Fu Kong pulled a large kettle from her sleeve and began to throw in some aromatic herbs before she continued. “We'll need to do much before we can build your foundation. From there, you'll need to quickly advance through the first few stages, if you hope to withstand just the pressure of their presence.”

“What do you mean?” He finished washing himself and wrapped some of the loose spurs around his body. “How could I hope to stand against that divine power, especially when those who are thousands of times stronger than me didn't fare any better?”

Her laugh filled the cave. It wasn’t exaggerated. Just. Present.

“Define power?” She chuckled while hiding a toothy smile behind her sleeve. “Sweet child, they are like mere insects to me. Although I could handle them after learning where they crawled off to, I will not.”

Fu Kong finished off the last of her cup and set it down, with it a weight settled on the cave and her tone became much more serious.

“It's true that they disrespected me by acting freely within my territory, but this is not my justice to seek. Your village wasn’t even something in their sights. Those… children fought without concern for their surroundings, and you suffered because of it.” Her glare bore through him to emphasize her words. “I will teach you to reach a truly divine power so that you may bring them to justice with your own hands.”

A lump formed in Mareus’ throat. What was she talking about? Justice? How can somebody like him, someone so ordinary who can't even cultivate, be expected to take on not one but two god-like beings that can reshape the landscape as an afterthought?

The sudden shift in the conversation, left him thinking for a moment. On one hand, it was like she was spouting out dreams. On the other, it felt like she was offering the chance of several lifetimes. Either way, something felt off. Like she was raising a tool for matters that she couldn't get her hands dirty with.

Mareus didn't know anything about the customs of the outside world. He only knew about the stories that his elders would pass down of heroes from far away lands. Normally wouldn't a benefactor offer you the chance to right a wrong and gain some compensation from the offending party? This was more like she wanted him to completely destroy them and take everything that they have. At least, she made it seem that way.

Regardless of what he thought. If she was telling truth, this was the only chance he had at justice for his people. If she really could provide him the power, then he could always figure out what that justice looked like later on.

Steeling his nerves, Mareus stared into her eyes, heat rising up from his stomach. “What do I have to do?”

A brief flash of emotion akin to excitement flashed across her face for a brief moment before she said something inaudible to herself and turned back to him.

“First, you'll eat.” Fu Kong commanded.

She handed him a small bowl of a pale brown mush. It didn't have any sort of strong scent, but he could feel comfortable heat through the wooden dish. The bowl was exactly the same as every other meal she had brought him, but never touched. Only this time, the meal didn’t bring out a ravenous hunger from him.

Mareus took an experimental sip. He felt its warmth go down his throat and settled in his stomach, it radiated out and left a long overdue sensation of fullness. The food was just as bland as he was expecting.

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It was so good.

He was about to dig his fingers into the mush and devour it right there when she knocked his bony knuckles with a spoon.

“Eat slowly, you haven’t eaten anything for two weeks.”

Mareus conceded that she was right. He once saw a villager, who was lost in the forest for a week without food, desperately stuff themself. If he did the same. His stomach wouldn’t have been able to handle the shock, and most likely would have made him sicker in the end.

“It’s a special congee I’ve prepared. The first few bowls I brought were normal, but as time went on I was forced to take special precautions into account.” She took a seat next to the desk and patted his stool.

Mareus briefly acknowledged the new chair and took his seat. It felt like his body was recovering with every bite. Each spoonful healing his aching heart rather than the bruises on his body. He suspected that was what the special bandages were for.

“Thank you for the food… Madam.” He quickly added. “I haven’t had anything this delicious in years.”

“You don’t need to flatter me, it’s just warm rice and simple herbs in water. It was the same as if I was preparing tea.”

Fu Kong placed her elbow on the desk and watched him eat. She didn’t seem like she was in a hurry for him to finish. So he took his time to blow on the spoon and savor the taste with every bite.

She broke the silence, “You don’t need to call me madam. I’m not from an influential family or something similar. Although,” Her eyes wandered to the ceiling. “I suppose there have been a few legends and cults created based on some of the things I did when I was younger.”

Mareus choked on his food. “I’m sorry if I’ve offended you.”

Her eyes returned to him. Those black eyes, drawing him in like they were beckoning him somewhere comfortable and quiet, somewhere final.

“You didn’t offend me. Maybe if the importance of ‘the proper way of things’ was taught to me before I stepped into the world. But once I did I ended up finding it bothersome. It interests me, how mortals limit themselves in their interactions and put on performances to cater favor with one another. How, regardless of power or position, they’re constantly jockeying amongst themselves for the smallest gains.”

Her gaze drifted to the opposite end of the cave and instead of stopping at the stone wall, it felt like she saw to the end of Idao. Possibly even further if Mareus believed all of the stories about immortals. He wanted to know what the world looked like through her eyes. If he would be able to see that world.

She continued as if her attention never left him. “You have my permission to call me whatever you’d like.”

He thought for a moment before asking, “You’re going to teach me how to get justice for my home?”

She nodded.

“And you’re my savior.”

“You could say that.”

Placing his bowl down, Mareus resisted against his bandages and gave the best martial salute he could. “May I call you ‘Mistress’ then?”

Although it could still only be called a half smile, this was the biggest smile she had openly shown him so far.

“I suppose that will be the most accurate for our coming relationship. You’ll need to finish your food though before it gets cold.”

Mareus was in the middle of scraping the bottom of the bowl for the last of the congee. He glanced at the empty bowl and then to her and back at his bowl again. But, when he looked at her again a pot the size of his head was sitting on the desk.

Fu Kong removed the lid to reveal the steaming porridge filled to the brim.

“Take your time, it’ll stay warm as long as it’s in this pot and we won’t be moving on until you’ve finished every last bite.”

He felt like she was getting back at him for all of the food he wasted over the last two weeks.

Over in the next few days, he assumed. Mareus’ life was a constant cycle of sleeping and eating. He would finish off a bowl and take a nap and when he woke up, he would do it all over again. More than a few times, he suspected her of refilling the plot since it looked big enough for a handful of meals at most.

Maybe it was because he had finally talked to the stranger or maybe she had done something to the pile furs he slept on. But he couldn't remember the last time he felt so rested. Now that his injuries were recovering, the bandages felt like they were getting looser and he could move around more freely.

Even when he washed himself, they didn't secrete any more of that foul black sludge.

It was about his twentieth meal when he was finally getting sick of the congee. Bathing in the victory, Mareus rubbed his distended stomach after finishing off the pot. Even though he felt full, possibly even over full, he didn’t feel the same way he did when he would normally over eat. Instead, he felt healthier and more full of energy than he remembered ever feeling.

What kinds of herbs did she use?