ground, matures once a decade
**Immortal Spring Heart** – The source crystal of legendary active spring water, requiring special containers
**Phoenix Feather Robe** – The complete inner membrane from the molt of a rare bird species
**Bone White Flower** – An eerie white flower growing on ancient battlefields or places where malevolent energy settles
**Spirit Vine** – A pale gold vine that winds around ancient thousand-year-old trees
Sofia stared at the paper, her eyes widening more and more.
"What... what are all these?" She looked up at Mason, utterly bewildered. "Medicinal herbs? But these things... I've never heard of them. 'Immortal Spring Heart,' 'Phoenix Feather Robe'... they sound like things from myths."
"They are medicinal herbs," Mason said calmly. "Some... very special herbs. They can't be found on the open market at all. You need to inquire through special channels. But with the Rockefeller family's resources and network, if you set your mind to looking, there might be some leads."
Sofia was silent for a few seconds, then asked, "What do you need these things for?"
Mason met her gaze. "To make a special kind of pill."
Sofia paused for a moment, then remembered what had happened the other night, remembered that pill which made her twenty-year-old scar disappear. Her breathing quickened slightly.
"Is it... that kind of pill?"
"Yeah, more or less." Mason nodded. "There's a formula called the 'Source of Life.' It can nourish the body, make up for deficiencies, and long-term use can significantly slow aging. In theory, it could extend lifespan by more than a decade. But each of these ingredients is extremely rare. I need to leverage some resources to find them."
Sofia stared at the paper, her expression complex. Of course, she knew what "extend lifespan by more than a decade" meant – for ordinary people, it was a fantasy; for someone like her grandfather, standing at the pinnacle of power, it was priceless.
She looked up at Mason.
"So, telling me all this, you want me to help you?"
"Yes."
"Using the Rockefeller family's influence?"
"Yes."
Sofia was silent for a few seconds, then smiled softly. That smile held no calculation, no testing – just a simple, heartfelt joy.
"No problem. Leave it to me. I'm really happy that the first person you thought of when you needed help was me," she said, her voice soft but firm. "Not because of any family influence, not because I want anything in return. Just because... this is something you asked me to help with."
Mason looked at her, saying nothing.
Sofia's face flushed a little more, but she didn't look away.
"You know, Mason, since I was little, everyone has always wanted to get something from me." Her voice carried a hint of grievance, mixed with a touch of defiance. "Some people want the protection of the Rockefeller name, some want my family's money, some want to get close to my grandfather through me. They're nice to me because they have ulterior motives. But you..."
She paused, took a deep breath.
"You never have. You helped me because you wanted to help. You gave me that pill because you wanted to give it. You never even thought about asking for anything in return." Her eyes reddened slightly. "So now that you're asking for my help, I... I'm really happy. Not because I can do something for you, but because... you were willing to let me help."
Mason was silent for a long time.
He looked at the girl in front of him – the Rockefeller heiress, raised in luxury, always surrounded by people trying to please her. But right now, she sat across from him, eyes reddened, voice trembling slightly, just because he'd said "I'd like your help with something."
"Sofia," he said, his voice lower than usual.
"Hmm?"
"Thank you."
Sofia was stunned for a moment, then she smiled. That smile was like sunlight breaking through clouds, carrying a pure, unadulterated joy.
"You're welcome," she said, carefully folding the paper and putting it in her bag. "I'll have Grandfather help make inquiries. The Rockefeller family has connections all over the world. Even though these things sound amazing, if they really exist, there'll be clues eventually."
"I'd appreciate that."
"No trouble at all." Sofia looked at him, a hint of playful reproach in her eyes. "And you, if you need help with anything in the future, just tell me directly. Don't be so polite and formal. We're... we're friends, aren't we?"
She said those last words more softly, as if testing something.
Mason looked at her, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
"Yes, friends."
Sofia's face grew even redder, but her smile became even brighter.
---
Just then, a small sound broke the atmosphere between them.
"Grrrgle—"
Sofia froze, then quickly covered her stomach, her face turning crimson all the way to her ears.
Mason paused for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Don't... don't laugh!" Sofia glared at him in mock indignation, but she couldn't help laughing herself. "I was dealing with all that socializing... didn't eat anything in the evening..."
"Perfect timing then." Mason stood up. "I haven't eaten either. Come on, let's find somewhere to eat."
"Where to?" Sofia stood up as well, her eyes sparkling.
Mason thought for a moment, looking at the street outside – signs for high-end restaurants everywhere.
"What do you feel like eating?"
Sofia tilted her head, thinking, then suddenly said, "How about... we go to the supermarket, buy some ingredients, and cook at your place?"