So it was just all about the numbers? As long as the number of innocent bystanders DYING didn’t go past a certain amount, it was supposed to be okay??

“I am aware the situation is frustrating,” Tyvan said, “but numbers aside, we can also act in support of other factions, in consideration of their well-being and longevity.”

“But the regular people of Archangel,” Shay whined-- “Don’t they count as a faction too?”

“Of course-- to a point,” Tyvan said. “We have three rotating teams of 11 agents, myself included, actively reducing vampire activity that’s spilled into the public sector.”

“And the goal is to keep the spillover under a certain limit,” Ivy added. “I know it’s bold, but I’m assuming you’re aware that the general public doesn’t think that cryptids exist. And that’s what’s best for all parties involved.”

Shay stood up, she was so upset. “But that’s not good enough! Humans aren’t prey!”

“Incorrect. Everything is prey to a suitably advanced predator,” Tyvan said impassively, “I am one such predator.”

“Shay, that’s just an opinion,” Ivy said-- “and a biased one. Imagine that as an official stance. That’s basically an attack on ❴Eminence❵’s right to live. But if you’re so hung up on the moral and ethical implications, maybe you should, like-- go join a group of vampire-hunters or witch-burners.”

She swirled her glass of water as if it were wine. “Listen, these kinds of problems don’t get solved from the top. And they’re not so simple that a single person or organization can solve it.”

Shay let out a deep breath... and nodded as she sat back down.

She understood Tyvan and Ivy’s position-- not that she liked it. They had to consider ❴The Kingdom❵ as an organization... kinda like how Grandpa Wei couldn’t openly do things that could get him criticized by the other big Chinese families.

But Ivy was wrong about one thing!

Change could start from one person! And she was determined to be that change.

----------------------------------------

But even if Shay had all the determination and willpower in the world, she still had other responsibilities that had to be taken care of first.

After she left Tyvan’s place, she found Yeonha kneeling outside, waiting for her like a lost puppy.

It was Thursday. Thursday was cleaning day. With so much that had happened, she’d forgotten.

Yeonha told her sad story about how she collapsed from overwork three (almost four) times.

Shay didn’t take that too seriously, but still, she spent an hour and a half working with her to clean the last few areas. Lastly, she studied a bit, correction-taped Alexei’s library book vandalism, and went to bed before dawn.

Friday came and went.

Then, the weekend came.

In the morning, she visited Dad. He was doing fine. They had brunch, then made plans to go out for Vietnamese food, the coming Tuesday.

Then, he dropped her off at Grandpa Wei’s place, where she was hyped up and ready to sharpen her gong fu and...

--do. some. PILL FORGING!!!!

Her becoming a Pill Master was the potential solution to all her current problems!

She carefully extracted her latest pill from her bulbous, metal pill forge, presenting it to Grandpa Wei with both hands. It was her best work, yet!

Grandpa looked to Martial Uncle Pingping, beside him. Next to the super-buff behemoth that was Grandpa, Uncle looked just like a normal salaryman cosplaying as a martial artist.

“Pingping. Try it.”

“Hm,” Uncle made a vague sound of agreement. He reached over to receive the pill. It... popped and sizzled and... deflated a little bit.

And... it started to smell.

It was not a good smell.

Understandably, Uncle hesitated.

He lowered his hands, placing them flat on his lap... “Dear niece... have there been any side effects to your pills, so far?”

“...Tummy-aches,” Shay said honestly. “Diarrhea, maybe.”

She pursed her lips and quietly added, “Puking-- but just the one time.”

Junior Brother Cai was out of training for an entire week after that... but she added some stuff to her new pill that should have counteracted what happened to him!

“It... certainly has an interesting scent,” Uncle said. “I’ve heard that high-quality pills offer a glimpse of the heavenly dao.”

Grandpa stroked his pointy white beard, “They say the nine hells run deeper than the heavens are high.”

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

“grANdpa!” Shay cried.

“That’s a good thing!” Grandpa insisted.

“It doesn’t sound like a good thing!”

“I’ll take the pill, Xiaoxue,” Uncle said.

What? Was it really okay?

“You hesitated, Pingping,” Grandpa warned. “Give me the pill, Xiaoxue. I’ll use it to temper my cultivation.”

Shay squinted her eyes suspiciously. She was trying to make a health pill, something that she could use as a base for a vampire-feeding pill. A weird, masochistic, body-tempering pill was almost opposite of what she was trying to do.

“Father, you asked me to take the pill and Xiaoxue already agreed,” Uncle said. “Would you go back on your word so easily?”

“It’s ultimately up to her,” Grandpa said-- “but you’re out of luck, Pingping. Naturally, my place in Xiaoxue’s heart is far higher than yours.”

“That may be true for yesterday, Father... but even a river running east for 30 years may run west!!” Uncle turned his fiery gaze toward her. “Xiaoxue, are you familiar with a clothing store called Perseus? Give me the pill and I’ll give you a gift card-- enough to buy a couple outfits of anything you want.”

Oh! Familiar, she was! And that sounded really nice.

“You DARE, Junior?” Grandpa roared, “Xiaoxue has the Song family card. She has no use for a card limited to a single store!”

Uncle Pingping bowed his head. “I must respectfully correct you, Sect Master. A gift card does not have the weight of responsibility that comes with a bank card. The money is already spent, so Xiaoxue might as well use it to her advantage!”

Grandpa reeled back, caught off guard by Uncle Pingping’s courage. However, he couldn’t back down that easily-- for he was Wei, the Sect Leader of the Eternal Sun sect.

“So... you seek to bribe my granddaughter?”

“Of course, not,” Uncle shrugged. He turned to her, saying, “I’ll give you the gift card regardless of who you choose, Xiaoxue.”

Oh. That sounded... nice. But it wasn’t really. That just made it harder to refuse giving the pill to him.

“Good, good!” Grandpa said, “So this is how you choose to fight? I too am versed in this kind of dao.”

He stood up, flexing his thick, veiny, (gross, and old) muscles... as if he was about to actually fight.

“Choose me, Granddaughter,” he said. “And I will have the finest SWORD forged for you, one fit for a MASTER! I know some old men who’ve owed me favors for a long--”

“No thanks, Grandpa,” Shay said. She plopped her pill into Uncle Pingping’s waiting hands.

Uncle gave Grandpa a polite bow. “Thank you for going easy on me, Father.”

He got an annoyed ‘feh’ sound in response.

Uncle Pingping took the pill. And...

And then...

Nothing bad happened?

He crossed his legs. He adjusted his posture. He closed his eyes?

After several moments, he didn’t open them. He was... still breathing normally, though. And his stomach didn’t make any weird noises.

“What’s he doing?”

Grandpa Wei looked at Uncle Pingping, his eyes moving as if he could see something she could not. Finally, he nodded and said, “He’s undergoing an internal battle. Should he fail, he’ll suffer chi deviation.”

W H A T ?

“Oh, no! This is all my fault!”

“He’ll come out of this stronger, I’m sure!” Grandpa insisted.

“Is that how it usually works?”

“Err-- it’s... all up to fate.”

Shay cried a little.

“Uncle Pingping, please be okay,” she said.

“It’s dangerous to touch him right now,” Grandpa warned.

“I know,” Shay sighed.

“You uh-- you do?”

Of course, she knew. That was a basic trope in wuxia novels. You don’t touch meditating cultivators when they’re trying to break through or... when they’re trying to save their own lives.

The whole prospect of her learning to craft pills was a tragedy. If she had talent in it, she could be halfway to solving vampire violence and bringing eternal peace to the city.

But at her current level, her best work had the side-effect of chi deviation-- which was SO much worse than diarrhea.

“...We can use your pill to give our inner disciples meditation training,” Grandpa Wei suggested. “We just have to... chop it up into little pieces.”

“Grandpa...”

“No!” he said suddenly-- “We don’t have to change anything! We just have to use it... as a weapon! How fortunate!! The enemies of our Eternal Sun sect won’t dare to--”

Shay tossed the rest of her failed pills into a trash can with the other rejects. Then, she turned her glare toward her grandfather.

He held his hands up. “X-xiaoxue, can you not look at me like that?”

Oops. She was being disrespectful. She sighed and put her face in her palms.

“I’m sorry, Grandpa. I just... I don’t think pill forging is for me.”

“That’s fine-- it’s fine!” he said, “At least you... tried?”

“I just potentially crippled Martial Uncle Pingping’s cultivation.”

“It was his choice,” Grandpa said, suddenly solemn. “I have faith in our family’s martial arts. Do you?”

Shay pursed her lips. She didn’t think martial arts had anything to do with surviving literal poison... but maybe she was wrong. And maybe Uncle Pingping would somehow become stronger as a result?