“Why have you brought an Instinctive cultivator into my home?” Sheng’s words were sharp and to the point.

Jack, for his part, found himself glancing about the room they’d been ushered him into. To him it looked like some bizarre combination of an office and a surgical theater – or perhaps a dentist’s office.

It was all made with expensive looking wood. On one side of the room sat a desk, chairs, and a back wall filled with ancient looking scrolls. The other side of the room had a chair that looked like it might double as a bed, a tray filled with tools made of jade, a collection of copper containers, and a few sealed jars filled with a variety of substances.

Is that… mercury? Jack thought as he glanced at one of the more metallic looking liquids.

“Is that any way to address the city’s magistrate, Master Sheng?” Huang’s voice was sharp, sharper than it had been in weeks.

The old man quirked an eye at the dragon-kin, clearly surprised by her words.

“Oh? I would not have thought you so quick to defend the man who replaced you, Lady Huang.” He smoothed down his beard as he sank into the chair behind his desk. “Though it heartens me to see that your… fall in station has not unduly dampened your spirit.”

A slow smile slipped across the former magistrate’s face. “It has not been easy. I am diminished, but not dead. And while some might have considered such an existence a curse, I am slowly coming to find myself thankful for my continued existence and the opportunities my new station has provided me.”

“And your leg?” The man quirked an eyebrow. “I had wanted to see you after the false divinity's attack, but I received… orders to the contrary.”

From his sect master no doubt. Though Jack couldn’t outwardly see his beast-sign, he knew the man to be part of the part of the rat-like Steel fur sect – who had been deeply aligned with Shui.

Honestly, the miner was almost impressed by how quickly the woman had moved to cut off support to her political rival. That order must have come within minutes of Huang being depowered.

Hell, it might have come while I was still fighting the Red Death, he thought.

Not for the first time, Jack was glad the woman was now on his side – though he made a note to double the number of people monitoring her.

Remotely, of course.

The crawlers she’d taken with her had been bugged.

He’d been tempted to give a few of the mortals in her division orders to spy on her, but they likely would have been caught within minutes of making an attempt. Cultivators were just that bullshit.

No, it was better to blindside her with something she would be unlikely to even consider, rather than tip his hand early if she were behaving poorly.

Huang’s smile stiffened slightly. “The Instinctive poison was burned out along with my meridians.”

Jack raised an eyebrow: he hadn’t known she’d been poisoned. She certainly hadn’t said anything about him to him.

“That is good. Though the antidote has come at a ruinous cost to you, I am firmly of the belief that where there is life, there is hope.” His grandfatherly smile was quick to disappear though as he flicked out his sleeves. “I am however less happy to hear you going along with this nonsense.”

His eyes flicked to Jack. “A rebellion? Now of all times? I had thought that reason might prevail when Shui’s hubris was shot out from under her, after the winds of support from the laughing divinity changed sides. After all, one could not ask for a better lesson in the fickleness of the divines than that. Yet, it seems our newest leader has not just continued her work, but doubled down on it.”

Jack just smiled at the other man’s disgruntlement. Honestly, he had thought it a little odd how quickly and easily the sects had thrown in him with Shui’s rebellion. Even if the North did have a history of ‘rebelliousness’ and the Empress’s last ‘do or die’ order left them little choice, it was still a huge leap.

He guessed he’d found one of the few anti-rebels in the city. Or at least, one of the few willing to speak that sentiment aloud.

“And how do you know of the Laughing Divinity’s presence in our fair city, doctor? Her presence is a secret to all but a select few – and last time I checked your name is not on that list.”

That seemed to take the wind out of the old man’s sails, as he quickly remembered who he was talking to.

The man’s gender and station might have offered him more protection than most against reprisal for speaking as he did, but it wasn’t infinite.

And Jack’s reputation for wholesale destruction hadn’t magically diminished during the walk from the outer courtyard to the man’s office.

“I apologize, Lord Magistrate,” he bowed deeply at the waist, showing a surprising – or perhaps unsurprising – amount of flexibility for a man of his age. “My words got away from me. Borne only of compassion for our fair city and fear of an unknown future across troubled waters.”

Jack eyed the healer’s bodyguard across the room, who tensed unhappily but did not move. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

Sheng shrugged. “I am a healer and a male besides. There is little enough that goes on in this city that I don’t hear. Usually from precocious brats trying to prove something or women old enough to know better than to think a little gossip will attract my attention.”

That actually elicited a chuckle from Jack. “Alright, fair enough. I’ve some experience with that myself.”

At those words, Sheng allowed himself to straighten up, a cautious smile on his face as he treaded common ground. “Of that I have little doubt, my lord and I do not envy you your increased notoriety. Honestly, I have trouble enough keeping my dao companions busy at my age, let alone someone outside that.”

At his words, some of the tension left the woman in the corner as she slowly cracked her own smile. “I don’t know about that, my husband. Quon, Liu, and I felt plenty sated last night.”

Jack wasn’t ashamed – though he was thankful for his helmet – as he found himself openly gaping at the casual admittance that the man had managed to satisfy three cultivator women in a single evening.

…Would it be rude to ask him for tips after this meeting is over? Jack thought as his gaze ran speculatively over his own ‘harem’.

A harem that, rather than looking envious of the skills of the man across from him, seemed more horrified by the idea that a group of ‘old people’ were having sex. Even Ren, who normally had a pretty iron hold over her emotions in public as part of her mercantile persona.

Though… that does make me wonder how old this guy is to actually look old? He wondered as he took in the man’s long white beard. Cultivators age at something like a third of the speed of a mortal, so he’s got to have been around for a while.

Idly he found himself wondering just how strong the other man was. Sure, he was a healer rather than a fighter – and male besides – but he’d likely picked up a few tricks in his time.

Fortunately for both of them, pretty much all the tension had been drained from the room with that small exchange.

“I would say that rebellion was the best of a bad series of options,” Jack idly stated. “The Empire would feed all of us to the enemy to buy themselves time.”

Sheng sighed. “As much as I wish I could argue that, I cannot. Still, that still does not answer the question of why I have an Instinctive cultivator in my home.

And with those words, some of the tension from before was back as they wheeled back to the man’s opening statement.

This time though it was An who responded, her eyes grim as she regarded the healer from her position leaning casually against the wall – with her arms crossed in a manner casual enough to make an observer not realize how close they lingered to the revolvers on her belt.

“You presume to ask a lot for a man who only still lives because of the actions of the man opposite you. The Red Death would have killed us all. Who are you to cast aspersions about his actions or question his course when he has proven himself the city’s savior a dozen times over?”

It was actually rather heartwarming how quickly and easily the ravenette publicly came to his defense – when she’d privately argued vehemently against Jack’s decision to retrieve Baidar from the palace’s dungeon.

“Of course. Of course.” Sheng coughed, bowing to the warrior. “Please forgive an old man his gripes and caution.”

Jack was less than impressed with the apology. He’d already noticed the pattern. The man liked to poke and prod, before cowering the moment he was challenged.

Likely accustomed to hiding behind his vocation and gender as a shield, Jack thought.

In short, he seemed like a shit stirrer. And Jack wasn’t a fan of it. Not even close.

Perhaps it might have been different if the man offered even some amount of token resistance to his words being challenged, but he couldn’t even muster that. And it was clear in his bearing. He didn’t really care about what he said. He was sniping because he could.

Because he couldn’t help himself.

Which meant he was the worst kind of drama-queen.

No doubt he’ll come up with some exaggerated retelling of this conversation and spread it to just about everyone he comes across, Jack thought.

The man was likely as chatty as his ilk tended to be. The sort of people that pretended to hate drama and gossip while simultaneously reveling in it – all without a single ounce of self awareness.

And Jack could use that.

“It’s neither mercy nor curiosity that has me bringing her before you. She has information I need. That is the sum of it. Her healing is merely a means of providing more time to extract that knowledge.”

He made sure his voice was firm and clear. He wanted that line to be repeated to everyone the doctor spoke to in the hopes that no one got any ideas that he was colluding with an Instinctive Cultivator.

He didn’t doubt that would be received poorly by the city at large. The kind of poorly that saw people being burned at the stake. Because while the Empire was pretty low on organized religion, there was little doubt that practicing anything even remotely like Instinctive Cultivation was heresy of the highest order.

Sheng quirked a bushy eyebrow at Jack’s words. “You believe you might do a better job than those monsters under the palace? I can assure you, having seen their handiwork firsthand, they are well practiced in the art of pain.”

Jack could believe that. He’d seen the scars. And the fresh wounds. Frankly it was a small miracle Baidar was still alive. Hell, if he’d waited a few more days, she might not have been.

Even cultivators had limits before their bodies gave out, and the Ox-kin had been fast approaching hers.

Still was.

“I have access to tools that they do not,” he said simply. “And for me to utilize them, I need her alive.”

The healer simply leaned back, rubbing his hands pensively, no doubt discomofited by even the thought of getting too close to one of the ‘Great Enemy’.

“We will get to that in a moment though,” Jack said magnanimously. “For now, I need you to fix this man.”

He gestured to Gao, who rather looked put on the spot as all eyes in the room turned to him. He was no doubt entirely aware that he was only non-cultivator in the room – and while the former guard had done an excellent job of acclimatizing to his position, one didn’t undo an entire lifetime of cultural conditioning in a single year.

Still, he strode over to the clinic side of the room.

“A mortal?” Sheng asked, making no move towards Gao.

“A mortal.” Jack said firmly.

That seemed to do it, as the man reluctantly made his way over to where Gao was standing.

“Clothes off.” The healers words were firm, with not a hint of bedside manner. It honestly sounded like he was talking to a dog.

Gao hesitated, his gnarled fingers hovering over the buttons of his uniform.

Jack saw the problem immediately. “Ladies, please give the man some privacy.”

That seemed to shake the man from his brief paralysis, as something close to embarresment – tinged with relief – slid across his scarred features. “Sir… it’s fine. I don’t need...”

“Of course.” An said immediately. “The General deserves that much.”

Ren and Huang were a little slower to depart, confusion in their faces as they glanced back, but Lin and An vacated the room immediately.

Soon, only one woman remained.

“And you,” Jack grunted.

The woman by the door, Sheng’s bodyguard didn’t move. “I am here to protect my husband.”

“Move or be moved. I’m not going to ask again.” Jack couldn’t imagine Huang being willing to be talked back to like that back in her prime – and while he didn’t quite command that level of respect even with his most recent actions, he was still the city’s magistrate.

“It’s fine dear,” Sheng interrupted hurriedly before the woman signed her own death warrant. “I’m surely safe enough in presence of our city’s leader.”

The reminder was not subtle and Jack watched as the older woman paled, before quickly bowing and scurrying from the room.

“That better, Gao?”

“It was unnecessary sir,” the other man said. “…But thank you.”

The miner simply nodded, before Gao slowly started to shrug his clothes off. Honestly, this was the point where Jack kind of wanted to leave too, but he couldn’t. He needed to remain to keep an eye on Sheng and make sure the man remained ‘honest’.

Something he needed almost immediately as Sheng all but grabbed the man’s uniform and tossed it onto the bed in a crumpled heap the moment it was off the soldier’s body. Something that had the former guard grimace.

“Pick that up, fold it, and place it back on the bed.” Jack instructed. “This man was injured protecting the city. He is part of my retinue. He is a general in my army. You will treat him respectfully or I shall become… disrespectful.”

Sheng flinched, thought not before a small twitch formed in his eye. “Of course, Lord Magistrate.”

Jack didn’t bother to ask for an apology. There were limits – and he was sure Gao didn’t really care.

He did care about his uniform though, and he relaxed minutely as it was carefully folded and placed down. Though that relaxation quickly came to an end as his undershirt came off, revealing large patches of burned discolored skin across his back and pelvis.

It was not pretty. He almost looked like a melted marshmallow in some places. Jack didn’t look away though. It was hardly the first wound of its type he’d seen. Nor even the worst if he was honest.

For the first time since they’d began, Sheng had something positive to say about the mortal. “Hmmm, tough man. I’d say it’s a small miracle you didn’t die of infection given how widespread these burns are.”

Jack said nothing. He had no desire to talk about the many salves and poultices his suit gave him access to. They weren’t Panacea, but they were more than capable of keeping his people free of infection.

They all waited patiently as the doctor poked and prodded at Gao, occasionally reaching for some of his tools. A few of which looked like jade acupuncture needles, that Gao watched apprehensively as they were sunk into his flesh.

“I must admit, it’s actually rather interesting to work on a mortal,” Shen said casually as he sank a third needle into Gao’s back. “Easier almost, in that I don’t have to fight his ki to perform my diagnostics.”

Jack just shrugged. “So, can you help him?”

“Oh, not at all.” The response was instantaneous. “I had hoped there might be some residual damage that was still healing I could utilize, but it seems I underestimated even a mortal’s capacity to heal. Or rather scar.”

He turned to Jack.

“And therein lies the issue. When I heal someone, I do so by guiding and accelerating the body’s natural processes. By doing so I can not just accelerate healing, but have it go beyond what the body would normally do. By doing so, I can not just close wounds without leaving behind scars, but even regenerate limbs – though that is a rather time consuming process.”

Jack frowned but nodded slowly.

That sounded a lot like he was increasing and guiding stem cell production. Or at least, it sounded a lot like Jack’s fairly limited understanding of how stem cells worked. And even that knowledge had only come about as a result of his dealings with Panacea.

Panacea he’d already used on Gao once.

And while that was a investment that’s certainly paid dividends since, I’ve certainly had moments where I’ve regretted it, he thought as his mind lingered on one of his missing toes – a parting gift from the Red Death.

His gene-mods meant he healed fast and generally without scars, but even it couldn’t replace a lost digit.

If he lost a limb, it would be gone for good.

“So, you’re saying that you can’t heal him because the wound isn’t fresh?”

“Exactly so. The issue here is that I’ve nothing to work with. As discomforting as it is to look upon, what you see here is a body that has healed. The scars are healed tissue.” Sheng seemed genuinely regretful as he said it, though that was likely because he’d just lost out on an ‘easy’ paycheck.

Though whether the ease of the task compensated for the ignomity of being forced to be nice to a mortal, Jack couldnt say.

He didn’t much care either. His focus was entirely on Gao. The man’s hands as had clenched subtly as Sheng talked, his shoulders becoming taut.

“Well, why not just make a new wound by removing the scarred tissue?”

The words punctured the growing melancholy in the room like a gonne shot through a balloon.

Eventually it was Sheng who broke the silence that formed.

“Excuse me? The man asked, Gao staring mutely from behind him.

Jack just continued. “You know… remove the badly healed skin and start the healing process again?”

Sheng’s mouth opened. Nothing came out. Then he closed it again. It took him a good minute before he tried again.

“Do you mean to suggest that I should… damage him to promote new healing?”

Jack nodded. “I mean, yes? Don’t you do that already? For…”

He paused as he realized he didn’t know the native word for Surgery. Given that the langue was a mix of different native languages, that wasn’t entirely unusual for him, but on this occasion his HUD didn’t handily supply the missing word as it usually did.

“Gao?” Jack said, turning his attention to the silent soldier. “Have you never seen someone rebreak a bone that set badly?”

The man paused, before nodding. “Aye.”

The doctor whirled. “You have?”

“Aye.” Gao nodded. “Down in the slums, a bonesaw did it once for my uncle. Cart ran him over while he was guarding a caravan. By the time he arrived in the city, it had healed badly.”

Given the way Sheng was staring, you’d think Gao had just said he’d seen someone hop from the North Wall to the South.

“How fascinating.” Sheng murmured, stroking his bead. “Barbaric, but fascinating. A healing technique unique to mortals.”

Jack opened his mouth before closing it this time.

Was surgery just… not a thing for cultivators? Did they just use magic for everything?

Is this a case of, ‘when all you’ve got is a hammer, everything becomes a nail’?

It certainly sounded like it. Still, for a doctor as studied as Sheng to be completely ignorant of the idea…

“Would it work?” Jack asked.

Sheng continued stroking his bead. “I mean, it’s never been done before. At least, not with proper healing techniques. The idea itself is… anathema to my understanding of the Healer’s Dao. Yet… theoretically, I don’t see why it wouldn’t.”

His beard stroking was now so frantic that Jack was a little worried the old man would yank the thing off. It only paused as an idea seemed to occur to him.

“You do realize that this would require me to… skin him though? Large portions of his skin at that. Even if I were to render him unconscious… well, the idea might be… discomforting to you if you care for his wellbeing.”

It actually worried Jack that the healer seemed almost pensive about raising that question. Not because of the skinning aspect, but because Jack might stop him from being able to perform an experiment that had intrigued him.

Gao just paled.

“It’s up to Gao,” Jack said simply, moving to rub his temples before realizing that his helmet was in the way. Frustrated, he pulled it off, fixing both of the other men with a stare. “Before that though, we’re going to wrangle up some pigs and test this process on them first.”

That seemed to snap Sheng from his thoughts.

“You would have me waste my healing skills on pigs!?”