Chapter: City Lord and his worries

Lord Chonglu looked to the two beds with a soft smile on his face, pain hid deep in his eyes. His frame was thin and the air around him stale as he looked at the two small children resting within the beds. Their pale faces and weak bodies attested to the dire situation they were in.

Chonglu saw the time. He rose and pulled out a healing potion as he moved to the two children.

The door opened. Lord Chonglu’s kind smile vanished as power seemed to roll off his body, declaring him as a Level 14 being.

Captain Quinn stepped inside. He dropped to his knee immediately, his face pale under the pressure of Chonglu’s circulating power.

“My lord, I have found a healer who was able to heal people that the healing houses denied in minutes.” The captain didn’t hold anything back, knowing that his lord’s anger was easy to ignite these days.

The lines on Lord Chonglu’s face slackened. “Shut the door and speak, Captain Quinn,” Chonglu said, his voice softer. Captain Quinn had become close to his children, looking after them as if they were his own.

Chonglu had been trying to track down his wife—his children’s mother—and administering his city. He barely saw his children. It was only when the poison buried within their bodies ignited he pushed it all away, standing guard over their beds night and day to care for them personally.

Chonglu moved to the two children, one a boy and one a girl. They were just one year apart in age; their weak bodies trembled as if cold but sweated constantly.

Quinn closed the doors as Lord Chonglu administered a Health potion to his two children.

Quinn quickly sank to his knee again once the doors were sealed. “The unknown man set up a stall in the market and he was attacked by a man, given a poison, his brother carried him out of the city. If he dies I fear that his brother will slaughter Chonglu City.”

“Who dared to attack a healer in my city?” Chonglu asked with a deep voice.

“I believe it was the Moon Healing House. We are looking into the matter,” Quinn said.

Normally Chonglu would have Quinn look into the matter, punishing those that dared to kill in his territory. Now with his son and daughter badly wounded, this mysterious healer had a higher position in his mind.

“If they come seeking revenge, we will give them the people that were behind this plot. If they go too far then I will deal with them,” Lord Chonglu assured Quinn.

“It is the Moon Healing House,” Quinn said, their backing came from the capital and they weren’t a small faction.

“They don’t even have a backing of a second realm sect or person. All they have is the place they’ve carved out of being pious saints,” Chonglu scoffed shaking his head. They were nothing more than a group that acted as noble hangers on. If they stopped him from finding a healer for his children, he’d happily destroy their position in his city.

“Investigate well, hopefully that healer recovers,” Chonglu said, with a tired sigh that seemed to come deep within his soul.

He smiled faintly at the small girl beside him as he moved some hair away from his daughter’s face, smiling at her before he moved to his son. His mind worked it over. They had called upon healers from all over the First Realm. It was a vast place, but the rewards he had put up were incredible.

Healers were a rare brand of people. To raise one’s healing ability meant that they would have to focus on the mysteries of the body to fix and repair instead of working on their strength or their magical abilities.

Clearly if this information was right and the Moon Healing House went after this healer then his skills weren’t a fabrication and at a level where it threatened them.

What other options do I have? Lord Chonglu rubbed his finger against his son’s cheek.

“Go.” Lord Chonglu’s voice was quiet but it didn’t diminish the might in it as he moved back to his chair between the two beds and sat down, as if a dragon once again returning to his slumber.

“Yes, my lord.” Captain Quinn quickly left the room and closed the door behind him.

***

Xui Deng’s face was pale as he walked through the Moon Healing house, his actions wooden and his eyes haunted.

He had been born and raised by the Moon Healing House from a young age, he’d rarely left the city other than to follow his master. Even then they’d been greatly protected.

Few if any people were willing to anger a healing house and their disciples, doing so would bring down the wrath of many warriors and people looking to gain their favor, or use their services.

Now, Xui Deng didn’t feel secure in his position.

He felt a shiver run down his back at those auras. They weren’t healers, they were bringers of death and destruction. The shock of their auras, revealing their anger, made Xui Deng shiver.

He made it to his master's quarters, numb as his master's servant went to make sure that he was ready to receive guests.

Not long afterwards he walked into the room, his master looking out over the city.

"Master, I have erred," Xui Deng said, dropping to his knees if there was someone that could make this right it was his master.

He relayed everything that had happened, his master's face turning grim as he heard it all.

"He killed the one that poisoned him right away?" Grandmaster Eri asked.

"Yes, master."

"Good, then there will be no one to question, make sure that you clean up any loose ends. With them killing someone inside the city, Lord Chonglu shouldn't let this go," Eri said confidently. "Even if he was going to let them go, to gain favor with us in order to heal his children he will do all in his power to appease us."

Xui Deng was stunned by his master’s ability, not only had he resolved Xui's fear in a few short words, he had shown the power he had over the city lord himself.

"Will we get someone to heal his children?" Xui asked.

"Their affliction is a deep one and something that only the higher ups would be able to deal with. It will take a lot to take them from their own positions. We must make sure that Lord Chonglu knows the grace that we give to him and will pay the fee due," Eri said in a righteous voice.

Xui Deng felt new strength coming back into his body as the bracelet on his arm vibrated, telling him that a message had arrived.

Seeing it Eri waved his hand.

"Take it, it might be important."

"Yes, master," Eri said listening to the call.

His face turned confused as he looked at his master.

“I have just got word from some of the people I know. They said that the guards let the two men go. One of them said that they would come back to destroy whoever poisoned his friend. Captain Quinn has come out of the Lord's Manor, his orders were not to kill the duo, but send them a message that the Lord wants to meet with them," Xui said.

Eri's eyes went wide and then thinned as is fist tightened. “Call upon those loyal to us. I will offer twenty silvers for whoever kills one of them, fifty for whoever kills both of them and brings proof. We must not let these two corrupt the City Lord's mind."

***

Rugrat had kept on running when they left Chonglu behind. Erik focused on healing his liver and kidneys with flashes of healing his entire body, he couldn't focus on the fact that his body was dying from the inside, if he did then he might give into panic.

All he could do was deal with the problem at hand and disassociate what was happening in front of him under his organic scan.

Rugrat found somewhere safe pulling Erik off of his shoulder and laying him on the ground..

"Get an IV and saline drip into me," Erik said his face white with his veins turning from blue to black in places.

Rugrat didn't pause quickly pulling out the gear he quickly found Erik's vein, putting in the needle and setting up the bag.

"Heal me, don't burn out," Erik said, every word forced and exhausting. "Gimme potions."

Rugrat pulled out his stamina and mana potion, tipping them into Erik's mouth as the latter was weak and fading fast. Rugrat used his healing spell on Erik, taking on some of the strain.

Erik focused on his liver and kidneys, the blood coming through was cleaner than what entered, it was slow, but now with Rugrat helping its speed was increasing.

Erik could only focus on his kidneys and liver, the fear, the knowledge of how close he was to dying, nearly sent him into a panic, it was hard to try and keep a cool head.

He noticed that it wasn't just Erik and Rugrat's healing at work, with healing his missing limbs, Erik's body was now naturally more resilient to damage, with the poison in his blood his natural recovery was ignited.

The Stamina and mana recovery potions that Rugrat had given him had run out, Erik's condition was still bad, but the black blood was slowly being cleared out by his liver and kidneys.

With Rugrat helping to keep the rest of his body functioning Erik pushed on, just staying above mana fatigue so he wouldn't have to endure the headaches and mental decline.

For two hours they fought, healing spells against poison.

Erik had Rugrat alter the dosages of different chemicals and compounds added to the IV.

Finally there was no more damage, instead it stabilized, Erik was wheezing, his lips covered in caked blood, his entire body thin and pale as black veins showed.

"Dehydrated, starvation," Erik said to Rugrat.

Rugrat quickly pulled out another IV, it was hard to find Erik's veins in his arms so Rugrat used his leg, giving him supplements to hydrate and give him the basic supplements he needed.

Erik and Rugrat continued to heal, they had never healed for this long before, the mental strain was intense as they both knew one mistake and Erik would be lost.

Erik's condition started to improve, the blood coming through his liver and kidney, was no longer filled with black poison and held a powerful vitality to it.

Erik felt as if his circulatory system was being reborn. A warm and powerful feeling traced through his body, his heartbeat increased in power, becoming deeper, each beat shaking Erik's body as blood flowed faster, the black blood being replaced with a deep red blood that seemed to brim with vitality.

Erik's color started to return as the black in his veins faded away and a natural red appeared.

After passing through his liver and then kidneys there was no sign of the poison anymore.

His new blood was like rains upon a parched desert, his body drew it in, the previous damage started to fade away, Erik collapsed from the strain as he felt a new strength entering his body.