Sorry for not writing for these three past days… “responsibilities” reminded about themselves.

Edited by: KenChi死

One of the worst things while you trying to healing someone? Seeing as his life is slowly leaks through your fingers. Viper’s blood was not a remedy, it just slowed down the process. Even the combination of detoxification and healing itself supported by two priests was getting less and less effective.

The mistake I made was feeling safe after I saw the hp bar of Mrs. Blackwood slowly filling itself. It didn’t last for long. Bah, my interference made the poison a bit more… violent. If I did nothing the ol’ lady would die in a coma. An almost painless death. But now I have stimulated her body and forced it to fight back, so right now she is bleeding from her nose and eyes. I barely bought her a few hour of life… of painful, agonizing  struggle.

* “Are those fucking ingredient here yet?! For fuck sake, Blackwood! Force those lazy bastards you call lackeys to do their work a bit faster!”

At the opposite of the room Richard’s father was not playing around, as he was giving orders left and right.

* “I do not care for the price! Tell them, that we are willing to pay twice the price, the shipment needs to be here now… NOW! Or even better! I want this cargo to be half an hour… AGO! And you…” he said looking at me “Can you create the cure in equipment of not the highest quality?”

* “I will cook it in a damned soup-pot with a dessert spoon! I just need the bloody ingredients!”

I was yelling at one of the most powerful men in the Kingdom. Nope, I do not work well under stress… I mean under a little stress? Sure… But when the deadline in up in a few hours… haha Deadline, you get it?

The door was slammed to the side as some workers carrying boxes walked into the room. The number of same ingredients could last for a single alchemist a week of thrifty labor.

* “…I hope you will use all of them for the purpose of curing my wife… if I would find out that you in order to get them so you could experiment by your own…”

* “Listen, the poison that was given to your wife was given over a long period of time. Two years, you said? And you thing that one vial would cure her right away? No, I will make dozen of these and you will give them twice a day for at least a week, if not two… And now, pardon me, but with these here…” I said while pointing with my head at the boxes “… I can start preparing what is needed… just try of the rest of the cargo to be delivered within an hour… or the essence I will start making right now will be wasted.”

Noooow, let me see… uh… is it… moving? Well, at least I know I get my stuff fresh…

Far on the east side of the continent, up though the stairs, a little cloaked person was climbing to the bunch of connected temples up in the mountains. The path was not that hard, more like just time-consuming… and boring.

But it was the very reason why the stairs were built within stone in an “all around” way. Every person that wanted to reach the temple complex was treated as a pilgrim. And he was supposed to show his dedication and effort by walking this ridiculously, illogically elongated path.

But our little traveler walked this path hundreds and hundreds of times. For her, it was but a morning walk through the park… especially taking into consideration the little journey she just made.

Within an hour she reached the top of the mountain, she walked past a courtyard, where young males and females were training martial arts under the watchful eye of monk.

* “More fluently! You are forcing your movements waaaay to much! Be more gentle!”

* “B…but sensei! How can you hit harder by being more gentle?!”

The monk removed his straw-hat showing his panda-face to the world, walked to the training dummy, placed his open palm over the place where a human would have a torso, took a breath in, breath out…

And he barely twisted his palm without making and hit.

The powerful blow of wind sent the dummy flying.

* “Just like that. You are trying to hard… Trying, without understating, will cause nothing but violation within the nature. Do not bend nature to your will, instead, allow the nature to bend you! Feel as wind is gently blowing through your soul, the water gently caressing your body, the earth under your feet giving you foundation to rest, and fire lighting up in your heart… Cast aside your anger. Fight to protect, not to destroy… Oh, greetings Priestess.”

He gently bowed his head to our little travel, which finally cast her coat aside, stretching her arms and legs, letting her tails to wave on the wind.

* “Finally home… Sup’ Old Fart!” She hugged the panda with all the strength she had in her little arms.

* “Ho, have some mercy upon the poor ol’ me. Soon one of your hugs will break all of my bones… But I should not stop you, you have had quite the travel, didn’t you? Go and rest for now, the body needs rest as much as the mind. But you will tell me everything at supper, you hear me?”

* “Sure thing master Anzan! … I will also need a good sparring later on… will is your tomorrow morning time free for me?”

* “As always, my child, as always… And now, young ones, keep practicing on your own… ol’ Anzan needs to warm his bones a little…” He said while grabbing a… broom “… And remember, while you reach enlightenment, you will learn to train your body and soul while doing even the most basic task… as cleaning, for example.”

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And he began to clean the big training ground of dust, sand and leaves, but he never used a broom in the same way any other mortal would, instead while performing complicated, almost dancing movements, he was forcing a wind to blow, and with the help of the wind he began cleaning.

The Kitsune left her shoes in front of the temple, walked inside, in the main hall she turned right, walked into her private chambers, and dropped in the middle on the room directly on the carpet. It was one of her little habits – she preferred the carpet way more than her bed, mostly because her bed was (for the purpose of hardening the spirit) not exactly comfortable. And her carpet? Compleeeeeetely different story.

* “So you are back, priestess… Do you want to take a bath?” Her most loyal servant and friend came in “I won’t deny, that I am also waiting to hear how your journey went… did you find.. him? Was he much of a challenge?”

* “A bath….” The word was like the calling of an angel “… yes, please, please, please… And I already promised uncle Anzan to tell him everything at supper… and you know I hate repeating myself…”

* “I do, there is no problem. I have bin waiting for over three months for you to return, I can wait a few hours…”

One knows no greater pleasure than having a long bath after an even longer journey.

After warming her body, massaging her stiff muscles and dressing up in new a kimono, the kitsune walked down to a little bower where she used to eat her meals. It was close to the cliff, allowing everyone there to look upon a picturesque valley. The sun, which was setting down there painted the whole mountain in spectacular, pensive redness.

She didn’t need to wait long for her few friends, which were the servants of her mother and her mentors.

The whole mountain complex was a true utopia for peace loving beastkins. The earth was not really fertile, but with great effort it would feed the population of everyone living there. Even if there were a few castes here, with her at the top, no one really was treated much better nor worse. They simply had their tasks, and were trying to show respect to each other.

The head-monk once again pulled off his straw-hat and sat on the bench. Head-main, not much later, put the simple, yet very tasty meal in front of them.

* “Now, Etsuko… would you mind sharing with us, how was your journey?”

* “Well, I have seen many places and meet many people, most of them were actually nice… well, you know why I left… it took me a little more time to find him… for I have wandered once… or twice… I met him within the forest of dread… what was the funny turn of events, was that I traveled there with pilgrims…”

“Pilgrim” in the culture of beastkin have two meanings. One, is the beastmen who climbed the mountain to find a peace, the other one, is someone who start seeking the devour by his own, “uncalled” is their other name.

* “He was living in a little hut, living by hunting animals. He was… strange. Nothing as our teaching told about him. There was much more compassion within him… ah, I forgot to told you, that right before the forest, there was a small village… only humans were living there… And they worshiped him! “Protector of the forest”, that was what they called him. He cured some of them, and brought prosperity upon the land…”

* “A…are you sure that he was the right guy? I... I mean…”

* “I didn’t know up until I stood in front of him and looked into his eyes… it was… I don’t know… so weird, Just for a moment I thought I know everything about him. I forgot to breath… What I was supposed to feel? Anger? Should I be disgusted? … If so… then I failed… I saw such more sorrow within him, so much deep, dull anger, that he kept for himself to not hurt anyone… I simply knew, that he was hurt by someone he trusted… I have seen the part of him, which even he cannot see. He is helping everyone around, as long as they would ask for it. He will tell himself, that he is doing it for a reason, for he wants a payment… but truly he desperately wants to be needed. At the very first moment I wanted to hug him and tell him that everything will be okay… I… couldn’t hate him… I couldn’t kill him… He admitted that he already killed dozens of human… in self-defense. The only thing I fored on him, was to promise that he will not kill anyone if he wouldn’t have to… W…why couldn’t I do the same thing as my mother? Why couldn’t I….”

* “You are still young…” the panda-man just smiled kindly “… and remember, that you two, as separated races, were created to be each other counterparts. As yin and yang, and dusk and dawn, as sky and earth. For millennia’s it was a reason to begin war… but maybe it is also the time to bring a balance. Ho… I almost wish I had met him. If I would teach him the patience… if he would achieve enlightenment by inner peace… But, I am afraid that we will still have to somehow inspect his actions…”

* “I know that, I will ask Faceless to spy on him… Tomorrow morning… I will ask them tomorrow…”

* “Ha ha ha, out little priestess is growing up, do you? Barely a century ago you were swearing that you would never show that kind of interest in any boy… and do I see you blushing?”

* “W…w…w…WhaDaYaMean?!?! ThereIsNoWayForMeToFallForS….”

* “I was bluffing, but I guess right… well, we still needs to be sure about his boy… For now we only can pray for him to not start a slaughter…”

* “I WILL FUCKING SLAUGHTER EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU IF YOU WILL NOT SHUT THE FUCK UP IN A BLOODY SECOND!”

I definitely can’t work well under stress. The first batch of potion was almost ready. Almost. Would be done much earlier if not:

* Delivery being late

* Priests (with no actual knowledge about alchemy) were trying to teach me (with actual knowledge about alchemy) how to “alchemy”

* Old and young Blackwood getting nervous, and by showing me that they were nervous every 3 seconds they were making me nervous.

My hands were shaking, not from fear, but from blind madness that was embracing me stronger and stronger with each passing second.

* “Is it done yet?” The head of the family asked for the third time within last ten minutes

* “It is fucking not! And every single time you steal my attention the time of having this job done is elongating itself! Go do the things that politicians do! Backstab someone, or whatever!”

Butler Archibald, after each of my insults, had a habit to shift his lips a bit stronger than normally. He definitely didn’t like my language, but at least he was intelligent enough to not disturb me. I will probably be lectured when my job is done.

* “Gh, now, if I haven’t fucked anything up until now… the last thing to do is…” I didn’t intent to say it aloud.

I dropped the last portion of herbs into boiling essence.

Now, please work out… please be a success… please, pretty please, pretty, pretty plea…

You have succeed while creating [Crimson Swan antidote]exp: 80

* “I FUCKING DID IT! WORSHIP ME, YOU DIRTY HEATHEN!”

I yelled while running across the rum to take a vial, pour the liquid from pot into the glass, and ran once again though the room to my patient. If her condition previously was bad, now it was … tragic? Catastrophic? She was convulsing a little, she had almost no pulse, almost didn’t breath.

* “Give it to her…” I said to while stretching my hand toward old Blackwood.

* “B…but how…”

I have no fucking time for that! I wanted to let you do the honors, but if you are to dumb for that… how do you want to give liquid to unconscious patient? I know only one way.

I poured antidote to my mouth, connected my lips with lips of Lady of the house and forced the liquid into her mouth, while grabbing her nose with my hand depriving her of air. I wanted to force her body into only natural way to fight for breath – to drink the liquid from her mouth in order to make a place for the air.

She choked, spited a little

[Medium potion creation has leveled up][Medium potion creation] is now level 3- Potions you create will be even more potent

- Poisons you create will be even more potent

- Chance of failing during Potion creation will be reduced

I moved away from the unconscious woman, that slowly was calming herself down.

I was exhausted. Not on the body, but my mind was simply blank.

Some servants were looking at me in an odd way. Yes, I kissed your “owner”. Sorry, I was trying to save a life. So go fuck yourself, will you? I looked once again at the Blackwood

* “Next time, when I tell you to give someone, especially from your family, a potion… you will give them a bloody potion, will you? Or are you secretly scheming, so I would exchange my saliva with each of your family member if they would fall ill?”

* “Sorry. I panicked… I…”

* “Leave it to yourself. For now… the potion within the pot should be sufficient for about three or four days of treatment. Every time you would give her a dose her state should get a bit better. I will be back in two days to make more of it… And for now…. Would you be so kind as to show me the way to a guest room? I would like to take a nap… and after it, I would love to visit the library… is it possible?”

It was. Actually, even if it wouldn’t be possible, I was still going to sleep in his mansion. Even on the carpet of the main hall. It was barely a few hours after noon… and I already missed bed.