The walls were finally complete. Not even the arrival of their new refugees earlier that morning could sour the sense of accomplishment that Xin felt as he gazed upon it.

It was a firm ring of stone and concrete around the entire town. Twice as tall as a man, and with room for two burly men to stand abreast atop it, the wall was a fearsome piece of defensive fortification.

The mayor could scarcely believe they’d done it. Which was fortunate, because that meant he still had a firm grip on reality. Certainly, the residents of Jiangshi had done most of the work, but not all of it. On a number of occasions, portions of the wall had been ‘mysteriously’ completed overnight.

Everyone knew it was the cultivator, but no one dared to say it aloud. For if the man chose to act in secret, no one present would dare gainsay him by suggesting otherwise. Why he chose to keep his contribution ‘secret’ no one knew.

Personally, Xin put it down to some cultivator nonsense.

A desire to avoid being seen doing ‘mortal’ work, perhaps?

It didn’t matter. All he knew was that for the first time in nearly a month, he could finally feel some semblance of safety. For that, the man across from him would have his eternal thanks.

“It’s a good wall,” Master Johansen said as he surveyed the imposing fortification. “Admittedly, a little wonky in some places, but plenty serviceable for our needs.”

Xin flushed a bit at the man’s mention of the… less stellar sections of the wall. Though he couldn’t help but feel that it couldn’t have been avoided. Uniform bricks and Se Ment were all well and good, but it wasn’t as if he or anyone else present in Jianshi were graduates of the Imperial architect’s college.

…More to the point, it was the first time they’d worked with the material. Some stumbling was only to be expected. Especially when every so often the workers on those exterior sections had been required to put their tools down to defend against a rogue animal attack.

Fortunately for everyone involved, those incidents had involved isolated beasts rather than the great horde that had attacked Jiangshi weeks ago.

…Still, that could change at any moment – as the hordes that had so savaged other villages nearby would still likely be moving as one large clump. For that reason alone, the wall couldnt have been finished fast enough.

“This lowly one is unworthy of both your praise and beneficence, Master Johansen.” Xin bowed.

The man simply waved his hands dismissively – a recurring theme with the cultivator, Xin had noted where shows of supplication were concerned. “Alright, now that’s complete we’ll be shifting our manpower focus. I’ll be taking a good chunk of the miners obviously, but for those blokes that remain as labourers, you can keep sending to pick up bricks and Se Ment each morning.”

Xin risked a glance up at the man, eyes creased in confusion. Not just at the man’s mention of his plans for the town’s miners, but for his intention to continue supplying building materials.

“Certainly, this lowly one is yours to command master, but may he humbly request as to why you would wish him to do so?”

For the first time since the hidden master had started surveying the wall, he turned to look at Xin. “The houses around here need a serious upgrade. I feel sad just looking at them.”

“Houses?”

The peculiar cultivator nodded. “Aye, you said that winter was a pain out here. Brick and mortar would certainly help with that. A lot better than mud and wood do.”

There was no missing the disdain in the man’s voice at that last part.

Xin, for his part, did vaguely recall complaining about the difficulties of winter during the man’s first night in town. He hadn’t meant anything by it though. Such was simply a mortal’s lot in life. More to the point, he’d covered a number of topics that evening – and almost all of them had come about as a result of a terrified desire to not bore the man.

Which had ironically lead to him talking about a number of decidedly uninteresting topics as he leapt from subject to subject.

“So you wish for us to build new homes with brick and cement?” he confirmed.

The man snorted. “Aye. I’ve already opened up that production line so I may as well keep churning out stuff. And a proper brick home will keep out the cold a lot better than… that.”

Once again, there was no missing the disdain as he gestured to the nearest dwelling, a rather humble construction of mud, wood and stone.

All in all a rather typical example of the architecture of the town.

Xin resisted the urge to roll his eyes – predominantly because he desired to live to see tomorrow – at the innate snobbery in the man’s tone. Certainly, the homes of the residents of Jianshi were not as grand or sturdy as those in the more affluent parts of Ten Huo, but they were serviceable enough for the town’s humble needs.

Still, I wouldn’t mind if things were a little less drafty when winters come around, Xin admitted, eyes turning speculatively to the wall across from them.

Certainly a house of brick and mortar would be a rather nice upgrade from his own humble home - only a little bigger than that of most residents.

“Renovations will have to wait though.” The cultivator continued before Xin’s imagination could run wild. “For now I want the priority for building materials to go to our newcomers. Once they have a roof over their heads, we can start thinking about renovating old homes.”

Xin nodded glumly, seeing the necessity of the change. It was actually a weight of his chest, as he had just been wondering how to bring up that exact topic.

The previous evening, he’d chosen to settle the refugees in one of the open areas near the outskirts of town that had otherwise been left open for future expansion - but that was a stopgap measure at best.

“Certainly An’s actions are a boon for us in the long term in terms of manpower, but it’s a right buggery of of a problem for us in the immediate,” Master Johansen continued.

Xin had no idea what a ‘buggery’ was, but he figured it was an apt descriptor.

Jiangshi’s populace had increased by nearly a quarter overnight.

A quarter!

To make matters worse, autumn was coming to a close and the evenings would soon be shifting from downright uncomfortable to outright lethal in the coming weeks.

If they weren’t there already.

He knew he’d certainly heard some discussion amongst the townsfolk recently, about how fast winter was coming on and veiled suggestions that some manner of Unfettered corruption was throwing off the Dao of the weather.

Baseless rumor-mongering, certainly. The man shifted uncomfortably, eyes turning north and the dark clouds gathering off in the distance there. Yet sometimes this old man can’t help but wonder if there might be some kernel of truth to it…

“We’ll lose a good chunk of them to cold if something is not done.” Xin admitted frankly, returning to his thoughts to things that actually concerned him.

Though shamed him to admit that some of the local residents might be pleased with that outcome.

Not that he blamed them. Times were tough. Futures were uncertain. In times like that, kindness and generosity inevitably dried up as people’s priorities shifted to those closest to them.

He knew people were less than pleased with the cultivator’s proclamation to bite into the grain stores to feed the newcomers. He also knew the only reason that said upset hadn’t escalated beyond quiet muttering in the newcomer’s presence was that Guo An was roaming around the refugee camp, keeping a close eye on everything..

Were it not death to say it, he might think the woman had taken a shine to her little band of refugees, worrying over them like a mother hen as she ensured tents were set up and food was distributed.

Sure, she’d had a bath, a sizable meal, a nap and a change of clothes before she even thought to check in on her new friends - leaving the lion’s share of the work to him - but that was only to be expected of a cultivator.

Head in the clouds, the lot of them, he thought.

Well, with one notable exception…

“The food problem will have to wait.” That – hopeful – exception said, Master Johansen stroking his metal chin. “But I can solve the housing problem relatively quickly. Fortunately for us, that’s something my suit, uh, I mean mystic arts are suited for.” Were it not for the helm over the man’s face, Xin could have swore the cultivator was grinning. “With them, our housing problem won’t be a problem by morning.

“By morning!?” Xin coughed.

“Yep.” Master Johansen chuckled. “So make sure the east quadrant is clear.

Xin frowned, but he would do as he was asked. It wasn’t like the ‘east quadrant’ was being used for anything. It was just empty ground that had opened up after they’d expanded the wall. Something they’d done in a number of places after the cultivator had requested the need for ‘room for future expansion’.

It had resulted in a lot more work, but the Se Ment - and the cultivator’s ‘secret contributions’ - had made that a negligible issue in the end. The perimeter of Jiangshi had grown greatly in the past three weeks, even if much of that now covered empty ground.

Though given our recent arrivals, that may prove to be a boon...

The Ox-man paused as a throught occurred to him. He glanced toward the cultivator as he began striding away.

Did he plan for this?

----------

Xin was cold, tired and wanted nothing more than to be at home in his bed. Much like everyone else in Jianshi.

The only people that were awake at this late hour were the unlucky few who’d been tapped for watch duty on the town’s new wall.

Well them, a mad cultivator, his equally mad disciple, and little old me, he thought bitterly using his torch as much for warmth as light.

“Alright, Xin and An, let me show you what a nanoforge can do.” The man in question said, spreading both arms out theatrically.

Except it wasn’t just theatrics, was it?

Because, as if from nothing, bricks and sludgy wet clumps of Se Ment began to appear out of thin air before him. The only hint of their passing into reality was a slight haze in the air, akin to that of a shimmer over a fire.

Though that paled in comparison to what emerged from the man’s other hand. Xin watched with awe and horror as a mass of black water spilled forth onto the grass. Though it only behaved as liquid but for a moment, before coalescing into a great black snake, with scales that shimmered and rippled in the torch light.

Worse still was the noise.

Like a million chittering insects, Xin shivered.

“Empress above,” he heard the tiger-girl murmur - and he wholeheartedly echoed the sentiment.

Empress above indeed, he thought as the ‘Na No Forge’, now the size of an entire carriage, twisted like a great black serpent and swallowed the bricks and cement whole.

Then it twisted into a giant ball. Swollen by the great mass within its belly, it rolled towards the area the cultivator had laid out earlier.

Then, before all three of them, it became a massive rectangle and began to defecate bricks onto the ground*.*

Or perhaps ‘lay’ might be more apt, Xin thought as he stared with morbid curiosity at the horrifying sight.

Brick by brick. Layer by layer, the building and the monster slowly began to move upwards.

The sight gave Xin an epiphany.

…So this was why he didn’t want anyone to see his work, he thought, just a hint of muted hysteria at the very edge of his mind. He didn’t want to scare us...

Because it was clear the cultivator had used this tamed spirit beast – whatever it was! – to construct parts of Jianshi’s wall.

And it was terrifying*.*

“Master.” Xin could take some small comfort in the fact that even Guo An sounded a mite perturbed as she gazed upon the creature. “You have a tamed spirit beast?”

The man in question shrugged. “In a manner of speaking, I suppose you could call the Nano-Forge that.”

The tiger-girl fell silent, but Xin could see the look of awe in her eyes as her gaze occasionally slipped between her master and the great black beast.

“What manner of creature is it?” She asked finally. “I’ve never seen the like of it before. Not in person or in any books.”

The man glanced at her. “I told you. It’s a nano-forge.”

“What is a Na No Forge though?” A hint of a pout formed on her features. “A snake? A toad? A… fish?”

Despite the circumstances, Xin couldn’t help but smile at the hint of frustration in the girl’s voice.

Master Johansen glanced at her. “A nano-forge is a nano-forge. It’s in it’s own category. Which is a small category indeed because you’re looking at the only one that this world will ever see.”

The words rocked Xin as he turned to look at the creature with new eyes. This was the only one of its kind?

In the world?

And the man across from him had tamed it? More than that, had taught it how to perform menial labor!?

A shudder – that he was sure was distinctly different from the one that ran through Guo An – ran through him as he regarded the man who was staring up at his beast with all the indications of boredom.

What manner of monster did he now serve? To command such power?

“This should take about eighteen hours or so to finish given the size of the build” As the cultivator spoke, he raised his palm and what looked to be massive pipes made of iron flew out.

Xin flinched, prepared for a great clang as they impacted the creatures scales – and the inevitable violence that would follow, for even a tamed spirit beast had limits to its subservience – but instead he heard nothing.

Beyond a slight slurp.

Warily opening his eyes, he watched with mounting horror as the pipes sank into the creature’s flesh. As if they were being devoured by a million hungry mouths. In moments the massive slabs or iron had been subsumed within the nightmarish beast’s black flesh.

Whatever sympathy he might have once held for the creature being the last of its kind, he now rescinded.

The world was better off without them.

Whatever they were.

------------

Jack watched the nano-forge work and wondered if he was making a mistake here. The forge was a finite resource. The nanomachines that comprised it weren’t self-replenishing. And general wear and tear meant he lost some with each build.

Which was part of why he winced a little every time he took it out of subspace storage.

Of course, understood the reason for that. Self-replicating nanomachines were a big no no. No one wanted another grey goo incident.

Still, it was a little annoying that he was being forced to use his greatest asset so sparingly because he knew no replenishments would be coming from HQ.

That was part of the reason he’d been so slow to establish his industrial base. Normally he wouldn’t have even bothered with omni-fabs for at least a few months after being ported to a new site. Instead he’d let the forge do most of the heavy lifting – safe in the knowledge that he’d be receiving semi-regular shipments of nano-forge from HQ.

Alas, that wasn’t an option here. Nor would it ever be.

With that in mind, at current estimates he reckoned he had about three years before the swarm was diminished enough to be totally ineffective. And every big project like this lowered that number. Not considerably, but enough to be… annoying.

“Not like I had much of choice though, did I?” He muttered within the safety of his helmet. “Couldn’t exactly let my new workforce freeze.”

The refugees weren’t exactly packed for winter or rough living. Most of them seemed to have simply fled with whatever clothes they had on their back and little else. Those with wagons or rucksacks seemed to be the exception rather than the rule.

With that in mind, it was a minor miracle that An had apparently been able to take them on just over a week-long journey – with regular animal attacks – with only two casualties.He’d have to ask her how she’d done it at some point, because the fact that she’d pulled it off bordered on near miraculous.

He shrugged as he watched what he was sure was a boiler begin to form in the depths of the nanomachine cloud. What was done was done. There was no point whining about it now.

He’d get this apartment complect built and then move onto his real objective in settling down here - rather than simply fucking off deeper into the wilderness.

For Jiangshi held the one thing he couldn't build himself.

Soldiers.

Or at least, the raw resources to create soldiers.

Though before that, I’ll need to get my drill sergeants back in fighting form, he thought, before glancing at An, her single remaining eye staring up at the nano-forge with undisguised awe.

He smiled at the sight. She was a funny one to him. So guarded where her thoughts and feelings in some areas, yet free as a bird with others. He was still trying to figure her out. What parts of her were cultivator things, what parts were native things, and what parts were An things.

…I suppose I should do something nice for her too. He admitted. I figure she’s earned it.

Good work deserved a bonus after all. And adding nearly a thousand people to his manpower reserve was certainly good work.