It was an ill-hidden secret that Cultivators generally disliked loud noises. The enhancements given to them by their cultivation of ki were manyfold, but occasionally those advantages came with unexpected side effects.
Most pertinently, a keen sense of hearing, and as such, their tendency to cultivate in secluded forest clearings or desolate mountaintops was not one borne entirely of philosophy or the need to escape worldly concerns.
No, one of the unspoken truths of cultivating in such places was that they were quiet.
Jack Johansen was not quiet.
He was a loud man. Consistently loud. In his personal bearing and in the things he tamed, summoned or created.
His devices were loud. His beasts were also loud. The mortals handling both of those things were loud. They hummed, growled and shuddered at all hours, day or night. And such was the sensitivity of the average cultivator that even despite the many meters of solid stone between her and those beasts, the sound of them at work was easily audible to Ren’s ears.
It was for that reason, amongst others, that the blonde had chosen to quarter herself on the topmost livable floor of the multistory complex her master had created. From there, the constant banging and growling of his workshop was little more than a distant purr.
As such, she was fast asleep when a loud explosion sent ripples through the very stone around her. The sound startled her so badly that she leapt a full four feet out of her luxurious bed, slamming headfirst into the ceiling with enough force to send stars flitting across her vision.
As she hit the floor with an undignified humph, she dazedly clambered to her feet, grabbed her sword from under her pillow before staggering out into the hall, uncaring of her relative state of undress.
They were under attack! And she would greet these attackers with fire and blood. If not for the temerity of attacking the holdings of her master, then for the audacity to wake her in…
She glanced out a nearby glass window and saw the sun was high in the sky.
…the middle of the afternoon!
In her defense, she’d been up quite late the previous evening negotiating with the Silver Paw for the release of one of their heiresses and accompanying flunkies. Unfortunately for her, the matriarch of the Silver Paw seemed quite determined to spin the whole thing as an ambush on the part of Ren’s master.
As two faced a lie as one could imagine, but one that was surprisingly hard to refute given the somewhat clandestine nature of the originally intended meeting. From an outside perspective the notion that Pan Su and her friends – the now deceased Xie Bai included – had been out partying in an establishment of ill repute when her master had attacked them unprovoked was more believable.
That the man had no motive was irrelevant. Cultivator relations were both factitious and volatile. So much so, that the Silver Paw could, and did, claim that her master was likely provoked by an offhanded comment while attending the same establishment.
Of course, when the bitch had made that comment all who had heard it had known the woman was referring to her ill hidden opinion that men were little more than volatile animals, to be controlled and corralled like mortals rather than treated as free people.
Even now, Ren didn’t know who Shui or the Magistrate believed to be at fault. For all the benefits her master had brought with him, he was still a newcomer to the city and a single man. Valuable and likely in possession of yet untapped potential, but those benefits were hard pressed to justify alienating an entire sect over.
Especially not in the current climate. With the great enemy coming, the city needed all the swords it could muster.
No, for now the two nominal leaders of the city seemed content to stand-by and let the conflict between the Silver Paw and Jack Johansen play out without their interference. Fortunately, that left Jack with a small advantage, given he still held Pan Su and her friends hostage in the recently constructed prison wing.
It was for that reason that Ren was still sleeping when the sun had long since risen! No others! She definitely hadn’t needed a drink to steady her nerves after arguing with the Magistrate on her employer’s behalf.
And that drink definitely hadn’t turned into a dozen either.
Absently, Ren pulled the strings of her sleeping robes tighter as she accidentally flashed a gaggle of servants coming in the opposite direction.
So unprofessional, Ren thought as she walked by the startled and staring group of men and women. We’re under attack and they stop to stare at a bared pair of breasts!
Or perhaps it was the bare steel in her hands? Either way, remedial lessons were certainly in the compound staff’s future.
If only I were allowed to staff out the compound with more than just a pittance of my own personal servants, she lamented as she reached the door to the roof.
The explosion had come from above her, so the attack was likely from cultivators that had used a lightening technique to gain access to the roof.
A second explosion rang out, louder than the first due to sheer proximity.
What monstrous technique must that be? She thought as she slammed open the door to the roof and…
Found herself face to face with a very amused looking elf.
"That’s two down," the mortal called Lin shouted excitedly from behind where the woman was sitting, pointing up into the sky. “Can I send up another?”
“Sure,” her master said casually from behind a… grill? He even had on a silly little apron with a series of indecipherable symbols on it. Though, despite the situation, a small flush ran through her body as she realized the man seemed to only be wearing an apron, his bear broad shoulders gleaming in the midday sun.
Determinedly tearing her gaze from him, the situation only got more surreal as she panned back to Lin to see the woman dash over to a row of… balls? Similar to the ones used by mortal children for their games, if about ten times the size, the things were easily as tall as the goat-woman herself.
As she watched, Lin cut a cord at the base of one of the brown balls and it… began to float. Up and away from the roof, it rose higher and higher, up into the sky, a single cord its only anchor to the world. One that only pulled taut when the thing was little more than a grape sized dot high up in the sky, waving to and fro in the breeze.
“Oh, Ren?” Her master’s voice called out cheerfully as he glanced up from the grill. “I’m glad you could join us. I assume you’ve finished what you were doing earlier?”
“Earlier?” Ren asked slowly as she lowered her blade to her side, something her master clearly noticed as he raised a single eyebrow at the sight of the bared steel.
“Yeah,” he spoke slowly, clearly realizing something was up. Perhaps he’d realized that this was her sleeping gown? Perhaps not? The man had some… peculiar gaps in his knowledge. “I sent Elwin down earlier to ask if you wanted to join in.”
The pair’s eyes pivoted toward where the elf was reclining in the sun, her dark dress swapped for something altogether more risqué. The magister was wearing a black bikini, one that flattered and contrasted her pale complexion.
“I was happy to do it. It wasn’t like I was busy.” The woman spoke as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.
“…How kind of you.” Ren spoke through gritted teeth as she regarded the witch.
“What were you doing anyway?” Jack asked as he flipped a skewer of meat and vegetables.
“Sleeping.” Ren finally spoke, refusing to stop glaring at the elf. “Which is perhaps why I was utterly unaware of this gathering.”
“Ah,” Jack said, flipping another skewer, before he paused as he glanced up toward the balloon. “Ah.”
Elwin chuckled.
“Elwin. No more ice cream for the foreseeable future.”
“What!?”
It was almost enough to make it worth being woken as she was to see the elf squawk as she sat up in her chair. The woman, in the short time she had been with them, had developed something of an affinity for the cold tasty treat that Lin sometimes prepared for them.
Not that Ren blamed her, she liked it too. At some point she’d need to ask Lin if it was a regional dish local to Jiangshi. She’d certainly never seen it before and she knew for a fact it would be a hit if she introduced it to the local court.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Smirking at the woman’s karmic retribution, Ren was about to ask the purpose of the… floating balls when Lin let out a great shriek of excitement.
Glancing up, Ren watched as a great mutant hawk swooped towards the ball. The creature had clearly become swollen with instinctive ki as it was easily thrice the size it was supposed to be as it flew past the walls of Ten Huo.
Unlike their ground based kin, those beasts that could fly seemed less eager to throw away their lives against the walls of the city. Instead they circled the skies around the settlement, content to do little more than pick off the odd refugee or traveler camped beyond the walls when the occasion presented itself.
Or attack her master’s ‘drones’ – seeing as she often heard the man complaining of bird attacks on his tamed spirit beasts. For whatever reason, the tainted creatures saw the sky as their domain and were determined to destroy all that dared trespass there.
A fate that would soon befall the flying ball, as the eagle’s wicked talons would puncture the thin skin of the thing without issue.
Perhaps her master was trying to learn how-
“Eeek!” Ren’s tail became rigid as a pole as an explosion rang out.
The bird had no more than made contact with the ball before they both exploded in a great fireball. The sound hurt Ren’s ears, but as she watched, the smoking remnants of the once great beast fell to earth.
Far from the roof they were on, fortunately, but she winced at the thought of the mess the thing would make upon some poor soul’s roof.
Or worse, the street.
Well, at least now she knew what was causing the explosions.
My master has figured out how to make his land-mines float, she thought faintly as she recalled the devices that had caused such havoc during the defense of Jiangshi. Though I suppose they aren’t land-mines any more.
Sky-mines. What a terrifying concept.
Almost as terrifying as the smile on Lin’s face as she cut loose another ball, allowing it to float off into the sky. For whatever reason, she seemed to be taking a rather vindictive satisfaction in seeing these beasts slain.
Perhaps she’s lost family to a similar beast? Ren thought. To hear the cat describe it, a number of men and women perished in Jiangshi before her master arrived to aid the defense.
She’d have to ask at some point. While she wasn’t exactly fond of the mouthy mortal, her master was – for some reason – so it behooved her to get to know the young woman better.
"I can’t help but note you didn’t ask me for permission for that one,” Jack noted clinically as poked at the grill.
“It was getting tedious to ask each time.” The woman shrugged with an audaciousness that made Ren want to split blood. “Were you expecting me to ask every time?”
Even Elwin seemed to get over her ice-cream related sulking long enough to quirk an eyebrow.
Then, against all common sense, her master just shrugged. “I suppose not.”
Ren made to say something when she was distracted by the tantalizing scent of the grill wafting in her direction. Glancing over, she also realized that there was a table to the side, one laid out with cutlery.
That reminded her that she needed to address the second absurdity on display here. One she’d been distracted by in her attempt to ascertain the source of the explosion that had so rudely woken her from her slumber.
"Master, what are you doing?" She spoke slowly and with great care.
"Isn’t it obvious? I’m preparing a barbecue."
Yes. Yes, he was. That didn’t answer her question. Her real question was ‘why are you cooking?’.
Cultivators did not cook. They had mortals to do that for them. And as far as Ren was aware, Jack was no exception to that rule. Lin cooked for him more often than not. Otherwise he partook of Ren’s own personal chef.
Never had she seen him cook for himself.
Yet there he was, standing over a barbecue full of glowing red charcoal and white ash.
"I had a hankering for a special something I used to eat when I was younger, but Lin refused to make it for me."
Refused? Ren was gob smacked, a sentiment that only grew as the audacious little imp had the temerity to roll her eyes at her master’s words, as if foregoing her responsibilities was no big deal!
She took some small satisfaction in watching the girl stiffen as Ren’s killing intent reached her.
“Lin could you pass me the- Ren, stop!”
Immediately, she let her killing intent drop, and the mortal visibly sagged in relief.
“Master, I-” she started to say, only for her words to fail her when she saw the look on her master’s face.
“Was punishing one of my people without my authorization or my consent.” His tone wasn’t quite angry. More disappointed. And in some ways that felt worse to the dog cultivator. “Do you think me incapable of making my displeasure known if I’d wanted to?”
She shrank in on herself. “No.”
“Good.” He continued cooking, though not without one final parting shot. “Because I think I’ll need to demonstrate that for myself tonight. When the sun sets, I expect to see you in the usual place.”
Ren’s heart skipped a beat, her face flushing as she clenched her thighs, tingles rippling up through her core. She’d been a bad girl. She’d touched her master’s things without permission. Now she was going to be punished for it.
“Y-yes, master,” she squeaked.
She didn’t even care that both the mortal and Elwin were staring at her in puzzlement. The only thing that mattered was what her master thought.
So she supposed it was fine if she let the mortal get away with her audaciousness for now. With that said, only the heavens would be able to save the woman if she failed to give her master proper face in public.
Though, as the blonde gazed up into the sky, where yet another ball was floating lazily, she supposed that not even the heavens were beyond her master’s reach.
-----------------------
Lin watched the clouds floating overhead, the sky dyed a pinkish-red by the setting of the sun, and couldn’t help but feel a slight sadness that in the end only six birds had taken the bait.
She’d wanted to see more explosions.
Honestly, that surprised her. Apparently she’d developed some resentment of the flying beasts that always seemed to bring her brief live-action lessons to an all too early end. So seeing them explode like that?
Well, it had been cathartic.
So much so that she’d actually forgotten some of her decorum.
She shuddered as the recalled her brief experience with killing intent. It had been a swift reminder that for all that she joked around with Jack he was supposed to be a cultivator. A powerful man. One that wouldn’t tolerate lip from a lowly mortal like her.
And while she knew deep down in her heart that Jack would never punish her for treating him like just another human, if she was in public, then someone else would do it for him.
Such were the realities of the deception they were engaged in. And if he were ever to be found out? Well, she didn’t want to imagine what would happen to the bullheaded man she’d honestly come to consider a friend.
And wasn’t that a strange thought?
She was his friend. His only real friend. And in many ways, he was hers. He didn’t look down on her for her intelligence. He didn’t try to force her to conform to some preconceived role. He didn’t expect her to lower herself to elevate himself.
It was… nice.
And so much better than she’d ever dreamed possible when she thought she’d ‘caught his eyes’ all those months ago. Meeting the man across from her had been beyond anything she'd ever expected.
He certainly wasn’t like any cultivator she’d ever met, and she thanked the heavens for that every day.
In the weeks that followed her entering his service, she'd remained wary of him. That had only gotten worse after he’d informed her of his absurd origins. In time though her fear had given way to cautious respect. He had been a distant figure in those earlier days, like a mountain that overshadowed her life but remained far off.
He protected the town. Saved her father’s life. Gave them all a home. Kept them clothed and fed. And he’d asked little but loyal service in turn.
She didn’t know when that had changed. When respect had morphed into affection. Real affection.
Perhaps it was a consequence of the secret they shared? Something that bound them tighter than any promise or oath.
Or perhaps it had been the moment he’d asked her for help.
Asked. Not demanded.
And not in the kitchen or on the farm. He’d asked for her mind. For an insight into a problem he’d been having with the second generation of rifles.
In truth, she didn’t know if much of what she’d said had been helpful. The subject had been unfamiliar to her and her master’s explanations… frankly terrible. But he’d listened to her words.
Really listened.
Then he’d come back to her asking for more insights. On this and that. Anything that was stumping him and his fantastic machines.
She hadn’t known how much she’d wanted that. For her intelligence to be valued. To be tested. To be more than Lin the ‘know it all’. The girl that needed to settle down.
Jack valued her. Not as an employee or as a lover, but as a friend and… dare she say it, an equal.
For that reason, she’d always have his back. Even if that came in a form as odd as needling him instead of bowing to his every whim. Speaking to him as ‘Jack’ instead of the Hidden Master of Jiangshi.
And if it was to help her friend, she’d endure a thousand brushes with killing intent from nosy puffed up cultivators.
"Most delicious,” the nosy cultivator in question said as she leaned back in her seat, still garbed in sleepwear. “Truly master, you are a most able cook.”
She alone knew that when Jack smiled at her words, it wasn’t because he agreed with them. He was chuckling in his own mind.
“Yeah, those bits of gristle that managed to avoid being charred into coal were pretty decent,” Lin joked.
There it was, a true smile. His eyes flashed as someone echoed his own thoughts. For that reason alone, she remained utterly unconcerned as Ren flashed an angry glare at her while Elwin once more gave her one of those difficult to decipher elven glances.
Neither of them got it. Jack wasn’t up here to have his ego flattered. He was up here to get away from all that. To relax. That was why he was cooking himself.
Well, that… and the other reason.
Truth be told, she’d had no intention of partaking of the skewers he’d offered, but eventually curiosity had gotten the better of her. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that bad. And perhaps it was for the best that it was a little on the charred side of things.
Elwin took a sip of her drink. “My thoughts echo Ren’s more than the peasants, though I must admit, I struggled to identify the meat used? Perchance was it a beast native to this land?”
The grin that stretched across Jack’s features was filled with mishevous mirth. “This and most lands I imagine.”
“Truly?” The sophisticated elf asked as she sat up in her chair – to her side, Lin could see that Ren too was curious as to what meat had been used.
“Well, I assume you have rats back home?” Jack asked with feigned innocence.
Both women paused and there was a pregnant stillness in the air.
“What?”
The way the words slipped from Ren’s mouth, you’d think she’d just been told she’d… well, eaten rat meat was actually a pretty good analogy.
“Skewered rat.” Jack continued, clearly taking delight in the situation. “I’ve had a bit of a hankering for them after seeing some of the vendors in the street serving them. So I caught myself a few nice fat ones and skewered them up.”
Both Elwin and Ren’s pale expressions were shifting to something a little more green than white as Jack spoke, their eyes occasionally darting down to the empty plates in front of them.
Plates that had been piled quite high not that long ago. Cultivators were notoriously big eaters and it seemed magisters were too.
Then both women were running for the parapets, Lin’s muffled giggles following after them. Jack, for his part just looked perplexed. Clearly he’d been expecting a reaction, apparently just not quite so dramatic.
“It’s just a little rat meat,” he mumbled.
Which only made Lin giggle louder, the sound thankfully drowned out by the sound of both a magister and a cultivator puking loudly over the wall.
“I hope that doesn’t land on someone,” Jack muttered, sounding surprisingly guilty as he regarded the pair.
Which finally had Lin break into hysterics, fully aware that Ren might just kill her for doing so.
It would be worth it though.
Oh so worth it.