By the fifth time I'd been smacked away from the Shriket, I'd had enough. I was running dangerously low on Qi, and no matter how many times I thought I'd landed a decent blow on the thing, it made no discernable difference.

By any measure of how I understood these things, I was royally fucking this monster up, but it just kept Taylor Swifting my best attacks.

I'm not sure I understand the reference.

"Not the time, Big M. Is there anything you can suggest for me here?"

It's Trollkin, my dear. Once upon a time, I remember seeing one of them fighting headless. They simply do not have enough intelligence to know when they are beaten. Although looking at the state of you right now, I'm not sure it is the only one.

"Aw, shucks, dude. You and your motivational speeches."

I pushed as much Qi as I could spare into my armour. It was taking an absolute shellacking, and I was worried about what would happen if it finally gave up the ghost and fractured. This thing's claws were not fucking about, and I liked my organs right where they were.

"Is there going to be any mileage in ?"

I doubt it, I'm afraid. As with the Wyvern, there is no true ruling mind here to make suggestions to. You might as well tell a rock to grow wings and fly to the sun.

Swearing, I hit the Shriket with my old faithful, and grimaced at how much of my remaining Qi it took to force the beast back just a few feet.

I took the moment of respite to look around for any good news at all. Unfortunately, Lancelot and the men who had followed us to what seemed like certain death were all still under the influence of whatever mental attack had been shrieked their way.

"How about those guys?"

How about what, my dear?

"Can I break whatever it is doing to them?"

There was a pause. You know, that's an interesting point. I have always tended to operate alone - one of the drawbacks of being such a powerful cultivator. Besides my various apprentices, I've rarely had anyone beside me in battle. They just seemed like such a significant hindrance.

"Dude, can I get them back in the game?"

I can see no reason why not. Your power of suggestion is significantly more potent than the base instinct the Shriket is appealing to.

I emptied my earrings and tapped one of the mana stone rings I kept for emergencies. The Qi in that was not my more concentrated type, but I'd not had a chance to fill them all up yet. It was going to have to do. I connected a thin line of Qi to Lancelot and the screaming spearmen.

It took me a moment to pick the right suggestion, but then I blasted out with everything I had.

Now I think of it; it might have been less than a suggestion and more of an order with all of the quiet fury of a mother ordering you to your room after you'd broken her most cherished porcelain figurine.

Lancelot reacted incredibly quickly. His mummy issues, I presume.

"Fuck up this giant chicken!"

When this is over, we will discuss how to sneak these suggestions in a little more under the radar, my dear.

I blocked a massive swipe of the Shriket's clawed hand on Drynwyn's crossguard and pushed again with . Unfortunately, I barely staggered it backwards with the lower concentration of Qi I was now forced to rely on. However, it was enough to give Lancelot a chance to jump on its shoulders and begin plunging his sword in and out of its eye with all the fervour of a high school nerd getting lucky.

The Shriket screamed out its mental attack again, but the power of my suggestion held, and I was glad to see my men moving around Owain and the surviving spears of Gwent, lifting them off the trees on which they were impaled.

Then, my attention was very much back on the monster itself as it reached out and drove three of its claws straight through my chest and out the other side.

"Fucking hell!" I gasped, pulling out an Elixir of Wellness and tossing it down my throat, even as I was lifted straight into the air.

Well, that is less than ideal.

I realised I'd dropped Drynwyn when I'd been stabbed, which, again, did not feel exactly like it was from page one of 'Classic Battle Tactics'. Impotently, I battered against the arm holding me aloft, aware that my Elixir was fighting somewhat of a losing battle against the piercing damage that had taken out my liver and one of my kidneys and - in retrospect, I should have led with this - gone through my heart.

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Blood gushed up my throat and down my chin as I tried to get another Elixir on board. In my slowly darkening vision, I could see Lancelot stirring his blade around inside one of the Shriket's eyes. I mean, it didn't much improve my situation, but it was comforting to know that this nightmare creature was also toast.

I have a plan.

"Is it a cunning plan, Big M?"

As much as I'd love to play the Baldrick here in this little skit, my dear, you are - in technical medical jargon - circling the drain.

"I'm all ears, mate. Well, actually, I'm all gaping wounds, but you get the point."

I had Melehan's Curing Rock in my hand, but it was - heroically - fighting a losing battle. The Shriket screamed again, and there was a finality to that sound. Lancelot was chopping away at its head and was, I'm sure, soon to have a fetching conversational piece to hang above his mantlepiece.

Unfortunately, that would not resolve my injuries, which were now the other side of the catastrophic.

Consciousness began to drip away, and I concentrated on cycling my Qi. Maybe in the absence of a functioning heart, I could eke out a few more seconds this way. Doing so took up so much of my attention that I nearly missed Merlin's words.

. . . inside you.

"Sorry, mate. It turns out dying is loud. What did you say?"

Although it is usually understood you can only absorb the essence of a spirit beast once it has died, there's nothing manifestly impossible about doing so as it dies. Especially in the case of Trollkin, where this state can last a significant period of time.

"Fascinating. You should continue to discuss this with my corpse."

You need to absorb its essence. Now.

I switched on my magic eyes and saw a massive fuckton of Wood Qi just waiting to be gobbled down. I tried to breathe it in, but my lungs had long since stopped doing anything so facile as using oxygen.

It's not really breathing, my dear. That is just an easy way to help the young, the inexperienced and the stupid to learn how to absorb from spirit beasts. That's your Qi that the monster has there. Damn well claim it!

There was a note of panic to the Big M's voice - as well their might. This was pretty much game over. I switched off trying to maintain any flow to my extremities, and focused down on my core. As long as that was still alive and kicking, I was still in the game.

I focused on the Wood Qi. It sat right at the centre of the Shriket—about where my own water feature was. I pulled on it, and it was like trying to drag a speedboat up a beach. With dental floss. I simply didn't have the energy, and I certainly didn't have the time.

Come on. It's right there. Pull it into your core!

And then I was hit by a wave of energy. Or, more accurately, a wave of fire.

Fucking stop mooching around, bitch!

I absorbed Drynwyn's blast of Fire Qi and used it to force back the spiralling darkness. Then, twisting Drynwyn's energy into a lasso, I flung it over the Wood Qi and yanked it towards me. To begin with, nothing happened. I demanded more energy from the link Drynwyn was offering and felt the sword struggling to meet the request.

Get it done. I've not got much left. Fucking hell, you're needy.

With my last ounce of strength, I heaved on my lasso of Fire Qi, and then the Shriket's essence moved towards me. As if the release of this energy was its final resistance, the monster collapsed forward.

Lancelot lept clear, holding its head in one hand. I, however, hit the ground with its massive body on top of me, the impact driving the claws even further through my body, the talons cutting deep into the earth.

Oh, yeah. And the sudden movement ripped free my damaged organs, leaving me like a real-life version of Operation.

But that didn't matter. (Well, it did. I was fucked in about the worst way possible and - minor in the grand scheme of things, but it pissed me off - my cultivator armour was history.

But I had the Wood Qi.

The transformation this stuff caused was, in many ways, less dramatic compared to what had happened when I pulled in Voltigern's Dragon's Qi. Nothing exploded in my channels, and I didn't need Merlin to rewire my internal Qi systems to keep me alive.

On the other hand, the changes made to my actual physical body were profound. The piercing talons were forced out of my torso by the rebuilding of my organs. The Wood Qi swept up and down, strengthening muscles and flesh and purging the toxins out of my physical being. I knew Wood Qi was connected to healing - it was where Melehan had drawn from to keep Arthur alive after Drynwyn had toasted him - but the speed and breadth of the alterations were scary.

I'd benefited from being stuffed into Wulfnoð's body in ways I did not wholly understand. However, now, the space in which my soul inhabited was truly becoming my own. The Shriket's Qi reshaped everything about me so that I wasn't just a voice squatting in a body filled with potential for cultivation.

Now, I had a properly bespoke unit.

Opening my eyes, everything was suddenly more distinct - more vivid - than it was before. Zizzie had often spoken about how glorious it felt to wake up without a hangover and experience dawn song as the first rays of sunlight appeared over the horizon.

For the first time, I kind of could believe it.

However, it was not just the Qi that I was sucking down. At Lancelot's disgusted cry, I looked down at the pool of water I was lying in. But, of course, it wasn't water. It was blood. Gallons upon gallons of blood from me, the Shriket, the animal larder, and Owain's injured warband.

And it was all being absorbed by my body.

I couldn't stand - not yet - but I could feel both the Wood Qi and the blood being overcome by my own Qi and then repurposed. My mana stones - all of them - were instantly refreshed, my link to Drynwyn and my cauldron were reestablished and made more substantial, and my armour was wholly reconstituted.

And as for my core . . .

"Say it, Big M."

I don't know what you mean.

"Come on, say the words. Don't ruin my big moment."

There was a pause. Fine.

"And it needs to be in the accent."

Merlin cleared his throat. You're a wizard, Harry.

And my water feature exploded.