Chapter 522

Chapter 522

... still too early to say for certain, but the first test subjects are responding well. I daresay your suggestion to use poultice wraps to target specific areas of the body for strengthening was inspired. It eschews so many of the pitfalls my previous body refining trials encountered, and the forearm was also a perfect subject to begin with, a pragmatic choice in that it will be useful if the trial bears fruit and minimally affected if unsuccessful. You are a clever young man with boundless prospects, even if you forever remain as you are.

If I see further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. Stifling a yawn, I accept a fragrant bowl of squash and chestnut congee from Alsantset and welcome the brief respite from Taiyi ZhuShens overenthusiastic summary of his most recent experiments. The one-eyed Healer beams happily as he graciously accepts a bowl as well, and my sister offers a forced but polite smile in return. Shes trying to play nice, but politics is not her strong suit and her thoughts show as clear as day on her strained expression. Its too early, with the sun barely even up, but ZhuShen woke me up at the ass-crack of dawn and has been nattering away for the better part of an hour now, like a kindly, neighbourhood grandfather whos starved of attention and is too shameless to take a hint and leave.

Honestly though, I like ZhuShen, a cheerful, exuberant man with none of the ingrained arrogance so commonly found in the rich and powerful. Make no mistake, he ranks highly in both metrics as a dignified Healer and sole proprietor of a bustling herbal medicine enterprise, though I couldnt tell at first glance. Luo-Luo could, quietly informing me that his tailored robes and ornate eye-patch were both embroidered with the finest silken thread money and influence can buy, a golden-coloured textile which shines with metallic lustre in the light and is sold by the centimetre for an absurd amount of coin. Halcyon silk, they call it, a luxury fibre sold only by a single eastern family of high repute, and even if you have the necessary coin, you also need the right connections to purchase this most coveted of silks, since only a limited amount is produced every year and most is sold to the Emperor to make his robes of office. Even though Taiyi Zhushens robes and eye-patch are only embroidered with halcyon silk, the threads used represent a veritable fortune spent over several years, if not decades, in a gruelling effort to procure enough for his purposes.

So much fuss over shiny thread. Rich people are weird.New novel chapters are published on

Seriously, it would be cheaper to spin clothes out of pure gold. In raw value alone, the threads in his eye-patch are probably worth more than what Ive spent in the entire past year, including the significant sum of coin dumped into OuYang Yuhuans Runic cannon crafting enterprise which has yet to bear fruit. Even when I was in the citadel, the Tyrant wasnt big on keeping me up to date with her progress, and Ive yet to hear from her in the thirty-five days since arriving on the front lines, but the money keeps draining out of my coffers to purchase more crafting ingredients and cannons. Given the significant expenditure, I can tell Yuhuans problem isnt making the cannon explode, but rather keeping the explosion from destroying the cannon itself while retaining enough power to launch a projectile. Not the worst problem to have, and Id love to know more, but seeing how I dont know where shes running her tests, Ive no way to force Yuhuan to explain what shes been up to or how shes been spending my money without risking her ire. Hell, it wouldnt surprise me to learn she doesnt even know Im in Sinuji, much less no longer in the citadel, but such is the price one pays when working with a powerful, eccentric genius who literally killed her way to the top.

As much as I want Taduk to find his special someone, I really hope its not Yuhuan, because she is terrifying. Then again, after punching her way out of a shark, Guard Leader established herself as a force to be reckoned with and is even more intimidating than the nipple-pierced Tyrant. Guard Leaders overwhelming strength might have something to do with why Taduks been single for all this time, because I doubt the veiled, shark-exploding beauty is one to take rejection well. Any woman who captures my Teachers affections had best be strong enough to stand against her, and considering how respectful Akanai was around her, I suspect nothing short of a Divinity can stand against Guard Leader, and even that might not be enough. While I didnt see any bestial traits and she lacks the amber eyes of a pure-blooded member of the People, this isnt enough to rule out the possibility of Guard Leader being an Ancestral Beast or Human Divinity, which means I should probably be more polite.

Yanno maybe Ive been reading their relationship wrong Maybe Guard Leader isnt Taduks lover, but his mother, the Ancestral Cloud Chaser Hare herself. Lins mom too possibly, considering how protective she is of my sweet wifey. Oh, gross thought: What if Guard Leader is Taduks mother and his lover? Ancestral Beasts are said to function largely on instinct, and young, half-beast Taduk might not have known any better. Ew. Definitely not wincest. Or maybe it is. I havent seen Guard Leaders face, which really shouldnt have any bearing on my verdict, but somehow, still does.

Ha! Standing on the shoulders of giants, I understand. Clever and humble, the Medical Saint found himself a most admirable pupil, what fortune and luck. Pulling me out of my perverted thoughts with a hearty chuckle, ZhuShen slurps down a mouthful of piping hot congee and sighs in contentment. Then theres your sister, this beautiful culinary artist here. Why if I were eighty years younger, I would propose marriage here and now after one taste of her cooking. Sublime, utterly sublime, oh if only I were so blessed to eat such divine cooking every day. Even the best chefs in Central can hardly compare.

The heartfelt compliment brings a genuine smile to Alsantsets face as she invites him for a proper meal in a more civilized setting once all this is over, an invitation the aged Healer-slash-merchant happily accepts. My sister is a strange woman; compliment her beauty alone and shell bare her fangs, but compliment her cooking and shes sweet as sugar, blushing like a schoolgirl in front of her first love. Idly wondering how Charok and the twins are holding up, I stir my congee and wait for it to cool while bringing the conversation back on topic. Getting back to body strengthening, its good that youve scaled back your experiments to conduct targeted testing instead of full-body from the get-go, but I think theres more to be explored. Ive been asking around for anecdotes about Spiritual Beasts and more specifically the texture of their skin, and Ive noticed most share a common vein. Though tough and resilient, their skins are almost universally described as supple and malleable regardless of species and even long after their deaths. My father and grandmother possess a matching set of leather armour crafted from the skin of a megalodon slain off the coast of Shen Bin, and the armour is sturdy enough to ward off a blow from a Reinforced Martial Warrior while barely restricting movement. While not a Spiritual Heart, the beasts skin exhibits none of the flaws you mentioned your disciples experienced, most notably the loss of flexibility and dexterity.

Hai... Truly my greatest regret. Pausing with bowl half-raised to his lips, ZhuShen deflates before my eyes, a man haunted by his past mistakes. Such promising young warriors, ruined by my own hand.

Well, maybe not. I looked over your notes and noticed your medicinal baths were acidic in nature, sort of a full-body chemical exfoliation of sorts, except cranked up to eleven.

Feeling the need to clarify his thought process, ZhuShen explains, Given how callouses form on skin which has been repeatedly abraded and the molting process snakes and many lizards go through to grow, I foolishly believed this natural process could be harnessed to toughen the entire body, but I failed to take into account how human skin would only stretch so far. The experiments succeeded, but while their flesh became resilient enough to turn aside sharpened steel blades, their bodies were left stiff and inflexible due to the thick callouses and scar tissue, not to mention the pain which comes with the latter. My first three Disciples to partake in my foolishness steeped far too long in the baths, and the medicine soaked deep into their bodies to affect their blood vessels and even their inner organs, but I noticed too late to reverse the damage. To make matters worse, their symptoms have exacerbated with time, and now my eldest no longer moves without assistance. Not because he is physically unable to, no, but because any abrupt movements might cause internal tearing and tissue damage.

Steel skin sounds cool and all, but reality is not so kind. In high society, Taiyi ZhuShen is something of a joke, a wealthy mad scientist with more money than sense, but personally, I think his reputation is unwarranted. Sure, hes not the sharpest tool in the shed and hes made more than his fair share of missteps, but the world only knows because he owned up to his mistakes instead of sweeping them under the rug. Were he your standard, arrogant noble, I suspect ZhuShens Disciples wouldve long since been eliminated and testing continued in secret on less fortunate Warriors or even civilians, but the one-eyed Healer has taken care of each and every one of his people, some for more than half a century. Sad, but admirable. Sliding a prescription over to ZhuShen while praying he doesnt ask to see the original letter, I paraphrase my teachers words so as not to give offense. I wrote to my Teacher as I said I would, and the reply arrived last night. He said that while your concept of body strengthening holds merit, he postulates that any form of durability achieved through external aid will ultimately fall short of natural defenses developed by Spiritual Beasts, and might even become more hindrance than aid further down the Martial Path. His exact words were like lifting a brick just to smash your own foot, but I did what I could to pretty it up. That said, he offered the following prescription and said it might help alleviate some of your Disciples symptoms, without adversely affecting their heightened durability.

While ZhuShen looks over the prescription, I sit back and answer his deluge of questions to the best of my meager abilities. Taduk didnt come up with the prescription out of thin air, but rather based it on one he used to treat a chronic skin problem he came across earlier in his career, an affliction which shares many of the same symptoms suffered by ZhuShens Disciples. Its no cure, but the treatments listed in Taduks letter should help manage the problem by reducing swelling and pain while improving blood-flow to impaired areas. Why exactly the latter would help is beyond my knowledge, but ZhuShen immediately curses himself for not thinking of it sooner, all the while hanging onto my every word. Originally, Id intended to keep this last part to myself because I didnt agree with Taduks reasoning or want to encourage ZhuShen to keep trying, but seeing the hope rekindling in the aged Healers one good eye, I cant help but add, Teacher said I should remind you that extremes in nature are most often the exception to the rule, rather than the norm, and that as children of the Mother, we must seek Balance in all things, even in body-strengthening. An acidic bath followed by a soak in some form of hydrating, restorative solution might keep hardened callouses and scar tissue from forming, much like how a sword is tempered in the flames then quenched in oil, though he cautions that this is merely his unfounded conjecture. In closing, he adds, Durability is not synonymous with hardness. The rigid redwood breaks in the windstorm, but the supple willow bends and endures.

A bit cryptic, but I suppose the gist of it is hes here to help, though I kinda already figured it out when he came by to visit. While not as concerned as Taiyi ZhuShen, emphatic as Tam Taewoong, or supportive as Lishan Suzhen, Taokang Geyan means well and probably suspects Akanai has been kept in the dark about the oncoming Defiled Army, else she wouldve pulled my ass out of here the minute she found out. Sadly, thats not how the People operate, and Akanai less so, as she was always more than happy to let me step and stumble into every pothole and pitfall, if only to teach me humility. Hell, I bet if things were going too well, shed have thrown a wrench into the works just to see me suffer, because suffering builds character.

Could it be that this is one of those pitfalls Im supposed to avoid? Like, a legitimate situation in which I am supposed to ask for help? If I did, would Akanai tell me to get my ass back to the citadel, or maybe even start heading north?

To top it all off, even Lieutenant Hondou Masahige stops by, though only to warn me about leaving in an unenthusiastic monotone, no doubt forced to do so by Watanabe. A friendly reminder. During the sentencing of Dastan Zhandos and his traitor retinue, you were also conscripted into the army as a private. As such, you are to remain on station in Sinuji until such a time as you are relieved of duty or given orders to the contrary. Passing control of your slaves to another will not absolve you of your obligations, and should you leave your post without permission, you will be charged with dereliction of duty for which the punishment is to be hung by the neck until dead.

Yea, I figured as much, but I had no intention of leaving anyways. Ignoring Masahiges disbelief, I turn my gaze westward towards Zhen Shi even though the fort walls and tens of kilometers stand between us. Ive an old score to settle, a debt to collect on, and I wouldnt miss this chance for the world.

Mother in Heaven... Shaking his head, Masahige asks, You mean it, dont you? You really mean it.

Unsure if hes impressed by my bravery or shocked by my idiocy, I merely shrug and salute him as his rank deserves. Im still not entirely convinced hes sympathetic to my cause, but hes definitely not on my side, thats for sure. Masahige looks out for himself, first and foremost, and I doubt anything I do will ever change him. Once he leaves, I turn my gaze to Kuang Biao and study the Royal Guardian turned Death Corps Guard. At two meters and change, hes tall, but not ridiculously so, with a frame so slender one could easily mistake him for a good-for-nothing silk pants if he were out of armour. Handsome, but all Martial Warriors are, meaning his chiseled features hardly stand out from the crowd. Theres nothing in his appearance that hints at his prowess, nothing remarkable about him, which makes his skill all the more impressive. Most genius warriors would be overcome with ego, but not Kuang Biao, a cold, calculating man who has yet to slip and show me his true colors.

On a whim, I ask, So where do you stand? Four people I respect came to warn me to leave, while the Lieutenant Colonels mouthpiece ordered me to stay. Not exactly a close call, but every vote counts.

Stay. Theres no joy in his eyes, no satisfaction from seeing me in my plight, not even a smirk to tease me about my impending doom. Matters are progressing exactly as expected.

A statement which for some reason leaves me more frightened than reassured, because I know he doesnt mean theyre going well for me. Im merely a pawn, but somehow I feel like were all pieces on the Legates chessboard, and Ive yet to figure out what his goal is, much less his plan.

Well, its too late to do anything about it now except wait. Seeing how its a reasonable hour, the monks are probably finished with their morning chants and self-flagellation, so maybe Ill go see what Jorani is up to and maybe even make friends with Kukku. I hope so, because if things go south, I might need the giant chickens help to get out of Sinuji in one piece.

Hmm how big is the range on Kukkus dreaming? Is he strong enough to put a million Defiled to sleep? Or even half-a-million?

...Doubt it. The Demon formerly known as Vivek Daatei only had a range of a few dozen meters, and theres no way life would ever be so easy. Not for Falling Rain, the Mothers Chosen whipping boy.

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