“After scurrying away without allowing me to see a single step of your methodology, or even the ingredients you used, you present me with a flask that smells of rot and spit. Do you really expect me to give my husband that?”

Reny, despite her plump figure and motherly air, was giving Alex a look that froze him where he stood, flask of spit, water, and a drop of lemon grass and peppermint extract for flavor, now held awkwardly in his hand. Alex, with his newly reinvigorated Biochemical Mastery giving him senses more exquisitely acute than they had ever been before, couldn’t quite keep his nose from wrinkling at the stench of sickness and decay.

He was awed and horrified to find that he could now trace scents as well as any bloodhound, and his bloodhound’s nose could already sense how badly ulcerated Qing Wu’s liver was.

“Please, Lady Wu, we are running out of time! You and I both know that his liver will fail him utterly inside the hour if we don’t neutralize the poisons now!”

The cultivator froze where she stood, eyes widening in horrified dismay. And for a second Alex truly felt the peril of her killing aura, exquisitely sensing how countless poison thorns could spring from a dozen snaking vines behind him that would be the death of any unprepared assailant, even a Silver.

And like clouds freeing the sun, the deadly aura of peril faded, her gaze dumbstruck. “The plants refuse even to caress your neck with a promise of retribution. Why?”

Alex winced, really not wanting to answer that question. “Does it matter? All that matters is that I made this in good faith, for the sake of your husband. My brother in battle who fought by my side.” He clenched his jaw, imploring gaze turning cold. He forced himself forward, seeing the woman trembling with fear and uncertainty as he shattered the veneer of unapproachable deadly cultivator, before solemnly placing the vial in her hand.

“With that other poison having hindered the spiritual energy reserves of every cultivator in this caravan, you and I both know you that have no other way to save him. So take this. I’d say you have about 30 minutes to give it to him before his liver’s too far gone for it to matter. If you refuse? I’m going to the very city you’re all fleeing from, and I’ll start this life over there. Because I fucking refuse to be a part of yet another bitter tragic tale!”

He turn around before a spluttering Reny could say a word, effortlessly leaping for the roof hatch, a helpful vine even boosting his foot. He couldn’t help smirking at the plant. “Careful. We both know Forest Flight was hidden for a reason,” he said in English. And how odd it was for a plant to actually look guilty, Alex thought, as he limberly pulled himself up through the hatch before closing it and closing his eyes in meditation… and not to castigate himself for how stupid he was, saying certain shit out loud he should really be keeping to himself for, like… ever.

He had done what he could. It was Reny’s choice what happened now, he decided, gazing over at the other wagons now plodding along the road with spirit beasts that looked like oversized camels that definitely moved slower than their spirit draft horse equivalents… but also looked like they could happily plod through endless deserts without a care in the world.

He blinked, frowning as he gazed at the spirit camels thoughtfully, his Qi Perception making it clear once more that he was seeing something extremely weird. Something utterly outside his paradigm, and he really wasn’t sure what to do with it.

“It’s almost like they’re part of the desert itself,” he muttered, shaking his head.

“Of course they are,” said a cheerful voice behind him.

Alex spun around, more alarmed than he cared to admit at how easily his second chance at life free of endless frozen torment could have been ended right then and there… but it was only Ya Ling and one of her companions wrapped in desert silks that did nothing to hide that they were women in the absolute peak of health. As ripe as any desert rose. And the smile Ya Ling gave him even as her companion smirked at his gaze... He felt his cheeks flush as he looked away, shamed by his own thoughts. Not of being a man flush with youth’s passions… but to forget for even a second the fierce adoration he had for the most graceful of dancers that had carried him through unimaginable hardships, in the life most recently lived.

For all that it might have been centuries ago.

Though he was surprised not to feel his Dantian give even the slightest warning tug.

“I’m surprised I didn’t sense you coming.”

She snorted. “With how busy you were staring at the wagons behind us, That’s to be expected. Besides, Kileetra’s light on her feet.”

The girl to her right curtseyed. “So you’re the one we have to thank for actually surviving those bandits.”

Alex shrugged. “I’d like to think I at least my part. And kudos on your graceful steps. With how acute my senses now are… I was overconfident and overly trusting of my environment. That’s a mistake that can get a young cultivator killed, in a world as hostile and dangerous as this one. Thank you both for reminding me.”

Kileetra dipped her head before effortlessly cartwheeling off the wagon top, leaving Ya Ling and Alex to their own devices.

“Show off,” Ya Ling snorted. “And to think, I’m the Bronze.” She turned back to Alex, giving him an oddly pitying smile, shaking her head. “If you truly think you have to fear anyone in this caravan, after helping to save all our lives… then you’re either a saint to give such charity to a potential threat, or a fool. Either way, I pity your former masters how hard they must have worked to make you such an incredible fighter.”

Alex chuckled. “Backhand compliment much?”

She flashed a cheeky smile, showing off pearly white teeth. “The desert sands can sting when she is roused to anger, or soothe your cares with paradise, should she reveal the secret oasis of her heart.”

Alex grinned. “Well I’m all for keeping the desert as calm and happy as possible. It will certainly make for a safer trip.”

Ya Ling nodded, sinking into a cross-legged position beside him, gazing at him thoughtfully as she steepled her hands under her chin, the warm breeze blowing tendrils of dark silky hair from her fluttering silk robe. “I’ve never seen a blond-haired man before. With eyes as blue as the cloudless skies above our heads.”

Alex grinned. “Honestly, I’d be a lot more worried about sunburns and cancer concerns if I were back home. But here? I’m just living it up. Besides, with the blood running through my veins, the Fire Qi released by the big friendly heavenly ball just warms my skin and gives me a way to get back some of the Spiritual Energy I expended during the fight.”

Alex gazed down with more than a bit of wonder at skin that was no in any danger of getting burned. Instead it greedily suck the sun’s warmth and processed it as a slow, steady trickle of spiritual energy.

Ya Ling’s eyes widened. “Truly? You don’t feel the sun searing your skin at all? But I thought even Ruidians with complexion like my own...”

“Dusky and beautiful?”

She smirked. “Well, considering how often our tribes intermarry, yes. But even my second cousins still feel the sting of the sun far more than I.”

Alex smiled, now truly interested. “So your people don’t discriminate against those of Ruidian ancestry?”

Ya Ling blinked, a puzzled frown caressing her features. “Of course not. Why would we? Their exquisite sense of smell makes them fantastic cooks, and a few of them even have the potential to become Jewel Masters, even if they have to make a pilgrimage to the deep desert tribes to do it.”

Alex tilted his head. “Are there Ruidian academy equivalents out there, hidden in the deep desert then?”

Ya Ling chuckled softly, eyes twinkling with secret mirth. “I’m sure you know that at least as well as I, hero. So, what tribe do you come from, with blood so pure that you look exactly like your ancestors? Yet you seem the farthest thing from a poor scrawny inbred waif.”

He flashed a cheeky smile. “It’s the dragon in me. Does wonders for the bloodline.”

Her eyes widened. “Seriously?”

Alex laughed, lying on the gently rocking caravan roof, hands underneath his head as he gazed happily at the deep blue sky, sun close enough to morning’s rise that there were still streaks of crimson fire in the skies overhead. “Who can say? So, how are you doing this fine morning, Ya Ling, after all of us were fighting for our lives just an hour ago?”

He winced, sensing her shiver. “Honestly, I was trying to forget.”

“Ah, yeah. Sorry. I’m clearly failing in my duties as a pleasant distraction.”

He blinked, surprised to feel soft fingers caressing his locks. “It even feels different than my hair. It’s finer. Like corn silk”

Alex smirked. “You grow a lot of corn, do you?”

“Some, but only if the soil’s right for it, and we need a Wood Qi specialist to tend to those and other exotic crops.”

“Like spiritual herbs?”

“Precisely.”

His gaze turned gentle, sensing the tremble in her touch, the anxiety beneath her smile. “It’s going to be okay.”

She sighed, lifting her hand from his hair, wrapping her arms about her. “We’re doomed, Alex.”

He blinked. “I thought we did pretty damn well. From the looks of it, we got away with mild injuries, and everyone has the advantage of Reny’s Qi-infused healing compresses.”

“Except for the three who lost their lives,” she said softly.

Alex bowed his head. “Fair enough.”

“And four of those scheming bastards got away. After measuring our strength. Now having no doubt that our Silver tier guardian was so crippled by their damn poison that he had to retreat, leaving everything in your hands.”

“They fled.”

Her eyes burned with sudden heat. “No they didn’t. It was a temporary tactical withdrawal. Whoever the mastermind is behind the bandits, they’re now certain that every cultivator in the caravan is so damaged that their defenses were reduced to a handful of desperate spearmen and a single disciple, who they no doubt suspect is utterly out of spiritual energy now as well.” She chuckled bitterly. “No need to find secret masters in hiding to protect precious cargo when you can just have your spies in the city poison them all in one fell swoop.”

Alex frowned. “So, you think they’ll be back.”

Ya Ling’s gaze grew haunted, her earlier demeanor of bravado wilting to reveal a very frightened girl. “I should never have left home.”

“That depends on how good, or bad, life was at home,” Alex said.

She glared his way. “If my stepbrother had his way, I’d be his cousin’s third wife. Little more than a broodmare. A break between concubines.”

“Yeah, then I think it’s a damn good thing you left home. Good on you.”

She snorted. “Assuming we survive the raiders planning to take us all out.”

“Yup. Assuming that.”

Alex spent long moments gazing out at dry scrub-land, noting how they soon turned to the endless sand dunes of the true deep desert, and the far off ridge of a massive plateau in the distance. “I take it there’s no chance of us heading back to the city we left… Qianshi, right?”

She snorted. “Sure there is. And the entire caravan would be bankrupted at best, finding themselves strangled by massive debt with leins levied against all their family businesses and homes.”

Alex blinked. “Well that sounds extremely harsh.”

She shrugged. “The merchants make up the council. They’re second only to the sovereign prince in power, and trade is everything. Every successful caravan delivery between desert cities will earn almost everyone involved a small fortune. But failure or retreat isn’t an option.”

“And yet, somehow those raiders, the bane of any trade city, were able to strike at us within distance of the city with impunity, and we can’t even go back to give them warning, or request more men, or, I don’t know… get the city to send soldiers to accompany our caravan run.”

Ya Ling flashed a sad smile, but didn’t contradict him.

“Because fucking politics. Am I right?”

The way Ya Ling blanched made it clear that he was. He didn’t push, however. Instead he glared off at the distant horizon, already knowing what he would have to do.

“Alex?”

He smiled back at the beautiful young woman, gazing at him with such vulnerability in her eyes. “They think they’ve already won. But those bastards don’t realize it’s just opening moves. And if those assholes aren’t careful, they’ll be the ones in checkmate.”

Ya Ling’s features clouded with confusion. “I’m not sure I understand?”

Alex clenched his jaw, forcing himself to say it. “I know none of you are fools. And Captain Dui Zhong’s not the type to forget a grudge or let political convenience get in his way.”

She furrowed a delicate brow. “Your point being...”

He sighed. “Could you please tell Captain Dui Zhong that if he saved any of that stew, or if any of you saved any traces of that stew we’re now certain was poisoned to disrupt your spiritual energy reserves...”

“Yes?”

“Please give it to me.”

Ya Ling gazed at Alex for long, thoughtful moments, before summoning her friend with a single ring of a tiny Silver bell.

In the blink of an eye, the diminutive handmaiden radiating a trained killer’s aura curtseyed before her master, before her eyes widened in bemused disbelief, her cool gaze flicking over Alex once more, before giving a tiny snort.

“Surely you’re not serious!”

Ya Ling gave her assistant? Friend? A reassuring squeeze of her hand, waiting for her girl to sigh, bow her head, and cartwheel off the wagon rooftop once more. Only then did she turn to gaze at Alex for long, increasingly awkward moments. “Why?”

“So I can devise a cure.”

She smirked. “Now you’re going to tell me that in addition to being a master spearman who can use multiple elemental shields… you’re not just an apothecary but an actual alchemist?”

Alex solemnly shook his head. “Nope, just a novice compounder. Still, I do have something of a knack for making antidotes. I guess you could say it was my specialty.”

Ya Ling’s eyes widened. “By the desert winds, are you serious?”

Alex grinned. “I think you’d find that the rigors of my carefully calibrated techniques will absolutely astound you.”

“Alex, that’s incredible! Come, let’s go in the wagon right now! Reny… I mean Lady Wu will be thrilled to find out that… Alex?”

Alex solemnly shook his head. “Reny’s not speaking to me right now.”

Ya Ling furrowed her brow. “Why on earth not?”

“I think it’s because she didn’t like the smell of the antidote I gave her for her husband.”

Ya Ling eyes widened. “How badly was Qing Wu hurt?”

Alex sighed. “If Reny doesn’t give him the antidote, I’d say he has another 15 minutes before we’d best start digging his grave.”

The girl before him paled. “Wait, Alex, if you found the cure, why wouldn’t she… Alex?”

He pointedly gazed down at the bowl of stew that had seemed to magically appeared in her hands as her assistant handed her a jeweled ring radiating potent spiritual energy, smirked at Alex, and made herself scarce once more.

“Storage ring?”

Ya Ling dipped her head. “Honestly, I’m happy allowing my handmaiden Kileetra to use it as much as she likes, since I trust her with my life.”

“Damn handy, aren’t those things? I think time slows to allow for more space, which actually works fantastically for preserving things. May I?”

Before she could protest, he plucked the stew from her hands.

She sighed. “Alex, there is no point to holding it now, no matter how good your Ruidian nose is. Let me speak to Remy, have her see reason. If we can find a cure to this and heal her and myself in time, she’ll be able to treat him with her own healer’s gifts! So let me just put it back in storage for now, and… Alex!”

Her gaze turned to one of horror when Alex casually claimed a spoonful of soup.

Her dusky skin paled with dismay. “Oh you foolish boy. You just doomed us all!”

She said other things then, screaming for Reny, but then paid no more attention at all, closing his eyes and pouring every ounce of his focus into the toughest battle he’d fought since he had woken up.

You have been exposed to Dragonbane Root!

This Extreme Toxin has caused 1 Light Wound to your Peripheral Meridians!

Concentration check made.

Biochemical Mastery skillcheck made!

You are now investing all your focus into analyzing this poison!

Dragonbane Root has caused 1 additional Light Wound to your Peripheral Meridians.

Dragonbane Root FAILS to damage enhanced Divine Tier Meridian Channels.

You have achieved 30% immunity to Dragonbane Root.

You have saved versus Peripheral Impairment.

You have achieved 60% Immunity to Dragonbane Root.

Peripheral Meridians have stabilized.

Congratulations! You have achieved 100% Immunity to Dragonbane Root!

This poison has been Mastered.

You may now synthesize this toxin or create antidotes at will.

Alex took a deep shuddering breath, opening his eyes. Wincing at the pain he felt on his left flank. Knowing that at least some of his peripheral meridians had been scalded. He recalled all too well his very first lessons as a cultivator actually cultivating, learning a meridian restoration technique that had eventually morphed into his greatest art. An art now closed off to him, ironically enough.

But still. The lessons themselves he recalled well enough. Just because he was forbidden from embracing his own art… didn’t mean he couldn’t reforge it anew, and he even had a roadmap by which to do so.

“Alex!” He was surprised by the degree of alarm he saw in Ya Ling’s gaze. This was a girl he had known for just a handful of hours. But he knew from firsthand experience that one could form bonds stronger than steel when forging friendships in the crucible of battle. Where an hour fighting by another man’s side, especially a man who had saved your life, was worth more than a decade of casual acquainces free of any real connection at all.

“It’s okay,” he assured, with an attempt at a smile.

“Then why are you wincing?” Her eyes widened with sudden pity. “Alex, I can see a red rash forming all over your left side...” Her gaze filled with horror. “Oh no. Your Ruidian heritage. That you could cultivate at all was a miracle. But you’re so fragile… sand’s mercy, it’s hit you harder than any of us!”

Alex chuckled. He couldn’t help it. “Let’s just say it’s motivating me to find a restoration technique as fast as possible. But the important thing is, it will never hurt me again.”

Ya Ling furrowed her brow. “Alex, your cultivation base is now fragile as glass!”

“You wouldn’t happen to have a favorite drinking flask in your storage ring, would you?”

She blinked. “Of course I do.”

“Good. Fill it with the drink of your choice.”

She gazed at him for long slow moments, pulling free a pair of lacquered bone china cups and a kettle with boiling hot tea. She slowly poured them both a drink and solemnly handed Alex one of them.

Alex took his, bowed his head, and spat in his cup.

He ignored the odd look of surprise, disgust, and confusion warring across her features. Though it turned to anger when he solemnly passed her the cup. “I don’t even need to say it, do I? You know what you have to do.”

“That’s disgusting!”

Alex nodded. “Absolutely. It will also save your foundation. Or at the very least, neutralize whatever poison’s still in your system.”

The look she gave him was priceless. Alex solemnly held her gaze.

“What happens if I don’t drink it?”

Alex flashed a bitter smile. “Having dared it myself, I’m now intimately familiar with how it works. Right now your peripherals are shot, and the poison’s burning through your meridian channels. Ironically, if you were a clueless mortal who had never broken through, that would actually save you, the poison blazing through the blockages and ironically awakening your cultivation potential… though even that would be crippled in the long run, if you didn’t get a cure to neutralize whatever poison was left over from blazing through blockages. Of course if a ruler’s desperate for a thousand extra troops as strong and tough as mortals are capable of being, he’d probably use it without a moment’s hesitation. This poison has mystical elements, toughest one I ever processed, and it won’t stop eating away at you until your foundation’s utterly ruined or a Silver Tier or better healer can remove it. In other words, it will cleanse your meridians of waste right before destroying them, raising mortals to their maximum basic cultivation potential, and destroying any Bronze or Silver’s foundation such that they too were no better than a basic cultivator.”

The girl looked stricken. “So this isn’t just a temporary impairment. It’s actually eating away at my foundation! So for the next three weeks, without a healer...”

Alex solemnly nodded. “Exactly.”

The girl trembled, eyes welling with unshed tears. “You don’t have a doubt in your mind that what you’re telling me is true. You actually know how this foul shit works just as well as the poisoner himself! I can tell just by the way you’re looking for me. Are handling poisons tied to your cultivation path?”

Alex frowned thoughtfully. “You know, I never thought of it that way before, but… sure. Not making them, mind you… more like treating them.” His gaze turned imploring. “Please, this is important. With all the witch hunts against Ruidians for one reason or another over the centuries, the last thing I need is for people to start blaming every exotic poisoning death on my shoulders. Not only will this make life hell for me, wherever I go, it will also encourage ruthless bastards to pull all the stops and slaughter all their enemies with toxic brews, knowing that I’ll be the one taking the fall while they’re poisoning all their political rivals.”

Ya Ling’s eyes widened. She cursed softly under her breath, before solemnly bowing her head. “You’re right, Alex. That’s a very good point. You don’t make poisons. Just cures. I promise not to tell a soul the secrets you’ve entrusted me with.” She visibly swallowed, looking at the tea cup still in her trembling hand. “Even if your cure isn’t nearly as graceful as, well…”

Alex chuckled. “Sure, a bit of spit is a lot more icky than an exotic tincture of a dozen different spirit herbs we have no access to, but it’s cheap as hell and hey, it’s not that different than sharing a kiss with your future betrothed, when you think about it.”

Ya Ling’s dusky cheeks took on a visible blush when she slowly sipped her tea, holding his gaze the whole time.

Alex was frozen by the frankness in her gaze. He had the sneaking suspicion that she was no more innocent of life’s sweetest pleasures than he had been, once upon a time. And the way her lips quirked up in a knowing smile the longer he stared… he solemnly bowed his head. Showing both respect, and breaking their odd connection. “My apologies. I’ve monopolized your time, and you and your associates are busy with the injured, right? No doubt they’re expecting you back any minute.”

Ya Ling sighed, finishing her tea. “Alex, I...” Her eyes widened, a soft smile transforming to a look of wonder. “I feel it. I no longer feel like I’m suffering awful cramps in my soul… I feel like a weight’s just been lifted! How… how is this working so quickly?” She chuckled throatily, giving a rueful shake of her head. “Who cares! Thank the heavens that it’s actually working so quickly!”

Darting forward with a speed that surprised Alex, she wrapped him up in a great big hug that caught him completely off guard. This was no delicate desert rose. This was a powerful cultivator who had achieved Bronze Rank in Finesse, with Quickness and Strength pretty damn close to Bronze as well. No doubt if she hadn’t been crippled by the tainted stew and afraid of causing herself irreparable harm, the earlier bandits would have been in for a very bad day. Even worse than the one Alex had taken such pains to grant them.

What was even more unexpected was the press of soft, warm lips against his own.

Almost as surprising was the fact that despite his heart now pounding on his chest and the wave of incredible guilt he knew better than to show… was the fact that he felt no warning twinge. No sign that he was imperiling himself, or that anything was wrong at all.

His was now a perfectly normal Dantian… affected by the same hungers as anyone reborn at their absolute prime might feel.

“Do you know what this means, Alex?” Ya Ling’s eyes were lit with jubilation. “It’s not too late. You can still save everyone!”

Alex winced at just how well her voice was carrying.

“Okay, first off, I’m happy to help, but we should probably call Kileetra back. I can tell she’s a cultivator, if not quite as strong as you, and I can only imagine how she...”

Ya Ling gave an impish smile, slowly shaking her head. “Kileetra’s actually fine. She was feeling sick the day we were to leave, so rested in our wagon and skipped meal time. I can tell she feels guilty, because she’s been looking after me with more care than ever, since this trip started. But we’ll certainly need something for everyone else!”

Alex gazed at her for long, thoughtful moments, before slowly nodding. “Sure, but you’re still going to have to convince Reny. I still don’t know if she even trusts me enough to give her husband the concoction I made. And secondly, before I make anything for anyone… I could really use a bite to eat.”

Ya Ling blinked, gazing at him odd disappointment. “Alex, this is no time to be filling your body!”

“Actually it’s the perfect time.” He winked at the look she gave him. “Simply put, the antidote depletes my own body’s nutritional reserves. If I make too much antidote with limited means of recovery… I’ll soon start doing myself harm. I think it’s best if I have a nutritious, filling meal with plenty of organ meat in my stomach before I make any more of the most exquisitely complex antidote I’ve ever had to generate before.”

Ya Ling just snorted and flipped off the wagon every bit as gracefully as Kileetra had. Clearly her friend wasn’t the only one who enjoyed making an exit.

In very short order, Alex found himself facing a smiling wujen who looked on death’s door, and Reny clenching her husband’s hand tightly, tears streaming freely from her eyes.

“Dear Alex, I’m told it’s you that I have to thank for my unexpected clarity of thought, splitting headache, and organs at least sufficiently intact to give me a fighting chance before my soul’s cast free of this life for good?”

Alex kept his face absolutely neutral as he nodded. “That’s about the extent of it, yes.”

Qing Wu sighed and gently patted his trembling wife’s hands. “I do hope you didn’t take offense at our… hesitation.”

Alex smirked, shaking his head. “Of course not. If some near stranger spat in a cup and commanded that I drink it, you’d better believe I’d be looking for a damn good reason why.”

This earned a chuckle. “The fact that I’m having this conversation with you now, without my organs feeling like their filled with bitter bile and purgatory’s flame, is all the reason I need.”

“Is it true? Can you really heal us all?” Reny asked.

Alex nodded. “It is. So far as I can tell, anyway. Certainly I’m making it in good faith.”

She bowed her head, surprising him with a bowl of absolutely delicious-looking mutton stew. “Ya Ling informed us of your unique cultivation path… and it’s requirements.” She flashed an apologetic smile. “Compared to the dietary requirements of many body cultivators, and the odd nutritional requirements of so many cultivators following exotic paths, a bowl of nutritious home-made stew is the least I can do to say thank you.”

Alex couldn’t help it, he broke into a grin. “Let me guess, you have like, a hundred home-cooked piping hot meals safely sealed in a priceless storage ring that no bandit would think to look for.”

Reny winked. “I’m afraid I have no comment as to that, dear boy. Now why don’t you eat your fill and let me see firsthand the boons of a Ruidian cultivation path. I promise you’ll have my full, undivided attention.”

Alex chuckled softly, feeling on the spot with three pairs of intent cultivator’s eyes upon him. Though he didn’t hesitate to eat his fill, or apologize when a second bowl of hearty broth was placed before him, he still feeling dizzy when he made multiple doses of antidote, for each of the three cultivators, the captain, and half a dozen other hidden guardians and aspiring basic cultivators in danger of losing their gift before it even had a chance to blossom at all.

Reny gave a sad sigh. “Honestly, I’d like to dose everyone, just for the sake of preserving any trace of a gift that would otherwise be seared from their souls before they ever had a chance to study under a master, no matter that less than one in a dozen has the gift. But even the most myopic of healers can tell it is taking a tole from you, and after you pushed yourself to your own limit, fighting so hard on behalf of a caravan full of strangers.”

Ya Ling grinned at Alex’s embarrassed flush, gently claiming one of his hands with her own. “Not strangers any more, I hope,” she whispered.

Reny gave her a pointed look. “Child...”

“I know.”

“Good.”

Alex pretended he hadn’t heard the exchange. “Thanks again for the meals. That’s the best stuffed pheasant I ever had, outside of a divine palace!”

Qing Wu snorted. “Been to a lot of divine palaces, have you?”

Alex winked and said nothing, earning a chuckle as he patted his belly.

“Well, good. Rest, boy. You’ve certainly earned it. And tomorrow, we’ll talk about your future,” declared the Silver wujen.

Alex frowned, about to protest. The day had just gotten started, and he had endured plenty of occasions where he had been running from battle to battle for what felt like days on end. Yet he lost the will to protest when his jaw cracked with a yawn, Ya Ling clasping his hand and leading him to the oversized bed in the middle of the wagon! Clearly the sleeping customs here were different from what he was used to. And really, why would it be otherwise? He had effectively traveled between worlds. Or so many centuries had past that it amounted to the same thing. Still, he might have suggested sleeping on the rooftop, but the down-stuffed pillow was so soothing against his head that there was no reason why he couldn’t close his eyes for just a moment… promising himself that he’d have a good long talk with all three cultivators about popular meridian cleansing and cycling techniques just as soon as he had a moment to focus his thoughts.

He was surprised and more than a little bit embarrassed to open his eyes what felt like a full day later, Qing Wu flashing him an indulgent smile when Alex’s eyes widened to catch sight of the brilliant stars glittering a rainbow of colors from the wagon window slats above his head.