Chapter 28

Hoten groaned. Getting out of bed for five minutes to use the chamberpot took all of his effort, and he collapsed back into it when he’d finished. Despite the misery he was in, he didn’t exactly regret his decision to take a second pill. He’d broken through a bottleneck that had been in his path for months, and if he hadn’t taken the risk, then it might have been months before he managed.

He pulled the covers over him, shivering in his fever as he tried to perform the blood-cleansing exercises that Argoth had instructed him in. He rolled onto his back and cycled the Qi into his kidneys, willing them to work better than normal during this time of illness.

As his mind drifted through the exercise, he contemplated his situation.

His mother was dying. The woman who had given birth to him, who had changed his diapers and raised him, teaching him to read and do math and a thousand other things. He had a duty to return with the children to see her one last time, so that she could say farewell to her son. She would see what a fine young man he was becoming, and it would ease her journey into the aftermath.

Except that …

Except …

He closed his eyes, putting it out of his mind. He needed to recover before anything else, so he resumed the blood-purifying exercise.

~~~~~~

The children exchanged looks. They sat in the parlor of Elder Yotu. A servant had just shown in Pill Master Argoth, who had, after a brief introduction, offered each of the children a box filled with pills that were specifically tailored to young cultivators of their elements.

“Are you offering us drugs?” Ko asked.

“Only the best!” he said. “These are ancient recipes passed down from the days of the sect founder. The ingredients are rare, but not so rare that I cannot afford to give some out to our illustrious guests. I assure you that they are very—”

“Yeah, I don’t think my mom would be happy if I just accepted drugs from some random stranger,” Tan said, scratching the back of his head. “Sorry mister Argoth.”

Argoth’s mouth dropped. Didn’t they understand? Just one of the pills inside these boxes was worth thirty contribution points and only available through direct negotiation with him or one of his designated sellers. He was offering them each a literal fortune of contribution points.

“Um, yeah. Tan’s parents would be very upset if we started accepting pills from someone they didn’t know or trust,” Pao agreed. “So far aside from the food they’ve given us they haven’t had us use any pills at all. I’d need to check with them before I messed up my cultivation by accepting one of your aids, Master Argoth. Thank you for the generous offer, however.”

“Yeah, what they said,” Won agreed.

Argoth sighed. He supposed that the children’s hesitation was well founded, although it stung his pride and made him question his reputation. “I won’t pressure you to take them if you feel uncomfortable with the offer,” he admitted. “However, I was thinking about making a journey soon to search for rare ingredients. Perhaps this is serendipity. I would very much like to discuss my pill making practices with a pair of experts like the two that you children are learning from, and perhaps beseech them for any recipes or ingredients which they might have. Would you permit me to accompany you?”

The children exchanged another set of looks which, to them, said ‘who is this creepy old guy and why is he so interested in us?’ but to Argoth remained inscrutable.

“We’ll talk about it, Master Argoth,” Pao said eventually, “But Master and Mistress Shen value their privacy. It might be best if we carry a message for you instead?”

“Oh, of course. Actually, why don’t you simply take the pills I’ve given you and have your master and mistress inspect them? I’m certain that once they identify them they’ll be more than pleased with them. They’re quite potent, and perfect for you at your stage in development,” Argoth said eagerly.

“Um, okay, yeah, we’ll do that,” Tan said. He slipped the box containing the Lofty Heavens Wind Gate Opening Pills into his storage ring, then each of the boxes that his friends passed to him as well.

“Thank you for the generous gifts, Master Argoth,” Ko said diplomatically. “If Master and Mistress Shen do not approve of them, we’ll return them with Hoten so that they don’t go to waste.”

“Of course. Most practical. Well then, I thank you for your time and wish you well,” Argoth said, and he bowed to the children and slipped out of the room.

Once they sensed that he had left the building, the children exchanged looks once more.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Okay, who was that creepy old guy and why is he so interested in us?” Tan asked.

~~~~~~

Fiora dragged the courpse of the withering bite purple hourglass demon spider into the exchange store. The beast, a white spider the size of a small dog with a purple hourglass on its abdomen, had attacked her in the night. She had been surprised, and her left hand was bandaged, but the wound was a scratch from its claws and not a bite.

Which was fortunate, because the venom of this beast was potent enough to cost her a limb.

She rang the bell and waited. When nobody came, she rang the bell insistently until Master Nero appeared. His eyes went wide when he saw the prize that she’d brought him.

Fiora shot him a feral grin. She knew exactly how valuable this corpse was, and she was determined to extract every last credit from it.

If only she had gone hunting and found it sooner, perhaps she would have a Qi guardian now, she reflected. But there was no point in crying over lost opportunities. Her frustration at having lost that resource had driven her to this opportunity, and she would take what she could get.

“Did it bite you?” Master Nero inquired.

“I’m fine,” she said.

“I wasn’t asking for your health. Its venom is particularly valuable. If its venom sacks are full, they’re worth an additional twelve points,” Nero explained.

She grinned, and the bargaining began.

She walked out of the exchange shop with an additional seventy-eight contribution points, putting her total at four hundred and twelve. She had been so close to affording the egg, but she had compromised twice by accepting guidance from the elders instead of making the purchase. If she hadn’t--

She forced herself to stop following that thread. There was no point. The Qi guardian was bound to the boy with the wind aura now. Even if she killed him, it would only turn the guardian feral and cause it to attack her. Once the guardians were imprinted they were impossible to tame for anyone but the person who had hatched them.

She knew this, but as she walked to Master Argoth’s estate, she flashed with anger and malformed intent directed at the children who had gotten in the way of her plans.

They were children. She was not a child, despite being only twelve years old. Her childhood had been taken from her, and all that remained was anger, bitterness, and a desire for vengeance.

How dare they--

She shook her head. It was fine. Now that she didn’t have the egg to save up for, she had a small fortune of points to spend on other resources, and she’d start with a set of pills to breakthrough into the next stage of cultivation. She wrapped on the door of the Pill Master and waited for that insufferable prick, the Red Rooster, to answer.

Except that he didn’t.

She knocked harder, and after a few moments a mortal servant responded.

“Young Mistress. I regret to inform you that the Pill Master is out at the moment. He should be returning within an hour, but should you desire to wait—”

“Yes, I’ll wait. Show me to the sitting room and make me some tea,” she demanded. The mortal servant bowed and did as she bade.

That was one thing she appreciated about being a cultivator. The power to boss her lessers around. With power came more power, and with more power came even more power. It snowballed so quickly, she reflected. Especially when you did not mind taking that power from someone else.

She sipped the tea and refreshments that the mortal servants brought her as she waited. Eventually Master Argoth returned and was informed of his guest. He made his way to the sitting room where Fiora awaited him.

“I wish to buy every Inner Flame Hidden Gates Pill that you have made or can make for me,” she said immediately.

Argoth blinked. “Oh. I see. I did recommend those pills to you a few months ago didn’t I? I thought you were saving up for something else.”

Fiora seethed, a bit of intent leaking through as her anger slipped its leash at the reminder of her failure.

“I’ve changed my priorities,” she lied.

Argoth read her intent as plainly as one of his recipes, but allowed her this polite fiction. “Unfortunately, I require Crimson Fire Lotus to fill your request. I used up the last of my reserves to make the last batch of Inner Flame Hidden Gates Pills, and unfortunately I just gave away the last of that batch. I have several Crimson Fire Lotus plants in the greenhouse, but it will be two years before they mature enough to be harvested. I’m sorry, Fiora. I cannot help you.”

Fiora’s anger flared, and the air crackled and smelled of burning hair.

“Who did you give them to?” she asked.

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