Book 6: Chapter 63: Endure

Book 6: Chapter 63: Endure

When Laughing River woke him up, Sen didnt speak. He just forced himself to stand with gritted teeth holding back the pain. He stumbled to the fireplace, dropped down in front of it, and went to work. He wouldnt call what he did anything remotely like alchemy. That would have implied a lot more conscious thought than he had available to give to the process. He relied almost entirely on his instincts and his understanding of what was wrong with him to guide what he made. Even as he worked, he could hear the other muttering to each other in concern over what he was doing or the things he was adding to his reliable little pot. He let those words wash over him without touching him. He didnt care that they didnt understand or didnt approve. That was a them problem.

He pulled things from his storage ring that might have made even Auntie Caihong lift an eyebrow, and he added them in ratios that would have made any other alchemist go pale in the face. He didnt care about that either. He could feel that devilish qi inside of him, searching for a way in, searching for a way to end him. Caution and half-measures werent going to get the job done. And if he had to hurt himself as badly as he had hurt with that first cleansing pill, then so be it. Pain was nothing new. There were even certain truths to be found in pain. Pain could show you who you really were and what really mattered to you if you let it. In the deepest pits of agony, the things you clung to were the things that mattered. They were the things that defined you. Granted, only madmen intentionally sought enlightenment through pain. But if it had found you anyway, it only made sense to learn from it.

Sen found himself in what almost felt like a conversation with the elixir he was crafting. Him telling it what he needed it to do, and it telling him what it needed from him to do it. It wasnt anything so explicit as words, the elixir wasnt alive. At least, Sen didnt think it was. Not quite. But he could tell where things wouldnt work the way he wanted them to work without adjustment. He was experienced enough to know what adjustments could work to remedy the problem. And, throughout it all, he was slowly infusing the elixir with divine qi. That was the spear that would drive the devilish qi from his body. The rest would support that effort and mend his body. It would just happen the hard way.

When the elixir was finally ready, he poured the end result through a cheesecloth and into a glass vial. It blazed so brightly that it looked like hed captured a star in a bottle. Pushing himself back to his feet, he started back toward the room hed been in. It was Li Yi Nuo who broke the tense silence that fallen over the others as hed gotten closer and closer to finished.

Are you insane? she almost shouted at him. You cant drink that. No one should drink that! It will kill you.

Sen stopped and turned enough that he could look at her. He thought maybe he should ignore what she was saying, but he couldnt think of why. He hurt too much to worry about anyones feelings, and letting this woman live had used up whatever kindness he was willing to expend on her. His lung was still damaged from the spear and the devilish qi, so his words came out as a grim rasp.

Then, I expect youll be happy. Mission accomplished, right?

The sect woman faltered at those words. The foxes both had grim looks on their faces but elected to say nothing. The spider, either indifferent or uncaring about the mood of the room, walked over to Sen. It looked down at the vial for several seconds before it looked at him.

The new one is right. That could kill you.

I still cant believe he survived drinking that bottle of death, said Misty Peak.

Few could have, murmured Laughing River. Do you see now why I treated him cautiously and respectfully?

Respectfully? asked Misty Peak with a touch of amusement in her voice.

Well, respectfully for us, at any rate.

Fair, said Misty Peak. I saw why outside those ruins. That man is terrifying. He didnt even hesitate to fight that devil. Who does that?

He does, apparently, said Laughing River. And hes still in the core formation stage. Imagine what hell be like when he reaches the nascent soul stage.

I shudder to imagine. Still, I can see how somehow who had Feng Ming and Kho Jaw-Long as teachers might end up acting that way in battle. Taking that elixir, though? He made it. He had to know what it was going to be like.

Im sure he did. I think theres a lesson you should take away from all of this. Any time you let yourself imagine hes weak, remember this moment. Remember, that man is carved from stone.

Growing tired of the conversation about him, Sen chimed in with, That man is awake.