Unintended Cultivator-Chapter 68Book 10: : Would You Fight Me?

The general was back within thirty minutes, which surprised Sen more than a little. It turned out that the phrase for Lord Lu carried a lot of weight in the city at the moment. In other circumstances, he might have spent a little time thinking through the implications of that, but Sen just thanked the general and dismissed the matter from his mind. He needed to get this work done as quickly as he could without sacrificing quality, since Lo Meifeng might need similar assistance. Although he had left her with a number of healing elixirs. If she was conscious, she’d be able to take one. That should be more than sufficient to keep her alive until he could get there to check on her condition in person. If she wasn’t conscious, though, Sen worried that no one around her would have sufficient skill or healing resources. She’d been near where the foxes had hidden everyone. Misty Peak would probably help, but…Grimacing, Sen was more certain than ever that he needed to work swiftly.

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He summoned his alchemy pot and set it on a ring of hardened air. Flames burst into existence beneath the pot even as he poured water in. He summoned a wide board that he used sometimes when he bothered to prepare ingredients. Dividing his attention, he used air qi to chop, smash, and pulp the base ingredients. He swiftly pushed those into the pot. After that, it became more a matter of feel. What were the best choices for Jing’s body in his current condition? Frowning for a moment, he set aside the coalroot and selected flamestalk petals. He dropped in two, paused, and then dropped in a third as the minor fire qi began to spread out into the mixture. Those would help stoke the waning fires inside of Jing’s tissues and organs. He crushed a water-attributed white tea seed and sprinkled it in to maintain a balance in the mixture.

Sen idly stirred the mixture as he almost unconsciously controlled the interactions in the pot. He was careful not to manipulate the mixture too much. It had taken a lot of practice to learn how to manipulate alchemical mixtures enough to achieve a high-grade result, but not so much that their effects were too powerful for the intended recipient. He swiftly added wood-attributed ingredients to aid in healing and earth-attributed ingredients for stability. After that, there was nothing to do but cover the pot and leave it only except for the occasional stir. Sen glanced over at General Mo. The man was staring at the pot with an expression that suggested he didn’t know what to do with what he was witnessing.

“I’ve gathered that I owe you thanks,” said Sen.

The old soldier started as though he’d been frightened before turning his gaze toward Sen.

“Lord Lu?”

“I have cultivator hearing,” said Sen, tapping his ear with a finger. “I’ve heard people talking about the battle and your role in it. To hear them tell it, you all but held your part of the wall by yourself.”

The old general snorted and said, “The men always say things like that. They did the fighting, not me.”

“Is that so?” asked Sen as he directed a pointed look at the dried blood on the man’s armor.

“Well,” hedged the general, “I might have fought a little. Just to protect the people on the wall, you understand.”

“Of course,” said Sen.

He’d done nothing to hide his amusement, which seemed to leave the old general a little embarrassed. Rather than spend any more time exploring that topic, Mo Kegong looked around and gestured at the pot.

“Will that heal him?”

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Sen considered the pot for a moment and said, “No, but it’s a start.”

“What do you mean?” asked the general with a slightly confused scowl.

“Right now, his body doesn’t have anything left to give. It can’t heal. It can barely function, and that’s killing him,” said Sen. “This should help restore him and let his body start to heal on its own. After that happens, we can see to healing him properly.”

“I didn’t know it was so complicated. I always thought cultivators just took a pill or an elixir and that was it.”

“It usually is that simple, but things can be more complicated with mortals. Trying to heal him that way would kill him. So,” said Sen with a nod at the pot, “we do this instead.”

The general nodded thoughtfully before he turned a sharp look on Sen. It was a little awkward having anyone look at him that way.

“Yes?” asked Sen.

“Do you mean to keep the throne?”

“Isn’t that a terribly blunt question to ask a cultivator?” asked Sen.

Sen wasn’t offended. It was a question he’d asked himself. He was just curious about the man and what he might say.

“I’m a blunt man,” said Mo Kegong. “I’m also an old man. I don’t have the time or interest to play word games. It hasn’t made me popular in the capital. Not with the nobles at least.”

“No. I imagine it wouldn’t.”

“Will you answer the question?”

“I honestly don’t know if I’ll keep the throne,” said Sen. “It’s not something I coveted. I’d have been happier staying in that little town up north. But the world isn’t what it was even a year ago.”

“That’s the heavens’ own truth,” grumbled Mo Kegong with another scowl.

“I’m also not sure it matters.”

“How can it not matter?”

“We’re at war. A war I will have to fight in. Even if I am some kind of king, do you imagine I’ll spend much time here or do that much ruling?”

The general seemed to weigh that question.

“Not if you plan to actually fight. But if we win the war, what then?”

“I expect that I’ll prove very irresponsible and disinterested. I don’t think these are the questions you really want answers to, though, are they?”

“Conquerors often kill the royalty they replace,” said Mo Kegong.

“Ah,” said Sen. “You’re wondering if I’m planning a purge.”

“Yes.”

“And if I were, would you fight me?”

“Yes.”

Sen lifted an eyebrow at that.

“Knowing what I can do, you’d still take up that fight?”

“I would.”

“Given that your own king relinquished control of this kingdom to me, some might call that treason.”

The general looked uncomfortable, but he didn’t relent.

“I swore my oath to the king and kingdom. I swore no oaths to you.”

“Very true,” said Sen thoughtfully before he waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “Ease your mind, General. I’m not planning on purging the royal family. Someone has to lead this kingdom, and I’m certainly not going to do it. I won’t have the time. And when I do have the time, I won’t have the interest.”

“You could just be telling me what I want to hear.”

“I could be, but I’m not. I’ve already got more blood on my hands than I want. I’m not interested in adding the blood of friends to that.”

Sen left the general to decide how to take those words as he removed the flame from beneath the pot and bled the heat from the elixir. He strained the elixir through a cheesecloth into a clear glass vial. He held it up and had to resist his dissatisfaction. The liquid in the vial was a pale green and softly luminous. It wasn’t as good as he could have made it, but it was exactly as good as it needed to be. He walked over to the bed and propped Jing up so he was in a semi-sitting position. Massaging Jing’s neck a little, he slowly poured the elixir into the man’s mouth. When he was certain that the king had swallowed all of it, Sen eased the man back down. He was frustrated that there was nothing more he could do for the moment. He wanted to do more, but more wasn’t always better. Putting aside his own misgivings, he turned to leave.

“Is that it?” asked Mo Kegong.

The man sounded both nervous and a little angry. Sen supposed he could understand that. The general’s loyalties were clear. For all he knew, Sen had just poured poison down Jing’s throat.

“The elixir will take a few hours to do its work. I could stay and watch, but that wouldn’t help him. Besides, he wasn’t the only person injured in the battle. Others need my help as much as he did, maybe even more. Shouldn’t I see to them?”

Mo Kegong stared at Sen like he was something the old man just didn’t know how to understand before slowly nodding.

“Yes. Of course,” said the general. “Of course, you should.”