Chapter 10: Infant

Bandit’s Home, Jade Empire

“Sandy!”, Teresa cried in worry. She stopped grinding the herbs and hurriedly knelt next to her. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, you should see the wolf”, Sandy smugly replied with a weak smile. She was covered in several light scratches and her entire attire was tattered. Taking deep breaths, she steadied her breathing before speaking.

“We need two or three buckets of water and clean clothes. Teresa, help me get the herbs and start to grind them into a paste. The rest of the children can help wipe the blood off Jordan and Adam.”

“Done”, Teresa replied, lightly smiling.

Sandy raised an eyebrow and slowly became aware of her surroundings. After recovering from Sandy’s entrance, Robert and Ben resumed wiping the blood off the men’s wounds. Teresa held a bowl of nearly grinded herb paste.

Letting out a soft laugh, she praised, “You truly are capable Teresa.”

Taking another moment to compose herself, Sandy took the bowl from Teresa and grinded the rest of the herbs with a greater force. Turning the remaining herbs to paste, she walked over to the half conscious patients. Joran and Adam stayed silent the entire time to concentrate on recovering but when Sandy applied the paste to their wounds they winced and their faces illustrated pain.

The bleeding ceased the moment the wound made contact with the paste.

What amazing medical properties! Such herbs would be envied in my past life.

She finished treated the rest of their wounds, laid the bowl down and sat against a wall in exhaustion. The men gradually grew accustomed to the pain and allowed themselves to drift to sleep.

Teresa knelt besides Sandy and encouraged, “You should get some rest Sandy.”

Sandy nodded and Teresa carefully dragged her onto an empty mat.

“Thank you Teresa…”, she managed to say before slumbering due to her wearied condition.

“We should rest as well”, Teresa suggested. The adrenaline from the sudden turn of events died down and their suppressed exhaustion surfaced.

“That’s a good idea”, Robert sluggishly agreed.

They quietly left the adults house and entered their own, falling to their respective mats one by one. Letting the fatigue wash over them, they quickly fell asleep. Kai confirmed they were asleep before sitting up with his legs crossed. His stamina surpassed the rest of the children so he was far from exhaustion.

I might as well use this time to cultivate.

He closed his eyes and used his sixth sense. The feeling was still very faint but he patiently waited for it to clarify. He lost track of time but just as he on the border of a discovery, the door swung open revealing a shadowy figure of a man against the dark setting of the night. Joran stepped through the open doorway carrying a pot that released a pleasant fragrance.

“Joran! Should you really be standing?”, Robert groggily asked.

“I’m better now, don’t worry”, he reassured. He walked to the center of the house and laid down the pot of food. It contained typical cooked grains along with some plants and mushrooms but it smelled and looked amazing in their famished states. He grabbed some nearby empty bowls and distributed them.

“Just leave the pot here when you’re all done eating and we’ll come for it tomorrow morning. It’s been quite the day, and you all did amazing, but we’re going to have to work harder tomorrow because we got cut short today. Don’t worry too much though, I’m sure we can finish the rest tomorrow. Now go to sleep everyone, sweet dreams.”

He ruffled each of their heads before exiting the house. Teresa filled all their bowls and they rapidly cleaned the contents of the pot. They collectively dropped their bowls in the empty pot and leaned back in satisfaction. The meal was not glorious but it tasted infinitely better than normal from their stressful day.

“It’s going to be a long day for us guys tomorrow”, Robert sighed as he leaned on his elbow.

“Are you saying us girls don’t do work huh?”, Teresa countered, raising her eyebrow.

“Oh boy, I’m so tired”, Robert yawned as he stretched his arms, closing his eyes and feinting sleep in the process.

“That’s what I thought”, she smirked.

Kai smiled as they laughed at the exchange. They laid down as well and soon the house was filled with soft and steady breathing. The sky grew darker as they slept, enhancing the moon’s brilliance. The clouds gradually concealed the moon until there was nothing but darkness left. At that moment, Kai’s eyes snapped open.

He quietly got up and left the house. He paused to carefully examine his surroundings before entering the forest. His sight was initially blinded by the night but his vision soon cleared abnormally quickly.

Interesting. My vision cleared even faster than it would’ve in my past life. I wonder why that is…

His mild surprise faded away as he made his way into the forest. Traveling a short distance, he found the regular training location. He walked towards the center, sat in a cross legged position and sighed.

This is the only time I can peacefully train in now that I have to assist them at work. Hopefully I can finish and go back before anyone notices I’m gone.

Relaxing his body, he recalled the feeling he experienced before being accidentally interrupted by Joran. He resumed his prior feeling and was instantly greeted with a mental explosion. His eyes remained closed but he now saw an incredible spectacle of blurry mysterious energies floating around him. Left… right… above… below… they appeared in every corner of his surroundings.

He fixated on the energies and they progressively focused, revealing a clear white shape. They were fuzzy and minuscule like cotton spores. Numbering in the thousands, maybe millions, they harmlessly and aimlessly floated around him.

Extending his hand, he curiously tried to grab one but he, almost expectantly, only grazed the air. He opened his eyes and the spectacle vanished. Closing his eyes, the mysterious energies became apparent once more.

How pleasantly odd… it’s like I just unveiled a wondrous hidden world.

Halting his experimentation, Kai got down to business. He focused his thoughts, his entire being, on absorbing the energies.

Is this how I do it?

Clueless on the proper execution, he merely presumed an arbitrary method. While focusing, he encountered another phenomenon. A different clear white energy appeared alongside the ones he initially saw. Visually, the energies appeared to be no different from one another but they each gave him separate feelings. A thought resonated in his mind.

Could it be Qi and Ki? Teresa never mentioned anything about absorbing both types of energy… What if I can absorb and utilize both!?

Kai grew excited at the thought then immediately composed himself. He erased his mind of everything besides a single thought, absorb. Seconds elapsed and the energies began to lightly vibrate. The vibration transitioned to movement that headed straight towards him. The energies effortlessly and painlessly passed through his skin and gathered at the center of his body, above his belly button.

As the energies settled in his body, he experienced a strange occurrence. The separate energies oddly integrated into a single energy. Having no explanation for the sudden integration, he only assumed that his body was adapting to a more convenient method of storing both energies.

Incredible! So this is cultivating! This feeling is almost intoxicating. I wonder… does this make me a Daoist or a Taoist.

Kai mused to himself as he bathed in the feeling of ecstasy. Losing track of time, he mindlessly cultivated until he felt a disturbing development. The rate he absorbed the energies frighteningly slowed down. His felt bloated, as if he was trying to eat food while being incredibly full.

Could taking in both Qi and Ki be detrimental for my body?

Before he could further doubt himself, he saw a wall. Shocked, he opened his and grasped forward but encountered nothing. He closed his eyes in confusion and saw the wall anew. The wall was almost transparent and stood a feet away from his body.

What is this illusionary wall?... Ah! Maybe?

He thought of a theory and immediately executed it. He resumed cultivating and the illusionary wall slowly, but surely, moved towards him. Proceeding with his theory, he halted all thoughts of absorbing the energies. To his satisfaction, the wall stopped.

I should be correct, this illusionary wall should be the breakthrough that Teresa mentioned! If I can break past this wall I will become a Novice! Perhaps I’m wrong but it won’t hurt to try.

He prepared to continue but light slowly seeped into his eyes. Opening them, he saw that dawn arrived and the sun slowly greeted the sky. He stood up, ready to return and sleep, but was startled at his body’s condition. Swinging his arms and stretching his legs, he realized he was not tired in the slightest.

Further testing his body, he performed a series of short hops and rapid dashes. Several exercises later, he accepted the fact that his physical body was completely fine. He felt a slight discomfort in his head but it was entirely neglectable.

Could it be I no longer need sleep if I cultivate? Why did they not mention this before, it’s so efficient.

Amazed by his discovery, he sat back down and cultivated.

I should have a couple more hours before they wake up. Let’s see if my speculation is correct.

His cultivation rate considerably slowed down but he was still satisfied watching the wall steadily move closer. Before he knew it, a frantic voice echoed into the forest.

“Kai! Are you here?”

He snapped out of cultivating and looked towards the sky. The sun was well above him and emitted strong rays. Knowing he could no longer sneakily return, he hurriedly stood up and bolted back towards the direction of their house. Nearing the wooden fences, he saw Teresa and she saw him. She instantly rushed towards him and grabbed his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” she worriedly ask, her eyes wildly scanned his body. She turned his body back and forth, searching for any signs of injury.

“I’m completely fine. Sorry for worrying you Teresa.”

“That’s good”, she sighed in relief. Her face immediately turned stern. “What were you thinking? Yesterday we were attacked by a wolf and the next day you go into the forest by yourself?”

“I wanted to cultivate in quiet place so I came here at night. I also didn’t want to disturb anyone”, Kai explained. He knew that it was a poor excuse and he felt bad for worrying her.

Teresa looked at Kai sympathetically. She desired to force him to cultivate in the slave’s area but she knew the place was unbearably stifling to live in, much less cultivate. The Watcher’s would also grow suspicious of complacency if they saw him freely cultivating. She tried to conjure up more ideas but she suddenly thought back to what he said.

“Wait a second. You said you came here at night. Did you cultivate for the entire night?”

“I did.”

“Are you not tired?”

“I feel fine”, Kai truthfully reassured, moving his arms around. He realized the discomfort in his head had faded.

Her eyes widen and she gasped in surprise. She desired strength so she once attempted to cultivate throughout the night but when morning came she felt terribly sick and tired. The negative conditions only withdrew upon sleeping. She acknowledged his amazing ability but scrunched her eyebrows as she continued to think of more methods to dissuade him. Kai noticed her intentions and stopped her.

“Please, allow me to become stronger so I can protect you and everyone else”, Kai calmly stated.

Stunned, Teresa was unable to deny his request. A warm feeling comforted her heart as she shook her head and smiled. She always knew Kai was abnormally smart and never questioned the blessing but this time she was pleasantly surprised at his sincerity. Knowing she had lost, she started to construct helpful thoughts.

“Okay fine, you win. I’ll come to this spot each morning and call for you so don’t go too far into the forest! And make sure you take care of your health, if you feel too tired or sick you must stop. And make sure to beware of beasts. If you see any be sure to run quickly and call for help! And-”

Before she could continue, Jennifer called out, “Teresa, Kai are you two out there?”

“Um… you can tell me the rest when we’re back at our house?”, he suggested.

Teresa blushed, understanding that she was needlessly ranting.

“No I think you get it already”, she laughed. “We better get back before the adults find out.”

Together they headed back towards the entrance.

“But remember, stay in this place and go nowhere else”, Teresa couldn’t help but remind.

Kai replied with a smile.