Cultivating Chaos 4 -ch 23-

Ash sniffed and rubbed at his nose. He felt like he was getting a cold.

Again.

Rou had already cured it for him three times.

At this rate, he was thinking it’d be better just to let the damn cold happen and get the antibodies for it. When he’d tried to explain such a thing to Rou, she’d only stared at him as if he were crazy. The concept of antibodies were well beyond her other than to say, if you get sick, it’s unlikely for you to get sick again later from the same thing.

“Where are we meeting them?” Ash asked, glancing over to Siu. She’d briefly met up with Locke to receive the summons that had been sent to Ash to ask him to join the meeting of the Hands.

“Same place where we held our introductions this morning. The gathering field,” Siu murmured with a faint smile. “They’ve cleared it for this meeting to discuss things relating to Qi-Lord’s. Though really I think it’s because they expect fights or spars.

“Why else would they need a fairly large open area like that otherwise? I’m curious to see the strength of the other Hands. I can’t imagine they’d be that powerful or they likely wouldn’t be down here.

“They’d be up above, would they not? Those sent here would be powerful enough to cow a citizen, but not a threat if they wanted to grow their own faction.

“It’s one of the reasons I’m so curious to see if that man you encountered is here. You said he was fairly strong. He doesn’t seem like the type of person to be given this type of position. Unless there’s someone unique or they have a different position of trust with their Qi-Lord.”

Hui made a clucking noise with her tongue and then sighed.

“That’s a very valid point. I didn’t consider that angle. I’ve clearly lost my edge as a strategist. I’m going to have to apply myself more,” muttered Hui with a shake of her head. “It’s a team sent specifically to target hunting parties. We just don’t know who they belong to. They’re there to cause problems, steal resources, and make it a confusing mess.”

Err… that makes almost too much sense. Too much sense, really.

There really is only the two options.

Either its a Hand with a different relationship, or someone working from the outside to put everything in flux.

“I’ll start putting some hypothetical pieces into place. I need… I need to start to… question people,” Hui muttered almost to her, looking down to the ground in front of her.

“Go, I’ll handle this,” Moira said, sauntering over to take her place at Ash’s right side. “I was here to replace one of you anyways.”

Hui flinched at Moira’s approach. She hadn’t noticed the Owl arrive. Then she nodded her head sharply and went off at a swift trot.

“Kyle is already at the field,” Moira reported, her large eyes focusing in on Ash. Then she gave him a warm smile. “Everything is going well, though I do miss my little sparrow. It was nice to have something that could remain with me in the air.”

The golems would be too eyecatching and were remaining in Wahst. Luan would be bringing the Brides in one by one to select a golem and monitor the other instructors as they woke up.

“Oh, I do miss my sweet little Lee. He was so cuddly. It was odd at first with him being stone but… I got used to it quickly,” Siu lamented.

“Lee?” Moira asked, paused, then laughed. “Ah, yes. I see it now. That makes sense. I almost did something similar but couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

“Indeed. Now, Kyle is up ahead,” warned Siu with a throaty laugh. “He looks rather excited, doesn’t he?”

“Locke mentioned that no other city-lord would be attending this. Nor had they in the past,” Moira offered as a possible explanation. “It’s very likely that the power dynamics of this are appealing to him. Let alone the fact that he’ll get to see something others have not.”

Then they were close enough that Kyle spotted them and waved a hand at them. His bodyguards around him also turned to look at Ash.

Tan stood with them, dressed in armor and wearing a sword Ash had presented him with personally. It was a weapon he’d taken from the Hand directly and armor from his storage. They’d fit Tan quite well and would serve him better than sitting in Ash’s vault.

“Lord Ash,” stated Tan a moment before his body flickered. It was as if he were there one moment, then bowing low to Ash the next. The inbetween space had been nearly impossible for Ash to follow. He’d only been able to follow his image as it blurred between the distances.

He’d been so quick, that Siu and Moira physically flinched away. Both of them being surprised by the suddenness of it.

“Knight Tan, you’re getting better control over your movements,” Ash replied, offering the man a salute that was neither martial, nor deferential.

He held his hand up in front of himself at a forty-five degree angle. His palm facing his chest, with the back of it facing Tan.

Locke had come up with the idea. Each organization should have it’s own courtesies.

Tan noticed the salute. Stood up, and imitated it himself.

Once Ash felt that they’d held it for each other to see, he let the salute drop.

“Yes, lord Ash. It’s becoming easier every day,” Tan answered, his eyes moving to Siu and Moira both, before coming back to him. “It’s as you said. I make cultivators very nervous.”

Ash smirked at that comment.

He could tell Tan was enjoying himself immensely with that truth. That he deeply got a kick out of pestering those who had once looked down on himself.

“We’ll talk more about it later. We have a meeting to get to,” Ash said and gestured to Kyle and beyond.

Tan nodded his head, then somewhat haltingly provided Ash the same salute he’d given him earlier. Which Ash returned, then began moving as Tan fell in line.

“City-lord. A pleasure to see you. Shall we begin?” asked Ash, gesturing to the field beyond.

“I’d be more than pleased to do so. I must confess, I bragged a bit to the others that I’d be going with you,” Kyle confessed with a chuckle. “They were equal parts angry and nervous. Personally… I suddenly don’t find cultivators problematic. They’re just like people. Some are good, some are bad.”

Grinning, Ash nodded his head to the city-lord and they began walking once more.

There were the same number of Hands in the field, that there’d been city-lords. They numbered twenty-six without Ash in their number.

I wonder how big the prison is.

“Something like the size of Virgina? It’s not huge, but it’s not exactly small either,” Locke offered helpfully.

All the Hands and their attendants turned to look at Ash and his entourage. Kyle had asked his bodyguards to remain at the edge of the arena with the guards provided by the city-lord that was hosting the event.

While it was unlikely any of them could do something to them, it was still a valid precaution.

Walking up to the group of them, Ash provided a martial salute.

Everyone in his group did the same and held it for several seconds.

No one responded in kind.

Ash let it drop and then put his hands behind his back. He smiled and looked around at those gathered.

“Greetings. I’m Ash Sheng, the hand of Wahst. Beside me is the city-lord of Wahst. The others are my attendants,” Ash declared loudly. “I have no experience in this so you’ll have to forgive me if I don’t know the customs or expectations. The previous Hand… well… he and I didn’t see eye to eye before I took over the job.”

Ash smiled widely at that.

He’d realized that the man he fought was indeed, not here. Everyone present was barely in the Spirit Refiner Realm. None of them had crossed over into the Mortal realm.

It was exactly as Hui and Siu had surmised. That this position isn’t a plum one.

More likely, a punishment.

Deciding he wanted to make a point here and now, he relaxed his hold on his Qi. He let his strength and aura reverberate outward.

Instantly he felt it crash into those in his group who were cultivators. They would feel his presence.

Tan was a void of power to him and it washed over.

Given he was beside Kyle, it also provided the man with effective coverage to keep himself from feeling it as well.

“A pleasure… to meet you all,” Ash stated then retracted his Qi back into himself. It was more than enough to put the fear of death into them all.

None of these people were of any importance to him. They served a function to their owners and little else.

They wouldn’t be an issue for him.

“What an impertinent fool. You’re courting death,” growled an older man with black hair and dark brown eyes. He looked as if he were going to challenge Ash.

“I’ll say this once. So… remember this moment. Remember it well,” warned Ash. “You’ll only get once chance to realize you messed with the wrong person. You won’t live long enough to find out twice. I guarantee I’ll graduate you from sleeping at night to sleeping permanently. I’ll help you all perform in a contest to see who can do the best impression of a mannequin.

“Yes. That’s a threat. In fact it’s a promise. I don’t care about you. I don’t give a damn about you. I exist only to exert Lady Ghast’s will over the city of Wahst and provide to her the tribute she is owed. The rest is no matter to me.

“That means… none of you matter to me. Your deaths matter even less. Don’t make me apologize to lady Ghast for ending your lives.”

Everyone held their breath and their words. Gazing at Ash with incredulity. Looking at him as if he were more akin to a rhinoceros with butterfly wings, in fact.

“Great. Anyways, the only thing I wanted to talk about was someone has been hunting the hunting parties of Wahst,” Ash dropped in as if he were throwing in a bunch of vegetables to make a stir fry. “I plan on going into the plains and slaughtering everyone and anyone who gets in my way if they cause problems for Wahst. Best we get that out of the way now. If we’re left alone, we’ll leave you alone. It’s that simple.”

The silence once more grew. Expanding infinitely outward it seemed.

“They really are rather weak. I can’t get a clear picture through the Hall like I used to but… I think Rou could probably beat all them down. Though that doesn’t have anything do with their Qi values. Hui was saying earlier that she thinks power is relative here to how much Qi you have, since there isn’t mucdh.”

Makes sense. Well, whatever.

This is probably pointless and—

Before Ash could finish the thought there was a sudden feeling of extreme Qi from above him. Far above him, but rapidly heading his way. A great many feelings of that nature, in fact.

They were all converging and very swiftly.

Right where they were all standing.

Slowly, every other head began to turn upward and stare as well. Everyone looking as if they were waiting to drown in a rain storm.

“The Qi-Lord’s come,” breathed one of the Hands.

Roughly half of the Hands dropped down to the ground and began to cower there. Shivering on the grass and unwilling to look up any longer.

Huh… I wonder if their relationship is that bad with their Qi-Lord.

While Ghast wasn’t exactly perfectly pleasant she wasn’t terrible either.

“Yes, something seems amiss. You should send Kyle away. He shouldn’t be here. Tan, too,” advised Locke.

“Knight Tan, get Kyle out of here. Get him secured and safe with Locke and Hui. Stay with them,” ordered Ash.

Tan grabbed Kyle by an arm and began sprinting away. Dragging the man bodily behind him and out of the situation.

“Is she really as beautiful as Locke mentioned?” Siu asked in English with what sounded like a hint of annoyance in her voice. At the same time she’d snapped out one of her fans and was now idly fanning herself with it.

“Yes. Yes she is. Painfully so,” replied Ash in English as well. He was mildly curious and also amused at Siu’s response. She’d never shown any hostility, concern, or even interest in the other women that surrounded Ash. A few of them as beautiful as she or comparatively so. “To the point that I honestly think there’s something more going on there. Draining other women of their beauty, draining the vitality out of men during sex, something. Something really stupid, probably.”

“Maybe that’s how she gets Qi as well? Drains people of their beauty, vitality, and Qi? Stores it for herself?” mused Moira.

“Possibly. Don’t know. Not something I truly wish to discover either,” Ash finished with a sigh.

He’d only barely escaped Ghast last time. Putting him up against her desires again so soon felt like a problem and not a coincidence either.

“Best we be on our guard then. Let’s just… help that along. Do forgive me, Husband,” Siu apologized then leaned in close to him.

He’d turned to look at her as she moved and ended up being kissed squarely on the mouth. A lingering kiss where he couldn’t help but admire the softness of Siu’s lips.

She held it for a full three seconds before she broke it. Then she tapped her fan after closing it to his chin and he felt something strange settle over him.

His libido emptied out as fast as Siu had started to fill it. Leaving him feeling as empty as he often felt when Locke was done with him.

“Oh dear, oh my, that’s quite a bit so quickly after just bringing up Ghast but… oh… nevermind. It’s all for me. Well, that’s rather flattering,” purred Siu, holding her fan up in front of herself again. It was once again spread open and she began to lightly flutter it against her face.

He noticed that her cheeks were quite red and she had a slightly flushed appearance.

“What’d you do?” he asked, curious.

“I’ll discuss it later. They’re already here,” Siu answered and then nodded her head upward.

Glancing up, Ash saw indeed the Qi-Lord’s were arriving. A great many airships, flying formations, and even a giant sword, were all lowering themselves down toward the field.

Ash somehow spotted what he believed to be Ghast’s airship plummeting down out of the sky. The rate at which it was descending was somewhat frightening.

Locke Sheng, dearest wife, any chance you could bring Rou around? I think Ghast might end up suffering from an upset tummy or vertigo.

It wouldn’t hurt for us to see if we could arrange for her to be tended to by a Qi-Healer. Not to mention it’d allow her to show off the prowess of her Hand.

“Miu is already on the way with Rou. I dispatched them both as soon as I saw how fast they were coming down. I’m currently trying to dig out any decent wine or fruit in the surrounding markets. I don’t think I’ll find anything, but it doesn’t hurt to try,”Locke stated. She sounded like she was jogging as well.

Thank you, Locke Sheng. My precious house wife. If there’s nothing you can find, just let me know what to pull out of the Hall.

I know you’re not fully there, but I distinctly get the impression you still know where everything in it, is.

“Alright. I can do that. For now… just… prepare yourself I guess. And before you ask, Siu drained you of sexual energy. As well as your ability to uh… ‘be ready’ for a woman’s attention. It’ll take you a little bit to be able to respond again. She’s a bit guarded of your bed. I find it cute,” Locke explained.

Then Ghast’s airship moved away from the rest of the group and started heading for a far side of the field.

“Come on, let’s go greet our Qi-Lord as she disembarks. She doesn’t tolerate lying by the way. Better to answer truthfully or not at all,” Ash offered.

Siu and Moira flanked him and they began moving in a triangle formation. Breaking way from the rest of the group to try and be there as Ghast landed.

The last time he’d seen her, she’d rocketed away as if she needed to get to a meeting. Now they were all coming here at an even more breakneck type of speed.

Whatever was happening in the world of Qi-Lord’s was causing a great deal of movement.

Rushed movements.

An idle thought flickered through his mind.

Do you think they’re acting this way because I’m drawing the Qi down? What else would they be terrified for or about if not their Qi?

It’s their bank, power, and future.

Without Qi, they’d be no better than anyone else.

“It’s possible. It’s very possible. I thought your expanding formation idea would have made it harder for them to figure out what was going on. Or at least, not understand what you did. Even if they know that the Qi is shifting, they won’t know why,” Locke thought out loud. “Well, it could be that. It could be. Not positive. I’m sorry, I wish I could tell you.”

I’ll just play it safe. As safe as I can at least.

Ash and the others made it to the landing site that Ghast would be using roughly about the time that she came within six feet of the ground.

This time, rather than hovering, the air ship moved all the way down and landed directly on the grass. Ash could feel the number of cultivators on the ship had increased from the last time he’d seen them.

Things got worse. There’s no reason someone like Ghast would rush about like this.

Let alone all of the Qi-Lords.

With any luck, this isn’t about what I’ve done at all and I can be part of the solution.

If it is about me… well… I get to play dumb.

Then the door opened.