I laid One on his bed and returned to the courtyard outside where the two ladies were making pills. The men unloaded another load of level one spirit wood into the mostly depleted pile between the two girls and then put all of the cores into a wash tub to start washing all of the blood from them. “Did the two of you happen to make any blood or skin pills yet?” I asked. Because I knew very little about alchemy I was letting Jiang decide what they needed to study and when. Jiang pointed to the table where there were three full bottles of each type of pill. Of course, this was from eight previous attempts to make each type of pill, producing only thirty two blood pills and thirty one skin pills, most of which were below average quality. I could tell that they were making progress, but wasn’t sure if it would be enough.

  I grabbed an average quality pill of each type, then took them to One, who was still pretty weak. “Once you are better, come outside and join us.” I said, and he nodded, taking the pills and laying back down.

  Back outside I threw all of the level two cores into the wash basin as well and helped them wash all of the cores. We stacked the level ones on one end of the table and the level twos on the other, so they wouldn’t accidentally use the wrong quality. Level one cores held around a tenth of a stone of qi on average, but could store far more. Level two cores, however, held around ten stones of qi on average. So using the wrong one would either have little to no effect on the pills effect or would give the pill one hundred times as much qi as the alchemist was expecting, causing them to lose control, often causing a furnace to explode. Level one formulas simply couldn’t be balanced with a large amount of level two core, though small amounts may be used as a substitute if you need to improvise.

  There were thirteen level two and fifty three level one core, as we had come across several smaller packs before the ambush. After that I gave Ding a tenth-stone piece of quartz. “I think the ladies will need to practice all night, so can you go pick up some food for everyone and bring it back?” I asked, and he nodded. Take-out wasn’t really a concept on this world, but there were many food stalls in the city as well as places that let you buy food that came with free dishes, something that was meant for people that were just moving into the city and needed to buy the dishes anyway.

  As he left I turned to Jiang. “Do you two know the mental rest technique?” I asked Jiang and Five.

  “Yes,” Five said, “I’ve been using it whenever I get a chance. My brain is still tired, though.”

  “Did you take a recovery pill?” I said, and looked at where I had placed the two bottles of pills this morning. Six of the brain pills and eight of the qi recovery pills had been used already.

  “Yes.” said Jiang. “But it only helps so much when you can’t stop to take a break and properly absorb it. We even used some of the brain pills we made, but they aren’t high enough grade to do much.” Brain pills weren’t exactly designed to deal with mental stress, but worked well enough most of the time because the extreme stress and use of your brain at its limits could help refine your brain. I could tell that they needed a break, and were using too many pills to cope with the mental strain, much like a person that keeps taking caffeine pills to work a 48 hour shift. They were almost at the point where they would burn out, and if they did so now I wasn’t sure that they would recover in time for the trial tomorrow.

  “Well, Ding should be back soon with some food, so you can take a break once this batch is finished and recover some while getting some good food in you. If there is anything you need, though, just tell me. I can go to town and get it for you.”

  “Crimson Jade grass.” said Five, and Jiang gave her a disapproving look.

  “What is Crimson Jade grass?” I asked, and Jiang sighed.

  “At level one, it is an ingredient in level one mind tempering pills that lessens the rate at which they damage your brain by making your brain heal faster. It’s also an ingredient in level two brain recovery pills once it reaches level two. She’s basically saying she wants a stronger recovery pill.”

  “I can go buy you some if you want.” I said, and started for the door of the courtyard.

  “No, she doesn’t need it.” Jiang said. “She’s already used too many recovery pills, and would be better served by a detox pill, to deal with all of the toxins they caused her brain to build up. I could also use one.”

  I nodded. “Well, I used my last three detox pills to slow the scorpion venom in One, so I’m out, but I need to restock anyway, so I’ll go get some.” Jiang nodded and I left for the Blue Orchid.

  Mo Lin was starting to straighten up the shop so that she could close, but was willing to get me everything I needed to refill both my level one and level two medical kits, plus the ingredients for five bottles of level one detox pills, in case the ladies wanted to try making some for their own use. I thanked her and paid her a little extra for the trouble, then returned to the manor.

  Jiang was just finishing a batch of pills, eight of the ten bone recovery pills being successful, so I gave them the level one kit and ingredients to use, and warned Five that the Crimson Jade grass was for making pills, not directly consuming. She had about fifteen minutes left on her batch, but as I left for the main mess hall Ding returned with the food and One stepped out of the house, now looking much stronger. It seemed that everyone got to take a break now.

  When I got to the dining room the others had already started to gather there, my disturbance having been taken as a sign that it was time to call and end to their work. I sat down and greeted everyone and the cousin from the first night spoke up. “You know, when you said you didn’t want to visit the brothel with us, I thought it was suspicious, especially when you gave us that story about your dao companion. Now I just know that you aren’t interested in women. Next time we’ll go to the Sunrise House, as they have male cultivators that are willing to take male clients.”

  “Damn it, Xo.” I said, looking at him angrily. “Did you seriously start a rumor about me being into men? I’m not interested in men. How many times do I have to tell you that?”

  Xo shrugged. “Wasn’t me. Everyone saw you bridal carrying your man through the estate. They probably just assumed it on their own.”

  I sighed from exasperation. “Are you telling me that you wouldn’t carry your friend if he was just stung by a level two scorpion and was too weak to walk?”

  The others looked like they were thinking about it, then the cousin shrugged. “Maybe. Still, it looked like something more was occurring.”

  Xo sighed. “Give the man a break, Chan. We obviously misinterpreted the situation.”

  Chan shrugged and leaned back in his chair. “Fine. I’ll let it go. Of course, that doesn’t mean I won’t keep looking for evidence, but for now you are safe.”

  “Is your job to make pills or spread gossip?” I asked, and he shrugged.

  “The rumors are a hobby.” he said, then smiled. The servants were starting to bring dishes to the main table, so we knew that they would serve us soon.

  I changed the subject to how good the girls were doing at making pills and Xo looked a little concerned. “So the mom can make eight of ten bone pills properly. Big deal. Doesn’t mean she can make a full batch in the morning, nor that she can get them all to at least average quality, which is require to pass.” I could tell by the nervousness in his voice that he was trying to convince himself as much as he was convincing us.

  “Sure, it doesn’t mean that she’ll pass, but remember, she got that good in a day and a half. You said it would take at least a week to get good enough to pass. It definitely doesn’t look like it will take her that long.” In one, maybe two days she’ll easily reach that point in her skills.

  The others nodded and even Xo looked like he was starting to realize that he was at risk of losing the three stones he bet against them. A minute later the servants brought out food. I could tell that the goat meat that was served tonight contained considerably more qi than normal, but only a sliver of the cultivation seed was left in the meat. “Seems someone talked the chef into trying out the Chef’s Path.”

  Xo nodded. “I talked to him last night and told him what you said, so he tried out one of the recipes, some sort of milk based frozen confection.” Maybe it was something like ice cream? I would have to try some if I got an opportunity. I didn’t know that this world had anything like ice cream. “Chan froze the milk of one of the granite goats for him, following his instructions, and he mixed in the juice of some citrus spirit fruit and some purple mint. Not only did it seem to lighten the mind, an effect of the mint, but when I meditated last night before bed I could tell that my balance got considerably better and I even felt like a few of my lesser used muscles were strengthened.” Mountain goats were known for their ability to climb steep cliffs and strength, so that made sense. “This morning I told him about it and he cooked me an egg from one if the flame quails. Outside of the alchemical effects of the herbs I didn’t feel much, but maybe that was just because I’m so much stronger than a quail.”

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  “Or it might have done something if you had a fire root. Who knows. Eat enough of them and you might awaken a fire root.”

  “You really think so?” Xo asked, thinking. “If I could, I could develop it, then maybe make an artificial spirit to help with flame control.”

  I shrugged. “Not sure. If you can get enough of the eggs or meat of strong or full bloods it would probably happen, but with a half or weak blood, I don’t know. Their root might be too weak for you to gain one that way.” I took another bite of the meat. While the cultivation seed in it was too weak to help with my strength, I could tell that it would make minor changes in my fine motor control and inner ear, so it would indeed help with balance. The effect would likely be barely noticeable, though, unless I amplified them during meditation soon.

  After supper was over I excused myself. I wanted to make sure the ladies didn’t need anything, then study the swarm control technique, maybe even reading that book on controlling poisonous insects to look for similarities. If it could mesh well with the swarm technique then the White Tiger sect might have a use for it. I wasn’t sure what to do about the other books. The formation book wasn’t inherently demonic, as one could likely use spirit stones to substitute for the trees, and might be able to use the trees without harming them in some situations. The other three, however, were worrying. One dealt with blood magic, another with manipulating the dead, and another about refining and using humans as a cultivation resource. While they might contain some useful knowledge, they were likely too dangerous to allow just anyone to read them.

  When I was almost to my room I saw the Ambassador walking with one of the women of the family, discussing tea of all things. When our paths met in a courtyard, I bowed, and he stopped. “Oh, Kev. I meant to talk to you earlier. I studied the beast tamer’s guide and believe that I have learned the Beast Control Technique. If you would transfer the contract to me, I can take the gift now.”

  I nodded and pulled the boar out of my bag. I had forgotten that it was in there, including three new animals, so it was indeed a tight fit to put all of the humans in there as well. I would need to buy another large bag if I was going to use it as an ambulance service, or I might not have enough room to store everyone next time.

  After performing the contract transfer technique, the Ambassador looked like he was focusing on something. I could tell that he was feeling the connection to the beast for the first time. “A boar?” the woman asked, taking a step back. “Why are you pulling out a wild boar here of all places? Shouldn’t it go in the barn? Let one of the servants deal with it.”

  “It was a gift from the White Tiger sect, my dear.” the Ambassador said. His connection to the beast was likely very weak, as it had never met him and only barely recognized him as its master. “They wanted to demonstrate that they could get the kind of spirit beasts I wanted to purchase. They chose this one as a gift because it can be a strong warrior or valuable livestock, depending on how I decide to use it.” He knelt down and reached out to touch its head. While I could tell that the boar was afraid at first, when he started to pet it the boar didn’t pull away.

  After a minute the Ambassador stood up and used the cleaning technique to remove the mud from the boar’s head from his hand. “If you don’t mind traveling there,” he said, addressing his date, “I will take it to the barn so that it can spend the night with the family’s swine, then we can head to my room to continue this discussion.” The woman nodded and he placed his hand behind her back before guiding her in the direction of the nearest pig sty, the Oak Boar following behind.

  I returned to the Qin house and saw them sitting around talking. Even Five looked like she was relaxing, though she was still eating, the last two dumplings from the take out food on the plate before her. She had likely finished with her last set of pills after the others had started, and was eating what was left. She grabbed one of the dumplings with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth.

  “I just wanted to make sure that all of you are going to be okay for the night. Is there anything else you might need for making pills? I have some more wood if you want it.” I had collected some level one and level two spirit wood in my storage bag, intending to see if the talisman techniques would work on them, but could gather some more tomorrow if I needed to. Without the men tagging along, I could probably grab an entire level one tree and bring it back for them to use, though I would need to either make sure it was dry or rely on them finding someone with a water root to dry it before it could be used.

  Jiang looked at the wood pile. “The wood might be enough, but if you already have it, more wood would be good.”

  I nodded and walked over to the pile, then dropped the several backpacks worth of level one wood I had on the pile. I then walked back over to the table. “I also want to hand out a few pets.” I said. “While we were traveling, Ding, One, Two and I saw several spirit animals, but didn’t fight them. I did, however, capture a few of them, and want to give them to you.”

  I motioned to my beast bag and set the three animals on the table. There was a quail, a squirrel, and a rabbit. The quail had red feathers, but other than that showed no signs of it’s spirit beast ancestry, likely being a weak blood flame quail. The squirrel had no strange coloration, it’s spirit ancestry being extremely weak. The rabbit was brown, but I wasn’t sure if that was the color of dirt from it having some sort of Earth root ancestor, or just a natural color for a rabbit. Either way, it was still a weak blood. No matter how weak their blood, however, all spirit beasts are born level one. If they aren’t, they aren’t really considered to be spirit beasts, even if they manage to reach level one later.

  “Now,” I said. “As One was injured, I think that it is only appropriate for him to choose first. After that, your family can choose who gets the other two.”

  They agreed and One looked over the animals. “I think I’ll take the squirrel.” he said. “I like squirrels, I just don’t get to see them in the city that often.” I nodded and quickly used the contract technique to link the two. The squirrel was a bit scared, but didn’t resist the contract, as it knew that this would help it find food and survive.

  After that was finished the family started to discuss what to do with the other two animals. I set them on the table and they wandered around a bit, curiously watching or approaching the others. I called the lion cub over to me and squatted down, pulling out more fish snacks. It ran from inside the house, where it was watching Five, and over to me, taking a fish snack from my hand. After eating three of them it rolled onto its back and I rubbed its belly.

  While the family discussed who should get which animal, a bored Six and Seven reached out to them, Six picking up the Quail and Seven petting the rabbit. Both animals seemed to relax quite a bit as they were petted, so I knew they liked the children doing so. As One explained what it felt like to have a link to another creature in his head, knowing the exact direction of the squirrel, its distance, and it’s general emotional state, with it mostly being hungry at the moment, I stood up. “It looks like the animals chose for you.” I said, and pointed to the two children petting them.

  Jiang smiled. “Well, Six is really good with feeding the Master’s, I mean the Ji Family’s birds, and Seven likes helping with their rabbits, so it make sense.” The others nodded, so I asked the two children if they wanted to keep the two beasts as their pets. They looked excited about having their own pet, and said yes, so I used the contract technique twice, first for Six, then for Seven.

  “You should be able to feel a spot in your head tingle when you think about the animals.” I said, and they both nodded. “If you focus on that, you will be able to tell where they are, and if they are sad, or mad, or sick, or hungry. Now you have to promise to take good care of them, okay? Having a pet isn’t like having a toy. If you are too rough with it to lose it it will get hurt. You don’t want to hurt them, do you?” The two shook their heads. “Good, now, how about you ask your Dad and One to help you find something to feed them. I bet they are hungry.” The two kids nodded, and ran to their father, asking him to help them find something to feed them.

  I picked up the lion cub and set it in front of Five, then handed her the fish snacks. “Unfortunately I can’t give you the lion cub, as I’m already planning on giving it to my Dao Companion, but I’ll find you a pet later if you want.” Five nodded, and petted the cat. “What’s a Dao Companion?” she asked.

  Before I could answer, Jiang spoke up. “It’s what cultivators sometimes call their wives or husbands. It means that they aren’t just married for the sake of business or having heirs, like most of the Ji family and other rich people, but that they love each other very much, like your father and I.”

  I smiled. “Well, we aren’t married yet, but she would probably agree if I asked.” I said, then stood up and changed the subject. “You know, I have other animals that can stay here tonight if you want them to.” Three and Four looked at me excitedly. “Now, I can’t let you keep these either, as they are for my friends, but you can play with them, and they will protect you.” I pulled out the puppy, flood dragon, and Xaio. Xiao flew up to my shoulder and perched there. I still had the caterpillars, and had placed a few level one spirit herbs I found in the woods in the bag to feed them in case they got hungry, but so far I hadn’t checked to see if they had eaten any of them. Even if they had, they weren’t exactly the kind of pets that kids liked, so I didn’t bring them out.

  “Is that a flood dragon?” Jiang asked, looking at the snake.

  “Yes.” I said. “I found him in a hidden realm. His mom was a peak level three Flood Dragon and I fought her. She almost killed me, but we managed to win in the end.”

  Jiang nodded. “Then he will be incredibly strong when he gets older.” she said, and I nodded.

  “I’m hoping so. He had three siblings, and we left one of them in the hidden realm to protect their tribe. One of the others partnered with a Buddhist monk that helped us in the fight, and the other went with a member of the White Tiger sect. I got the last one, and am going to give it to one of my friends that likes snakes when I return home.”

  She nodded and gently picked up the snake. I wasn’t sure if she just liked snakes or respected its power, but it soon wrapped around her arm and she petted its head.

  After reminding the animals that they were here to protect these humans, and not harm them, I started to leave, but Xiao chirped at me. “You want to stay?” I asked, and he nodded. “Why?” It looked a bit puzzled and flew over to the table. Right, I reminded myself, he couldn’t speak yet, and likely couldn’t understand my speech. “Fine. You can stay and protect them, as well as keep the other in line.” Xaio chirped in happiness, and I said goodbye, then went to my room. Tomorrow would be interesting, so I would need to be well rested to make sure I got the most out of watching the performance.