Chapter 0065

Tempest sat in the corner of the room breathing a sigh of relief as the young mother woke up just in time to hold her newborn baby.

The scene was like any other movie set before the 1900s where the tired mother was lying in bed holding her baby swaddled in cloth while the midwives and the servants bustle about attending to the birth aftercare. Or is it the aftercare of a birth?

The odd question popped into Tempest’s mind but she swatted it away as she tried to enjoy the happy scenery.

She did it.

She successfully performed a Cesarean.

It was easier than she thought it would be, but it was psychological hard on Tempest. Life was truly precious and equally fleeting.

“You did a good job.” the plain girl complimented Tempest in her dead monotoned manner. Tempest was getting used to the way the plain girl expresses herself. She understood how hope was systematically crushed in the plain girl. There is no value if one was weak or poor in the Cardinal Realm. Any hint of empathy was squashed by pain and betrayal. Any hint of compassion was destroyed by manipulation and greed. Any hint of love was met with punishment and humiliation.

For the poor, living is as good as being morally dead.

“Thank you.” Tempest smiled brilliantly at the plain girl beside her. “Aren’t you glad you didn’t call the corpse cleaner?”

The plain girl looked at Tempest like she was the stupidest person in the world. No, not the stupidest person in the world, the stupidest person in the universe. She was so naive that she probably got killed while thanking her killer!

“I did call the corpse cleaner.”

“Uhh.” The realization hit Tempest. The pink-haired girl never said she was a midwife. Tempest just assumes she was one from the experienced way she acted around the young mother. She forgot that a corpse cleaner who harvests countless bodies would know his or her way around a pregnant woman. They have to be to harvest the bodies.

Tempest immediately put up her guard. Any good feeling she previous had towards the duo was gone.

“Oh quit it you naive fool.” the pink-haired girl said briskly. “If we wanted to harm either of you, no, if we wanted to harm the three if you, we would have done so and you wouldn’t even know it.”

Tempest grit her teeth at the truth. If they wanted to harm her, they could have done so when she was assessing the young mother. They were able to enter the room without her knowing. Still, the fact that they could have done something to her galled her. They pointed out a weakness she was trying to hide. No one wants their flaws shown to the world.

“What are you going to do now?” Tempest asked the duo warily. Just because they helped with the labor and delivery doesn’t mean they don’t have nefarious intentions.

The conditions of the young mother proved someone was out to harm her. Tempest didn’t expend all that effort to save the mother and child only to have the villain reap the reward.

“Bundle them up and toss them out of course.” the pink-haired girl said matter of factly, “I am not going to waste my time and money on a pair of beggars. This place isn’t a charity.”

Tempest stared at the greedy corpse cleaner and turned to look at the plain girl. No wonder she sounds like a zombie. She might as well be one since she died on the inside.

Tempest gritted her teeth and asked, “How much would it cost for her to recover?” Tempest didn’t want to say it, she didn’t but her conscience wouldn’t allow the young mother and her child to be thrown out on the streets after they were almost exploited.

“20 silvers.” the pink-haired girl said as if she was expecting Tempest to make the offer.

Tempest took 20 silvers out from her storage ring. The red mage laments over her mistake in casting the stupid spell. She’d be drowning in silvers and wealth by now if she was able to plunder the people she killed. Now, all she had was the money she made selling charms.

She was lucky she kept the money from her charms sales in her space ring. The space ring was surprisingly durable.

Back when she cast the combination spell to kill off her pursuers, Ventus told her the spell can destroy everything in its path but Tempest didn’t understand the implication of Ventus’ warning so she did what every child did when they encounter a novelty, touch it.

Tempest never thought her spell would harm her. She thought it was like the game where a mage can cast a large spell and destroy everything in the area except their teammates and the caster. She found out the hard way the mistakes in her assumptions.

There were minor cuts and bruises all over her hand. At the time, Tempest was more concerned over the loot she just lost rather than the wounds on her hand. She notices the space bags on the bandits were destroyed yet the space ring on her finger remained intact.

Like the child who never would stick their fingers in a fire after they were burned, Tempest would not be touching any of the spells she will be casting in the future.

Yay for a cheat-like ring though.

Although if the ring was a cheat like her spirits, why couldn’t it have the ability to... grow food so Tempest would never starve. So she thought about a certain ring in a certain Chinese novel that had the soul of an expert residing in it. After an ordeal, the soul would wake and guide Tempest towards the path of alchemy and greatness, until she realizes she has the spirits for that so she doesn’t want to deal with another personality that may or may not keep her best interest at heart.

She and drugs should not mix! Drugs are bad!

The pink-haired girl was unaware of Tempest’s train of thought. If she was, she wouldn’t have cared about it though they most might have commiserated together about the loss of loot. She grabbed the silver Tempest brought out and gave 5 silvers the plain haired girl and stuffed ten silvers into her pocket.

Afterward, she took out a pill from her space bag and was about to stuff it into the young mother’s mouth, but she refused.

“Please use the money for the pill to buy a blessing for my child instead.” The pink-haired girl stiffens at the young mother’s pleas while Tempest's heart went out to her. Even now, all she thinks about is the welfare of her child.

The ignorant Tempest had to ask, “What is this blessing she’s talking about?”

“A blessing is a spell filled with a benevolent intent place on the child to slowly increase the child’s ability as they grow up. For example, I bless you with a sturdy body, or I bless you with incredible wit.”

Tempest understood. Just like how parents are willing to scrape up the extra money to send their children to private tutoring after school, the young mother is willing to forgo medication meant to improve her health instead of her child’s future. Tempest wished she had such a good mother.

Blessings are not as simple as the pink-haired girl or Tempest made it out to be. When a cultivator issues a Blessing, they draw in qi or mana (depending on the which immortal path the cultivator is cultivating) into their bodies then transform it into a special power with their intent and fuses it into the child, slowly shaping the child physically and/or mentally.

Blessings are either regular Blessings or True Blessings. Regular Blessings barely gives any benefits to the child. In most cases, it actually does nothing for the child. Parents still fork over their wealth to cultivators in hope for a True Blessing. True Blessings are the ones that actually benefit in a significant way.

True Blessings have special requirements for it to work.

True Blessings require a massive amount of power and a special combination of characteristics held by the cultivator for it to be effective. First, the cultivator must cultivate the heart or the body as their immortal path. A soul practitioner can not cast a Blessing. The reason is unknown but it is held as fact after thousands of failed attempts made by soul practitioners. Those who cultivate the mind as their immortal path refer to themselves as mind masters. They can’t cast the Blessing either. Intent is used to form the path the Blessing takes in molding the child. A mind master can shape or channel intent into their weapons. Cultivators called this Weapon Intent. Since intent is used to mold the Blessing, it can not be used in any other form besides Blessing. Therefore, the mental power of a mind master interferes with the Blessing, causing it to fail most of the time. Only one out of every ten thousand Blessings cast by a mind master succeeds, and none of the Blessings were True Blessings.

Two domains fit the requirements for casting a Blessing, yet the amount of True Blessings remains low. The cultivators from the Heavenly Mountains don’t cast Blessing because every time they do, they have to face retribution from the heavens in forms of lightning strikes. Even though there is a minuscule change, few are willing to invoke the wrath of heaven for little returns. As for the mages in the Magus Alliance, unless the one receiving the Blessing is someone they love, like their children or close relatives, most won’t perform a Blessing lest their spirits become jealous. Also, the spirits of mages have to agree with the Blessing for it to become effective.

“Blessings aren’t cheap. A regular blessing starts at 10 gold coins while a good blessing can be as high as a million gold coins.” the plain girl explained when she realized Tempest was standing there waiting expectantly.

Tempest nearly vomited at the price the plain girl quoted. The currency in the Cardinal Realm is 100 coppers is one silver, 100 silver is one gold. 10 gold is near all the money Tempest had on her.

“You are being ripped off,” Tempest told the young mother. “It is better to use the money to buy medicine to improve your health. The child will benefit from your tender love and care. The blessing is a phony spell that may or may not work. It is better to spend your money on concrete benefits rather than gambling on unmeasurable improvements.”

The young mother teared up as if her world was shattered by Tempest’s words. “I know how ineffective a blessing is, but my child will die if he doesn’t get one.” the young mother cried exaggeratedly then threw herself into Tempest’s arms, “I’ll do anything, pay anything if my son can get a blessing.”

“We aren’t running a charity here.” the pink-haired girl sneered.

“There, there. A Blessing isn’t the end all be all you know. I’m sure your child can live without it.” Tempest soothes the young mother.

“No, my child will die without it. Please. Please, I beg of you.” the young mother got down on her knees and kowtowed to Tempest.

“Do you think your pathetic gratitude is worth a Blessing? Dream on. Hurry and pack your stuff and get out. The little girl might have paid for your recovery, but I already attemptted to give you the medicine. Whether you take or not, it is up to you.” the pink-haired girl jeered.

“You don’t have to be so harsh on her.” Tempest defended the young mother. While she didn’t believe the Blessing is worth all the hassle, she applauds the love and concern of the young mother for her child. “Besides it is just a few words anyway. Even I can say it. I bless you, with intelligence and wisdom beyond your age and a healthy body free of affliction.”

Suddenly a True Blessing was formed between Tempest and the newborn boy. A name entered Tempest’s mind, Nicholas Bravon Kataigida.