Mage's Cultivation Journey 27

A sigh escaped my mouth as I watched the kneeling figure collapse in front of me. I had tried to catch up with Yu Xing before they found themselves in the middle of the battle, but I had been almost too late.

Luckily, I managed to arrive on time. “Master, I —” Yu Xing started, but I cut him off.

“We’ll have time to talk. For the moment, come here so I can tend to your wounds. Su Mi, go and keep pressure on his wounds. We don’t want him to die.”

Yu Xing seemed relieved at my declaration, showing that he assumed I had killed them. I didn’t. Only three of them were dead, though the wounded man was the only one who just fell unconscious rather than being subjected to an attack that shattered half of their meridians.

Admittedly, I would have preferred to keep the other three alive for interrogation, but it was the first time I was using the ranged attack. I didn’t want to take any risk against three Skin Refinement experts, especially since they were far more skilled than the previous two I had dealt with.

Still, considering it was the first field test for my new technique, I counted it as a success.

When the kid stood in front of me, I didn’t bother saying anything before I stabbed him with two dozen needles, and started using my internal energy to cure his open wounds. “You’re lucky I don’t believe pain as a teacher, or I would have left you bleeding,” I said, showing my unhappiness. While I might not use corporal punishment, I didn’t want his recklessness to be a habit.

He had been acting too confident since his recovery. I could understand his perspective, but that didn’t mean I approved of it. It was not a world where careless people could live long lives.

“I … They were about to kill…” he started. “I thought…”

“You thought what?” I cut in. “That the best way to engage them was to confront them in an open field, and bring a convenient hostage with you?”

He ducked his head at my sharp tone, but I continued.

“There were many ways you could have handled it better. Calling me, approaching the fight from an angle that allowed you to collaborate with their victim, finding a better ambush spot that allowed you to engage them in a way that didn’t surround you...” I tapped his head. “Next time, think.”

“I’m sorry, master,” he said, listlessly.

I let him wallow in silence for a while while I focused on curing his open wounds. Unlike when I had first figured out, that a blister took several minutes, his open wounds take about three minutes to stop bleeding. “Try not to make any sudden moves, and reopen your wounds,” I said while I walked toward the last figure I had taken down.

One that I recognized as one of our spies from the encounter at the bridge. One who tried to cooperate with us against the gang. I wondered if his presence was as coincidental as he tried to tell, or was it a ruse? It looked like he was telling the truth, but it was hard to be sure.

“Tell me why you decided to intervene in the battle?” I asked. “As far as you know, the victim could easily be guilty of attacking them first.”

Yu Xing pointed at one of his opponents. “I recognized him,” he said. “He’s one of the traitors of Furious Wind School, escaping even before my injury after poisoning two loyalist instructors.”

“I don’t blame you for taking action, but next time, think more,” I said as I turned my attention to the last figure, and stabbed his body with several needles.

What I found was a mess. His most recent injuries were bad enough, but his older injuries were even worse, which included some bruising in his meridians. Not as bad as the kid’s old injury, but still bad enough.

For the moment, I ignored the rest of the wounds, and focused on his open, bleeding wounds. The more significant issue. “Go through his pouches, and see if there’s anything about his identity,” I said.

“Isn’t it ... Wrong?” Yu Xing muttered.

“We’re not robbing him. We’re just going through his possessions. Maybe there’ll be a clue about why he’s here. We can’t discount the fact that he found us deliberately as some kind of ploy.”

Su Mi catalogued his possessions while I continued to heal him, which turned out to be not much. Some silver, a few pills, and a map with some instructions, defining a basic patrol route, explaining why he ended up near our camp.

On the surface, his story held up.

Too bad the three I had killed had nothing to do with them other than some weak essence pills and dried meat. It was bad not only because it prevented a chance to loot something useful, but also because it implied they had a base nearby.

One probably held more people, which meant we couldn’t stay here.

I turned to the kid. “Before waking him up, we need to decide what to do?” I said. “Do we stay, or leave?” I asked the question, because I could see the kid wanted to follow up on why the traitor to his school was here.

A part of me wanted to shut that line of thought before he could even consider it, knowing that it would probably drive us to a risky situation. But after giving a brief consideration, I decided that it was not as big a risk.

At least, in comparison with the alternatives.

Everything I had seen in this world had shown me that knowledge, when it came to martial arts, was hoarded carefully; even worse than mages did back home. It meant that, even if I traveled to a safer location, I would still be targeted as long as I tried to get my hands on precious information like their martial techniques.

Of course, no one forced me to search for it. I could easily find a safe location and make a living as a doctor. There was one simple problem.

I didn’t want to.

If I were willing to live an ordinary life, I wouldn’t have struggled to get admission to an academy, made enemies out of noble children and families alike. It was due to my refusal to accept a life of mediocrity that I ended up in that magical fortress.

But, it was the same refusal that ensured I survived it, ending up in a new world.

I wasn’t scared of Lord Mages. I wouldn’t be scared of a bunch of people whose best idea of using a mystic energy source in their bodies was to punch harder!

That line of thought meant that, counterintuitively, Dongxi might be the better destination. The ambush we interrupted implied that the chaos was getting even worse. And, with chaos, came opportunity.

Moreover, we already had some reliable identities, with a reputation enough that everyone should be careful around us; especially if I could play the role of steward dissatisfied with the antics of his young master well enough, which represented a dangerous deterrent.

A deterrent, that, unlike previous visits, was not entirely fictional. I didn’t know how I rated against the stronger martial artists, but I was confident that, at least, Skin Refinement, who already represented elite ranks, presented no threat to me.

All that remained was to act like the kid who annoyed me by dragging me into a conflict. Considering what happened just minutes ago, I doubted I would struggle with that particular act.

“Tell me what you want to do next, kid?” I said.

“I’m willing to follow —” he started. I cut him off.

“I didn’t ask that. I ask you, what do you want?” I repeated, knowing the answer.

He looked conflicted. “I want to learn why he was here, but… I can’t ask you to take such a risk.”

I shrugged. “I need to get my hands on some valuable martial arts manuals, and Dongxi is as good a place as any,” I replied. “I have no problem with it. So, just discuss it with the girl.”

She looked surprised. “I get a vote?”

“Well, you’re a part of it,” I said, acting generous. It was easy to act like that when I knew she would just support the kid. Or, if she had a problem, she could probably convince the kid to support her even without the right to vote. So, why would I make it more complicated?

“I will support Yu Xing,” she replied. They shared another lingering gaze. I just sighed, utterly unsurprised by her answer.

“Good, but before I wake him up, we need to adjust some details of our story,” I said. “On the surface, act like you’re trying to hide your affiliation with Furious Wind School from me, and reveal it only when confronted. Also, we need to return to playing the same role of frustrated steward. That way, I can keep an eye on you while doing my own research.”

“I will follow your orders, master,” he replied with a grateful bow.

“Fine,” I said. ”Also, we need to have an argument about returning to Dongxi. I’m going to insist we leave due to danger, you want to stay and prove yourself. I reluctantly follow.”

“Will it really help?” he asked.

“Almost certainly,” I said and turned to the figure lying on the ground, hapless, one with many convenient internal injuries I could heal as a way to prove my value without coming across as needy. “If we play it right, we might even get an invitation from Iron Mountain Alliance.”

Yu Xing nodded, though he seemed not entirely convinced by my promised success. “Should we wake him up?” he asked.

“No. Not before we go through the contingency plans for at least an hour,” I replied. “We won’t have another opportunity to have a discussion without someone spying on us.”